Chapter 8 added on 21 Dec 2001
Disclaimers are in part 1.
Rating: PG13
B'Elanna and Seven stood in the card room, still wrapped in each other's arms, both hesitant over their next move.
"Ladies, if you're done can we get back to the game?" queried Bran in a quiet tone, breaking the silence, and making Seven and B'Elanna realise they had been re-joined by the other players.
"Though if you want to go on with the show…" leered Domino, grasping a tall drink of whiskey in one hand, waving his other expansively in a bid to convince them too continue.
Seven smiled graciously at Bran, having been surprised by his earlier skill she had gained a cautious respect for the unassuming man, and she could detect no hostility, or 'sleaze' in his tone. "I believe we are ready to continue" she said, taking her seat again, "I apologise if you thought I was intentionally creating a distraction - it was not my intention, though it will be to my advantage." She admitted quietly.
"Well, Lady Luck must smile on us all", commented Jerry wryly.
Seven and B'Elanna smiled at each other and watched as the dealer shuffled a newly opened pack of cards.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Can't you get the picture back?" asked Tom, his voice getting louder, "I want to know what that Damn Borg freak is doing with my girl!"
"Enough" yelled Kathryn - struggling to control her own reactions, "We'll find out when we get them back, that is still the priority."
"Got it," said Harry, his relief evident, "I'll just, uh, check the signal" he suggested, standing so his frame obstructed the others view of the screen. He sent a quite wish to whoever was listening on flicked on the screen; sighing in relief at the far more platonic arena they were now in.
"Look" he said moving away, revealing the screen to the assembled others.
~~~~~~~~~~~
It was the third hand since the restart, Seven had won two in decisive fashion, having withdrawn from the other even though she held four jacks. B'Elanna had looked open-mouthed at that decision; only to see Bran calmly lay down four Queens.
Around them the holodeck façade was changing - becoming less distinct as Seven's pile of chips increased. As she won each chip, the nanoprobe stamped on top of it disappeared.
"At least three must be diamonds," explained Seven in a quite voice, in answer to B'Elanna's still puzzled gaze.
"Why diamonds?" B'Elanna asked in confusion, having not noticed the chips, Seven's hands were far more interesting to look at in the end…
"It is a symptom of the nanoprobes adapting the environment to us," explained Seven, ignoring the heat in B'Elanna's gaze. "They have been adapting to aid us, using the resources of the holodeck as a solution to the problem, rather than just raw data to draw on. That is why we got jobs with no effort and not just random jobs, but ones that were perfectly suited to us. Why we received an advance before we even started work, how we found somewhere to live so easily. Even the clothes we found fitted us personally, the people who guided us, the food we liked and…"
"The showing us the way home" cut in B'Elanna.
Seven nodded in conformation, "Since the nanoprobes could not directly re-integrate themselves to me,"
"They adapted the surroundings to your requirements," said B'Elanna, her gaze turning introspective, "So as you come into contact with them they are in a recognisable, and re-absorbable form." She said, gesturing to indicate the growing pile of chips in front of Seven, and finally noticing the changes in them. "The more chips you win…"
"…The more nano's are absorbed back into my body, so undoing the sub-program we are trapped in." said Seven, in a slightly distracted tone as she picked up her fourth hand.
"Clever little things aren't they?" Grinned B'Elanna - spotting the slight 'fading' of the holodeck surroundings, for a moment she could have sworn she saw Tom and Harry watching them from through the window, along with two indistinct figures behind them.
Seven smirked - having spotted them too, and then turned her attention back to the game.
"I think we can win this," she said quietly after looking at her cards.
"Be careful," cautioned B'Elanna, "We're so close now…"
Seven smiled…
She sat quietly, surveying the other three players at the table, two black spiralled backed cards lay face down in front of each player, three cards face up in front of the dealer. The eight of hearts, each heart deep red and almost three-dimensional, somehow mocking in its elegance and beauty. The King of clubs his dark goatee beard setting off a sneer that marked the figure as a dark scoundrel a comic villain. Lastly the Ten of diamonds, not crudely shaded in red or orange, but instead each coated in sparkling varnish that caught the light and shone up reflecting against the metal that adorned each player, on chains, buttons or other ornamentation.
The real life scoundrel, wearing a platinum chain seemed nervous, his hands drummed relentlessly on the uppermost of his cards, staring intently at the deck as if willing his luck to change. His pile of chips was the smallest.
Next to him sat a fresh-faced young looking man, his pile of chips was only slightly bigger. Still he didn't fidget, his hands were clasped together in front of him, a worn fedora pulled down to obscure his eyes and the innocence that might betray him.
Opposite sat a middle-aged man, middle aged in the way that some people are born that way. His age was immaterial it was his fussy manner, his smug smile and sense of innate self-confidence that marked him, he stared at each player in turn, before stopping to reassure himself that his hand was as good as he remembered.
"I'll raise one hundred" the angel spoke distinctly.
I'll match you and raise another twenty" The middle-aged player straightened his already impeccably placed tie.
"Too rich for me" the scoundrel looked petulant, turning his cards face up and throwing them disgustedly at the dealer. A two of clubs and a seven of realistically shaped spades were revealed.
"I'll live to fight another day," said the boyish young man as he too revealed his cards, a neatly aligned four of hearts and a six of diamonds, then them slid across the table calmly.
"I will 'see' you" the lanky woman declared, placing the rest of her chips in the centre, she lifted her card from the table but held them in such away that they were still concealed from the other player's views.
The bald gentleman nodded his ascent, and thrust his chips into the centre as well. The dealer turned the last three cards. A King of Diamonds, resplendent in white robes. A nine of diamonds, glittering in the subdued lounge light and a four of spades, arranged in a central cross.
"Ha!, Full House." He said, revealing the King of Spades, his hands worn by labour as reached out to the edge of the card and an understated eight of clubs, with slightest of red tinges on each on each of the studded wooden clubs.
The angel smiled, her face stretched wide as a single golden wave laid down the side of her face, "Royal Straight" and she tilted her hand displaying a Queen of Diamonds, looking almost as striking as her and a Jack of Diamonds grinning mischievously.
"Damn Seven, that's the third hand in a row!" Domino sulked, drinking deeply from his tankard, "I give up, I'm going home too my wife."
"We should all be so lucky" smirked Jerry.
"Hey get your own" sniped Domino, as he wrapped his arm round Jerry's shoulders and slapped him across the back of the head. Jerry winced then clambered to his feet, resetting his hat and brushing some non-existent dirt of his double breasted deep brown suit, "I think I'll head home too, ma'am" he quirked an eyebrow at Seven and headed for the emerging holodeck doors.
"Yes well" mumbled Bran, "The best machine and all…" then he vanished, his matrix disappearing as the holodeck became re-aligned.
Seven smiled, shooting a triumphant glance over at B'Elanna, "Computer end program" she gathered up the stack of nano-chips she had won just as the table they were resting on vanished, as did the rest of the 1920's saloon lounge in which they had been playing…
~~~~~~~~~~~
What happened next could have been messy, it could have been marked by recrimination or distrust, the partners waiting, the friends looking on and the simmering tension between the two women who were now emerging into the black and yellow grid room.
They faded back in, almost as if it was an effort to appear back in the real world looking tired and drawn, B'Elanna's arm was wrapped round Seven's shoulders, Janeway bristled - but Harry laid a remarkably perceptive hand on her shoulder, flicking his eyes to indicate that B'Elanna was in fact wrapping her tunic round Seven's shoulders, as her elegant cocktail dress disappeared in a shimmer of photons, leaving B'Elanna herself clad only in the grey uniform top, that barely covered anything.
Tom, with typical perception rushed at B'Elanna,
"Lanna" he exclaimed wrapping his arms around her, before remembering some etiquette was required and shrugging of his uniform top to help cover his rather cold wife, while insistently dragging her towards the now visible and open holodeck doors.
Harry excused himself quietly, the Doctor, (knowing when to run) mumbled something about "full medicals for gallivanting and irresponsible crew members." Before he transferred back to sickbay.
Janeway and Seven stood, looking intently at each other - a gap of less than a metre and a thousand mile between them.
"Kathryn"
"Seven"
They spoke together - and B'Elanna looked back just as the holodeck doors shut.
The End?