Part 3 added on 20 September 2000
Disclaimers are in part 1.
Rating: PG13
The corona of the dying sun was bright in the view screens of the two Diianic ships, proximity to the sun would, in time, be fatal to everything within its extended gravitational range, as what had once been home to a now extinct civilisation collapsed in upon itself. However it was not the astrological aspects of this sight, or even the beautiful display of colour it was providing for the universe that interested the Diianic, it was the ship nestled just beyond. For three weeks, since their failed attempt to destroy the trespasser, the two ships had been following the ion trail left by the fleeing vessel, although measures had obviously been taken to mask their escape, time, patience and luck had enabled the captain's of the twin vessels to locate their target.
For twenty hours the two ships had carried out a systematic search of the area encompassing the dying sun, their sensors failing to pick up any trace of the other ship. Then when they were considering moving the search to another vector sensors indicated what appeared to be an asteroid exiting the gravitational wake of the sun. As the object increased its distance from the sun the Diianic sensors were able to discern that it was in fact the ship they had been following. Positive of the identification of the trespassers the two ships retreated to a distance outside normal sensor range of the other vessel, they too now using the sun's energy and gravitational fluxes to mask their presence.
For now the two ships would wait for the arrival of the prima vessel, a larger ship that was controlled by one of the sons of the upper charr, who would then take over as lead in the attack. The Diianic were a patient race, in stories told of the first charr's a wronged leader had trailed and planned revenge on an intruder for seventy four days before taking action, by the time justice was dealt the first charr was too weak, from lack of food and rest, to continue home and so died by the body of his fallen victim. This was a story of courage and determination for the Diianic people, and every man or woman who entered into service hoped one day to test themselves in this manner and be proven worthy.
B'Elanna Torres couldn't sleep. For over two hours she lay in her bed, body fidgeting and mind racing, before giving in and heading back to engineering. She didn't know why she was having difficulty falling off to sleep, usually once repairs or upgrades had been finished she slept soundly, making up for all the lost hours she had devoted to the ship. Tonight was different, the success of the test, even though the first of three, had allayed her fears over the sensors, and as she had explained to Seven, now the sensors were up she should feel less apprehensive and so sleep easier, but she wasn't. Seven. Why did her mind keep going back to the former drone? The way she spoke, the tiny expressions that flitted across her face, even the way that damn implant arched above her brow, sometimes making B'Elanna want to punch her, and other times to kiss her... No not kiss, that wasn't right, maybe hug... No that couldn't be right either, the mere thought of the half klingon enveloping the ex-borg in an embrace would have the crew laughing in disbelief, and they'd be right to laugh, it was not something that would ever happen of that B'Elanna felt certain, or at least she always had. "Stupid borg." She muttered, as if the blame for her insomnia was all Seven's, and reached for the closest data pad and the safety of her work.
B'Elanna soon found that even her work was somehow plotting against her attempts to put the young borg from her mind, 20 minutes into her task she realised that she would need an isometric crosshatch spanner, but on questioning the computer for the whereabouts of the infrequently used item found it was kept in a storage container in cargo bay 2, the same cargo bay where Seven would at that moment be regenerating. "Stupid spanner."
After a further hour of avoidance and self imposed delays B'Elanna found herself outside cargo bay 2. She stood just beyond the range of the door's sensor debating with herself whether or not to enter, it would not be the first time she had been in the cargo bay while Seven was regenerating, but this time it felt like an invasion of the other woman's privacy, and that was not something she felt entitled to do. Still she needed the spanner, and this was a cargo bay after all not crew quarters, but it was also Seven's home. B'Elanna turned to leave, but her duty as head of engineering forced her to turn back, she was an engineer and she needed her tools, "Stupid damn spanner." The cargo bay was quiet and, its normal lights having dimmed in accord with the imposed night aboard ship, glowed with a slight greenish tinge courtesy of the borg alcoves. It was those alcoves that the half klingon was trying desperately not to look at, feeling that if she didn't see Seven then she wouldn't be invading her privacy, or at least that was what she was trying to rationalise to herself. The urge to look was strong, and B'Elanna wondered how many others while fetching something from the large storage room had stopped to stare at the young woman in sleep. The thought disturbed her, what was Janeway thinking, regeneration although not exactly sleeping, was a time of vulnerability for Seven and the Captain should have realised that and provided her with a place of adequate privacy, she would talk to the Captain.
B'Elanna consulted her data pad for the number of the spanner's storage unit, and went off to search for it. Her search took her to the area directly in front of Seven's alcove, but by walking with the top half of her body swivelled to the left she managed to proceed and still keep her eyes from straying to the sleeping form. Unfortunately it also kept her from seeing the data pad storage unit that was directly in her path.
Thump!
'That hurt' was B'Elanna's first thought as she found herself flat on her face at the base of the borg alcoves, the string of curses in human, klingon and a number of other colourful languages was the next thing to cross her mind, then just as she started to put those thoughts into words she looked up from her prone position and found herself looking directly at the still form of Seven of Nine. From her position on the floor the half klingon's eyes slowly travelled up the length of Seven's body, taking in the long shapely legs encased in the shimmering blue of the skin-tight biosuit, then moving on to the hips and tiny waist before reaching the curves of her chest. It was at that point that she remembered a remark made by Tom, which at the time had earned him a punch in the arm, and realising that similar thoughts, although not as crudely expressed, were now entering her mind, broke from the stare and scrambled to sit up.
"Is there something you require Lieutenant?" Came the smooth, and B'Elanna thought, amused voice of the alcoves occupant.
"What? No, well yes." Quickly getting to her feet B'Elanna made a show of brushing down her trouser legs to avoid having to look at the other woman.
"Which is it Lieutenant?" Seven questioned, stepping out from the alcove and moving to the area in front of the engineer.
"I." B'Elanna stopped her frantic brushing and taking a steadying breath met Seven's gaze, she wondered if the former borg could still detect her blush in the dim lighting, then catching sight of the ocular implant had her answer. "I was looking for something."
"On the floor?"
"No!" The half klingon suppressed the sudden urge to again start brushing down her clothes. "I'm looking for an isometric crosshatch spanner." So there, she added under her breath and turned back to look at the containers she had been searching.
"Why did you not ask for my assistance?" Seven pressed, walking up to stand behind the other woman.
"You were.. " B'Elanna turned to answer and found Seven standing only inches in front of her face, "regenerating." She leaned back to give her more distance from the blonde while not appearing to run from her. "I didn't want to invade your privacy."
"My privacy?" The ocular implant rose, and punching Seven definitely wasn't what went through B'Elanna's mind.
"You were sleeping, its bad manners to interrupt someone when they are asleep, especially when you're the one invading their home."
"But I do not have a home to be invaded." The ocular implant went up a notch, as did the half klingon's temperature.
"Seven this is where you live and sleep," seeing her about to protest B'Elanna qualified "I know you don't actually sleep as such, but you still deserve to have privacy while you regenerate. I'm surprised the Captain never suggested something along those lines."
"I do not believe the Captain shares your views on my regeneration cycle."
"Why do you think that?"
"Because she has in the past interrupted my regeneration cycle to discuss ships business, and been present while I 'slept', so she obviously does not see it as a breach of my privacy."
"But it is!" B'Elanna almost yelled, she was most definitely going to have words with the Captain over this matter, didn't Janeway see how important it was for a person to have their own space, wasn't that part of the reasoning behind most penal systems, to deny privacy as punishment. "Every other member of the crew has somewhere they can be alone without interruption, even the doctor has his office, but the place where you regenerate is open to everyone. That's just not right."
Seven studied B'Elanna for a moment, "Then why did you not say anything sooner?"
"I guess I just never thought about it," the half klingon lowered her head, "I'm sorry Seven, I should have realised before, instead I just used to barge in here without thinking."
"You apologised." Seven stated quietly as she studied the other woman, and when B'Elanna's eyes looked up to meet hers, she smiled "Apology accepted."
Standing so close to Seven and witnessing that sweetest of smiles was too much for the fiery woman, B'Elanna knew she had to get away from Seven, and fast, before she made a bigger fool of herself or started something she wasn't sure she could handle. Taking half a step back she turned and waving the data pad at Seven over her shoulder mumbled "gotta find the spanner" and started pulling off the lid to one of the containers. Her head stuck inside the container while rooting around at the bottom in a futile search for the missing piece of equipment B'Elanna felt a warm hand press into her back.
"Lieutenant?" Called Seven, and the half klingon raised her head to once again find herself looking into the eyes of the other woman. "Is this what you want?" B'Elanna's mind shouted 'Yes' before her eyes took in the metal object that was being presented to her.
"Errm, yes." B'Elanna took the tool, "thank you Seven." Now in possession of what she came for the engineer prepared to make a hasty retreat, but her body defied her wishes and instead took the opportunity to soak up the warmth from the hand that was now loosely resting on her arm, a hand that didn't seem too eager to be removed. "Red Alert!"
The two women turned to look towards the doors of the cargo bay as the warning came blaring out of the comm. system, then with one final look at one another, turned and left for their stations, all thoughts and confusions concerning the other forgotten in the rush to confront the newest danger facing the ship.
In astrometrics the delta shift had been familiarising itself with the newly improved sensors. A young Bajoran officer, Tel Celes, had been checking her readings for the area behind the dying sun, Voyager's closest neighbour and partial shield, when something began to register on her display. A shape was beginning to form at the edge of sensor range, and as Celes fine tuned her readings the image of three vessels began to materialise. The nervous officer looked about her for someone to confirm what she had seen, but no one was currently in the room with her, so she double checked her readings, then triple checked them, but still the three ships remained.
"Astrometrics to the bridge." Came a slightly wavering voice over the bridge's comm. "We are detecting three vessels in formation in an area behind the sun."
"Do you know who's ships they are?" Questioned Lieutenant Bloom, the officer in charge of the bridge during the delta shift.
"No, they're too far away." Celes cut off her answer to enter more commands into her station. "I think they could be of a similar type to the ships that recently attacked us."
"You think?" Bloom sounded less than thrilled with the answer, "are they moving towards us?"
"No, they're in a stationary position."
Bloom made the decision and set the ship on red alert, then contacted the Captain to fully explain the current situation.
An hour later the senior officers sat around the conference table, Seven was reciting the information gathered by her team on the three mystery vessels, which was little more than that first reported by Tel Celes.
"So they're just sat watching us." Interrupted Tom Paris
"From what we know of their sensors it is improbable that they can detect us at this time, but they are in an excellent position to register any move made by us from the protection of the sun's gravitational fluxes." Seven spared the helmsman a brief look, she had already explained it once but obviously the language used had too many syllables for the man. "Their knowledge of our whereabouts was probably gained during the time Voyager extended its distance from the sun to test the new sensors."
"So if it wasn't for your new sensors they wouldn't have found us." Paris continued, this new emergency was upsetting his plans, and it was all down to the borg and his wandering girlfriend, if she'd spent more time with him and less with the insides of the ship they wouldn't be in this mess.
"Mr Paris," interrupted the Captain not liking the tone in his voice, "it is unimportant how they found us, what I want to know is why they are trailing us and what the options are in case of another attack." Janeway looked around the table taking in each of her officers in turn, her eyes finally resting on Tuvok.
"Without sufficient data on the species controlling the vessels it is difficult to ascertain the reason behind their first attack or their currant actions. However, unprovoked attacks from an unknown species often fall into one of two categories." Tuvok paused, then seeing Mr Kim about to ask an unnecessary question in an illogical attempt to speed up his commentary, continued. "Firstly, that our presence contravened a social custom or law pertaining to these people, they could be xenophobic or deny all access to their space."
"But wouldn't they inform us if it was just a case of encroaching on their space?" Cut in Chakotay.
"Not necessarily, even in some human cultures trespassing was punished by instant death." Chakotay nodded for Tuvok to continue, "Secondly the attackers might have seen us as an easy target for profit."
"They got that wrong." Piped up the chief engineer.
"Precisely." The Vulcan concluded, "that is why the first option is the more probable."
"And the harder to stop," added the Captain, "if they were merely after profit there would come a time when the costs involved would exceed any suspected profits, and make the venture unviable, therefore we could have just waited them out."
"It could still be possible to wait them out." Said Seven.
"Yes, but I also want other options." The Captain again looked around the room.
"What about the new cloak you've been working on?" Chakotay questioned B'Elanna.
"I've thought about that, but the cloaking device we've been developing is specifically designed to fool borg technology. I'm not sure it could be successfully modified to fool these ships." B'Elanna looked towards Seven for confirmation.
"Our knowledge of the vessels is extremely limited, and as the cloaking device interferes with the ships weapons system it would be unwise to test it under live fire without another source of weapons support." Seven gave the engineer a small smile on finishing, it was not lost on her the way the other woman included her in the engineering decisions, not something she would have willingly done before.
"What about the Delta Flyer?" Came Tom's excited voice, visions of Captain Proton to the rescue were flooding his mind and saving Voyager from the vessels would be a great way to earn back his pips. "I could take her out and provide covering fire while we see if the cloak works."
"That would leave the Flyer alone to face the other vessels," B'Elanna reasoned, "if the cloak did work we couldn't engage in the fight without showing ourselves."
Tom gave B'Elanna a condescending smile, he was glad to see what he thought was concern for his safety from his girlfriend, even if in doing so she was under appreciating his skills as a pilot, but he was confident he could handle anything that was thrown at him. "The Delta Flyer is capable of holding its own."
"Really?" Said Tuvok.
"Really?" Echoed Seven.
"Yeah, I mean if things got tight and you couldn't provide back up I could simply head back behind the sun and join up with Voyager," Tom looked towards the Captain as he explained his idea, there was no way cold fish like Tuvok or Seven would be able to recognise the beauty of his simple plan, for either of them to get involved an idea would need forty two contingencies, with a data pad full of facts and figures to back it up, but he knew the Captain would appreciate it.
"Tom, I want you to work with Tuvok on testing your theory." Kathryn wasn't really convinced by the idea, but perhaps with the Vulcan's involvement they could come up with a workable idea. "I also want you to start training a few more pilots, as we've already discussed, but not knowing the time frame I would suggest you pick those who are already fairly skilled and work on improving them, four people should be enough a present."
"Yes ma'am." This was better than he could have hoped for.
"B'Elanna, Seven, I want the two of you to work on getting the cloak up and running, its top priority so take all the people and resources you need. I also want the engines ready for immediate warp if we're forced to make a run for it."
"Yes Captain." They answered in unison.
"Harry, while Seven is engaged with working on the cloak, I want you to supervise the sensors." Janeway caste a quick glance at the borg to make sure she wasn't about to protest at the intrusion, but Seven seemed more concerned with whatever was on Torres's data pad. "I want anything you can find out about our three watchers."
"Ma'am"
"Tuvok, I want to see our tactical options," glancing again at the other two women the Captain hoped to gain confidence about the workability of the shields, but instead noticed something else about their interaction that unnerved her and left her feeling somewhat dejected, although it had nothing to do with the crisis, "with or without the cloak."
After dismissing her officers Janeway watched them file out, Tom deep in discussion with Harry over the choices for pilot training didn't seem to notice B'Elanna walking unusually close to Seven. Nor did he seem to pay attention when just as they left her field of vision the half klingon put her hand on Seven's arm. 'What's going on there' she thought, wanting her officers to get along was one thing but seeing someone else touch Seven was different, even though she wasn't sure why, besides if anything was going on wouldn't Tom have noticed?
Kathryn cleared her mind of such thoughts, being threatened with enemy attack was hardly the right time to go probing her psyche, or develop paranoia. She would sit and have a good talk with Seven as soon as the crisis lessened, it was about time she allowed herself to get close again with the young woman.