This story is the third in the series after 'Distress Call' and 'House Call'. You don't have to read those to enjoy this story, but if you haven't read them some of the elements of this story may not make sense at first.

All stories in the series contain a relationship between two women with some sexual scenes. If you don't like that, don't read it. Otherwise, enjoy!

Part 1

"Red Alert," announced the First Officer calmly over the comm system. "All hands, battle stations."

Captain Kathryn Janeway had been in the throes of passion when her ship, the Intrepid-class USS Voyager, was rocked by a series of explosions. Now, as she struggled to sit up, she heard her comm badge beep from her shirt which had been hastily removed not five minutes ago. Crawling across the bed, smiling ruefully at the young woman who lounged beside her, the Captain stretched down and snatched up the gold-and-silver badge.

"This is Janeway. Report." Her tone was crisp and commanding, as though she had somehow thrown a switch inside to flip from Kathryn the woman to Janeway the Captain. In a way, she had, and it showed in her expression, voice and mannerisms. Despite the fact that she was naked, she stood in her bedroom as though she were on the bridge, and Seven-of-Nine watched patiently, admiring her Captain's compact form and instant composure.

Commander Chakotay sounded worried as he answered. "We are under attack, Captain. A ship appeared out of nowhere and started shooting. The only thing we were able to determine before they knocked out our sensors is that the weapons have a strange temporal variance. We've retreated behind a small moon, but they're gaining on us. There's no response to our hails."

"We can't play cat-and-mouse indefinitely," said Janeway, more to herself than to the Commander. "I'm on my way. Keep trying to communicate with them. Janeway out."

Seven rose from the bed and quickly started to dress, but Janeway stopped her with a brief smile. The ex-Borg had worn a sleek, black dress that, though Janeway liked it very much, wasn't something she wanted her partner to wear whilst walking through the corridors during a red alert.

"Computer, are the transporters working?" asked Janeway.

Transporter functions are off line.

The Captain turned to the younger woman and shrugged, starting to pull on her own uniform, a clean one from the small wardrobe. "I need you on the bridge, Seven, and there isn't time for you to go and change." Addressing the replicator now, Janeway continued.

"Computer, replicate a uniform to fit Seven-of-Nine."

Specify colour.

She paused, realising that whilst Seven could no doubt wear any uniform on the ship and do it proud, others might not feel the same way. The ex-Borg had gained all the knowledge assimilated by the Collective, including that of Starfleet Captains, not least Jean-Luc Picard of the Enterprise. She was intelligent, gifted, possessed an eidetic memory and was, despite a few hiccups along the way, unfailingly loyal to Janeway.

"Combine blue and yellow," ordered Janeway, and a full uniform materialised. The stripe along the top was a light green, and when Seven had put it on it looked…right, somehow. After pulling on her boots and affixing four gleaming pips to her shirt neck, Janeway faced her friend. They embraced quickly, a final gesture before leaving the Captain's quarters and making the short journey to the bridge.

Part 2

As Janeway exited the turbolift, Seven-of-Nine following on her heels, she noted the tension amongst the bridge crew which seemed to ease slightly as the Captain took her seat. Commander Chakotay began immediately.

"We've managed to keep the moon between us and the other ship, Captain, but we can't keep it up for much longer – three or four minutes at best."

"Is there anything else you can tell me," demanded Janeway, nodding at the viewscreen in an unspoken command. An image of the attacking ship appeared, but it was indistinct, the outline blurry and details impossible to make out.

"Like I said, the weapons have a temporal variance, and judging by what we can see their shields also have an unusual configuration. Tuvok, did you get any information about their capabilities?"

The Vulcan pressed buttons on the tactical console before replying. "Their shields were unusual, but I was unable to ascertain anything more. Captain, we still have the temporal shield generators that we used when we fought the Krenim. I would recommend that we bring them online."

"Agreed. Janeway to Torres."

"Torres here." The Chief Engineer's voice was almost drowned out by background noise consisting of raised voices, bangs and crashes and several alarms, but she spoke loudly enough to be heard, used to the usual din.

"B'Elanna, how long would it take to get the temporal shields online?"

Everyone was still, frozen in their seats as they awaited the engineer's reply. The attack had been sudden and vicious, with no warning and no explanation, and the younger members of the bridge crew appeared shocked, fear clearly daubed across their features. Chakotay was agitated, fidgeting now and again, and even Tuvok seemed ruffled, as much as that was possible for a Vulcan. Only Janeway and Seven-of-Nine remained calmly relaxed.

"A few minutes, Captain. But we were trying to get the sensors working -"

"I want those shields, Lieutenant. The sensors can wait."

"Aye, Captain. Stand by."

Janeway turned to her operations officer, Harry Kim, one of the junior officers who would no doubt one day be sitting in a Captain's chair himself, providing Voyager made it back to the alpha quadrant. Sometimes, recently, Janeway had begun to privately doubt that she would ever see Earth again, though she would never breathe a hint of it to her crew. "How long have we got, Ensign?"

Kim shook his head and sucked in a sharp breath. "A few minutes, I can't be sure."

The seconds ticked by, each one increasing in significance. Silence reigned, uneasy and almost unheard of. Janeway was aware of Seven standing behind her, no doubt with a cool expression that she wore most of the time whilst she was on duty. The Borg had yet to contribute, but the Captain knew that her agile mind would be working, and this was somehow reassuring. When her comm badge beeped, Janeway jumped slightly.

"Torres to Janeway. The temporal shielding is ready. We've also restored partial sensors, and I've adjusted them to account for the temporal variance we detected."

"Raise temporal shields," Janeway ordered, and Tuvok did so. "Helm, bring us about. Let's face them – whoever they are – head on. Arm phasers, load photon torpedoes."

Slowly, like a poisonous reptile, small yet deadly, the ship emerged above the surface of the moon, wasting no time in resuming their attack. They fired, two blue-coloured orbs streaking towards Voyager, and Janeway ordered that all hands brace for impact. It felt like a lifetime passed as she watched in slow motion. The weapons reached Voyager, and the crew tightened their grip on whatever they could hang on to.

Nothing happened.

"Report," said Janeway softly.

"No damage, Captain. Temporal shields are intact."

Everyone, including Janeway, breathed a sigh of relief, and there were smiles all round. The Captain held up a cautionary finger. "We're not necessarily out of the woods yet," she commented, "but it's a start. Harry, hail them again. Maybe they'll be a little more talkative this time."

"They're responding, Captain."

"On screen."

Part 3

A woman appeared on the viewscreen, seated in a chair not dissimilar to Janeway's. She was slender and fair-haired, dressed in a uniform of mostly black with coloured stripes down each arm. Under her outer jacket was a shirt of the same colour, a deep, almost burgundy red. In the background, others wore similar clothing and sat or stood at various stations. The design of what Janeway presumed to be the bridge was sleek, with no sharp edges, and the surfaces that were not covered with consoles or displays shone a metallic pale blue.

"I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager. Why have you attacked my vessel?" Janeway's tone was demanding and hard as she glared at the person who was responsible. Despite the circumstances, she was impressed at her adversary's strong appearance, her refusal to look away as she returned Janeway's expression.

"This is the Federation time ship Enterprise," stated the woman. It was a credit to Janeway that she managed not to show any sign of surprise at this information, though she certainly felt it. Voyager's Captain waited, suppressing her urge to fire more questions at the screen.

"You should not be here, Janeway," spat the woman with such venom that Janeway almost recoiled. "This is not your reality, and I won't let you ruin mine. In this reality, Voyager was home by now. By being here, you are altering our timeline in ways you can't imagine. You may have the larger ship, but mine is more advanced than anything you've ever seen -"

"Oh, I doubt that," interrupted Janeway pleasantly, standing up and smiling. "You're not the first time ship we've come across. I can tell you, Captain…?"

The woman refused to complete Janeway's question and give her name, remaining stony-faced, and Janeway continued as though they were discussing breakfast.

"We've made some improvements. Tell me, do you think you could withstand a high-yield quantum torpedo? Or a Borg-enhanced nanoprobe bioweapon?" Voyager's Captain bluffed easily, so convincingly that some of her own crew were nearly fooled. A flicker of doubt passed across the other woman's face, and she leaned across to converse with someone off the picture.

"Our shields are highly adaptable, Janeway," sneered the Enterprise's Captain. "Voyager is no match for my ship."

The communication was cut abruptly, and Janeway turned to Chakotay. "What do you think?" she asked. The First Officer looked as confused as she felt. He took his time to answer.

"I wonder what she meant when she said we're in the wrong reality," he said, shaking his head. "It doesn't make sense. But I think we ought to get out of here as quickly as we can."

"We can't outrun them, Captain. I scanned their ship with the modified sensors. They are faster and more manoeuvrable than Voyager, and from what I can tell she was telling the truth about being more advanced. My guess is they're working on a plan to blow us up as we speak." Kim's voice was light, but it shook as he spoke.

"The ship does appear to have a Federation signature, Captain," informed Tuvok. "You might also be interested to hear the registration number displayed on their hull."

"Go on," prodded Janeway, although she had an idea she knew what was coming.

"USS Enterprise, registration NCC-1701-R."

As everyone digested this information, an alarm sounded from the science station. Seven-of-Nine quickly crossed to the console and examined the display, her long fingers pressing buttons as she worked. "I'm detecting an anomaly forming two hundred kilometres off our port stern. It appears to be a rift in subspace, but I am reading high levels of chronoton and anti-polaron particles."

Whilst the ex-Borg was speaking, Voyager was buffeted again, though not as violently as during the first attack. Several more alarms sounded, and warning beeps issued from several stations. As Janeway watched, the view on the front screen began to move.

"Captain, we're being pushed towards the rift, some sort of reverse tractor beam," Tom Paris exclaimed. "I don't know if we can get loose."

"Do we have warp drive?" demanded Janeway.

"Yes, Captain but we'd be ripped apart, even if we just used the impulse engines. I'm at full reverse thrusters, but it's not enough."

"Weapons?"

"The beam is disrupting the targeting scanners. Also, it is unlikely that our weapons could penetrate their shields."

"I believe I can free us, Captain." Seven's cool voice penetrated Janeway's whirling thoughts. "However I do not have time to explain. I will need all available power to the main and secondary deflectors."

"Do it," the Captain ordered, her trust in the ex-Borg absolute.

There was a jolt, then another. Voices were raised, informing of hull breaches, warning of imminent damage, and everyone worked frantically at their posts. Without knowing what Seven was doing, it was impossible for Janeway to issue orders, so she sat mutely, ignoring the cacophony around her. Another lurch almost dislodged her from the Captain's chair, then everything was still.

"We are free, Captain, and the time ship has sustained damage to its propulsion and shields."

"Tom, get us out of here, Warp nine."

"Captain," Chakotay said, looking up at Janeway as she left her seat. "We should head for a nebula we passed early this morning. It's class 17, we can hide out there whilst we make repairs and figure out what to do. I doubt they'll just give up, and we need time to think. If we do get into a confrontation, in the nebula the odds may be evened a little."

"Good idea. Tom, set a course for the nebula. Seven," Janeway addressed the young Borg who regarded her enquiringly, "any idea how much damage the Enterprise suffered? How much head start are we likely to have?"

"The damage was relatively minor, Captain, however I was able to introduce a Borg encryption code into their shield matrix and warp control, disguised with a Federation signature to render it almost undetectable. I estimate that it will take approximately 24 hours to rectify, possibly longer, during which time neither their shields nor engines will function."

Janeway looked at her friend with undisguised admiration, her eyes softening as she did so. It seemed that the young woman had come to Voyager's rescue once again, and the Captain felt a rush of gratitude and love towards the ex-Borg. Standing there, her slim yet muscular body sporting an almost-Starfleet uniform, she possessed a self-assurance that was so strong that even Janeway herself couldn't match it. Seven was rock-solid, completely unfazed by any situation. Glancing around, the Captain noticed that all of the bridge crew were also looking at Seven, many with similar expressions of thanks together with curiosity at the blonde's attire. Janeway ignored them all.

"Looks like we have some breathing space. Chakotay, organise a briefing for the senior officers in one hour. I'll be in my ready room."