DISCLAIMER: Alexa is mine; born right from my head as for the others; I don’t own ‘em, I just like ‘em… A LOT. And as someone (don’t remember who) said before… they have more fun in my world than they ever had in Paramount’s world!
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Split Seconds
By The Other Liz
Part Ten
"Wow." Alexa breathed a sigh of relief. "And I thought you guys weren't gonna have my chicken nuggets."
B'Elanna took one look at the obviously processed animal and felt her stomachs turn a couple times.
"Kah'less on a crutch, wa'Hom." B'Elanna said. "That's not even real meat, it's processed, liquefied and poured into molds to cook."
Alexa arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow at her Sos'Oy.
"But isn't all replicated meat processed?"
B'Elanna thought for a beat and could not come up with anything else to say except for one thing.
"Your Mama's daughter..." She said smiling and shaking her head.
Alexa looked down at her food, then back at B'Elanna and shrugged. It looked good to her. The pair found some seats in a corner and had just sat down when Seven, Naomi and Mizoti walked in. B'Elanna could not contain the smile that erupted on her face when she saw the determined glint in Seven's eye.
"Be'nal." Seven said as she sat next to B'Elanna and laid a kiss on her lips.
"Bang'wi." B'Elanna answered with a kiss of her own.
"So uh…" Alexa tried as she pushed a chicken nugget around with a fry.
"Naomi is replicating lunch with Mizoti." Seven said not missing a beat.
"I wasn't… I mean…" Alexa began, but then just gave up. "Thank you." She mumbled.
B'Elanna was going to say something but then the object of Alexa's affection appeared by the table with Mizoti in tow.
"Uh…so…" Naomi began.
"You can sit with us." B'Elanna saved the young girl from further blushing and carpet studying.
"Thank You." Naomi mumbled.
Mizoti rolled her eyes and began to eat. Naomi could only push the food on her plate around with a fork while Alexa was only nibbling the nuggets she had been wolfing down before.
"You… uh…" Naomi began. "Alexa."
A small smirk appeared on Alexa's face and she looked up.
"That is my name." she softly chided.
"I know, I mean…" Naomi could not form the words.
Instead she got brave and simply reached up to Alexa's mouth and wiped the smudge of honey off the corner. Alexa's eyes almost popped out of their sockets at the amount of electricity that had just run through her and had seemingly landed right between her thighs. The amps only seemed to increase at what Naomi did next. The young Katarian grew very brave indeed as she sucked the honey off her finger never breaking eye contact with Alexa.
"Good stuff." Naomi mumbled only loud enough for Borg and Klingon hearing to pick up.
B'Elanna's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets while Seven's implant incased eyebrow reached new heights. For people who had no interest in one another there certainly was a lot of sexual energy flowing between them. Mizoti was the first to break the silence as she attempted to hold her half eaten lunch down.
"Oh Kah'less on a crutch!" Mizoti swore. "It is bad enough to have to watch Mama and Sos'Oy do that gooey mushy love stuff but now my best friend and my sister!?"
"B'Elanna, we have to meet the Captain." Seven said suddenly.
"What? No we... Oh." B'Elanna finally caught the glimmer in Seven's eye. "Right. The Captain. With that thing she was talking about."
Alexa finally broke eye contact with Naomi and looked at B'Elanna nervous fear in her eyes.
"What are you talking about? The Captain hasn't contacted you all day." Alexa said through her teeth.
"Oh it was… from… the other day." B'Elanna tried.
"Mizoti, we will require your assistance." Seven said.
"But Mama, I just got here…" Mizoti began, then on catching the scathing look in her Mama's eyes she rethought her complaint. "I will comply."
On that the trio rose and quickly filed out of the Mess Hall, leaving Alexa and Naomi alone. It was quiet for a few moments.
"I'm sorry." Naomi mumbled, not raising her head.
"For what?" Alexa asked, never raising her head either.
"I don't think that was exactly 'conduct becoming of an officer'."
'Neither is what I'm feeling!' Alexa thought.
"Don't worry about it." Alexa said after a moment.
It was quiet again and neither girl knew exactly what to say to the other.
"Well… I guess I'd better get back to Astrometrics." Naomi said finally.
"Yeah, and me to Engineering." Alexa said, a little disappointed.
The two recycled what they hadn't eaten and went their separate ways.
'Ah you douche!' Naomi thought to herself. 'What were you thinking!? And in front of Lt. Torres and Seven! You can lick honey off her cheek but you can't tell her how you feel. Wow Wildman… you are a piece of work."
'Maybe she didn't mean it the way it looked.' Alexa thought to herself on the way back to Engineering. 'Maybe she really was just helping me out. Triple Dammit. I really like her too.'
Alexa arrived in Engineering just as her Mama was walking out.
"Mama." She greeted with a nod.
"wa'Hom." Seven answered with a quick peck on the head and was on her way.
Alexa looked around for a moment and then decided that her Sos'Oy was in her office. On Alexa's first note she saw that the normal contents of her Sos'Oy's desk was on the floor and one of the couch cushions had followed. Alexa looked at the disarray and then at her Sos, whom was also in quite a state of… organized chaos. She arched that eyebrow in perfect Seven form and waited for an explanation.
"You really want me to go there wa'Hom?" B'Elanna asked.
It then hit Alexa what had gone on and she no longer needed or wanted the explanation. She held up her hand and squenched her eyes shut.
"Ew." Was all she said. "I'm glad you guys are in love, but please leave your innocent children out of the loop."
B'Elanna let out a deep laugh. Alexa had always had a killer sense of humor. Dry at times like her Mama's.
"Innocent?" B'Elanna questioned. "You seem to have already forgotten a certain… honey incident in the Mess Hall."
Alexa's pale complexion darkened to a light pink.
"So you told me how I managed to become 17… but how did you find me to begin with?" Alexa rapidly changed the subject.
B'Elanna merely shook her head and wondered if the two teenagers would ever overcome their shyness and get together.
"I'm going to leave that to your Mama." B'Elanna said. "Because it was her idea and she's the one that made it all work."
"Okay." Alexa relented. "So what now?"
"Well… we're actually in an uninhabited section of space… so unless something happens out there… nothing really happens in here."
"So that means you can teach me everything you know about engines and space?"
"I suppose so." B'Elanna smiled.
Though she wasn't really showing it. Alexa's new found interest in Engineering made B'Elanna the proudest Sos on the ship. The two worked for hours together cramming as much information into Alexa's head as would fit at the time given. Before either knew it, their shift was over and it was time to head for their quarters.
Back in their quarters, Alexa set the table and then wandered over to a shelf containing many Holoimages. One was of her when she was just two with the other four Sochlings. Another was of B'Elanna and Seven holding her just after she had been born. Then there was a great big one hanging that was B'Elanna and Seven's wedding picture. The other four Sochlings were in it but she was missing. Alexa arched an eyebrow and wondered for a minute.
"Mama, how long were you and Sos'Oy together before I was born?" she finally asked aloud.
Seven smiled and came to stand next to her youngest.
"5 years, 9 months, 4 days, 6 hours, and 37.3 minutes." She answered.
"So… Icheb was 20, the twins were 15 or 16 and Mizoti and Naomi were like... 12?"
"Yes. The twins were 16." Seven said.
It was not noticeable to the untrained eye, but Seven was actually a little impressed that her little girl could do that in her head that rapidly.
"Okay. So it was another five years when I disappeared?"
"Yes."
"So… Icheb was 25, Azan and Rebi were 21 and Mizoti and Naomi were 17?"
"wa'Hom?" Seven asked. "Are you trying to ask a question?"
"No, not really, just making sure I have everything right."
"Very well. Continue."
"So then, I was gone for a year here, but for 11 on… Earth?"
"Yes."
"And that is why I'm 17."
"Correct."
"So… Tell me how you found me." Alexa smiled knowing that she had successfully pulled her Mama into the conversation that was supposed to be like a bedtime story.
"That is for later." Seven said catching the glint in Alexa's eyes.
"Aww Man." Alexa said.
"You will adapt." Seven said a glimmer of a smile peeking through.
"I know… I know." Alexa mumbled. "Resistance is futile."
At this, Seven actually laughed and led Alexa to the table. She then went and called Mizoti to the table as well.
"I see your plan for tricking your Mama in to telling you her amazing genius for finding you didn't work." B'Elanna said with a toothy grin.
"You knew it wasn't going to work didn't you?"
"Yep. The whole time."
Seven and Mizoti joined the other two at the table. There was a slightly uncomfortable silence in the room as they began to eat. Seven caught B'Elanna's eye and arched an eyebrow.
"So… uh… Mizoti, how was your day?" B'Elanna asked.
"It was busy." Mizoti answered simply.
Alexa smiled. Maybe her sister would open up after all.
"Mine too." Alexa said. "What'd you do?"
"I realigned the deflector array to configure the amplitude of the various types of electromagnetic waves, so I can with greater accuracy predict the accelerated charges. In effect I want to convert the spectrum of electromagnetic waves as an alternative power source for Voyager" Mizoti said smugly.
B'Elanna bit back a smile at the sibling rivalry beginning to bud again. Seven was about to lecture Mizoti on lying and trying to make her little sister feel stupid but B'Elanna caught her eye and shook her head slightly. While Seven had always sometimes babied Alexa, B'Elanna now knew that Alexa could take care of herself. Alexa arched an eyebrow in Mizoti's direction.
'So you wanna play that game huh?' Alexa thought. 'No problem sis.'
"Wow. That sounds really… complicated." Alexa dead panned. "Sos only let me work on a power generating fusion furnace that operates on the principle of Naquadda fusion. I'm gonna use liquid Naquadda slush as a source of a new generator to power up the warp core in the Delta flyer as well as be a supplement to Voyager's warp core, after all the natural by-products of liquid Heavy Naquadda is heat and light, so it could greatly enhance the reserves of Voyager."
Alexa could not hide the beginnings of a smile. Mizoti's eyes and complexion darkened at being shown up by her kid sister.
"Figures." She said cryptically.
Mizoti then got up, put her plate in the recycler and went to her room. Seven arched an eyebrow. It had been sometime since Mizoti had acted like that.
"Sibling rivalry returns." Seven said dryly.
"I'm sorry." Alexa said, her cheeks darkening as well. "I shouldn't have egged her on."
"Do not be troubled about Mizoti's show of emotions." Seven said. "I believe she is only a little jealous because we have been spending all our time with you."
"Well… you guys could go do something with her." Alexa said. "It's not going to bother me any."
"She's right Be'nal." B'Elanna said. "But Mizoti acted the exact same way when Alexa was first born, right until she turned about three."
"She acted like this for three years?!" Alexa asked.
"Indeed. She informed us that the universe did not revolve around you." Seven said quirking a smile.
Alexa thought about that for a moment. She didn't think she had ever said anything to imply that she thought the universe revolved around herself. Alexa was about to continue the conversation when she saw her Sos'Oy stifle a yawn. Somehow she knew exactly how late it was becoming and decided that Mizoti being jealous wasn't a pressing matter.
"Man… I dunno about you guys, but I'm totally beat." Alexa said as she pushed her plate away. "May I be excused?"
B'Elanna and Seven exchanged partially amused glances at the display of manners being displayed by their youngest.
"What?" Alexa asked. "Nobody asks to be excused in this century?"
"No, it's not that wa'Hom." B'Elanna said. "It's just that… you really don't have to be so formal with us."
"I know Sos." Alexa said. "I wasn't being formal… I was just being… polite."
"Oh. Well… alright sure." B'Elanna said.
"May I take your plates as well?" Alexa asked, a grin covering her features.
"Sure go ahead." B'Elanna said.
"Now that's being formal." Alexa giggled, dropping a peck on her Sos'Oy's cheek.
Alexa gathered all the dishes that were done with and recycled them. She then went and took a long sonic shower, which for her, was still about the second weirdest thing she had experienced in her stay in space. The weirdest being the transporters. After she was through with all that she padded towards her room. She knew that her Mama would be waiting for her to tell her story. Alexa stopped just shy of her door frame and peeked around the corner. Her Mama was not paying attention; she was just stretched out on the bed looking at something. An evil smile crossed Alexa's face.
"MAAMAAAAAAAAA!" she howled as she leapt across the room headed for a landing square on Seven.
With Seven's Borg reflexes she easily flipped onto her back, caught her young one in mid-air and successfully flipped Alexa over and began to tickle her senseless.
"Oh… Okay… Okay!" Alexa finally gave in breathlessly.
"Do you… give?" Seven questioned.
"Yeah, yeah."
"Are you ready for your 'story'?"
Alexa nodded her head and settled herself comfortably in her Mama's arms. She was positioned in a way that she could still see her Mama's face but would have no trouble falling asleep. Seven looked at Alexa for a beat before a smile covered her face.
"What is it Mama?" Alexa questioned.
"Nothing wa'Hom." Seven said quietly. "It is just that… before you disappeared you did that very thing every night to your Sos'Oy and I just before we would read you a bedtime story."
"Really?"
"Yes. I believe it brought back many fond memories."
"Well… we'll make some more." Alexa smiled. "But later, because I want my explanation… now."
"Very well." Seven smiled. "I assumed that the wormhole itself would insulate us from the quantum singularity's gravitational field, but it seemed that our space-time had begun to warp. The warping of our space-time was in advance of the gravitational field rather than as a result of it. It generated a lensing effect and thus we experienced a time dilation in a radius wider than Engineering. It would have expanded had I not shutdown the Warp Core. But it happened in advance of the gravity field that caused it. Now according to everything I thought I knew about relativity that is not possible."
Seven frowned because she had yet to fully understand the magnitude of the Quantum mechanics involved. It made her feel like a drone in a maturation chamber rather than the acclaimed astrophysicist she was.
"That's what SoS'oy said. So what happened?" Alexa cuddled deeper into her mother's arms. And as she had done when she was very young she traced the metallic lines of Seven's meshed hand. Somehow in the back of Alexa's mind it drew comfort into her heart like a cozy plush blanket. She was indeed safe. Some how that silver hand always made her feel so protected.
Seven smiled recalling a drooling one year old doing the same thing. Of course often the hand ended up as a makeshift pacifier but the mother didn't seem to mind the baby drool.
"The event horizon is what made you dematerialize and sent you into the wormhole. I theorized we didn't need to connect to a wormhole to form an event horizon. The dilithium crystals retain energy patterns before reintegration this is how transporters work regardless what Entropy dictates that the crystals won't retain their energy patterns permanently. However I theorized the energy, called quantitative evidence, itself unimportant past its initial imprint on the crystals. So even though the energy is dissipating, the most recent pattern still exists. I used this as point of origin to trace the Entropy pocket that sent you through time."
Seven paused a moment to look at her daughter.
"And then?" Alexa said, indicating that she was listening.
"I discovered that the wormhole itself could be redirected closer to the sun because of the plant's magnetic field. The increased gravity I knew would slingshot us back to the Earth and that unstable wormhole. By using chosen flares on the opposite side of the sun, I used the rotational differential to send us forward in time after we reclaimed you. What I had to do was to find a way to establish an event horizon without the vortex. To create this quantum phenomenon, the wave nature of matter became the principalis of the tunnel diode. It is a semiconductor device consisting of two oppositely charged regions separated by a very narrow neutral region representing the barrier. The current in this device is largely due to tunneling of electrons though the neutral region. The current or rate of tunneling can be controlled over a wide range by varying the applied voltage, which changes the height of the event horizon.
"Mama... in English... okay?" Alexa smiled. "I'm good at calculus and trig and all that crap, but Mama I don't have a cordial node thingy to retain all of this that quickly."
Seven smirked.
"You are your SoS'oy's daughter. B'Elanna often says the same thing. She is a bailment engineer but sometimes she informs me that I become....to......."
"Bookish?" Alexa offered.
"Bookish?" Up went the silver ocular implant. "Clarify."
"Never mind." Alexa snuggled deeper into the arms holding her. "I think you are describing something similar to that Schrödinger Equation right? SoS'oy was talking about a cat in a box being a live and dead at the same time and so I was kinda dead and a live at the same time and that whole quantum phoneme thingy warped me to an Entropy pocket and bang I am in the past and because the unstable wormhole connected to Earth that's where I ended up but I could have ended up on any other planet."
"Overly simplistic but yes."
"So you kicked the whole thing into rewind and backed the DVD up kinda sorta and hit re-start."
"Explain DVD. This is not an equation that I am familiar with."
Seven frowned, not liking she didn't know something concerning Quantum physics or mathematical equations.
"Okay, now I feel like I am the old one! Kah'less, it's like asking my foster parents what the hell a vinyl was."
"Vinyl is a synthetic material." Seven said.
"Um… yeah we'll keep it at that." Alexia commented dryly.
Of course she also still had to get used to tangible holograms.
"So no wonder Sos'Oy made you explain it to me." Alexa smiled sleepily.
"Yes." Seven smiled back, gently touching her nose to Alexa's. "Now it is too late for wa'Hom's to still be awake."
"How do you know what time it is all the time?"
"The same way you do."
"That internal chro… chra…" Alexa searched for the word through her sleep induced haze.
"Chronometer."
"Yeah… that's..." Alexa paused for a yawn. "it." She finished. "That's from the…" Another yawn. "Borg nanoprobe whatever the hell thing?"
"Yes. Which is an entirely different story for another time." Seven grinned. "You must rest wa'Hom, you would not want to appear sleepy in front of Naomi."
"I dunnowhat yer talkin' 'bout." Alexa mumbled in her half asleep state.
After a moment or two, Seven could tell by her young one's even breathing and reduced heart rate that she was completely passed out. The only real predicament she was in was how to get Alexa out of her arms with out waking her.
"Need some help there Be'nal?" B'Elanna asked from the door.
"I do not wish to wake her by moving her."
"Is it that or are you just so happy to have her back in your arms that you don't want to move?"
Seven smiled at this.
"Both."
"I know how you feel." B'Elanna said coming into the room fully.
She looked down at her wa'Hom, running a hand through Alexa's thick mane of hair, she smiled.
"She is beautiful." Seven read B'Elanna's mind.
"She is…" B'Elanna softly kissed Seven's mouth. "Like her Mama."
"And her Sos'Oy." Seven reminded pulling B'Elanna back for another kiss.
"You think you can part with her for a couple hours?" B'Elanna asked not pulling more than a hairs breadth away from Seven's mouth.
"I... I... think... so."
"Good. Because your assistance is needed elsewhere." B'Elanna said sexily.
Seven arched an eyebrow.
"Indeed?" she smiled.
B'Elanna helped Seven to stand with Alexa in her arms.
"Sleep well wa'Hom." Seven said quietly and kissed Alexa's third ridge.
Seven laid Alexa back in her bed and tucked her in. Alexa fussed at the loss of contact for a moment but then settled back into her dreams. B'Elanna leaned over and kissed Alexa's forehead then touched her nose to Alexa's.
"We love you." B'Elanna said as she brushed a strand of hair away from Alexa's face.
Seven smiled at her wife and reached for her hand.
"Lead the way Bang'wi."
Mizoti ducked back into her room before her mother's could see that she was out of bed. She pretended she was asleep for a moment although knowing it was futile. For if her Mama were to actually look in on her she would be able to tell just by her heart beat and breathing.
'I do not understand why they are fussing over Alexa so much.' Mizoti thought to herself. 'I was here before her, I was still here when she was gone and it's not fair. Mama and Sos'Oy used to tell me stories before I went to bed...'
The young Norcaddian tossed and turned a few moments before falling into a restless sleep. Just down the corridor Alexa was also beginning to toss and turn.
"Have you seen that…that monstrosity that they've created?!?" someone shouted.
"Half Borg Half Klingon." Someone sneered. "Next that runt'll be sprouting implants and be trying to assimilate half the crew."
Alexa came into a room she vaguely recognized as the Mess Hall, but everything was… bigger? Yes, everything was definitely bigger. She looked around and identified the source of the voices. It was a crewman whom she could not identify and Ensign Paris.
'Go figure.' Alexa thought.
"I swear I'd be doing this ship not to mention the rest of the universe a favor if I just accidentally tripped an airlock right as she went by." Tom said.
"Tom, give it a rest." Another voice came.
It was Ensign Kim. Alexa smiled. He was a nice man.
"Why should I?" Tom laughed again. "Maybe I should just ship the runt's creators out the airlock with her."
Alexa tried to tell him off, tried to hit him but it was to no avail.
"What do we have here?" Paris sneered reaching down to Alexa. "The half breed her self."
Alexa snapped at him and caught the edge of one of his fingers. Ensign Kim barely held in laughter.
"Karma Tom, Karma." Harry said. "You know everything always comes back three fold."
"Whatever. Where are your mutant parents Runt?" Tom asked Alexa.
She tried to answer again but could not.
"I am right here, Mr. Paris."
Mama! Was the only thought that passed through Alexa's mind. She found herself being picked up and lovingly nuzzled. Then her Mama leveled a Force 10 ice glare at the mean man.
"You, Mr. Paris are a… shmuck." Seven said testing a new word she'd recently picked up from B'Elanna. "You would dare endanger the life of my child? You would not see the next moment."
"Whatever." Paris said, he walked a few feet then turned around and came back. "Oh and Seven?"
"Yes?" Seven said, edging back from Paris' too close for comfort proximity.
"Don't think I would never do what I suggested. It would only be my pleasure."
Alexa woke up with a start and covered in sweat. That dream was all too real for it to be a dream. It had to be a… memory? Alexa knew Tom was an ass but would he really threaten a two year old? Probably. Alexa took the Padd on the desk next to her that she had filled with Klingon History lessons and began to study. A few hours later she slipped out of bed and headed for the replicator. Getting what she wanted, she crawled back into her bed and slept dreamlessly for the next few hours.
A few weeks passed and Alexa had learned every thing B'Elanna knew about Engineering. If B'Elanna did say so herself, which she did, Alexa was one of the best in there. B'Elanna was seriously contemplating asking the Captain if Alexa could head up Engineering on the Beta shift for training like it was done at the Academy. Naomi had also learned a great deal more in the last three weeks. Seven had been sending her to Engineering many times instead of going herself so Naomi could learn about dealing with Klingon hybrids and their engines herself. The arguments that were on the increase between Alexa and Naomi were beginning to rival B'Elanna and Seven's fights from the early days. Both Seven and B'Elanna saw the inevitable coming. It was just a matter of when, where and how.
Today was not a good day to annoy Alexa. It had already been a very long day and it was only 1030 hrs. She was ready to kick somebody's no, anybody's ass. Alexa had scarcely planted herself in Jeffries tube when Naomi poked her spiked head in.
"What do you want?" Alexa growled.
"Seven told me to come help you." The young Katarian answered shortly.
'That's it! Now I know Mama is trying to drive me nuts!' Alexa thought to herself.
While both girls were vaguely aware of the attraction between them, neither was going to act first on it.
"Fine… whatever." Alexa sighed. "Just don't get in the way."
Alexa began working again when Naomi's constant gaze began to annoy her even more so than usual.
"Kah'less' crap on wheat toast! Do you have to breathe down my neck!?" Alexa growled. "I mean is it absolutely necessary?!?"
"It would just be more efficient if you would…" Naomi began.
"That is IT! I DON'T CARE HOW EFFICIENT I AM RIGHT NOW." Alexa hollered. "IF YOU THINK YOU'RE SO EFFICIENT THEN YOU DO IT."
Alexa threw the spanner in Naomi's general direction, shimmied out of the tube and nearly broke the hatch closing it again. B'Elanna arched an eyebrow at this and barely contained a smile at the familiar sight.
'Any day now.' She thought to herself.
"Sos'Oy?" Alexa questioned her mother. "Does she have to be in here every day of every week?"
B'Elanna smiled at her daughter and tucked a stray strand behind her ear.
"Yes baby, she has to be in here." B'Elanna said. "She's learning too."
"Can't she go learn outside… with out the space suit?"
"Be nice, you know you don't really mean that." B'Elanna said biting back laughter again.
"Well I do right now."
A muffled clanging noise broke their conversation. The two looked at the Jeffries tube hatch and back at each other. Alexa's eyes were shining and she was barely holding back what some would call an evil grin.
"Alexandra-Brianna." B'Elanna warned. "You go let her out of there this second."
"Aw but Sos…" Alexa began. "Well she had it coming."
Alexa walked, well more slowly shuffled, over to the tube and opened it quickly, letting Naomi fall out on her face. That was the last straw, Alexa could not contain her laughter any longer. She howled at Naomi for somewhere around .58 seconds before she caught a right hook across her lip. Alexa didn't really know what to do. Her Klingon side screamed for her to lay this punk out, but her human side held her back.
"Everyone knows I'm claustrophobic." Naomi said, voice wavering.
With that Naomi turned and ran out of Engineering.
"I… I… didn't." Alexa said quietly, licking her lip.
Alexa looked to her Sos and then to the door. B'Elanna rolled her eyes and gestured for Alexa to go after the girl.