‘Captain, may I point out that at current speed we’ll be leaving Keltress’ space tomorrow evening at 1900 hours if Seven’s information is correct,’ Lt. Tuvok said.
‘It is.’ Seven raised her implant-covered brow.
‘Make your point Lt,’ Captain Janeway asked impatiently. Most of the senior staff was gathered around the table in the Briefing room and discussing alternative solutions to the Keltress’ situation. Janeway had advanced the meeting after Chakotay had requested her presence on the Bridge for yet another hail from Captain G’laeget. But her most trusted officers didn’t appear very eager to try for another way out.
‘It seems unnecessary to waste time, energy and perhaps resources when they prove no danger at the moment and are in fact helping us traverse this part of space unharmed. Given their volatile nature we could easily provoke them and risk an altercation,’ Tuvok explained with his usual Vulcan logic.
‘Who says they won’t attack us anyway,’ the captain blasted, feeling her dark mood of the day before returning in full force. ‘We are practically hostages on our own ship Lt!’
‘At least their ransom is low,’ Tom Paris quipped.
Janeway gave him a glare from the head of the table before she continued. ‘As for their ‘ransom,’ keeping the peace is hanging solely on my diplomatic abilities. There are many things we still don’t know about them. We don’t know what will insult them, and, as you so helpfully pointed out Tuvok, they have a rather volatile nature. Aside from which I rather doubt they will just say a friendly goodbye once we’ve reached their border.’
Silence settled on the room as they all considered the captain’s words. They knew she had a point and they also knew she was disappointed in them. It was radiating from the top of the table all the way across the room. She had ordered them yesterday to think of suggestions for different ways to deal with the aliens but they had not come up with anything suitable. All possibilities left them open to either an escalation with their traveling partners or attacks by other Keltress’ vessels. And Voyager’s sensors had already picked up four more decloaked ships in the neighborhood since yesterday’s attack, who knew how many cloaked ones were hanging around. Both outcomes would have one of two results: Voyager would be damaged or a large number of Keltress would be killed, neither acceptable at this point.
Neelix suddenly perked up a bit. ‘Captain?’
‘Yes.’ Janeway gave him a wary glance.
‘From what I understand of Seven’s report on this species they are susceptible to flattery-’
‘Yes Neelix, I think that has been made abundantly clear,’ Janeway said sarcastically.
‘Well captain if I may…’ Neelix trailed off waiting eagerly for the captain’s consent. When she remained silent, he decided to push onward. ‘One of the highest forms of flattery in any culture that I know off is imitation, captain.’
‘What!’ Several people gasped with the implication of his remark.
Neelix was unfazed by the reactions. ‘But second to that is open curiosity captain.’
Everyone settled down again. The captain gave a small nod as a sign for him to continue with his idea.
‘And since I’m not just the cook and moral officer of this ship but also its ambassador,’ he went on. A few present shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Neelix wasn’t exactly everyone’s dream of the perfect ambassador, but so far, he hadn’t actually messed up any of his attempts at diplomacy. ‘It would be perfectly normal for me, as representative of Voyager, to ask for some information about their culture, wouldn’t it?’
Picking up on the inflection Neelix placed, Ensign Kim started nodding his head enthusiastically. ‘And if we play our cards right we might even get our hands on some technical and strategic data.’
‘Exactly!’ the self-appointed ambassador exclaimed.
It was neither a big nor a very bright plan and it might not help one iota, but it beat doing nothing. Besides getting more information was never a bad idea. Captain Janeway turned to her first officer. ‘What do you think?’
‘Might be worth a try if we’re very careful,’ Chakotay said reflectively.
‘Let’s do it, but Neelix,’ Janeway held up a hand to get the happy man’s attention back, ‘make sure you flatter them, don’t badger them.’
Neelix nodded happily. ‘Of course Captain!’
Janeway managed not to roll her eyes at that one. ‘Alright, I want you to work together with the commander on this, it’ll look even better when our first officer is involved, and show me a more detailed plan before you do anything. If it was as easy as just asking G’laeget, I would have done so already. Dismissed.’
As people started to leave and get back to work, Kathryn noticed Seven was still seated. Her stomach churned. Quickly she stood and called to her security officer as he was about to walk through the door. ‘Can I have a word with you in my Ready room Lt?’ she asked when he turned around.
Trying to appear as though she wasn’t looking at Seven, she walked along the table and past the ex-Borg, hoping and dreading at the same time to catch a glimpse from the corner of her eye of Seven looking up at her. But her Astrometrics officer merely continued looking at the padd in front of her.
Once across the Bridge and in her Ready room she turned to Tuvok. ‘It won’t be necessary to run a fingerprint check on the note. It was just a gift from Seven I’ll deal with it. I appreciate your discretion Tuvok.’ The last as much a comment as an order.
Tuvok lifted one Vulcan eyebrow. ‘Deal with it Captain? You are friends are you not? Is it not acceptable to exchange-’
‘That will be all!’ She snapped and he left, completely unperturbed by her outburst.
‘Acceptable,’ she huffed. She wished she could have said ‘I have dealt with it.’ But she didn’t consider nearly kissing Seven a very good way of letting her know it was inappropriate to present your commanding officer with a gift. She should probably return the dragon she realized.
Neelix hesitantly walked a little closer to the woman still at the table. He wasn’t sure how to handle this. She looked, she looked, well, if it was anybody else he would have thought ‘unhappy’ but it was Seven of Nine; the woman who for all intent and purpose seemed often emotionless. ‘Seven?’
She looked up with a passive face and a guarded look in her eyes. ‘Neelix.’ A statement.
‘I was wondering… if you would like to eh to come by my quarters this evening for some- we could have-’
Seven cast him an annoyed look.
He tried again. ‘Maybe we could-’
‘Mr. Neelix, are you proposing a date?’ Seven asked impatiently. Deciding to be completely clear on the subject, she added ‘I am not interested in dating you.’
‘No, no Seven, of course not,’ the Talaxian said nervously, ‘I just meant a nice talk between friends, nothing more, really, just spend some time together as friends do, you know, have a heart to heart-’
‘Are we?’
They regarded each other silently.
‘We could be.’
‘I will be at your quarters at 2000 hours.’ Her answer surprised them both. A slow smile lit up Neelix’s face and was met with an amused look on Seven’s.
Mid-afternoon Captain Janeway was walking the corridors of her ship on an impromptu check-up of Voyager. The final repairs had been finished over an hour ago and she felt soothed by the look and feel of the ship in good condition, everything was working properly and in some way aiding in bringing them home. Same old, same old.
Unconsciously she was also hoping to catch a glimpse of Seven of Nine, centering her tour on decks eight, nine, ten and eleven, where Seven did most of her work. Even to Kathryn it was completely plausible to be there since that’s where the hull fractures had been and B’Elanna’s beloved warp core could be found.
Neelix and Chakotay were in the Briefing room were they had set up an inter-ship link with the Keltress and were talking to a tactical officer from their second vessel. Because conversation with Captain G’laeget was a frustrating activity at best, they had started with a text only message to the alien captain, politely asking for information on their fascinating culture and offering a carefully composed package with information on Voyager and its diverse crew to give credence to their claim of sincere interest.
They had received a furious hail from G’laeget and for a few minutes, they feared it would all blow out of proportion.
‘You insignificant moronic giants! I should blow you to very little pieces and leave you to suffer death, terrible death between lonely stars,’ he had blasted. ‘Of course you are interested in us, of course you are, but do you think I have time to talk with you idly! Huh! Of course not, of course not. I am captain of the mighty Keltress’ guardvessel Kourtabou,’ he continued pompously. At the end of his lengthy tirade he had quickly added that an officer of the assisting vessel would talk with them and that they could ‘keep the unimportant information about your unimportant ship, we know everything’.
Phew! Neelix, the commander and the captain had exchanged perplexed looks. Okay, well, so far so good apparently…
At the beginning of the conference with the officer, Janeway hung around to see if there’d be any problems but this Keltress’ representative seemed a little more even tempered and she had left them to it. She had transferred the Bridge to Tuvok’s capable hands and started her tour.
Seven walked out of Engineering making her way back to Astrometrics. She had tried to present the chief engineer with a plan to make the warp core clamping-mechanism less sensitive to energy fluctuations within its circuitry. She was under strict orders not to make alterations to any systems falling under B’Elanna’s jurisdiction without the chief’s express consent, but Seven found it difficult to comply.
Lt. Torres had greeted her with a nod of her head, stopped working barely long enough to listen to her and indicated with a wave of her hand that Seven should leave the padd with suggestions in her office. They didn’t get along very well. When Seven kept standing next to her B’Elanna had glanced up, ‘I’ll look at it later’. The dismissal leaving Seven to her own thoughts as she walked to the turbolift.
And irrevocably those thoughts led to Kathryn Janeway. They had nearly kissed. The notion raised her heart rate and respiration; it aroused her. It asked her questions. She had wanted that kiss, she still did, but at the same time, she didn’t. It was unproductive to feel this way, yet she did. Nothing had actually happened, she wondered though if things could go back to the way they had been. So far, they had ignored each other after the incident, which was not as it used to be, even through their worst fights. Seven felt a tendril of fear winding around her heart. She wished she had her bunny with her, that the captain hadn’t forbidden her to carry it with her. She wished she hadn’t hugged the captain.
She turned the corner to the turbolift. Captain Janeway was standing in front of it, waiting. As Seven stopped in her tracks, Janeway looked up and froze. Then the captain looked away sharply and Seven turned on her heels. She walked, not thinking about where she was going, hardly breathing, and a small blush burning her cheeks.
‘Computer, locate Seven of Nine,’ Kathryn asked.
‘Seven of Nine is in Mr. Neelix’s quarters,’ the computer said evenly.
Neelix. Again. Why had she ever mentioned him? Were they discussing her? Again. Why had she even asked the computer were Seven was? It was not as if she wanted to talk to the young woman. She wouldn’t know what to say.
Sitting down on the sofa in her living room, she put her feet up on the seat and looked at the passing stars for a while. They always reminded her of home and of things forever changing. The streaking stars seemed constantly familiar even when they weren’t. By now, she had logged enough hours on duty to have earned a three-year nonstop vacation, but she wouldn’t be able to enjoy it until they were back on earth. And probably not even then. She felt choked and caught.
As long as they were in the Delta quadrant, her life felt as unmovable as solidified lava. The only focus for her mind was getting home. Nothing else happened; the only thing moving was Voyager. And the ship was not moving nearly fast enough. By the time they were back on earth, the planet might still look the same but it wouldn’t be; everything and everyone changed.
Kathryn looked at the dragon on the coffee table and sighed. Seven had changed, she mused. After a while she reached out a hand, wavered, then picked up the stuffed animal. Putting it on her knees, she considered it. Letting herself forget that she had decided to return it. Maybe Kiernan, she thought, strong and old.
So you seemed fitting. A fire breathing soft red dragon. Is that how she sees me? Soft on the outside, searing hot on the inside… a bit scary perhaps. Her attention drifted on to what had happened that morning. I think you started a fire in me today Seven, completely inappropriate and maybe even risky to my position but I’m not sure I want to quench it. I’m not even sure I can.
Experimentally she ran a hand over its soft skin, and another. She traced its smile with her thumbs, ran them over its glassy eyes, over its crest. Closing her own eyes, she let out a long breath and pulled Kiernan closer. Indecision playing through her mind. Time passed, stars passed.
Eventually Kathryn got up. She tugged the red dragon safely into a corner of her sofa and went to bed.
The evening so far had been a moderate success. Neelix had started by recounting his dealings with the Keltress’ tactical officer but then the conversation had petered out. A lot of awkward silence followed, only interrupted by Neelix’s desperate questions about her day which Seven answered with her characteristic short replies. Eventually Neelix had suggested a game of Kadis Kot, a game Seven usually played with Naomi Wildman and enjoyed, so now they had something to do and the silences weren’t as awkward anymore.
They were sitting at the dinner table in the Talaxian’s living area, both had a glass of milk standing nearby and next to the Kadis Kot board the ex-Borg’s bunny was parked. Close enough for her to let her hand rest on it occasionally.
Neelix covertly studied Seven while she was looking at the board. It was her turn. The captain’s name hadn’t come up so far and he was debating whether it would be smart to broach the subject. Well, if he was going to be her friend, he’d better get to it. Taking a deep breath, he asked ‘How are things going with the captain?’
‘Not well.’
‘Oh?’ he said, hoping in vain she would volunteer some more. When he was sure nothing was forthcoming, he added ‘Did you get a chance to talk with her since yesterday?’
‘Yes.’
‘How did it go?’
‘Well. At first.’ She made her move on the board. ‘Your turn.’
He studied the changed set-up. ‘Hmm.’ He looked up at her before going back to the game. ‘Why didn’t it end well?’
‘We… I,’ Seven began, she wasn’t sure it would be smart to tell Neelix about their near kiss.
‘Did you fight?’
She didn’t reply.
‘The relationship between you and the captain has always been special, she being your mentor and guide to humanity, maybe a little like a mother sometimes-’ he said, taking her continued silence as an admission.
‘She-,’ Seven tried to interrupt.
But Neelix went on doggedly. ‘It’s normal that you two would fight. Arguing is a significant part of learning what is important to you and why.’
‘She is not my mother,’ she stated pointedly.
‘Of course not,’ he soothed, ‘but she fulfills that role for you.’
‘No!’
‘That is perfectly-’
‘No! I would not be attracted to my mother!’ Seven blurted.
In the silence that followed Neelix’s expression went gradually from stunned to understanding. Aha.
Seven stood abruptly, ‘I should leave.’
‘Sit down,’ the little man said with unexpected decisiveness.
She hesitated for a second but then sank back onto the chair, looking at him with a faint glow of hope in her eyes.
A little over an hour later, the game stood forgotten on the table. Seven and Neelix had moved on to the couch and herbal tea with honey. The bunny was snuggled to the tall woman’s side. Having talked extensively about what had happened and about Seven’s feelings for Janeway, they now sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.
‘But what if she does want to?’ Seven asked suddenly. ‘And what if my feelings for her disappear?’
‘What if hers disappear?’ Neelix countered.
They grew silent again. Until another question surfaced.
‘But what would we do with all the time we would have to spend together’
Neelix smiled. ‘You’ll think of something. Besides, you both work so hard I doubt there would be a lot of time to spent together.’
That seemed to alleviate some of her worries, and Neelix’s smile widened at the slightly relieved look she gave him.
‘But Seven, there is only one way to get satisfying answers to all of your questions. Just give her a chance. And yourself too.’
‘I will think about it.’
Getting out of bed only half-awake after a troubled night’s sleep, Kathryn started her day by stumbling into her nightstand and throwing her pips, badge and a book off of it. She grumbled under her breath as she picked up the scattered items.
Walking up to the washstand to clean her teeth she couldn’t find her toothbrush. After several minutes, she found it underneath yesterday’s towel on the foot of her bed. She looked grumpily into the mirror while brushing her teeth. Hell, I look over fifty, I’m ugly, I hate life and toothpaste dribble makes me look senile. She spit, rinsed her mouth and put the brush in the holder next to the washstand.
In the hydro shower her awful morning continued when she dropped the shampoo bottle and, as she rose after picking it up, hit her head on the shower controls with a nice thud.
Her hand shot up to the offended spot. ‘Damn.’
‘That Is Enough!’ Kathryn said icily to herself emphasizing every word. ‘I have had enough! Enough is enough. Get it together. NOW! You stupid, stupid… woman! Stop playing the martyr!’
Infused with a new sense of purpose and irritation egging her on, she quickly finished her ablutions and got dressed. After replicating a strong cup of coffee, she sat down at the table. Okay, let’s survey the situation, what is actually going on here.
By the time she made her way onto the Bridge, she had come to some clear conclusions. ‘Commander, Lt. Tuvok, a word please,’ Janeway said before walking into her Ready room. When all three were seated around her desk, she gathered her thoughts a second before speaking. ‘I have made a decision. It’s of a personal nature and I didn’t invite you here to ask for your approval or advice,’ she underscored the last remark with a pointed look, ‘I really don’t know where it will all lead, maybe nowhere, but either way it could affect Voyager and I wanted to inform you first…’
When Seven walked into the Briefing room Tuvok, Neelix, Janeway and Chakotay were already present. Tuvok nodded his head at her politely. Chakotay gave her a friendly but measuring look. ‘Morning Seven,’ he said and Janeway and Neelix chimed in with smiles on their faces. ‘Good morning Seven!’ ‘Hello Seven,’ Janeway’s voice soft and a little husky. Seven nodded her head in acknowledgment, a little surprised, not knowing what to make of her welcome.
The meeting had been called to discuss Neelix’s and Chakotay’s findings from their talk with the Keltress yesterday. The captain had already conferred with them, immediately after their conference had finished. They had acquired quite a large amount of useful information and it had considerably eased her ‘conversations’ with Captain G’laeget.
What had stuck out most and held most implications for their imminent leave-taking was the Keltress’ propensity to leave a lasting mark on everything they encountered. As Neelix gave his report, occasionally interrupted by a remark from the commander when he felt something important was left out, Janeway went over all the possible ways the aliens could etch their signature onto Voyager. Taking into account their tendency toward aggression, she doubted they’d choose a harmless way.
‘All in all, the only thing we have to worry about is their departure ‘gift’,’ Neelix ended his explanation proudly.
‘Which is what we have to discuss now,’ the captain interjected into the silence. ‘There are many different manners in which they could leave their mark and it would be prudent to let our minds go over a couple of possibilities, but mostly we have to come up with a foolproof all contingency plan.’
Time passed quickly as they started making lists of possibilities and formulated plans but nearly an hour later they’d managed to come up with a plan A and B, and the meeting was adjourned as the officers went out to begin preparations.
Janeway stayed seated at the table. ‘Seven?’ she said, indicating that she wanted her to stay behind. Seven looked at her and nodded, acquiescing. Chakotay gave them a last look over his shoulder and smiled before leaving. When they were alone Kathryn walked a little closer but not too close. Whatever you feel, Kathryn thought, I hope you’re ready. I don’t think I’d be able to deal with a ‘you wish to copulate with me. Undress,’ very gracefully. She perched on the edge of the table and clasped her hands together.
‘I would like to have dinner with you,’ Kathryn said, her gaze fixed on her hands. ‘Not tonight though. First we have to leave Keltress’ space but maybe we could have a drink later? Talk a little?’ She held her breath.
‘Why?’
She considered the question carefully. She didn’t want to hedge and she didn’t want to be blunt either. That was Seven’s forte. ‘We’re both on duty so I don’t want to go into a lengthy conversation right now, but…’ Kathryn inhaled slowly, ‘we nearly kissed.’ Finally she managed to look up at Seven. The expression on the woman’s face seemed a little guarded, slight apprehension clear in her eyes.
Kathryn looked away and swallowed but pressed on. ‘It felt nice, you made me feel nice. I would like to,’ she hesitated a moment, heart hammering in her chest, ‘explore those feelings with you. If you want that too of course,’ she added quickly. ‘If I made you feel… If you feel the same.’
Captain Janeway appeared as uncertain and afraid as she had felt the last twenty-four hours. That realization made Seven feel a little less out of her depth, actually as the captain’s words sank in a gradually growing feeling of happiness and warmth spread through her. Janeway had just told her- well, she hadn’t truly said that much. But she had made the captain feel nice, a happy voice was yelling in her head, she wants that kiss too!
‘I don’t drink alcohol, synthehol or coffee,’ Seven stated clearly.
Kathryn’s head shot up. ‘What?’
‘Tonight, when we talk,’ Seven explained, ‘I would prefer milk, tea or juice.’
‘Oh,’ Kathryn managed a little bewildered, but beginning to understand.
‘I accept your invitation,’ Seven tried again.
‘Yes,’ Kathryn said with an impish smile on her face.
Seven moved towards the door. ‘I look forward to it.’
‘Me too,’ she called after the departing woman, and then she was alone.
The atmosphere on the bridge was tense. Since there was a good chance that the aliens were constantly monitoring them, they didn’t have a very large timeframe to implement the last of their preparations. In the last two hails from G’laeget the man had given no sign of any plans to scar Voyager, nonetheless Captain Janeway was starting to feel decidedly edgy as they came closer and closer to the Keltress’ border. She had a bad feeling about the two ships escorting them that she couldn’t quite put her finger on, but she knew better than to ignore her gut feeling. They had decided to put plan A into action 30 minutes and 25 seconds before reaching the perimeter at current speed. Hopefully that would leave them enough time to preempt any Keltress’ plan while being as close as possible to the border to make it across at warp nine without any mishaps. The 25 seconds were unfortunately required to make the last arrangements.
Bridge staff was still completely alpha shift material despite the fact that beta shift had already started, but Janeway wanted her finest officers around her. Although he tried to hide it, the captain was very aware of Ensign Kim’s nervous check and recheck of all his systems. B’Elanna, at the engineering station, was ready and waiting, her face tight and body rigid. Tuvok was his usual calm self, Seven of Nine, at the secondary tactical station behind the command chair, was equally composed, Tom seemed geared up for some fancy flying and Chakotay was keeping an eye on the ship’s state of readiness on his control panel.
Captain Janeway stood up form her chair and straightened her back. ‘Alright people, let’s do this in 5,’ she looked around the Bridge, making sure everyone was ready, ‘4, 3, 2, 1.’ A half a second of absolute silence, ‘now!’
‘Hailing frequency opened… they’re responding. On screen.’
‘What do you want!’
‘Hello my esteemed colleague, am I interrupting something?’ Janeway drawled taking as much time as possible with the one sentence. Behind her she could hear Kim and Seven working furiously at their consoles, she could see Torres from the corner of her eyes making the last adjustments to the phaser strips. ‘Any… preparations for say… our departure perhaps?’
‘What do you mean? You talk in riddles!’ The diminutive captain yelled.
She could see a younger man walking up to his captain and whispering something, probably about Voyager’s loading phaser banks. The 25 seconds were almost up and they didn’t have any time left to pacify G’laeget.
‘Just wanted to thank you for all your help G’laeget and… goodbye.’
‘Wait! W-’
But Janeway had already turned away from the viewscreen and the link was cut.
‘B’Elanna?’
‘Yes captain, ready.’
‘Tuvok, now!’ and two very narrow confined phaser beams at half strength shot from Voyager’s upper phaser strips straight into the first Keltress’ vessel, immediately followed by two similar beams from the lower phaser strips that were aimed at the second vessel.
‘Both ships are on impulse engines only, captain, shields down to thirty-five percent, weapons systems intact,’ Seven reported, ‘they’re loading torpedoes.’
‘Harry that has to be enough, more firing might cause casualties.’
‘Yes captain, modifying transporter beams, transporting, done.’
‘Torpedoes have been launched. Captain,’ Seven rechecked her findings, ‘they carry three times the amount of anti-matter the previous ones did.’
‘Tom, get us out of here now!’ Janeway barked sharply, ‘Someone sure has been busy.’
One of the Keltress’ torpedoes grazed past their starboard nacelle making the ship shudder as it accelerated, but she stayed on course, until it detonated and the explosion blasted Voyager forward, giving it a slight spin. Silence enveloped the Bridge, the only sound coming from officers hastily making checks at their stations, Tom adjusting their altered direction, as all waited for the second torpedo to impact.
‘We are now out of reach,’ Tuvok reported, ‘the Keltress are not pursuing, sensors show no signs of other vessels, but they could be cloaked.’
‘Tom, how long?’
‘Another 14 minutes and 12 seconds captain.’
She sighed as she settled back into her chair. They were going to be very long minutes. ‘Reports.’
Carefully she selected the black pants and burgundy v-necked pullover. She put tiny golden dots into her ears, fastened the clasp of a gossamer golden necklace and sprayed a hint of perfume on. She checked her image in the mirror; nice but unassuming, she hoped.
‘Computer, play musical selection Janeway 04.’ A warm, soft, female voice started singing light jazz.
She replicated a glass of light red wine and sank down in the chair facing the viewport. Her eyes fell on Kiernan still sitting in a corner of the sofa. A flutter of nerves rose in her stomach; Seven would arrive in 15 minutes. The beautiful woman with the full lips, the palest intense blue eyes, the long blonde hair, the… curves, the honest heart and the most incredible brain to top it off. She would be here, they would talk, she’d be able to look at her to her heart’s content, and maybe, maybe they would kiss. The flutter intensified, making Kathryn feel as though a small bird was trying to find its way out through her ribcage. She took a sip of the wine and concentrated on the music, everything would take care of itself, all she had to do was be there and go with it.
By the time Seven pushed the chime she was almost relaxed.
‘Come.’ Kathryn stood and walked over to the door.
Seven was not wearing her usual biosuit and her appearance seemed to stun the captain. After a short discussion with Neelix concerning protocol for dating the woman you were in love with, in which Neelix had stressed several times that this would be nothing like her disastrous date with Lt. Chapman, Seven had decided to replicate white jeans and a light blue blouse with little white buttons. Her hair was out of its usual severe do and pulled into a loose ponytail, some loose strands tucked behind her ears.
‘You look… lovely, captain.’ Seven said a little hesitantly.
‘So do you Seven that really suits you!’ Kathryn waved her in and over to the couch. As Seven passed in front of her, the redhead’s eyes were pulled to the loose jeans moving over slim, firm thighs. Hm-mm!
‘Uhm, can I get you something to drink?’ Kathryn walked over to the replicator, trying to hide her interest. Not too fast, nice and slow. Savor this Kathryn.
‘Tea please, Darjeeling.’
As she turned back with the tea, Seven had sat down on the sofa and picked up Kiernan. ‘I forgot to say it the other day, but thank you, it was a lovely gesture and it did make me feel better.’ Kathryn put the tea in front of Seven on the table and sat down next to her.
‘You are welcome. Have you given it a name?’
‘Yes, Kiernan.’
‘Pleasing.’
‘It’s been in our family for generations. I’ve always thought it beautiful. So, how about… Kathryn, have you thought of a new name for her yet?’
Seven put the dragon back on the sofa and picked up her cup, studiously avoiding looking at the captain. ‘I will not change her name,’ she felt Janeway tense a little, ‘but I have decided that I will not tell anyone else what she is called either. There is no need for anyone to know and I have told Neelix and Naomi to keep it a secret. Kathryn suits her.’ Seven looked up at the captain.
A slight smirk played around Kathryn’s lips. ‘One moment my name suits a little white bunny and the next a red dragon seems fitting for me, I’m not sure what to make of this Seven?’ she said smiling fully now.
Seven smirked back at her. ‘You bear semblance of both.’
‘Gee, thanks, I think,’ Kathryn laughed.
‘Your mood has improved,’ Seven stated.
‘Yes. It has. You are here and our aggressive bodyguards have left.’ She picked up her wineglass and sipped from the ruby liquid.
‘We were fortunate not to encounter anymore alien vessels,’ Seven said.
‘Mm, yes, everybody needs a little luck from time to time, but I’m glad it was us today.’
‘I do not understand however, why you wanted to transport flowers onboard their ships. We might have been able to prevent that torpedo from hitting Voyager if we had not spent seconds waiting for Ensign Kim to accomplish the transport.’
‘It just grazed us Seven.’
‘Nonetheless it was an unnecessary risk and it damaged Voyager.’
Kathryn twirled her glass gently between her fingers. ‘I wanted to leave them with a little souvenir, show them it could be done differently.’
‘It is highly unlikely they understood that captain, especially since we disabled their ships first.’
‘Maybe,’ Kathryn replied, ‘but I felt good doing it anyway. And would you cut out the captain please.’
Seven raised one eyebrow, ‘what do you wish for me to call you instead?’
‘I think you know exactly what to call me,’ she replied raising one of her own eyebrows.
‘Kathryn.’
They sat there looking into each other’s eyes as the music finished and silence took over. Gently and ever so slow Kathryn reached out a hand and placed it on Seven’s arm.
‘I wish to hug you again,’ Seven said softly.
Gingerly Kathryn moved nearer, put her glass down on the table, slipped her arms around Seven’s waist, adjusted her body to allow for closer contact and let her head rest in the hollow of the blonde’s neck. Oh, but she smelled good, a light sweet enticing fragrance. Seven’s arms went around her shoulders, one hand experimentally touching her hair. Softly she pressed her lips to that pale neck, felt a shiver run through Seven’s body and cautiously looked up.
Opening her eyes, Seven let her gaze wander over the strong face so close to hers, finally coming to rest at the dark lips. Her wish to kiss them must have been apparent, for Kathryn put a finger on Seven’s mouth.
‘Wait.’
Seven looked a little confused, but before she could say anything, the other woman had continued.
‘Computer, seal the doors to my quarters and list me as unavailable for the rest of the evening.’ A quiet chirp sounded signaling the execution of the captain’s orders.
‘Prudent,’ Seven commented against the finger still pressed to her lips. Slowly the finger started an exploration of those full lips. Stroking, feeling the texture, then it trailed down over her chin, placed itself just underneath it and guided Seven’s face closer to Kathryn’s until dark red lips covered full pink ones.
They kissed.
Taking their time, their lips stayed still at first, just getting used to the feel and scent of the other, how soft it all felt. Seven experiencing a kiss like this for the first time, amazed by the pressure the yielding mouth applied.
Kathryn was not only charmed by her first stubble free lip lock, but also by the intense focus with which it was executed. Increasing the pressure she started to move her lips sensuously over Seven’s, let the tip of her tongue slip out and barely graze over the blonde’s mouth. Following it up with some gentle nibbling of her bottom lip and then lightly sucking it into her own mouth.
A low moan escaped from Seven’s mouth as she parted her lips and let her own tongue stroke over Kathryn’s lips. Taking her chance Kathryn released Seven’s bottom lip and slipped her tongue into Seven’s mouth.
The wet heat completely overwhelmed Seven and she surged closer to the warm, soft, strong body in her arms, pressing their breasts together and holding on for dear life. Kathryn groaned in reply and answered her urgency by squeezing her equally tight and kissing her even deeper, harder. Eventually they slowed down, took a few breaths in between soft lingering kisses and ended up leaning languidly against the back of the sofa, gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes, gradually coming back to the room.
‘How are you?’ Kathryn asked huskily.
Seven smiled, opened her mouth, closed it again and smiled even wider.
Kathryn smiled back at her. ‘You're gorgeous when you smile.’
‘You too,’ Seven said with the smile still firmly stuck to her face.
‘But are you okay? That was your first kiss I believe.’
‘Yes,’ Seven answered vaguely, grinning happily.
‘Are you ever going to stop smiling?’ Kathryn asked, grinning back.
‘No.’
‘Oh boy, I might have to call a red alert; I don’t think the crew will be able to cope with the sudden turnaround.’
‘They will adjust,’ Seven quipped.
‘Oh, and funny too,’ Janeway touched her hand just over her left breast as though she was reaching for her combadge, ‘Janeway to Tuvok, security breach on deck three, report immediately.’
And all of a sudden, Seven was all over Kathryn, pinning her to the couch and tickling her, as she had done several times while playing with Naomi Wildman.
‘No, no,’ Kathryn gasped, squirming violently and helplessly against Seven’s superior strength, ‘no please, have merci, please!’
Seven let her go. ‘Just this once then,’ she said imperiously.
Kathryn, who had been trying to adjust her clothes to some semblance of normalcy, looked up sharply. ‘We’ll see.’ She stood up. ‘I need some coffee, would you like something?’
‘Milk would be nice.’
‘Milk it is.’
In the last two weeks, they had spent as much time together as Voyager would let them, which indeed wasn’t much and so far, they hadn’t had any problems occupying their time. They had kissed, had a romantic dinner together, kissed, played Velocity, kissed and caressed, tried to have a philosophical discussion which had been aborted because of Kathryn’s distracted gazes into Seven’s plunging neckline, followed by some heavy fondling and more kisses and on their previous date had played some more Velocity, and kissed. The tension and anticipation were steadily becoming unbearable.
Now they were standing in Kathryn’s bedroom. The lights were low, Seven was still in her biosuit and Kathryn wore her uniform, dinner was on the dining table growing cold. It had been a busy day and neither had had the time to change or to eat, but they didn’t care. Their minds and hearts were focused solely on each other, desire palpable in the air between them.
Seven raised a hand to the clasp of her biosuit and unfastened it. Movement seemed to slow down for Kathryn as she watched the graceful movement of long lean arms reaching behind an elegant neck, casting shadows on the familiar and beautiful face of the woman she was completely in love with. Strong shoulders were uncovered, two perfectly formed breasts bounced free, a muscular abdomen was revealed, its muscles traced by tendrils of a Borg-implant on Seven’s side. Kathryn’s breath caught in her throat, her heart pumping painfully fast in her chest; she almost didn’t dare let her gaze slide lower as the suit was stripped over round hips and buttocks and down, was finally taken off together with Seven’s shoes.
Kathryn just stood there in wonder, taking in all of the woman before her, looking into the blue eyes that were steadily gazing back, her breath coming in fast and shallow heaves, almost panting. Passion, desire, flooding through her so strongly, it wiped her brain clean like a slate, weighed down her limbs as though they were filled with lead.
‘I don’t think… I can move,’ she rasped softly.
Seven stepped closer, unzipped her tunic, letting it fall to the ground.
‘I don’t…’ Kathryn tried, ‘this is not…’ Her mind drew a blank; she just couldn’t find the right words.
‘Shh,’ Seven hushed her tenderly, ‘it is alright, it will be alright.’ She pulled the hem of the shirt free, helped limp arms out of it and pulled it carefully over Kathryn’s head.
‘You’re new… to this. I-’
‘Yes, and you will. Later.’ Seven relieved the helpless woman of her undershirt and bra. ‘Let me take care of you.’ She slipped Kathryn’s pants and underwear down, took off her shoes and the remaining clothes.
‘I can’t believe how much you’re affecting me,’ Kathryn whimpered.
As Seven enveloped her in a warm, secure embrace, trying to convey wordlessly that she was safe, loved, and wanted, a long, husky moan escaped from Kathryn’s throat. The blonde nestled one hand securely at the back of her head and pulled her into a deep, passionate kiss. The warm, wonderful reality of it, finally snapped the petite redhead out of her hot-blooded lethargy, and two arms shot up behind Seven’s back and crushed their bodies together, deepening the kiss even further. ‘I want you!’ Kathryn groaned fiercely into Seven’s mouth.
Their arms were wrapped loosely around one another, enjoying the afterglow of their lovemaking, both slightly drowsy, Seven lying partially on top of the redhead.
‘You see Kathryn?’ Seven said as an afterthought, leaning back a little, trailing one hand languidly over the small body next to her, surreptitiously trying to arouse.
‘Hm?’ Kathryn replied distracted by the sensations the mesh-encased hand was producing on its path between her breasts.
‘You do have certain traits in common with a dragon.’ The hand now teasingly circling a nipple, wandering over a soft, flat, stomach lightly shaking with laughter, circling the little belly button it found there.
Laughing softly, Kathryn tried to pull the curvaceous body in her arms a little closer.
‘And you my love have a lot in common with a…’ but Kathryn never finished her sentence as Seven swooped down and covered willing slender lips with her own full ones for an all-consuming, loving kiss.
END OF STORY