DISCLAIMER: As you almost certainly already know, the major theme in this story is a romantic relationship between two women, so if that's not something you want to read, don't. Also, if legally you are not able to read this story for whatever reason(s), then by those laws, you would be required not to. Star Trek: Voyager and the characters within the show are not my copyright, this story is strictly not-for-profit and should not be bought or sold.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The story takes place at the beginning of the 4th season right after the confrontation with Species 8472. The past history has been changed though; in this story, Lieutenant Stadi (from the very first episode) never died. There's also some other continuity differences, some major, some minor, that'll be explained in the story along the way. Thanks go to BCBones and Sparx for writing some amazingly good Voyager fanfics and helping to inspire me to write this. Thanks also goes to Janet's Star Trek Voyager Site for refreshing my memory on some of the show's specifics (if you haven't seen it, it's one very great site for info on all things Voyager).
ARCHIVING: Please do not modify or post this story online anywhere without my permission.
The Journey Home
By Jessica Nightsong
Part 3
Living the fairy tale
She has been telling me stories.
Almost two days have past. My human... assimilation, has progressed. I have had three sessions with the hologram and following each I find myself divested of more and more of myself. Becoming more the image of the human individual Janeway wishes me to become. I find I have begun to look at these events with a certain kind of detachment, as if it were a curiosity viewed from a distance... a simple way to enhance myself and to become more by the acquisition of knowledge. In the past, every day more would be added to us, The Collective would grow. New knowledge, experience, always added... This is not the same, but I find it familiar enough that my observations lend me a sort of comfort. It is at least something to occupy my thoughts with, attempting to understand and quantify the actions and motivations for the individuals I come into contact with. It is a challenging task I have almost come to enjoy.
But I am tired. The hologram tells me that it will be temporary as my body adjusts to the changes. He is at least acceptably efficient and able. I count myself fortunate that it is the hologram that attends me in this, his holo-matrix undoubtedly gives him more ability than an individual physician would be likely to possess. In its way, the hologram is actually a collective of sorts in itself, the accumulation of all their medical knowledge in one vassal.
My mind ponders this and more at oddly random intervals... and all the while, I sit against a wall, resting, and stare at the wall across from me, and I listen.
They are half lies, truth and falsehood woven together to present herself in a favorable light and crafted to sound convincing. I know this, yet still I listen, fascinated, as though I am compelled by some force within me to do so. I've began to play a game in my mind, to try to ascertain what is truth and what is fiction in what she says. It is an enjoyable challenge I find. And I've begun to ask her questions at appropriate times. To attempt to lead her to make a mistake and reveal a crucial detail that I will need in order to unravel her stories and divine the truth of them.
I have had access to the ship's logs of course; they tell me of some of the events in question, it is true. But the logs leave out much of the detail, and what Seska tells me rarely directly contradicts the facts recorded there. Instead, they call into question their meaning and purpose. Her mind indeed is cunning and her voice, her words... they attempt to draw me in, make me wish to believe in them. They offer me comfort and play to my... to my weaknesses. It is amazing how well she finds them. My flaws. And I realize I now have many. But still I listen... what other choices do I have?
In all likelihood it is irrelevant. This ship is deep within Borg space, The Collective will come for me, and the secret this ship holds. I will be returned to my home, and all aboard this ship will be assimilated. This Seska woman among them, and then I... we. We will know all that I now attempt to learn... so why do I find that thought... disappointing? ...It feels hollow. How can that be? ...It feels irrelevant by comparison... Irrational, yet..
...why has this never...
I get to my feet and begin to pace. Is this what Janeway meant? Is this why she seems so sure of herself that I will not wish to... No, we are Borg, we... it is... no, it is NOT perfection, it is... it is mundane... sterile. Lacking!
I grow agitated. These complexities, they are lost, thrown away, called irrelevant.... we.. the Borg... THEY... they cower from them. In some fashion, I think they might even be afraid of them... Odd to consider that the Borg could be so afraid of something so basic. I think back, analyze my experiences...
All data. All purpose. No complex motivations, no meanings, no... stories.
Yet they were there. Looking back, I can sense them in my memory where I had not known to look before. An almost infinite supply of meanings, of stories. All frozen, locked away, caged.
It is so obvious to me now. Why did I not see it sooner? All the minds, all the power, all the so-called unity. The drive towards perfection that defines us... defines THEM. And they could not come close to accomplishing what these people, these individuals, what they did in mere days! And I have never before considered why that was...
They can move forward. We... I could not.
Suddenly I look at my cell and I realize something strange. Where I am now? Here I have more than I had before. It should not be so, I am confined in a room, but I know that it is. The knowledge and certainty of billions of minds, all joined in a single purpose... yet it was all a lie. As Seska lies to me with skewed honesty and cunning, they lied with overwhelming force so that I could not see... it is an illusion. It was more a prison than any prison could be. Here I have some measure of freedom at least. Even here behind a forcefield I can not break through, I am less a prisoner than I have ever been.
Here I can have experiences. I can grow, become more. My mind is not caged... as it was...
I find I am irrationally angry, even furious! How could they?!?! How could they not see this! So many minds, yet so.. so mindless, so blind... I begin to pace faster. I want to strike out at something again.
"What's troubling you, Annika?" that same lilting voice, soft and compelling, yet still taunting me in some way. It brings me out of my thoughts. That name. The one Janeway told to me. Annika Hansen, born in 2348, on stardate 25479, at the Tendara colony in Federation space. Parents: Erin and Magnus Hansen, noted scientists, explorers. That it who I was. My origin. Yet not who I am now.
I stare out through the forcefield at the room beyond. She is patient. Always patient. She waits for me to reply. And I find, as always, I feel compelled to answer honestly.
"I think perhaps Captain Janeway may have been correct after all," I finally say.
"Oh really? And what was the great Kathryn Janeway 'correct' about this time?" she challenges. She always has this certain inflection in her voice whenever the subject matter turns towards Captain Janeway. I've begun to think that it might be jealousy of some kind... perhaps simply the jealousy of the one who lost for the one who bested her, but somehow that motivation seems incongruous to me. Not like Seska at all. There is something else to it...
"When she told me that she did not think I would want to return to The Collective. She seemed so sure of herself, and now I find, perhaps she had good reason to be." I turn in her direction, though a wall separates us and I can not see her.
"Oh really?" she ventures with a certain kind of teasing curiosity. "And what has you arriving at this conclusion all of the sudden, I wonder?" I can hear the smile in her voice. She loves this. Playing with people with her words.
"You do actually, I believe."
"Me?" she asks, her voice indicating she is becoming yet more interested and fascinated in what we discuss. "And how did I do this where she was having such awful luck with you, if I can ask?" The satisfaction in her voice is plainly obvious.
I find a small smile coming to my face, and I reply, "I suppose that you did best her in that, did you not? Though I doubt it was your precise intention to do so." I am not sure why, but it is a gratifying thought to me as well somehow. To realize that all of this frustratingly determined and sometimes arrogant captain's pleadings for my humanity should be so ineffectual, where the half-truths of her enemy would succeed so completely. "It will be interesting to see what she makes of this turn of events the next time she visits, do you not agree?"
"Mm, yes. I suppose it will at that." I hear her leaning back against the wall of her cell, the satisfaction still thick in her voice. "But tell me, you never said what it was exactly I'd said to help you reach this conclusion of yours, and I am curious to know."
"You are not easily satisfied, are you? Not content to rest upon achieving what you've set out for," I ask her.
"No," I can almost hear the smile on her lips. "No I suppose I'm not. Why do you ask?"
"Perhaps it is not so much a question, as part of the answer you asked me to give?"
She laughs a little at this. "I see I've begun to rub off on you a little, have I? Good, it makes you better company."
I am about to reply, Seska's response having been a somewhat unexpected one, but my attention is quickly turned elsewhere as the ship around us begins to falter and tremble.
Weapons fire.
"The Borg," I whisper to myself.
No, I do not wish to go back. I will NOT go back!
"Crewman. Crewman! You must let me out! Tell Janeway! I will help her!" I call out. "I do not wish to be assimilated again! Tell her!!" I almost scream at him. My thoughts in chaos, I can not focus. I need to act.
The crewman looks indecisively at me. He coms in to someone, the Vulcan security chief.
I grow more impatient and find myself lashing out, pounding on the forcefield. "Let me out!" I holler at him again. And he backs away, drawing his weapon.
"WE ARE THE BORG." I hear over the ship's coms, "YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. YOUR BIOLOGICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL DISTINCTIVENESS WILL BE ADDED TO OUR OWN."
A cold chill runs through me and I feel a growing hate well up from within. If I had the ability, I would destroy them with my own hands! And my mind races for possible ways to resist them, to save myself.
The ship rocks again, the power flow to ship's systems begins to fluctuate. My eyesight is not what it once was, but I can detect the shield on my cell begin to weaken in areas. Quickly, I make the decision and run towards the forcefield, my fist raised to strike at it as I go.
It breaks! I feel elation and triumph in small measure, and I struggle to get the rest of the way through. It is painful, but I am determined to fight.
"Stay.. stay where you are," the crewman fires a warning shot.
"Fool!" I glare at him. "I am your only hope to survive this! Aid me!"
He looks taken aback and I force my way the remainder of the way through. Taking one step forward as I see the crewman prepared to fire. I try to say something, but the words will not come and I find I can no longer support my own weight.
It is an odd sensation, to collapse in that way. It feels almost as though it were happening to someone else, yet at the same time not.
I feel my mind clearing and I struggle to move, to get to my feet, but my limbs do not have the strength.
Is this how they will find me then? A weakling struggling to even stand on the floor of a prison? When I am assimilated, I almost imagine that the others will laugh at me for my foolish notions of freedom and the state they had found me in, though I know that is an irrational thought. Borg do not laugh. Just one of the things I will miss, I laugh softly to myself futilely.
As I lay there, I hear the crewman call to me. "Are you all right?" still apparently afraid to approach me. A pitiable situation, and ironic as well. Even as I am, I still inspire fear? I start to laugh again.
Odd. I notice as I begin to fall unconscious. The ship seems to be calmer now...
"Captain Janeway to Lieutenant Stadi."
"Stadi here, Captain."
"Did what I think just happen, just happen?" Janeway stares out into space through the view screen on Voyager's bridge. A motionless, completely immobilized Borg cube just sitting there before her gaze.
"Yes... yes, it really did," Lea Stadi's voice comes back over the com, a small note of amazement evident in the words she speaks.
Part 4
Floating
The next day Lieutenant Torres enters the ship's mess hall by herself, returning the common greetings and friendly smiles she receives as she goes. Idly, she notices Jor and Tabor walking along, apparently in some in-depth conversation, the long time friends failing to notice her as they pass.
As she goes to retrieve her meal, she can't help noticing an odd buzz of nervous energy in the room. It sets her on edge a little, and more so annoys her because she knows the cause of it. Star Fleet, she thinks to herself somewhat derisively of her fellow shipmates, you'd think they'd know better. All that noise and strutting about they make over things.
"Hi B'Elanna," Lea greets her.
"Good morning," Kes smiles over to her as well.
"Morning," she smiles back at them. "How are things going with you two?" she asks absently as she sits down and sets out her place setting, food, and drink.
"Getting some weird vibes from some of the crew," Lea confides semi-quietly with a weak smile as the three sit across from one another at the small table they commonly share.
"I'm sorry," Kes has the grace to at least look a little chagrined at being the center of the ship's scuttlebutt of late.
"Pft. Not your fault," B'Elanna replies dismissively, still a little annoyed at things.
"I know," Kes replies. "I guess I'm just not used to it, the way some of them look at me now... I've known them all for years, and yet now when they look at me, it's like they see a stranger standing in my place."
Lea sighs, looking somewhat tired all of the sudden, and brings her elbows to rest on the table, joining her hands together in a ball and leaning her forehead to rest against it. "They shouldn't act this way," she says in a low voice.
"Lea, no, you don't have to be angry with them. It will just take more time for some of them to adjust. I'm sure it'll all blow over fairly quickly," she assures her wife.
"Well I think she has a right to be angry," B'Elanna disagrees. "I'd worry if she wasn't in fact," she tries to comfort her friends.
Lea smiles over at her.
"It is kind of romantic I guess," Kes qualifies with a bit of a crooked smile.
"See, now there you go," B'Elanna half-jokes with them as they continued to enjoy their meal.
My head hurts, I realize with clarity as I again regain consciousness.
Looking around, I see I am back in my cell again. Laying down on a bed in fact. Strange, I had almost forgotten the walls held one... not like me to loose track of things so. "That's the price you pay for trying to walk through an unstable forcefield," I recall the hologram's words to me. I can not contest their accuracy it seems, I smile ironically to myself.
Looking up at the ceiling, I remember. The captain paid me a visit in the infirmary. She told me the ship was out of danger, that the Ocampan, Kes Stadi, that she had stopped the Borg ship somehow. She spoke assurances to me and told me we would talk more later once I was well again.
Again I wonder, Kes, how powerful is she? What is the genesis of her abilities? Did it take a great amount of effort for her to accomplish that feat? Could she protect the rest of us when the Borg send more to challenge us? Because certainly they will send more. Whatever the answers, I find my previous anger towards her is long sense gone. I am not even sure I would care to hear her thoughts in my mind again. Perhaps I would, I do not know... but it is a comfort to know she is there, that I have a chance thanks to her.
My body feels restless. I have been stationary for too long, I conclude. But as I begin to stir, I hear a woman's voice.
"Crewman Jarvis to Captain Janeway."
My new guard I suppose. I access my memory of the ship's records. Crewman Illyana Jarvis, senior grade security officer. Born in 2343, on the Deep Space Three Federation outpost. Has served in Star Fleet for six years. Exemplary record, three commendations, no reprimands.
"Janeway here," the captain's voice comes back.
"She's awake Captain." This Illyana Jarvis looks far too serious, I idly note as I observe her. The Vulcan security chief must be glad to have her assigned to his division. A slightly amused smile touches the corner of my lips at the thought.
"Acknowledged. I'm on my way."
Sitting up, I take a few moments to clear my thoughts before getting to my feet and making my way closer to the forcefield.
"Seska?" I ask.
"Mhm, good morning Seven of Nine," her voice easy and casual. She teases me, and I almost bristle at it this time.
"Do not call me by that designation any longer," I request of her.
"Annika then." I hear the amusement in her voice and I shake my head a little in mild consternation. At least she is consistent... if in a very unconventional way.
"Do you think the name suits me?" I ask her out of curiosity.
"Hmm, good question. I'm not sure really.. I suppose it doesn't matter though; Annika by another name is still who you are. But I wonder, do you think the name suits?"
"I don't know..." I answer honestly.
She says nothing more, and neither do I as I return to the bed and sit down. Fatigue beginning to set in again.
The minutes pass and soon I hear the sound of the corridor opening. Captain Janeway, I presume, though I do not look to confirm my assumption for some reason.
"Seven," she calls me, a shortening of my Borg designation she has taken to using of late.
"Annika," I correct her as I look over to meet her eyes.
She sits by the window in our quarters, looking out at the stars.
I can almost hear them calling me you know, her thoughts say wistfully to me.
Why don't you go to them then?... why didn't you? I ask curiously as I join her on the sofa, bringing along tea for both of us.
"Do you really have to ask?" she questions me almost playfully. Let me spell it out for you then, she smiles as she turns and moves over to bring her lips to mine. As we part, an errant thought from her sets our cups of tea on a nearby table.
I lean back onto the sofa and she follows me down, her body fitting naturally to mine as I look up into her eyes and see the thoughts that play behind them as though they were almost as familiar as my own.
I am here with you.. she says to me in our thoughts as her hand lovingly runs through my hair. Nothing the stars could offer me could ever even compare, she smiles to me contentedly as I feel my heart and soul reaching out for hers, hers reaching for mine. My hands go to her head and to her back as we begin to kiss and touch in earnest. Her touch is gentile and caring, soft and knowing from years of practice, and filled with the promise of far more to come.
The sensations are so overwhelming, I'm almost lost in them for a moment, and then I notice something. We're floating?? As we touch down on the bed, I start to laugh a little and I kiss her and roll her over onto her back. Gods but I love you, I tell to her as I look in her eyes and lower myself down to her, planting soft kisses on her ear and along her neck. Our cloths begin to wind away from us and the covers move to keep us warm as though reading our unspoken wishes. Sometimes having a wife with psychokinetic abilities is a really, really nice thing, I think to myself causing her to breathe a small delighted laugh next to my ear.
My name is Lea Stadi, and I think I might just be the luckiest woman in the universe right now.
Part 5
Oh I wonder, wonder why the wonder falls on me...
Captain's Personal Log, stardate 51041.6
Commander Chakotay came to see me earlier today. Apparently, Annika Hansen, our former Borg, has requested a duty assignment in Engineering. A request I have decided to grant, on a trial basis at least. I must admit, I still find myself a little weary over the question of Seska's influence over her. I've talked with her, and Annika seems to have a good head on her shoulders. I've... reviewed the logs of their conversations as well... I know that sounds a little paranoid of me, and perhaps morally questionable as well, but as the old saying goes, it's only paranoia if someone's not out to get you, and Seska definitely is. But sufficed to say, I don't think Annika's been taken in by her... on the other hand though, there is a bond there between them that worries me a little. As B'Elanna learned to her continuing regret, Seska is not a woman with whom it's safe to have any sort of relationship with. And as I've leaned bitterly myself, and at the cost of several of my crew's lives, she is a very dangerous woman and not to be taken lightly in anything.
I think I might have just put her off the ship at some point in fact, if it weren't for B'Elanna... I won't pretend to understand the hold Seska seems to have on her heart, even after all she's put her though, but I'm still not at all sure, even now, if B'Elanna wouldn't decide to go with her? ...and besides the fact that B'Elanna is a good friend of mine, she's without a doubt one of the most essential members of the crew. Without her, my chances of getting my crew home drop dramatically.
And so, as appealing as the thought of leaving the woman on some random M class planet may be, Seska stays.
...It's not the first time I've questioned my judgment in having left Annika in the same room with her. If I'd realized what I was doing, I'm sure I never would have... still, I really should have known better.
(a sigh) My nagging concerns over our resident Cardassian spy aside though, I've been very pleased with Annika's progress.
It's been four days since the Borg attack... you know, I still find it amazing to think that Kes actually stopped an entire Borg cube like that? I suppose a part of me still thinks of her as that young girl we met when we first came to the Delta quadrant, so much wanting to see and experience life. More than once, she's reminded me of myself in that way... I can remember so clearly my days at the academy, and even before. I had my head full of stars, and I was bound and determined to see as many of them up close as I could. To go out and meet the races and peoples who lived near them first hand. Having her onboard has done wonders for my moral over the years I think. A reminder of why I like this job so much on occasions when it seems to get to be a little too much of burden...
I think I can see a little of that in Annika's eyes sometimes when we talk as well...
She's been living on her own, in the quarters she requested, for three days now, and yesterday the Doctor informed us that her body's systems had finally stabilized. She's kept to herself for the most part though, and that had had me a little worried for her. During our morning talks over breakfast, she's always somewhat... aloof... like her thoughts are never completely on the subjects we discus. I've found it hard to get a sense of where she's at in terms of... well, most anything really. One thing I'm convinced of though, I think at this moment she doesn't have much in the way of warm feelings for the Borg. I get the sense that she's harboring some very deep and personal... hate, for them. While I can understand why she would feel that way, I can't help feeling worried for her because of it. Having so much weighing on your mind and soul and cutting yourself off, not opening up to other people and letting them offer you support... it's not healthy, and it's no way for a person to live.
That's why I was so relieved when Chakotay told me of her request, and why I was so willing to grant it I think. I had him instruct B'Elanna to have her staff keep an eye on her for a while, just to be safe, but I don't think we have cause to worry over her. Certainly I don't believe she will try to contact the Borg again at least. I just hope that if she doesn't feel comfortable enough with me to let her barriers down a little about what's on her mind, that through her interactions with the crew while she performs her new duties, she'll find someone she can let in. Because right now, most of all, I think our new crew member could very much use a friend.
As I walk, I find I'm a little nervous.
Today, I start my first shift in Engineering. I want for it to go well, but I am worried that I will not successfully handle my interactions with others of the crew... It's not as though I have much practice or experience at it.
Since coming to this ship and being freed from The Collective, I have had a significant level of social interaction with only three individuals. Seska, Captain Janeway, and the holographic doctor. I am not sure as to the proper status of the hologram, but regardless, he has been programmed to simulate human behavior, so I believe he still applies.
My interactions with Seska, I would not categorize them as social, at least not in the normal sense. My meetings with the captain have been... strained. I don't find it easy to talk with her for some reason, though I do find I enjoy her company. The Doctor is... I wish to say odd? Surely atypical at least. I am unsure. I mostly find myself wishing to avoid his attempts at social interactions.. And so, my record so far is not encouraging.
I am hopeful that Lt. Torres, who is to be my direct superior, at least will be amiable towards me. I've only met her twice. The first time in Engineering, when I attempted to contact the Borg. I did not take notice of her mannerisms at the time, but when I saw her again when she came to visit Seska, she seemed to genuinely have no ill feeling towards me. Perhaps I am imagining it, but she even seemed reasonably friendly towards me. I can not imagine why that would be, but I find I look forward to meeting her. I think often of the overheard conversation she had with Seska, and about the book they discussed. I have since taken the time to read it... I'm not sure I completely understand it however, why the characters behaved as they did. I think I may need practice at reading that sort of material. Next time, I will read more slowly. According to Captain Janeway, that will likely help solve the problem.
This turbo lift is taking too long.
I have been attempting to think back and recall what it was like when I was human. I get impressions, feelings mostly. Very few truly accurate memories... part of me hopes that if I can remember more, I will some how find more peace in my thoughts. Perhaps even be able to interact with other humans more effectively. I know it is most likely a futile hope and what I search for will take more time, but still I try to remember... I wish I could have known them. My parents? What they where like. What I was like. What I thought of them? Did they care for me? I choose to believe they did. Or I hope that they did. I wonder, are they still out there?
Finally, I'm at the correct deck. Left, I go left.
I have faint impressions of them, their presence, somewhere in The Collective when I was a part of it... but nothing of a solid, factual nature. I think I remember them calling out to me... Are they still there? Secreted away in the dark recesses of some alcove, or their bodies milling around in meaningless tasks while their minds are in chains, thinking thoughts that are not their own.
"Hey, watch where you're going there."
"Huh? ..Oh, my apologies, I.. hadn't.. I did not mean to-" I try to form the words.
"Hey, it's all right, no harm done," the crewman says, going on his way. Lieutenant Jeremy Larson, one of the ship's security personnel.
I shake my head. I had grown upset by my thoughts, angry, distracted. He was pleasant towards me however, amiable. Still, I do not think I like him. I wonder why? ...I wonder a lot of things it seems.
I decide to quiet my thoughts a little as I continue to walk.
I should be there soon.
A sigh escapes from her lips as Lt. B'Elanna Torres sits in a small space adjacent to the upper decking in Engineering. She leans back in the cramped compartment, resting her back against the wall.
It's going to be a long day, she thinks to herself.
Already that morning, there had been two minor emergences for her to contend with. The last of which she gladly passed on to Lt. Carry in favor of assigning herself to a routine calibrations sweep on the upper levels, and garnering some much needed alone time in the process.
She let her head rest against the solid comfort of the ship's wall, closed her eyes for a moment, and let her mind wonder. Idly, her thoughts began to construct a scenario in her mind's eye. She was resting against a tree truck in a forest. The air was clear and warm, and carried the pleasant scents of nature. Trees, plants, wood, water, rocks, earth. She was aware of a warm presence next to her, and her mind thought back to the previous night for a moment and she smiled. Dimly, she registered the sensation of the body next to hers stirring. She felt a familiar hand begin to play with her hair and soon the welcome feeling of a pair of warm, soft lips on her neck, making their way to her ear. She felt a groan escape her as she delighted in the sensations and let her companion continue give her attentions to her.
Soon, those lips disappeared from her skin and her eyes opened as she let out a small sound of protest at the loss of contact. Upon opening her eyes though, she was met with the intense gaze of her lover's eyes looking right back into hers.
"Seska," B'Elanna breathed her name, a smile coming to her lips as they kissed.
"Time to get up my sleepy one," she whispers to her and she feels Seska's hand caress her cheek. "The settlement should only be a few days more away, we need to get there as soon as we can."
B'Elanna let loose a soft throaty growl, surging up in one quick movement to capture the lips before her. Her lover responding in kind, kissing her back passionately, and B'Elanna rolled her over onto the ground and continued to kiss her, working her way down to Seska's neck, then lower still.
She heard Seska's breath catch in her throat and heard her gasp in pleasure as she pulled loose the buttons on her lover's shirt and started to kiss the waiting flesh it had once concealed. B'Elanna felt a thigh press into her between her legs and her breathing quickened even more before she felt her body being shifted and found herself now flat on her back on the ground, Seska smiling down at her like a predator having caught her prey, her eyes thick with desire, passion, and even unveiled lust.
"I suppose the settlement can wait a while longer," B'Elanna heard her lover tease as Seska bent down to possess her waiting lips. B'Elanna's hands roamed over Seska's body, she felt Seska's thigh press into her more firmly and she gasped with pleasure as she felt her shirt being stripped form her and felt Seska's hand start to move down to her center.
"Ensign Vorik to Lt. Torres." B'Elanna heard her com interrupt her, breaking her out of the memory she had been reliving, much to her great displeasure.
The engineer let out a loud frustrated roar in protest to the interruption.
"YES Vorik, what the HELL is it this time!!" she fumed as she tapped her com to issue her response.
The scene she had been remembering was one from a much more uncomplicated time in her life. She and Seska had gotten shot down by a Cardassian patrol while on a reconnaissance mission together. They had managed to make a crash landing in the dense vegetation of a nearby M class moon and had had to trek through the forest to a small disowned Federation settlement in order to, hopefully, find a way to contact their crew. It had taken them eleven and a half days to get there, and those eleven days remained in B'Elanna's mind some of the happiest, most fulfilling times in her life.
Just her and her lover alone in the wild with only one another to depend on. No Maquis, no Cardassians, no Star Fleet, no complications, no... betrayal. Seska wasn't trapped in some brig, she'd never tired to kill her... life was simple. Yes, she had missed having a real bed and such, she had wanted to get back to the fight too, but in hindsight, those things didn't matter, and many were the times B'Elanna regretted that their life could not have remained that way indefinitely.
"...My apologies Lieutenant Torres, but Annika Hansen has just arrived. You'd asked to be notified?" the Vulcan replied evenly.
"Right," B'Elanna sighed, her mood brightening just a little for some reason. "Go ahead and send her up."
To Be Continued