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DARK ROSE By cygirl1 DISCLAIMER: Star Trek is the property of Paramount. I am not making
profit from this story. SUMMARY: B'Elanna/Seven and Janeway/
Female. Voyager has made it back to the Alpha Quadrant but along the way, Seven
and Harry Kim are stranded in Romulan Territory and fall into the hands of the
Tal Shiar. B'Elanna and Tom, with the help of Romulan allies, attempt a rescue. AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the sequel to my story Your Love Is An Oasis. I would suggest you read that story first to
get some background information on how B'Elanna and Seven got together. In
addition, it would help you understand some of the teasing and puns. The events in the episode of MUSE,
in Season 6 of Voyager, are mentioned. Women Warriors At The River Of Blood is a novel mentioned in Voyager. B’Elanna was reading it in
the episode ‘Real Life‘. Vulcan Love Slave
is a Holosuite program that is mentioned in Deep Space Nine and in several
‘Trek’ novels. The sequel is Vulcan Love
Slave. Part Two: The Revenge. In my story, Voyager never ran
across the Borg Children. Voyager makes it back home earlier than seven years:
More near six years and nine months. PG17 for some four-letter words,
descriptions of consenting sex between women, unwanted sexual advances toward
one of the main characters (NO RAPE), and violence, but not in the extreme. The following story has some Romulan
words and phrases: Romulus: Ch'Rihan or sometimes seen
as ch'Rihan Romulan People: Rihannsu Air, Water, Fire, and Earth.
Rihannsu identify themselves with the Four Elements. Frahdha’nia Kholairlh-a nahi: What in the
element’s name. An exclamation of surprise. Jol-ao-au: I love you. Klivam: Derogatory word for Klingon.
Lagga uh’ j hu: A flower for an
Angel. Mnhei'sahe, “The ruling
passion." Which centers on honor, duty, courtesy and strength. V-ri nanov: Adopted mother.
x Sela is encountered in Star Trek: The Next Generation. She is
the daughter of an alternate time line Tasha Yar and a Romulan official. This
version of Yar went back in time to serve on the Enterprise-C, which was
captured by the Romulans. (See The Next Generation episode of "Yesterday's
Enterprise") Yar agreed to become the concubine of a Romulan official to
save her fellow crewmembers. This union led to the birth of Sela, around 2345. Yar attempted to escape with her
daughter in 2349, but Sela did not want to go and revealed the plot. Yar was
discovered and executed. Sela grew up to become an operative for the Roman
Empire and a military officer. In my story, I have her serving as a Tal Shiar
officer. Sela's first appearance was in the episode "The Mind’s Eye",
and later in the episodes "Redemption, Part II" and
"Unification. I and II" x Chapter One “Time. 0600.” “Computer. Lights at one quarter.” Seven’s
voice was at a lower octave than usual having just awoken. She remained still,
not wanting to extricate herself from the warmth of her wife’s body spooned
behind her, feeling the soft breasts pressed against her back and one arm
draped around her waist. She heard a groan close to her ear, feeling the soft
warmth move against her, and then a soft mouth and nose nuzzle the back of her
neck under her hair. The arm that was around her waist moved upward, and she
felt a soft warm hand gently cup and squeeze her right breast. She felt hot,
moist breath in her ear then a sharp nip on her earlobe. “We do not have
sufficient time to engage in making love.” “Uhm, how much time do we have?”
B’Elanna enquired in a sleep-roughed voice. “Fifty-six minutes and twenty
seconds before we present our final report at the senior staff meeting. Captain
Janeway will no longer tolerate our tardiness.” Seven turned over on her back
and pulled B’Elanna over and on top of her, drawing her head down for a kiss. B‘Elanna softly growled, “So what.
The captain doesn’t have a beautiful woman in her bed when she wakes up in the
morning or she would understand. Besides, we’ve only been late a couple of
times.” “Twelve times since we returned to
duty one hundred and twenty days ago.” “Big deal,” B’Elanna snorted. “That
works out to what? Once every ten days.” She ran the tip of her tongue in the
crease around the rim of Seven’s ear, causing her be’nal to feel a delicious
shiver course down her spine. Seven groaned but managed to say,
“Incorrect, as we have had seventy meetings to date. One day out of every 5.833
is the correct correlation.” B‘Elanna chuckled and said, “Who’s
counting? Besides, we were late for only a couple of minutes--five at most.”
B‘Elanna straddled Seven’s waist and placed her hands beneath her be’nal’s
generous breasts, lifting them slightly and sighing. She watched as the pink
nipples hardened and the areolaes pebbled. “Uhmm, I can’t leave these beauties
pining for my attention now, can I?” She leaned down and taking a nipple
between her teeth, lightly bit and flicked her tongue over it. Seven squirmed and groaned, pulling
B’Elanna down for a hard kiss, wrapping her legs around her be’nal. B’Elanna abruptly pulled away, slid
off her be’nal to stand by the bed, reaching her arms up high and arching her
back in a long feline stretch, her breasts pert and stomach muscles taut.
“Well, I guess you’re right, duty before pleasure.” Seven quickly sat up, reached out
catching B’Elanna by her right arm, and pulled her back in bed and on top of
her. “You are correct. It is your duty to attend to my pleasure before we
proceed with our schedules.” B’Elanna melted into her be’nal and
laughed. “If only all duties were so pleasurable.” x Captain Janeway entered the
Conference Room, took her seat at the head of the table, and quickly looked
around her, noting that all of her senior staff were here save for her
Astrometrics Officer and Chief of Engineering. It was now two minutes until
0700 hours. She had given precise orders that no one was to be late to this
meeting due to its importance. She couldn’t very well start without Seven and
B’Elanna. The two informed her last evening of the final simulation of the
transwarp coil, and Janeway planned this meeting to discuss the preparations that
they would require for a successful trip back to the Alpha Quadrant. Tuvok was perusing a padd and
Chakotay was rubbing his tattoo with his index finger; something the Commander
often did while thinking or waiting. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught
Tom nudging Harry while looking at his wristwatch and whispering a countdown, a
smug look on his face. No doubt, he expected to win on a wager involving the
two absent officers. She heard him whispering, “Six, Five, Four...” and was
just about to nail him with a force ten stare, when the door whisked open at
the count of ‘one’, and her two wayward officers entered. She quickly noticed
the sour look on Tom’s face and the smile on Harry’s. She then knew for sure
they were betting to see if the two officers would make it on time to the
meeting. She let her glance rest on the two
arrivals, and smirked when she saw B'Elanna’s flushed face. She had a suspicion
that that look came from dallying in bed too long with her wife, as was further
evidenced by the dazed look in her eyes. Seven, of course, was immaculate. She
could go through a velocity match and five minutes later look like a cadet for
a Starfleet recruiting poster. Seven had taken to wearing her hair
in a loose ponytail held at the base of her neck by a wide gold hair clip, with
nary a strand out of place. Since her and B’Elanna’s ordeal on the desert
planet, she had taken to wearing a Starfleet Science Officers uniform, and
Janeway thought she was far more alluring in a uniform than in those skintight biosuits,
as was demonstrated by the generally approving glances of the crew when she
passed them in the corridors. She was also more approachable since
embarking on her relationship with B’Elanna, and Janeway noticed that she
smiled more frequently. Crewmates had now taken to greeting her in the hall and
she returned their greeting with a slight smile and comment, rather than
walking on by as if they didn‘t exist or were unworthy of notice. That wasn’t the only change. Since
marrying Seven, B’Elanna was more patient with her crew and less volatile when
things didn’t go right. She was more willing to delegate responsibilities, and
worked within her schedule instead of working 10-11 hour days, unless there was
an emergency that required more time to resolve. She had taken to wearing her
hair in a more attractive and Klingon manner; the loosely flowing waves a
reflection of her more relaxed attitude. She didn’t seem as angry and easy to
take offense as she once had. Yes indeed, marriage was definitely good for B’Elanna,
or to be more precise, it was Seven who was good for B’Elanna. All it takes
is the power of love and a certain Borg. Resistance is futile. Janeway cleared her throat and said,
“Now that everyone is here, we can begin. As you are aware, Seven and B’Elanna
have been working diligently on perfecting a viable transwarp coil that will
return us to the Alpha Quadrant. I’ll let them give you an update.” She looked
expectedly at the two women. B'Elanna smirked and facetiously
said, “You want the good news first or the ah…flip side?” Janeway, in good spirits answered,
“Give us the good news.” “All simulations show that it
works.” There was a few seconds of silence before everyone started talking at
once. Janeway held up her hand for
silence, clearing her throat before inquiring, “And?” “We will need to equip the Delta
Flyer with a small reflector array as it needs to follow in Voyager’s wake. The
Flyer will be within Voyager’s transwarp bubble and the array will strengthen
the transwarp signature, preventing the conduit from closing prematurely. Hmm,
Seven, you give them the rest.” Seven utilized a projector, which
created a three dimensional star chart above the middle of the table. “We have
constructed a coil based on that which the Borg utilize. Since the coil is
composed of actual Borg components and those designed along Borg
specifications, we could not improve the compatibility of the unit to operate
efficiently with Voyager’s warp core power for the time needed to reach the
Alpha Quadrant. Our simulations show that the transwarp corridor opened for a
period of 2.47 minutes before collapsing, which would allow us to go a distance
of 20,000 light years. This would put us in this sector and close to the border
that separates the Delta from the Beta Quadrant.” A small area in the star
chart lit up. “We found that if we elongated the warp bubble to a distance of
at least 1000 Kilometers behind Voyager, it would facilitate an increase in
time to 3.01 minutes. We would reach this area of the Alpha Quadrant.” She used
her control padd to highlight the area. “Voyager’s array can only be used to
keep the corridor open in its forward progress. We tried mounting a small array
on Voyagers aft position, however, the power required to stretch the warp
bubble drains needed energy from the forward array, causing the integrity of
the field to collapse. The simulations show that if we mount a small deflector
on the Delta Flyer, we can extend the bubble to the required amount needed. The
corridor will collapse but not before we achieve our objective of reaching the
Alpha quadrant.” All eyes were on the display with the pinpoint of light
blinking in the Alpha Quadrant. Janeway’s expression showed a fleeting glance of
worry before she went back to ‘Captain Mode’. “That puts us right at the edge
of the Romulan Neutral Zone.” Seven said, “Yes, Captain. We have a
seventy-eight percent chance of making it to Federation Space and a nineteen
percent chance of making it to this point.” A pinpoint of light activated just
barely inside the neutral zone. “That leaves three percent,”
Commander Chakotay noted. Seven activated another pinpoint of
light a small distance from the neutral zone but well in Romulan space. Janeway smirked and said, “That’s
hardly a risk after what we have gone through out here in the Delta Quadrant.” Tom piped up, “If that’s the bad
news, then I don’t think we’ll be losing sleep over it.” Seven looked at Tom and replied,
“That is the good news. The negative aspect is to keep the Delta Flyer within
the transwarp bubble at a precise distance from Voyager of 200 meters. Any
deviation will cause the aft bubble to collapse, expelling Voyager and the
Delta Flyer from the corridor and into the Delta Quadrant, or somewhere in the
Beta Sector, perhaps even in Romulan space. We have boosted the engines of the
Delta Flyer to obtain a maximum warp of eight. This will facilitate a
sufficient entry into the transwarp bubble in Voyagers wake. Voyager must not
exceed warp eight. The ideal speed for optimum safety would be at warp 7. 2.” Tom said in his self-assured voice,
“Piece of cake. With me at the helm of the Flyer you’ll be having dinner in
Federation space on the same day we leave here.” B’Elanna rolled her eyes. “It’s not
going to be a ‘cake walk’, Tom. We will need you to pilot Voyager. The main
turbulence occurs as the transwarp coil tears open space in front of Voyager to
create the corridor. If Voyager is unable to navigate the eddies and deviates
even slightly, it could cause the projected signature from Voyager to the
Flyer’s reflector to fluctuate and collapse the bubble in her wake. That‘s why
Seven and I will be in the Delta Flyer trying to adjust for any fluctuations.” Janeway looked at both women and
said, “Who will insure the steady operation of the transwarp coil and handle
any problems that may arise in Engineering?” B’Elanna glanced down at the table
before looking at Janeway. “Well, I’m training both Carey and Vorik to handle
the transwarp coil and make any adjustments to the deflector. They are both
able to take care of any engineering crisis that may arise.” “Is it necessary for you to be on
the Flyer or can Seven handle the array?” “Er, I thought I would go along as
pilot.” “I see. Well, I will go over your
report before I make any final decisions as to what personnel are to go where.
When can we have Voyager and the Flyer ready?” Seven replied, “In approximately
sixteen days, Captain.” “Start right away. Take whatever
personnel you need to get the job done. Our next transmission from Starfleet is
in seven days. I will send them a packet with the information and expected
place and time of arrival. It will be their decision if they want to contact
the Romulans and try to get their cooperation if we should end up in Romulan
space. Do we have any questions?” Chakotay looking at Janeway,
inquired, “Do we inform the crew, Captain?” “Yes. They need to know. I had
rather them hear the facts from us than have any wild speculations flying about
at warp ten. Everyone needs to do his or her part in helping to achieve the
success of this. We will give them the facts, both positive and negative. I
want to know from all of you what the feelings of the crew are about this so we
can address any concerns. Now on to other business…” x B‘Elanna walked beside Seven and
said, “Uhh. I’m starving. Let’s get breakfast in the mess hall. I thought the
Doc would never shut up about that damn home brew Ensign Jackson and Watson are
making. It has to be at least 120 proof. Any fool that would drink that stuff
deserves to feel like a photon torpedo exploded in their guts and head.” Seven entered the turbo lift with
B’Elanna. “Deck two. It is obvious that you have knowledge of Ensign Jackson
and Watson‘s endeavor of producing a prohibited and obviously dangerous
substance. As an officer you were obligated to report this to the Captain, were
you not?” Seven’s ice blue eyes bored straight into B’Elanna’s surprised, dark
brown ones. “Err. Well, I ah…“ B’Elanna said
sheepishly. She glanced at Seven and noticed that the ice blue stare did not
waver. She sighed resignedly and said, “Okay, I had a small taste. A very small
taste. A teensy weensy taste. I didn’t report them because every Starship,
Maquis ship, and merchant ship, I have been on has a secret still that the
Captain doesn’t know about, or turns a blind eye to. They probably had one on
Noah’s ark, too. I’m sure Janeway knew someone on the ship had one, but didn’t
want the details. Hell, she probably had a nip or two herself. If some of the
crew hadn’t over indulged and told old Doc, she would have let it go. Now, it’s
in Voyager’s log and Janeway has to follow the rules. If I know Jackson and
Watson, despite having to scrub out the plasma conduits for a week, they‘ll be
back in business. Hopefully, they will stick to making wine, like they used to
do.” She gave Seven a big smile and
hoping to change the subject, added, “I think I could go for a big plate of
banana pancakes and a side order of hash browns. Especially after that workout you gave me this morning.” She
then wiggled her eyebrows up and down. Seven maintained her icy demeanor
and said, “You are attempting to divert my attention from the subject.” The turbo lift stopped at deck two,
and before the doors opened, B’Elanna quickly grabbed Seven by her chin and
planted a kiss on her lips. The turbo lift doors swished open, B’Elanna stepped
out and waited for Seven. Smiling coyly, she said, “Was I successful?” She noticed the corners
of Seven’s lips quirk up in a small smile, and took her be’nal’s hand in hers
as they proceeded to walk the few yards to the mess hall. There was still a lingering smile on
Seven’s slightly upturned lips as she replied, “Perhaps.” She gave B’Elanna’s
hand an affectionate squeeze. Many of the crew in the mess hall
greeted them. None offered them a seat, as the two were still considered to be
in the Honeymoon stage, preferring to
eat breakfast alone. On the occasions when they didn’t take meals in their
quarters, they would gladly accept invitations or invite others to dine at
their table in the mess hall. Seven would listen intently to their
conversations, often joining in, asking questions in a polite voice, and
smiling at their jokes. She even surprised the crew with her dry humor. The
gossip making the rounds was that B’Elanna had managed to melt the Ice Queen,
and Seven had tamed the Klingon. Seven took a chance on Neelix’s
Tagrath grain hot cereal with a dollop of replicated honey, and a glass of milk.
B’Elanna used her replicator allotment for banana pancakes with maple syrup,
and milk. They found a table by the window, and B’Elanna no sooner took a seat
before she started eating her pancakes, and said around a mouthful, “Good, but
not like my Nana could make.” Seven took a sip of her milk and
said, “You make that observation every time you consume them.” B‘Elanna quickly swallowed her next
bite. “It’s true. She made them from scratch and the maple syrup was the real
thing. When we get back to the Alpha Quadrant I will make you the real thing
with real bananas and maple syrup from real maple trees.” Seven looked across the table at her
mate. “B’Elanna, we have not discussed, nor have we made plans, for our future
when we arrive in the Alpha Quadrant.” “I know. If it’s okay with you, I
would like to go to Qo'noS, make peace with my mother, and learn more about my
Klingon heritage. We don’t have to stay long.” “We will stay as long as you desire.
If you like, we can make our home there.” B‘Elanna’s smile was sappy. “You
really are wonderful bang'wI.” She paused and then added, “I don’t know about a
home there. Is there anywhere you would like to live? I know you have relatives
on Earth. Maybe you would like to visit them for a while…maybe live on earth.
I’m not adverse to that. Some of my father’s relatives still live on Earth.” “I have no desire to live on Earth,
or for that matter, anywhere else, except with you.” She looked at B’Elanna
tenderly and said in a soft voice, “Wherever you are, bang’wI, is my home,” B‘Elanna gave Seven a melting look
and sighed. “You say the most wonderful things and you’re a wonderful be'nal. I
feel the same way. But, I do think you need to see your relatives. I know your
aunt and cousins have contacted you through the array. It‘s important for them,
I think, to meet you and you to meet them. They are a part of your parents’
history. And through your parents, they are a part of your history.” “I will visit my father’s sister,
Irene Hansen. I believe I have an obligation to inform her of what occurred to
her brother and my mother. It is an obligation I am not looking forward to
performing.” B‘Elanna reached across the table
and rubbed the back of Seven‘s Borg hand. “I know. You know I’ll be there with
you to give what support I can.” “Yes. You are an exceptional mate.
Thank you.” Seven took a sip of her milk before adding, “We need to decide our
futures as far as careers. I know that Starfleet has pardoned the Maquis, and
since I was born a Federation citizen, and married both a Federation and
Klingon Citizen, Captain Janeway believes that Starfleet will not take me into
custody as a threat to the Federation--” B’Elanna interrupted and snarled,
“If they touch a hair on your head they will rue the day they were born.” She
continued in a calmer voice, “I sent a copy of our wedding certificate through
the array to the Klingon Embassy on Earth. Since you are my be’nal, you are a
full citizen of the Empire. I doubt Starfleet would want to start a
confrontation. Klingons are warriors, but believe me, they have their romantic
side and would champion our cause.” Seven’s mouth flicked up at the
corners in a decidedly seductive smile, and her voice sounded almost like a
purr when she said, “Yes, I have personal
experience with their… romantic side.” The look that accompanied this comment
made B’Elanna tingle. Seven continued, “I have also read Women Warriors At The River Of Blood, which was very informative on
Klingon romantic and sexual customs.” B‘Elanna drew her head back slightly
in obvious surprise before blurting out, “Gee, Seven, I thought I recycled that
thing. It’s fiction and has nothing to do with reality, especially the sex
scenes.” B’Elanna then gave Seven a salacious look and softly growled, “Believe
me ‘be’nal, you’re so good in the love making department, you could write a
manual on it.” “That would be plagiarism, as I
obtained my information on how to perform Klingon sexual practices from, Women Warriors At The River Of Blood.” B'Elanna's eyes widened slightly in
mild alarm. Kahless. I have to delete ‘Vulcan Love Slave’ from my collection
of holosuite programs before Seven finds it, or she’ll think I’m into all that
stuff and wasn’t just curious.’ She then smugly smiled. Yeow, with a
be’nal like Seven, I don’t need no stinking holo-sex programs. Chapter Two Seven knelt on the deck by an open
panel, making final adjustments to the deflector on the Delta Flyer. “Mr. Kim.
A micro spanner please.” Harry Kim handed Seven a micro spanner and resumed
reading his padd. Seven had selected Harry to help her install the reflector
array in the Delta Flyer. Janeway had called a meeting earlier
that morning and announced that Harry would pilot the Delta Flyer as he had a
hand in building and designing it, as well as a familiarity with the deflector,
as he and Seven were working to install it. Seven would monitor the deflector
in the Delta Flyer and B’Elanna would monitor the transwarp coil on board
Voyager. Tuvok would handle Voyager’s deflector. B’Elanna was not too pleased
that she wouldn’t be with Seven on the Delta Flyer, but understood why Janeway
needed her on Voyager, as she knew the transwarp coil inside out. “So, Seven? You and B’Elanna make
any plans for when we return to the Alpha Quadrant?” asked Harry. “We shall disembark on Earth, where
we will proceed to the Klingon embassy. There, we will finalize my citizenship
as a citizen of the Klingon Empire. We will proceed to stay with Captain
Janeway, either at her residence in San Francisco, or at her mother‘ residence,
while I arrange to visit my aunt. We will proceed to visit my aunt and I will
attempt to explain to her what occurred to my father and mother. I am not
looking forward to it. Following the visit to my aunt’s, we will return to
Captain Janeway’s residence and obtain times and dates for a trip to Qo'noS.
Captain Janeway might be able to obtain passage for us on a Starfleet vessel
instead of a civilian starship. We will depart Earth. Depending on whether we
are provided Starfleet passage, or that of a civilian ship, it will take us
approximately--" “Uh, Seven? That’s not what I meant.
Have you and B’Elanna decided where you are going to live? And what career
paths you will each pursue?” “No.” “Oh. Uh. I guess you have plenty of
time to decide that when we get home.” “Indeed.” Seven closed the panel and
stood up. “We will now commence with testing procedure 15 Alpha.” “Right, 15 Alpha.” Harry activated a
communications console and said, “Lieutenant Torres, commence with testing
procedure 15 Alpha.” “Acknowledged, 15 Alpha has been
initiated.” Seven viewed the control panel while
entering in the data. After a few moments, she announced, “The test was
successful.” B’Elanna still had the
communications line open. “That’s great. It looks like we’re on schedule for
the day after tomorrow. Let‘s call it quits for now and head for the mess hall.
Bring Starfleet, he‘s treating.” Harry suspiciously asked, “Wait a
minute. Why am I treating?” “I know you have a zillion
replicator credits stashed away. No way you’re gonna be able to spend them all
in two days. So, as your good friend, I thought I would help you get rid of
them.” “Oh, yeah. Right. Actually, I only
have twenty-seven. Tom has been mooching off me since Neelix cleaned him out a
few months ago.” “Hey, that’s what Tom PetaQ gets
for running bets on my love life. I thought by now he would have come up with a
new scheme to fill his coffers.” “Well, ever since his big loss, he
has had a run of bad luck and owes everybody.” “Ha. You know Starfleet, by
helping him out you’re just feeding the beast. I bet he has a pool betting on
when Voyager reaches home. At least he learned his lesson and won’t involve my
personal life in his little schemes anymore.” Harry was silent for a little too
long and Seven noticed him grimace. Despite not being able to see Harry,
B‘Elanna noticed the strained silence. “Starfleet, you would tell me if he
was making betting pools on me or Seven, wouldn’t you?" “Ah…sure, B’Elanna,” He hesitantly
answered. “Hmmm. Okay, good. Now back to those
twenty-seven credits you have. It’ll be a big steak and baked potato with sour
cream for me. Oh, and a big piece of Texas toast, too. What will it be for you,
Seven?” “I shall have chicken Parmesan, baby
asparagus sautéed in butter, and a dinner roll.” “Wait a minute. That comes to over
twenty credits. I won’t have any left for my dinner,” Harry groused. Seven smirked and answered, “It
comes to exactly twenty-six credits. You shall have one credit left.” “Well, it is your lucky day,
Starfleet. One credit is enough to get you a glass of tea to wash down Neelix’s
Leola Root Surprise. See ya, B‘Elanna out.” Harry looked beseechingly at Seven,
and whined, “That’s not fair.” “Fair is irrelevant,” Seven replied
in her Borg monotone. x Captain Janeway looked at her Senior
Staff seated around the conference table. She had listened to the various
reports on the ship’s readiness to undertake the mission to return to the Alpha
Quadrant. “Starfleet has been informed of our approximate time and place of
arrival tomorrow. They will have several ships, not only at the expected points
of arrival, but also ships at various distances surrounding those points if we
should arrive at a different location. The Romulans have agreed to assist us if
we should emerge from the corridor in their space. I think their cooperation
has something to do with the fact that we were allies in the Dominion War.” She then smiled and continued, “I
have some important news for three of you here at this table. I put in a
request for promotions and appointments to Starfleet, and they have been
approved.” Janeway fixed her gaze on Ensign Harry Kim and allowed her smile to
broaden. “Let it go on record that Ensign Harry Kim has been promoted to the
rank of Lieutenant, Jr. Grade. Congratulations, Lieutenant Kim.” Janeway stood
and motioned Harry over to her, and amidst the applause and cheers, pinned a
black pip on his collar next to his gold one. “Thank you, Captain.” Harry was all
smiles. “I want to thank you, Lieutenant,
for your outstanding service to me, the crew, and this ship.” Harry took his seat and Tom patted
his back in congratulations. Janeway remained standing and
reached for a small envelope on the Table. “For her outstanding Service to me,
this crew, and Voyager, Annika Hansen has been awarded the provisional rank of
Senior Lieutenant.” Every one clapped and B’Elanna threw her arms around
Seven’s neck, giving her a hug. Seven gave B‘Elanna a questioning
look, not knowing quite what to do. B‘Elanna looked at her wife with pride and
said, “Go ahead and take it, Seven, you earned it.” Seven rose from her seat and walked
up to Janeway, who attached the oblong gold bar with two horizontal gold
stripes onto her collar. She grinned and said, “Seven, thank you for all you have
done for us. You’ve come through for us many times.” “Thank you, Captain Janeway. I will
serve to the best of my ability.” “Of that I have no doubts,” Janeway
said with her trademark lopsided smile. Tom Paris looked over at B’Elanna
and smirked. “Hey B’Elanna, she outranks you now. Guess she will be giving you
orders.” B’Elanna smiled good-naturedly and
said, “And this will differ, how?” This caused everyone to laugh. Seven went
back to her seat and B’Elanna reached over and squeezed her shoulder, looking
at her be’nal with pride. Seven gave B’Elanna a pleased smile. Captain Janeway reached for another
envelope. “I have one more. For her outstanding service to Voyager, Lieutenant.
Jr. Grade, B‘Elanna Torres, has been awarded the rank of Provisional Lieutenant
Commander.” Tom exclaimed, “What! Two whole
jumps in rank. Gee, she’ll be bossing me around.” Seven hugged a surprised B‘Elanna
who rose from her seat and walked over to Janeway who pinned her Lieutenant
Commander Bar on her collar. “B‘Elanna, we wouldn’t have made it this far
without your expertise in engineering. You have done an outstanding job.” Chakotay gave a “Hear, Hear” and
among the cheers and clapping, B’Elanna took her seat next to Seven, who hugged
her neck. Janeway said, “Well folks, we have a
big day tomorrow. I know with all the excitement it will be hard for many of
us, as well as the crew, to get any work done. Just check to make sure there
are no problems that we can‘t handle. Try to get some sleep tonight. I want
everyone awake and aware tomorrow. We have come this far and I don‘t want any
miscalculations because of fatigue to ruin our chances. Try to impart this to
the crew also.” The Doctor spoke up, “I don’t want
any calls in the wee hours of the morning due to injuries received because of
rowdy behavior or over indulgence in synthehol.” He looked at Tom and sniffed,
“I heard all about the ‘Last Night in the Delta Quadrant’ party you’re
throwing. I will be keeping an eye on things.” Tom said, “Hey Doc, it’s the last
time we’ll be at Sandrines and Fair Haven you know? Everybody has an invite to
drop by and have one last blow out on the good ship Voyager. Many want to say
goodbye to some friends from these programs. They may be holo-characters, but
we have become attached to them over time. Surely, you can understand that.”
Tom gave his best winning smile and added, “ We hope to see you there too. You
know we need a piano player and a crooner at Sandrines. Who better to fill that
role than yourself? You know all the good tunes, you’ll be ideal. So, how about
it?” The Doctor seemed to preen and
smiled smugly. “What time do the festivities start?” “They’ll be going on all day and
well into the night so the different shifts can attend. I’ll spread the word to
the crew that you’ll make your farewell appearance as Voyager‘s primo star and
virtuoso. They will mob the place,” Tom said smoothly. The Doctor’s smile seemed to grow
even larger and he actually puffed out his holographic chest. “You can count on
me. I can’t let my adoring fans down.” Janeway tried to control her desire
to smirk at Tom’s obvious play to the Doctor’s vanity. “I’ll be dropping by
Sandrines for a few games of pool. Tom, it’s your final night to try to take my
crown away as Voyager’s top Pool Player. Think you have the moxie to pull it
off?” Tom gave the captain a feral smile.
“Better powder up that cue, Captain, I’m going to run the table tonight.” Janeway gave him one of her lopsided
grins and facetiously said, “Oh? And to do this, what handicap do I have to
play with? Blindfolded and one hand tied behind my back?” This caused everyone to laugh and it
was with an upbeat air that Voyager’s senior officers left the conference room. x B’Elanna entered her and Seven’s
quarters, and saw that the lights were on, which indicated Seven was home. She
went into the bedroom, and not finding her be’nal there, went into the
bathroom. Seven was in the sonic shower and B’Elanna leaned against the sink, a
big smile on her face, as she viewed the warm flesh tones through the opaque
shower door. Even though the glass did not allow for a clear view, she could
still make out the luscious curves of her be’nal. After a couple of minutes the
sonic shower stopped, and Seven emerged from the shower, seeing B’Elanna, she smiled. “B‘Elanna, have you finished
your duties for today?” B’Elanna walked the few steps over
to her and wrapping her arms around Seven’s waist, pulled her close while
tipping her head up for a kiss. “If you’re referring to my work duties, yes.” Seven lifted the implant over her left
eye in question. “What other duties are there?” B’Elanna quickly licked the cleft in
Seven’s chin and replied, “My wifely duty.” Seven gave B’Elanna a seemingly
innocent look and said in a seemingly innocent voice, “You are going to prepare
our dinner?” B’Elanna chuckled and facetiously
replied, “Why yes. Is there anything particular you would like tonight?” Seven put her left arm around
B’Elanna’s’ shoulder and her right hand behind her head and drew her close, her
lips a breath away from B’Elanna’s. “This.” She pressed her lips against
B’Elanna’s in a searing kiss and softly
moaned, deepening the kiss, which elicited a growl from her wife. Seven
drew back slightly, her breathing quickening. She nipped B’Elanna’s bottom
lip, moved to her neck, and lightly bit
the throbbing pulse point, eliciting a deeper growl from her wife. B’Elanna took Seven by her hand and drew her into the bedroom, stopping
by the edge of the bed. Seven reached out to unfasten B’Elanna’s jacket and then
drew it off. She next pulled her wife’s gray uniform shirt over her head along
with her black undershirt leaving her be’nal’s chest bare. Seven softly stroked
the caramel breasts, noticing with satisfaction that the brown nipples had
hardened. She ran her hands along the sides of the trim waist before lightly
guiding B’Elanna to sit on the edge of the bed. Seven knelt and removed B’Elanna’s
boots, and tugging down the pants and undies, dropped them to the deck. Still
kneeling, Seven ran her hands up the outside of B’Elanna’s legs then to the
silken inner thighs, parting them. She placed gentle kisses on the smooth
flesh, nipping softly with her teeth. B’Elanna groaned and shivered as Seven’s
silken long hair brushed across her thighs. Seven looked up into her be’nal’s
dark eyes, molten with desire, her own, liquid blue and questioning. B’Elanna
groaned again and quivered lightly, her voice roughened by desire. “Oh yes,
bang’wI. Please.” Seven lowered her face to B’Elanna’s
apex, breathing deeply the rich, heady aroma of her be’nal’s arousal. B’Elanna
shivered, groaning again as she felt Seven’s warm breath tickle her pubic hair
and soft fingers separate the wet folds of her labia. B’Elanna fell all the way
back upon the mattress, opening her legs wider, entangling her hand in Seven’s
hair and gently urging her to the source of her fire. Seven drew her fingers
through the slick, warm wetness and gently massaged the hard knot above her
be’nal’s opening. She removed her fingers and touched her tongue along the wet
opening and up to the protruding bud. She flicked the bud with her tongue and
then forcefully licked along B’Elanna’s crease, tasting the slightly salty and
bitter essence of her wife‘s arousal. B’Elanna sucked in her breath as she
felt Seven’s lips and tongue caress her center. She groaned and began to move
her hips in rhythm to the oral caresses. She lost all rational thought as her
bang'wI took her to that place where all that existed was this primal fire,
stoked to such heat, that she felt as she were the great cosmic core gone nova,
filling the void with stars and light. Time and place had no meaning. She did
not know if seconds or centuries passed, until a voice pulled her back into the
now. “I have you be’nal.” She felt herself cradled in warm arms, and the soft
press of lips on her forehead. She turned into the warmth, pressing her face
into the soft breasts, and cried from the sheer joy of loving this woman and
having this woman love her in return. Seven continued to stroke her wife’s
hair and back while whispering her love into her ear. B’Elanna took a
shuddering breath, pushed Seven down on the bed, and gently settled her weight
on her be’nal. She kissed her deeply, feeling Seven’s lips move against hers,
and tasted her own essence. She parted from the kiss long enough to say, “Now
bang'wI, I will return to you the fire you have kindled in me.” x Seven stroked B’Elanna’s bare back
as her be’nal nuzzled her ear and purred, “Hmmm, you have worn me completely
out. I’m not moving from here until the alarm goes off.” Seven reached her hand down to
B’Elanna’s posterior and pinched one of her cheeks. “Ouch! That hurt, ” B’Elanna
protested. “That was the purpose.” “What did I do?” “You have failed to perform your...wifely duty.” B‘Elanna blew a puff of air through
her mouth in surprise and said, “What…your cortical node must have failed.
We’ve been performing our wifely duty
for the past two hours.” Seven propped herself up on her
elbow and smirked. “That is not your primary wifely duty. Your primary duty is to prepare our dinner.” “You had rather eat than make love?”
B’Elanna asked in disbelief. “No. However, I have not eaten since
breakfast and making love has depleted my energy. I wish to replete my energy
in order to resume making love.” B‘Elanna snickered and replied with
growl in her voice, “Hmmm. Well, I guess I will need to replete my energy if
that’s your plan.” She lightly smacked Seven on her behind and said, “So,
be’nal, you can replicate me a hamburger with all the fixings, and a chocolate
shake…oh, and serve it to me in bed.” “That is not my duty. Your duty is
to prepare our nutrients and my duty is to wash dishes. We agreed to this when
on the desert planet.” B‘Elanna complained, “Gods, Seven,
you haven’t replicated anything to eat once. Throwing dishes in the recycler
does not count as washing them.” Seven answered, almost indignantly,
“That is untrue. I have replicated breakfast fifteen times and dinner eight
times since we have been sharing these quarters.” Seven sighed and fluffed her
pillow, lay her head down, and turned slightly away from B’Elanna, saying in
her Borg monotone. “Very well. We shall forgo nourishment and attempt to sleep.
Tomorrow we shall go to the mess hall for breakfast. Perhaps that will be
sufficient to regain my strength for our journey to the Alpha Quadrant.” B‘Elanna sighed resignedly. “What
will it be?” “A peanut butter and strawberry
jelly sandwich, and a glass of milk.” B’Elanna replied in a nasal voice,
“Yes, dear.” After a few minutes, she returned
and handed Seven a tray. “Anything else, Your Highness?" “This will suffice… for now.” B’Elanna crawled back in bed beside
Seven and leaned back against the headboard. Seven leaned over and kissed her
cheek. “Thank you, bang‘wI. You are an exceptional mate.” B’Elanna reached over to the tray on
Seven’s lap and took her plate. “Just keep remembering that, bang’wI.” She took
a bite of her burger, chewed and swallowed. After eating a few more bites, she
said, “This is our last night in the Delta Quadrant. Hard to believe we have
been here almost seven years. In a way, it seems like a lifetime, but in
another way, it seems like yesterday.” Seven took a sip of milk, and looked
at B’Elanna for a few long seconds, before asking, “Do you regret your time here
in the Delta Quadrant?” B‘Elanna answered right away, “At
first I did.” She smiled gently and let her gaze search Seven’s face before
saying sincerely and softly, “Now? No. How can I regret what happened when it
brought me you? If I have any regrets, it’s that I didn’t get to know you
better when we first met. I should have listened to what my heart was telling
me, instead of fighting you all that time.” B’Elanna leaned over and kissed
Seven’s cheek. Seven smiled, her teeth showing and
her eyes bright with little crinkles at the edges. “You did listen to your
heart, your Klingon heart. It told you I was your mate and you acted in the
Klingon way. It demanded that you challenge me to see if I would be a worthy
mate.” “Yeah, you were a challenge all
right. I guess being half Klingon it took longer for me to understand what was
really going on. I was a real PetaQ to you, and to make matters worse, I hooked
up with an even bigger PetaQ. That I truly regret. What a waste of time.” “The past is irrelevant. We are
together.” “Forever, bang‘wI. I just wish I
could be with you on the Delta Flyer tomorrow.” B’Elanna took Seven’s Borg hand
and kissed the fingertips. “I’m all wound up tight about tomorrow. I doubt
anyone will get much sleep. I bet Sandrines will be jumping until early in the
morning.” “Do you wish to attend Tom’s …bash?” “Not at all. I want you all to
myself. I have plans for you, my dear,” she said and wiggled her eyebrows, a
salacious grin on her face. Seven smiled at this, and inquired
innocently, “Plans? What are the specifications of these…plans?” “Me, you, here in this bed, doing
things. Delicious things to each other that we both enjoy. Things you do so
very well,” B’Elanna replied in a sultry voice. Seven lifted the implant over her
left eye. “Things? Could you be more precise? Perhaps give me a demonstration
of these…things?” “I can do better than that. I can
give you a lifetime subscription to these things. They come complete with their
own special bio-molecular unit, and a lifetime guarantee of providing you with
the utmost enjoyable activities and pleasure. The only requirement you have to
do for keeping your unit working at peak performance, is to operate it several
times a week, as often as you like. In fact, the more times the better.” “Maintaining the unit will not
present a problem. I accept your generous offer. Now, I would like to utilize
my unit and experience these…enjoyable activities. What is the procedure for
activating the unit?” “The unit is activated by using the
owner’s distinct genetic code. The only thing you have to do is place your lips
against the matching part on the unit, and it’s done.” With that, Seven pressed her lips
against B’Elanna’s who deepened the kiss. After a few long minutes of
passionate kissing, B’Elanna pulled a hair’s distance away and breathlessly
said, “Bio-molecular Unit is activated.” Chapter Three B’Elanna walked with Seven to the
Delta Flyer. Harry Kim was already inside at the helm checking the systems for
the last time. The two boarded the Flyer and B’Elanna drew her wife’s head down
for a kiss. “Have a nice flight bang'wI. I’ll be thinking about you while we’re
going through the corridor.” Seven leaned in for another kiss. “I
will expect you to greet me with a kiss…our first kiss in the Alpha Quadrant.” B’Elanna smiled and said, “Our first
kiss of the millions to follow.” B’Elanna let her gaze linger on Seven’s face
for a few moments then added, “Well, I’ll see you in a little bit.” Seven
nodded and with an effort, tore her gaze from her be’nal’s, and walked into the
Flyer to the helm, taking the seat behind Harry. B’Elanna stood in the opening
of the Flyer and said loudly to Harry, “Hey, and Starfleet. You take care of my
girl.” Harry turned and shouted back, “Hey,
Maquis, she’ll be taking care of me. See you in the Alpha Quadrant.” “Sure thing.” B’Elanna looked at
Seven and their gazes met, their eyes bright, and saying what they did not need
to voice. “God’s Speed, bang’wI,” B’Elanna
mouthed in a whisper. Seven’s enhanced Borg hearing heard,
she smiled and also replied in a whisper, “Good Journey, bang’wI.” ‘B’Elanna could not hear her but
read the movements of her lips, smiled, and walked out of the Flyer, heading
toward Engineering. x “Delta Flyer, we are engaging
transwarp in 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1, mark,” Tuvok said over the comm system. Harry and Seven’s view from the
Flyer’s window was of the rippling vortex of blues and violets opening around
Voyager. They could not see the front of Voyager as she plunged through the
opening eye of the storm, but they did have a good view on their viewscreen of
the back portion of the warp bubble at a safe distance closing behind them. Harry fingered the controls and
announced, “Voyager is maintaining a steady course, as are we.” “The array is functioning within acceptable
parameters. We should emerge in one minute twenty six seconds.” Almost a couple of minutes passed
before Harry looked nervously at his controls and readings, and declared,
“Damn, Voyager must have picked up some turbulence. She’s starting to bounce a
little. Not to worry, We’re still within safe parameters.” Seven announced coolly, “Collapsing
corridor field has progressed to within 800 meters of the Delta Flyer. We are
now within forty-eight seconds of the targeted point.” Harry was concerned now, his voice
strained when he said, “Damn! Come on Tom…keep her steady.” He now said with
alarm, “Voyager is careening too much and at too rapid a speed!” Seven’s voice was at a higher pitch,
reflecting her concern, “Array has lost contact with transwarp signal. Corridor
is collapsing. We have fifteen seconds remaining to reach the designated point.
Ten seconds, four seconds--” The Delta Flyer suddenly shook by
the forces of the collapsing corridor. When the swirling lights around them
cleared, they found themselves in a clear star field. Seven quickly accessed the scanners.
“I am not detecting Voyager‘s signature. Nor do I detect any debris.” Harry looked over at Seven, concern
on his face and asked anxiously, “You think they made it through?” “Yes. The collapse caught us at
three seconds before emergence at the terminus point. My calculations are that
the collapse did not catch Voyager and they have emerged in the Alpha
Quadrant.” “Any idea where we are?” Seven accessed the various readings
and after a few long seconds, announced, “My astrometrics readings show that we
are in the Beta Quadrant.” “Where in the Beta Quadrant, or do I
want to know?” “We are in Romulan Space.” “Oh boy. I hope that they are going
to help like they said they would. I hope they are still on good terms with the
Federation. After all, we were allies in the Dominion War.” “That may be correct. However, given
the history of the Romulan Empire, both past and present, good terms do not
necessarily mean cooperation. We shall plot the quickest route to Federation
Space.” “Should we send out a distress
call?” “Send out a distress call on all
channels. If the Romulans intercept it, they will search for a Federation
vessel with a Federation ship design and power signatures. Our vessel utilizes
components that are Borg, and a few from other Delta Quadrant species. I can
disguise our weapons array. This may enable us to escape detection or be
perceived as none threatening until we can determine if there is a threat.” “That’s a good idea, Seven…er,
Lieutenant.” Harry hadn‘t had time to adjust to Seven’s new rank. Seven ignored his breach of protocol
and said, “It is not my idea. I assimilated this particular tactical idea from
Species 1091.” “What species is that?” “Romulan.” x Captain Janeway held tight to the
arm of her Command Chair. She felt as if her teeth would rattle right out her
mouth and her eyeballs would fall out onto the deck. She watched as Tom fought
to keep Voyager within the transwarp Corridor. Come on, Tom, just a few
seconds. Suddenly the shaking stopped and the viewscreen showed that
Voyager was in clear space. Before she could call for a damage
report, Tuvok reported, “Captain, we are being hailed by Federation Vessel,
Embolden.” Janeway looked at Chakotay, her
second in command, and said, “My, that was quick. Chakotay, check the status
reports.” She quickly faced the view screen and drew herself up to attention.
“On screen.” The placid features of a Vulcan
Starfleet captain greeted her. Her voice was evenly modulated, “Welcome home,
Captain Janeway. I am Captain Dasal of the U.S.S Embolden.” Janeway smiled, “Captain Dasal. I
take it that we are in the Alpha Quadrant?” “Actually, Captain Janeway, you are
in the Federation portion of the Beta Quadrant.” “Ahhh. Federation Space at least.
Are there any other ships in the vicinity?” “We are to maintain station keeping
until Federation vessels, Liberty, Vladimir, and Exeter, arrive in the next
hour. Admiral North is aboard the Exeter. In the meantime, Captain, is there
any assistance that you may require?” “Thank you, Captain Dasal. I have
not had time to go over any damage reports. I will contact you shortly.” “Understood, Captain. Dasal, out.” Janeway went back to her Command
Chair with a beaming smile on her face. “Well, it looks like we made it.” Tom turned in his seat with a
stricken expression. “Captain. The Delta Flyer is nowhere in the vicinity.” Janeway sprang to her feet and
looked at Tuvok who said, “I have scanned the surrounding area and have not detected
the Delta Flyer's signature, nor have we received a distress call.” Janeway set her features into a firm
mask, only her eyes showing a stricken look. “Do another search, go through any
information we gathered on our way through the corridor. They can’t be far away
if we were able to make it through the corridor. I’ll contact Captain Dasal
from my ready room.” x B’Elanna sat on the edge of her
chair and looked around the Exeter’s conference room table. To her right was
Captain Janeway, and to her left was Tuvok. At the end was seated Admiral North
and across the table were Captain Carlos Leon, and his Second in Command,
Commander Fariso. Admiral North had their attention as
he spoke, “We have to do this by the book. Romulan Admiral Telir is to rendezvous
with us in two hours. What I’m going to tell you next is not general knowledge
outside of Starfleet Command, and I expect it to stay here. Our operatives in
Romulan space have been sending reports to us for the last six months, and it
appears that there was an attempted coup by the Tal Shiar, and certain members
of the Senate, to take over Romulus. It was unsuccessful. However, the Tal
Shiar, under the command of General Sela, has its own base of operations and a
fleet. For years now, they have been stock piling supplies and building
defenses on various planets in the sector that you indicate as a possible
location of the Delta Flyer. They have also supplied various other factions of
non-Romulan species that wish independence from the Empire, with weapons and
ships. Including the enslaved inhabitants of Romulus’ sister planet, Remus. The
Empire has stretched its fleet and forces thin in trying to squash out the
various rebellions. The Tal Shiar has enough ships, weapons, and resources to
prevent the Empire intruding on what they consider their domain.” B’Elanna could no longer contain her
fear and anger and rose from her seat, facing Admiral North with a belligerent
stare. “So, what you’re basically telling us is that we cannot expect any help
from the Romulans, nor from Starfleet. Is that what you’re saying? You’re going
to sit back and do nothing?” Janeway put her hand on B’Elanna’s
arm and calmly said, “B’Elanna, let’s see what options we have.” B’Elanna glared at Admiral North,
who glared back. She took her seat, her face flushed and teeth clinched. Admiral North looked at B’Elanna
with sympathy. “We are not going to abandon them. We are going to do everything
we can to get them back quickly and safely. We will have to work with the
Romulans for this to succeed. I’m asking, no, ordering you, Commander Torres,
to hold your tongue unless we consult you. You could jeopardize everything. Is
that understood?” B’Elanna looked down at the table
top, then back up. Her eyes held a hardness that glittered like jet.
“Understood… Admiral.” Janeway reached behind B’Elanna and
patted her back in affection and support. To come this far and then to have
this happen. x Admiral Telir looked directly into
the eyes of Admiral North. “I am aware that the Federation has knowledge of the
problems that our Empire faces. You have your spies and agents, perhaps in the
Senate itself, and we have our…sources in the Federation.” Janeway studied the Romulan Admiral
closely. She was an older woman, in Human years, perhaps in her 60’s, but it
was hard to tell with Romulans. She could well be over 100 years old. She let her gaze settle on Telir‘s
aide, Adjunct Vlara. She looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties.
She appeared more Vulcan than Romulan due to her smooth forehead. Then again,
her features and fair coloring were more like the Vulcan/human hybrids one
occasionally saw. Her hair was a rich seal brown, curling softly around her
face and almost to her shoulders, and not in the ugly, severe military cut that
was now popular among Romulans. Her face was a soft oval, unlike the angular
features of most Vulcans and Romulans, and her eyes were large and expressive.
Janeway had not managed to get close enough to note the color clearly, but from
where she sat, they appeared hazel. Her nose was not too small or large. It was
slightly pug in an attractive way. Her mouth was small and well shaped. She was
not what one would call beautiful, or even pretty, but she was attractive in a
race that Janeway had never found physically appealing. Romulans always looked
too stern and foreboding to her: The women harsh and angular , especially with
the current fashion of dark lip coloring and unbecoming haircuts. Janeway knew
she shouldn’t judge other species by her more Earth centric standards of
beauty, but still, one couldn’t help certain cultural biases. The young woman
quickly turned her gaze to Janeway, causing her to blush at being caught
staring, and turning her attention back to Admiral Telir. Admiral Telir said, “Your crewmen
are indeed in the section of space that you have pinpointed. One of our ships,
close to that sector, received their distress signal and relayed the
information to me. I will be honest, if it has not happened already, the
renegade Tal Shiar will soon apprehend them. They will quickly investigate the
source of the communications, as well as any unusual singularities appearing in
the sector controlled by them. The most we can do is to have our operatives
pass on any information they receive. If there is a chance to get them out, our
operatives will take it. The chances are very slim that you will see your
people again, unless the Tal Shiar were to use them in trade for something they
want from you or us. You can rest assured that the trade would be to their
favor and would not be accepted by us or your Federation.” B’Elanna quickly stood, flinging
back her chair, and tersely declared, “No! God damn it, no! I’ll not accept
that. You can let me take a small shielded shuttle into the area. I’ll find
them!” Admiral North barked, “Commander,
you’re out of line.” B’Elanna ripped off her officer’s
bar, slammed it down on the table, and shoved it towards the Admiral. “I don’t
answer to Starfleet anymore. I’ll get them back without Starfleet’s help.” Janeway looked beseechingly at the
distraught woman and calmly said, “B’Elanna, please, take your seat--” “No!” B‘Elanna turned blazing eyes
on Janeway and in a barely controlled voice stated, “Thank you, Captain. It has
been an interesting ride. But this is my stop. We are not far from Klingon
Space, and I request passage there…Please. Contact the nearest Klingon ship and
tell them a citizen of the Empire, and Maquis Freedom Fighter, requests passage
home.” With that, she turned and left. Admiral Telir questioned, “Maquis?
The ones in our space are Maquis?” Janeway looked at Admiral Telir and
said, “No. One of the two is her wife and the other a good friend.” The Romulan Admiral raised her
eyebrows, a thoughtful look on her face. “Ahhh. The Universe sometimes exacts a
bitter payment for every sweet success.” Janeway sighed. “She won’t give up
on finding them, and neither will I.” Admiral Telir nodded her head. “I
will assist as much as I am able.” She looked toward the Starfleet admiral.
“Admiral North, I need as much information as you are willing to share on the
two lost individuals, and their ship. With your permission,” she looked at
Janeway, “and if Captain Janeway is agreeable, I would like to meet with her
and Commander Torres, face-to-face. Perhaps we can come up with a viable plan
of action.” Janeway held her breath and looked
at Admiral North. He smiled and said, “Agreed.” x B’Elanna left the transporter pad
and rushed out from the room, leaving the ensign operating the controls feeling
some dismay at the look of rage on her face. There was no one in the corridor
or in the turbo lift when she exited the lift, and hurried to her quarters,
sealing the door behind her. She went into the bedroom and looked around, her
sight settling on Seven’s bathrobe draped over the back of the lounger. She
picked it up and brought it up to her face, breathing in deeply the scent of
her wife. A primal scream of rage and anguish issued from deep in her chest,
and catching her breath, she screamed again. Still holding Seven’s robe, she
threw herself face down on the bed, and screamed until her voice was hoarse.
She turned over on her back, staring up at the ceiling, wondering what she
could do, and how she could awaken from this nightmare. Her comm badge beeped but she did
not acknowledge it. Tears welled up and leaked down her cheeks, neck, and down
into her hair. She didn’t know how long she lay
there until she pushed herself off the bed and went to the replicator.
“Computer, double rum straight up.” The small glass of spirits materialized and
she quickly grabbed it, drinking the contents down in one swallow, and then she
threw the glass across the room where it shattered against the view window.
“Computer, double rum straight up.” Another drink materialized and she again downed
the contents, repeating her action of smashing the glass against the window.
“Computer, one bottle of light rum.” You have insufficient credits to
purchase this item. “Damn. Computer, double rum,
straight up.” a glass of the clear liquid materialized, and she once again
drank down the contents in one swallow, and threw the glass against the window,
feeling some amount of satisfaction as the glass splintered. She was just about to see if she had
enough credits to get another drink when she heard the chime at the door. “GO
AWAY!” The chime sounded again and she sat on the couch, ignoring it. The chime
kept pealing, making B’Elanna angry, and she screamed, “God damn! I said GO
AWAY!” There was silence and then the door
opened, and Captain Janeway walked into the darkened quarters, stopping and
looking around, her eyes not yet adjusted to the darkness. “B’Elanna?” She was startled when she heard a
hoarse voice from the dark growl out menacingly, “Get the god damn hell out of
here!” Janeway swung her head toward the
voice and saw B’Elanna outlined by the faint glow of the running lights on
Voyager. She walked over to the couch. “May I sit down?” B’Elanna sprang up and stood close
enough for Janeway to see the dim light reflecting from the black pools of her eyes.
B’Elanna’s voice was dangerously low. “Get. Out.” Janeway did not budge. She could
smell the alcohol on B’Elanna’s breath. She reached out her hand only to have
it slapped away, and she said sincerely, “B’Elanna, I haven’t given up. I came
here to go over some ideas with you on retrieving Seven and Harry. I’ll not let
this go. If I have to, I will resign my commission and find some way to search
for them.” B’Elanna stopped breathing for a
moment, and then asked in a surprised voice, “You’d do that?” “In a heartbeat. Seven is like a
daughter to me, you as well. Harry has been loyal and I’ve grown quite fond of
him. And you know, I never leave my people behind. Let‘s sit down and see what
resources we have to work with.” B’Elanna hesitated for a second, searching
Janeway’s face, before sitting down on the end of the couch. She placed the
heels of her palms against her eyes trying to stymie the flow of tears. Janeway
sat beside her and pulled her into a hug. B’Elanna hugged her back and placing
her head on her captain’s shoulder, cried. Janeway let her cry, rubbing her
back in comforting circles. Finally, B’Elanna sat up and rubbed
the tears from her eyes. Janeway got up and went to the bathroom and replicated
a washcloth, dampened it with cold water, returned to the couch and handed it
to B’Elanna, who wiped her face. “Captain, what can we do?” B’Elanna
asked beseechingly. “What we’ve always done. Bend a lot
of rules, break a few, and make up our own. We may have an ally with Admiral
Telir. She has invited us to dine with her on board her ship, and give her
information on Seven and Harry that would assist her in searching for them.” “Do you trust her? I mean, the
Federation is on friendly terms right now with Romulus, but these are
Romulans." “Yes. I think she is sincere in
wanting to help. I’m not so naive that I believe she won’t gain something out
of this. My greatest fear is that she wants the information on the transwarp
coil. Or, it may be as simple as wanting to establish better relations with the
Federation. The Empire could use some allies right now. Let’s float some ideas
around. And, If you don’t mind, I would like to call Tom in on this. He has
expressed a desire to help.” B’Elanna looked like she was about
to object and Janeway put her hand up to forestall her as she added, “I know he
can be immature and a pain. But, he also has an active imagination and may come
up with something. Besides, Harry is his best friend and he wants to help.” “You’re right. Knowing Tom, he
probably already has an idea. I just hope it doesn’t involve ray guns and
rocket packs.” x Vlara went to her desk in her
quarters and pressed her fingertips onto a three by four inch recessed green
lighted area on the polished black top.
A drawer slid open and she removed a flat green leather folder. She sat in her
chair, and placing the folder on the table, flipped it open. There was a
picture of her and her father taken on the day of her acceptance as a Senatorial Page at the Imperial
Senate Training School. Her father was a handsome man, as far as humans went.
He was fair-haired and blue eyed, a color combination very rare on Ch’Rihan and
very much sought after in concubines and slaves. She had loved him very much, even
though his station in life was that of a slave. Her mother loved him also, in
her own way. Her mother chose him as part of her share of a war prize after the
Romulan victory at Narendra III. Starfleet prisoners were often
executed after information was obtained from them. Save for those that caught
the eye of some senator, military official, or upper caste citizen. Starfleet
prisoners made poor slaves in that they felt it was part of their duty to
escape captivity. Her father’s name was Richard Vincent and he had served as a
Lieutenant in the science department on board the Federation Starship
Enterprise. His capture followed the destruction of his ship at Narendra III.
He resided on her mother’s ancestral estate on Campus Prime, which was located
on a small habitable moon of the gas giant Dothus, in the Corunian system.
There was no way he could escape; the only ships permitted on the moon were
supply ships and certain military ships. That did not keep him from trying.
Once he hid away in the grain bay on the monthly supply ship that delivered
supplies to their home. He was quickly apprehended after the broadcast, on
subspace frequencies, of his missing status. His punishment had been
confinement to his room for a time, and when allowed to wander the estate,
loyal servants of her mother watched him around the clock. Her mother never physically or
mentally abused him. She was a patient woman and treated him kindly. She knew
he was trained as a biologist and had a love for nature, so she would take him
for walks among the estate’s forest and fields. Much of the moon’s fauna and
flora remained unstudied and unrecorded. Her mother offered him the task of
doing this and he readily accepted. She even told him to name the plants. He
would share with her mother, his findings and they would discuss the various
aspects and characteristics of the different species. Not long after that, a
friendship grew between them, which led to love, as much as was possible
between two persons of unequal social class. For political reasons her mother had
never married any of the available Rihannsu in her class. She made him an
official concubine. He could never be a citizen, but was accorded certain
respect due to the position of her Mother. She was born two years after his
capture, and was the couple’s only child. She was a full citizen, due to her
mother’s status and social class. Her mother was often gone on missions,
leaving her father as her primary caretaker. He seemed satisfied with his life
on Campus Prime and she never learned of his past until after her graduation
from the Imperial Senate Training School. He told her of his background as a
Starfleet officer, and most shocking of all, revealed that he had a wife and
three children in the Alpha Quadrant. His children had been thirteen, ten and
six years of age when he left for a six-month tour. They would now be adults.
His wife had most assuredly thought him dead and had probably remarried. His
one wish was to tell them that he had not died and that he loved them. He
assured her that he loved her. He made her promise that one day she would get
word to them, and if he still lived, tell him what she had learned of them. She
had promised him that she would carry out his wishes. That had been nine years ago. He
died four years ago from the sting of a harvester bee while studying plant life
along a nearby creek bed. The bee sting was painful but not fatal to most
mammals. It appeared he was allergic to the sting and his death occurred within
a matter of minutes. At the time of his death, she was
serving as a civilian adjunct to her mother. Their ship was near the Neutral
Zone when word reached them. She was shaken and saddened. It was a solemn
homecoming for her and her mother. They interred his body in the family
mortuary vaults. There was the customary feast in his honor, attended by all
the servants and military staff alike. As is the Romulan custom, his family and
friends recalled various anecdotes concerning his life with them, with both
laughter and tears. He had left a letter for her, and
one for her mother, with instructions to open them in the event of his death.
Her mother did not share the contents of the letter to her but did share with
her his last request. That she, his daughter, one day visit the Federation and
carry private letters that he had written to his children and wife. She knew
this of course, as her letter contained the same request he had made to her
personally. The recent events with the lost
Federation craft and crewmembers might open up a way for her to go to the
Federation planet of Earth. It was her mother’s desire that she journey in
person to carry out this last request. It was a matter of honor to carry out
the last wishes of a loved one. All she needed was for the
Federation to allow the visit. It would help facilitate matters smoothly if she
cultivated a friendship with a member of Starfleet. Captain Kathryn Janeway was an
honorable person according to the data and research they had on her. It would
not hurt matters that the Federation also viewed Captain Janeway as a hero. If
her mother could help Janeway recover her lost crewmembers, then perhaps
Janeway could help her. If this action resulted in better relations between the
Federation and The Empire, it would give her mother a power point to use in her
future position as a member of the Senate, perhaps even as Proconsul someday.
After all, it was not only who you were that mattered, but also who your
friends were. x Captain Kathryn Janeway looked with
appreciation at her reflection in her bathroom mirror. She admired the fit of
her new formal Starfleet uniform, how the white dress jacket brought out the
red in her hair and flattered her figure. She always hated the old former dress
uniform: A red sack that made her look short and dumpy. One last sweep of the
brush through her hair and she was ready. She was looking forward to dining
with Admiral Telir. She hoped B’Elanna would be on her best behavior, after
all, the old earth saying that you got more bees with honey was tried and true. She met B’Elanna in transporter room
one and immediately noticed that she was also wearing the new version of the
Starfleet dress uniform. Her white jacket had a yellow shirt and gold trim.
Janeway noticed with pleasure that B’Elanna still had her provisional rank
bars, indicating that she had not carried out her threat to resign…yet. She
also noticed her engineer's drawn face and tired eyes. “The new dress uniform
looks nice on you B’Elanna.” B’Elanna smiled faintly and looked
Janeway over. “As does yours, Captain. The person who designed these needs to
be awarded a medal.” Janeway saw that the smile never
reached B’Elanna’s eyes. “Well, then. Let’s see what plans our guest has.” She
turned her attention to the ensign at the transporter controls. “Ensign, two to
beam over at set coordinates.” “Aye, captain. Permission has been granted.” Both women materialized on a
transporter pad and were met by Vlara who gave them the typical Romulan
military salute consisting of clinched fist and arm, quickly drawn to the
chest. “Captain Janeway, Commander Torres, welcome aboard. If you will please
accompany me.” Vlara’s voice was surprisingly warm and the sound possessed a
deliciously rich throatiness that made the hair on the back of Janeway’s neck
prickle in a pleasant way. The young woman had not spoken at their first
meeting. After a short walk down a wide
corridor, Vlara stopped at a wide door, which parted to allow them to enter
into a large living room. This was obviously the Admiral’s personal suite.
Their host greeted them cordially. “Captain Janeway and Commander Torres.
Welcome. Please, this way.” She led them to another room that contained a set
table with a number of food items already in place. “Please, Captain, sit
here.” She indicated a seat at the end of the table. “Please, Commander Torres,
here. She indicated a seat to the Captain's right. Vlara took the seat across from
B’Elanna. Admiral Telir sat at the other end of the table, and after a few
seconds, two servers entered with carafes of various liquors, stood at the elbow
of the Starfleet officers, and taking their glasses, poured in a small amount
of blue liquid. Captain Janeway recognized it as the rare and prohibited
Romulan Brandy: That is, prohibited in the Federation. Admiral Telir stood and lifted her
glass. “I believe it is an Earth custom to toast success with a drink of
spirits, Captain Janeway?” Janeway nodded and Admiral Telir continued, “To your
return home, Captain, and the safe return of your crewmen.” Captain Janeway
nodded and took a sip of the spirit, finding that it went down easily and left
a slight licorice aftertaste. One of the waiters immediately refreshed her
glass. Admiral Telir was still standing and looked toward B’Elanna. “To the
safe return of your loved one, and friend, Commander.” B'Elanna nodded and
threw back her head and swallowed the sapphire liquid in one gulp. Admiral Telir was an excellent host.
The food was delicious, and the conversation touched on everything from the
recent Dominion War, to some of Voyager’s adventures in the Delta Quadrant.
Janeway was surprised at the seemingly candid discussions on the brooding Civil
War with the Remans and the mutiny of the Tal Shiar. The Admiral was an astute listener
and seemed to enjoy Janeway's anecdotes of their adventures in the Delta quadrant. Janeway glanced often at B’Elanna
and noticed that she seemed to have relaxed. Whether this was due to the amount
of Romulan Brandy she consumed, or their host’s interesting portrayal of events
while Voyager was missing, from the Romulan point of view of course, she did
not know. Perhaps it was a combination of both. Janeway also glanced on many
occasion at Adjunct Vlara. For the most part, the young woman seemed to be
engrossed in the conversations, only speaking when confirming a specific event that
Admiral Telir was relaying. Several times, she would catch the young woman
looking at her, only to lower her eyes or look elsewhere. However, the last few
times she caught the young woman staring at her she was amused to notice a
smile and the cutest dimples that she had ever seen. Janeway returned her
smile. She is very lovely when she smiles. She had a feeling that there
was something more than an officer and commander relationship between the two women.
Perhaps, they were lovers. Before she could ponder more on their connection,
her host made a surprising announcement. “Captain Janeway, Commander Torres.
I wish to help you retrieve your two crewmembers. With your permission,
Captain, I wish for Commander Torres to stay aboard my ship and work directly
with me to achieve this goal.” Before Janeway could answer, Admiral
Telir looked at B’Elanna. “Commander Torres. What I am formulating could very
well cost you your life, but it is the only solution I have at the moment.” B’Elanna’s eyes glowed and her color
heightened. “Admiral. Trust me. I would give my very life to have my be’nal
safe. My only question is, when do we start?” Janeway interceded, “I would have to
hear your plans before I could approve them. It may be out of my hands anyway,
Starfleet would have to be informed and give their permission.” B’Elanna immediately reached for her
provisional rank bar, and taking it off, laid it on the table. “I resign my
commission, Captain.” She looked at the Admiral. “Admiral Telir, when do we
start?” Admiral Telir looked at Captain
Janeway, her face neutral. “Captain. I would like for you and Starfleet to
approve this mission. I believe it could open up promising possibilities of
friendship between our governments.” Janeway nodded. “I agree and I will
do what I can to facilitate things.” Admiral Telir smiled and said, “I
have a personal favor to ask of you, one which I think in your role as a
Starfleet officer you may be able to perform.” Here it comes, thought Janeway. Her eyes did not blink as she stared
directly into the Admiral’s eyes. “That favor would be?” Admiral Telir looked across the
table at Adjunct Vlara. “Take my daughter back with you to the Alpha Quadrant
to visit with her family there.” Janeways eyes widened and she turned
to gaze at Vlara. Vlara returned the look with a smile and said, “Yes, Captain,
my father’s family. He is dead, but it was his wish that I carry messages to
his family…my family. On my honor, as his daughter, I promised him I would do
so.” Janeway saw the sincerity in the
young woman’s eyes. “I …see.” She looked at B’Elanna and saw the pleading look
in her eyes. She directed her attention to Admiral Telir, giving one of her
trademark lopsided smiles, and said, “I’m sure we can work something out.” Admiral Telir nodded and motioned to
her staff to fill the glasses with more sapphire liquid. “On my honor, Captain
Janeway, I will do what I can do bring your crew back to you safely.” She
stood, lifted her glass and looking at B’Elanna, and then at Janeway, said,
“Let us toast new friends, old friends, and loved ones far away. May the
universe smile on them and grant them success, happiness, and good fortune.” The other three women stood and
lifted their glasses and swallowed the contents to honor the toast. Chapter Four Seven of Nine checked the various
indicators on the Delta Flyer's monitors, while Harry slept in the Flyer's aft
area. So far, the only sensor readings had been those of a few cargo ships at a
far enough distance away to avoid any contact. She had fine-tuned the various
sensors to detect any tachyon particles in the vicinity that would indicate the
presence of a cloaked ship. Realistically, she knew that the Romulans were
already aware of their presence in Romulan space, and that a search for them
was already in effect. She knew that their identity as a
Starfleet vessel remained unknown, due to the various Borg and Delta Quadrant
components in the weapons signatures, arrays and shielding. Any ship close
enough to scan them would undoubtedly be concerned more with the Borg
signatures, as that would pose the greater threat to the Romulan Empire. Seven wanted to evade capture for as
long as possible. This would give them time to get that much closer to their
destination, and in the event of their capture, send out a burst of
communications as to their last location, which would have a better possibility
of reaching the Federation. True, the latest information had the
Romulans as allies during the Dominion war, but it could be as Janeway had once
told her, “Even your worst enemy can ally
with you in the face of a bigger threat. I did that with the Borg to fight
species 8472, and they did not keep up their end of the bargain.” Now that
the war for the most part was over, the old status quo could be in effect. She and Harry were in agreement to
avoid capture as long as possible while maintaining their present course. She
estimated reaching their destination in approximately three months at their
present speed and course. They had plotted the course back to the Alpha
Quadrant using the coordinates from where they had emerged, and where the
expected exit point of Voyager would have been. The accuracy of this method was
in doubt due to the nature of wormholes themselves, but it was the best method
they had going for them. By following the supposed path, they
could also scan for Voyager if she had emerged from the wormhole before
reaching the plotted emergence point. Seven had a gut feeling, as B’Elanna
would say, that Voyager had made it safely to the Alpha Quadrant and that
B’Elanna was now engaged in searching for her. B’Elanna was intelligent enough
to use Voyager’s recorded data of the trip through the wormhole to get an
accurate estimate as to The Delta Flyer's emergence point. The Flyer’s cabin lights were off
and the only lights that lent any luminescence to the interior darkness were
from the few instruments and the star field outside the cockpit. Her eyes gazed
at the stars that appeared as pinpoints of light that elongated on either side
of her vision as they passed. Those straight ahead were a constant beacon
toward the Alpha Quadrant and to her heart and home, her be’nal, B’Elanna. There was not a waking hour that did
not go by that she did not think about B’Elanna, and her smile, her voice, her
scent, and her taste. B’Elanna was the last thought she had when claimed by
sleep and the first when waking. Her B’Elanna was in her dreams, holding her
and telling her that she loved her. She would cry silently into her thin bunk pillow
when she realized her be’nal was far away. She heard Harry stirring behind her
and smelled the aroma of tea. “Hey Seven, can I get you anything…tea or
something to eat?” She turned and acknowledged him. “A
cup of hot chicken noodle soup, please, and a glass of milk.” She had informed
him to call her Seven, and not lieutenant , when it was just the two of them.
She had yet to become accustomed to her new designation…Lieutenant Annika
Hansen. She noticed that Harry wore his
slate gray shirt and his black pants. They both looked fresh and she assumed
that he had run them through the sonic shower to remove any grime or odor. They had a small replicator on the
Flyer, but it did not have the capacity to replicate complete uniforms, and its
main function was to replicate food items. There was also a thirty-day supply
of Starfleet rations in self-heating packets and containers. Plus a thirty-day
supply of emergency ration bars. She hoped the replicator would continue to
operate so that they would not need to resort to ration bars. Seven, at one time, would have
deemed the flavor irrelevant, but after almost four months of eating a varied
menu of foods provided by her be’nal, the thought of ration bars was along the
same line as the nutritional milk shakes she had consumed in the past: Unacceptable. She found out that she had a
particular fondness for chicken, as it had a very similar flavor to the iguanas
that B’Elanna had prepared for their meals when they were stranded on a desert
planet together, some months back. Harry handed her the tray with the
hot cup of soup and glass of cold milk, then took the seat at the console
behind Seven, who occupied the pilot’s seat. “Anything of importance out
there”? “Negative. There does appear to be
an increase in freighter traffic and Ion trails. It appears to originate and
terminate in a star system five light years away, which has an M class planet.” Kim accessed his panel. “Yeah, looks
like the system is in our path. Maybe we should detour around it.” “Negative. I have formulated a plan
that may assist us in passing through this area of space undetected.” Harry quickly looked in Seven’s
direction. “Okay. I’m for anything that will get us back to the Alpha Quadrant
faster.” Seven input data into her console.
“We shall use the ion trails left by freighters to mask our own trail.” “Yeah, Seven, but in order to do
that, we would have to get in a vessel's wake. How would we avoid detection?” “We shall use long range sensors to
detect a vessel headed in our direction. We will drop out of warp and shut down
all systems, save for life support. When the ship passes, we will maneuver at
the speed of the ship and enter the ion trail, then maintain the same warp
speed as the vessel.” “That could work. But if the
freighter enters the system and heads to, say a space station, then what?” “If that occurs, we will drop out of
warp and travel at impulse speed to another point in the system and repeat the
procedure with a ship heading in our designated direction.” “I guess that could work. Don’t tell
me this is another trick the Borg assimilated from the Romulans.” “It is not. It is a …trick…I learned
from B’Elanna. The Maquis used it often to evade their enemies.” “A Marquis trick eh? What other
kinds of tricks has B’Elanna been teaching you?” Seven turned in her chair and gave
Harry a level look, her implant lifting to her hairline. Harry, realizing how that sounded,
turned red and sputtered, “Ah...I didn’t mean it like that, Seven, I, ah,
honest, I swear... I just wondered what other Maquis tricks she ah…honest…” Seven turned back to her console and
smirked. B’Elanna is correct. Harry is such an easy mark. x Dr. Damar stood back from the biobed
with a smile on his taunt features, and looking B’Elanna’s face over, said,
“All done. I must say, the results are better than I expected. You make a very
good looking Romulan, Commander.” Tom Paris gave B’Elanna a leering
wink, and said, “Hey, you make a very cute Romulan. Not that you weren’t cute
to begin with.” B’Elanna brought her right hand up to
her forehand, feeling the absence of her Klingon ridges, and the wide spaced
v-shaped ridge in their place. “Give me a mirror.” Dr. Damar turned to one of
his assistants and nodded his head. B’Elanna turned on Paris and
snarled, “You’re next flyboy. I can’t wait to see how your little cosmetic
surgery will turn out.” An assistant handed B’Elanna a mirror, and she quickly
brought it up to her face, her eyes growing wide. “OH MY GODS!” she brought her
left hand up and touched the points on her ears and the heavy ridges over her
eyebrows. “I’m not ME anymore.” A voice answered from the doorway,
“No you’re not. You are D‘len and Lieutenant Paris is your brother, Tomos. You
are both traders in fine wines and spirits from the Romulan Empire, and even
rarer spirits from as far away as the Federation itself.” Admiral Telir stopped
in front of B’Elanna, inspecting her closely, a half smile on her face. “Very
good, Dr. Damar. You are not only a superb doctor, but an artist as well.” Dr. Damar smiled smugly. “Thank you,
Admiral.” He turned his attention to Tom. “If you will sit on the table,
Lieutenant Paris, I will apply my artistic skills on you.” Tom asked shakily. “You did say the
procedure is reversible didn’t you Doc, I mean Doctor Damar?” Dr. Damar smirked, His dark brown
eyes crinkling at the corners. “Of course, but I assure you I will do such fine
work on you that you may never want to go back to looking…Human.” Tom smiled weakly and got up on the
table vacated by B‘Elanna. B‘Elanna smirked and turned to Admiral
Telir. “So, we are wine merchants? I gotta tell you, the only thing I know
about spirits is drinking them.” Admiral Telir replied, “Not to
worry, we have eight days to reach your embarkation point. That is eight days
for you to learn enough about wine and spirits to convince all but a true
connoisseur that you are knowledgeable in the product. Just avoid an in-depth
conversation with a connoisseur. Or have Lieutenant Paris dazzle them with
his…wit, and his ability to flatter.” “Hey….” Tom said. Only to be stilled
by Dr. Damar. “Please, be still, I almost sliced
your right ear off.” B’Elanna smirked. “I see Paris’
reputation as a smooth talker has preceded him.” Admiral Telir nodded. “Of course,
Commander. I know all there is to know about both you and Lieutenant Paris. We
have obtained a considerable amount of information in the short time we had. I
know a lot about your personalities and your likes and dislikes. I know most of
your history and even your psychological makeup. B’Elanna frowned. “I don’t even want
to know how you came by any of that.” Admiral Telir laughed. “And you
shan’t. Even the Klingons and Cardassians have their ways of finding out about
anybody in our respective military and government, as we do theirs. Just as the
Federation probably has the same on every Romulan who serves in the military
and senate.” B’Elanna lowered her voice. “You
think you could show me what you have on Captain Janeway?” Admiral Telir drew her head back and
gasped in mock surprise. “That, Commander, is classified information and only
one with General or Admiral Rank is privileged to review. And only if it
pertains to a mission.” She smirked. “You are known as Voyager’s unofficial
source of gathering and disseminating…information. Perhaps you could fill in
the blanks that are missing on your Captain. Hmmm?” B’Elanna blushed and sputtered.
Before she could come up with a suitable answer, Dr. Damar proclaimed, “Another
masterpiece.” B’Elanna took one look at Paris and
said, “Wow, your own mother wouldn’t even know you.” She turned to Doctor Damar
and discreetly winked. “But, Doctor, it looks like you made his ears too large
and they are lopsided.” Apparently, Dr. Damar understood the
meaning of a wink. “Oh, yes. Hmmm, well, I don’t have time to rectify the
error. I’m afraid he’s stuck with them.” Tom quickly grabbed the mirror off
the end of the bed and stared hard into it, then displayed an amazed but
pleased look on his face. He grinned and touched the points on his ears and the
v-shaped ridges above his now slanted eyebrows. “Ha. What are you talking
about, why I’m still a handsome devil. Bet I have the Romulan girls lining up
for a night out with me. You did a damn fine job, Doc. Of course, you had
something to work with.” B’Elanna snorted and rolled her
eyes. Dr. Damar slowly looked Paris up and
down, pursed his lips, and said, “Why don’t you drop by my place for dinner and
some… conversation…later tonight, say 1900, and tell me how much you admire my
work. You know, we still have to darken your hair and change your eye coloring.
And we can easily do that in the comfort of my quarters.” Tom Paris was suddenly at a loss for
words and his eyes darted around, not focusing on the Doctor’s face. “Well.
Hee, hee, Ah… It was all B’Elanna could do to keep
from bursting out with a belly laugh at the sight of Tom’s face turning red and
his obvious loss for words. ‘Wait until I tell Seven this one.’ Her
laughter died in her throat as she immediately realized that her be’nal was far
from her. She felt her jaw ache and her throat tighten from the anguish of her
loss. She battled to squash the negative emotions assailing her. Closing her
eyes tightly she wrestled down the feeling of despair. You are alive my
be’nal for I still breathe and my heart still beats. I’ll find you. I promise. x Janeway gazed at the dimpled,
smiling face across from her. Damn, she is cute, downright lovely when she
smiles. She absently rubbed her tingling left hand on her pants legs. For
the last five days, ever since coming aboard Voyager, Vlara had been her dinner
guest. The young woman was witty and had a way of describing things that
Janeway found most interesting and refreshing. Janeway loved the sound of
Vlara’s voice and how it could sometimes cause delicious goose bumps to skitter
along the back of her neck. The young woman was an attentive listener, often
asking Janeway to elaborate on points she was making, and on Voyager’s
adventures in the Delta Quadrant. Voyager was now eight days out from McKinley
Station and home. There were reports that she still had to complete for
Starfleet, and conferences over communications with the brass. Admiral North often beamed over to
Janeway’s ready room to discuss different issues, and to catch her up on almost
seven years of Federation history, as well as changes in Starfleet policy. She
had had several lunches with Admiral North, Captain Leon, and his first
officer, along with Chakotay and Tuvok. However, she preferred to spend her
nights in the company of the young human-Romulan hybrid across from her. Vlara
was not at all taciturn, as she believed most Romulans to be. She did not have
that saturnine olive look of most Romulans, or even Vulcans. Her coloring was
more Northern European, except for the softly waving fine dark sable brown
hair, which she wore shoulder length. Janeway surmised that her blood was more
in the red spectrum than in the green of both Vulcans and Romulans, as
evidenced by the few occasions she blushed. Her eyes were light brown with green
flecks and Janeway noticed that when excited the green was more prominent.
Janeway had also noticed that she was close to her height, solidly built, with
curves, and not lanky and wiry like most Romulans. Janeway had learned that the young
woman‘s role in the Romulan military was not that of an officer at all, but as
a liaison between the Romulan senate and Admiralty. She had told Janeway that
her true wish was to become a botanist as her father had been, but her mother’s
house had always served the Empire as military officers and senators, so it was
tradition that she pick one of those two fields to serve in. She chose the
governmental branch, and started training as a senatorial aide. However, she
did manage to cross train as a botanist through the Imperial Institute of
Sciences, earning the equivalent of a B.S degree. She had given Janeway a little
insight into the machinations and complex underpinnings of the Romulan Senate,
which Janeway had never learned in her political science classes. “Captain Janeway. Am I taking up
your time?” Vlara inquired softly. Janeway drew herself out of her
reverie. “No. Not at all. And please, when we are alone in settings like this,
call me Kathryn.” Vlara smiled and said, “Kathryn,”
causing Janeway to draw in her breath at the richness of the sound. Janeway said, “I was just thinking…I
know that you have one brother remaining on earth who wishes to meet you. But
you have not mentioned where you will be staying?” “My brother is making arrangements
for me to stay in an Inn. Ah…I believe he referred to it as a hotel.” “I see. I was wondering if you would
be averse to being my guest during your stay on Earth. My mother has plenty of
room and would not mind you stay with us during your visit.” Vlara looked closely at Janeway and
smiled, her dimples in evidence. “I would not want to impose. You have just
returned after a long absence and I would only be a fifth leg on a coliby.” Janeway smiled lopsidedly. “I seem
to recall that coliby is the Romulan equivalent of our horse. And no, you will
not be imposing. True, I will be busy with Starfleet for the next few weeks,
but I believe you need a base of operations and also contact with Starfleet on
a regular bases.” Vlara replied, “I see. Your
invitation was prompted by Starfleet no doubt, to keep me under surveillance?” Janeway grimaced and put up her
hand, palm out, in denial. Damn Katie, she thinks you are spying for
Starfleet. “No. I’m putting this badly. Starfleet has not approached me,
nor I them, with the purpose of keeping you under surveillance. I won't lie and
say that they will not keep an eye on you, but I will tell you honestly, I
won’t be doing that. I gave my word to your mother that I would look after you
and assist you in contacting your two sisters who are serving in Starfleet.
That is what I met when I said you needed to stay in contact with Starfleet on
regular bases.” Vlara blushed, looked down and then
back up into Janeways eyes. “I apologize. I am a grown woman, yet my mother
worries needlessly. If it would not inconvenience you, or your family, I would
be honored to be your guest.” Janeway smiled then replied, “I must
tell you that my mother is a Traditionalist and pretty much lives a
Traditionalist life.” Seeing the puzzled look on her guest’s face, she
continued, “Traditionalism is a way of living life as it pretty much was lived
by the average North American citizen 200 years ago. No replicators, food is
organic, and dishes prepared by actually blending the ingredients and cooking
them. Clothes are often tailored from cloth composed of natural materials. No
sonic showers, but aqua showers--that sort of thing.” Vlara’s eyes opened wide and she
smiled. “Ah, pretty much how we do things in my home on Campus Prime. I myself
am considered a good cook. Perhaps we can trade recipes. No?” Janeway laughed. “My mother is the
cook. I replicate, and sometimes not too successfully. I think you and she will
get along very well.” Janeway felt almost giddy with the knowledge that the
young woman would be her guest. She thought briefly why this was so, but
brushed any thoughts but friendship into that part of her mind labeled, Danger.
Do not open. x Seven relinquished her seat at the
cockpit to Harry and proceeded to go to the back of the shuttle to take a sonic
shower and clean her uniform. She had taken to removing the jacket and leaving
on the slate blue sweater. She quickly shed her clothes and let her hair down
before stepping into the small sonic shower and setting the cleaning cycle for
five minutes. When through, she deposited her uniform in the shower for 2
minutes, and removing it, once again dressed. She took a seat on a small fold
down chair set in the bulkhead, and pulled on her socks and boots. They had successfully entered the
commerce zone of the solar system by slipping into the ion trail of a large
freighter, and had blended in with the busy space traffic. They received only
one hail. This occurred when they dropped out of warp and into one of the lanes
that would head in the direction of the Alpha Quadrant. The Spaceport Controller had
inquired if they were having problems as they had stopped in one of the busiest
lanes. Seven, had put on the audio only, and answered in perfect Romulan
standard, that she was testing a craft she was thinking of purchasing. The
controller snorted and stated he hoped she did not purchase it from Craket Used
Crafts, as he sold nothing but clunkers. Seven raised an eyebrow, looked at
Harry in puzzlement, and silently mouthed, “clunkers?”
Harry had snickered and whispered,
“Junk” She had answered, “Yes, it is a
vehicle that Craket has for sale. Thank you for your warning.” The Controller
passed them on through. Seven’s ability to lie convincingly, and so
easily, impressed Harry. “Ah…Seven. I didn’t think Borg lied.” “They do not. However, I am also
human.” That was all she had to say for
Harry to get the meaning. It was not soon after that incident
that they located a freighter heading in their direction. They slipped behind its
ion exhaust, and had been following it now for seven days at warp six. They
kept a monitor on the freighter's communications for any indication that their
presence was discovered, or their identity known. So far, the only
communications were the normal chatter to other freighters and communications
with different clients and prospective clients. Seven spent her off time writing
love letters on a padd to give to B’Elanna. Granted, with her eidetic memory,
she had no need to commit them to a padd. However, she wished to give the padd
to B’Elanna as a gift when they were reunited and have B’Elanna pursue them at
her leisure. Besides, Seven had a feeling of shyness come over her at the
thought of repeating each letter verbally. She regularly and on a daily basis,
before their separation, had told B’Elanna many times that she loved her.
However, committing the words to a padd was somehow more profound. She found
she was able to go into detail about her feelings for her be’nal. She even
waxed poetic. She compared her mate to a dark rose, one whose beauty and scent
were enticing, and only she was able to hold the soft petals to her breasts
without fear of the thorny stem pricking her. She commented on the beauty of
B’Elanna’s eyes, comparing them to the richest amber gems, with mystic depths
that reflected the fire of her soul. How she loved to breathe in her be’nal’s
breath, which was life itself, and sustained her. The taste of her mouth, rare
nectar and intoxicating, driving her to take all that B’Elanna could give, and
for her to give all that she was to B’Elanna. The sound of her voice, that both
soothed and inflamed. Seven even complimented her intellect and other mental
virtues. As Seven wrote these things, she
felt comforted, as if her words conjured up B’Elanna before her. She was
comforted, yet melancholy at the same time because her be’nal was not there
with her. Seven was beginning a new padd of
her love letters when Harry exclaimed from the cockpit. “Seven. Two Romulan war
ships have uncloaked at 7000 meters and have demanded that the freighter come
to a halt.” Seven felt both hot and cold at the
same time before her nanoprobes regulated her temperature. She had a feeling of
dread. The Romulans had discovered them, of that, she was sure. She resumed the comm station behind
Harry and scanned the readings. She reached for the controls of the
communications array to send a message blast containing their location, hoping
it would reach B’Elanna or Starfleet. Before she could facilitate the action
the communications array blinked for an incoming message. She put it on both
audio and visual, routing it to the small viewscreen in front of the cockpit.
She faced the small screen as the image of a Romulan officer appeared on it,
who quickly surveying them, announced, “Federation craft Delta Flyer, you will
surrender and make no attempt to escape. We will retrieve your vessel by
tractor beam to enter our cargo bay. Remain where you are until further
instructions. We are scanning your vessel, and any attempt to send a message,
or delete information from your computer banks, will result in your immediate
destruction.” Harry turned in his seat and looked
at Seven, uncertainty and fear in his eyes. Seven glanced quickly at him, her
features bland. It did not surprise her that the Romulans knew who they were.
The Collective's assimilated information on this Species contained the fact
that they were superb at gathering information in clandestine ways, and
quickly. She turned her attention back to the small screen. “We will do as you
have instructed.” After all, what choice did they have? Surrender willingly or
be blasted to so much space dust. The former course held out the hope of escape
or rescue, the latter was unacceptable as that meant she would never see her
be’nal in this lifetime. Chapter Five B’Elanna eyed the portly, or should
she say, fat Romulan male who was leering at her. “Hey. Wait a damn minute. No
way am I gonna pretend I’m his spouse. That just isn’t going to fly.
Understand?" she said forcefully. There was silence for a moment as
Admiral Telir considered B’Elanna’s comments. Tom tried not to snicker.
B’Elanna glared at the Romulan agent, com wine merchant, she recently met. Efok
was his name. He had offended her from their first introduction by slowly looking
her up and down, in a lascivious way, as if she were a sweet morsel he would
like to eat. He was doing it now. B’Elanna hissed, “If you don’t stop leering
at me, I’m gonna snatch your eyes out of your head and shove them up your
fat--” Admiral Telir quickly interceded.
“It is the best solution to our problem. Efok is a trusted agent, as well as a
wine merchant, and has customers among the Tal Shiar. It would be fitting to
take his new wife and her brother on his business trips to teach them the trade
and to introduce them to his clientèle.” B’Elanna still was not mollified,
and baring her teeth in a false smile, directed her gaze to a smirking Tom
Paris. “I got the perfect solution. Tom PetaQ can be the blushing bride, or
whatever.” She smiled with gleeful malice at Tom’s widening eyes and his gaping
mouth. Efok answered quickly, his voice
having all the charm of a used shuttle salesperson, “My dear, D’len, my
reputation as a lady’s man is well known in the section of space we are about
to embark upon. Your friend would not do. I am a successful merchant, and
believe me, when I say that you are the sort of beautiful woman my clients are
used to seeing in my company. They will think I am fortunate to have such a
lovely wife.” B’Elanna sneered. “Hey, creep. Any
beautiful woman, or for that matter, any woman at all you have ever been seen
with had to be bought, or you got her drunk on your wine.” Admiral Telir said, “Trust me,
Commander. Efok receives invitations to all the houses of the elite, and that
of the Tal Shiar. He attends many of their social functions and dinners. He has
a way of soliciting information at these events that no one else can. Posing as
his wife will entitle you to accompany him and be another set of eyes and ears
to gather information.” She looked forcefully at the smirking fat merchant. “I
give you my word, if he should step out of line with this pretense; you have my
permission to spill his guts…after the mission is completed, of course.” Efok immediately replaced his leer
with a sober look and nodding to both B‘Elanna and Admiral Telir stated, “I
give you my word I will act in a courteous manner toward the young lady. But it
may require a hug or chaste kiss in public so that people will think we are
blissful newlyweds.” B’Elanna screwed her mouth up as if
she tasted something vile. “Listen, you. I’ll be the one to decide when public
displays of affections are to be initiated. Got that?” He smirked again. “Of course, my
dear. I do love a spirited and bossy woman. Tell me my dear; is it true what
they say about Klingon women? That they are so passionate that they often break
the bones of their paramours?” B‘Elanna gave him a feral smile and
slowly raked him up and down with her eyes. “Not only that, my dear, but my house is entirely female
and we kill our husbands after mating and devour their hearts. It assures that
our unborn children are properly nourished while in the womb.” Efok blanched and pulled his tunic
collar out from around his neck. “I see.” Admiral Telir tried not to laugh and
roughly cleared her throat before saying, “Well. Let’s discuss your route and
review all recent information over dinner tonight, shall we?” x Kathryn finished unpacking her
Starfleet issue suit bag and placed her three new Starfleet issue uniforms in
her closet. She had replicated the new pattern on Voyager when they had entered
the Alpha Quadrant two weeks ago. Her Traditionalist home did not have a
replicator, which necessitated her need to bring the uniforms, and other
personal items, with her, including several pieces of civilian attire. She looked around her old room,
noticing that her mother had kept it dusted and clean. Gretchen and her sister, Phoebe, had
never given up hope that she was still alive, lost somewhere in the vast
regions of the universe. Now their dear daughter and sister had returned to
them, alive and safe. Alive and safe,
she remarked to herself as her thoughts returned to her two lost crewmembers,
Seven and Harry. The last news she had received was several days ago from
Admiral Telir, who had sent her a brief message stating that the Tal Shiar had
sent out a search party to look for a ship that was thought to be Borg. Janeway
had no doubts that this was the Delta Flyer. B’Elanna Torres and Tom Paris were now
aboard Admiral Telir’s flagship, and on a mission, with the help of the Admiral
herself, to rescue the two. Tom had volunteered to go out of
loyalty to his friend Harry, but Janeway knew that he did it for B’Elanna and
Seven, too. Tom, ever the one to try and lighten the serious mood of the
situation, had said the real reason he was doing it was so he wouldn’t have to
go through the entire official Starfleet debriefing, and to have his dad,
Admiral Owen Paris, raking him across the coals. Admiral Telir had been receptive to
having Tom Paris accompany B’Elanna on the mission when she found out he was
perhaps, one of Starfleet’s top pilots, and had brought both shuttles and
Voyager through more scrapes and battles over the past six and a half years
than Janeway could name. She was jarred from her reverie by a
light knock on the doorframe, and looked up to see Vlara regarding her with a
small smile. Kathryn smiled and said, “All
unpacked and ready to go down to dinner?” “Yes, thank you. I hope I am not
inconveniencing your sister by using her room during my stay.” “No. Not at all. Actually she rarely
uses it as she has an apartment and studio a few minutes away in Bloomington,
as well as a small flat in Paris.” “Oh. Are they centers for art and
culture for your planet, as Brilharde and Tollusad are for Ch’Rihan? “Paris is one of the many cultural centers for
art, cuisine, and fashion here on Earth. There is also Rome, Tokyo, Hong Kong,
and New York, to name just a few.” Vlara looked thoughtful. “I will
have to learn my father’s heritage and history since it is part of who I am.” “I will point you in the right
direction. Now, let’s go down for dinner. I assure you, my mother is a great
cook and her dishes, in my opinion, rival any cuisine in the galaxy.” She stepped out the bedroom door and
Vlara linked her arm through Kathryn’s and smiled. Kathryn took delight in the
warmth that radiated from the woman’s nearness, but quickly reined in the
feelings of arousal that also accompanied it. She is just being friendly
Katie, it is a cultural thing’ She remembered seeing a group of young
Romulans in San Francisco, who were with a special envoy to the Federation,
linking arms in pairs and threes with same sex as well as opposite sex
companions, while seeing the sights. She learned it was a cultural idiom for
friends to do when walking together on their free time, and did not indicate a
romantic involvement. She was flattered that the young woman thought her a
friend and felt at ease with her. Over the two weeks it had taken her
to get home, she had dined every night with the young woman, and after dinner
they would discuss everything from politics to stories about their childhood.
On four occasions Kathryn had taken her to the holodeck to teach her the ground
rules for velocity, admiring Vlara’s graceful moves and her ability to keep her
on her toes. Kathryn had won all games and Vlara was a gracious loser, unlike
Seven, who hated to lose in both physical and intellectual pursuits. They had stopped briefly at Star
Station 5 where Kathryn and the Voyager crew had been guests of honor at a
dinner hosted by the station’s commander and his senior officers. They all wore
their new dress uniforms and Kathryn had invited Vlara to attend with her. Kathryn had Vlara meet her in her quarters
and was impressed, and pleased, at the young woman’s appearance. She wore a
soft green robe of emerald and light green, which she belted at her waist with
a light gold and green sash. Her delicate pointed ears had small emerald stone
studs in the lobes. The colors made her eyes sparkle and the green was very
much in prominence. Kathryn thought her quite lovely and was pleased at the
admiring looks given to the young woman as she escorted her through the
station. She arranged to have her seated next to her at the dinner. Vlara was a pleasant and an
interesting conversationalist, and had a nice sense of humor. Something Kathryn
appreciated in a dinner companion. The young woman had asked her the night
before if there were any set ritual to a formal dinner that she would need to
observe. Kathryn informed her of the silverware placement and on what items of
food to use them, and how the use of the fingers to pick up food was considered
uncultured, unless it was bread and certain specific food items. She had looked
at Kathryn with a slightly bewildered look and stated she would follow her
lead. Other than that, Kathryn informed her that burping loudly after a meal
was not acceptable, even though many cultures did practice this. Vlara laughed
and assured her that Romulans did not incorporate this in their culture.
However, in certain provinces, when a guest desired an additional helping of
food, they banged their plates on the table, and did the same with an empty
glass or goblet for more drink. Kathryn had laughed and told her they would
reserve that practice for rowdy taverns and spaceport bars. Kathryn groaned in delighted
fullness as she pushed her chair back from the table. “Mom, you don’t know how
much I missed your cooking. Gods, I will be getting fat.” Gretchen looked across the table at
her daughter, a satisfied smile on her face. “I have yet to serve dessert,
Kathryn. I hope you left room for your favorite.” “Caramel brownies?” Kathryn asked
with a grin. “Yes, and Phoebe has agreed to make
coffee to go with them.” Gretchen looked commandingly at her younger daughter,
seated to her left. “The pot is all set up and the only
thing I have to do is turn it on,” Phoebe said as she got up and quickly went
to the kitchen, returning a few seconds later. Kathryn noticed that Vlara seemed to
be enjoying the varied foods that Gretchen had served. Chicken and homemade
dumplings, dinner rolls, deviled eggs, green beans, and mashed potatoes. Vlara
had even asked Gretchen if she could have seconds on many of the items.
Gretchen had smiled and told her to help herself to as many servings as she
pleased. The conversation had been light.
Mostly concerning the happenings around the community. Conversation then turned
to a darker subject, the recent Dominion war. Soon, Phoebe announced enough of the
bad news, and began to regale them with stories about her latest exhibits and
the peccadilloes of her artist cohorts. Kathryn noticed, with some envy, that
Phoebe looked like she hadn’t aged a bit in the almost seven years she was
gone. She now wore her chestnut hair in a soft, curling bob, just below her
ears and looked almost pixyish. Her eyes were a bright blue and still retained
that mischievous glint that Kathryn remembered. She always thought Phoebe the
beauty of the family, and had to admit that she was envious of her sister’s
height, which was three inches taller than her own five feet, five inches. How
she kept her figure so trim was a mystery, as Phoebe abhorred exercise and ate
like the proverbial horse. “Mrs. Janeway. Thank you for the
wonderful meal. I enjoyed it immensely. Perhaps you can give me some of your
recipes,” Vlara said. This compliment pleased Gretchen,
and she smiled warmly, and said, “You’re welcome. I will be glad to give you
any recipe you like. Do you like to cook?” “Yes. I have several recipes that I
will trade, if you desire. Your chicken is very similar to the hlair, which is
our main poultry on Ch’Rihan. I believe you would have ingredients that could
substitute for the ones we use.” “I would be delighted to share
recipes.” Gretchen looked ruefully at her daughters. “Neither of my daughters
have an interest in cooking. Kathryn always preferred replicated food to
freshly cooked dishes. Phoebe always prefers eating at restaurants.” Both women protested, Kathryn
replying, “Mom, believe me, after tasting Neelix’s concoctions, and after
eating replicated dishes for the past few years, I have come to appreciate how
good we had it growing up and eating your delicious food.” After dinner, they retired to the
living room to enjoy coffee and brownies. Both Gretchen and Phoebe asked Vlara
about life on Romulus and her home, Campus Prime. It was then that Kathryn
learned that Vlara’s birth name had been Valarie, given to her by her father,
and Romulized to Vlara, which was also the name of a small hawk found only on
Campus Prime. Vlara had been in touch with her
brother, and next week was to meet with him. Phoebe volunteered to accompany
her to Rome where he currently lived, and show her the way around. She also
volunteered to show her some of the ancient art galleries and buildings. Vlara
agreed, her eyes shining with obvious excitement. Conversation turned again to events
closer to home. Phoebe looked at Kathryn over her cup of coffee and said, “I
saw Mark about a month ago.” Kathryn replied nonchalantly, “Oh. I
hope he’s doing well and is happy. Last I heard he was married to his
secretary.” That had been in the ‘Dear Jane’ letter she had received while in
the Delta Quadrant. Phoebe scrunched up her face as if
she smelled a bad odor. “He was with his little woman, who apparently has a pie
in the oven.” She glanced over at Vlara who was trying to follow the
conversation. “That means she is pregnant. Oh, and Mark was Katie‘s fiancé.
They were planning to be married until she got herself lost in the Delta
Quadrant.” She turned her attention back to her sister. “Katie, it was worth
getting lost so you didn’t end up married to him. Gods, I would be volunteering
for deep space missions if I were married to Mr. No Personality.” Gretchen interceded, “Phoebe…” Kathryn held up her hand. “That’s
old history. Believe me, looking back, I know that in the long run it would not
have worked out. I mean, I was the one that kept postponing the wedding date.
That right there should have told me I didn‘t want to commit to him. I‘m glad
he decided to go on to someone else, because if he had waited I would have had
to break some unpleasant news to him.” All of a sudden, a voice in
controlled outrage declared, “What? He has no honor. For you I would wait
forever….” Vlara seemed to realize what she said and blushed deeply. “I
mean…for Romulans it is customary for those who are betrothed to wait at least
nine years for their intended, if they are lost while serving on board ship.
The universe is often a dangerous and unforgiving mistress and it could be that
one is stranded on a planet, or being held prisoner, and will one day return.”
She bit her lower lip and went silent, staring at her cup. Kathryn glanced quickly at her mother
and sister. She noticed that Phoebe had a small smile on her lips, and her
mother was staring intently at Vlara, a pleased look on her face, and turned
the same stare onto Kathryn. Kathryn stared back, puzzled at the
expression, and then understanding dawned. Oh, no. She‘s reading more into
this than there is. Isn’t she? She
cleared her throat, “I think I’ll have another cup of coffee, anyone else?” x Seven and Harry, following the
orders of their captors, exited the Flyer with their hands on their heads. A
young female officer had quickly looked her and Harry over, and then said,
“Follow me." Their captors flanked them as they
followed the officer. They came to a transporter and were ordered to stand on
the pad. Seven felt herself dematerialized and then rematerialize. She looked
around and saw that she was in a small, eight by eight foot cell that contained
a sink and a toilet in one corner, and a fold up bunk against the left wall.
Only the front afforded any view out, and from that area, she detected the
slight hum of a force field. Across from her cell was nothing but a wall. She
heard Harry’s voice come from a cell next to her. “Seven. Are you there?” “Yes. I am in a cell.” “Ah, me too. I guess we wait to see
what happens. I mean, the last I heard from communiqués that Starfleet sent us,
we are kind of allies with the Romulans, you know, helping each other against
the Dominion. Maybe we will be out of here soon, ya think?” Harry was nervous,
by the tone and timbre of his voice. Seven hated to disillusion the young
man, but it was not the Romulan military that held them, but their secret
service, the Tal Shiar. She had noticed the uniform differences in the halters
and belt’s they wore. The information she had on the Tal Shiar was that they
were a separate branch from the military, and often operated on principles that
had nothing to do with military laws, or even those of the Romulan Empire. They
were ruthless and a law unto themselves. Not even answerable to the Senate, to
whom they only gave lip service. She wavered in her answer but
decided honesty was best in this instance. He would, perhaps, need to prepare
himself for the possible difficulties that might lie ahead. The Borg had
assimilated a few Tal Shiar operatives in the past. She accessed information
from her cortical node, and knew that they would use any brutal means necessary
to obtain information they needed, and to ‘persuade’ cooperation in their many
nefarious endeavors. “They are Tal Shiar.” There was silence for long seconds. “Oh.” “Rest assured, Mr. Kim. As your
commanding officer I will endeavor to protect you and negotiate a release.” “I know that, Seven…ah, Lieutenant.
I just don’t want any heroics. You forget I was the one who promised B’Elanna
that I would look after you.” Seven smiled wryly. “Indeed, Mr.
Kim. I cannot forget. After all, I have an eidetic memory.” They had passed the time over the
next couple of days playing word association games back and forth. They
received two meals a day. However, their captors would not communicate with
them, even at Seven's most imperious Borg command that they comply. Seven rested against the wall of the
holding cell. They had been in captivity for two days now. When she was not in
conversation with Harry, she studied the minute vibration of the ship’s engines
and tried to pick up the muted sounds of conversations. Now, she noticed the
vibration change slightly, and the sounds differing. It alerted her to possible
changes in the ship's speed, or perhaps, it had reached its destination. She had
no more finished that thought when she heard footsteps approaching and saw an
officer and four guards, weapons drawn, stop in front of her cell. The force
field immediately dropped and a guard motioned for her to exit the cell. Seven saw that the officer in charge
was a centurion, by the style of her rank belt. “You are to come with us. No
questions.” “Hey, where are you taking her?
What’s going on?” Harry’s voice was frantic. The guards ignored him, and Seven fell
in step behind the officer, flanked on each side by two guards, and the other
two guards behind her. They went down the corridor and to a
turbo lift, the doors swished open and they entered. The officer and two of the
guards entered with her. “Deck one,” the officer stated, her eyes never once
wavering from Seven’s face. Seven lifted her eye implant and returned the
scrutiny. Seven thought it probable that the Tal Shiar taught their soldiers
this technique to intimidate their foes and prisoners. It would be hard for one
to guess their intent if there were no facial expressions. The doors swished opened, the
officer turned, and Seven followed her out into a corridor. The two guards
flanked her, one on either side. The officer stopped at a transporter room and
ordered Seven up on the transporter, where the officer and two guards, joined
her. Moments later they materialized on a transporter pad, exited into a long
wide corridor, and continued on to stop in front of a set of large double doors
that had a guard on each side. The two guards at the door saluted
with a quick motion of their right arm with clenched fist across their chest. The officer ignored them and tapped
a comm badge on her right harness belt. The doors immediately slid open and the
officer ordered Seven in. The room was dark, except for a bright spotlight
shining on a small area of the floor. “Stand in the light and do not
move,” The officer ordered before turning around. Seven heard her footsteps
recede and exit the doors where they had entered. Her surroundings, save for the
spotlight she was under, were dark and in shadow. She immediately sensed she
was not alone. Her enhanced hearing could detect breathing seven feet in front
of her. She quickly adjusted her visual implant and was able to see a female
figure of about five feet, seven inches, standing before her in the shadow. The
first thing she saw was the short cropped blond hair, and the second, the
uniform with the insignia belt sporting the rank of General. Her night vision
had problems making out the color of the eyes, but she easily discerned the
general shape of the rest of the face. She quickly assessed her cortical node
for information that would indicate the identity of this particular Tal Shiar
commander. The voice surprised her with its
sudden declaration that pierced the surrounding dark. “Seven of Nine, Tertiary
Adjunct to Unimatrix Zero One. Severed from the Borg Collective by Kathryn
Janeway, captain of the Federation Ship, Voyager, on Star Date 51003.7. Or do
you prefer to be called by your human name…Annika Hansen?” She almost stated that she preferred
the name Seven, but for some reason, found her preferred name coming from this
stranger distasteful. Her friends called her Seven. Her be’nal called her
Seven. Let this one call her Annika. That name invoked in her feelings of trust
betrayed by those that were supposed to protect her. Coming from the General’s
lips it would remind her that this woman was not to be trusted. “Annika.” The General nodded her head and
smiled. “Annika. The name given to you by your parents, both scientists, Magnus
and Erin Hansen. They too were assimilated by the Borg. Information recovered
from the Raven’s records contains much interesting data on the subject of their
studies.” Seven knew that the Tal Shiar were
thorough, but to have this much information and this quickly, was surprising.
No, not surprising since Janeway would have forwarded Voyager’s logs through
the Midas Array, and they would contain all the records that they had managed
to savage from the remains of Raven. It was obvious the Tal Shiar had their
agents within the halls of Starfleet itself. Seven had finally found the
information she wanted from the assimilated memories of a Romulan operative,
assigned aboard the USS Enterprise as an ensign during the Battle of Wolf 359.
She was Admiral Sela then. A member of the Romulan Military. Now, apparently,
she was no longer a member of that organization. “Sela. Daughter of Starfleet
Lieutenant Tasha Yar, who was aboard the U.S.S Enterprise, under the command of
Captain Rachel Garret, when it was captured in 2344 at Narendra III by the
Romulans. She became the Concubine of Romulan General Kaonz of the Tal Shiar,
who fathered you. You betrayed your mother when she attempted to escape… “Silence!” Footsteps approached and General
Sela stepped into the light. Her eyes glaring, she looked into Seven’s eyes,
almost challenging her. Then she abruptly smiled, but Seven noted that the
smile did not reach her eyes. “I see Voyager’s data banks were not
lacking in intelligence information.” Seven almost revealed where she
actually got the information. However, she decided that the less she revealed
about what the Borg knew, and how they obtained it, was in her own best
interest. Sela looked her over carefully,
focusing on the implant over her left eye. Then the one on her right cheek. She
looked down at her left hand. “Hold up your left hand,” She demanded. “I will not comply." Sela smirked. “Let's get one thing
straight, Lieutenant Annika Hansen. You are in no position to deny my request.
I can make it very unpleasant and very painful for you to refuse.” She paused
and then continued, “However, the information I have on you indicates that you
can take a lot of pain, even torture, but your crewmate, Lieutenant Harry Kim,
would be unable to take much of what I can give him. Now, hold up your left
hand.” Seven knew that General Sela would
not hesitate to carry out her threat. Sela was ruthless. Seven obeyed. Sela
looked closely at the Borg hand and then stared Seven in the eyes as she
reached out to feel the mesh. “It is warm, not like metal at all.
Your medical records sent to Starfleet indicate that you still have your
assimilation tubules, show them to me.” Seven sighed and protruded her
tubules. She was satisfied to see that Sela looked slightly sickened at the
sight of the two squirming worm like strands. Sela took a step back. “Put them
away.” Seven retracted her tubules and
stared at Sela. “Now, Annika. Here are the rules.
They are quite simple. You will cooperate with me and I will assure that you,
and Lieutenant Kim, will remain unharmed. If you do not cooperate, I will have
you witness firsthand the methods we use to gain information. I know that
Lieutenant Kim probably has less of the information I need than you do, and it
would be a shame to have him suffer the side effects of our methods when you
will eventually tell us what we want anyway. If he succumbs to the side
effects, then we will apply the methods to you. Believe me, ‘resistance is
futile’.” She laughed at her own joke. Then she sobered and asked, “What will
it be Annika, cooperation or foolish heroics?” Seven frowned and said factually, “I
know of no Federation secrets that I can impart to you. We were lost in the
Delta Quadrant, and only recently returned. Nor was Captain Janeway in the
habit of keeping me informed of any communiqués she may have received from
Starfleet.” Sela smirked. “I know that. What I
want is the information you have on that transwarp coil you and your half-breed
wife constructed. Give me that, and you and Lieutenant Kim can enjoy your
little stay without fear of harm.” Seven said, “The information you
request will not give you the results you desire. You will fail in constructing
a transwarp coil for your use.” “Oh? And why is that?” “You need certain Borg components to
integrate into the transwarp coil.” Sela smirked and said, “Tell us
which ones we need and I will be able to obtain them.” Seven blinked in surprise and stared
at the woman. It suddenly dawned on her that Sela was being factual. She could
obtain the needed parts. Sela laughed at the fallen look on
Seven’s face. “My lovely Annika. You were at Wolf 359, were you not? You know
that many of the small Borg craft never returned to your cube because they
received damage and could not form a transwarp conduit to escape. You also know
that many made their way to the Beta Quadrant. Your collective never saw them
again.” Sela continued facetiously, “Why is that, Annika?” Seven said nothing. One thing was
certain, she would only give them information piece meal. And information that
she would encrypt with certain Borg codes that would cause massive malfunctions
when triggered by certain Borg frequencies, which she could broadcast over
subspace and hyperspace, when she made it back to the Alpha Quadrant. She was sure she would make it to
the Alpha Quadrant. She knew with some kind of hidden sense or intuition, as
B’Elanna called it, that she and Harry would make it there. She knew in her
heart that her be’nal, and Captain Janeway, had correlated where they left the
slipstream, and her be’nal was already on her way to find her. “Now. Your stay here will be long,
very long. Short of some intervention by the Gods, you and Lieutenant Kim will
never see the Alpha quadrant. I want to make your stay with us comfortable, and
I will assign you both quarters. You will both be under constant surveillance,
and we will monitor your time spent with each other, so there will be no plots
to escape. If you attempt to escape, I will punish you...severely. I will
assign you two assistants. Both are officers of junior grade. If you need
anything, within reason, they will obtain it for you.” Sela paused and once
again looked Seven up and down with keen interest. She had a small smile on her
face when she said, “You will dine with me tonight.” Sela next pressed the communicator
on her harness, the door opened, and two young officers entered, one female and
the other male. “This is Ulan Glaria and Ulan Spar. They are assigned to you
and anything that you need, within reason, they will do for you or obtain for
you.” She turned to them and ordered, “Show her to her quarters.” x Seven was surprised at the size of
her quarters. They rivaled Janeway's quarters on Voyager. She had a living area
with a combined dining area, and a small replicator. The living area had a low
divan and many large pillows on the floor. The dining area had a low table with
two low couches and two chairs. Seven knew from her studies that Romulans often
reclined while eating, especially on formal occasions, much like the ancient
Greeks and Romans on Earth. She wondered if Sela would follow this custom when
she joined her for dinner, or use the Romulan military custom of sitting in a
chair to dine at a table. She noticed the two large
transparent aluminum windows that overlooked a lush blue and green garden under
turquoise skies. She surveyed the outside with her infrared vision and knew
this was no hologram. There was a door that led to the garden. To her right was a door that led to
a good-sized bedroom with a neatly made double bed. Both living room and
bedroom were decorated in pale mauve and turquoise. Leading off the bedroom was
a bathroom complete with a sonic shower as well as a large hydro tub set into
the floor. There was a large mirror placed over a long counter area, which had
two sinks. In one corner was a commode. She noted that there were a few
brushes, combs, and other toiletries on the counter. She went back out to the living area
and to the computer console located against the far wall. She sat in the chair
by the computer console and studied the computer’s manual control pad. She
would try a vocal command first. “Computer. What is my location?” You are in Sector one cabin four. “Computer. What facility is this and
where is it located?” Tal Shiar headquarters in Sector 24,
the Geggis system on Geggis Supreme, in the Province of Qulpar in Rihanaia
City. “Display a map of the beta quadrant
and indicate the location.” The screen displayed a map of the
quadrant. Apparently, Sela was not concerned with this information. She was
delighted to see that the location was not far off the path they would have
taken to get to the Alpha Quadrant, and the path that B’Elanna would surely take
as the quickest route to get to the point where the Delta Flyer came out of the
transwarp corridor. Computer, display a schematic of
this facility. That is restricted information. “Computer. Give me the location of
Lieutenant Harry Kim.” Lieutenant Kim is in his quarters. “Open up communications with Mr.
Kim.” The screen showed the symbol for the
Tal Shiar and cleared to show Harry’s face. His eyes widened in surprise.
“Seven. Am I glad to see you.” “Likewise. You are well?” “Yeah, so far. I have my own room,
but can’t leave unless I get permission, and then only under guard.” “Likewise. Our calls are monitored,
as are these rooms. Can you discern the location of your room?” Seven hoped
their communications would not be terminated at this point. “Uhm, I have a window that looks out
on a garden area, which is about six meters below me. I must be about one story
up.” “I am on the ground level. Perhaps
it is the same garden, there is a round fountain surrounded by blue flowers.” Harry said, “Yes, that’s what I’m
seeing, too. I must be right above you. There is a small balcony, but the door
is locked and I can’t open it.” Seven, could not of course,
establish his exact location and give hers, but she surmised that he was either
right above her or very close. She hoped to prolong their conversation with
small talk. She felt that whoever monitored them would lose focus on their
conversation if it were not interesting. “Perhaps we will be able to venture
outdoors together and enjoy the esthetically pleasing surroundings of the
garden.” “Well, it would be nice to walk
among real trees and smell real plants growing. Maybe we can have a picnic
lunch outdoors soon. I can’t complain about my room though, kind of small, but
I do have a replicator and a small bathroom. The replicator is for food only.
You know, the food isn't half-bad. It sure beats a lot of what Neelix served.
I‘m told I will be provided appropriate clothing. The computer only lets you
have so much information. There are a lot of novels and games I can access,
though. So I guess it‘s not too bad. It sure beats sitting in a cell.” Seven knew Harry was nervous by his
continuous chatter. The door chime interrupted her. “I will contact you later.
Seven, out.” She did not have a chance to give
the command to enter, when the door slid open, and her two guards entered. The
male carrying what appeared to be garment bags, went to her bedroom and
deposited the bags on her bed. The female stepped in front of her with a
smaller bag. “I am to instruct you that dinner is at 1900 hours and you are to
wear the items in this bag.” She handed the bag to Seven and said, “We will be
here at 1855 to escort you to the quarters of General Sela. Please be ready.”
With that, both guards exited her quarters. “Computer, time.” The time is 1756 hours. She had plenty of time to
investigate the clothing the General had given her. Chapter Six Seven paced her quarters with
agitation. She was not looking forward to the dinner she was to have in General
Sela’s quarters. She felt a great amount of trepidation concerning this event
after viewing the garments given to her by the guard. Her face still blushed as she
thought about the contents of the bag. There was a small ice blue sheath which
would require only her bosom to hold it up, its length was a good three
centimeters above her knee and split to her thigh on the right side. There was
a matching pair of silky ice blue briefs, in Seven’s opinion, very brief, only
a lacy V in front and back. The only other items were a pair of soft step in
shoes. There was no way she would wear what B’Elanna termed ‘seduction
lingerie’ for anyone but her be’nal. She felt a certain queasiness as her
thoughts quickly ran down a list of all the possibilities that General Sela had
in mind in connection with the outfit she had provided. Was she expecting
sexual interactions as part of assuring that she and Harry would remain free of
harm? Or, was this the expected attire when one dined with a Romulan dignitary?
If the former, what would she do if Sela threatened to harm Harry if she did
not acquiesce to her desires. Would she, or even could she, have intimate
relations, even to save Harry’s life. One part of her rationalized that it
would only be hollow motions and not anything related to what she and her
be’nal shared. Their sharing was spiritual as well as physical. The Borg had purged many assimilated
references to social and sexual interactions from the collective as being
irrelevant. She could find no Romulan information to indicate the proper dinner
wear. She had looked through the other clothing provided and found them to be
more acceptable, even though they had the military cut and style to them. She
would wear the set that consisted of a pale gold tunic and matching trousers,
and her Starfleet issue boots. The material was soft and silky and had a sheen
that was appealing. It was casual yet elegant. She also received more
functional underclothes that she could don. Her mind made up, she went to take
a sonic shower and dress. x Seven stood in the lush surroundings
facing the large table, which was set with a variety of dishes, and decorated
with numerous candles. Seven had a sinking feeling when she saw the muted
lights and realized this was a romantic setting. She saw that this was also a
dinner for two, as there were only two dining couches. Besides her and the two
guards, there were two other species present, an Andorian and the other Human.
They stood to the side by a serving bar, dressed identically in simple cream
smocks, their heads bowed slightly, seeming to focus on the floor. Seven
surmised that they were servants, or slaves. Many upper caste Romulans took
enemy captives as slaves and concubines. Sela‘s own mother had been a captive
and kept as a concubine. She heard a door open on her left
and General Sela entered. Seven noticed that she was dressed similarly to
herself. Her tunic was black and belted with a red sash, her trousers, gold.
Sela’s expression had been what Seven thought of as anticipation, which quickly
changed to a scowl when she stopped two yards away and gave Seven a discerning
look. Her face flushed red and she barked out, “Why are you not wearing what I
requested?” She looked from Seven to Ulan Glaria. The young Ulan swallowed hard. “I
did as you ordered, General.” Sela returned her gaze to Seven.
Seven noted the fury in the eyes and decided it was prudent to answer. “I
wished to wear this garment instead.” Sela put her hands on her hips and
said in a harsh voice, “You wished? My wishes come first. What you wish is of
no consequence. Where are the items located that I ORDERED you to wear?” “I placed them back in the package,
and placed it on my bed.” Sela looked at Ensign Glaria and
ordered, “Go to her quarters and retrieve the package and bring it to me.” Glaria saluted and hurriedly exited.
It would take her only a few minutes to retrieve the items, as Seven’s quarters
were only four doors down from those of the General. Sela turned her back to Seven, went to
the side bar, and poured herself a glass of sapphire blue liquid. She turned
back around and looking at Seven, smiled and took a slow sip, continuing to
stare at her over the rim of her glass, her eyes slowly raking Seven’s body and
then focusing on her face. This continued until Ensign Glaria
entered and handled the bag to Sela. Nodding, she looked at the two
guards and ordered, “You two, to your post.” They saluted and quickly exited.
She next looked at the two servants. “Out.” Both nodded in deference and
quickly went through a side door. Sela next focused on Seven, her eyes became
dangerously bright and intense. She motioned at the outfit Seven wore with her
right hand. “Take those off.” Seven looked at her in shock, her
breathing stilled. Sela’s smile disappeared and her
eyes hardened to blue ice. “Here Now. Take them off.” Seven swallowed and stood straight
in her old customary Borg pose, her hands clasped behind her back. “I will not
comply.” Sela tapped a small jewel on her
tunic, apparently a communications device. “Centurion Lodar, I have need of
your services. Bring the Federation Officer, Kim, to my suite at once.” Seven looked sharply at Sela,
assessing her with her cold Borg stare, and in a decidedly Borg voice said,
“State your intentions.” This caused Sela to laugh and then
she paused and narrowed her eyes, looking Seven over slowly, taking her
measure. “My lovely Annika, how forceful and commanding you are, how…very
refreshing and should I say, stimulating. Your very voice and bearing tell me
you are a woman who loves to take the lead. Tell me, do you command that little
half-breed wife of yours. When you make love to her, do you take her and bend
her to your will. She is part Klivam and it is a fact that they are passionate
and often violent lovers. However, you, you are Borg. You are strong and
arrogant. The Borg Queen herself groomed you to succeed her and rule. Tell me,
Annika, does your little half-breed beg you to take her and make her come?” Seven was both appalled and angered.
She ground her back teeth and it took all her will power not to leap on Sela
and throttle her. She noticed that Sela‘s respiration had increased, and she
could gage with her Borg implant, a slight increase in temperature. Seven knew
that Sela was aroused. “You are…disgusting.” Sela swallowed the remains of her
drink and smirked. “Disgusting, am I now?” A chime at the door interrupted
them. “Enter” A heavyset older Romulan entered,
followed by Harry Kim, dressed in a lounging robe and barefoot. He wore a look
of fear on his features. He was flanked by four guards, two on each side of
him.” “Now, Annika, see what results you
have reaped by disobeying my command.” She nodded to the Centurion, who
smiled in glee, and then he nodded at the guards. One stepped behind Harry and
held his forearm around the lieutenant’s neck. The other two held his arms on
each side. The Centurion quickly, and with much force, punched him in the
stomach. Harry would have bent over except for the Guards holding him up. The
Centurion forcefully smashed Harry’s face with his fist. There was a resounding
crunch, which resulting in a splattering of blood from his nose and mouth. Seven made a move toward her friend
but the fourth guard held a weapon on her. Sela quickly stated, “Move and I
will kill him, and no amount of begging or pleading by you will stop me.” Seven shouted, “I will do as you
say!” Sela ordered, “Enough, Lodar. Take
him to the infirmary for treatment, and then return him to his quarters.” Lodar saluted, and the guards
dragged a dazed and bleeding Harry out of the double doors. Seven trembled slightly, her
nanoprobes working hard to keep her from vomiting. True, as a Borg drone, she
had witnessed pain and suffering of those she assimilated, and even the removal
of limbs from those that were awaiting assimilation. Now, her humanity had
found its way back to her. What she now witnessed sickened her. Harry was a
friend and she had caused him to experience pain. Sela poured herself another drink
and tuned to her, raising her eyebrow inquiringly. “I‘m waiting.” Seven pulled the tunic up and over
her head, letting it fall to the floor. She would not look at Sela. She next
removed her boots, loosened her trousers and slid them down her legs to pool
around her feet, and stepped out of them. She stood straight and stiff, clad
only in a soft white chemise and panties. “Take off the rest.” Seven swallowed hard, closed her
eyes, took her chemise off and let it drop to the floor. She next slid the
simple pair of white briefs down her calves until they pooled at her feet, and
stepped out of them. She stood embarrassed and ashamed. There was a time that
nudity would not have mattered, now, she knew the social taboos and the erotic
nuances that nudity entailed. Only for her be'nal would she willingly display
herself like this. She heard the soft approach of steps
and opened her eyes quickly. Sela stood only a few feet away now, raking her
body with hot eyes. She walked around to Seven‘s back and Seven felt a hand
pull the pins from her hair, and heard them tinkle on the marble flooring where
they fell. She felt a hand run through her hair, felt the soft gold mass fall
about her shoulders and down her back. She felt the heat radiate from the
General and heard a slow drawn in breath through the nose, as if she were being
scented. She felt a warm exhalation of breath below her right ear, which caused
her to shiver involuntarily, feeling the goose bumps skitter across her neck
and back. There was a soft caress at one, and then the other, implant below her
shoulder blades, the ones used to draw power during regeneration. The caress
continued down her spine and the small of her back, over the tops of her hips,
where her abdominal implants terminated. She detected steps as Sela continued
around her, and felt a gentle stroke on the implant on her right arm. Sela stood back in front of her,
looked at her breasts and the thin band that followed their bottom curve and
continued around her ribcage. She shifted her gaze lower to the two thin bands
that girded her hips and dipped down to her apex. She did not touch Seven. She returned her gaze to Seven’s
eyes, hers bright and her breathing quick, and mouth slightly parted. Her voice
was soft and at a lower decibel when she spoke, “You are the Shalora Jewel that
the Imperial Symbol of our first Empress holds in her beak. There is no jewel
that is more beautiful. Idonana, the power that embodies the Four Elements,
made it from a star. She gave the jewel to our first Empress as a token of her
great love. Perhaps, you are a gift to me from Idonana herself to show that she
loves me. For I am the one who will bring the Empire back to its former glory.” She stared for a few seconds longer
and abruptly handed the bag to Seven. “Dress.” Seven took the bag, donned the
panties, and slid the ice blue sheath over her torso smoothing it down her
thighs. She stepped into the soft slippers, bent, and retrieved the pins where
they had fallen on the floor. She smoothed back her hair into a twist and was
about to pin it. “Leave it down.” Seven, finished now, looked at Sela.
She knew she had to be careful here. “What are your intentions?" Sela momentarily looked confused at
the question, then smiled, and replied, “You want to know if I will require any
sexual favors from you, do you not?” “Yes.” “Very well. Let me say this and you
must never repeat it, or I will make you sorry. I have never forced my
attentions on a woman, nor required her to please me, unless it so pleases her.
I require certain things in a sexual encounter that may surprise you, Annika. I
am a general, a leader, and billions obey my commands. I decide the fate of
thousands of worlds. I can destroy a city, or a planet with a word and none
dare disobey me. If it was my desire, I could have any man or woman I want,
even the spouses and lovers of my officers. None would say a word, or even dare
look displeased about it. That is not what I want, or desire. I do not want to
lead in matters of passion or desire. I desire to be led--to be taken. I need
to be taken…made to forget who, and what I am. I need to know that it is not
Sela the General, but Sela the woman, who is desired and sparks passion. Do you
understand, Annika?” “I…do not know. However, I do not
desire you or want you. I belong to another. All that I have, and all that I
am, is hers. I will not, and cannot, give you what you want. Even if you were
to order me, I would only be able to go through the motions, which would be
devoid of meaning, with no passion or love. Hollow. The only emotions they
would evoke in me would be loathing and hate. ” Sela smiled wryly and said, “Oh my
exquisite jewel. In time you will give me what I desire, what I crave. You will
do this willingly and of your own accord. Deny it all you want, but I will be
yours and your taking of me will bind you to me. “You were created to rule and to
take what you want. This is part of your nature as the successor to the Borg
Queen. You are relentless in your pursuit of your desires. Yes, desires. These
Borg drones are but mere automatons, but the Queen, she is more, much more than
an emotionless automaton. She feeds on power. She feels pride and satisfaction
at what she has accomplished. She even feels love and possessiveness. Her
pursuit of you tells me that. “You, my lovely Annika, you were
fashioned by her hand and infused with her desires. I can give you what you
truly crave and want. Power over billions, power over the universe. Even the
mighty Borg Queen will bow before you, when you finally stand by my side. I
will surrender to your passion and you will have your fill of me and still want
more. I will be your addiction, Annika. Our union will shake the very
foundations of the universe and reverberate over all four Quadrants.” She saw
Seven’s obstinate and confused look, then forcefully said, “Do not dare deny it
for I have the control now.” She then smiled and said, “Let us to the table and
dine. I want to hear of the Borg and who better to tell me but a former Borg
Princess.” Seven said nothing, but reflected on
Sela’s words, finding them disturbing and obviously coming from a delusional
and unbalanced mind. The part of her thought process that was still Borg
analyzed Sela’s statements and found them illogical. She is flawed, weak,
damaged. She shall be terminated. Chapter Seven B’Elanna exited the plush and
opulent quarters that Efok assigned her on his ship. In the nine days that they
had left Admiral Telir’s ship, they had come across six freighters, none
bearing any news of foreign ships, or anything out of the ordinary with the
renegade Tal Shiar. She was getting frustrated, and to
boot, plenty fed up entertaining freighter captains every other night and
having to play Efok's demure little wife. Efok’s ship, Tat be Qual, or Free Spirits
in Federation Standard, was more than what she seemed. Granted, she had a cargo
bay full of rare, and not so rare, wines and other spirits, but she also
sported state of the art warp engines capable of sustained speeds of 8.9, and
short burst of 9.78 warp, as well as a cloaking device. State of the art
Romulan devices masked the true nature of her engines. Any scans done would
show ordinary industrial engines only capable of reaching warp seven. Efok had a nasty, hulking, vampire
looking engineer, named Brod, who she later learned was a Reman, a native of
Remus, Romulus' sister planet. He gave her the creeps, but Tom seemed to get
along well with him, swapping stories and boasting of their romantic conquests.
B’Elanna had warned Tom that he had better not mention that they had once been
more than friends, or she would divest him of his manhood, and he would be able
to find employment on Risa as a joy boy, and he could employ his tongue, which
he loved to wag, on pleasuring female Hortas and giving oral umox to Ferengi.
This must have worked, as there was no indication from Brod that Tom was
telling him anything. She was, however, glad that Tom was
with her. He encouraged her to keep up hope and she often went to him when she
needed to talk. He told her he was honestly happy for her and Seven, and that
he had never seen her so content. He conceded that he was at first jealous of
them, but after seeing them together, he knew they were right for each other.
He even apologized for making the bet that none on Voyager would have her.
However, B’Elanna thought he was sorry that he had lost his entire stash of
rations, but she did make him promise that he would never bet on her or Seven
or anything to do with their relationship ever again. Efok entertained many clients aboard
his vessel and it had small, but opulent guest rooms and a large opulent dining
and entertainment area, with tables, chairs, and couches. It was attending social functions
and dining on the couches that she hated the most. At these functions she had
to share a couch with Efok. She had to feel his fat belly against her back, and
his breath on her neck, during the dinners as she reclined in front of him. The
first time she had to dine this way, he nuzzled her neck and attempted to kiss
her cheek. She had viciously reached back and grabbed his genitals, squeezing
hard, until she heard him groan in pain. After that, he was more subdued in his
actions, but still sickened her with his display of ‘my sweet and my dears‘. He
had to have a special couch that was a little larger than most, due to his
rotund size. She supposed she should be grateful he had a fat belly, as she
would kill him if she had felt a particular part of his anatomy poking her
throughout the meal. Tonight would be different though.
They were coming to a planet that boasted a busy spaceport to attend a banquet
that would be crawling with not only Captains of various vessels, but
dignitaries from other planets and colonies. Tom and Brod would be busy taking a
little tour among the many bars and taverns that catered to the crews of
various freighters and cargo vessels. Brod told Tom that crews of freighters
were always full of information, and when plied with enough spirits, would sing
it out on the street corners. He had grinned, looking even more menacing with
his sharp teeth bared, and stated, “The right amount of fermented juice, and
they will confess to screwing their brother’s wife.” B’Elanna was relieved that the
banquet did not have a couch big enough for both her and Efok to share, and
that she had one all to herself. So far, the talk was all about commerce
and very boring. She had no interest in the price of grain on Dosoil. And
almost screamed when the conversation turned to the difficulties of cleaning
out cargo holds after transporting farm
animals. She picked a small nut from her
plate, and while no one was looking, tossed it at Efok who was on the next
couch. It hit him on the side of his head and he turned and looked at her. She
motioned with her head and eyes to get the topic onto subjects that were more
useful to their needs. There was a pause in the
conversation and Efok quickly changed the topic. “You know, I heard something a
week or so ago from a freighter captain heading to the Ocelor system. He said
something about the, ah…authorities…looking for information on a ship that may
have contained pirates that were operating in and around the Brasling system.
I, for one, am heading that way and sure don’t want to run into any pirates.” A slightly tipsy freight company
owner, by the name of Granor, guffawed and said, “Pirates? Not on your life. It
was smugglers, and the Tal Shiar caught them. I know that for a fact.” B‘Elanna perked up at this, and Efok
inquired, “Oh, and how is that, Granor? Was it perhaps one of your ah…ships
that got caught?" Everyone laughed at this as it was a fact that many freighter
captains, and owners of freight lines, dabbled in smuggling. Granor hrumphed. “I read the report
from the captain of my ship the Blue Nova.
When they left the Nolido system a small vessel apparently left with them,
concealed in their Ion exhaust. You know, to disguise their exhaust trail. Well
in sector twenty-eight, two warships stopped them and apprehended the ship and
its crew. The commander of one of the warships ordered them to go and said he
was sure they did not know that they had company, and he would not levy a fine
against them. My captain was then ordered not to scan the vessel, and to keep
on his way. Well, he did as he was ordered, you know them being Tal Shiar, and
all. He states he did get a visual of the craft on his screen, and it was a
small craft, about the size of a shuttle. Looked like it couldn’t carry much,
and only big enough for about four people. He had never seen that type of
shuttle before, and the strange thing is, it had symbols on the side that were
not Romulan, or any that he was familiar with. Anyway, he states that it wasn’t
much later when these two warships passed him, not even cloaked, and headed
toward Tal Shiar headquarters on Geggis Supreme. Probably the poor crew is dead
by now, or wishing they were.” Everyone shook his or her head in
pity and one guest said, “A person can’t even do a little harmless bartering
these days without it being a capital offense.” A short time later Efok begged
tiredness, and amongst much guffawing from the others that he wanted to leave
the banquet to be with his pretty wife, he and B’Elanna returned to the ship. x B’Elanna paced up in down the small
conference room. Seated at the oblong table were Tom, Brod, and Efok. She
stopped pacing and addressed the others, “It’s them. I know it is. The fucking
Tal Shiar has them. Gods we got to get them out.” Efok had a sober expression on his
face. “ Granted I don’t know all there is to know about your crewmates. But I
do know you used some kind of device to get from the Delta Quadrant to the
Alpha Quadrant, and some kind of Borg technology was involved. That fact alone
is very valuable to General Sela. She will keep them alive if they have
information she can use. She is not one to torture or kill. That is, if they
cooperate. Besides, they are Federation citizens and serve Starfleet. She could
use them in the future as a bargaining tool. There is a good chance that both
are alive.” B’Elanna looked at him
disbelievingly and tersely said, “Not one to torture and kill? Great Gods,
Efok, you must not know her as well as you think!” “I know her well, about as well as
anyone could know one such as her. I have sold my goods to her, and also sold certain information to her that she
was able to use against her enemies on Romulus--” B’Elanna growled and grabbed Efok by
his collar. “You fucking PetaQ. You’re a double agent. Gods, you probably sold
us out to her and are just delivering the goods.” Brod immediately broke B’Elanna’s
hold on Efok and Tom held B’Elanna back. Efok coughed to clear his throat and
still clutching at his neck, said in a squeaky voice, “I play the role of spy
for Sela. Admiral Telir, and certain members of the Senate, go along with this.
I feed her information that does prove correct, but not to the detriment of the
Empire. She pays me quite handsomely, and I am able to gain information from
her. So far, what I have told her has resulted in what she thinks of as gains
for herself. Actually, they are, but very small ones. Ones that are really of
no consequence. This has built her trust in me. “She will invite me to dine with her
and her officers. These banquets of hers almost always include the spouses and
lovers of her officers. I always have a good amount of spirits set aside for
her, as well as delicacies that are difficult to come by. I provide the
entertainment, so to speak, by regaling them with gossip I have obtained on my
travels. The spirits will flow and tongues will wag, and this is at the
reception before the banquet, when officers socialize, gossip, and tell jokes.
I tell you, just play your role as my pretty wife and you will know the
whereabouts of your friends the first night of her banquet.” B’Elanna closed her eyes for a
second to compose herself. “Okay. That sounds like the easy part. How do we get
them out?" Efok smiled, “I have the schematics
to the main headquarters building. I know where her brig is and the location of
her quarters, as well as where most of her troops are located.” B’Elanna snorted and wryly said,
“Oh, and these places aren’t guarded, and we are just going to walk right in
and shut down the whole place. Hmm. If it were that easy why hasn’t the Empire
just waltzed right in and done it before?” Efok laughed and winked at B’Elanna.
“My dear wife, that’s just what the Empire is doing now, isn’t it.” “Okay. So we waltz into the joint,
and somehow get by security, I somehow find my wife and Harry, and we somehow
escape. We would have more luck looting the Ferengi Great Vault. We have two
prisoners we have to free and I bet they aren’t walking freely down the halls.
Every door in that place will lock down and every move we make will be
monitored. That place would be like stirring an ant hill with a stick, soldiers
pouring out of every nook and cranny.” “I won’t lie, it will be hard but
not impossible. I have a device that will shut down anything that operates by a
plasma or electrical impulse, for twenty-six minutes and within a three-mile
perimeter. Not a phaser, weapon, door lock, transporter, or containment field
will work during that time. No messages will be able to pass to orbiting
warships, nor will they be able to contact the compound. Tom exclaimed, “Wow, I would like to
see that.” | |||||