Chapter 12 added on 11 July 2000
Disclaimers are in part 1.
Rating: R
The group had returned to Dannan's house. The regeneration cycle had ended earlier than expected, but it was enough to stabilize all of Seven's neural synapses returning function to her Borg implants. Moka had been especially joyous to see Seven's very tall frame enter the house, walking on her own, though B'Elanna was never far behind. After a fulfilling dinner the two women sat near the hearth and rested as the group discussed the alternatives they had obtained in the past few days. Despite all the negotiations, everyone B'Elanna and Dannan had talked to only wanted credits, due to the struggling economy of many settlements in the sector. The discussion was long and tiresome. It was discouraging that every deal negotiated, every angle pitched was not working out. As a result, B'Elanna brought up a suggestion, that Seven immediately rejected.
"I could find work as an engineer on a vessel while we are both passengers," B'Elanna suggested.
To which Dannan replied, "The crew wouldn't just hire for short term. They'd still need an engineer during the course of the trip if you left abruptly once you contacted your ship."
"Fine, then I'll get an advance, work for the entire route, but get Ani passage first. She can find our family and have them meet up with me," she argued.
"Many of those freighter and deep space crew are a bunch of ruffians. I'd rather not picture you among them, Bey." Dannan did not approve, plainly seen by his grimace.
"Nor would I," Seven added with a hint of disgust, picturing B'Elanna among Kal's band of riffraff. "It would be an unacceptable sacrifice on your part."
"Ani, that regeneration cycle was a temporary solution at best. We have to get off this planet. Our family might stop looking for us if we don't." B'Elanna frustration was beginning to escalate, and her Klingon temperament was a bit frayed after the stress of the past few days. Didn't the Borg realize she was just looking out for her?
"I understand the situation," Seven responded indignantly, "but I am willing to take that risk." Seven then played her trump card. "Besides, you said you would never leave me."
Not liking her own words thrown back at her face, B'Elanna resorted to the one thing she did best, and that was pushing people away. "Well, maybe I'm not willing to risk it, if that means we can get back to our ship. I'm tired of hiding. And maybe I'm tired of the burden I'm carrying."
They glared at each other, neither one yielding. Seven's eyes widened in outrage, and betrayed her feelings of hurt with a sheen of tears. In the lieutenant's own words, she had been a burden. Those words made her stomach churn, made her feel small, imperfect, and unwanted. B'Elanna narrowed her eyes in anger, blinded to the fact that the Borg had taken her literally.
"Bey, please." Dannan interrupted before B'Elanna could say something she'd regret later, if she hadn't already.
"There is another way to earn the money." Edyn had been listening to the conversation as he reclined in his chair, smoking a pipe. Up until then, he found the argument between the two women extremely stimulating, with heaving bosoms and passionate words.
"What do you mean?" asked Dannan, suspiciously. He knew his friend after all.
"You know what I mean. We were talking about it just this morning," he said, calmly blowing smoke rings.
"You can't be serious!?" Dannan was flabbergasted at his suggestion.
Edyn sighed, swinging his legs down from their perch on another chair, and put his pipe aside. He looked straight at Dannan. "They have a right to know if there is another option. Especially since our sweet Ani here disproves of the others."
Dannan just folded his arms and shook his head over the whole thing. Impatiently, B'Elanna told him to spill the beans.
"Of course my feral femme fatale, I'm talking about the Nokk tournament. They have it every turn of the third moon over at their tavern. The next one is tomorrow night."
Moka gasped. "You aren't suggesting one of them enters the tournament?!"
"What is a Nokk tournament?" Seven inquired.
"Well, they're not really tournaments, per say." Edyn started from the beginning. "The Nokk are a species that came to this planet about a hundred years ago after their sun went supernova. They came in droves and colonized several planets in these few neighboring sectors, and they brought with them their traditions. There are several prominent Nokk Houses in this settlement, and every turn of the third moon they hold fighting matches. By tradition, these are rituals held to bestow honor among members of the houses or even those not belonging to any houses, who prove themselves by winning these fighting matches. When the Nokk came here, they adapted their ritual so that monetary awards were also bestowed to the winner."
"So you're saying someone like me can enter the matches?" B'Elanna asked, suddenly interested in the idea of participating in the ritual. At least it sounded better than the Day of Honor and Klingon pain sticks.
"Yes. They finding it entertaining when other species join in the ritual. Plus, males and females among the Nokk are seen as equals, since their physiques are predominantly the same, unlike the Rangoon examples you see here." Edyn noted, gesturing offhandedly to Dannan and Moka.
Dannan interjected, "The Nokk are formidable warriors, Edyn. You forgot to mention that. And they've been playing this game for a long time." He did not like this idea at all.
"What are the physical demands of these rituals?" Seven wanted to get to the main point.
"The ritual involves two individual fighters in a ring, engaging in weapons combat in the first round, all blunt instruments of course. The subsequent rounds are hand to hand until there is a winner or until five rounds have been completed and are judged by who wins each round. The combatants are matched by weight class. There is an entrance fee however, or rather, a gift a participant must present when he or she registers."
"I'm not sure if we have anything of value," B'Elanna noted with a frown.
"Well, actually you do. Your dilithium crystal," Edyn offered.
B'Elanna raised her brow distrustfully. "You'd be willing to give me back my sample?"
"Of course, as long as I get to be your sponsor. And I get 10% in commission, if you win. I can register you tomorrow morning."
B'Elanna rolled her eyes. She knew there had to be a catch, but Edyn reassured her that the prize winnings were more than enough to pay for a message transmission or transport to the next sector.
"I have heard enough of this suggestion," Seven stated heatedly, getting up and walking stiffly out of the common room.
B'Elanna wanted to let the Borg cool off for a while in their bedroom, but Moka looked at her expectantly. She followed Seven of Nine, not sure if she was ready to argue with the blonde again. They were never going to agree on the issue, and B'Elanna was prepared to pull rank on her, though it might not mean very much to the ex-drone.
"Ani, this is the best idea I've heard so far," B'Elanna started.
"I do not wish to discuss this topic any further. I only wish to sleep," Seven stubbornly declined. She began removing her day clothes, pulling the beige gown off over her head.
B'Elanna felt an uncharacteristic burning in her loins, seeing the warm flesh revealed so suddenly. Her "adrenaline" was still raging from the recent arguments, and the Klingon in her had turned the arousal into something else, in view of the semi-clad Borg. B'Elanna quieted herself to abate the fires, before her hormones totally got out of her control. It was late, and she settled for getting ready for bed as well. She went to the washroom, bringing her maroon sarong along, and decided a quick dunk in cold water was in order. Upon returning to their room, her eyes literally bugged out when she saw a pile of bedding and pillows on the ground, and Seven hogging the entire cot.
'She making me sleep on the floor?!' She was about to make a snide remark, but decided against it since Moka was probably listening for sounds of arguing, and she didn't want to upset the kindly woman anymore this evening. B'Elanna huffed audibly and puffed her pillows loudly as she set up her bedding for the night. Finally B'Elanna relaxed into the covers, hands behind her head, wondering just what in the universe happened tonight with Seven. Two words, Tom would say,... "lovers' spat," only she and Seven weren't lovers. Nope, it was back to their old status quo. She heard the blonde shift in bed again. Seven always did that when she couldn't sleep because something was bothering her, B'Elanna noted.
As civil as she could manage, "Ani, do you want to talk?"
"What do you wish to discuss?" she replied in Borg-like clinical detachment.
"You tell me..."
"I do not understand why you insist on participating in the Nokk Tournaments. Do you enjoy inflicting and receiving pain?"
"Ani, this is the only plausible option we have to get the credits we need."
"It is crude and pointless," was the only response.
Where had she heard that before? B'Elanna propped herself up on her elbows. "It's not Tsunkatse, Ani. I know you had a bad experience with that game, but the Nokk Tournaments are a ritual, a tradition. People aren't out there to exploit others." She wanted to pursue the matter more because of Seven's feelings.
But Seven interrupted. "Then I should be the one to fight in the matches. I possess the skills of Tsunkatse."
B'Elanna sat up, but Seven's back was turned toward the wall away from her. "And what are you going to do, fall on your opponent until you knock 'em out?" she mockingly retorted.
"I still possess Borg strength," Seven argued somewhat unconvincingly.
"Yeah, well, I may not be a full fledged Klingon warrior, but I'm not a lame duck either," B'Elanna mumbled.
"I do not wish to be a burden. I will perform my share of the duties." Seven admitted bitterly, at last, what was really on her mind.
B'Elanna felt like a pile of targ dung when she heard the anguish in Seven's voice. Her concern for getting Seven back to Voyager coupled with her new feelings for the woman had placed an unexpected amount of stress on her nerves, and B'Elanna didn't know how to handle it yet. She lashed out like she always did, but this time, it injured the only person that mattered to her right now. She reached over and placed a hand on woman's left shoulder, but Seven didn't respond.
"Ani," B'Elanna called out. Then she sat on the bed, took the woman by the shoulders, and forced her onto her back. Looking into Seven's eyes, she could see the underlying hurt this time.
"I didn't mean that YOU were a burden. You sacrificed yourself to save both of us. How could I see that as a burden?" asked B'Elanna. "I've just been frustrated that I haven't been able to get us off this planet."
"I wish I could believe you," was all Seven said, and she pushed the half-Klingon's hands away, turning away from her again.
"I'm sorry for what I said, Ani,...because I care about you," B'Elanna apologized softly, swallowing hard, "...a lot about you."
Regretfully, she climbed back down to the floor, and laid there awake on the blankets. She felt like an ass, and turned onto her side, hiding her head with an arm. Minutes later she felt a stirring of her blankets, a warm body pressed against her backside, and an arm magically appeared around her waist. Surprised, B'Elanna uncovered her face, and looked at the slender arm that embraced her.
"Ani?"
"I wish to conserve body heat. But I am still angry with you." Seven replied, snuggling back down against her.
"Oh." B'Elanna felt relieved. She didn't think she could have gone to sleep knowing Seven was hurt by what she said, and she had feared that things would return to the way they were before, the distant bantering, the occasional antagonism. "Do you think we could do that on the bed?" complained the half-Klingon.
She felt Seven snort, then both of them got up. B'Elanna dusted off her thick, soft flannel-like blankets, and reached out to assist the Borg, but remembered Seven didn't need her help.
"Sorry, habit," B'Elanna explained, bothered by her own awkwardness.
Seven arched her brow, and extended her hand to B'Elanna, pulling the lieutenant with her onto the cot. The skimpily-clad blonde laid down on her back stretching out her full length, and turned B'Elanna around to spoon her from behind. The dynamics had definitely changed now that the Borg was almost back to her former capacity. It had been easier to hide her increasing physical affection towards Seven when she had difficulties doing things for herself. And that kiss in the bath tub...Seven had been a willing participant. But now the Klingon didn't know where to go from there, since she had no idea what exactly Seven felt for her.
~~~~~~~~
The Borg could tell that B'Elanna had finally drifted off to sleep, her breathing deep and regular. Despite their argument, Seven needed to feel B'Elanna's compact form next to hers. She had become accustomed to their physical contact during sleep. Unlike other humans, the weight of B'Elanna's body felt comfortable, not too light or too heavy. Seven deduced it was probably because of B'Elanna's denser Klingon structure, much like her own Borg enhancements. Her physical attraction to B'Elanna was obvious to her now, noting the numerous physiological changes that occurred in her body each time their bodies grazed or touched, or each time she saw the Klingon's half-naked figure. That was the strange sensation she had felt in the Jefferies tube.
But there were emotional changes as well. B'Elanna's words had injured her deeply, and Seven was still mad, even though this was not the first time they had ever argued. They had heated disagreements previously on Voyager where her feelings had been affected, but not to such a degree. She wondered when had she become so sensitive to the lieutenant's opinion of her. She suspected the emotions had always been there, but she could not have recognized them before. Perhaps she had been incorrect when she informed the Doctor she did not require a romantic relationship with anyone on the ship. And if she interpreted B'Elanna's recent behavior correctly, the lieutenant would be willing to pursue one with her now that her bond with Ensign Paris had been terminated. However, the half-Klingon had refused other previous but ardent suitors, Seven noted with some jealousy. Seven sighed deeply, pushing away thoughts of what tomorrow might bring for them, leaned over and kissed the comely face gently before sinking back under the covers.
Author's Note:
1. bIvem - Klingon for "(You) wake up"
2. ST Voyager episodes referenced are "Prototype" and "Equinox."
To be continued....