Out in Thirty Days

By BC Bones

Disclaimer: The characters belong to Paramount, but the story and ideas belong to me. No copyright infringement is intended. I only borrowed them for a little while, no profit will be made, except for maybe psychological. WARNING: DO NOT read if you are uncomfortable with or offended by F/F romance. Few instances of bad language.

Code: T/7.
Rating: R

Archiving: Please ask permission.

Feedback is welcome.

Any feedback or other comments should be sent to BCBones@aol.com

Description: A classic T/7 story. (This is a step away from the Where series, as a non-related story.)

Chapter 1

11 July 2000

"Am I reading this correctly." Dropping the hand which she had been casually resting her chin on, Janeway managed to read aloud, "'I hereby request to be relieved of the privileges and responsibilities of those of the Chief of Engineering.'"

Lt. Torres looked up from her feet, at her Captain across the table, only to see disappointment and concern etched in that elegant face which had replaced the initial curious smile.

"Yes, Captain."

"I don't understand. It seemed like everything was going very well for the past year and a half. Maybe you'd like to speak with Chakotay or the Doctor?," offered Janeway. When she and B'Elanna had withdrawn to her Ready Room, Janeway was unprepared for the kind of shock she had just received.

"No, Captain. This isn't about any depression, though I can't deny it isn't related. I've made my decision," stated B'Elanna firmly, then she stood at attention. "I formally request to stand down from my post, but to remain on duty as part of the Engineering crew."

Janeway set her jaw. She stood up and walked around her desk until she was face to face with Lt. Torres. "B'Elanna, until I understand why you are doing this, I won't accept your request," replied Janeway. She was going to hold her ground until both of them were blue in the face.

The lieutenant sighed. She knew this wasn't going to be simple conversation. Janeway wouldn't let her off that easy. In some ways, she dreaded this more than a confrontation with her own mother. She just hoped the explanation she rehearsed was going to be convincing enough at this point.

"My priorities have changed. I can't see myself spending sixteen hours a day in Engineering, repairing EPS conduits or warp coils." Torres paused and began again, "I want to do more. I want to be something else for a change."

B'Elanna didn't know if she sounded passionate enough, but she believed in what she said and how she felt. It all started when she had awakened from her journey on the Barge of the Dead. Then, her time on Kelis' planet showed her there was something more to living that didn't revolve around warp cores and Star Fleet technology. Those experiences had unsettled her, making her view her world differently somehow, in ways which she couldn't express, but nevertheless, urged her to find a sense of self she had been missing. How could she put this to words which her Captain and friends could comprehend?

"I can understand if you're feeling stressed or overworked. We haven't given you much of a break over the years with the constant traveling that Voyager does and the hostile encounters we've been through," argued Janeway. "Are you sure this is not just a symptom of that? Perhaps, a vacation from your duties will make you feel differently?"

"Captain, if you're worried about a replacement, Lt. Carey is more than qualified. We both know that. Of course, I'll be in Engineering for whatever assignments that need to be handled. And he has Vorik and Seven to help him, both of whom are extremely competent." Torres folded her arms, ready to argue to the last inning of the game if necessary.

The Captain gazed one more time into B'Elanna's eyes before turning away. She walked towards the window and looked out at the quietly passing stars. It was a moment before she spoke again.

"Give it thirty days. Lt. Carey will take over your duties as Chief Engineer temporarily during that time, while you work a regular Engineering shift. The rest of the time, you can do whatever you want."

Torres closed her eyes and ran a hand through her hair. It was a compromise, but it was better than having her request denied up front. "And after thirty days?," she asked, frustration evident in her tone.

"We'll talk again," replied Janeway, eyes still looking out at the stars.

"Fine."

"I'll make it known from tomorrow on. Please debrief Lt. Carey on all current projects and report to him for assignment." Turning, she pleaded, "Before you go, I want you to know, B'Elanna, I don't want anyone else in that position but you. My door is always open if you need to talk."

Torres nodded in silent acknowledgment, and left not only one very confused captain, but her shipwide identity behind her that morning. Janeway made her way back to her desk, and sat heavily in her chair, astounded, speechless at the turn of events. She rubbed her forehead as a new headache began to pulse.

"Commander Chakotay, please report to my Ready Room."

~~~~~~~~

By 0700 hours the next morning, Captain Janeway had hailed Engineering, announcing the changes in chain of command. Fourteen crewmembers were told to report to Engineering even when their shift had just ended or weren't even to begin so that everyone was present. It was not something Janeway wanted to have to repeat. Everyone except Lt. Carey stood, unmovable with shock and disbelief written all over their faces over the abruptness and lack of explanation. Carey immediately began handing out the assignments for the day and dismissed those who were not on duty. By 0930 hours, the entire ship knew that Lt. B'Elanna Torres was no longer in charge of Engineering.

Before the hour of her announcement, Janeway had called the senior officers to the Briefing Room. The reaction she found in the room would later be mirrored by the one in Engineering, except for Chakotay. Even Tuvok seemed to register some surprise from his normally impassive expression. Seven merely raised her brow, and watched the Captain unwaveringly, as she paced around the table during the silence that followed the announcement.

Harry was the first to speak up. "Captain, what's going on? Why is Lt. Carey taking over for B'Elanna?"

Janeway raised her hand to calm the storm of questions on everyone's lips. "I know you'll find this hard to believe, but B'Elanna came to me yesterday with the request to step down from her position as Chief Engineer." She added, "I couldn't convince her otherwise. What I want to know now is that did she speak to anyone of you beforehand?"

"Tom?," she questioned as everyone else turned to him.

He shrugged helplessly, "She only told me that Engineering had become kind of tedious these past few weeks, and she was looking for a change in pace. She didn't say she was going to do something like this."

Chakotay spoke up then, "Did she mention what else she was thinking or feeling at the time? Did she seem indifferent to you?"

"No.... Not at all, in fact. Unless you know something that I don't."

"Captain?," the Doctor questioned with some concern.

"She only told me that her priorities had changed after her recent experiences," answered Janeway.

Chakotay asked again, "Tom, are you sure she hasn't mentioned anything to YOU? You're not just protecting her?"

Tom frowned at the accusation, but let it pass. "She didn't say anything," he reiterated. "Not that it's anyone's business, but B'Elanna and I called off our relationship a few weeks ago. But I think we should trust her on this. I think she's EARNED it," he reproached sternly.

That particular information also left quite an impression as well, as another quiet moment passed. But everyone was clearly affected by Tom's last point.

"I haven't noticed anything strange in her behavior either. I think maybe Tom's right," supported Harry.

"As morale officer, I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary. Perhaps there's nothing more to it than has been said," Neelix chimed in.

"I agree," Tuvok added. "Until we note otherwise, we should respect Lt. Torres' decision, however unfortunate it may be for us."

"Alright, now that we've cleared the air, we can get down to business," reconciled Janeway. "Lt. Carey will be joining us shortly as a senior officer."

It was painfully obvious, however, to everyone how empty one chair seemed in that instant. But it wasn't the first time one of them had been missing during a meeting. They were accustomed to new faces who would participate in these briefings over the years. This time, however, there was a strange sense of abandonment and disappointment mixed together by B'Elanna's departure. The group remained pensive until the door swished open, and the familiar figure of Lt. Carey entered somewhat hesitantly, approaching the table.

"Lt. Carey reporting as ordered, Ma'am." He stood at attention, giving a fine performance of his Star Fleet training.

"At ease, Lieutenant," Janeway ordered, casting a brief smile, even though deep down she didn't feel like giving one to no fault of the poor man. "Please be seated."

All the other officers, and including Seven, welcomed the lieutenant to the briefing, finally proceeding with the session. The dynamics were altered, that much was evident, with the interruptions, apologies, and occasional polite pauses. It was difficult not to compare the differences between the engineers as the session progressed, the group needing time to adapt.

~~~~~~~~

Lt. Torres reported for duty at 0800 hours, as suggested by the Captain. She preferred not to be present at the time of the announcement to avoid all the looks she already had gotten from the few that noticed her arrival in the department. Unshaken, she headed straight for Lt. Carey, now her superior, who was standing next to the warp core console. Oddly, she felt quite at ease, knowing she no longer had responsibility over all the shipwide systems.

"Lt. Torres, reporting for duty," teased B'Elanna.

"Lieutenant," acknowledged Chief Engineer Joe Carey. "You seem to be in good humor today. I have an assignment for you. The port tertiary Deflector panels are off by a 0.5 deviation. You feel up to fixing that?"

"Sure thing. I'll have it done in three hours."

"There's no rush."

"Like I said, I'll have it done in three hours," replied a smirking Torres, as she walked off towards the equipment lockers.

Shaking his head, Carey chuckled all the way back to his new office. Seven failed to see the humor in the entire situation from where she stood to the side, but was summarily satisfied to see Lt. Torres in good spirits. Perhaps, Ensign Paris was correct in his assumptions. But not having Lt. Torres as head of Engineering was illogical and inefficient, she grudgingly admitted to herself. Outwardly, there did not appear to be a large decline in overall efficiency in Engineering productivity, however, whether it proved to endure during a time of crisis remained to be seen. Seven had her doubts if her assessment was correct.

To be continued....