Tactics

The circular disk hovered in the air, its side panels alternated colors of red and blue. The countdown began as the two determined players tightened the grip on their phasers and prepared for battle.

One player was red. She exuded a presence of fire and passion. As she bounced on the balls of her feet, her mind was racing, conspiring ways to outwit her opponent. Her skin shone under the artificial light with a thin layer of perspiration, her breathing was heavy. But she was determined - Captain Janeway did not like to lose.

Her opponent was blue. She radiated an icy, self assured demeanor. Her long limbs were poised in an attack position, much like a statue of a lioness ready to pounce on her prey. Outwardly, she displayed little evidence of the physical exertion her body has endured, save for the few strands of hair that have come loose from her normally immaculate bun. Her mind was operating in sensory processing mode - intently focused on interpreting the environment and reacting accordingly. She was determined. Seven of Nine wanted nothing more than to finally put her opponent in her proper place - second.

As the countdown ended, the disk turned red, signifying that Janeway had the first shot. The phaser beam made contact, speeding away from her at lightning speed in the direction it was pushed. As its momentum diminished, it turned its sights toward the opponent in blue and made a mad dash at her body, attempting to make the contact that would win the point for her opponent. And thus the fifth round of the game began.

**

"Seven, you fired too early! You should have waited until the time was right; you gave me an easy shot!"

"I did not!" Seven protested, adamantly. She had mastered all 45 sanctioned maneuvers outlined in the players guide and therefore resented the implication that her approach was flawed.

"Well look at the scoreboard Seven. It certainly tells another story!"

Seven huffed and prepared for the next round. She took a deep calming breath in an attempt to clear her mind of everything except tactics to win the game. Unfortunately her opponent would not give her the opportunity for such clarity.

"If I win this point I beat you again!"

"I am well aware of the score, Captain!" she was displeased at the interruption, and was subsequently unprepared for the disk that turned blue and hastened toward her.

"Urgh" she dove to the floor to avoid the impact of the cylinder then rolled over onto the balls of her feet before diving after it, phasers blazing.

**

"Unacceptable, the computer is obviously flawed".

Janeway sighed to herself. Seven of Nine had been aboard the Federation Starship Voyager for less than a year and, though she was pleased with the ex-Drone's progress in adapting to a completely different culture, she had to admit that the transition of integrating the young woman into the crew has been fraught with more challenges than she initially imagined.

Seven's recent friendship with the ship's only child had seen her progress towards individuality improve remarkably. The relationship, coupled with the social lessons the Doctor had been providing, has encouraged the gifted woman to begin expressing her unique views, a skill the young woman had embraced, with what Janeway could only describe as abundant enthusiasm.

"Now, now, Seven. We've already spoken on the importance of being a sport." Janeway had her hands on her knees attempting to force enough air into her lungs to get her breath back, trying not to be obvious about it, of course.

"I am being a sport" Seven said through gritted teeth. "I believe it is you that can be characterized as 'a bad sport'"

The redhead closed her eyes and raised her eyebrows in an expression she hoped would convey her innocence "I have no idea what you are talking about".

"You 'played dirty' to win" Seven accused. "You distracted me at critical moments of the game… then you damaged me." Seven squinted her eyes as she rubbed her left breast. "…On purpose."

"Seven, I certainly didn't intend to injure you on purpose" Janeway said in her own defense. "Does it hurt?"

Seven pouted "I believe the term is: 'it stings'."

"Well you must admit they are a somewhat large target to miss! I'm surprised that you didn't get hit there before now…" Janeway's voice trailed off as she started to become hypnotized with the way the gorgeous blonde was unselfconsciously kneading her bosom.

"Nevertheless Captain, you positioned your body so that I could not see the target, then at the last moment you fired the disk straight into my bosom. Do not tell me it was an accident."

Janeway reluctantly shook herself out of her delightful trance. "Seven, I am sorry that you got hurt, but I only did what I had to do to win." She controlled her instinct to defend herself further; instead she asked "Are you okay?"

"At least I am still functioning. It appears to be a transitory, superficial bruise." Her face brightened as an idea apparently struck her "In previous situations, when Naomi Wildman has been bruised, she recommended that I 'kiss it better'. But I am unable to reach…" her voice trailed off as she looked at Janeway with questioning eyes.

The Captain blinked. Was Seven suggesting...? Janeway smiled and blushed a little at the innocent remark. "Maybe we should take you to sickbay instead, I'm sure the Doctor could suggest a more tried-and-tested method to take the sting away."

"Perhaps you are correct" Seven said in a disappointed tone.

"Come on" Janeway said, holding out her arm towards Seven, "I'll take you there myself."

**

As they walked into sickbay, the usual 'swoosh' sound of the automatic doors could not be heard over the Doctors musical selection.

Seven recognized the music as being Mussorgsky's 'The Hunt on Fowl's Legs' a dark classical piece orchestrated in 1874 depicting a Russian witch, Baba Yaga, who eats human bones and flies through the air frightening children and adults everywhere with her blood curdling screams. Seven was amused to see the Doctor dancing around sickbay like an intoxicated, flamboyant conductor, totally oblivious to the arrival of his newest guests.

Seven enjoyed music, and was grateful the Doctor introduced this exciting phenomenon to her. It was fascinating, and significant in a way that she could not describe. The first characteristic that appealed to her was its intriguing mathematical properties. She found that it challenged and enhanced her spatial-temporal reasoning, in particular, the ability to visualize ratios, fractions and proportions within space time.

As Seven pursued her interest, she began to find that music had other unexpected effects on her - both physically and psychologically. She was startled the first time she realized that music had the potential to induce emotions within her. She was alone in the cargo bay when she instructed the computer to play a variety of music. One piece, titled 'O'Fortuna' actually evoked a sense of fear and tension within her as the multitude of voices chanted in unison. She discovered that the music took her on an emotional rollercoaster, and held her spellbound until it reached its resolution.

Music had opened up a whole new world for her; with it she had experienced and catalogued a variety of new emotions including: sadness, joy, satisfaction, anger, suspense, happiness and remorse. She was captivated by its power, and looked forward to experiencing new emotions with the aide of this wonderful sentient creation.

**

The tap on his shoulder, by Janeway's petite hand, made the Doctor jump a mile high in shock. Janeway smirked and took perverse pleasure in the good fortune of catching the Doctor unaware. As the Chief Medical Officer on board the ship, the Doctor was the only one who occasionally outranked the Captain and could countermand certain orders, even relieve her of duty if he saw fit. Janeway's competitive nature enjoyed the feeling of having 'one up' on the sometimes smug hologram.

"Captain! Seven! Computer, pause music" The silence was deafening as the Doctor swallowed his embarrassment. "Uh… What can I do for you?" His face brightened, "Captain, don't tell me you have finally come in for your physical!"

The grin on Janeway's face immediately disappeared. 'Oh damn' she thought to herself, 'how could I have possibly forgotten?' And then she remembered exactly what had been on her mind when she suggested going to sickbay. Something about kissing Seven better… she had to divert his attention before he sunk his holographic nails into her.

"Actually Doctor, no I'm not. We are here for Seven."

Much to Janeway's relief, the Doctor was immediately concerned, and turned his full attention to Seven. "Seven, what's wrong? Are you ill?" The Captain made a subtle turn for the exit.

"The Captain has damaged me." Seven blurted out in an accusing tone as she sat on the nearest biobed. "I sting".

"Very well, let me get my medical tricorder and we will take a look. Captain, a moment of your time please before you tiptoe away"

'Damn, damn, damn. Not quick enough' her little voice scoffed as she turned away from the exit that she was so close to, and she followed him into his office.

**

Seven sat on the biobed waiting patiently. The Doctor's office was virtually, but not entirely, soundproof, and Seven couldn't resist eavesdropping on the conversation in the other room. She consciously made the adaptations to change her Borg auditory system to increase the auditory perception range and listened to the heated debate unfold.

It seemed that the Doctor was attempting to get the Captain to commit to a time for her overdue physical, while the Captain was arguing all the reasons why her duties and responsibilities kept her from allocating a time to the task. Seven sighed in empathy for the Doctor.

She too, on numerous occasions, had tried to change the Captain's mind, usually for her own good. But Seven knew that when the Captain's mind was made up, you may as well try to convince a duranium bulkhead to do a duet with a hyperspanner for all the good it would do.

She decided that she may as well be efficient and prepare for her exam while she waited.

A few minutes later, the Doctor and the Captain emerged from the office, still engrossed in their discussion. As Seven had hypothesized, the Captain had come out of the conversation on top, effectively delaying the check up to some unspecified time in the future.

When the Captain turned to look at Seven, her eyes suddenly bulged out of her head and her mouth dropped. It took the Doctor a moment longer to survey the situation, but when he did, he mirrored Janeway's stunned expression. There on the biobed sat Seven, in full glory, totally nude to the waist.

"Seven, what in the known galaxy are you doing?"

Seven was perplexed, she didn't understand the question. "I am waiting for you to examine my injury Doctor. It is here." She held up her slightly bruised left breast, offering it for his inspection.

Seven turned her attention to the astonished woman when she heard a muffled noise, similar to that of a painful groan, come from deep within the Captain's throat. What was wrong with her usually restrained commanding officer? In addition to the odd expression on her face, her Captain had turned ghostly white, her heartbeat was strangely erratic and she seemed frozen to the spot.

"Captain, are you functioning properly?" she asked as Janeway began to sway. She jumped up to put a hand on either side of her arms, in order to keep her upright. "Doctor, something is wrong with the Captain!"

Janeway tried to step backwards, only to be locked in place by a naked, and very concerned, Seven of Nine. Seven noticed her eyes were darting madly from her chest, to the floor then to the exit, only to repeat the cycle again, all the while, struggling to get free.

After a few moments of resistance had passed, Seven decided she ought to release her grip on the struggling woman. Unfortunately, at exactly the moment she did, Janeway pushed back with renewed vigor and she tripped over the console behind her and fell, quite ungracefully to the floor. She landed with a hard thud onto her bottom.

"It seems the Captain has been… unbalanced by your lack of modesty Seven." The Doctor replied. He offered Janeway a hand and winched her to her feet. "Wouldn't you agree, Captain?"

Janeway, whom Seven noticed was now blushing as red as her uniform, started stuttering as she backed up slowly towards the exit. "I… I… uh, unbalanced… modesty... Reports. Yes, reports! Excuse me Doctor I have reports to finish." She nodded her head in dismissal "Seven." She spun around and promptly walked straight into the wall behind her.

"And don't forget to report back for your physical as soon as tomorrow's shift has ended".

"Yes Doctor" Janeway replied automatically, as she dashed for the door rubbing her newly reddened forehead.

Seven was confused. Obviously she had missed something important. Just what had happened to the Captain's motor and cognitive skills? She observed the smug expression on the Doctor's face with curiosity, and just how exactly had the Doctor gotten the Captain to change her mind?

**

Seven closed her eyes in pure bliss as strawberry ice cream was introduced to her taste buds for the first time. It had a velvety soft texture, and as she swirled it around her tongue, the coldness produced a most delightful sensation. She felt a shiver run through her and let out an involuntary "Mmmmm".

"See Seven, I told you that you would like it!"

"You are correct Naomi Wildman. It is… more than acceptable".

Seven took pleasure from seeing the young girl with strawberry blonde hair and four small horns on her forehead, beam with pride.

"My skin feels… unusual. Look at my arm!" Seven said in wonder as she had pulled back her sleeve. "The hairs are in a state of piloerection."

Naomi giggled, "My mum calls them goose-bumps".

"Goose-bumps" Seven repeated before she greedily scooped more of the delicious substance into her mouth, and set to work demolishing the bowl.

The automatic doors activated, admitting Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay to the mess hall, dressed in their Velocity outfits. Seven noted the spring in the Captain's step and a certain glint in her eye as she glided into the room. She must have won again.

As they progressed towards an empty table Janeway caught Seven's eye and smiled at her in greeting. Seven nodded her head in reply.

She made a mental note to practice the skill of smiling; it seems to enhance the charm of one's face.

As she observed the senior officers from afar, she was taken aback when, out of the blue, the Captain threw her head back and laughed wholeheartedly to something Chakotay was saying, her whole body shaking with the force of her hysterics. Seven's shock turned to intrigue and she instinctively switched over to ''Increased Auditory Perception' mode to find out what all the commotion was about.

"… an ingenious tactic! Then, rumor has it that you played for 22 hours straight, toe-to-toe with that Bolian just so you wouldn't lose."

"Well I think 22 hours is a slight exaggeration " Janeway said between gulps of air, "but I did lose count of how many rounds we went through. I can't believe you heard about that!"

"Are you kidding? Everyone in Starfleet knows the story of the how Cadet Kathryn Janeway led her team to the Inter-Campus Pariccie Squares Championships on Stardate 2354. So tell me, legend had it that you never lost a game that year, is it true?"

Seven frowned at the arrogant smirk that appeared on the Captain's face. "What can I say Chakotay… When it comes to sport, nobody even comes close to challenging my… physical prowess."

"You're in a league of your own all right." Chakotay chuckled.

"Damn right… and don't you forget it!"

Seven of Nine was outraged.

"Seven, are you okay? Aren't you going to finish your ice-cream?"

Seven turned her attention back to her young dining companion. "I… am no longer hungry."

She stood up abruptly and began to leave, hesitating as she recalled the Doctors 'etiquette' protocols. "Thank you for the ice-cream, Naomi Wildman" and turned on her heal towards the exit.

"You're welcome" came the reply that Seven barely heard, over the sound of the door swooshing closed behind her.

**

'I have superior hand-eye co-ordination, strength, stamina and visual acuity. My maneuvers are always precise and efficient and yet… she always finds some way to defeat me.'

The floor of cargo bay two was taking a beating as the ex-Borg pondered her imperfections to the frantic fast paced music of Rimsky-Korsakov's 'Flight of the Bumblebee'.

'I am frustrated' she realized. Seven of Nine knew she had no excuse to lose. She liked to be perfect in all her endeavors, and it bothered her immensely to be defeated by such a small, weak, cybernetically un-enhanced, mere human being.

She was also disturbed by the 'bragging' comments she overheard in the messhall. Obviously Janeway thought less of her abilities as an opponent than she imagined. It stung, especially because she had improved greatly in Velocity and knew she was close to beating Captain Janeway; it was just a matter of time.

'I must find her weakness, and exploit it at opportunistic moments of the game' she mused. She figured it was only fair, after all, it was a frequent strategy used by the Captain.

She remembered the Captain's odd behavior in sickbay the other week - she seemed to be severely effected by a temporary lapse of intellect and co-ordination. Perhaps, if she could come to understand what prompted this strange behavior, she may be able to reproduce it, and use it to give herself the advantage in future challenges.

She activated her cortical node and replayed the incident on 'Full Sensory Mode'. Instantly, a wealth of information was transferred into her conscious mind, all of which she processed at an inhumanly fast rate.

She blinked twice to reflect on the information, and instantly formulated a theory: The Captains hormone level has a direct effect on her performance capabilities.

She cross-checked her findings to validate her hypothesis. She ran a search for instances where her cortical node had detected increased hormonal levels in the Captain, then analyzed the behavior the Captain displayed at those times.

There was a large amount of data (terraquads, in fact) pertaining to the Captain's rising hormone levels while in her presence, however, Seven thought nothing of it. It was simply the way things were. Her sole objective for undertaking this research was to find a way to win against the Captain in their next sporting challenge. In the interest of efficiency, anything else not advancing this goal was deemed irrelevant.

There was indeed a pattern. She was pleased with the results. It seems that she may have found her secret weapon after all.

**

Captain Janeway sat on a stool in the smoky bar sipping her scotch whiskey and soda as she waited for her opponent to arrive. Earlier that day, she was delighted to have received a memo from her attractive Astrometrics Officer, challenging her to a game of pool, (best two out of three) in the holodeck program Paris 3, better known as 'Sandrine's'.

The program, developed by Tom Paris, was inspired by the 300 year old waterfront bar and pool establishment in Marseilles, France. Janeway appreciated the warm ambience that filled the dimly lit room, illuminated by sporadically placed candles, various wall chandeliers and the large, stone fireplace that crackled with its blazing holographic wood.

A small smirk erupted on Janeway's face as she remembered the last game of pool she had played with Seven, in this very bar. Seven's stance and form had been flawless and, as usual, her shots were accurate and precise but ultimately it was her lack of experience with the 'tricks of the game' that had been her downfall.

That was a classic example, Janeway mused, of the problems that can arise from learning from raw information only, not from practical experience. It was like trying to understand humor by studying its description alone. Janeway knew Seven had been studying the information in the database regarding pool, and no doubt, Seven knew all the rules back to front and inside out, however, she lacked the natural intuition to know how, and when to 'bend the rules' that could be invaluable in a game such as pool… and life.

Much to Seven's obvious displeasure, Janeway's own wit and intuition had seen her emerge victorious. She liked to use a variation of creative tactics such as covering the pockets, strategic placement of the white ball and snookering Seven whenever she had the chance, to inhibit Seven's 'straight shooting' style of game. Of course, as always, Seven had demanded immediate retribution in the form of another game.

Janeway's thoughts drifted away as she basked in the warm, sunny memory of the young woman. She had an astonishing intellect coupled with a charming, inquisitive and sometimes vulnerable nature. Janeway enjoyed spending time with her, helping her to reach her full potential and discover so much of what she has lost through her 18 years as a Borg drone. Seven invigorated and challenged her, her strength of character a breath of fresh air that continuously blew her off her feet.

Janeway noticed the proprietor, an attractive, elegant blonde woman in her forties who went by the name of 'Sandrine' (a name passed on to each proprietor of the bar, in honor of its legendary founder, Sandrine Normand) saunter over to the bar where Janeway sat.

"Bonjour, la belle Katherine, plus de whiskey? She smiled provocatively at the Captain as she held up the bottle.

"I'm fine for now, thank you" Janeway replied politely, as she took another small sip.

"In that case, perhaps… aimez-vous faire l'amour avec moi ?" Janeway almost spat her drink across the bar... almost. Her French was a little rusty, but there was no mistaking the sexual innuendo in her tone of voice, 'Katie, my girl' her little internal voice picked up 'I believe you have just been propositioned!'

She was familiar with the reputed sexual prowess of the engaging holographic woman that ran the bar. In fact, now that she thought about it, she recalled the time the Doctor was most upset at trying to fend off her 'predatory advances' during a ship wide emergency.

Sandrine moved in closer and began caressing the back of Janeway's neck, just below the hairline, in tiny arousing circles with her fingertips. Janeway melted into the caress. "La passion… érotique… excitation ou… confort maybe?" She purred into her ear in a suggestive tone.

Janeway smiled a genuine smile at her - it had been so long that anyone paid her this type of attention. It wasn't that she felt no attraction to the charming French woman and in a parallel universe… perhaps… but Sandrine was just a little too 'busy' for Janeway's liking, flirting with practically everyone that visited her establishment. Besides, she reminded herself, I am a Starfleet Captain…

"Another time, perhaps" Janeway commented, as she reluctantly moved Sandrine's hand from her cheek. Sandrine kissed the back of her hand before she let her go.

"I may hold you that, la belle" and winked as she moved away.

Janeway shifted her position on the stool and found herself gazing out of the stained glass window, watching the passers by as they strolled along the waterfront.

The background noise suddenly went deadly silent as the various patrons within the bar, in unison, came to a complete standstill. For a nanosecond, she wondered if someone had frozen the holodeck settings, until she looked towards the solid oak door at the entrance, and gasped.

There stood the most beautiful creature Captain Janeway had ever seen. Seven of Nine stood in the doorway quietly scanning the room.

Her hair had been let down from it customary strict bun and fell loosely in waves around her shoulders. She was wearing a red summer dress that came down to mid thigh and displayed a most generous amount of cleavage. Janeway actually wondered if the two pieces of fabric that crossed near the center of her chest was going to be enough to hold herself in.

She then remembered, quite vividly, exactly what could be unintentionally revealed. The memory triggered a sudden explosion of arousal that shot through her body like electricity.

"Oh boy" Janeway muttered under her breath, as she downed the remaining synthahol her glass had to offer.

**

Seven hesitated as she reached the entrance of holodeck one, and took a deep calming breath. 'I am nervous' she realized with some surprise, and added it to her growing list of catalogued emotions.

She made a few last minute adaptations to her cortical node to make sure it was set to detect the Captain's vital functions and hormone secretion level. She turned up her auditory perception range, performed a quick cleavage check… and was ready.

She opened the solid oak doors and stood in the entrance of the dimly lit pub, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. She heard a slight gasp from the corner of the room and detected a sharp hormonal surge, followed by a muttered "Oh, boy". 'So far so good' she thought to herself. She walked towards the affected woman sitting at the bar, oblivious to more than one pair of eyes following her progress.

"Seven" Janeway greeted her with a warm smile, "You look absolutely exquisite". She openly admired her new outfit, "You have discovered the 'fashion' database, I see!"

"Thank you Captain." Seven replied, genuinely pleased that the redhead noticed her new look. It made her feel a pleasant… warm feeling. She reviewed the Doctor's etiquette protocols to look for a suitable response "You look exquisite as well."

Janeway looked down at her uniform with a faint frown. Seven noticed that it was full of creases and… was that a coffee stain on her sleeve? In the future, perhaps she would give more thought to these 'routine answers' before speaking.

"Uh, thank you Seven." Janeway ran her fingers through her messy hair, "But I don't quite think that 'exquisite' is the right word for me at the moment, I just got off the day shift. If I'd have known you were going to such an effort I would have changed out of my uniform."

Seven raised an eyebrow and tried to picture the Captain out of her uniform.

"Would you like a drink?" Janeway asked as she leaned across the bar and signaled the nearest bartender.

"I do not require liquid refreshment at this time."

"Oh, go on Seven." Janeway looked back at her with persuading eyes, "You've got to have something, and this is a bar! It doesn't have to be synthaholic you know." Silence followed. "How about - I'll just choose something and you either drink it, or you don't'"

"Acceptable" Seven replied and walked over to the pool table to 'rack up' the balls.

**

"A scotch... Make that a double." Janeway ordered as she rubbed her temple. She needed another drink - now.

'Holey-moley' she thought to her self - 'what was Seven wearing? How can I possibly concentrate on playing a game of pool when all I want to do is throw her down on the table, rip her clothes off and…' she washed her fantasy down with the sharp amber liquid that erupted in her belly.

'Get a grip Katie, show some of that Captainly restraint of yours' she scolded herself for her inappropriate thoughts, 'You are here to play pool, and you're acting like a green ensign on her first visit to Risa!' She was determined to control herself, especially after her embarrassing episode in sickbay the other day.

'Thank God she doesn't know the effect she has on me!' Janeway mused as she shook off the synthehol's initial powerful effects and watched the woman finish her preparation of the pool table, and make her way to the old fashioned juke box.

She perused the list of beverages the bar tender offered her and chose a suitable drink for her companion, as well as another scotch and soda for herself. 'I better slow down' she thought to herself. She was already feeling the warming effect from her previous drinks and didn't want to lose her mental alertness. Wit and intuition was her best weapon against the skilful, cybernetically enhanced woman.

As she made her way over to the tall wooden table, a drink in each hand, music began to play. The soulful, blues sounds were a delight to her senses, "I like this music Seven, what is it?"

"It is called 'Give me one Reason', by Tracy Chapman - a late 20th century singer songwriter".

Janeway noticed the slow, suave melody actually soothed her and made her feel… a little bit playful. She handed Seven her drink who inhaled the aroma cautiously, before taking a small sip. She obviously found the flavor acceptable because it resulted in a healthy swig on her second try.

Janeway smiled "So, would you like to 'break' Seven, or shall I?"

"I believe it is your turn to… do the honors".

"Very well" she replied with a smile as she chalked her cue, "Let's Play".

**

Janeway kicked herself at her lack of concentration - and she had started off so well!

She had pocketed two 'solid' balls off the break, followed by a third on her next ingenious shot. However she made the mistake of glancing up at her opponent just before her next shot and the vision she saw before her made her miss-cue and the white ball shot straight into the corner pocket, giving away two shots.

At the time, Seven was standing, leaning over the high table facing the Captain displaying her abundant cleavage, unfortunately for the Captain, at the best possible angle for her wandering eyes.

Janeway was unaccustomed to seeing Seven in such an… erotic pose that her poor little heart did a back flip.

Seven took full advantage of her opponents little blunder and won the first game convincingly.

The 'mugs away' rule saw Janeway once again having the 'break' to begin the second game. Having surpassed her initial shock, she was able to settle down somewhat and put up a bit more of a challenge.

As the play continued, she made a conscious effort to ignore the allure of the blonde woman, but no matter how hard she tried, it seemed she could not get away from seeing a bit too much of her skin, or her adorable little butt wiggling in her direction. She was obviously too taken with the young woman to be able to cope with seeing her in a sexy outfit without imagining that she is wiggling her butt at her on purpose.

'Oh, you've got it bad Katie' he inner voice chastised, 'When she is just lining up quite innocently for her shot, and all you can wonder is exactly what type of underwear the young woman was wearing under that extremely short dress of hers! That is… if she is wearing any…'

"Captain, you have just given me two shots."

"Huh?"

"You must hit the white ball, not the colored!"

Janeway looked down at the table in disbelief - she had hit the wrong ball! She had actually, somehow, managed to bypass the white ball altogether and putt the orange ball straight into the pocket!

"I don't know why I just did that." She shook her head as if to clear it.

She decided that, under the circumstances perhaps she should not play this particular game with her young charge in the future.

Seven was in the lead when Janeway called a 'time out' for more refreshments.

**

"Ahh, la belle, I see you are having difficulties with your game, no?" Sandrine poured the Captain a fresh set of drinks. "You do realize she is doing it on purpose?"

Janeway looked up sharply "What do you mean?"

"Mademoiselle is flirting with you! Do not tell me you have not noticed".

Janeway frowned and dismissed the comment. "I don't think so" she replied.

'Seven… flirting with me? No she couldn't be!' she thought to herself, 'Not my innocent, Seven of Nine!'

"Oui, but you do not see mademoiselle when your back is turned" Sandrine winked.

Janeway paused for thought and then glanced in the mirror behind the bar. She saw Seven sitting on her stool looking down at her chest. Janeway watched her readjust herself, essentially pulling out more of her breasts to increase the size of her cleavage on display.

'Huh!' Janeway's jaw dropped, 'Well I'll be damned! Maybe she is doing it on purpose'.

Sandrine raised an 'I told you so' eyebrow and walked away. 'But why would Seven…' then the realization hit her. 'She's doing it to win!'

Janeway felt appalled. 'Seven is using her sex appeal as a weapon to use against me! Does this mean that Seven is aware of my attraction towards her?' The thought mortified her and made her feel extremely embarrassed. 'Oh God, I hope I am not as obvious as Harry Kim!' Janeway would have to be blind not to notice the way the young Ensign went clumsy and weak at the knees around the stunning young woman.

A few months ago she had chuckled when she heard, along the grapevine, what Seven's solution to his attraction had been - a flat out offer to 'copulate' with the young man. However at the present moment it did not seem half as comical as it did at the time.

'Well, even if she was aware of my attraction towards her, would she necessarily understand what it meant?' Janeway's intuition told her the answer was definitely a 'no' and she relaxed marginally, internally standing down from red alert.

'I mean surely Seven's not at the stage where she can return my feelings… no, she must have stumbled across this information somehow and is going through the motions to win the game.' The insight surprisingly caused mixed emotions within her. On one hand the Captain was relieved that she didn't have to deal with the awkward situation of dealing with her subordinate's inappropriate desire for her, but on the other, the woman inside her couldn't help but feel a wave of disappointment.

Once again, she clamped down on her feelings. It was a skill which she was well accustomed to, being the trained Federation diplomat that she was. 'I will just have to treat this as any other ambassadorial mission.' She thought with determination.

'How hard could that be?'

**

Seven was enjoying herself. This business of arousing the Captain was very pleasurable indeed. She wasn't sure why exactly; only that it triggered some very pleasant feelings.

'And it is working so well!' she thought triumphantly as she rearranged her cleavage for maximum effectiveness. Her cortical implant calculated an impressive number of hormone emissions from Janeway, she had won the first round of the game and was winning the second, and she had barely even begun to utilize her pre-planned strategies!

Perhaps this technique would work on other 'mere humans' among the crew, such as Commander Chakotay. She hesitated, and realized with some surprise, that the idea was not half as appealing as it was when applied to the Captain. 'Now why would that be?' She wondered fleetingly.

The next song came on the jukebox, filling the smoky room with a sweet piano melody. 'Norah Jones', Seven recognized. She closed her eyes and listened.

 

"Like a flower waiting to bloom,
like a light bulb in a dark room
I'm just sitting here waiting for you
to come on home, and turn me on…"

She wondered briefly what 'turn me on' was referring to, and decided that the protagonist must be a hologram, sitting in limbo waiting for someone to activate them.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Captain Janeway came strolling toward her in a way that Lieutenant Paris would describe as having 'a spring in her step'.

"There you go Seven. One Lemon Lime & Bitters for you… a Scotch and Soda for me. Enjoy".

"Thank you, Captain" Seven replied and gave a small smile, the one she had been practicing. It was a very subtle smile, consisting of a slight upturning of the corners of her mouth.

Seven was timid when it came to the act of smiling. Her first attempt had been less than successful. When she tried to duplicate it in a mirror later that evening, she found that it was, in fact more reminiscent of a 'snarl' than a smile. No wonder Tal Celes, her unsuspecting guinea pig, had practically run screaming from Astrometrics.

It seemed to her that she had performed it correctly this time though, judging by the glowing smile that was returned to her, for some reason, it made her own smile widen even more.

"It's your shot, Seven". Janeway reminded her.

Seven chalked her cue and approached the table with confidence, remembering to sway her hips, like her research had told her to do.

She only had one colored ball left on the table. The Captain had not left her with what could be called an 'easy' shot… for anyone else but herself, of course.

The white ball was tucked away behind the black, which meant that Seven would have to 'double up' on the cushion to make clean contact. But Seven had an excellent sense of physics and hand eye co-ordination - the shot would present her with insufficient challenge, it was almost too easy.

Seven, once again, took her time 'deciding' on a position to take the shot from. It was her guise for the obvious 'wiggling of the buttocks' in Janeway's direction, and she felt the familiar pleasant tingling feelings when she did. She glanced back discreetly to make sure Janeway had noticed. But what she saw made her frown.

Janeway hadn't noticed. In fact, she wasn't paying any attention to Seven at all! She was too busy entertaining the woman that sat in her lap, who seemed to be doing something… strange… to her ear.

Seven tuned up her auditory perception range slightly and heard, what could only be described as… sucking noises? 'That woman is sucking the Captains earlobe!' Seven realized. The nice 'tingly' feeling left her instantly and was replaced with a sudden pang of something... very unpleasant.

She heard the Captain make a groaning noise, similar to the one she heard in sickbay the other day, which only succeeded in produced more offensive feelings. For some reason, she realized with a start, she didn't want Captain Janeway to make those noises for anyone… but herself.

'I am experiencing jealousy!' she realized, at the same moment that the white ball ricocheted off the side cushion and flew across the length of the bar, scaring a pigeon that sat on the windowsill.

"You can thank me later" she overheard Sandrine whisper into Janeway's ear. She gracefully removed herself from the redhead's lap, picked up the empty glasses from the wooden table, and disappeared back behind the bar.

**

Janeway smirked at the adorable disgruntled look on Seven's face as the black ball fell into the corner pocket, declaring Captain Katherine Janeway the winner of the second round.

'Ha' she thought. 'Now that's more like it!'

"Good game Seven" she grinned as she prepared the table for the third and final round. A sharp sound of violins declared a new song came on the jukebox that Janeway didn't recognize.

Seven remained silent; she looked like she was deep in thought.

Janeway couldn't be happier with herself. She had pulled the second game back from the brink of her first ever loss to Seven, and now had the advantage in the third game. She knew Sevens strategy, now it would no longer have the same 'shock value' and Janeway would be prepared for Sevens 'underhanded' tactics. 'It was a rather ingenious tactic' Janeway thought to herself with some admiration for her opponent, even if she didn't necessarily approve, 'who would have thought Seven had it in her to be so devious?'

 

"…I may appear to be free
But I'm just a prisoner of your love
I may seem alright and smile when you leave
But my smiles are just a front, just a front…"

Somewhere, deep in her subconscious, Janeway's inner voice paid attention to the lyrics, and connected with them instantly. Her little voice chose not to discuss this fact with her conscious mind; (for it was in diplomatic poker-face mode and such thoughts were not welcome) however this did not stop her foot from tapping along to the rhythm.

"…I play it off but I'm dreaming of you
I'll keep my cool but I'm fiendin
I try to say goodbye and I choke
I try to walk away and I stumble
Though I try to hide it, it's clear
My world crumbles when you are not near…"

Janeway enjoyed the feeling of being back in control of the situation. 'Now all I have to do now is keep my reactions in check and play a good game' she mused 'surely I can manage that!'

"Yes, good game Captain." Seven said as she approached the shorter woman. "Congratulations." Much to the Captain's complete surprise, Seven suddenly grabbed her as if she was a rag doll, and locked her into a big bear hug. The height difference between the two women meant that the Captain's face found itself smothered by Seven's cleavage.

She felt her nose fit snugly between her warm yielding mounds, the softness of her skin caressing her sensitive cheeks. Any hope the Captain may have had of not being further aroused flew out the airlock when Seven started moving from side to side, creating some wonderfully smooth friction.

"Mmphh mur gogh Srghern" Janeway mumbled trying to plea bargain for release from the warm, comforting cavern. "Srghern! Mmphh mur gogh, grigh nnurh!" But Seven wasn't letting go until she was ready. Luckily for the Captain, she released her prior to passing out through lack of oxygen, barely.

Janeway struggled to replace the air in her lungs and regain her composure, 'well, maybe she could still manage to 'shock' me' she strengthened her resolve 'but I will not let it affect my game'.

She noticed Seven had a very odd look on her face, as she looked the Captain up and down.

"Well, aren't you going to break?" she said, pretending that everything was perfectly normal.

**

Something unusual was happening to Seven that she didn't understand, and she couldn't control. It was very unsettling.

She was starting to wish that she had done a bit more research. Embracing the Captain had a most unexpected effect on her causing her mind to spin.

As she held the Captain close she became aware of her own body in a way she never had before. To have another body pressed against her own like that was amazing. She wanted more. The body was so tiny in comparison, yet it contained such a dynamic, vibrant person that she was struck with the sense of irony.

Then, when she felt the pleasant vibrations radiating from her bosoms, Seven felt her whole body spark in response. She held her tightly as she felt a rush - it was similar to an implant malfunction, but it only affected only her organic body matter. The tingles returned, but this time they traveled through her in waves from her head to her toes. 'Captain Janeway has caused… arousal in me!' she realized.

A quick self-diagnostic confirmed her suspicions. Not only was her face flushed, her heartbeat was faster, her skin was once again suffering 'goosebumps', she was releasing endorphins, pheromones and the telltale sign… her hormone level was through the roof.

She released the breathless woman and looked at her through new eyes; it was as if she had never seen her before. 'The Captain is beautiful' she realized, 'but… wasn't beauty irrelevant?'

"Well, aren't you going to break?"

The words brought her tumbling back down to reality. "I will comply," she stated, suddenly feeling a little bit foolish at her choice of words.

She tried to concentrate on the game, but this new revelation of hers would not let her focus. Her break was appalling.

 

'Here is my confession
May I be your possession?
Boy I need your touch
Your love, kisses and such
With all my might I try
But this I can't deny, deny…'

She found that she could not keep her eyes off her Captain. When Janeway was close to returning her glance, Seven would look away, as if she couldn't stand the power behind the gaze.

To make matters worse, the Captain seemed to have regained complete control of her faculties and was having a very successful game. She even seemed to be dancing around the table between shots and 'Is she... wiggling her buttocks in time with the music?'

**

The redhead gracefully twirled the wooden cue around her hands like it was a baton as she approached the table for, what she hoped would be the final shot of the match.

It seemed that once she had uncovered Seven's cunning strategy, she couldn't put a foot wrong!

Not only was her 'non-reaction' approach working to improve her own game, but it seemed to be putting Seven 'off' hers. She noticed Seven seemed to be off in her own little world… very uncharacteristic for the young woman.

'She must be disappointed she is losing, and trying desperately to come up with a new strategy' Janeway mused. 'Too late for that now' she smirked.

She had to admit that she never thought Seven was even aware of her own sex appeal, let alone be at the stage where she could experiment using it to her own advantage. 'My little Borg is growing up quickly' she realized.

'Not quick enough' her little voice announced before Ambassador Janeway could squash it back down.

She positioned herself over the white ball, carefully evaluating the angle she would have to hit the black ball to knock it into the corner pocket. It was a tricky shot; she would have to hit the white ball slightly off center to put a spin on it so that it didn't go in the middle pocket after contact. She also had to navigate around the numerous colored balls that were still on the table.

As was her custom on the black, once she had her angles lined up, she stared her opponent in the eye and took her shot. She resisted the urge to look at the table as she heard the 'clinks and clanks' of balls hitting each other, until she heard the gratifying 'clunk' of the black ball falling into the pocket. She grinned. Seven gulped.

"Well, I won that last game quite convincingly, I must say." she said with a broad smile. "What the hell happened to your game? Look, I even 'pants'd' you!"

Seven raised an eyebrow "You did what?"

"I pants'd you! Its slang" Seven still looked confused, "it originated from the old pool custom of being made to drop your trousers, essentially to show your underwear, if you still have all seven balls left on the table at the end of the game."

"There is no mention of 'being pants'd' in the federation rules database for pool." Seven stated without inflection, "Besides Captain, I do not wear 'trousers'… nor do I wear underwear."

"Seven, I'm not for one moment suggesting…" she felt herself starting to blush again. "It was never an official rule… I guess it started as a 'pub rule' and, the term just evolved with the game… Lets just put it down to a bad choice of words, okay" Janeway said as she reminded herself to be more careful around the young woman that took almost everything at face value.

"Yes Captain" Seven replied.

"Would you like to join me in the messhall for dinner? I hear Neelix is serving something called 'Shadrakah'. Harry seems to be quite fond of it."

"No." She paused, seeming to gather her thoughts. "But thank you. Another time perhaps, I have some… research I wish to conduct."

"Very well, some other time." Janeway exposed her to a warm smile in parting.

"Thank you for the game, Captain." The look on Sevens face gave the Captain an urge to give her a hug, but, remembering the outcome of the last hug she thought perhaps she better not. Janeway felt a pang of regret; her Starfleet training was indeed useful, however it was tiring trying to control her emotions all the time. Sometimes she longed to be free to express her own true feelings.

She reached out and gave her arm a quick pat then turned for the exit.

**

Seven watched her exit through the solid oak doors. For the first time ever, Seven felt more like sitting than she did standing, almost as if the burden on her mind were weighing her down physically. It was not the only 'first' she had experienced today.

She was still confused, but the new data she had collected from her self-diagnostic was helping her to make sense of the situation, she just wasn't sure she actually believed what it was telling her.

'I made an erroneous assumption' she realized with mixed feelings. 'I am not immune to this feeble human weakness of 'arousal'.

She searched her cortical implant for information to better understand 'sexual desire'. There was ample data - the Borg had referenced this condition is over 6,000 assimilated species, however she was not satisfied. Now that she had the opportunity to experience these feelings firsthand, all the data seemed strangely inadequate, they were just theoretical words without feelings or emotions attached to them.

Seven scanned her memory files during the last game. She noted how her body became alive when Janeway was near. Her senses were sharpened enabling her to notice even the smallest detail about her captivating commanding officer. She could picture the delicate, confident touch of her hands, the way her whole face lit up when she was pleased, the way her attractive figure fit snugly into her red and black uniform… her thoughts lingered at this last pleasant image, for some reason.

It seemed that her body had betrayed its Borg upbringing, the human part of her seemed to know what it wanted, but the problem was that her mind was not at the helm, it was only being strung along for the ride.

She felt lost.

 

"Gotta take a little time
A little time to think things over
I better read between the lines
In case I need it when I'm older…"

The song in the background caught her attention. The lyrics seemed quite fitting, given her present situation. Yes, perhaps she did need to take some time to understand the situation properly to 'read between the lines' as it were, there was so much she didn't understand.

So she continued to listen.

 

"… Can't stop now, I've traveled too far
To change this lonely life
I want to know what love is
I want you to show me
I want to feel what love is
I know you can show me…"

Seven couldn't help but think of Captain Janeway as she listened to the lyrics. She felt a need to see her, an urge to hold her body close to her own once again, a yearning for… for what exactly?

One thing was certain. Seven had discovered a new game that she wanted to play with the Captain. This time, Seven was not going to lose.

The end… or is it the beginning?