All I Can Taste
by Diana Anderson

   The pain swirled about her, it touched every fiber of her being and
any and every sensory input seemed only to enhance it.  She couldn't
even open her eyes, when they moved her to the biobed it felt like her
nerve endings screamed in protest.  She could hear B'Elanna's raised
voice as she yelled at the EMH hologram to do something before she
erased his matrix.  The sound tore at her ears and she could finally
take no more.  Seven of Nine passed into unconsciousness, a cool silent
wave crashing over her.

   "What happened?" the Doctor asked as he ran his tricorder over
Seven's prone form as B'Elanna hovered nearby.
    "You're the doctor, you tell me!  I just found her like that.  She
was in Astrometrics, on the floor.  I had thought she was unconscious
until I heard her make a noise, kind of like a moan.  She was in a lot
of pain, that's all I know.  What's wrong with her?"
    "I'm not sure.  Would you get out of my way please?  You don't see
me hovering around your warpcore, do you?  Let me work.  I'll let you
tell the captain."    The Captain.  She was not going to be pleased.
B'Elanna Torres was still caught up in the moment and she really didn't
care about protocol at this point in time.    "Torres to Janeway.  I
need you in Sickbay now."  That should get her.

     Janeway arrived to find a still flustered Torres who kept throwing
nasty glances at the EMH.  B'Elanna was not the type of person to get
unravelled by minor things.  This made the Captain a little nervous.
She approached her carefully.
     "What's going on?"
     "Something's wrong with Seven, the Doctor's still trying to find
out what it is.  Worthless program.  If he was worth a sh--"
   Janeway moved past her to see Seven on a biobed.  Her features were
paler than usual and sweat was beaded on her brow.  The EMH program was
working feverishly, tapping away at his various instruments, his brow
furrowed in worry.     Now she understood B'Elanna's state.  She had a
bad feeling about this, a very bad feeling.
*****************************************************

     Seven floated in a state of total numbness.  She could still feel
her body but was disconnected from it somehow.  It wasn't like sleep or
regeneration, it was like she was buried in some place deep inside
herself, it was like being in limbo.  She was certain she could feel
people moving about her, although she wasn't sure how she knew they were
there, she could just....feel them in a way that went beyond the regular
physical senses.
     She was here now, the Captain was here, by her side.  Everything
changed.  She would be safe now.  She rushed to the surface, like a
diver going towards the sunlight that drifted down through the water.
      When she broke the surface she gasped.
****************************************************
    Seven returned to consciousness so quickly that it startled everyone
in the room.  Her face flushed to a crimson and she sucked in a lungful
of air.  The pain returned immediately, cutting off her inhale of fresh
air before it's completion.  She fell back against the bed and looked up
at the ceiling, willing the pain to fly away out of her body.  It would
not.
    "I am...malfunctioning."  Speaking was even difficult and seemed to
take far too much effort.  It was as if her verbal pathways had been
fried in some overload.  Her mouth was dry and it felt like her tongue
was swollen although she knew it was not.
    "You're in sickbay now."  Janeway touched the woman's cheek and
noted the unusually high temperature.  "Can you tell us what happened?"
    Speaking was just too difficult so she utilized non verbal
communication and shook her head.       "What are your symptoms?" the
Doctor asked professionally.
      "P-Pain...everywhere."  She closed her eyes against the glaring
lights above her.  Why did every stimuli seem to only make it worse?
Maybe if she just stayed still ...
      "Do you have any idea what the problem is?"
      Again she shook her head.
   "We need to get her fever down," Janeway stated.  "She's burning up."
      "Who's the doctor here?  I'm not administering anything until I
know what's going on.  It's not at a dangerous level."
      All she desired at this moment was some comfort, a cool sheet, a
dark room, anything that would make this pain ease a little.  Biobeds
weren't exactly comfortable.    The pain swirled inside her, growng more
intense.  She shifted suddenly to her side and it seemed to ebb a
little.  With her mesh covered left hand she held Janeway's hand tight
against her cheek and reveled in it's coolness.  If everything could
just stay like this she would be allright.
     Janeway was a little suprised by the action.  Seven needed to be
comforted.  Something was definately very wrong.
        "The pain Seven, where's it coming from?"          Where?  It
was everywhere, inside and out.  She needed to be as specific as
possible.  She gave the pain her full attention for a few moments and
then pulled back.
     "It seems to....be mainly in my chest and abdomen but it feels
sometimes like it's everywhere."  It swelled again inside her and she
arched up off the bed.  "I want out of here!"  she screamed suddenly and
grippng the side of the bed she tried to pull herself up.
      Kathryn pushed her back easily.  "Seven, hold on."
      "It hurts!  I can't be here."  The fever was now making her
delerious.  She was sure if she could just be somewhere else this would
all end, the pain would stop.  She looked up at Janeway imploringly.
"Get me out of here, Kathryn."
      Those blue eyes combined with her first name tumbling off those
lips was all it took to turn a Starfllet captain into a glob of pliable
jelly, particularly if that captain was named Kathryn Janeway.
       "I will, Seven, but first we need to find out what's wrong.  Just
a little longer."  She turned to the Doctor, her face hardened.
       "You've got five more minutes, then I'm taking her out of here."
        "You can't be serious!"
         "Oh I am.  You're a hologram, you can monitor her from any part
of the ship if you want.  She's uncomfortable here,  and if she wants to
be somewhere else then that's what we'll do, we'll accomidate."
     "I don't want to die here,"  Seven mumbled quietly.  The fever was
tearing through her now, taking away her reason, and making everything
seem hazy and unreal.  Was this really happening?  Was there anything
except this excruciating pain?  Was there anything before it?  Could
there be anything after it or was there even an end to be found?
        The Captain's jaw clenched and she turned back to Seven, leaning
down to whisper in her ear.
     "You are not gong to die.  I'll take you out of here soon.  Do you
want to be sedated, is it that bad?"
        "Yes, then take me out of here.  I want to be somewhere
warm....soft."    A hypospray was pressed to her neck and the blackness
envolped her again. Part 2
 

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