K. Janeway: revisionist

Captain Kathryn Janeway was idly flicking the advance button on the holoviewer and reflecting that the Doctor had virtually forced it on her after the senior staff briefing. Her mind was not really on the task at hand and one side of her mouth quirked up in a wry smile as she realised that the Doctor, a hologram, did everything virtually.

Now, he hovered over her shoulder offering an inane, but non-stop, commentary on the images she was flicking through as she sat at the head of the empty conference table.

"I've tried not to use material I've already shown at my film nights," he burbled.

Throughout their seven years in the Delta Quadrant, two things had been immutably certain on board the USS Voyager: that the Talaxian morale officer Neelix would come up with a party theme for every occasion; and that the Doctor would faithfully record the festivities on his holoimager.

Kathryn chose not to relegate the excruciating film nights the Doctor inevitably held after these events to the realms of certainty, instead cherishing the belief that she would one day, by good luck or good management, successfully avoid one of them.

Now Neelix was leaving Voyager and the Doctor was determined to present him with an overview of holoimages collected at various functions over the years, or as the Doctor rather pretentiously insisted upon describing it: "A pastiche, an homage, a holographic tribute..."

A sudden image of her Astrometrics officer, Seven of Nine, caught her eye and she once again focused on the small view screen on the side of the imager.

The imager followed Seven as she spun round a dance floor in the arms of Commander Chakotay. Kathryn could understand why: Seven looked breathtaking in a metallic silver gown. Chakotay's dark colouring set off his dress whites nicely and they moved fluidly together.

Her own face suddenly popped onto the small screen, white and strained, with a terrible expression in her eyes. There was no doubt she was looking at Seven and Chakotay and there was no doubt she was in agony watching them together. Mercifully, the image quickly moved on.

Kathryn felt her face redden: she felt dreadfully exposed. She needed to review the rest of these images alone.

"Doctor, I will review the rest of these later, I'm needed on the bridge."

"Well, just as long as you have the imager back to me by 17.00 Captain, I need to finish the editing."

"Yes, thank you Doctor - you're dismissed."

As soon as the Doctor left, she went out to the bridge and left Chakotay in charge before retreating to her ready room, imager in hand.

It was worse than she had originally thought. The Doctor had lovingly followed every turn Seven and Chakotay had made in the seemingly endless waltz she now recalled had been a part of the St Valentine's Day celebrations two years earlier. Every time the pair had come into her line of sight, the imager showed her in the background glaring at them with a glass of whisky clutched in her white-knuckled hand.

The scene switched to a western/cowboy theme night from last year. There she was, in a leather vest, check shirt, blue jeans and chaps, sporting a glass of whisky, a Sheriff's badge and a cowboy hat pulled down low over her eyes. Not low enough, unfortunately, to conceal the look of unbridled lust she was giving Seven of Nine, who was smiling at Tom Paris as he pedalled an old Player piano.

Then there was the Captain's Ball from this year. The glass of whisky seemed to be omnipresent and, if nothing else, this tape was going to convince people she had a serious drinking problem. This time she was shown in the background wearing a form-fitting emerald green dress with an emerald and diamond drop sparkling between her collar bones as, in the foreground of the picture, Neelix made a speech in her honour.

This time, she actually put the whisky down, but only to free up her hands to dab at Seven's spectacular cleavage with the green silk handkerchief she produced from the bodice of her dress. Harry Kim had jostled her arm and caused her to splash the omnipresent whisky onto Seven's midnight blue dress.

Seven had quickly taken the handkerchief from her and proceeded to mop at her own cleavage, an operation Kathryn had viewed with what could only be described as blatant lust.

As her holographic self turned back to the still-speaking Neelix after a fleeting but particularly burning look at Seven, the Captain moved to the advance button once more. Just as she was about to advance the images, she caught an odd, very quick, movement from Seven of Nine. It looked as if Seven had pressed the handkerchief softly to her lips before tucking it into the bodice of her own dress.

Then the series of images showed Seven standing with Chakotay and Torres and Paris as the group sang Happy Birthday to a laughing Naomi Wildman. The look of jealousy Kathryn was directing at Chakotay from across the room should have been enough to melt the icing on Naomi's cake as it passed over it.

So that seemed to be how she was going to be characterised in this little epic: a drunken lecher with a serious jealousy problem. The hell of it was, although she didn't have a drinking problem, she really did have a serious jealousy problem. She thought she was probably in love with Seven of Nine and tortured herself with imagining the nature of Seven's relationship with Chakotay, how far it had gone, how serious it was.

Oh, and yes, she also had a serious case of lust. She'd just never realised before that she wasn't quite as good at hiding that fact as she thought she was.

"OK, Kathryn, get a grip", she thought to herself as she drew a deep, calming breath, "what we've got here is just a logistical problem. You can change these images, you just have to work out how to go about it."

Ten minutes later, she was on her way to her quarters en route to Holodeck 2.

*******************

As she hurried down the corridor to the Holodeck, she met Seven of Nine practically sprinting out the Holodeck doors.

"Seven, I thought you were on a duty shift in Astrometrics."

"Ah, yes Captain. I was just... running a simulation."

Seven's face flushed and she shifted the sports bag she was carrying to her right hand.

"Really. What were you simulating?"

"A project I have been working on to... improve the gravimetric array. It is not yet ready for your review Captain."

"Well be sure to let me know when it is Seven. I'm sure it's very interesting."

Seven looked quizzically at the Starfleet sports bag the Captain was holding, having rather had the impression that the Captain was also on duty, but she wasn't really in a position to ask what she was doing.

*******************

Time was of the essence and Kathryn was glad that years of late night red alerts had accustomed her to quick changes of clothing.

She simply ran the three dimensional holoimages, deleted her image from the more embarrassing moments and then directed the computer to record her, appropriately attired, among her holographic crewmates. She kept her expression carefully bland for these replacement images.

Forty five minutes later, she was done.

***********************

The following evening, Kathryn Janeway sat in the holodeck as the Doctor prepared to run a two dimensional version of his film tribute to Neelix for the assembled crew.

She was silently congratulating herself on the perfect crime when Seven appeared and asked if she might join her. Kathryn waved a gracious hand at the seat beside her and Seven sat down with a small smile.

Just then, the lights dimmed and the images started to roll across the big screen at the front of the room.

Kathryn sat aghast in the darkness as she realised her error. How the hell had she forgotten to put on the emerald drop necklace? One moment it was there, the next it wasn't and then it was back again. It was like the damned thing was playing peek-a-boo.

She was so distracted by this that she didn't notice that the holographic Seven didn't press the handkerchief to her lips.

**************************

Kathryn beat a hasty retreat to her quarters as soon as she could get away from the holodeck.

She had just poured herself a stiff whisky when the announce chime rang and the computer informed her that Seven of Nine was seeking admittance.

Kathryn pressed her thumb and forefinger to the bridge of her nose in an effort to fight the deep throbbing pain that was settling in behind her eyes. Of course, it would be her who noticed. Damn the Borg and their perfect memories.

Damn Seven and her powers of observation.

"Come in, Seven."

Seven sailed through the doors. Her eyes were sparkling and her cheeks were flushed a faint pink. Unusually, she accepted Kathryn's offer of a drink and settled on the sofa with a glass of champagne.

Seven took a large mouthful of her drink and then plunged right in.

"Captain, I know you altered the holoimages."

Janeway's face coloured immediately. She looked dismally down into her drink and mumbled something Seven didn't quite catch.

"I beg your pardon, Captain. What did you say?"

Kathryn saw no reason to give the former Borg an education in obscenity: "Never mind, Seven, never mind. Anyway, everyone probably knows after the whole emerald debacle. Maybe I should get Tuvok to plan my covert operations in future."

"What 'emerald debacle'?"

"You know, the now you see it, now you don't, now you see it emerald necklace.

The one I wore to the Captain's Ball. I forgot to wear it when I altered the holoimages."

"Oh, I did not notice."

Kathryn's jaw dropped open, but she collected herself quickly.

"Then how did you know?"

"I knew because I saw the original images the Doctor had on his holoimager. He showed them to me the day before yesterday." Kathryn's mind boggled at this cool revelation, but Seven was not done: "And then there was the fact that I altered his images myself. I downloaded part of a scene from the Captain's Ball and altered it on the holodeck."

"My handkerchief," Kathryn gasped.

"Yes. This handkerchief." Seven reached into the neckline of her blue biometric suit and produced Kathryn's emerald green silk handkerchief, apparently from between her breasts.

"I purloined it from you at the Captain's Ball and I have carried it close to my heart ever since. For a long time I could detect your scent on it, the scent you wore that night, but it has faded with time," she said wistfully.

"Captain, Kathryn," Janeway's eyebrow quirked slightly at this, but she said nothing, "I saw how you looked at me in those holoimages. I have analysed your responses and have ascertained that you are physically attracted to me. As for me, I am in love with you. We should now copulate."

And with that, Seven leaned across and pressed her lips firmly against Janeway's, sliding her tongue between Kathryn's lips when they parted in an involuntary gasp of surprise. A few minutes passed as they kissed with increasing passion before Kathryn grasped the younger woman's shoulders and held her away.

"Seven, have you ever made love before?"

"No, Kathryn, but I very much want to make love with you now."

"And I want you. But not tonight and not like this. I want us to always be able to look back on our first time together as something special, something we were both ready for. We won't be able to change real life as easily as we can change a holoimage and I want it to be perfect for you."

"Being with you will be perfect, Kathryn, but...if it is what you want, I will wait."

They spent the next hour or so kissing and gently touching each other in between recounting the mechanics of their respective revisionist activities. Kathryn carefully and with great self-control introduced Seven to the world of physical sensation and physical contact she had never really known.

They parted at the doors of Kathryn's quarters, having planned to meet for an intimate dinner the following evening. As Kathryn kissed Seven one more time, she pressed the emerald green silk handkerchief into her hand and Seven's face lit up in a brilliant smile as she recognised Kathryn's scent, renewed, on the square of cloth. Kathryn gave her a look of unabashed longing as she pressed the fabric gently to her lips and they both knew that this was the start of something lasting.

THE END