Stepping on someone’s toes in space is all too easy, especially if your not aware of them. Voyager wasn’t aware of the Jantonese toes until it was too late. Territorial or just a misunderstanding, Janeway wasn’t sure, but apologises went unheard and the Jantonese without any warning attack.

Although out numbered Voyager fought bravely on until mortally wounded she left Jantonese space for good. Adrift on emergency power with no computer back up or communications to help, Voyagers crew began repairs.

Belanna Torres wasn’t overly found of Jeffries tubes and cursed their designer every chance she got. Which is why Seven of Nine knew the crewmember approaching her along Jeffries tube 8, section 6B, deck 15 was the said Lieutenant Torres. That and the fact that every other expletive was in Klingon.

Only Voyagers meagre emergency lighting and the wrist torch Belanna had salvaged from the Delta Flyer illuminated the Jeffries tube. It was also hot and humid due to the lack of air circulation. A problem ensign leach was supposed to be looking into according to the threats of bodily harm Belanna was verbally throwing her way.

Rounding a bend in the Jeffries tube Torres suddenly came face to face with Seven of Nine. “Whoa!”

“Good day,” said Seven, casually.

“Not so far it hasn’t been,” replied Torres, joining Seven who was sitting crossed legged in the middle of the crawl space.

Belanna took note of Seven’s tool box lying open next to her, and Seven noted Belanna’s as she placed it down with a ‘thunk’ beside Seven’s.

“Is there a purpose for your being in this particular Jeffries tube?” Seven asked.

“I’m working on the bridge communications, I need to rely power through this EPS junction,” replied Belanna, suspicious of Sevens question.

“I am also in need of the power rely behind this access panel,” said Seven with a challenging note in her voice, “so that I may re-route power to the main computer.”

“Internal communications have priority,” responded Belanna, reaching for the panel, “especially with our combadges out of action, you will have to find another route.”

“The captain personally asked me to restore computer access,” said Seven, also reaching for the junction cover. “And anyway I was here first.”

“I have seniority,” said Belanna in return.

“This is the only root available for computer access,” added Seven defiantly.

“In that case we have a problem.”

“So it would seem,” agreed Seven.

Seven and Belanna looked at each other, then the junction panel, then their tool box’s then back at each other.

“We could share,” suggested Belanna, breaking the deadlock.

Seven raised a questioning eyebrow. “If you don’t get the balance even you will burn out the rely, rendering it useless.”

“I know, I’ve done it before, on a Marquee ship.”

“Successfully?”

“Yes successfully.”

“I will assist,” said Seven, reaching out again and removing the access panel.

Wiping her forehead and wandering how Seven kept so cool, Belanna opened her tool kit. This was going to take some time.

Naomi Wildman had been assisting Seven of nine all morning, so she wasn’t happy when her mother dragged her away to clean up the damage in her bedroom, caused by the Jantonese attack. Naomi tried to argue that there were more important things to do than clean her room, but her mother had insisted. Naomi suspected that she was in one of her protective moods, and what with the ship being so topsy-turvy and dangerous, she probably thought Naomi would be safer in her room.

Seeing the futility of trying harder to worm out of the task, Naomi relented and spent an hour squaring away the shambles of her toy cupboard. Then checking the coast was clear she removed a compad from her pocket, on it was the copy of Sevens repair schedule that she had made earlier. Confident that she could use it to catch up with Seven again Naomi left her quarters and hiked of down Voyagers dimly lit corridors. But half an hour later when Naomi got to where Seven was supposed to be, she wasn’t there.

“Can I help you Naomi?” asked ensign Leach, coming up quietly behind the girl and startling her. “I haven’t got all day child, I’m very busy, what do you want?”

“I’m looking for Seven, she was supposed to be working here at this time,” relied Naomi quickly.

“Seven has been re-assigned. I’m doing this job now, which I am expected to finish by 1700hours so please go away,” said Leach pulling out a tricorder and turning her back on Naomi.

Not deterred by ensign Leach’s bad mood and rudeness Naomi asked, “Do you know where Seven has been reassigned too?”

“No!” snapped Leach, running the tricorder over a damaged section of the corridor and making notes.

The angry ‘No’ was similar to one Naomi’s mother used when ‘No’ actually meant ‘go away and stop bothering me or you will be in serious trouble,’ so Naomi turned heal and bugged out fast.

“If Seven had been reassigned,” thought Naomi, slowing her pace once out of ensign leach’s sight, “It had to be for something crucial. So the order would have come from either the captain, Chakotay or Belanna. Belanna would be in engineering, and probably too preoccupied to talk, and Chakotay wasn’t the most approachable about ship matters, so the best person to ask about Sevens whereabouts would be the captain. Who was according to Naomi’s mother, ‘extremely busy.’” The extremely busy part didn’t bother Naomi, the captain always had time for her assistant.

“It’s done,” announced Belanna triumphantly, whilst using the sleeve of her tunic to wipe the sweat from her face for about the fifth time in five minuets. “Power feed even, main computer access is coming back on line, communications should be kicking in on deck 1 just about now.”

Up on Voyagers Bridge, ensign Kim’s face lit up with a smile and the new glow from his console, that told him systems were once again operable. “Captain, main computer responding.” Reported Harry Kim, “I’ve got access to all ships diagnostics and sensors.”

Janeway smiled, “good work Seven, where ever you are.”

“Internal communications are rebutting as well,” reported Chakotay, from Voyagers engineering console, where he was working, “so I guess that’s a ‘good work Belanna’ as well.”

“Lets test them first,” said Janeway, relaxing back in her command chair for the first time in twelve hours. “Captain Janeway to main engineering, Belanna can you hear me?”

A rush of static assaulted Janeway's ears followed by the shaky voice of Lieutenant Carey.

“Captain……good to …hear you again.” The message was broken up but audible. Janeway and Chakotay exchanged looks, “Belanna’s not here, she disappeared three hours ago…said something about an idea to repair communications. I guess it worked.”

“So it would seem,” responded Janeway cheerfully, “If you see her before I do say thanks.”

“Yes ma’am,” said Carey signing off.

“Better do a roll call around the ship,” suggested Chakotay.

“Good idea, you take decks 1 to 8, I’ll plough through 9 to 15.”

Belanna down in deck 15’s Jeffries tube was mentally giving herself a pat on the back while sealing the EPS access panel. Sitting beside her Seven frowned.

“Something is wrong, the temperature in here just rose by 10 degrees.”

Belanna looked at Seven barely sweating and wondered how she even noticed. “I guess it is a little hotter, but with the air circulation pumps off line that’s only to be expected.”

“No this is something else,” Seven coked her head as if listening carefully to something far off.

“It’s just your imagination Seven, you’ve been down here too long, come on lets go.” Belanna picked up her tool kit and crawled several feet along the Jeffries tube back the way she had come. But something suddenly brought Belanna to a halt and gave her cause to sniff the air, “I can smell……..FIRE!”

Seven reached out to Belanna and pulled her back. “We must go now, this way.”

Seven moved rapidly along the Jeffries tube with Belanna at her heals. Behind them a faint noise developed into a roar.

“Get down!” yelled Seven, spinning around and shoving Belanna to the deck. As she did superheated flames shot over their heads, hugging the ceiling and licking the tube walls as they rushed along.

On Voyagers Bridge ensign Kim interrupted Captain Janeway's  conversation with the crew working on deck 10. “I’m picking up a fire alert from deck 15, Jeffries tube 8. Fire suppression systems are still not working on that deck.”

“Seal it off.” Ordered Janeway.

“Bulk head doors 1B to 9B are not responding; door 10B closing now; fire contained.”

Seven felt the heat from the burning plasma pass over her body and screamed, a scream that was echoed on Belanna’s lips. Seconds passed then somewhere down the Jeffries tube a bulkhead door closed. A final whoosh as the flames receded back over Seven and Belanna left the Jeffries tube silent and dark.

Opening her eyes Seven looked into Belanna’s terrified pair. The hair around her face was crinkled and singed. Seven suspected hers was the same. Although the fire hadn’t actually touched them, the heat had been enough to fry their skin and scorch clothing.

“This must be what a piece of toast feels like,” mused Belanna, before coughing loudly.

“Someone closed a security door somewhere in front of us. It’s temporarily stifled the fire,” said Seven her face glowing in the light from Belanna’s torch. The emergency lights having been extinguished by the fire. “The other doors should have closed as well, they must be damaged or none functional. The fire has slowed but it will spread again to this section, we must be gone before then.”

“Communications?” whispered Belanna, her dry throat making it difficult to talk.

“Some way down, we will attempt to contact help as we pass them,” said Seven making to move and tugging on Belanna’s arm to follow.

Belanna nodded and attempted to raise herself up to crawl, but fell back again screaming in agony. “My legs and back,” Belanna chocked out the words taking note of the impatient look on Seven’s face. “I can’t….”

Seven pulled the torch of Belanna’s wrist and played the light along her back. Blistered skin was visible where the cloth of Belanna’s uniform had been burnt away. “You have suffered 1st degree burns to your back and legs. These are not immediately life threatening but the fire returning is, therefore you must crawl.”

Belanna heard the urgency in Sevens voice and taking a deep breath of hot air, that made her lungs sting, pushed her elbows into the Jeffries tube decking, willing her body to move. After several meters Belanna stopped cursing with each surge of pain, it was too trying.

“Hey …..How come…….your not …..Injured?” Belanna asked through gritted teeth.

“I am injured.” Replied Seven crawling slowly so Belanna could keep up. “But I have only received minor burns to my extremities, due to the fire retardant properties of the synthetic skin covering my Borg components. I am also able to block out most of the pain because of the mental disciplines I learnt whilst I was Borg.”

“Oh!” said Belanna in response, giving Sevens backside a disdainful look, before digging her scorched boots into the equally scorched floor.

Back on the bridge, Janeway was calling engineering again. “Mr Carey we have a fire on deck 15…”

“Jeffries tube 8, I know, I’m on to it,” came back a harassed voice.

“I thought all fires had been extinguished,” said Janeway thinking back to the Jantonese attack.

“They had this is a secondary flare up from a plasma leak.” Reported Carey. “We have had several of these.”

“Can you cut off the leak from engineering?”

“No there’s too much damage too the circuits between here and there.”

Naomi Wildman was in the bridge turbo lift when she over heard the communication between Janeway and Carey about the fire on deck 15. This conversation sent flashing lights and bells off inside Naomi’s head, “Seven was missing, working on something important, communications and sensors were back on line and now a fire in a Jeffries tube that allowed access to main EPS routes.”

Putting two and two together Naomi tuned back into the captains conversation while frantically pressing emergency override buttons in the turbo lift.

“That Jeffries tube has an air lock doesn’t it?” asked Janeway.

“Yes,” replied Carey.

“Then blow it,” ordered Janeway, “the vacuum of space will put the fire out.”

“NO!” Yelled Naomi, bursting on to the bridge form the turbo lift. “Seven may still be in there.”

“Belay that order lieutenant,” snapped Janeway, “Seven off Nine, what is your location?” Janeway called over the open com-channel. When no reply came Janeway swiftly moved to Voyagers operations deck. “Computer locate Seven of Nine?”

“Location not found,” said the computer coldly but friendly.

“Too much back ground interference from the radiation leeks,” suggested Chakotay. “There are probably blind spots all over Voyager.

“Which could explain the missing miss Torres,” said Tuvox.

“That’s no good to me,” said Janeway, using Harry Kim’s console to call up a schematic of deck 15. The plasma fire showed bright orange, slowly creeping through the Jeffries tube.

“Carey get a team down to the seat of that fire ASP.”

“They’re on their way Captain but it’s going to take time to get around the damaged hull sections, let alone put the fire out.”

“Dam!” Janeway swore in frustration.

“It’s getting hotter in here,” gasped Belanna, using her tunic sleeve to wipe the grime from her eyes. Which failed completely due to the coating of soot that covered it and her. “Harder to breath.”

“The fire is consuming the oxygen exponentially we must hurry,” urged Seven.

“Wait there’s a companel,” said Belanna, drawing Sevens attention to the wall ahead.

Seven shuffled up to the communications panel and shone the wrist torch onto it. The panel was half melted and blackened.

“It may still work,” said Belanna optimistically.

Seven pulled an ‘I don’t think so’ face and activated it. “This is Seven of Nine to the Captain.”

Instead of responding cheeps the panel hissed, sparked and then flashed. “It’s dead.” Announced Seven turning away and continuing along the Jeffries tube.

“There’s probably too much back ground radiation to get a signal out anyway,” sighed Belanna, glancing behind her at the faint orange glow.

XXXXX

“The fire is spreading rapidly,” reported Janeway, from Harry Kim’s operations console. “It’s reached section six in only ten minuets.”

“I can’t get any response out of communications down there,” said Harry next to Janeway, “they must be fried.”

“Where the hell is Belanna?” Janeway muttered to herself but the rest of the bridge still heard.

Tom Paris turned at the mention of Belannas name but saw that Janeway's  forehead was creased up with worry lines not anger. He too was beginning to wonder about the wayward engineer, but suspected she was probably up to her eyebrows in work wherever she was.

“Still no life signs Harry?” Janeway asked, double-checking the young ensigns readings.

“The heat and the plasma are masking any possible signs and the radiation is blocking Seven’s combadge emergency signal.”

“She could be injured,” cried Naomi, “unable to crawl out by herself.”

“Mr Carey, do you have anyone in that area who could initiate a rescue?” asked Janeway.

“No one I can contact,” replied Carey. “And if I could they wouldn’t be able to enter the sealed off Jeffries tube, without adding to the oxygen supply in there and causing a back draft effect.”

“The doctor doesn’t need to breath,” said Naomi, tugging Janeway's  sleeve in her desperate grip.

Janeway took three seconds to catch up with Naomi’s thinking, and then contact Voyagers EMH.

“Doctor I know you have been eves dropping, I need you to get down to deck 15 fast. Join jeffries tube 8 at section 11, then seal your self in.”

“I understand Captain, I’m on my way.”

Janeway noted that the doctor moved surprisingly fast for a bunch of electrons, but would he be fast enough.

“We have to climb …… to get out …… of this section,” said Seven, fighting to breath. The heat was beginning to take its toll even on the unflappable Borg and the lack of oxygen was getting serious. Looking on the bright side no oxygen meant the fire would die out.

“Climb!” gasped Belanna, watching Seven scale the jeffries tube ladder. “I … Don’t think … I can.”

Seven knew the ladder to be about 10 feet high, a climb that under normal circumstances would have been ‘a piece of cake’ to quote Tom Paris. But with her lungs inflamed and her raw burns smarting with each step it felt more like a hundred feet.

Below Seven, Belanna, made her own attempt at the ladder, spurred on by the increasing orange glow that mocked every step she took. As with Seven, each footfall or movement was agony. At one point Belanna thought she would faint, but Klingons don’t faint.”

Voyagers EMH raced through her corridors dodging crew and jumping over loose equipment like an athlete. He knew what the captains plan was, once he was sealed in section 11 of the jeffries tube she would have the computer remove the oxygen, so he could open the hatch to section 10 and safely search for Seven. With any luck by then Carey’s team would have made it through the damaged ship and put the fire out. Because although holograms are fire proof the doctor’s mobile emitter wasn’t. Not that if it came to it he wasn’t willing to sacrifice his matrix for his dear friend Seven.

Seven grabbed the next rung, “nearly there,” she told herself, ignoring the pain ripping through her hand as she literally peeled it off the rung below. The sticky burnt flesh left behind made Seven’s stomach churn. Reaching the top, She took a deep breath and with a primeval scream pulled herself up. Fighting back the fear making her heart race Seven called out to Belanna below.

“Torres! Move it you don’t have time to waist.”

“I can’t!” Screamed back Belanna, clinging onto the Jeffries tube ladder half way up. “It hurts too much.” Belanna hadn’t fainted but tears spilled from her eyes, pushed to the surface by each excruciating throb of pain. “I’ll stay here ….. you go for help.”

“There's no time I can hear the fire,” replied Seven, glancing over her shoulder at the sealed bulkhead 200 yards behind her.

“Johnson to Janeway.”

“Report Mr Johnson.”

“We can’t get to the plasma leek to shut it down, there’s too much damaged material in the way.”

“Do your best Johnson, but be aware if I have to space that jeffries tube you’ll need to clear out and seal that area in case its compromised.”

“Understood, Johnson out.”

“Seven!” Belanna called from the jeffries tube ladder. Beneath her feet the once dim tunnel was glowing bright red, from somewhere it was getting enough fuel to keep burning.

“Take my hand.” Said Seven, spreading her weight out and leaning over the shaft.

Belanna looked at the ragged hand held out to her, the synthetic flesh had peeled away to reveal Borg components. It was enough to make her hesitate.

“Trust me!” Called Seven through gritted teeth.

Looking up into a face as sweaty, dirty and scared as hers. Belanna knew what she had to do. Stretching upwards Torres grabbed Sevens hand, then kicking herself away from the ladder she reached with her other hand and wrapped it around Sevens wrist. Once free of the ladder and with a firm grip Seven used her Borg strength to haul Belanna up the shaft and clear.

With Belanna safe Seven turned her attention to the manual activators for section nines bulkhead doors. Her plan was to override the burnt out servos and separate herself and Belanna from the fire.

But the doors resisted Sevens efforts, forcing her to call upon every ounce of her augmented strength. Even so they inched closed slowly, too slowly. Seven knew if she didn’t close the hatch they wouldn’t make it out before the fire caught up with them.

“Captain! Someone’s activated the manual override for section 9’s security door,” Harry Kim yelled ‘Captain’ a little too loud, considering Janeway was only standing 3 feet away watching the doctors progress on Voyagers main view screen.

“She’s still alive!” Naomi Wildman squealed bouncing up and down in Janeway's  command chair, where she had been asked to sit out of the way.

“If she can seal those doors it’ll make the doctors job easier,” chipped in Chakotay.

“Carey, get your men clear and seal of that area,” Janeway ordered her first lieutenant in engineering, mindful that her chief engineer was still AWOL, “Chakotay as soon as the doctor gets Seven clear, space that jeffries tube.”

Chakotay nodded his agreement.

“I’m getting something on the sensors.” Said Kim, being careful not to yell again in his excitement.

“Computer enlarge the viewscreen schematic,” ordered Chakotay.

As a plan of jeffries tube 8 came into focus again, 2 blobs of red, showed up clear at the edge of the orange fire trail. And the second one wasn’t the doctor’s signal.

“It would appear Seven of Nine is not alone,” commented Tuvox, speaking for the first time.

“Belanna!” whispered Paris tentatively, his hushed voice echoed around Voyagers bridge as her crew suddenly realised why Belanna was missing and where she was. Paris got to his feet shakily, and turned to his captain.

“Go!” said Janeway, then watched as Paris bolted across the bridge so fast he nearly smacked into the turbo lift doors.

Once inside the lift with nowhere to go, Paris clenched and unclenched his fists impatiently. Pictures of what he might find down on deck 15 ran through Paris head, making his heart beat load and fast in his ears. “She’s still alive,” Paris told himself, fighting down the hollow fear building up inside his stomach.

Seven felt the searing heat as the plasma fuelled fire roared up the Jeffries tube towards her face and the slowly closing bulkhead door. “You’re not going to make it,” Seven told herself, still with inch’s left to close.

Glancing back at the prone body of Belanna, passed out from the pain and oxygen depravation, Seven caught a movement in the shadows coming towards her, it was the doctor. Sevens heart leapt with relief while her mind raced with angry questions of why he hadn’t come to her rescue sooner.

The doctor grinned ghoulishly in the flickering light as he pulled Belanna out of his way. Then quickly kneeling down next to Seven, he joined forces with her on the manual door override. Together they crippled the doors servos and snapped it shut just as the first fingers of flame reached its edges.

OnVoyagers Bridge everyone watched the plasma’s trail hit the bulkhead door and stop.

Paris rounded the last corner on deck 15 and skidded to a halt in front of Belanna’s body. She was lying face down on the floor several feet from the open Jeffries tube exit hatch with no one else in sight. The corridor was dimly light but Paris could still make out the terrible burns on Belanna’s back and legs. Pulling himself together Paris knelt beside Belanna and with shaking hands swiftly checked her pulse. Finding one Paris took a deep breath, which went a long way to calming down his churning stomach, but it didn’t stop the shaking.

“Your going to be ok my love,” Paris spoke softly while pushing the frazzled hair from Belanna’s blackened face.

Noises from the Jeffries tube caught Paris attention. Looking up he saw the doctors feet emerge from the hatchway, then his body, followed by that of Seven of Nine. Still conscious but obviously injured she looked to Paris as calm and composed as ever.

“What happened?” demanded Paris stepping up to Seven as the doctor helped her to stand.

“We were working together,” said Seven her voice weak and strained, “I tried to warn Belanna but she didn’t react quickly enough.”

Anger welled up inside Paris, “Why is it ” he spat the words out, “…always someone else’s ineffiency that gets them injured around you.” Paris lost his control and pushed Seven backwards.

“Ensign!” Barked the doctor, stepping between Paris and Seven, who was looking somewhat astonished at Paris outburst.

Before more words could be spent captain Janeway's  voice floated over the communication airwaves, “Doctor what’s happening, is everyone safe?”

Janeway's  question broke the tension between the trio and Paris stepped back allowing the doctor to respond to the captain.

“Everyone is clear, I’m sealing the Jeffries tube hatch now.”

“Good work doctor,” came back Janeway's  praise. But before the doctor could reach the display panel. Paris slammed his fist into the controls that closed the bulkhead door. They responded with sparks and hiss’s but the doors glided shut anyway.

Examining his bruised and bleeding knuckles Paris noticed he wasn’t shaking anymore.

“Nice work Mr Paris,” commented the doctor.

“I’m sorry Seven,” said Paris, “I don’t know what came over me. I shouldn’t have attacked you like that.”

“It’s forgotten,” replied Seven, “we will speak no more of the matter.”

The decompression of Jeffries tube 8 wasn’t even noticed on Voyagers Bridge but down on deck 15 a rumble moved through the walls and the closed hatch doors beside Seven made a popping sound.

The End