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I am Borg - Part 2 - Chapter 9
By Kudara
Disclaimer: Star Trek Voyager and all who sail in her belong to
Paramount/Viacom and no infringement of copyright/trade marks is
intended.
Warning: Contains f/f references between women.
Stardate: 52705
Rating: PG-13
Feedback: Always welcome, feedback is what encourages me to keep
writing. Please let me know what you like and what you dislike
about the story.
Archiving: Archived at www.ralst.com; girlbitz.com;
www.fanfiction.net/~kudara (best place to find most recent
postings)
Summary: Kathryn learns Tom and B'Elanna have broken up. Seven
learns the same and her and B'Elanna have a discussion
concerning their relationship. First Infiltrator game. Sardines
surprise, Tom already has a new girlfriend.
***********************************************************
The next day Kathryn was surprised to overhear a discussion
between Paris and Kim about Tom's newly single state. From what
she was able to gather B'Elanna and Tom had both decided they
were better suited as friends than lovers.
What exactly this might have to do with the previous night's
conversation with Annika, Kathryn wasn't certain. However, the
possibilities were intriguing to say the least. Certainly the
developing friendship between her foster daughter and her Chief
Engineer warranted more of her attention than it had given this
new development. Besides, Kathryn thought with a mischievous
twinkle in her eye, she wouldn't want to deprive Seven of one of
the essential daughter experiences of being completely mortified
when her ‘mother' grilled her first potential suitor.
**********************************************************
"Tom and I agreed to go our separate ways last night," B'Elanna
casually informed Seven, who was assisting B'Elanna with routine
monthly maintenance on the EPS conduits.
Seven looked up from where she was examining the readings from
her tricorder, surprised at the casual admission. She was
uneasily aware that the information she gave B'Elanna was the
probable cause of the failure of B'Elanna and Tom's
relationship. Seven frowned, "I did not mean for my apology to
cause conflict in your relationship with Lt. Paris, I have
erred."
"No, you didn't err Seven, Tom did. And it wasn't really that
anyway, your information was just the final thing that made it
clear to me that Tom couldn't be the person I needed him to be.
We even discussed how both of us went into the relationship
thinking we could get the other person to change. Of course,
that failed. The fact that we both felt the other one had to
change meant the relationship was doomed anyway. So don't blame
yourself Seven," B'Elanna hastened to reassure her.
"I do not understand, B'Elanna, clarify... please," Seven
requested puzzled.
B'Elanna sighed lightly, "I thought that Tom would stop playing
around with his cars and Captain Proton program and spend more
time with me when we decided to be in a relationship. He thought
that I would be more willing to spend time with him playing
around with his cars and playing Constance Goodheart," B'Elanna
said rather sarcastically. "We both expected the other to make
rather radical changes so that we could be together, and not
surprisingly that didn't happen. It wasn't a good way to begin
the relationship, its not surprising that it didn't work out.
You just helped me see that Seven, you didn't cause any of it."
Seven recalled the reading she had done, "My studies indicated
that potential intimacy should start with a mutual friendship
which included common interests or the willingness to develop
common interests. Though you had a friendship with Lt. Paris
neither of you were willing to develop common interests. Is my
understanding correct B'Elanna?"
"I'd say that pretty much sums it up," agreed B'Elanna wryly.
Seven paused and stared at B'Elanna, uncertain how to ask what
she was curious about. Finally she decided to be truthful. Seven
paused to scan for life signs other than their own in the
Jeffries tube, mindful of the cultural need for privacy, and
ignoring B'Elanna's inquisitive look. "I have noticed signs of
physical arousal when you are around me B'Elanna, was that also
one of the reasons for the termination of your relationship with
Lt. Paris."
B'Elanna winced inwardly, she had certainly just been thoroughly
disabused of any remaining illusion that the ex-drone hadn't
noticed her attraction. "It might," B'Elanna allowed, "But that
doesn't change the fact that the relationship was pretty much
over anyway. Besides I would say we need to work on building a
friendship first, and I don't know if you're even attracted to
me Seven. So once again, you were not the cause of my break up
with Tom."
Seven nodded, "This relay is functioning within acceptable
parameters, B'Elanna." She informed the Lt., while she
considered whether or not she was expected to reply to
B'Elanna's statement that B'Elanna did not know whether or not
Seven was attracted to her. B'Elanna stared at her for a moment,
and Seven wondered if she had seen disappointment in her eyes
before she indicated they should move on to the next relay.
Seven reached out and stopped the half-Klingon, "I am unsure
what I feel for you B'Elanna. I believe I am still too uncertain
that the current state of our relationship will continue." Seven
paused then continued in a lower tone, "You already know I
consider you to be beautiful B'Elanna, it is not just your
emotions that I find beautiful. I also find you physically
beautiful."
B'Elanna looked at her doubtfully.
Seven let go of B'Elanna's arm and tilted her head to the side,
"I am being honest B'Elanna.
"Even my Klingon ones," asked B'Elanna with a definite doubtful
tone.
"Your Klingon heritage is part of your beauty B'Elanna. Your
forehead ridges, your skin tone, your physical strength, the
sound of your double hearts, your increased body temperature and
your distinctive smell are all part of what I find to be
beautiful about you B'Elanna," Seven stated calmly.
"Oh," said B'Elanna surprised at the listing of the physical
traits. "My smell?" she questioned, then winced wondering if she
really wanted to hear Seven's answer.
"Yes, I find your scent to be pleasing, when we are not arguing
it has a... " Seven paused then inhaled deeply and looked
thoughtful, "soothing effect on me. I am uncertain why this is."
B'Elanna stared at Seven, soothing was not what she had expected
Seven to say, she didn't see herself as a soothing type of
person by any stretch of the imagination. Yet she knew Seven
wouldn't say it if it wasn't true, "I don't really see myself as
a soothing type of person Seven," she finally admitted.
Seven nodded, not surprised by B'Elanna's words. She had trouble
understanding why she perceived the other woman's scent as
soothing as well. In the past it had always produced a strange
ache in her as the dichotomy between her feelings of safety in
the engineers presence was contradicted by B'Elanna's
aggressiveness toward her. Lately however with their changed
relationship there was no such dichotomy and Seven was free to
experience the first without the second.
"Yet I find it to be so, because I feel safe in your presence...
It hurt when we would argue. Even when I would initiate the
argument," a touch of the sadness of that time reached Seven's
eyes for a moment then she straightened. "We should continue to
the next relay B'Elanna."
Kathless, thought B'Elanna, I have been such a Peta'Q. Please
let me not have destroyed all hope of anything between us.
Impulsively B'Elanna reached up and gently cupped the side of
Seven's face. "I want you to feel safe with me Seven... I wish I
had realized it earlier."
Seven stilled feeling the warmth of B'Elanna's hand cupping her
cheek so gently. Almost instinctively she turned her head into
the contact deepening it and took a breath smelling the scent of
B'Elanna from the pulse point in her wrist. Suddenly Seven was
aware of something she hadn't been willing to face before, mixed
in with the feeling of safety was the stirring of desire. Seven
looked at B'Elanna, not certain what to do about the feelings
the woman's touch had stirred in her.
B'Elanna watched with surprise as Seven turned her head to rest
her face more fully in B'Elanna's hand. As Seven turned to look
at her with eyes that had deepened from grey blue to blue
B'Elanna recognized the desire in them and the uncertainty.
B'Elanna breathed in deeply, controlling her own rising desire
and stroked Seven's face with her thumb softly before dropping
her hand away.
"Let's get moving to that next relay or we will be late for our
Holodeck time tonight Seven," said B'Elanna with a smile. Then
at the slightly confused expression on Sevens face she explained
softly, "Friendship first."
Seven nodded understanding and picked up the tool kit and
followed along behind B'Elanna as they moved toward the next
relay. She couldn't help but be aware that the nature of the
relationship between them had just changed yet again.
For one thing she didn't recall ever being so quite aware of
exactly how B'Elanna's uniform emphasized the muscular nature of
her buttocks as she walked. Or how the slenderness of her waist
contrasted so pleasingly with the width of her shoulders and the
roundness of her hips. It was as if the simple touch had
awakened something inside her that had been there all along but
previously dormant.
B'Elanna reached the next relay and turned around to glance at
Seven only to see her drop her eyes away from her gaze and blush
slightly. Slightly confused by her reaction she automatically
began examining the relay while Seven took readings of the
plasma flow. Suddenly a possible reason for Seven's
embarrassment came to her, had Seven been checking her out?
B'Elanna tried to remember where Seven's gaze had been directed
when she turned around. She found it most frustrating to realize
that she couldn't remember.
Suddenly B'Elanna realized she really hadn't given serious
thought to what she wanted. In many ways Seven's seeming
indifference to her attraction had made it easy for her to just
react without seriously considering the further implications.
Seven might not be totally innocent any more but she was still
very innocent when it came to relationships.
B'Elanna glanced at Seven as they worked out of the corner of
her eye. Seven was definitely beautiful, she was also loyal,
honorable and truthful almost to a fault. Add to that the sheer
physical strength she possessed and it was no wonder her Klingon
half was attracted to the blonde.
B'Elanna knew... or thought she knew that Seven would be hurt if
her first relationship was based purely on physical attraction.
She was beginning to see how gentle and caring the ex-drone was
capable of being. Seven did have a ruthless side, but it always
showed up when Seven was protecting someone or something she
cared about.
B'Elanna decided that perhaps being as honest as Seven usually
was might be easier than trying to speculate as to what Seven
expected from her first relationship. "Seven, what are you
expecting from your first relationship? I mean are you looking
for a casual relationship or a serious one?"
Seven looked at B'Elanna surprised for a moment then she
considered her question. "I am uncertain B'Elanna, the Doctor
prior to my own research had given me the impression that one
only could only have one relationship that progressed through
several well defined stages to a binding relationship such as
marriage. My research since has indicated that his description
is flawed."
B'Elanna stared at her gaping, "That's an understatement, I
can't believe he told you that. What is he back in the twentieth
century?"
Seven smiled briefly at B'Elanna, "My own research has indicated
that several different approaches to relationships are
acceptable. It is permissible to engage in casual relationships
for the purpose of sexual intercourse for pleasure without any
expectations of marriage. It is also permissible to ‘date'
several people while searching for the person one intends to
‘marry'. Such dating may or may not involve sexual intercourse."
Well that was definitely succinct thought B'Elanna, "Well yes
those are all true, but what approach do you want to engage in
Seven?"
Seven was silent for a long moment, "While I have come to
understand the desire to engage in sexual intercourse for
physical pleasure I believe I would prefer to ‘date' with the
intent of finding someone I would wish to... marry."
"That's my preferred approach as well," said B'Elanna.
They worked together for a few more minutes in relative silence,
only speaking when it was required by their work. Seven had been
replaying the events of the afternoon in her mind in between the
moments when she needed to work. She knew the conversation they
had just had was significant, she believed they had just defined
the parameters for a potential intimate relationship between the
two of them but she was not entirely certain.
"B'Elanna should I interpret our recent discussion as an
indication that you wish to date me?" inquired Seven deciding to
continue the honest tone the conversation had kept so far.
B'Elanna chuckled softly, "I knew you would get around to asking
that Seven. You took a few more minutes than I expected
actually... To answer your question, yes eventually I hope we
can date. But I think we both know that we still need to work on
our friendship first. We have common interests and enjoy
spending time together, but we can't date until you trust in our
friendship and in me." B'Elanna paused in her work to look
frankly at Seven as she said the last.
Seven nodded solemnly, "I will comply B'Elanna."
B'Elanna frowned slightly, "Comply with what? Working on our
friendship?"
"I did not mean to be inexact, B'Elanna. Yes, I will comply with
working on our friendship. I wish to trust you," Seven's voice
dropped and she sounded almost shy when she spoke again, "I find
the thought of dating you to be... very appealing. I am having a
very different reaction than when I contemplated dating Lt.
Chapman."
B'Elanna grinned at the last comment, "Well I certainly hope so
Seven. So, what tech level were you planning on playing
tonight?" B'Elanna decided a move toward a less intimate
conversation was needed at this point.
Seven accepted the sudden change in subject, replying "I was
planning on playing at current technology levels. I have looked
at the specifications for the current Starfleet stealth combat
suit and believe they can be greatly improved. I would like to
work with the unmodified suit first though, if you do not have
any objections B‘Elanna."
"No, none at all. As a matter of fact would you like some help
in modifying the suit? That sounds fun quite frankly," B'Elanna
replied intrigued by the thought.
"Your assistance would be welcome, B'Elanna," Seven smiled at
B'Elanna briefly with pleasure.
*****************************************************
Promptly at 1700 the two of them met outside of the Holodeck for
their first Infiltrator program run. Seven was dressed
identically to B'Elanna in a standard Starfleet workout pants
and halter top. Which was not surprising as it was the suggested
outfit to wear under the combat suit. B'Elanna stared at her
arms for a moment admiring the intricate interweaving of the
exoskeleton bands running along her arms and shoulders. Seven
looked at her curiously then held out her arm.
"You may examine my exoskeleton more closely if you wish, I have
had many crewmembers stare at me as I walked here. A few of them
seem to have had difficulty navigating the corridors as they
walked into the corridor walls after I had passed," Seven said
dryly.
B'Elanna glanced at her and detected the slight twinkle in the
blonde's eye and laughed at the statement. "I can't blame them
for looking Seven, its very eye catching." Curiously she gently
reached out and touched the design finding it to be the same
temperature as Seven's skin and oddly enough soft and supple to
the touch.
She had expected it to be different, harder and less giving. She
looked at Seven who was watching her touch her arm with an
intent expression and her breath caught at the darkness in
Seven's eyes. The phrase sensitive to tactile touch went through
her mind and she wondered exactly how sensitive Seven's
exoskeleton was. "Thanks," she said somewhat huskily. Seven
nodded silently and seemed to shake herself slightly and nodded
toward the Holodeck doors.
The previous occupant had already left so they were able to step
immediately into the program once Seven had started it running.
Seven had specified a forested terrain and as a result the
combat suits they found themselves wearing were colored with
various shades of green and brown in random patterns designed to
allow them to blend into a forested environment.
Combat Stealth Suits were comprised of an outer exchangeable
shell that covered the actual suit. The Combat Stealth Suit was
designed with built in sensor technology that was able to
duplicate many of the detection capabilities of a tricorder. The
readout was displayed on a hands free display projected onto the
interior of the polarized face plate. The energy and bio
readings of the suit and occupant were masked so that most
sensors would not be able to detect them.
Their first task was to establish encrypted local range
communications between the suits. Seven quickly accomplished
this and encrypted the transmission using Borg encryption codes.
The transmission also allowed them to monitor each other's
biosigns so they could tell if the other was injured.
"Transmission encryption complete, successfully reading your
biosigns B'Elanna. All suit senor readings functioning normally,
energy and bio sign masking operating normally," Seven reported
when she was finished.
Seven could not see B'Elanna's face behind the camouflaged face
plate which was disconcerting, but it also mean that B'Elanna
would not notice that she was admiring the how the form fitting
suit looked on the muscular woman. B'Elanna finished the
diagnostics on her suit and indicated to Seven that they were
ready to get their mission objective.
The mission was fairly simple, they had been inserted two miles
away from their mission objective which was a small
communications station that they needed to infiltrate and
destroy the communications equipment. Preliminary reconnaissance
reported signs of Jem'Hadar troops guarding the area as well as
various types of sensors.
"This is at a medium setting?" B'Elanna questioned thinking of
the difficulty of getting past Dominion troops.
"Yes, B'Elanna," Seven verified.
"Ok, any suggestions?" asked B'Elanna wondering what the
difficult setting might throw at them.
"bISovbejbe'DI' tImer," growled Seven.
B'Elanna started, then grinned at the incongruity of having to
figure out how to translate Klingon spoken perfectly by a Borg
ex-drone. "When in doubt, surprise them?" she hazarded.
"Yes, we need to figure out what type of attack they are
expecting by the placement of their personnel and sensors, then
attack them in an unexpected manner," Seven offered.
B'Elanna nodded, it was sound strategy.
It took them thirty minutes to work their way to within a mile
of the communications station, during that time they figured out
that most of the sensors and personnel seemed to be set for
large scale troop movements, not small unit destroy operations.
Suddenly the medium difficulty setting made sense, all they had
to do was not be detected by the Dominion troops or sensors and
the mission should be easily accomplished. Of course both of
them were aware that battle plans rarely lasted past the first
engagement.
Using their suit's equipment they worked their way toward the
station at a deliberate pace, avoiding the sentries and working
their way around the various sensors.
At one point they were almost surprised by one of the sentries,
they quickly rolled into some bushes for cover. Seven was
surprised to find herself rolling down into a small gully and
stopped herself and then caught and stopped B'Elanna from
rolling any further.
B'Elanna had been surprised when the gentle slope suddenly
turned into a more steep one and she started rolling faster than
she wanted, arms caught her and she found herself resting atop
Seven who had caught and stopped her. They both froze at the
sound of the sentry calling out to another, both of them knowing
at this point that trusting in their camouflage was probably the
best option.
B'Elanna was very aware of the form of the woman underneath her,
and she couldn't help but relax into the body beneath her
fitting them even closer together. She could see nothing of
Seven's face but the bio readouts told their own tale of Seven's
heart and pulse rate. B'Elanna knew that her own readouts were
telling Seven much of the same information.
Finally Seven indicated that they could move and B'Elanna
reluctantly levered herself off the taller woman. They continued
their way cautiously toward the station, finally dropping and
crawling the remainder of the way until they were within visual
range of the station.
The two of them watched the movements of the guards and figured
out where all of the sensors were located and what area's they
covered. Unfortunately it appeared that their ability to evade
the Jem'Hadar had ended. From now on they would need to
neutralize the enemy quickly before they could alert the
surrounding troops.
After some argument they agreed that they would attempt to take
out the two outer guards first then quickly move to neutralize
the remaining inner guards. From here on out they would have to
count on luck and speed to accomplish the mission.
Seven crawled close to her designated guard then when she was as
close as she thought she could safely get she signaled her
readiness to B'Elanna. When she received the counter signal she
sprang from where she was lying and sprinted to the guard. The
Jem'Hadar's moment of surprise was all she needed to snap his
head back with a decisive blow to his face. Somewhat sheepishly
she felt the facial bones break and realized she had probably
killed her opponent.
Seven felt it was somewhat of a failure for her since she was
trying not to be lethal during the program, however the she had
prevented the guard from raising the alarm so within the scope
of the mission it was a success. She glanced over to check on
B'Elanna only to see her opponent go down with an unnatural
angle of the head that indicated that B'Elanna had snapped her
opponent's neck.
Efficient noted Seven with some pride at the other woman's
evident strength, a Jem'Hadar was not a weak opponent. Seven
brought her attention back to her mission and entered the
building with B'Elanna following only a few steps behind. Seven
split off to the right while B'Elanna took the left hand
corridor.
Both of them had appropriated the rifle that both guards had
been carrying. Seven with one intent look at the foreign weapon
resolved to pause and examine it in more detail later. It was
likely that Mulara had provided them with an accurate duplicate
of a weapon with which they were totally unfamiliar.
Seven focused her attention forcefully back onto her
surroundings, reminding herself that she was supposed to focus
on her environment at all times. Noting her sensor readings she
detected a room with three Jem'Hadar 9 meters down the corridor.
Observing their positions she leapt to the entrance of the room
and fired at the first Jem'Hadar then dove under the return fire
an took out the second. The third Jem'Hadar almost managed to
fire upon her but she shot at him almost instinctively and was
surprised to see him drop. Perhaps Kathryn's ability to
instinctively aim and fire were not out of her reach, Seven
thought.
Seven kept on the move continuing around the corridor in time to
assist B'Elanna who had been pinned down by four remaining
Jem'Hadar. Taking them by surprise Seven was able to take down
two of them which allowed B'Elanna to move to a more
advantageous position and take down the remaining two Jem'Hadar.
The two women examined the communications equipment and were
able to quickly devise a feedback loop that would overload the
equipment with energy and fuse the components. It took them
another minute to set up the loop and initiate it, then they
destroyed the sensor network with their Jem'Hadar rifles and
proceeded back out of the communication station.
Using the sensor equipment in their suits they were able to
evade the sentries that were responding to the attack. A minute
into their ex-filtration the computer announced the successful
accomplishment of their mission goal and asked if they wished to
continue the scenario until they reached their entry point.
Seven responded with a quick affirmative and the two woman raced
as quickly as they could toward their entry point. As they were
running Seven caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of
her eye. Before she could entirely process the information she
found herself reaching out and pulling B'Elanna into her and
rolling the both of them onto the forest floor as energy beams
passed over their heads.
Seven had retained possession of her rifle and it only took her
a second to identify and target one of their attackers. B'Elanna
had lost possession of her rifle when Seven had grabbed her but
she located it and crawled over and grabbed it and began firing
back as well. Between the two of them they managed to take down
all of their attackers. They only had ten minutes left in the
program by the time that they were finished with the fire fight.
Picking up their pace they decided to rely on speed to get them
the last quarter mile. Four Jem'Hadar suddenly beamed into a
space directly in front of them surprising Seven and B'Elanna
momentarily. Seven did not slow her momentum and used it to
deliver a devastating kick to the first Jem'Hadar she reached.
Blocking the blow from another one she noticed one of them
drawing a weapon and threw herself at him, tackling him
midsection and bearing the both of them to the ground.
B'Elanna had been a few paces behind Seven snapped off a quick
shot that took out one of the remaining two opponents and then
when Seven and the Jem'Hadar she had tackled separated she shot
him as well. "Run," she gasped out knowing they were close to
their designated entry point. Seven who had rolled to her feet,
spared a moment to nod and the two of them reached the
designated location with only moments to spare.
As the Holodeck faded to reveal the machinery that emitted the
holo programs the two of them smiled at each other.
"Qapla'," exclaimed B'Elanna.
Seven's mouth quirked up in a smile, "Qapla'," she agreed.
"Sardine's for a cup of bloodwine, Seven?" B'Elanna suggested
still running high over the final fight and sprint for the entry
point. "Tom wanted us to stop by if we could."
Seven nodded, "I believe it is customary to toast a victory."
B'Elanna reached up and slapped the blond on the back in
agreement, not surprised when Seven didn't move much. An amused
look and raised brow was all the reply she got right before
Seven returned the favor, rocking the smaller woman slightly.
B'Elanna grunted slightly and then laughed at Seven's return of
the gesture. B'Elanna was happy to see that Seven was at ease
with her tonight, fighting together in the Holodeck always
seemed to improve Seven's level of confidence in their
friendship.
As they walked into Sardines B'Elanna noted the presence of the
Captain and Chakotay in addition to Tom, Harry and a woman
hanging all over Tom who B'Elanna finally recognized as Ensign
Brooks. Everyone paused in surprise at seeing the pair of them,
or perhaps it was at the sight of Seven thought B‘Elanna.
"Computer provide Mularan shirt and wrist wraps in royal blue in
my size and a similar set in dark red in Lt. Torre's size,"
Seven said when they were fully in the Holodeck. The neatly
folded clothes appeared in Seven's hands and she handed the red
set to B'Elanna as she quickly slipped her shirt over her head
and wrapped the banding about her waist and wrists. B'Elanna
followed suit and curiously touched the soft fabric after she
had figured out the wrist and waist wraps.
"The style and color suit you B'Elanna, I am glad that you did
not mind that I asked for a set for you. I have been wanting to
see how you looked in the style." Seven commented before she
turned to the bartender and said, "cha' 'Iw HIq"
B'Elanna noted some curious looks from those who overheard the
Klingon phrase for two bloodwines, she noted that the Captain
merely looked amused as she examined her two officers. Tom was
looking a bit sour as she continued to calmly ignore him and the
red headed woman who was hanging all over him in favor of
getting her drink with Seven. "No I don't mind, I'm glad you
like how I look in them," she replied to Seven.
Seven took the two drinks and handed one to B'Elanna, the two of
them ritually tapped their glasses together and Seven said,
"Sigr, victory."
B'Elanna smiled guessing Seven had spoken Old Norse and replied
"yay."
With that the two of them took deep drinks of their bloodwine,
celebrating their first win over the Infiltrator program.
The Captain came over and said, "I understand you two were
running through Mulara's Infiltrator program. I gather you
succeeded in your first mission." She indicated the two glasses
with a smile.
"Yes, Captain," Seven answered. Between the two of them they
began to enthusiastically fill in the Captain and Chakotay who
had wandered over to listen.
"Jem'Hadar," mused the Captain, "Seven you said you thought the
rifle might be an accurate replica of one of their weapons?"
"I believe so, Captain," answered Seven.
"Might be a good idea to study one then, the Federation probably
already knows everything about their weapons but we don't. And
you never know we might run into a race in the Delta quadrant
which uses similar technology," Janeway said, informally
ordering them to research the Jem'Hadar rifle.
Janeway and Chakotay left Sardines shortly afterward, in the
corridor after the doors had shut Chakotay commented on how he
had never thought that the two would make friends much less
Seven start picking up Klingon habits from B'Elanna.
Janeway smiled, "I think part of the reason Seven does that is
to see the expression on people's faces. She has a very dry
sense of humor and I could see her smirk right after everyone
reacted to her ordering those drinks."
"How did you notice that?" asked Chakotay, "she had her back to
us."
"Reflection behind the bar," Janeway smiled at Chakotay.
Chakotay shook his head smiling, "Now I'm going to start looking
for it, I wonder how many other things she does just to see
people's reactions."
"Oddly enough, less than you might think. She still has trouble
understanding the concept of humor. I just noticed the Klingon
thing tonight because she was watching B'Elanna's reaction and
B'Elanna was watching ours," said Janeway.
Back in the Sardines program B'Elanna and Seven had joined Tom,
Harry and Susan Brooks at their table. The three of them had
apparently been playing one of Tom's Captain Proton programs. It
was all B'Elanna could do not to chuckle at Tom as he tried to
make her feel jealous over Brooks who apparently enjoyed playing
Constance Goodheart.
"I believe you are better at participating in Lt. Paris's
programs than I am," Seven said to Ensign Brooks, "I
misunderstood the role of Constance Goodheart and proceeded to
disable the robot that threatened me. It was not a challenging
opponent."
B'Elanna almost spit out the mouthful of bloodwine she had at
Seven's comment, she recalled that Tom had whined to her about
that once and she had found it amusing even then.
Susan Brooks leaned over and put an arm around Tom's shoulder,
"Oh I don't mind letting Tom and Harry rescue me, I find it
enjoyable just to play along in the role."
"Well Tom was saying he wanted to find someone that liked
participating in his programs with him, I'm glad it didn't take
him long to find you Susan," B'Elanna commented with only slight
sarcasm. Knowing full well that Tom had probably already been
seeing Ensign Brooks when they broke up. Seeing Tom's startled
faced at her comment helped, apparently he thought that he would
be rubbing his new girlfriend in her face. So much for the lets
be friends like we used to be, she thought.
"Why don't we go have some real bloodwine instead of the
holographic type Seven," she commented.
Seven nodded, "That would be acceptable B'Elanna." Seven stood
and waited for B'Elanna to get up. She had caught on to the fact
that the presence of Ensign Brooks was designed to make B'Elanna
regret ending her relationship with Lt. Paris. After watching
B'Elanna's amused reaction and Lt. Paris's disgruntled
expression she realized that he had failed. She wondered if he
was aware of B'Elanna's interest in her but from the way he
reacted around her she thought he was not.
"I thought you couldn't drink Seven," said Tom.
"I could not before I died, now though I react normally since my
cortical node is not affected by it," Seven replied as she and
B'Elanna stood to leave.
"Oh," came the reply from Tom.
The two of them left Sardines and started for B'Elanna's
quarters.
"You were not upset by the presence of Ensign Brooks?"
questioned Seven.
"Nope," replied B'Elanna lightly, "I hope they get along well
together and Tom gets over trying to make me feel jealous."
Seven nodded as the two of them entered B'Elanna's quarters.
B'Elanna replicated them two bloodwines and they sat down and
began discussing how to examine the hologram Jem'Hadar weapon.
The conversation continued as they went to the mess hall for a
late dinner where Harry Kim joined in the discussion. Tom Paris
was no where to be seen and B'Elanna assumed that he was
probably still with Ensign Brooks. She shrugged internally and
focused on listening to the conversation. They all agreed that
they should study the weapon first in the Holodeck then when
they had learned all they could there they would replicate the
actual weapon and finish their study.
B'Elanna and Seven parted company late in the evening, agreeing
to meet in engineering the next day to finish their experiments
on the chemical reactor. Projects were starting to stack up and
they needed to get that one completed before they could start
studying the Jem'Hadar weapon in earnest.
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