Chapters 2 - 3 added on 21 Dec 2001
Disclaimers are in part 1.
Rating: NC17
Chapter 2
Seven's fingers flew over the console at an alarming pace. She was now off-duty and conducting her analysis of what she believed to be inefficient behavior. But she couldn't quite agree with the computer's responses, so she was jabbing hard at the console as if that could make it to change its analysis.
The more data she put in, the greater the probability, the computer informed her that its analysis was correct. In fact, the computer stated that there was a 99.3% chance that what she had been experiencing around several women was…arousal?
Her eyebrow lifted again and she stopped pounding on the console. She had not thought that it was possible for her to experience these desires. Her one attempt at dating had left her completely perplexed at the human interaction of romance. Not only was it disastrous, but she had not gained any insight as to why she was supposed to enjoy the interaction of one individual on a different level than all others.
Now she had another aberrant behavior to catalogue among the many she felt she already exhibited. She was not attracted to the opposite sex as the Doctor had indicated she should be. Apparently, she could only be aroused by women. It left her feeling quite unsettled.
She had faced many challenges already in her transition into her human collective. She had felt very lonely from the beginning, when Captain Janeway had severed her from the calming voices of the collective. The Doctor had indicated that romance might ease the ache of this loneliness. But now it was apparent that she would not be able to integrate romance into her existence either.
She closed her workstation with a sigh and walked over to the alcoves. She stared at them realizing that they were another reminder of how different she would always be.
"Computer, musical selection Seven of Nine, Blue Rain," she calmly stated. She had recently begun to enjoy certain 20th and 21st century musical selections after she had worked with Tom Paris on a project in the Delta Flyer. What flowed out of the system right now was historically known as 'the blues'.
She had research its designation when she first came across it, thinking it odd that humans would name their music after a color. She found that it was supposed to describe a feeling of sadness; it was a colloquialism: 'to feel blue.' For the first time she believed she understood the feeling.
~~~~~
"Regeneration Cycle is complete." Came the calm feminine voice of the computer. Seven opened her eyes, completely aware after her regeneration that today would begin her altered duty shifts. It was 0500, and she would begin reporting to engineering at 0600 to cover the last part of Gamma shift and the first six hours of Alpha.
She felt duty bound to make sure that Astrometrics was covered adequately by Ensign Delaney. She had determined that she would spend 20 minutes before her engineering shift every day going over any reports that Jennifer had posted the day before. Since this was the first day of the altered plan, she would spend that time writing a detailed report to the ensign about what would be expected in her absence.
It only took 11.4 minutes to write a very detailed set of instructions and encouragements. The latter of which she had decided would be vital, because she knew that although Delaney was very comfortable in social interactions, she wasn't as secure in her professional abilities. Seven had already deemed that she was very adequate in her position.
She spent another 4.6 minutes reviewing all sensor data that had come in during her regeneration adding it her own private research of the system. She knew that the ensign could handle integrating the information into the official report, but she always found keeping her own research updated to be satisfying. If asked though, she would just say it was the most efficient manner of performing.
She closed down her station and went over to the small mirror that the Doctor had given her and let down her hair. She brushed through it thoroughly then fixed it back into the bun she found was the most efficient way to wear her hair. She glanced at her reflection and was satisfied that the bun would not fall during the day. Her eyes were drawn back to her face and her remaining silvery implants. It reminded her of her differences and isolation from the crew, and of her self-discovery from the previous evening.
She then decided that she would not think anymore about her feelings as they could potentially interfere with what little she had to offer her crew: her knowledge and efficiency. She was Borg after all; she would put her feelings away and explore them only after her shifts in the privacy of her alcove. With her decision made she left Cargo Bay 2 to head to the mess hall for her morning nutritional supplement.
~~~~~
At 0600 hours Seven entered the engine room and went directly to the main console to determine what progress had been made in the repairs. She knew that she was supposed to be the second in command of engineering, and that inherently made the crew already on duty in her command, but she decided that it would be inefficient to make them uncomfortable by beginning to give commands right away. She had noted a long time ago that people who did not know her responded to her with fear and mistrust, and most of the Gamma shift personnel were unknown to her since she had primarily worked Alpha shift since first arriving on Voyager. So she determined the best way to confront this problem would be to let the crew approach her, instead of approaching them. She noticed that the Dilithium mixture was too rich and set out to determine how to correct the problem without overloading the already stressed warp core.
While running her calculations she ran over the analysis of the power fluctuations that had occurred the day before and was very impressed with Lt. Torres solution and analysis. She was amazed at how the Lieutenant could come to the conclusions she did with very little information. She was so involved in her calculations and her analysis of the power problems she didn't hear another person approaching her.
"Um.. uh.. Seven, I mean Ma'am.." The tiny blonde ensign began stammering standing near Seven, looking very nervous, holding a padd out a little hesitantly in her hand.
"Seven is fine Ensign. I do not have a rank, therefore there is no need to address me as 'Ma'am'. Now, how may I be of assistance Ensign?" Seven tried to reassure the flustered female in front of her.
The ensign grinned, "Well you are our boss for a while, so I wasn't sure. But thanks. And as long as we're not being formal you can call me Ann if that's ok?" She looked at Seven and smiled.
'This is different' thought Seven and couldn't stop a small smile of her own. "Very well… Ann. Is there something I can help you with?"
The ensign handed her the padd, which Seven began to go over immediately noting the ensign's work was thorough but incomplete. "Well, I kinda got stuck here. Normally I would ask Carey what he thought, but seeing as he's not gonna be around for a while, I was kinda hoping you could help me figure out where I went wrong?" The shy look on the ensigns face was so different from what Seven was used to experiencing that she decided that she would be very careful to put her at ease, simply because she appreciated being unsure in interactions herself.
"I believe you have done a commendable job with the available data. But if we approach this logically it seems apparent that we need to run further diagnostics on the subsystems here and here." She pointed at the padd as she spoke. "Do not blame yourself for being unable to reach a conclusion without that data. I know I could not." She looked up at the ensign and was rewarded with a beaming smile.
"Thanks Seven! I knew I was missing something but couldn't quite put my finger on it! I'll get on it right away."
"You are welcome… Ann. I am… happy to assist." Seven was trying to recall all of the Doctor's social interactions. She did not to scare the sweet young girl, and it seemed to be working. The ensign turned away and headed back to her console. Seven returned to her own diagnostics on the Dilithium thinking that maybe Gamma shift would not be so bad.
~~~~~
At 0750 B'Elanna Torres braced herself and entered engineering. She was determined not to let Seven's presence affect her, so with this thought in mind she went directly to her console. By happenstance, Seven had chosen to use Carey's console which was next to B'Elanna's, but B'Elanna just pulled up her reports and acted as if Seven wasn't even there. The statuesque blonde was lost in her own calculations and barely took notice of the Lieutenant's behavior.
As the Gamma shift ended, Ann came by and thanked Seven again for the help. She left telling Seven to have a great day and saying she would see her tomorrow with a big smile on her face.
Seven returned the smile and said, "Thank you Ann. I hope you have a pleasurable day as well."
B'Elanna was so shocked by the Ensign's well wishing that she had looked up just in time to see Seven's smile. To say she was shocked was an understatement. She would have expected to hear a targ meow like a cat before she saw what had just unfolded in front of her. She had never been invited to use Ensign's first name, but apparently Seven's two hours on the Gamma shift had got her closer to the shy Ensign than she had ever been. On top of that, she had never seen Seven smile. She had seen her smirk many times and found it insufferable. But the smile that had just graced her face had softened her features to the point where B'Elanna realized she was quite a beautiful… human.
B'Elanna blinked rapidly at that thought and looked back down at her console. She downloaded the reports into a padd and escaped into her office to think, privately.
Seven noticed the Lieutenant's departure but thought that it was just as well. She had been having a good morning and was not ready for any animosity yet. With that in mind she threw herself back into her work.
B'Elanna looked up as the door to her office chimed an hour later. She put down the padd containing Seven's brilliant analysis of the dilithium problem and called out "Enter" to whoever was on the other side of the door.
Seven strode into the room and took her usual stance in front of the desk. She was quite nervous, and whenever she felt the least bit unnerved she fell back on her Borg mannerisms. Essentially this meant her face and voice lacked all emotion and her body was held in an 'at ease' stance that Starfleet would have loved their cadets to emulate. She didn't know that most people thought she was being superior and that B'Elanna especially found it annoying.
"Lieutenant, I wish to know if you have had time to review my analysis of the dilithium mixture." Seven kept her voice even. She was particularly proud that she had managed to do so because she felt that this meeting would lead to the end of a happy day.
B'Elanna forced herself to not look at Seven's rigid stance, and instead looked down at the report in question.
"Yeah, Seven. I think you're right. Why don't you go ahead and implement your suggestions?" B'Elanna couldn't believe she had just told the Borg she was right. But she would be damned if she would not use good ideas to improve engine performance.
Seven blinked rapidly. Her head tilted. Her eyebrow lifted. She felt like her cranial implant was malfunctioning. The Lieutenant had just told her she was right. It was a first for them. Also, for some reason this filled Seven's chest with a greater pride than she had ever felt before.
So with a shaky voice she allowed "Of course Lieutenant… Thank you."
Then she turned and quickly left the room.
B'Elanna noticed the emotions that had ran across Seven's face and found herself grinning at the woman's retreat. She snickered softly. 'Who would've thought I could make her run by complimenting her? I should've tried that a long time ago!'
~~~~~
At 1400 hours, Seven and a crewman were working on fixing a breach in the hull on deck 14. They had completed most of the work over the last three hours and were putting the finishing touches on, and it would only take another half hour before they would be done. So it came as a complete surprise when Lt. Torres showed up.
"Hey guys!" Torres announced her presence. "I just thought I should get up here and relieve Seven. Your shift's over."
Seven could not understand why the Lieutenant had not just asked her on the communicator if she needed to be relieved. So, being the efficient person she was, she just told her.
"I do not require a break as of yet Lieutenant. We have nearly completed this repair and then we will return to engineering."
"I don't mind Seven. Besides, I know you didn't take a lunch break. Your shift is over. Why don't you go to the mess hall and see what Neelix has ruined for dinner?" Torres responded.
Seven felt annoyed at being dismissed like this near the end of a project. She would rather have seen it through to completion, but she knew that if she protested it would begin a fight with the Klingon. Since she had not fought with the Lieutenant yet that day she decided to leave and to try to figure it out later. Besides, she did have a velocity match with the captain at 1600, and she could use the holodeck time before that to further her investigations.
"As you wish, Lieutenant." Seven replied stiffly, then left.
As soon as Seven had left Torres picked up the laser welder that had been handed to her and began welding the spot that Seven had been working on when she interrupted.
"Sorry you got stuck on this job with her crewman. " B'Elanna told the young man.
"Why Lieutenant?" the young man looked really dumbstruck. "She taught me a lot over the last few hours. And she has the most hilarious dry wit! I mean that impression she does of the Doctor had me rolling!" He snickered after he said that, and then actually started laughing. "Tell me, does Janeway actually sound like she could cut duranium when she gets mad? I mean that's what Seven said." He looked up at B'Elanna for conformation.
She cocked her head to the side grinning. "She really said that?"
"Yeah. Why? Is it not true?" he asked
"No! I mean yeah. It's true! I just can't believe she'd say that. I mean her and the Captain are like friends, I would've never believed she'd make fun of her!" B'Elanna exclaimed.
"Well, she told me that she considered the captain her friend. She also said that she ragged on the Captain whenever they had time together and the Captain thought it was funny. Seven thinks it's really funny how the Captain can be so small, yet so intimidating. She said she 'finds it to be an interesting aspect of human behavior.'" He tried to pull off a Seven imitation and failed, but B'Elanna laughed at his attempt anyway.
"Anyway she went ahead and told me some of the most hilarious things about how the bridge crew reacts to Janeway. I mean she can really observe people with those Borg implants of hers! She said that Ensign Kim is the most fascinating one to watch the Captain yell at. She said his heart rate shoots up, and his breathing deepens and he starts sweating. Well actually, she said his respiration increases by some percentage and his heart rate increases by… But I don't remember all that. Man, what I wouldn't give to be able to read people like that!" He grinned and went back to his work.
'She finds Harry fascinating?' was all B'Elanna could think. Then it occurred to her to feel odd about how well Seven could read people's reactions. 'Does she read mine?'
B'Elanna shook her head to try and get off that train of thought. She returned her attention to her welding. When she was done with her end she ran a tricorder over the fresh welding and was impressed with the crewman's job.
"Great job crewman," she complimented him.
He held out his hand. "Thanks! But I can't take all the credit. Seven taught me how to do it today. I've never used a laser welder before and she thought I would be able to. She convinced me to try and patiently explained it. She was really nice even when I screwed up and showed me how to fix it, until I felt like a pro!" He said that last part with a smile.
"This is your first time?" B'Elanna asked. Her eyebrows were trying to ride up over her ridges in disbelief.
He grinned "Yes ma'am."
She whistled through her teeth and grinned back at him. "Well you have talent crewman. We'll have to give you more work from now on."
He laughed and helped her pick up the tools. After they had gathered everything she returned to engineering and he went back to his team leader for his next assignment. B'Elanna put the tools away in their chest and went to her console to check up on the afternoon's progress. As she poured through her reports, she couldn't help but feel surprised and not a little confused by all the crewman had told her.
Chapter 3
Seven found herself in the showers next to Holodeck 1 taking a long cold shower ten minutes before her game with the Captain. She had taken the allotted time before she was scheduled to meet Janeway to do more research on sexuality. At first she was using a simple computer program to understand the physiological aspects of female human arousal. Then she had learned that there were "holo-instructors" and even interspecies mating constructs already programmed as options.
At the time it seemed like a perfect solution. Although she normally had no use for holo-characters, these were educational constructs of some of the leading scientist the federation had to offer. They were fully interactive and she thought she might benefit from actually talking about her problem. She had called up a program designed to instruct a single human female.
The character that had appeared was apparently a famous human sex therapist who specialized in female arousal and sexual achievements. She was a pleasant woman of medium height and build and reddish-blonde hair. Seven decided to limit the information that she gave the hologram so she wouldn't have to hear about her own abnormalities, and instead focused on the fact that she found no suitable mates onboard Voyager.
The Doctor was pleasant in explaining how normal her arousal at those around her could be considered when she was feeling so lonely. She asked Seven if she masturbated and blushing, Seven explained that she did not know how. When the doctor asked how she had reached her age without even trying Seven explained how she had been abducted by the Borg and was just experiencing her humanity for the first time in the last few years.
The Holo-Doctor was amazed, and told her that she would have to be careful. She then asked to examine Seven to see if there were any implants left that would affect her sexuality. Seven was a bit embarrassed by the idea, but decided it would be more embarrassing to face Voyager's Doctor so she allowed it.
She was very happy when the examination was over and the Holo-Doctor declared her to have all the normal human female functions and erogenous zones. Of course the last part of that declaration forced Seven to ask about erogenous zones. The Holo-Doctor briefly explained the concepts, but pointed out that they were really something that were different for each individual. She then told Seven that her first step should be to explore herself. Seven seemed reluctant, so the Doctor told her about different programs she could view and emulate if she wanted. She also said that there were an unlimited amount of programs that she could interact with to explore her desires. In fact, safe sexual exploration had been one of the original purposes of Holodecks.
When she was done the Holo-Doctor told her that she could save the entire program in a private location. She could also call back up the program if she ever had any more questions. Seven thought that was a reasonable idea and saved the session in a highly encrypted file with Borg commands.
With 30 more minutes left before she needed to meet the Captain she decided that she had enough time to watch one of the programs that had been mentioned. But she decided she would not 'explore' her own body until later. Once she had called up the program and put in parameters for a female that she would find pleasing, she watched as that female touched herself and quickly brought herself to orgasm. The holoprogram kept going from there but Seven stopped it ten minutes later as she found herself in a deep state of arousal. She decided to take the Doctor's other set of advice: Take a cold shower.
She only hoped she could regain her composure before the game.
~~~~~
One week later they were preparing to land on the planet that Seven had found. It had only taken four days to get into orbit, but the three days after that had been spent by the senior staff finding out as much as possible about the planet. Also in those three days the Engineering crew shored-up everything as much as possible to prepare Voyager for an atmospheric descent.
Seven spent all of those three days pulling doubles. Her first shift she spent in engineering. Then she spent a few hours in Astrometrics with Ensign Delaney. After that she retired back to the Cargo Bay with all the reports that had accumulated in both Engineering and Astrometrics, and worked on everything from her own workstation. The reason she came back there was that she found her private space comforting and she could enjoy music as well.
She had found a genre of Earth music she enjoyed as much as the blues: Late 20th century and early 21st century Women's Folk Rock. The music was passionate and flowing. It was hard, raw with acoustic or rock guitars and rhythmic bass lines and drums that weren't too loud. But what she appreciated the most was the emotion that flowed out of the women's voices. They spoke of love. They sang of loss and pain. They sang of need. They sang from their hearts.
She worked. But before she realized it, she sang with them.
~~~~~
On the day of the landing, Seven was at her usual workstation in engineering. She was running an analysis of all the data she had accumulated.
B'Elanna entered at 0730, when she usually came in to start her shift. She stole a quick glance at the ex-drone and felt the disgust she usually reserved for Vorik's calm demeanor.
Movement caught her eye, and she noticed the ensign who had surprised her a week back approaching Seven.
"Hey Seven!" Ann started. "I've finished up on those conduits. I wanted to see what's next boss." The cute little woman grinned at Seven.
Seven looked up from her console and grinned back at Ann.
"Run a level 2 diagnostic on this series of relays please Ann."
"Are ya' nervous about the landing Seven?" the Ensign asked
"No, I am not. I believe we are as prepared as we can be. The engineering team, including yourself, has done an acceptable job. Now all that is left is to concentrate during the landing and we will be able to fully repair Voyager once we are on the surface. In fact, I find I am looking forward to the hull repairs." Seven replied.
The Ensign laughed. "You're looking forward to the repairs!? Seven, I've gotta teach you to relax!"
Seven cocked her head to the side and grinned back.
"You are correct. It is not really the repairs themselves that I am anticipating. I find I am anticipating working under the sun in a real atmosphere."
"Oh! I didn't realize you were a sun-bather! Well I can't wait to see the sky myself! Not to mention the shore leave when we're finished! Well, I better get on those relays! See ya' Sev!" Ann waved and bounced off to the relay diagnostics panel.
Before Seven turned back to her console she noticed that Ensign Vorik had arrived for his shift. She reached below her console and pulled out a black and silver candle set. After retrieving them she stepped forward to intercept the young Vulcan, and held the candles in front of her. With her head formally lowered, she bowed slightly and saluted him in his native language.
"Mene Sakkhet ur-seveh" which was Vulcan for 'Live long and prosper'
"Mene Sakkhet ur-seveh" he repeated. "I was not aware that you knew kahr-y-tan (the ways of Vulcan). I appreciate your gesture." With that he repeated her bow, then left to store the gift in his locker. After which he went off to his own workstation.
Seven just turned back to her work as if nothing happened. Curiosity got the better of now flustered Torres.
"What was that about Seven?" she asked rather abruptly.
Seven turned her head to the right and looked at the Lieutenant. She was surprised that the Lieutenant had chosen to speak to her, mostly because she had not done so expect for necessity from the beginning of the week.
"This is a sacred day of meditation in Vulcan culture. The candles I gave him represent my wishes for him to have a long life of control and prosperity. It was merely my wish to comfort him since he will not be able to spend his day in meditation as he most likely would be doing if we were not landing this day." Seven stated calmly.
"Why didn't he tell me!?" B'Elanna asked quite emotionally.
"It would not be proper for a Vulcan to point out such a thing. That would be like asking a Klingon to beg." Seven replied with a smirk.
"How do you know so much about it? And where did you learn Vulcan?" B'Elanna shot back.
"I have endeavored to learn the ways of my crewmates. I learned that people are more comfortable when they can share their culture with those around them. I have often thought that it is unfortunate that the only holidays that seem to be celebrated on Voyager are the terran ones, and some talaxian, as many of our crewmembers have fascinating holidays and rituals. Also, I endeavored to learned the languages of those that I spend any time around. My eidetic memory and already formidable Borg language database makes language acquisition an easy task."
Seven finished her statement and returned her attention to her work, hoping that the conversation had ended. Thus far she had not revealed the extent of her knowledge, and the Lieutenant was not angry. Considering that they had made it through the week without an altercation she wanted it to stay that way.
"So… You know Klingon too?" B'Elanna snorted thinking she had probably caught Seven off guard.
"Yes." Seven replied honestly.
"Really?" B'Elanna was surprised. Not even Tom had bothered to learn any Klingon. The only one on board who had ever spoken any of her mother's language to her was the Captain, and she didn't know very much.
Seven focused on the half Klingon again and grinned.
"Yes. I also know that if we were on a Klingon vessel about to undertake what we are today, there would be a very intriguing set of phrases and actions."
B'Elanna tilted her head and grinned.
"Like what?"
Seven mentally shrugged her shoulders and proceeded to grab the Lieutenant in a bear hug. She growled loudly then exclaimed.
"Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam!" Klingon for 'It is a good day to die.'
After that she head-butted the flabbergasted woman. B'Elanna saw stars and fell to the deck on her butt. She was never very in-tune with Klingon rituals and traditions and to see the lanky ex-drone acting like a Klingon warrior was disconcerting. Everyone else in engineering had turned to look at them at Seven's loud growl. A few people cringed, and the rest tensed waiting for the Lieutenant to explode.
Seven looked down at the shocked expression and wondered what to do. She held out her hand to help up the baffled woman.
"I am sorry Lieutenant. I thought you were braced for our interaction. It was not my intention to injure you." Seven was still not great with apologies, but she tried her best this time.
This seemed to bring B'Elanna out of her shock so she took the offered hand and pulled herself up and into another bear hug with Seven. She wasn't going to be out done by the annoying blonde.
"You didn't hurt me Dogwhl' (silly one)! You surprised me!" She laughed, then gave her best Klingon growl and head-butted Seven right back. "Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam!"
After that she slapped Seven hard on the back and walked away laughing. The rest of the crew was baffled by their superiors behavior, but relieved that there wouldn't be any fighting. So with a good bit of head shaking and shrugging everybody went back to their tasks.
~~~~~
Two days after the landing B'Elanna Torres was prowling around on top of Voyager. It was a rare thing for her to be able to examine the hull from the outside. Even rarer was the opportunity to do so without risking space sickness and having to wear a bulky spacesuit. She was one very happy engineer.
It was a beautiful day and her crew was doing great work. She had just finished her own project and was taking an opportunity to look at the work of her teams. As she approached the port nacelle she heard a female singing. It was a song she didn't recognize, but it was obviously a working song. Whoever was singing had a beautiful voice. She cocked her head and grinned at the Ensign in front of her, whose back was turned to her. She decided to stay there and listen for a while.
"Clearing webs from the hovel
a blistered hand on the handle of a shovel
I've been digging too deep, I always do.
I see my face on the surface
I look a lot like narcissus
A dark abyss of an emptiness
Standing on the edge of a drowning blue.
I look behind my ears for the green
Even my sweat smells clean
Glare off the white hurts my eyes
Gotta get out of bed get a hammer and a nail
Learn how to use my hands, not just my head
I think myself into jail
Now I know a refuge never grows
From a chin in a hand in a thoughtful pose
Gotta tend the earth if you want a rose."
She applauded to let the Ensign know how much she liked her singing. As she applauded the singing abruptly ended so she got up to approach the shy Ensign. The woman looked up curiously, and realizing it was the Chief, stood up at attention.
B'Elanna shook her head and grinned.
"At ease, Ensign."
"Yes ma'am" Ann replied a little timidly.
"Well you didn't have to stop singing on my account! I think you have a great voice. You ought to sing on talent night Ensign." B'Elanna stated with a smile.
"Um.. that wasn't me ma'am. That was Seven. She does have a great voice though doesn't she?" Ann smirked and pointed over towards the nacelle. She leaned in to whisper to the Lieutenant.
"But she's real shy about it, so I hate to say it, you probably just shut her up for a while."
B'Elanna then noticed the repelling gear and magno-locks holding someone over the edge. She walked closer to the edge, then activated her own magnetic boots to keep from slipping. She grabbed one of the ropes and wrapped it around her waist and backed off over the edge.
When she got down to the nacelle she dropped the rope and deactivated her boots. Voyager's nacelles were locked down in a flat position for easy work so she could walk normally on this one without her gear. She headed to the fore of the axis to see what Seven was doing.
"Lieutenant Torres. How may I be of assistance?" Seven queried her without looking up from her task.
"Oh, I don't need anything Seven. I was taking a break and looking around at what progress everyone had made. How are you doing?" B'Elanna responded.
"The nacelle axis was out of calibration. I believe it got hit by debris when our shields were so weak in the last battle. I had to make a manual adjustment and now I am re-calibrating the sensors. Once I am finished with that I will recheck all the relays before inspecting the warp engine nacelle itself." She answered.
B'Elanna watched as Seven's left hand came out of the sensor grid. She noticed that the tips of Seven's fingers seemed to be topped with little tools. Then they morphed back into the normal shape of wire mesh that had always been around her hands.
"Kahless! How'd you do that?!" B'Elanna exclaimed.
Seven looked up at her and tilted her head in question.
"How did I do what Lieutenant?"
"Your hand changed. You had tools on your fingers!" B'Elanna was making a face and pointing to Seven's hand.
Seven thought this was a wonderful opportunity to play a joke on the Lieutenant. With that in mind she looked down at her own hand, then back up at the Lieutenant.
"Lt. Torres, do you require medical assistance? Have you been exposed to too much sun?" Seven was the epitome of the poker faced individual.
B'Elanna blinked rapidly and started opening her mouth and closing it trying to force words out.
"But.. buh….I saw… I mean.. I.. uh… but…"
Seven smirked and sent a signal to her cortical implant to change her finger tips into their previous shape.
"Or was this what your were referring to?"
B'Elanna realized she had just been had. If Seven had done this to her in front of her crew, she would have been livid. But since they were alone she didn't feel angry. 'Was this that dry wit I keep hearing about?' B'Elanna wondered. This was too much for the dumbfound Klingon. She sat down hard on the nacelle and burst out laughing. Seven was very proud that she had succeeded in teasing the feisty chief and let her hand reshape back to normal. It was a pleasing interaction.
~~~~~
Seven closed the panel she had just finished working in. She used a moment to relax in the harness that held her. Her feet were locked tight to the hull with magnetic boots. She closed her eyes and leaned back to feel the sun on her face. She inhaled the clean air deeply. Lieutenant Torres was still giggling and her rich laugh caused Seven to smile. Seven just stored this moment as a happy time to think about on her lonely days.
B'Elanna opened her eyes between giggles and noticed the serene smile upon Seven's face. For once, Seven didn't look like the "Ice Queen" that B'Elanna like to think of her as. 'Every time she smiles I forget to hate her' B'Elanna thought as her laughter subsided completely.
Seven opened her eyes and looked over at B'Elanna. The feisty engineer had a curious look on her face. They locked eyes for a moment, and it was electric. Seven had to stifle an urge to gasp. She knew she was staring into those soft brown eyes and that she had to stop.
Seven looked down to unlock the mechanism holding her in place and began her ascent to the nacelle. Once she was upright she removed the harness from her waist, loosened it from her thighs then stepped out of it. She did not know how to proceed, but really wanted to continue conversing with the half-Klingon.
"Lieutenant, how are the repairs proceeding" she asked softly. She figured it was a safe topic, considering how much Lt. Torres loved her ship.
B'Elanna was initially disappointed to see Seven shift back to formalities. Suddenly it occurred to her that maybe Seven didn't know how to open up with her any more than she would know how to open up to Seven. In fact, looking up at the tall blonde, B'Elanna thought about all the times she had used her Klingon aggression to hide her insecurities. Could it be that Seven hid behind her cold Borg stance?
"Well Seven, if you sit down so I don't have to break my neck to look up at you, I'll go over what I've seen this afternoon with you." She replied with a smirk.
Seven tilted her head curiously at B'Elanna then shifted down to sit, crossing her long legs 'Indian style' with her back still impossibly straight. She laid her hands on her thighs and focused her attention on the engineer.
B'Elanna decided she would find a way to get to the side of Seven that all of her people seemed to see. The first thing she would do was to see if she could have a reasonable departmental conversation with her. 'I'll just talk to her like she was Carey… Well, a beautiful and brilliant version of Carey' she thought. So, she began telling Seven about everything she had learned on her rounds. She then updated her on the reports she had received during the day.
After they had discussed the hull repairs and the internal repairs Seven asked about the mineral retrievals.
"Well, that mountain you pointed out in the middle of the range was perfect! The Geoscientists are having a field day up there. There were 14 separate kimberlite fields around the mountain and 5 durinite incursions. We'll have plenty of duranium and dilithium by the end of the week," B'Elanna grinned. "Thanks for pointing out the right place to start looking."
"I was merely trying to help Lieutenant." Seven stated while looking down at her lap. She couldn't understand why she found herself blushing every time Lt. Torres complimented her.
"Well, it was very 'efficient' Seven," B'Elanna said with a smirk.
Seven looked up at the engineer expecting to find a mocking look and saw only good-hearted mirth. So she allowed a small smile to creep up on one side of her lips and nodded her head. There wasn't anything else Seven could think of to talk about so she stood up and announced "I think I will begin the diagnostics and repair on the nacelle Lieutenant. Thank you for apprising me on the status of the repairs."
B'Elanna was confused. She didn't know what to think about Seven's abrupt ending to their conversation, but she couldn't think of anything else to say. She still wanted to be there for some reason, and it wasn't just the fact that she usually wouldn't let anyone handle the nacelle repairs. She just wasn't sure she wanted to know the reason.
"Sure Seven. Do you need a hand with that?" She inquired looking at the ex-drone removing a large panel off of the nacelle.
"It is 'all-right' Lieutenant. I assure you I am capable of undertaking all of the necessary repairs unaided. Thank you for your offer," Seven replied as she set the panel down. She looked up briefly, just in time to see the Lieutenant standing up, and was once again captivated by her beauty and stealthy strength. She averted her eyes and tried to focus on the tricorder she had retrieved to diagnose the engine.
"Well, Okay. If you need any help you can call," B'Elanna stated as she reactivated her magnetic boots and climbed up the side of Voyager.
Seven took a moment to try and slow her pulse. 'This human state of arousal is really inefficient' she thought. Once she felt a measure of control she threw herself into the repairs, blocking the incident from her mind.
Continued in next part ....