photo by Trish Ellis

                              Sea to Shining Sea
                                 by S. Thompson

"Chakotay to Janeway," her combadge chirped. "We’ve reached the coordinates."

"On my way," Captain Kathryn Janeway said, a grin curling the corners of her lips.

She happily dropped the uncompleted personnel reports back onto the desktop. There was no pressing need to finish them. It wasn’t like she had to turn the reports in to Starfleet the next day. That was one good thing about being stranded in the Delta Quadrant, 55,000 light years from home, she thought. Probably the only good thing.

Voyager had reached a prearranged set of coordinates in the Denkara sector.

They were running low on supplies of dilithium and organic food stuffs. Seven and the captain were going to take the shuttle Cochrane to a nearby uninhabited class H planet, heavy with sources of dilithium. At the same time, Lieutenant Paris and Mr. Neelix would take the Delta Flyer to a nearby M-class planet to restock their food supplies.

As privilege of rank the captain would normally have utilized the more advanced Delta Flyer instead of a class two shuttle, but Tom and Neelix would need the multiphasic shielding of the flyer since the atmosphere of the M-class planet was heavy with radiogenic particles.

Kathryn knew it was the first officer’s duty to lead the away mission, but needed the chance to stretch her legs a little. It had been a very long time since she had left the ship and she felt as though she was going stir crazy. Chakotay, dear friend that he had always been, understood completely. Janeway suspected that he also wouldn’t mind taking command of the ship for a little while.

B’Elanna Torres should have been on the away team as well. As chief engineer, she should oversee the mining of the precious ore. However, with all the ship’s systems already at critical, Voyager needed the irreplaceable engineer and Seven of Nine, former Borg drone, was perfectly capable of assisting the captain. By taking the recalcitrant blonde it would also prevent Tuvok from trying to send a security team to protect her. It wouldn’t do for the captain to be off the ship without protection, Kathryn thought wryly and Seven was imminently suited for the task.

She was also Kathryn’s friend and she enjoyed spending time with the young woman. True, she had other friends on the ship, but her rank always seemed to create an invisible barrier. It was a barrier Seven either didn’t see or ignored all together and Kathryn admired people who didn’t accept the status quo.

The fact that she had always felt a certain attraction for the sexy blonde bombshell had no bearing on the situation at all.

She swaggered out of her ready room that day feeling as though she could tackle the universe, and win.

"You have the bridge," she said cheerfully, walking past the command center and onto the turbolift.

Chakotay grinned at her and said, "I’ll have her cleaned and polished before I return the keys to you."

"See that you do," Kathryn said with mock sternness as the doors hissed closed.

She gave the command for the lift to take her to deck ten and the shuttle bays and was immediately lost in the planning of the next few days. Seven and the captain would make the short journey to the small desert-like planetoid in about six hours. They had all the supplies on board the Cochrane necessary for mining the ore as well as camping supplies. Emergency rations and supplies were also included and could sustain them for six months in the event of an unforseen occurrence.

In this calm region of space such an event was unlikely, but the Delta Quadrant liked to keep the tiny crew on their toes. They had learned to plan for such contingencies.

The lift suddenly arrived at its destination and she stepped into the bay to see Seven, Lieutenant Paris and Neelix, their friendly Delta Quadrant guide, had already arrived. They were dressed smartly and held various instruments suited for their assigned duties.

Seven held a large engineering toolkit. Kathryn knew it contained modified instruments that the ex-Borg felt would be more efficient than the various gadgetry already safely ensconced in the shuttle. Tom and Neelix held additional testing equipment and specially calibrated tricorders for locating edibles and screening out toxins.

Kathryn felt her chest swell slightly with pride as it did when her people displayed the professionalism and can-do attitude she had always associated with Starfleet and the Federation.

"Well, it looks like you’re all ready to go."

"Yes ma’am," Tom replied enthusiastically. "I’m looking forward to seeing something besides the inside of this tin can for a while."

"Not getting claustrophobic, are you?" she teased.

Tom’s face flushed slightly, and Kathryn felt mildly guilty for ribbing him. She knew he had suffered a slight bout of claustrophobia when Voyager had been forced to cross a highly irradiated nebula a few months before. The entire crew had been put into stasis pods for the journey, with the exception of Seven and the Doctor as they had proven immune to the effects of the radiation.

Lieutenant Paris had felt it necessary to escape his confinement during the voyage and had to be returned to his tube several times.

"It’s all right, Tom," she said, gently laying a hand on his forearm. "I’m just teasing you." 

The touch seemed to comfort him, as was her intention. Touching was something she enjoyed. She was a very physical person, but because of her position had a certain forced distance from the other members of the crew.

"We should get going if we’re going to rendezvous with Voyager in a week," she said.

"We should be able to find everything we need at this little planet," Neelix said with his usual exuberance. "I can’t wait to feel the sun shining on my face and to smell all of the growing things."

Kathryn couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm for all life. In this way, he was very much like Kes. The diminutive Ocampa had only been on Voyager for a short time, but she had touched Janeway profoundly and she knew she would never forget her.

For some reason, the thought of Kes brought on a sudden lonely feeling that made her chest ache, and Kathryn knew it was time to change the subject.

"If you run into any problems, be sure to contact Commander Chakotay. Seven and I will be out of range, so we won’t be able to come to your rescue if you get into trouble."

"Come on, Captain," Tom said, "How much trouble could Neelix and I possibly get into? This planet isn’t even inhabited."

"Lieutenant Paris," Seven said, speaking for the first time. "I have observed that your propensity for finding trouble is second only to that of Mr. Neelix. I am surprised that the Captain agreed to the pairing of you both for this mission."

Neelix only chuckled good-naturedly while Tom flailed for a reply. He couldn’t find one and they settled for proceeding to their assigned shuttles, preparing for the launch.

Captain Janeway had decided to let the Delta Flyer vacate the shuttle bay first. Their trip to the small planet would take approximately the same amount of time as her own, but she felt the need to make sure they disembarked safely. She called it her ‘mother hen’ instinct.

"Initiating pre-launch sequence," Seven informed the captain in her measured tones.

"Thrusters enabled," Janeway responded. "All systems are standing by."

The Delta Flyer exited smoothly from the hanger doors, with the Cochrane following closely behind. Two thousand kilometers from the aft shuttle bay their paths diverged. The Delta Flyer turned to starboard, while the Cochrane veered to port.

"Janeway to Voyager, all systems nominal. We’ll see you in six days, Commander."

"Understood, captain. Enjoy your vacation," he teased gently. "Voyager out."

Seven made some minor course corrections to the helm controls. "Preparing to go to warp," she said.

"Warp one on my command. Mark."

The stars whizzed by with all the colors of a rainbow. Spatial anomalies and asteroid belts merged with the colors creating a fantasy of light. Kathryn had always enjoyed space at warp speed. She found it relaxing even in the most trying of times.

When fighting the Kazon, or Hirogen she would take a moment to watch the star field, and draw strength from the infinity of night. Now she sat watching, thinking of a few moments before in the shuttle bay. Her reaction to remembering Kes occupied her thoughts.

Kathryn knew Kes’ leaving had devastated her in the most silent and profound of ways. Their relationship had been one of friendship. Yet, she felt strangely protective of the young Ocampa. She wanted to think it was a mother/daughter sort of thing, but in her heart she knew better.

She had never engaged in a physical relationship with another woman. All of her lovers had been male. Kathryn knew that was not the sort of relationship for her and Kes, but had to admit she had wanted it. She was curious about such a joining. It wasn’t that she had been in love with Kes. She hadn’t been. It was something else.

Kes made her feel so many things; trust, respect, feelings of protectiveness. All of these figured into it. But there was more. A sense of peace and tenderness that she’d never felt for another. These feelings drew her to the young woman; she would have reveled in a physical joining. But that’s all it could have been. She knew her place. She couldn’t be involved with a member of the crew so she hadn’t taken the chance, and she had lost her.

Watching the stars whizzing by it suddenly occurred to Kathryn why her thoughts were so chaotic. The young woman beside her reminded her of Kes a great deal. She had the same innocence. True, she was more outspoken, brutally so, but she had such a fresh look at everything. Janeway had felt the same protectiveness toward Seven as well, although she had to admit it was misdirected. The former drone was physically capable of looking after herself.

Part of the thing with Kes had been Kathryn’s own awakening of attractions to the female form.

And the situation really hadn’t changed. It was inappropriate for her to get involved with a member of the crew. Even if Seven would agree to it, which Kathryn didn’t think she would. It wasn’t that Kathryn was comparing Seven to the Ocampa either, she ruefully acknowledged. Seven did remind her of Kes, but that was where the comparison ended.

Kathryn knew she was more than attracted to the ex-drone. She wanted her in a way she hadn’t felt in a long time, if ever. She had never felt this way for her former fiances, Justin or Mark, and she had often wondered why. She had loved them, planned to marry them for heaven’s sakes. But they had never occupied her every waking, and sleeping, moments.

When she was with the woman, her blood seemed to sing in her veins. During staff meetings, she often found herself fantasizing while surreptitiously watching the long, graceful body move with a contained, leonine strength. Often, she was immeasurably grateful that the briefing padds recorded the meetings verbatim, having lost complete track of the discussion. Especially if it were one in which Neelix droned on and on about Delta Quadrant recipes, or the Doctor about his holo-pictures.

She was just going to have to learn to deal with her emotions, find a way to turn them off, or at least down. It wouldn’t be fair to Seven if she caught on about her captain’s feelings. She might feel pressured in some way, and that was unacceptable to Kathryn. She wouldn’t push the young woman into something she wasn’t ready for, certainly not with a forty-four year-old Starfleet captain, whose first love would always have to be her ship.

It was time to get up and check their equipment. She unstrapped from the chair and wandered toward the rear of the shuttle. Seven was checking sensors and monitoring all readings coming through the control panel. Kathryn was confident she would be alerted if she needed to strap back in.

She sat in the aft section checking the survival packs. They were supplied with small tool kits, a thermal blanket, emergency rations, medical instruments, and various other survival equipment. They even held a small cooking kit. As she checked the equipment she wondered what her companion thought about. The young blonde was quiet and self-contained, but Kathryn suspected there was a wealth of untapped passion resting just beneath the deceptively calm surface.

Then again, perhaps that was wishful thinking.

**********************

Seven was lost in her own turbulent thoughts.

Her cortical implant made it possible for her to execute commands into the flight path, analyze the myriad of data streaming in from the sensors and to concentrate fully on her own thoughts.

She was alone with the Captain. Although she didn’t show it, she was quite nervous about that arrangement. Voyager’s hierarchy demanded the safety of the captain over the well being of all other ship’s personnel. It was an honor to be entrusted with this great responsibility, one that she hoped she could live up to.

Seven relished the time spent with the dynamic redhead. Whether that time was spent in a game of velocity, or philosophical discussions, or nothing in general. Although Seven found doing nothing illogical it was still enjoyable if the Captain were somehow included.

Seven looked up at the star field through the forward view port. She could see a reflection of the Captain as she sat bent over her task. The lanky blonde traced the curve of the strong jaw, and silently mapped every angle of the beloved face.

The captain had done more than severe her from the collective. She had given the young woman life, for surely she had not really lived as a Borg drone. She felt a sudden clutching sensation in the pit of her stomach. She had been feeling this odd sensation for the last few months and discovered it only happened when she was in proximity to Janeway. After much research, she had been disconcerted to discover she was in love with the captain.

A shrill bleeping sound erupted from the sensors and Seven looked down, momentarily confused from the sudden shift.

"Captain. sensors are picking up a massive ion wake closing from astern."

Janeway quickly stowed the survival equipment where it wouldn’t fly around, asking, "How long until it hits us?"

"Approximately four minutes," Seven replied tersely. "Captain, please take your seat and strap in."

Deciding not to be stubborn, Kathryn took her advice and returned to the copilot chair. She strapped in just as she felt the beginnings of a bumpy ride.

"Inertial dampers at maximum," Janeway said, inputting the commands. "Increase power to the shields."

"Attempting to reroute power from secondary systems," Seven replied.

Suddenly, the wave was upon them. The shuttle was spun tightly as the swirling vortex of the storm caught up with them. Kathryn felt the centripetal force throw her hard against the restraints and fought to control the g forces, feeling like she was on the roller coaster from hell. She couldn’t reach the helm controls!

"Seven, can you access the navigational array?" the captain shouted over the groaning of the hull.

"Attempting to do so."

Her voice sounded strained and Janeway could see the muscles bunching in her shoulders as she struggled to reach the controls. The mesh encased left hand dug into the edge of the control panel and the captain could hear the deuterium straining against her grip. Slowly, Seven inched her hand closer to the instruments. Kathryn held her breath, somehow convinced that it would help Seven accomplish her objective.

Finally, she accessed the array and turned them away from the crest of the ion wave. The shuttle flew along with debris, caught inside the storm. They couldn’t control their speed or direction, but at least they were flying straight. Now, they just had to pray they didn’t run into a stationary object, like an asteroid.

"Some vacation this is turning out to be," Kathryn grumbled. "I guess we’ll just have to hang on and see where this thing dumps us."

Since there was little else they could do, Seven accepted this wordlessly as very sound advice. The ion storm continued to pass the helpless vessel. Systems shorted and sizzled as they overloaded. The shuttle pitched sickeningly for a moment and Kathryn’s head smacked into the bulkhead.

Shaking her head slightly to clear the fuzz, she ordered, "Send a mayday to Voyager."

"Communications are down," Seven informed the captain calmly.

"What about a distress beacon?"

"It would be destroyed by the ion storm."

The ion storm carried them for about forty minutes before passing on. It ended as abruptly as it had begun. For a moment, Kathryn felt queasy at the sudden stillness.

Accessing the stellar maps, she discovered the wake had carried them about ten light years. If her calculations were right, it would take Voyager approximately a month at high warp to find the small shuttle. That was if they could locate the shuttle’s warp trail. There was no choice but to turn back and try to intercept them.

"Are communications back up?" she asked, feeling blood running down her temple where she had smacked it earlier. A headache was beginning to throb behind her eyes.

"No, Captain. I am attempting repairs as we speak."

"Stay on it. I’m laying in a course along our previous trajectory. One quarter impulse. We’ll have to forget about gathering the dilithium. I just hope Tom and Neelix are having better luck."

"It is unlikely that the Delta Flyer encountered a similar ion storm. Their course was projected away from the originating point of the wake."

"Well, that’s good news," she quipped, feeling irritated as the blood soaked into her collar and pooled wetly.

There was no time to care for trivial injuries. If they didn’t get communications reestablished with Voyager, they were going to be in serious trouble.

"Captain,"

The urgency in Seven’s voice caught Kathryn by surprise. She looked up to see the young woman staring at the control console. When the ice blue gaze locked with the captain’s, Janeway knew a sudden surge of fear.

"The power core is overloading. I estimate three minutes until a full breech."

"Can you shut it down?" Kathryn rasped even as she began scanning for a habitable planetoid to transport to.

"Negative," she answered after a few seconds of trying to bring the secondary systems on-line.

"I’m reading a class B planet at the edge of our transporter range. Atmosphere is a little thin, but breathable. It’s sparsely populated with humanoid life. Pre-warp. Can you move us closer?" Janeway asked transferring the coordinates into her panel.

The young woman began directing the helm toward the planetoid before responding.

"It will take approximately one minute, forty two seconds before we are in range."

Both women pushed out of their chairs while the battered shuttle limped toward the planet on auto-pilot. A class B planetoid was mostly water with few and very small land masses. But it was better than being vaporized in space.

"Grab a survival pack and a phaser rifle," Janeway directed while following her own advise.

Seven surprised the captain by slinging on her pack and hefting an extra before grabbing a rifle. The feisty captain began inputting the coordinates into the shuttle transport system to deploy them onto one of the small land masses. She didn’t want to end up in the middle of an ocean.

"You are injured," Seven observed in a precise fashion, and it occurred to Kathryn that the young woman hadn’t seen the injury while they were sitting at their posts.

Somehow she got the impression Seven blamed herself for the minor bump.

"It’s nothing," she assured her crewmember as she finished setting the coordinates.

Seven reached past Janeway and began inputting commands into the onboard computer. She was so close Kathryn could feel the heat from her body and smell the sweet scent of her skin. Absurdly, she inhaled deeply, gathering the aroma into her own body and drawing strength from it.

"A distress beacon has been launched," she informed Janeway and stepped onto the transporter pad.

"Warning," the computer intoned. "Core breech in ten seconds."

Seven grasped the captain by the front of her tunic and jerked her onto the transport pad. She felt Seven’s breasts crush against her as the transporter beam grabbed hold and prayed it wouldn’t merge their patterns.

But what a way to go!

Kathryn’s breath left her lungs in a rush as the soft mounds of Seven’s bosom pressed against her upper chest. She hadn’t anticipated ever being this close to the intoxicating young woman, and her heart began trying to pound its way free from her chest wall.

Chapter 2

They rematerialized in a heavily wooded area. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the transporter didn’t merge the patterns. Seven still held the front of the captain’s uniform in a tight, one-fisted clench. Kathryn felt herself freeze like a proverbial deer caught in the headlights and was unable to look away from the cobalt gaze.

Her fingertips tingled so hard she almost dropped her phaser rifle as she felt Seven’s breath ghost across her face. Their eyes locked in an electric gaze and for a split second, Kathryn thought Seven would kiss her.

A muffled explosion drew their attention to the shuttle vaporizing in the upper atmosphere. The remains of the tiny ship shot across the horizon like a shooting star before it disappeared from view.

"I will treat your injury," she stated, releasing her hold abruptly.

Kathryn almost fell on her butt from Seven’s sudden withdrawal. The heat of embarrassment flooded her face as she realized her arousal must have been quite apparent. She covered the blush by looking around as though interested in their surroundings, which considering the situation she supposed she should be.

They had materialized on a high bluff overlooking the beautiful splendor of a waterfall. The water crashed into a white spray over massive boulders at the bottom of a rocky ravine. Lucky for them, the safety features built into the transporter prevented it from depositing the two over that ravine.

The surrounding woods were thick with massive tree trunks and assorted deep green brush. This world’s version of birds were singing sweetly, the sun shown brilliantly overhead, and the air smelled of damp earth and growing things. A perfect late afternoon on a summer day in a peaceful world.

It was a sharp contrast to the last hour or so in the shuttle craft and seemed mildly anti-climatic.

Kathryn felt movement behind and turned to see Seven with a medical tricorder in one hand. She held a dermal regenerator in the other. Slowly she ran the medical device over the captain’s head.

"Mild concussion and laceration, but I see no signs of a fracture. Please remain still for a moment."

Is it my imagination or are her hands trembling, Kathryn wondered? She convinced herself that she was seeing things and waited for Seven to heal the injury. Just as she was pulling away, Kathryn saw the trembling again.

"Seven, are you all right?" she asked with concern.

"I am functioning within expected parameters," she said tensely as she turned away.

"What does that mean?" Kathryn asked rushing to step around the Borg and block her escape.

She looked away briefly before meeting the captain’s calm blue-gray gaze.

"I have failed in my assigned task," she said quietly.

"Huh? What assigned task?"

"Part of my assignment on this mission is to protect you," she explained as though talking to a particularly dense child. "You have been injured. Therefore, I have failed."

Talk about a perfectionist, Kathryn thought with an internal smirk.

"Seven, you can’t protect me from every little bump," she tried to explain. "It was an ion storm. You can’t predict when one will happen, or counter every consequence of one that does occur. Besides, you saved my life. I think that should count for something."

A frown rested briefly on the pale face. "Explain," she demanded. "How did I save your life?"

"You grabbed me and yanked me onto the transporter. Then you initiated the dematerialization sequence. If you hadn’t grabbed me, I’d be space debris right now," Janeway reasoned.

"I would never allow that to happen," she insisted hotly.

A strange thrill of electricity coursed through Kathryn’s veins at the vehement vow. 

"I know. Now let’s see about organizing some sort of shelter," she said, feeling the need to distract herself from the unsettling sensations.

*****************************

The two women went about organizing a makeshift campsite for the evening. It was almost sunset so there was no time to try and establish a more permanent site.

They used the shelter halves located in the packs to form the roof and sides of the shelter. The support structures in the packs were only good for a small tent, so Seven implemented tree branches scattered around the battered clearing as substitutes. This granted the women a larger shelter they could actually stand upright in. Seven’s foresight at grabbing the extra pack also allowed for a larger structure that Kathryn was extremely happy for.

Just as they were finishing the construction fat heavy rain drops began to fall and the wind began to increase. Janeway wasn’t surprised at the sudden shift in weather. After all, that’s what a class B planet was all about; water. It rained constantly. That’s why the surface of the planet was 93% water.

If they had to be stuck on a planet, Kathryn admitted she would rather be here than the class H planet they had been heading for. Class H planets were in contrast, very dry, desert-like planets, although they were rich in mineral deposits.

She and Seven huddled inside the tent. They had only been in the rain for a few moments while completing the shelter but were soaked. The rain was coming down with force and pounded on the canvas of the tent.

Seven turned on a lantern and dug through one of the packs. Pulling out a blanket, she stood and walked silently behind the captain.

Kathryn felt the material being folded around her and was grateful for the sudden warmth.

"Thank you," she said sincerely, looking at Seven with surprise.

"You are welcome," Seven said with a quirk of her cortical implant. 

"You must eat as well, captain," she admonished, handing Janeway a ration bar.

"Lovely," Kathryn said with little enthusiasm. "I hate these things."

Seven chose not to answer as she retrieved another blanket for herself.

"Aren’t you going to have one?" Kathryn asked.

"I do not require nutritional supplements at this time," the young woman informed her coolly.

"Seven," Kathryn began, "I know you usually draw energy from your alcove, but you don’t have that luxury here. You’re going to have to eat to maintain your health. We don’t know how long we’re going to be stuck here and I can’t have you getting sick," she reasoned.

Seven considered that for a few moments before conceding. "Very well, Captain," she said in an aggrieved tone, drawing another ration bar from her pack and peeling back the foil.

Starfleet rations were designed to be high in vitamins and calorie content to provide an abundance of nutrition for extreme situations, but whoever had invented them had apparently deemed taste to be irrelevant.

The ration bar was just as ghastly as Kathryn remembered. It was dry, and crumbly with a cloyingly sweet after taste. She decided first thing in the morning they would start looking for more natural food supplements.

Seven drank deeply from her canteen in an attempt to wash the disgusting taste from her mouth. Water was plentiful so there was no need to conserve.

Eventually, Kathryn decided they needed to rest, and since Seven didn’t have the luxury of her alcove she would just have to make an attempt to sleep.

The young woman looked at Kathryn as though she felt she had taken leave of her senses.

"You want me to lie down on the ground and sleep?" she asked in disbelief.

"Seven, you have to rest," Janeway reasoned.

The Borg had to draw the line somewhere, and this was it. Eating the disgusting Starfleet rations was one thing. Sleeping on the dirty ground was something else. Her fastidious nature planted its proverbial feet against the idea.

"I will not comply," she said imperiously. Seven stood and linked her hands formally behind her back. "I do not need to regenerate for 72 hours, and I will not lay in the dirt."

Kathryn knew it would be impossible to get the stubborn woman to change her mind once it was set. But there was more than cleanliness involved here. Seven needed to rest, even if her physiology prevented her from actually sleeping. The truth was Kathryn didn’t know if the Borg’s humanity had reasserted itself enough to allow such an occurrence, but their survival was at stake. She couldn’t allow Seven to become overtired.

Well, as she had been taught in command school, when one tactic didn’t work try another.

"Seven, this planet’s ambient temperature will drop considerably during the night. We weren’t able to gather wood for a fire so it’s going to get very cold," she said reasonably.

"And your point, Captain?" Seven asked arrogantly.

"If we don’t conserve body heat, we might not last the night. You might not need to regenerate for a few days, but I require sleep and I can’t do that if I’m freezing to death."

"What about predators or other humanoids?" Seven pointed out. "One of us must maintain watch. Since I do not require sleep, it is logical that I fulfill this role."

"You could modify a tricorder to sound an alarm. Set it so we have at least a one hundred meter warning," the captain ordered.

Seven abruptly felt all of the fight go out of her. The captain had thought of everything. A wave of tenderness for the auburn haired captain overcame her. It was her duty to protect the captain, and that included providing for her comfort. The captain needed additional body heat for comfort.

Then the implications of the captain’s suggestion registered and she asked carefully, "Captain, are you asking me to sleep with you?"

Janeway managed to prevent herself from choking on the images that crowded in her mind. The mental images conjured from the innocent words were vastly different from what the young woman actually meant.

She grinned and said gently, "Yes, I guess I am."

"Very well." 

She had been afraid of her reaction to being so intimately close to the captain’s cherished form, but suddenly couldn’t think of anywhere she’d rather be. The lithe blonde walked to the extra pack and drew the blanket from its depths. She picked up her own discarded blanket and piled the two together to make as cushioned a pad for the captain as possible.

"We will use your blanket for the topmost covering," she informed the captain.

"Good idea," Janeway agreed, climbing eagerly to her feet.

She was a little nervous at the prospect of six feet of sexy blonde draped around her, but at the same time was looking forward to it. Kathryn slipped off her boots and climbed onto the blankets fully clothed.

Seven looked at her oddly for a moment before asking, "Is it customary to sleep in your uniform?"

"Well really, Seven," Kathryn countered in amusement, "it’s not like I packed a nightgown, and the rest of my things were on the shuttle."

"Of course, Captain. My apologies."

"Come to bed," Janeway said, trying to make the words sound like a command.

They came out as more of a husky croak and Seven looked at her with a small quirk of her implant.

"Indeed," she said, and after setting up the modified tricorder sat obediently on the blankets.

The younger woman drew the blanket over both of them and lay back stiffly. Seven lay flat on her back with her hands held at her sides. Kathryn glanced at her and couldn’t stop a chuckle from escaping her lips.

Seven looked over at her in curiosity. "You find something amusing, Captain?"

"Seven, you’re not regenerating. You’re supposed to be trying to sleep."

"Clarify."

Kathryn explained patiently, "The idea of sleeping is to relax. To gradually lose consciousness and rest your body and mind. You can’t do that if you lay like a tin soldier."

"I find the idea of ‘losing consciousness’ disturbing," Seven admitted.

"What about your regeneration cycle?" Kathryn countered. "Don’t you lose consciousness when you do that?"

"No," the drone said matter-of-factly. "I am always aware of my surroundings while regenerating."

"Oh," Kathryn said feeling caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

She had been guilty of watching Seven regenerate on several occasions. If what the young woman said was true, and Kathryn knew she didn’t lie, Seven had known it all along. Oh well, she thought sagely, I can’t do anything about that now.

"We were talking about sleeping," she reminded her companion. 

"Try to relax. Close your eyes and take slow deep breaths. Allow your mind to wander. Even if you find you can’t sleep, try to rest." Kathryn advised.

As Seven attempted to follow her instructions, Kathryn felt herself begin to relax. It had been a long day and sleep was not far away for the intrepid Starfleet captain. Her eyes drifted shut and she began to doze.

Seven felt the captain’s body relax beside her. She heard the breathing even out and opened her eyes to search the face next to her in the darkness. Seven’s optical implant was capable of making out the features in the diminished light. Kathryn’s . . . the captain’s face looked softer in sleep. Some of the years seemed to melt away and she was suddenly struck by the fact that the captain was beautiful.

Beauty had always seemed irrelevant to the drone. It seemed that was no longer the case.

Kathryn . . . the captain, she reminded herself, made a whimpering sound and turned away from the blonde. Curious, Seven sat up to see if the other woman was in pain. She seemed drawn into herself, curling into a tight fetal position and Seven realized the captain was shivering.

Seven knew what she wanted to do but was reluctant. The captain had said they needed to conserve body heat. That was the reasoning for sharing the blankets, but should she attempt to keep the captain warm by a more intimate means? How would the captain react to that?

Seven accessed her memories of the Borg collective and realized it was customary for some species to conserve heat by holding each other for warmth. The captain had not expressed this idea, but it held a certain logic. Seven wanted to hold the captain.

No, she corrected herself. She wanted to hold Kathryn. The captain was the rank, Kathryn was the woman. And she wanted to hold the woman.

Slowly, she curled in behind the smoothly muscled woman. Seven wrapped her Borg-enhanced arm protectively around the small rib cage and across the modest bosom, placing her hand on the captain’s opposite shoulder. The blonde slid her other arm under the captain’s head, resting her hand on the ground. She was delighted when Kathryn snuggled back against her and ceased shivering.

This, she decided, was perfection. Holding this most precious of human beings against her chest. Inhaling the scent of her hair and skin, feeling the firm heartbeat against her own chest.

A sense of peace settled over Seven of Nine, and for the first time in her life, she slept.

*******************************

Kathryn woke to the heavy pressure of something against her chest. Slowly she opened her eyes and discovered a metal encased hand resting possessively over her breast. Soft exhalations whispered through her hair and she could tell from the even flow that Seven of Nine, former Borg drone, was sleeping.

Kathryn relished the intimate contact. This was something she had dreamed in her most secret fantasies. Not the setting, but the company.

She felt her nipples hardening as her desire made itself known. As they stiffened, the sensitive point made a firmer connection to the palm resting over it, and Kathryn bit back a moan as a sharp ache began insistently between her legs.

As much as she wanted to let this go further Kathryn knew she had to get up. She couldn’t allow her prurient impulses to take command of her body. She pushed the silver blanket aside and slid from beneath the sweetly confining weight.

She grinned when Seven grumbled and rolled over continuing her slumber. Kathryn stared at the young woman for a few moments enthralled with her Nordic beauty. Unfortunately she couldn’t stand here staring all day. Kathryn reluctantly picked up her boots and walked out into the light of a new day.

The morning air was crisp and heavily laden with moisture. It was a good thing the climate of this planet was moderate. Kathryn knew if the temperature rose very high in this humidity it would get extremely unpleasant.

After donning her footwear she grabbed a tricorder and went in search of breakfast. If there were edible organics Kathryn had no intention of subjecting herself or Seven to ration bars. She had seen the disgruntled expression on the young woman’s face and wanted to find something a little more palatable for her.

Kathryn returned to camp about an hour later. Her tunic was held loosely between her hands and was loaded with various fruits. She had scanned and sampled every one of them. Remembering Neelix’s leeola root, Kathryn knew some foods could be nutritious without being savory. ‘Adequately nutritional supplements’ would not suffice.

A flash of blue caught her attention. She looked up with a small smile beginning to form as Seven walked toward her. The smile quickly became a frown.

"Where have you been?" Seven began without preamble.

"Good morning to you, too. I was getting breakfast," Kathryn began.

"You will not repeat this course of action in the future," Seven stated imperiously and Kathryn suddenly realized the blonde was furious.

"Now just a damn minute," Janeway said, getting up a full head of steam. "I’m the captain here, remember? I give the orders."

"Precisely," the Borg snapped, cutting her off in mid-tirade. "You are the captain. You are my responsibility. If you were injured or captured by the inhabitants of this primitive planet as you ‘searched for food’ I would not know until it was too late."

Janeway took a deep breath, trying to calm an angry outburst. She knew Seven must have been worried when she awoke to find the Captain gone. But that didn’t excuse the tone of voice she was using. Honestly, sometimes she goes out of her way to provoke me, Kathryn thought.

"Seven, you will not use that tone of voice with me. If I want to go for a morning walk, I will," Kathryn said stubbornly. She had meant to soothe the blonde’s ire not add to it, but her mouth had other ideas.

"Did you scan for hostile presences while collecting food?" Seven asked pointedly.

Kathryn didn’t want to admit that she hadn’t even thought of it.

"No, but I’m sure in this remote location . . . " she began.

"Then do not lecture me about my tone of voice. As captain, it is your responsibility to ensure your safety. If not for yourself then for the sake of the crew."

That was it. It was bad enough to get a lecture about taking a walk by herself, like she was a five-year-old. Now she was getting a lecture about her responsibility to the crew. The fact that Seven was probably right did little to cool her off. The stress of the last twenty-four hours didn’t help and Kathryn’s Irish temper flared out of control.

"That’s enough," she barked. "I will not discuss this further. I am the captain. You are a crewmember. If I want to go off by myself, I will. In fact I feel like leaving now, and you will not follow me." 

"It is my responsibility . . . "

"That’s an order," Kathryn said shortly, cutting the blonde off in mid-sentence.

Kathryn placed the fruit on the ground and stalked away. She realized she didn’t really have a destination and tried to decide where to go. She didn’t want to walk in circles for a few minutes and then head back to camp, conceding defeat. It was bad enough she was already regretting her outburst.

Janeway decided to hike part way down the mountain and check out the waterfall. It would be a shame to waste such a view.

Kathryn carefully picked her way down the mountain. Stubbornly she refused to scan for dangers. Surely she was making enough noise to frighten away any beasts lurking nearby, and she still had her hand phaser for anything more.

She hiked for a couple of hours before reaching a fairly even plateau. Here the crystal blue water pounded a deafening staccato against the rocks. White water churned and swirled for a few meters in every direction before evening out and flowing downstream.

Fish would be good for dinner, she thought wondering how her blonde bodyguard would react to fresh fish.

She felt sincere regret at the thought of their most recent argument. Seven had been following protocol by suggesting the captain be more cautious and Janeway was acting like this was some sort of pleasure jaunt.

Maybe Chakotay was right and she did need a vacation, but now was not the time. She and Seven were in a potentially life threatening situation. They had lost contact with the ship, indeed there was no indication that Voyager had received their distress call.

Their shelter was crude, they had little technology, no way to communicate with the ship and what if the natives weren’t friendly? Add to that, the captain was acting like a spoiled child.

Yes, she decided. Seven definitely deserved an apology.

A shiny glint of metal caught Kathryn’s eye. A piece of deuterium was sticking up from the brush a few meters away. Curious about how a piece of metal could be here, in the middle of nowhere, she went to investigate.

The fragment was small, roughly a foot in diameter. It was flat and appeared scorched. Kathryn turned it over and could make out writing under the burns. The letters were in Earth standard. ‘CHRA’.

It was a piece of hull plating from the shuttle Cochrane.

The small piece of the shuttle brought home the fact that if it wasn’t for Seven the captain would have been vaporized when the shuttle exploded. She decided to quit sulking and head back to camp. They had work to do if they were going to get home.

Kathryn wasn’t really sure why she kept the fragment. She just knew she couldn’t leave it behind.

(Chapter 3)

Seven of Nine was sitting on a log she had dragged into the campsite. She was tinkering with a tricorder when Kathryn emerged from the woods and didn’t look up from what she was doing. Kathryn knew Seven was aware of her presence but was probably still angry.

Janeway scanned the campsite and saw the young woman had been busy.

Heavy rocks had been placed around the edges of their tent, to prevent the wind and rain from creeping inside, making their shelter quite cozy. A fire ring had been situated close to the tent, but was placed on the side so smoke wouldn’t blow into the shelter.

The Borg had created a raised platform of tree branches and leaves. It was a crude table, but would serve its purpose very efficiently. It sat beside the fire and Kathryn could see the fruit she had collected earlier resting on top.

Her tunic had been shook out and was airing on the branch of a nearby tree.

The simple domesticity and thoughtfulness of the work pierced Kathryn’s heart. Seven would make someone a fine wife one day, she thought. It was a shame she would never be Kathryn’s wife.

The thought of sharing her life with Seven was no surprise to Kathryn. She knew how she felt about the beautiful woman and readily admitted it to herself. She also knew she could never tell anyone else, much less act on those feelings, but she could be a better friend.

"What are you working on?" she asked quietly, sitting next to Seven.

The young woman merely quirked the implant over her brow, looking at the captain before responding.

"I am attempting to modify this tricorder to emit a subspace beacon," she said, returning to her work with a focused intensity that was unique to the young woman.

"A locator signal for Voyager?" Kathryn asked, excited by the idea.

"Precisely. However, I am having difficulty boosting the power output to strengthen the signal gain," Seven admitted, frowning slightly.

"Why don’t you use a power cell from one of the phaser rifles?" Janeway suggested. "We still have our hand weapons and one rifle should be enough."

Seven stopped modifying the tricorder and looked at Kathryn for a moment contemplating the advice.

"That is a very efficient idea, Captain. Perhaps your walk did some good after all."

Kathryn chuckled good-naturedly and nudged Seven’s knee. "That’s the spirit. Rub it in."

Seven looked perplexed as she tried to decipher the meaning of the words. "Rub what in?" she asked innocently.

Kathryn realized by the uncharacteristic glint in the pale eyes that Seven knew exactly what she was talking about. The Borg was actually teasing her. By the banter, Kathryn knew what the real message was. Regardless of who was at fault, the earlier altercation was dismissed.

That was something Kathryn knew she would never get used to. Seven had the ability to forgive misunderstandings in an instant without the need to discuss the issue. She showed that ability by gently joking about what had caused a fight earlier. She had no use for the Human affectation of needing an apology.

"What is it that you are holding, Captain?" the young woman asked, reminding Kathryn of her small prize.

"Oh, it’s a piece of the Cochrane. I found it by the waterfall," she explained handing the item to the Borg.

Seven took the piece of metal, turning it over and over in her hands as though unsure why the captain would retrieve this useless debris. Kathryn unaccountably felt the need to justify her actions.

"I’m not sure why I wanted it. Maybe I’m just being silly," Kathryn admitted a little shyly.

"You are never silly," The Borg insisted. "However, I am unsure what use this fragment could have. We will retain it. Perhaps we will have use of it in the future."

Janeway would have felt the other woman was humoring her if she didn’t know Seven’s efficient nature better.

"Well," Kathryn said, "I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry."

Kathryn got up and began rummaging in the survival packs. She always packed coffee even though it wasn’t standard away mission protocol. She was glad for her foresight now.

Triumphantly, she pulled out the packet of coffee and set it in a small pot of water. Seven had piled a stack of kindling in the fire ring earlier and Kathryn ignited it with a short blast of her phaser. She set the pot near the flames on a flat rock.

Fruit would have to suffice for dinner since it was too late for Janeway to trudge back down the hill for her fishing experiment.

"Captain, you are aware of course that we will have to move our camp tomorrow?" Seven asked conversationally.

The statement caught Kathryn by surprise and she turned to look at the Borg.

"To be honest, I hadn’t really thought about it, Seven. But, I suppose you’re right. Our water source isn’t exactly in convenient walking distance and we are running low on what we have."

"Precisely," Seven said, the sun glinting off the metallic implant as she lifted her brow. A small smile graced her lips when she said, "And since you are so fond of the waterfall, Kathryn, perhaps that would be a good location."

Kathryn smiled. Sometimes, Seven could be so damn cute! She liked the way her name sounded coming from the blonde’s lips, and would have enjoyed the moment if Seven didn’t suddenly look uncomfortable, realizing her slip.

"I am sorry, Captain. Please, forgive my familiarity."

The lanky woman was going out of her way to make a peace offering and Kathryn felt compelled to offer one of her own.

"Seven, we’re not on the ship now. And I like to think we’re friends," she began. "I really don’t mind if you call me Kathryn?"

"Kathryn," the young woman repeated softly with shining eyes.

Seven felt a sharp thrill of happiness at the simple gesture. She distantly wondered how Humans continued to function with all of these distracting emotions running rampant in their systems, but she was grateful the captain wasn’t angry with her.

Early on in their relationship Seven had often gone out of her way to antagonize the energetic woman. It seemed to be an efficient way of having the captain take notice of her. When she complied with the collective will of the ship the captain didn’t spend as much time with her, and Seven enjoyed interacting with Janeway. She felt this was a new step in the evolution of their relationship and relished the newfound closeness.

The two women spent the rest of the evening quietly enjoying each other’s company. They had dinner and then sat in front of the log, leaning against it. Kathryn showed Seven the simple pleasure of enjoying the stars through the clouds, not for their scientific importance, but simply for their beauty.

If anyone had attempted to do that with Seven of Nine previously they would have found their efforts futile. But sitting beneath the canopy of lights with Kathryn, Seven understood perfectly.

The stars and the light of two moons shown down on the captain’s features, creating an illusion of mystery that Seven found mesmerizing.

"See that star formation?" Kathryn asked indicating a cluster of particularly bright stars.

"They remind me of the constellation Orion that can be seen from Earth. I know it’s not very scientific, but when I see something like this, it reminds me of home. I think it’s absolutely beautiful." She said a little wistfully.

"I agree. It is ‘beautiful’," Seven said softly, never taking her eyes of the small captain and definitely not talking about star formations.

If Kathryn understood the meaning of the Borg’s words, she chose not to say anything. The temperature of the woods had begun to decline noticeably with the onset of evening. The wind was beginning to pick up, preparing for another nocturnal rain shower. Kathryn suggested they adjourn to the tent. Seven turned on a wrist beacon and led the way to the tent. She still carried her modified tricorder though she hadn’t worked on it in the last few hours.

"How are you coming with that thing?" Kathryn asked curiously.

"I still have not been able to complete the modifications," Seven said, "but it is only a matter of time."

"Of course," Kathryn agreed readily.

Once they entered the tent, Kathryn pulled her tunic over her head intending to get comfortable. Her gray turtleneck rose about halfway up her stomach and Seven forgot to breathe as her eyes locked on the expanse of smooth skin, and firm muscle.

I am malfunctioning, she thought even as she knew that was absurd. She shook her head slightly and began removing the power cell from one of the phaser rifles.

Kathryn sat on the edge of the blankets and removed her boots unaware of the effect she was having on her companion. After she was comfortable Kathryn picked up a data padd. She began running equations calculating the trajectory of the ion storm that had carried them away from Voyager.

Assuming the distress beacon had performed within expected parameters they could expect a rescue attempt by the crew within about three weeks if Voyager followed standard protocol and traveled at the normal cruising speed of warp six. Kathryn knew how much of a stickler for protocol Chakotay was and didn’t expect anything different. If the distress signal hadn’t been transmitted, Voyager wouldn’t even be expecting them for another five days which would mean an additional week before a rescue attempt.

They could survive four weeks, couldn’t they? They had food, water, and shelter, and there didn’t appear to be any serious predators. If Seven were successful in modifying the tricorder it would help Voyager home in their exact location. They would be fine, Kathryn decided.

A few hours later Seven looked up to stretch her neck. Kathryn was still working on the padd and making log entries. Seven noticed Kathryn was shivering. The older woman tended to get absorbed in what she was doing at the moment and Seven assumed she hadn’t noticed being cold.

She quietly put aside her work and walked over to the blankets. Seven sat on the other side of Kathryn and removed her high heels. Kathryn absently noticed how cute Seven’s feet were.

Kathryn looked at the drone in surprise. "I didn’t think you ever took those off." 

"You were incorrect." The blonde informed her. "True, I do not remove them often, but sometimes they become . . . uncomfortable. I am still unsure why the doctor designed this type of footwear."

For a moment Janeway wondered if there was a flaw in the doctor’s programming. He had said Seven needed the circuitry contained in the heels for her implants, but couldn’t he have designed the circuitry inside flats just as easily? Kathryn wondered why she had never thought about it before. Because you’ve fallen in love with her, idiot, an internal voice piped up.

"Are your feet hurting, now?" she asked solicitously, while thinking how wonderful it would be to have an excuse to rub those feet. Her fingertips buzzed pleasantly at the thought.

"Yes, but that is irrelevant at the moment. You are cold," Seven said sliding under the blanket. "Come here and I will hold you."

Seven held up the other side of the blanket patiently waiting for the captain to join her.

Kathryn swallowed against a suddenly dry throat and set aside her padd.

"Now that you mention it, I am tired," she said, feeling anything but.

She lay down under the blanket and felt Seven scoot up against her. The blonde gently wrapped a hand around Kathryn’s stomach and rested her chin on the back of the auburn head.

I’m never going to get any sleep, Kathryn thought.

The rain began falling softly. It reminded Kathryn of summer showers in Indiana. Before she knew it, she was drifting off to sleep in the arms of the one person in the galaxy, that unbeknownst to her, owned Kathryn’s heart.

********************************

Kathryn was the first to awaken, again. She found they had shifted position during the night and she was now facing the younger woman. They had their arms firmly wrapped around each other and Kathryn’s face was pressed tightly against Seven’s upper chest. She could feel the generous swells of Seven’s breasts against her throat.

The Starship captain had learned to take advantage of opportunities when they presented themselves and she did so now, pressing her lips against the bio-suit covered skin. She could feel Seven’s heartbeat throb against her lips and maintained the contact for long moments, eagerly inhaling the scent of the warm body.

Reluctantly, she broke the contact. She knew Seven would probably have never allowed the intimate caress if she had been awake, unquestioningly deeming it ‘irrelevant’.

Kathryn stretched briefly before pulling on her tunic and boots. She turned out the lantern before exiting the tent and fixing her morning coffee. When it was ready, she poured a mug and walked over to the ravine to drink her first cup of the day watching the graceful waterfall as if she wished to dive into it and let it carry her away.

She ached at the thought of being with Seven of Nine, wanted her desperately, and was prevented from such a natural human need simply by virtue of her position. Sometimes it was almost too much to bare.

Seven lay quietly after Kathryn left the tent. She didn’t want the captain to know she had been awake during the kiss for fear that the action would not be repeated or that she would embarrass the smaller woman. She also had to admit she needed a few moments to analyze her reactions and slow her respiration.

Remembering the social lessons the Doctor had given her, Seven realized that perhaps the captain did return her feelings. If that was the case the drone would have to go slowly. She knew Janeway’s opinion regarding fraternizing with the crew and knew the captain was unlikely to admit to any attraction.

The younger woman decided she would do little to alter their current relationship. Being able to call the captain by her first name was quite an accomplishment in itself.

Seven had observed the captain was a very physical individual, but rarely allowed other members of the crew to touch her. The only thing she could do right now, she decided, was let the captain set the pace. She didn’t want to pressure the older woman in any way.

**********************

Kathryn was startled out of her reverie when Seven suddenly exited their tent.

"Good morning," she said gently. "How did you sleep?"

Seven took a moment to formulate a reply. In the end she had to rely on one of the Doctor’s catch phrases. "Fine. And you . . . Kathryn?"

The captain had actually forgotten for a moment that she had told the young woman it was alright to call her by her given name.

"I haven’t slept that well for a long time," Kathryn admitted. "Must be all this mountain air."

"Indeed," Seven agreed, remembering the feel of strong arms wrapped around her chest, and knowing it wasn’t the mountain air that had helped her sleep.

Seven walked over to the fire and poured a mug of coffee. Although she insisted on receiving most of her energy from the ship, she had begun taking meals in the mess hall and was used to a certain amount of variety. She had been drinking nothing but water since they beamed onto the planet and was in the mood for something else.

"Finally going to give my vice a try?" Kathryn teased gently with a small smile.

"I believe so," Seven agreed.

She poured the mug and walked over to where her companion was standing.

"However, it is extremely hot. I believe I will wait a moment before attempting this ‘vice’ as I would not care to damage myself," she said with a glint in her eyes.

The unexpected humor caught the older woman by surprise and she chuckled appreciatively.

"Good point."

They stood in companionable silence for a few moments, enjoying the simple beauty of the world surrounding them. Kathryn noticed a small movement and watched from the corner of her eye as Seven raised the silver mug to her lips. She took a small sip of the hot liquid and her lips twisted at the unpleasant taste.

"Uh," she said in disgust. "It is bitter. How can you drink this?"

Her expression actually looked pained and Kathryn couldn’t help but laugh.

"I’m sorry, Seven," she apologized even as she continued to chuckle.

Seven looked at her unbelievingly before walking back to the fire. She started to pour the coffee onto the ground, but Kathryn stopped her.

"Don’t waste it, Seven," she admonished. "Just pour it back into the pot."

"But, I have already drunk from it," she pointed out logically. "That would not be sanitary."

Kathryn just shook her head and pointed out, "Seven, I don’t think it would kill me to drink after you. Besides, that stuff’s in limited supply."

The blonde prevented herself from rolling her eyes, barely. But she obediently poured the coffee back into the pot before pouring herself a cup of water.

After a breakfast of ration bars supplemented by the rest of their fruit the two women broke camp. It was almost as much work as setting it up. They had almost completed packing their supplies when Kathryn looked over at Seven about to suggest rolling the sides of the tent instead of taking it all the way apart.

She stopped when she realized the younger woman looked different, somehow. Kathryn noticed what looked like dark circles beginning to appear beneath the pale blue eyes.

"Seven, are you all right?" she asked.

For a moment Seven looked confused by the question, not knowing what had prompted it.

"I am functioning sufficiently, Kathryn. Why do you ask?"

Kathryn stood up and walked over to her friend. She raised a hand and lightly brushed the cream-colored cheek with a thumb.

"You look tired," she admitted. "Are you resting enough at night?"

Seven looked away as though she had been caught doing something wrong. She shook her head slightly before replying.

"I am . . . unaccustomed to sleeping, as you know. You are also aware that eating merely supplements my regenerative cycles. I cannot regenerate here. Therefore, I cannot draw the energy necessary for maintaining my implants."

Of course Kathryn had known all of these things. But having them laid out so neatly for her, she realized how serious the problem was. If they were stranded for very long Seven might die.

"As time goes by this situation is going to compound. That’s what you’re telling me, isn’t it?"

"Yes," Seven said still not looking up. "It is unsettling. As a Borg drone, I was capable of functioning for up to 73 hours without the need to regenerate. I do not wish to burden you with my inadequacies."

"I hate to break it to you, but you’re not a Borg drone anymore, and you could never be a burden to me."

Kathryn gently grasped the young woman’s chin between her thumb and forefinger, raising the eyes to meet her own.

"I’m not going to let anything happen to you," she promised gently. "We’ll just have to make sure you don’t overtax yourself. I’ll do most of the work, you just sit back and relax."

An unusual smirk graced Seven’s lips. "After we move camp,you can ‘do most of the work’ while I continue attempting to modify our locator signal."

"It’s a deal," Kathryn said, releasing her hold, her fingers tingling from the contact.

They finished their preparations and made the two-hour journey down the hillside. By the time they reached their new site Kathryn was exhausted. She had insisted on carrying the bulk of their equipment. She looked over to see how Seven had faired the trip, and was disturbed to see a light sheen of sweat coating her upper lip.

The captain knew the Borg’s bio-suit regulated her implants and body temperature, preventing her from becoming too hot or too cold. She also knew the remaining implants scattered throughout the lanky body regulated bodily functions such as menstruation, sweating, and eliminating toxins.

She knew Seven wouldn’t appreciate having the problem pointed out so insisted they set up camp immediately. Afterward she made Seven rest while she went to refill their canteens.

The next four days passed much the same way the previous two had. Kathryn would work on improving their campsite and reinforcing their perimeter from unwanted visitors during the day. She collected more fruits, discovered some interesting tuber-like vegetables and taught Seven to fish.

Seven continued to work on the locator signal, but the problem with making it functional continued to elude her. She rested a great deal at Kathryn’s insistence, but her condition continued to deteriorate.

The fourth morning after establishing their new camp, Kathryn awoke and inhaled the now familiar scent of Seven deeply into herself. Her first thought was one of concern for the young woman. Seven was growing extremely weak, although she tried not to show it. They hadn’t even been on this planet a week, how would Seven manage to survive four?

Seven wasn’t having much luck with their equipment either. Kathryn had scanned the technological status of this world briefly before the shuttle exploded, and knew the inhabitants possessed technology comparable to 20^th century Earth. Perhaps they could barter for some equipment to complete their tasks.

It was a violation of the Prime Directive to make first contact with a pre-warp civilization, but there was no other choice. If they couldn’t complete their beacon and Voyager didn’t locate them, she would lose Seven. That was something she knew she could never bare, spending so much time with the young blonde had proven that to her.

Since being marooned on this planet Kathryn had been forced into closer proximity to the sensual woman. On Voyager there were usually a lot of distractions from Hirogen hunting parties to the occasional spatial anomaly. When her desires became too strong for Seven she could impose a little professional distance. Here, she didn’t have that luxury and she felt like she was becoming one raging hormone.

Her blood was constantly thrumming in her veins and it was an effort of will not to grab the young woman and kiss her fervently. Damn the consequences.

Kathryn had continued her ritual of pressing a kiss into Seven’s chest each morning, thinking her actions undiscovered. It was her way of acknowledging her love for the woman, something she could never voice aloud, and seemed to grant her some release from her self-imposed restraint. She turned her head to do so and just before her lips made contact she happened to glance up at the beloved face.

Twin pools of liquid blue were watching her intently. Kathryn froze, unsure what to do or say.

"Are you not going to kiss me?" Seven asked softly.

"I’m sorry . . . I don’t . . . " Kathryn stammered and took a deep breath, feeling the blood rushing to her face. "I’m sorry," she said again, before attempting to scoot away from the intoxicating beauty.

Seven tightened her hold on the compact woman, unwilling to let her escape.

"Please," she said softly. "Do not leave."

Kathryn ceased struggling and looked at Seven with a sad expression.

"How long have you known?"

"That you kiss me each morning?"

At Kathryn’s nod Seven said, "I have known since the first time you did it."

"Why didn’t you say anything?" Kathryn asked confused.

"Would you have ceased your actions if I had?"

Kathryn understood that Seven clearly wanted intimate contact. But did she only want closeness to another human being, or did she want contact to Kathryn? Surely Seven was very lonely on Voyager. Indeed the only people the captain knew that spent time with the ex-drone were herself, and Naomi Wildman.

That didn’t give the captain the right to take advantage of Seven’s innocence, which is what she suddenly felt her small indulgence had been doing.

"It was inappropriate of me to kiss you, Seven. I’m sorry," she said attempting to pull away again.

Seven refused to let go, tightening her arms and pressing the conversation.

"What are your feelings for me?" she asked bluntly, in typical Seven fashion.

Kathryn forgot to breathe when she heard the unexpectedly pointed question. She carefully drew another breath before responding, gathering her courage. She had never been the type to easily back down and wasn’t about to start now.

"I think that’s immaterial right now. The only thing that matters is that it is inappropriate for the captain . . . "

"For the captain to become involved with a member of the crew," Seven finished for her irritably. She couldn’t help it. She was tired and frustrated. "I do not care about Starfleet protocols. I want only to know how you feel."

"Why?" Kathryn asked, feeling tears beginning to rise.

Why does she want to know, she asked herself. So I can tell her it doesn’t matter if we both love each other, and that I have a responsibility to my crew? So I can watch her die knowing there’s nothing I can do on this Godforsaken planet? So she can leave me like everyone else I’ve ever loved?

"Kathryn," Seven said, gently breaking into her thoughts, "I want to know how you feel because it is all that matters. You hold yourself to a standard that no one ever intended for you to maintain. If we were in the Alpha Quadrant things might be different, and you would not be able to become involved with a member of your crew. But even if we were there it would not matter," she said with conviction.

Seven raised a metal-tipped hand to gently caress a soft cheek. "I would cease being a member of your crew, because I am not in Starfleet. And no one could prevent me from being with you, even if . . . " she broke off suddenly unsure.

"Even if . . . what?" Kathryn prompted needing to hear the words.

Seven looked intently into the blue-gray eyes attempting to convey the strength of her feelings. "Even if you never love me as I do you."

A sob broke from Kathryn’s throat before she could prevent it. She buried her face against Seven’s ample bosom and tightened her grip around the young woman. Tears slid down her face at the courage this woman possessed. The courage to say the simple words that a Starfleet captain could not.

Seven stroked the auburn tangle of hair soothingly. Wordlessly offering support in a way Janeway never would have allowed from another.

Finally gaining control of her emotions, Janeway pulled back to gaze in wonder at the young woman.

"How do you do that?" she asked huskily.

"Kathryn?"

"You always know how to break through my defenses. To knock down ever argument I have."

"I am merely being logical," Seven pointed out. "Since you appreciate logic, it is usually sufficient."

For a moment the two looked at each other, Seven attempting to memorize the beloved features, Kathryn attempting to gather the strength to leave the comforting embrace. Seven finally broke the silence by repeating her earlier question.

"Are you not going to kiss me?" she asked although the words held a wealth of new meaning.

She knew she was on dangerous ground. It was violating any number of protocols to even be having this discussion. The ship and the crew had to come first. She could not allow this.

Kathryn raised a hand to gently stroke the pale face, learning the curve and heat of skin and bone. She meant only to touch, not embrace. Her fingers slid back of their own accord to gently tangle in the blonde hair and slowly pull Seven toward her.

Eyes slid shut as their lips barely touched. Sliding softly, whispering over damp flesh. Once, twice. As soon as their lips met, Kathryn was lost. She could no more stop kissing the young woman than she could live without air.

Kathryn wanted more, craving the taste of her young love’s breath. Slowly, the tip of her tongue stroked across the full lower lip causing Seven to moan sweetly. Kathryn pressed her mouth to Seven’s in a firmer contact, delighted when the strong arms tightened around her frame.

She urged Seven’s lips apart with her tongue, invading the warm depths eagerly, sliding over teeth and tongue, swirling in the damp heat. The passion mounted urgently between the women. Seven rolled Kathryn onto her back and covered her possessively, resting most of her weight on her elbows, frantic for as much contact with the compact body as she could get.

Seven felt as though she was drowning in sensation. Although she had never had a romantic encounter she trusted Kathryn to be her guide in this as in all things Human, and rapturously absorbed the new experience. Her body was tingling everywhere it made contact with Kathryn’s, but it wasn’t enough. Kathryn’s muscular leg slid between Seven’s thighs and the young woman cried out in joy.

"Oh, Kathryn," she moaned breaking contact with the warm lips.

Instinctively Seven began riding firmly against the strong leg, unconsciously pressing her knee against Kathryn’s sex in her ecstasy.

"Oh, yes darling," Kathryn encouraged with a husky trill, grasping Seven’s hips to increase the delicious friction. There was no thought of stopping or of Starfleet.

Seven was whimpering at the sensations of sharp desire, and the sound was making Kathryn absolutely insane. Kathryn had never come with her clothes on before, but the combination of the knee grinding into her inflamed intimate tissues and Seven’s cries were carrying her over the edge. She could feel the fire flutter in her belly. She was so close . . . almost . . .

Seven wrenched herself off the smaller woman with a frustrated snarl.

A shrill beeping sound finally penetrated Kathryn’s passion-drugged senses, and she realized the perimeter alarm had been going off for some time. Before she could get her breath and react Seven had grabbed their phaser rifle and rushed out of the tent barefoot.

 (Chapter 4)

"Commander, sensors are detecting the residual wake of a class eight ion storm. It looks like it came through this system about six days ago," Ensign Harry Kim reported from his operations console.

Harry had been a green officer straight out of the Academy prior to being posted to the Intrepid class ship, Voyager. Even after six years in the Delta Quadrant, he retained a measure of his boyish enthusiasm, lending him the misleading air of inexperience, but the truth was he was one of the most highly qualified officers on board

"Any signs of the captain’s shuttle?" he asked, the tribal tattoo over his left eye and brow wrinkling as he frowned disturbed by the news.

The captain was flying in a class two shuttle, and the shields weren’t designed to withstand that kind of stress. If they had been caught in the leading edge of the storm chances were high that they wouldn’t survive.

Harry punched a few more buttons before responding to the query.

"Attempting to recalibrate the sensors. I’m boosting power through the deflector array . . . There," he said triumphantly. "I’m reading a residual warp signature, heading . . . two twenty-three mark four."

Harry transferred the coordinates to the helm without hesitation.

Tom Paris was back at the helm, he and Neelix having returned from their own away mission a few hours prior. Normally, as part of an away team for more than six days he would have been off duty. However, the captain’s shuttle had not returned and there had been no response to hails. Chakotay wanted his best people at their posts and Lt. Tom Paris was the best helmsman he had ever worked with.

Initially he and the fair-haired flyboy hadn’t seen eye to eye. They had briefly worked together when Chakotay captained his own ship with the Maquis and Tom had been a member of his crew. Paris had gotten caught by Starfleet during his first mission for the rebel group and been imprisoned. He had bought his freedom from prison by agreeing to help track down the Maquis during Voyager’s first assignment into the Badlands.

They had all been pulled into the Delta Quadrant, and 75,000 light years from Earth by the Caretaker’s Array. Since then the two had been forced to be in close proximity due to the size of the small starship, and had developed an amicable working relationship.

In truth Chakotay had even come to respect the free-spirited young man.

"Tom, lay in a course, warp six," he directed, allowing the helmsman to utilize the maximum speed Voyager could sustain for an extended flight.

"Harry, how far are you reading the ion wake before it dissipates?"

"Long range sensors read at least ten light years, Commander," Harry replied, wishing he wasn’t the one to have to tell Chakotay.

Chakotay spun in his chair to fix the young Operations officer with a penetrating stare before asking a question he dreaded the answer to.

"Are you reading any signs of debris?"

Harry hesitated before looking back down at his console. He gritted his teeth and began a silent mantra, please . . . let there be clear space, he prayed over and over for a few seconds. Harry saw a blip on his control interface and double checked just to be sure before meeting the commander’s intent glare. He took a deep breath and bravely reported his findings.

"I’m picking up debris at the end of the ion trail. It coincides with the shuttle’s warp signature and matches Starfleet parameters."

"Residual bio-signatures?" Chakotay asked softly, rubbing his thumb over the tattoo in an unconscious gesture of worry.

"Sorry, Commander," Harry said, "we’re too far away to tell for sure."

Chakotay faced toward the forward view screen thinking furiously.

He couldn’t just assume they had been vaporized in the explosion. Captain Janeway was notorious for beating the odds, and if they had somehow managed to transport off the ship time was of the essence. At their current speed it would take three weeks to arrive at the debris field. They were already a week behind since they had been at station keeping for the last six days and Chakotay knew Seven couldn’t survive without regenerating for four weeks.

Initially, he hadn’t been happy to have the former Borg drone on board. He had expected her to betray them at any and every opportunity, but had been happily disappointed. She had saved the crew of Voyager on more than one occasion, sometimes in direct violation of orders, and he had grown to regard her as a friend.

As for Kathryn he still had very special feelings for the headstrong woman, but was smart enough to realize that ship had sailed as well as the reason why. He would do everything in his power to get to them in time.

"Tom, increase speed to warp 9.5," he directed.

"Sir?" Tom asked in surprise, turning to look at Chakotay.

"You have a problem with your hearing, Lieutenant?" Chakotay asked sharply.

Tom quickly spun back around, keying in the proper commands to make the small ship leap forward. 

"No sir," he answered smartly, "but you had better let B’Elanna know."

Chakotay grinned in understanding. The Klingon-Human hybrid was notorious for her protective streak when it came to her beloved engines. He called down to engineering and notified the engineer they would be running at maximum for the foreseeable future and that her job was to keep the engines operating. At this speed it would knock down their arrival time to one, maybe one and half weeks... assuming the engines didn’t fail. It was the best they could do.

****************************

Seven was holding three mostly humanoid aliens at bay with the phaser rifle before Kathryn finally emerged from the tent with a hand weapon. They had been so engrossed with each other that they hadn’t heard the alarm sound.

The aliens had set the perimeter alarm off one hundred meters from the clearing and now stood only eight feet away.

Bipedal with slick, hairless skin, the three aliens’ bodies were tanned a golden hue from exposure to sun and sea. The clothing was a simple weave of soft cream and blue material consisting of a tunic and britches.

They held their hands up with the palms out in the universal gesture of peace. Seven could see they had webbed fingers. She wondered if they were amphibious, capable of breathing the thin atmosphere and processing oxygen from the water.

"We mean you no harm," one of the aliens said.

Seven was surprised to hear a female voice through the universal translator.

"What do you want?" she asked icily.

She was still a little disgruntled at having been interrupted and wasn’t quite ready to be mollified.

"Seven, no need to be rude," Kathryn said softly indicating the Borg should lower her weapon.

Seven glared at her in disbelief for a moment. How could Kathryn possibly trust these beings? She didn’t know anything about them.

Reluctantly, she lowered her rifle returning her gaze to the intruders. Kathryn was still her captain and Seven would follow her orders even if she didn’t agree. There had been a time when nothing would have compelled her to go along with what she thought was a tactically unsound decision, but things had changed since then. If her trust in the captain wasn’t enough to convince her, her love for Kathryn was.

"I’m Kathryn," the dynamic captain said stepping forward.

Seven noted that although Kathryn appeared friendly and diplomatic she kept her thumb on the activation button of the phaser. If anything threatening occurred she had only to raise the weapon to fire. Seven approved.

"I am Talie," the female said walking to meet Janeway. "These are my friends, Frae and Loman. We are from Q’ntar Village."

That sounds like a Klingon name, Kathryn thought.

"You are not from here," the one called Frae interjected, stating the obvious.

The voice was masculine. Kathryn noticed Frae and Loman were significantly taller than Talie by as much as half a head. They had larger hands and feet than their female counterpart. Other than that Janeway could see little physical difference to determine male and female.

Kathryn hesitated, unsure how much to reveal. The Prime Directive applied to this culture since they were a pre-warp civilization.

"It is all right," Talie assured her. "Our planet is located near an area of space highly charged with ion storms. Occasionally other species will crash here. We are a simple people, but that doesn’t mean unintelligent. It would be the height of arrogance to assume we are the only species in the galaxy or that others could not develop space travel. Don’t you think?" she asked holding Kathryn’s gaze.

"It would at that," she agreed. Janeway could tell she was going to like these people.

Seven even seemed to relax next to her.

"This is my friend," Kathryn said, introducing the tall blonde, "Seven."

Frae seemed unusually interested in the Borg, walking around her and studying her intently. Kathryn endeavored not to roll her eyes. She could see the interest on his face and was used to it from the crew of Voyager. She was not, however, accustomed to the small pang of jealousy that shot through her.

Get a grip, Katie she admonished herself. One kiss doesn’t mean you own her. Oh but what a kiss, and it could have been so much more.

In truth, Kathryn had been grateful for the interruption. If not for that they would have consummated a physical union and Kathryn wasn’t sure she was ready for that. At least she hadn’t told Seven she loved her. There would have been no going back from that and it was going to be hard enough as it was.

She forced her thoughts back to the present situation. These people already knew about warp capable civilizations so the prime directive didn’t apply, and they certainly seemed friendly enough. That made things a lot easier.

"I’m the captain of the Federation Starship Voyager," she continued. "Our shuttle was being destroyed by an ion storm and we managed to make it down here just before it exploded."

She didn’t mention transporters, unsure just how much to reveal about their advanced technology. After all the Kazon had warp capable ships, but no transporters.

"Well, you were lucky," Loman said speaking for the first time. "It doesn’t look as though you’ve been injured and you appear to be well equipped." He  indicated the camp site.

"Indeed," Seven agreed in a tone that let Kathryn know she was becoming suspicious again.

"Is there anything you require?" Talie asked. "Our village is not far from here. We would be happy to have you join us. And our structures are more comfortable for keeping out of the wind and rain." 

Humor colored her voice.

"What are your technological capabilities?" Seven asked bluntly.

"Seven . . . " Kathryn began and laid a restraining hand on the Borg-enhanced arm, afraid the young woman would offend their hosts. So far they had been friendly, but Janeway saw no need to antagonize them. Not only would good manners not allow for it, but she didn’t know if they would seek physical retaliation for an imagined insult. Some species they had encountered in the Delta Quadrant would do so for less than that!

Again Talie soothed the situation indicating that there was no offense. The Denaldi people were technologically advanced, she assured them. They didn’t seek space travel because they were content to remain on their planet living a simple life, but they did boast sophisticated communications and entertainment technology. Was there something special they required?

"It’s just that we’ve been trying to build a homing beacon to help our ship locate us," Kathryn explained. "We’re having problems getting it to function."

"Our leaders would be willing to provide whatever you require . . . for a nominal exchange," Talie said in an odd tone.

Seven was sure her fears were about to be confirmed and narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"What kind of exchange?" she asked in a deadly voice.

She felt Kathryn’s fingers tighten on her arm, and knew the captain was also concerned although her countenance never deviated from a friendly, open expression.

"We do not utilize currency," Talie began, "ours is a barter system. If you have nothing you wish to trade, you may work for your supplies."

Depending on what type of ‘work’ the Denaldi expected this could be ugly, Kathryn thought.

At the continued silence of the two strangers Talie seemed to catch on to their uncomfortable thoughts. Her skin flushed a dark brown in what Kathryn assumed to be embarrassment.

"Not that kind of work!" she insisted. "We are a small fishing village. The work is hard and the weather is not always kind. We need strong hands to help haul in the nets and keep the cooking fires burning."

"And in exchange for this work?" Kathryn asked.

"You will be provided with a small room, two meals per day and whatever components you require to finish your ‘beacon’," she answered with an open, honest expression.

"Why are you so generous?" Seven asked, unconvinced at the benevolence of this species.

As a Borg she was accustomed to encountering aliens she had previous knowledge of, but she had never heard of these people so she had no frame of reference.

"As Talie indicated," Frae continued, "the weather is not always kind. The seas can be rough and often cause extensive damage to our structures and vessels. You would be expected to follow our village mandates and help make repairs. You should also be aware that residing in a fishing village can be very dangerous."

"I don’t understand," Kathryn admitted. "What you’re proposing sounds pretty straight forward. My people have a saying, ‘honest work for honest pay.’ I see no problem with what you are proposing and don’t understand how it could be dangerous, unless you expect us to work in the middle of a storm."

When the aliens didn’t respond Kathryn realized that was exactly what they were saying.

"Maybe you should tell us about your village mandates," she suggested as diplomatically as possible.

"It is simple," Loman answered. "If a severe storm blows in you will be directed to a work site. You may be assigned to anything from helping to secure moorings, to evacuating the population. Occasionally, you may be assigned to help secure the fishing boats."

"It doesn’t sound so bad," Kathryn commented. "And we certainly need those parts. We agree to your conditions." 

She willed Seven to stay quiet, and for once the young woman complied.

Kathryn and Seven packed up their camp with the help of their new friends and followed them into the woods. They were led down a well-worn game trail still bearing the prints of a multitude of unique animals.

Approximately two hundred meters along the path was a short, squatty land vehicle. The body was composed of a lightweight but durable poly alloy, sitting atop four wide rubbery tires with thick spiky tread that would prevent the vehicle from sticking in mud.

The trip to the village was uneventful and the two women took advantage of the opportunity to rest. After a half hour the truck finally broke through the woods and moved smoothly onto a paved road. From here, Kathryn could see the fishing village although she had to admit it didn’t look like much of a village. It looked like a small, thriving city.

Several smoke houses sat back well away from the shore and gave off the salt-sweet scent of smoking fish. A long pier began near the edge of the tide and extended out for about 500 meters before it terminated at a large, communal structure that reminded Kathryn of a ski resort she had visited in the Swiss Alps on Earth. It looked like something out of a storybook with gingerbread type eaves and framing, with a sloped roof. The aromas from the food cooking inside were wonderfully inviting and Kathryn wondered if it housed a fireplace.

What she wouldn’t do to have Seven in front of a fireplace in a romantic setting, she thought then abruptly pushed the unwanted thoughts aside.

Unlike the ski resort the boat house could easily house more than a thousand people. Kathryn saw it wasn’t the only one of it’s kind either. There were four other similar structures lining the wharf.

Numerous small and large fishing boats lined the edges of the pier and were tied off at massive poles that had been imbedded into the deck. The area was extremely busy with people wandering around conducting their daily business. Children laughed and played in the surf, and chased each other on the beaches in a universal game of tag.

Kathryn felt a sense of peace settle over her and felt her companion truly relax for the first time since they had arrived on this planet.

They were led across the main lobby of the boat house and into a small room near the kitchens while Frae continued down a long hallway alone. Loman apologized for the size of the room, but explained that since it was near the kitchen it would provide welcome heat during the frigid nights, and that they really didn’t have a lot of extra space for unexpected company.

Kathryn assured him the space was fine though secretly she dreaded continuing to sleep in Seven’s arms since she wasn’t sure how strong her willpower was at the moment. The contented look in the blonde’s eyes was enough to convince her not to try to arrange for additional quarters at a later opportunity.

Frae returned with bundles of cloth in his large hands before the other two Denaldi finished settling in their guests.

"I brought you some clothing native to this region," he explained. "Perhaps you would not feel so conspicuous in these. Also, right down the hall you will find a communal bathing room. It boasts a large bathing area with built in shelves for your comfort. You may stay there for as long as you wish, but the best time is right before the dinner rush and late evenings."

Kathryn felt the heat rush to her face and knew she blushing furiously at the thought of sharing a bath with the beautiful ex-drone. The former Borg felt her captain tense up and moved closer in an instinctive urge to protect the smaller woman, not realizing that she was the source of the woman’s discomfort.

Loman saw the flush and misunderstood the reason for it.

"We do understand that some species prefer privacy," he began, and Kathryn felt some of the tension ease from her shoulders.

"You may hang a privacy sign on the door to prevent us from interfering while you and your companion bathe together," he finished and Kathryn felt herself tense back up.

Diplomacy, and common courtesy dictated that she not refuse such a generous offer. She had faced harder things, she thought, species 8472, the Vidians, surely she could survive a bath!

"Thank you," Kathryn said sincerely.

She and Seven had been washing in the icy waters of the stream by their campsite, and she couldn’t think of anything more heavenly at the moment than a long, hot bath, and fresh clothing. She would just have to force herself not to look at the young woman. Somehow that didn’t sound as easy as it should, she thought with an internal snort.

"When you hear the chime sound twice, it will be time for the commencement of the dinner hour. Go back out to the lobby and just follow the crowd, they will lead you to the dining hall. The village leader will meet with you over evening meal," Loman informed them.

"At that time, you will be told what will be expected of you and what will be granted in return."

"I understand," Kathryn said. "I also want to thank you for your generosity."

Talie stepped up to the small captain and placed a friendly hand on her shoulder.

"Our culture believes that when you aid a stranger in need, the favor will be returned exponentially. You need not thank us," she continued with a smile, "just work hard."

Kathryn dipped her head in silent acknowledgment as the three seemingly benevolent beings left the room.

Janeway turned to look at Seven.

"You were awfully quiet. Any thoughts?" she solicited.

Seven took a moment before formulating a reply. She sat on the edge of the small bed before she did, and Kathryn was surprised. Usually the ex-Borg preferred to stand since as she had stated on many occasions that ‘Borg do not sit’.

"In truth I have seen nothing that warrants concern," Seven admitted. "These beings seem friendly and outgoing. I must admit it is refreshing when I have seen so many instances of artifice in Voyager’s crew to encounter a species that states exactly what they mean and are straightforward in the pursuit of that goal."

It took a moment for Kathryn to run that through her ‘Borg translator’ before she replied ruefully, "What you see is what you get, hmm?"

"Precisely," Seven agreed efficiently. "However, I noticed that you seemed uncomfortable with the thought of sharing a bath, Kathryn. Is there a restriction against such a sharing among humans?"

The young woman seemed genuinely mystified, and Kathryn searched for the words to help her understand.

"Not necessarily," she admitted. "As far back as the early Romans of Earth, communal bathing was considered the norm. Even during my time at the Academy men and women shared locker rooms. If I seem uncomfortable it’s just that this is a little different situation."

"How so?" the young woman asked. "Our situation is that we need to clean ourselves. I do not understand how the joint use of the facilities in one situation differs from that of another," she said reasonably.

No, I don’t suppose you would, Kathryn thought. She also realized she was making a complete mess of things and confusing Seven.

"It’s nothing," Kathryn assured her and patted Seven’s shoulder.

She could feel the shape of a starburst implant just below Seven’s right collarbone, and suddenly wondered what the rest of the remaining implants looked like. Heat threatened to flood her face again as she realized she was about to find out.

"Let’s check on that bath," Kathryn said smiling charmingly.

Kathryn removed her tunic and tossed it negligently across the bed. Then she picked up the bundles of cloth Frae had placed on the covers, and passed one to Seven. She didn’t know exactly what was contained in each parcel and found herself hoping fervently that Frae had managed to acquire something that would cover Seven’s creamy skin.

Reaching the bathing chamber Kathryn was happy to discover it abandoned for the time being. She found a small sign hanging on a peg on the wall and hoped it was the privacy indicator.

The room was fairly large, and the walls were solid boasting no windows. Two separate bathing pools dominated the room. They could easily hold half a dozen people at a time and scented steam rose lazily from the swirling waters. They reminded Kathryn of whirlpool baths and suddenly she couldn’t wait to get into the waist high water.

She passed Seven the small wooden plaque and utilized the time it took for her companion to hang it on the door to quickly strip off the rest of her clothing and get into the water.

Seven took the small square of wood from the captain and went to place it on the door. She understood that for some reason Kathryn was embarrassed, and tried to draw out the simple task to afford the captain a measure of privacy. Perhaps she thinks her body would not be aesthetically pleasing to me, Seven thought. Surely there could be no other reason for attempting to hide it from me.

Her musings distracted the blonde from her intention of taking extra time. She turned back toward the bath and raised her eyes to meet the sight of Janeway’s bare bottom as she climbed the two small steps to get into the tub.

How could she think such a thing, Seven wondered in awe. The auburn hair fell to just below her shoulders, sweeping softly against the freckled back. Muscles rippled in the seemingly fragile back and tapered to a narrow waist before the flesh flared gently at the swell of the narrow hips.

Seven’s eyes continued their exploration over the firm mounds of Janeway’s buttocks, watching the flexing muscles intently as the redhead walked over to a submerged shelf and gratefully sank up to her chest in the hot water.

As Janeway’s assets were covered Seven realized she was becoming a little dizzy. Then she realized she had forgotten to breathe having been so caught up in the sight displayed before her.

Shaking her head to clear the fog Seven walked over to the edge of the tub and began removing her own clothing. Kathryn’s eyes were closed, but Seven had no need for privacy. As a Borg she didn’t wear clothing since she had exo-plating, so had never really understood the necessity.

Thinking the captain merely relaxing, Seven finished undressing and climbed into the tub. She sat across from Kathryn on another shelf and immediately removed a cake of soap from a basket sitting on the edge of the bath.

Kathryn had been aware of the Borg’s scrutiny, and judging from the expression on her face the woman had liked what she saw. After Kathryn had settled into the water she had closed her eyes not wanting to make the other woman uncomfortable with her own visual inspection. She hadn’t been able to close them completely, however.

She watched as Seven reached behind her neck to undo the closure of the bio-suit, watched the young woman peel the now offensive garment away from the luscious body, and drank in the sight of the exquisite beauty.

A starburst implant, the one Kathryn had felt earlier, rested just under Seven’s right collar bone, a smaller, matching implant rested on the right bicep. Seven’s ribcage and abdomen were encased in a metal corset. The metal began just under the full breasts and terminated just below where the young woman’s navel would have been. The implant that covered the abdomen wasn’t solid, it was strips of metal bands between which Kathryn could see smooth skin.

One narrow offshoot of the abdominal implant ran down the blonde’s left thigh, terminating just above the knee.

The implants didn’t detract from Seven’s appearance, but seemed to enhance it. Kathryn was sure this was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen.

After the young woman descended into the water, and began soaping down her body Kathryn felt comfortable enough to begin her own bath. Words wouldn’t come, there was nothing she could say that could compare to what she had just seen.

A few minutes later Seven broke the silence in her own usual way.

"Kathryn, you have a beautiful body," she said sincerely.

Janeway sucked in air so fast she started choking on it. When she finally regained her composure she could only stare at the young woman in disbelief.

"Is that not why you attempted to hide from me?" she asked honestly puzzled at Janeway’s reaction. "Was it not because you thought your form would be displeasing to me?"

"Seven," Kathryn began, "it is considered impolite to comment on the appearance of another person’s body, unless you share a more . . . intimate relationship."

The young woman didn’t understand how their relationship could possibly be more intimate, other than of course in the strictly sexual aspect. Kathryn had severed her from the Borg at great risk to her crew, not once but twice. They interacted on a very personal scale, to include late night ‘philosophical discussions’ that Seven knew Kathryn would never allow with another member of the crew. She knew the captain watched her regenerate. What could be more intimate?

"I have already told you that I love you," Seven said completely unfazed by the captain. "I understand that committing the actual physical consummation would undoubtedly grant us the more intimate relationship you speak of. But I believe that watching me regenerate could be considered more intimate than actually copulating."

Janeway winced at the stark terminology, but had to admit Seven had a point.

"Making love," Kathryn mumbled and dropped her eyes to the swirling water.

"Excuse me, Kathryn?" Seven’s enhanced hearing had picked up the words clearly, but she was unsure of the smaller woman’s thought processes.

Blue-gray eyes looked up to lock with crystal blue. "I could never copulate with you. It is very important for me that you understand this." 

She continued to look at Seven beseechingly. Her innate honesty demanded that she be completely truthful with the earnest young woman. "I may be prevented by things beyond my control from actually forming a physical relationship with you, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care."

Kathryn drifted closer to Seven, kneeling in the center of the large tub and taking both hands into her own. "I could never copulate or have sex with you. I could only make love with you."

The moment continued, tense and uninterrupted as Kathryn attempted to stare into the soul of this unique being and make her understand. Finally, Seven leaned forward. She moved slowly, carefully, trying not to scare Kathryn and lose the moment.

"Kathryn," she breathed as her eyes became heavy-lidded with desire.

Lips slowly met, and hesitantly explored until Kathryn reluctantly imposed a small distance.

"Let’s finish our bath before someone starts pounding down the door. I want to get something to eat as soon as possible, and then put you to bed," she explained.

"So we can make love?" Seven asked hopefully.

A happy chuckle escaped before Kathryn answered. "My, you do have a one track mind. But since you asked, no. I know you’re tired. You have dark circles under your eyes and you look even paler than usual. You need to eat, then sleep," she said with a trace of command in her voice.

Seven wasn’t happy with the answer but had to concede to the truth of the statement. She was feeling ‘washed out’. A phrase she had heard Lt. Torres use on occasion and now understood the validity of it.

The finished their bath and quickly exited the constantly heated and recycled water. Seven was happy to note that Kathryn did not attempt to conceal herself from the Borg’s eyes as they dried and dressed. They had just taken their dirty clothing to their assigned room when the dinner gong sounded, and they followed a small group of people to the spacious kitchens.

It wasn’t busy yet, but if what Loman had said was true it would get that way before long. Kathryn noticed that many of the Denaldi would not look at them. Others glanced at them quickly and then looked away when they realized they had been caught, and Kathryn began to get a funny feeling. Something wasn’t quite as it seemed, but she couldn’t pin down what was wrong.

She decided not to say anything to Seven in case she was imagining things. There was no need to upset the younger woman.

Dinner was served buffet style. They each picked up plates and utensils, and followed the line down the long serving area. Kathryn was starved and happily piled the food onto her plate. She might look small, she thought, but most people would be amazed at the amount of food she could put away. Kathryn noticed that Seven took a considerably smaller amount of nutrition than she did, and attributed it to the fact that she wasn’t used to eating.

At the end of the line they found beverages already poured into plastic-type glasses. Kathryn took a red, fruity-looking drink since there was nothing resembling coffee while Seven selected a mild tea. They found a small table in the corner, and Kathryn was distressed to note that everyone made a concerted effort to avoid them.

A Denaldi woman was walking by dragging a young child by the hand. She looked up and spotted the newcomers and her eyes went wide with something akin to fright.

"Dom’Nahar!" she breathed, and quickly dragged the child in the opposite direction.

This is definitely not good, Kathryn thought.

Movement caught her attention and Kathryn turned to see Loman and Talie approaching.

"Mind if we join you?" he asked pleasantly.

He and Talie were both holding trays of food and drink, and Kathryn was happy for the company.

"Please," she said with a smile, indicating that they should be comfortable.

"Where is the village leader?" Seven asked, looking around as though expecting someone else to joint them. "Did you not indicate that he would meet with us to discuss duties over the meal?"

"Doesn’t miss a thing, does she?" Loman asked Kathryn with a smile, before turning to address the younger woman.

"Actually, you are correct. I did indicate that, and he is here. I am the village leader."

Seven lay her fork against the edge of her plate before shooting a challenging look at the tall Denaldi.

"You have deceived us. Explain," she demanded

"Seven, calm down," Kathryn ordered, placing a calming hand on Seven’s mesh-encased one. "I’m sure he can explain." She leveled her own stare at the man.

"I assure you," he began. "There was no deception intended. I simply did not think it important to mention."

"What else have you deemed unimportant to mention?" Seven asked acerbically, and immediately quieted when the captain shot her a ‘level ten’ look.

"Nothing really," he exclaimed, seeming genuinely distressed at the misunderstanding. "You have my sincere apology. What can I do to convince you?"

Kathryn didn’t know if the Denaldi leader had something to hide, but at this point she and Seven had little choice but to continue in their original agreement. With any luck they would have all the equipment they needed in a few days. If things precipitated a need to return to their previous campsite, at least they would be better equipped and know their signal was being sent. They would just have to be careful until there was further proof to warrant concern.

Utilizing her many skills as an accomplished negotiator Kathryn smoothed over the situation and they tucked into their meals. Loman outlined their expected duties as they ate. Kathryn would alternate between helping with emptying the fishing nets each morning and evening. She would also help with any repairs necessary to their fishing vessels in her free time between emptying the nets.

Loman and Talie had seen how exhausted Seven was and assigned her to help with the meals and watch the younger children. This would free up the more able-bodied adults to assist with the more laborious tasks of operating the village.

In exchange they would be provided with two meals a day and any electrical components they needed. Loman promised to take them to the central supply depot the next day before they began their duties, but he promised they were technologically advanced enough to help the women.

Conversation gradually became more subdued and generalized. They talked about the history of the planet and how the Denaldi believed in dealing fairly with all species. They were a strong people, surviving and thriving on a world made difficult by severe and unpredictable storms.

Listening to them talk one would have thought they had never had a moment of war in their history, Seven thought.

The evening was beginning to wear on the young woman and she decided the fatigue was most inconvenient as she poked unenthusiastically at her food. She decided she was ready to regenerate and if Kathryn would not end the evening then she would. However, she still had one more question.

"What is a Dom’Nahar?" she asked staring at Talie.

Both Denaldi went quiet and Kathryn noted with some concern the sudden flushing of their skin.

"It is nothing!" Loman insisted. "Where did you hear that?"

He seemed not only surprised at Seven’s question, but extremely anxious. Kathryn didn’t believe for a second that ‘it was nothing.’

"A woman saw us sitting here, and became quite agitated," Seven explained patiently.

Talie came to Loman’s rescue saying, "It’s an old superstition. It concerns a band of aliens that crashed on our world hundreds of years ago. A renegade sect of Denaldi captured the Dom’Nahar and sold them into slavery. Years later the Dom’Nahar revolted and murdered their keepers. It was said to be bad luck to have Dom’Nahar living in or around a fishing village."

"That does not make sense," Seven pointed out. "The Dom’Nahar were the one’s persecuted. Their actions are consistent with the actions any species would take to protect themselves."

"You have to understand," Loman said, "it happened hundreds of years ago, but some superstitions die hard. For a time, people believed that strangers brought bad luck to a village. This bad luck took the form of storms that destroyed the villages, or plagues that decimated underwater life causing the villages to starve."

Frae picked up the story. "Of course, in order for slavery to flourish there would have to be a large market for it. Our planet has adhered to a simpler way of life, shunning advanced technology. As a result the many species that once visited this world have gone on to more appealing destinations."

"So you are saying this activity no longer occurs?" Seven asked pointedly.

"Well," Loman began uncomfortably, "it is a very rare thing. Occasionally, an outsider may be enlisted, but it is only if they are exceptionally unique or have something of exceptional value, and even then it is strictly black-market. I daresay that you will be quite safe. Such a thing hasn’t happened for generations."

"That you know of," Kathryn said thoughtfully, wondering exactly how safe they were here.

"That I know of," he agreed sadly.

He and Talie bid a rapid good night and left the two women to their own devices. Loman had assured them that these things were all in the past, but Kathryn didn’t know if she believed him. Slavery? The Federation cultures were based on freedom and self-determination, although she had to admit that even Earth had gone through a similarly despicable period of time. How could she blame them or hold a grudge when it was obvious they were appalled at what had happened?

Most humanoid species contained a few bad seeds here and there and she knew she couldn’t wait around expecting the worst. Kathryn was confident in Seven’s abilities and the training Starfleet had drilled into her, and the fact was they had enough to worry about.

"Kathryn," Seven said, breaking into her reverie. "I am tired."

Kathryn took the hint and stood up, piling all of their dishes onto her own tray. If she could help it Seven would not overextend herself at all. She walked to the recycler she had seen Loman and Talie use and pushed the whole mess through. She didn’t know if all of the molecules would be broken down to their original patterns like the recyclers on Voyager, but found she didn’t really care. She was tired, too.

When they got back to their room Kathryn activated the locking mechanism on the door and tiredly stripped down to her underwear, ready to crawl into the soft-looking bed. She was surprised to see Seven sitting on the bed staring into space and holding her heels in her hand.

Kathryn knelt in front of the blonde and gently removed the shoes from her hands. She placed them under the bed and asked, "Would you like some help?"

"I am capable of undressing myself," Seven pointed out.

"No," Kathryn returned. "I don’t think you are. It’s been a long day." 

She continued before Seven could interrupt. "We’re both tired, and I’m worried about you. Please let me help."

"Very well," Seven finally conceded, although she really wasn’t sure she could accomplish the task on her own.

Kathryn gently removed the cream-colored top and blue slacks. She folded the clothing into a neat pile and placed it on the chair in the corner for the next morning. Then she helped Seven crawl between the sheets. Kathryn carefully extinguished the lamp before pulling the covers over them and snuggling against the long, lanky body.

She felt Seven’s arms slide around her to pull her close and drifted into a welcome sleep.

Chapter 5

The first day Frae had been assigned to take them to the supply depot as promised. Kathryn had been delighted to see that Loman hadn’t exaggerated about their advanced equipment. The building had been loaded with electrical components, power distribution nodes, hyper-spanners and laser cutting tools.

Some of the technology was completely inconsistent with Denaldi capabilities and she knew it must have been acquired from previous species that had crashed on or visited the planet. But she didn’t care, she was grateful they would have everything they needed to finish the subspace beacon.

The women worked hard during the day in exchange for the Denaldi’s generosity.

Kathryn quickly developed calluses on her hands from hauling in the heavy nets. Her skin burned slightly in the intense and unaccustomed sun, but the mild sunburn had quickly faded to a golden brown. She had always been fortunate in that she tanned quickly. Working hard in the fresh salt air, Kathryn felt better than she had in years. The air kept her invigorated even as the hard work left her sore in places she had forgot even existed, but the sense of accomplishment was well worth a few sore muscles.

Seven worked easily as hard, although her duties were mostly indoors. Cooking meals for hundreds of people and looking after the small children wasn’t as easy as she expected it to be. The heat from the fires quickly sapped her remaining energy, and she found herself falling into bed more and more exhausted at the end of every day.

At the end of each evening they spent time together working on the transponder. They decided to conduct all of the work in their room so that they would be well away from prying eyes. Since the first night in the meal hall more than one Denaldi had attempted to keep their distance from the strangers. Unaware of Seven’s enhanced hearing she had caught the word Dom’Nahar several times and was convinced that the practices of slavery may not be as ancient as Loman had claimed.

They made good progress on the transponder and completed it the third night. Both were thrilled to hear the hum of the machinery, knowing their signal was being transmitted. They were aware that according to their calculations Voyager wouldn’t arrive for another eighteen days.

Kathryn and Seven fell into bed that night feeling that things were definitely looking up.

Seven crawled under the sheets and waited for Kathryn to snuggle up against her. She wrapped her arms lovingly around the compact woman and nuzzled the auburn tangle gently. Since the night they had kissed in the bath chamber there had been no intimate contact except the cuddling as they slept, and Seven was missing the connection to Kathryn with an acute ache in her heart.

Desperately wishing for closer contact Seven unconsciously tightened her grip and felt Kathryn wince.

"Kathryn?" Seven asked softly, "Are you injured?"

"It’s all right. I’m just sore from working on the dock," she assured her young love.

Seven remembered from the assimilation of thousands of species that something called a massage could sometimes relieve the pain of strained muscles.

"Turn over," she commanded gently. "I will . . . rub your back for you."

A thrill ran through Kathryn at the thought of Seven’s strong hands exploring her body, and her thoughts instantly centered on something less innocuous than what she thought the younger woman meant. It would be easy to let things get out of hand, Kathryn thought. Still, the thought of the tension being eased from her muscles was too much to bear, and she turned to lie on her stomach with her face turned away from Seven.

Seven sat up and straddled Kathryn’s hips, being careful to keep most of her weight on her knees. They had continued sleeping in their underclothing and Seven had only to reach out to stroke the naked skin of Kathryn’s shoulders.

It wasn’t easy to concentrate on rubbing the knots from hard muscles. Seven wanted to focus on easing the soreness, but the feel of Kathryn’s buttocks pressing into the area between her legs was very distracting.

She rubbed in small circles, finding a knot and mashing until it loosened then continuing to the next. Beginning at the shoulders then down each shoulder blade and to the center of the spine, following the line of bumps to the small of the back she closed her eyes and immersed herself in the feel of skin and heat and muscles, listening to the sounds of contentment coming from her bedmate.

Kathryn thought this was absolute heaven. Seven’s hands were so sure and strong, deftly easing the strain of overuse. She didn’t attempt to hold back her sighs and gasps of pleasure. After a few minutes the sighs and gasps were for an altogether different reason as Kathryn became aware of the pressure of Seven against her bottom. As the young woman reached to massage the tired muscles her pubic mound rubbed back and forth against Kathryn’s hips.

Seven felt the change in Kathryn’s respiration, and felt the flush of heat in her skin. She felt an answering tingle in the pit of her stomach and understood that Kathryn was becoming aroused.

She gentled her touch, stroking not to calm, but to excite. She drew the tips of her fingers slowly down the small back, letting her partner feel the difference between the nails of her fully Human hand and the skin-warmed metal of her Borg enhanced one.

Goose bumps broke out on the flesh in her passing, and a smile came unbidden to grace the full lips. Allowing her hands to slide lower Seven scooted back and rubbed the tops of the hips where the swell of the buttocks began.

Slowly, she reminded herself as her own respiration picked up. Her nipples hardened as her hands made full contact with the fleshy mounds, and she felt Kathryn gasp and shift below her. Small hands braced themselves against the mattress as Kathryn turned her face into the sheet and took a large, slow breath.

Seven concentrated on applying the same pressure to massage the buttocks as she had used on the shoulders. She rubbed slowly over the white cotton material and allowed her right thumb to gently fall into the crease.

She shifted to straddle one of the muscular thighs as her hands continued their downward trek. Her own body was responding quite involuntarily with a flood of moisture, and she couldn’t resist pressing herself to the back of the leg, rubbing gently and creating a delicious friction.

Seven could feel her legs beginning to tremble from fatigue and was afraid Kathryn would stop her. And desperately hoped she wouldn’t. She had wanted this woman so much, needed her, and now that she was so close to attaining her desire was worried she wouldn’t have the strength to continue. She pushed the exhaustion away and concentrated on her desire.

Her thumb slid under the edge of the panty, searching for intimate flesh. Kathryn lifted her head and groaned then raised her knee allowing greater access, and Seven knew she wouldn’t be stopped.

Leaning forward she pressed firmly against the small body, and placed a gentle kiss against the small of Kathryn’s back. Her tongue eased from between her lips and she drew it up the length of the spine, tasting the precious flesh.

"Seven," Kathryn gasped softly, pressing upward against the exploring hands.

Fire burned through Kathryn’s body as Seven slowly loved her. Kathryn wanted her to go faster, then she wanted it to never end. She forced herself to lie placid under the burning touch, knowing the reward for drawing the moment out would be well worth it.

Finally, gentle hands eased the slip of cotton down the thighs and removed it completely. The strip of cotton encasing her breasts was unclasped, and left lying loose over Kathryn’s shoulders. She drew the offending garment off and tossed it negligently onto the floor.

Questing fingers eased the small legs apart and Kathryn heard the young woman inhale the scent of her arousal. She felt another rush of moisture at Seven’s groan of appreciation.

Full lips grazed the mounds of flesh at the same time that Kathryn felt a finger following her crease from the puckered rear opening down to the well-spring of moisture below, and she muffled the sound of her cries against the bedding.

Seven’s lanky body eased down over Kathryn’s as the young woman stretched out beside her, pressing her full breasts against the woman and never ceasing her ministrations. She explored Kathryn’s ear with her lips and tongue, breathing sensually into the delicate shell. To her delight, Kathryn turned her head seeking her lips.

Their lips met almost roughly, teeth gnashing, tongues exploring greedily. Seven eased her left arm around Kathryn’s chest, holding the smaller woman tightly against her. The fingers of her right hand dipped into the heat and moisture, drawing the moisture to the hardened nub and swirling over it before finding the source once again.

Seven heard a sound of frustration and eased away from the hungry mouth.

"Tell me what you desire," Seven whispered.

A shudder rocked Kathryn with the blatant sexuality of the comment, and she found herself responding without thought.

"Go inside me," she directed huskily.

Seven sought the sweet lips again even as she eased her middle finger into the velvet-heat. Kathryn groaned against her mouth and pressed harder against the welcome appendage, drawing it deeper.

"More," she groaned into Seven’s mouth, rocking her hips against the pressure.

The blonde slid in another finger, and then another, until she felt Kathryn couldn’t possibly accept anymore into the tight channel. She absorbed the feel of the clasping walls, slick with desire, the sudden thrusting of the captain’s hips as she strove for a firmer touch.

Seven gently, but firmly began thrusting deeply into the smaller woman, hearing the panting as Kathryn neared physical release. She felt a rougher patch inside the body and concentrated on rubbing and prodding the area. Kathryn began to shudder uncontrollably and Seven knew she was close.

Just as Kathryn felt the sharp, sweet sensation rush over her and cried out, she heard Seven whisper, "I love you, my Kathryn."

Seven continued pressing small kisses against Kathryn’s temple, stroking her gently as she felt the tremors coursing through the small body, ignoring her own desire that was still sharp within her. Gradually the shaking eased and Kathryn became aware of her surroundings again.

"That was unexpected," she said wryly and felt Seven smile against her back.

"I did not hear you complaining," Seven pointed out.

"No, I suppose not," Kathryn said and tried to turn over.

Seven eased her weight off the smaller woman as she turned over. Then Kathryn pressed her gently onto the bed, resting against her generous bosom.

Kathryn slowly ran her fingertips from Seven’s pale cheek, down her neck and across her chest. She leaned close and breathed into Seven’s mouth, "I’m going to have to punish you for insubordination."

"Indeed," Seven gasped. "And what form shall my punishment take?"

"Hmmm," Kathryn mused. "Perhaps we can just let it go with a tongue lashing."

Seven swallowed audibly. "That would be . . . acceptable," she murmured.

Kathryn caught the lips in a tender kiss, silencing further discussion. She left the generous mouth and licked and nipped her way down the tender throat to the breasts that had been demanding her attention since the first time she had seen the young woman in a silver bio-suit.

Her lips closed over the pink bud and Seven’s cry vibrated against her lips. She swirled her tongue over the nipple, drawing it deeply into her mouth and sucking gently. Then she wandered across the chest and lavished the same attention on its partner while gently stroking the pale sides with her work roughened hands.

Kathryn slowly worked her way down, kissing metal and exposed flesh. Seven’s implants didn’t repulse her, they excited her. This was the woman she had wanted with every fiber of her being and all of her was special to Kathryn.

She could hear Seven’s ragged breathing as she buried her face in the golden curls between the shapely thighs. Seven parted her legs to grant Kathryn greater access.

Kathryn slid her arms under the shapely hips, resting one hand on the young woman’s abdomen and cupping a breast in the other. The smell of Seven’s arousal was like ambrosia to Kathryn, and she dipped her head to kiss the knot at the apex of her sex.

Seven cried out and lifted her shoulders from the bed.

"Kathryn!" she cried, tangling her hands in the auburn locks.

Kathryn smiled and lowered her head again. She drew her tongue slowly down the shaft of Seven’s clit, passing over the humid opening and then slowly drawing her tongue back up. On the journey back up, her tongue penetrated the opening slightly, enough to gather up the delicious, creamy taste and make her ache for more.

She opened her mouth wide, taking as much of Seven into her as possible. Janeway swirled her tongue over the hard bundle of nerves and then back down to penetrate deeply into Seven’s body. She reached as far into the tight passage as she could with her tongue, licking deeply, tickling the sensitive flesh.

The blonde’s hips rocked gently, pressing against the face as her hands forced the tongue deeper. Seven could hear grunts and gasps, and belatedly realized the sounds were coming from her.

Suddenly, the wonderful tongue was being replaced with a finger. Kathryn’s tongue locked onto the excited nerve bundle as her finger stroked deeply in and out of Seven. Her hips moved faster, her body seeming to know instinctively what it needed.

"Oh," Seven cried out as she felt a gathering in the pit of her stomach that seemed be radiating outward, causing her nipples to stiffen even more, before cresting and shaking her helplessly.

Kathryn guided her lovingly through the climax, then gentled her touch to ease her lover down. Soothing now instead of exciting. Finally, she bestowed a last fond kiss to the mound of curls, and lay her cheek against a metal-encased belly.

Seven’s breathing eased and she languidly ran her hands through Kathryn’s tangled hair.

"I do not want to move," she finally stated in a tired voice.

Kathryn chuckled before saying, "Not surprising considering how much energy you’ve just expended."

She crawled up Seven’s body and lay gently against the strong chest, searching for Seven’s gaze.

"You realize that should never have happened, don’t you?" she asked, not unkindly.

Seven felt tears threaten as she realized Kathryn might regret their love making.

"You are going to tell me this cannot happen again," Seven said, unhappily.

The anguish behind the stark words ripped Kathryn to her core. She knew there was no going back, but they had to figure out where to go from here. She didn’t think either of them could go back to where they were.

After this small taste of heaven Kathryn couldn’t go back to the lonely existence of being a Starfleet captain, held apart and sacrosanct from the only other Humans in the quadrant. She wouldn’t let Seven go back to being one, alone. Slowly she reached up to capture a tear with her thumb as it slid from Seven’s human eye.

"I don’t think I can do that," she admitted. "I’m beginning to realize that what we have between us is inevitable."

A look of hope burned in Seven’s eyes as she seemed to understand what Kathryn was saying.

"You do not regret what happened?"

"I understand how you could think that," Kathryn allowed. "I’ve been keeping you at arms length even while telling you how I felt about you. But no, I don’t regret it. We just need to figure out what happens next."

"What happens next," Seven informed her with a touch of her former arrogance, "is that we continue to be together."

"It’s not going to be that easy when we get back to Voyager," Janeway told her. "There are going to be crewmembers that don’t approve of the captain having a relationship with anyone, and I won’t treat you like a dirty secret."

"Irrelevant. The crew has treated me with disdain since my arrival on the ship, and since you are the captain they will adapt."

"I just want to make sure you understand what we’ll be facing," Kathryn said. "I don’t want to see you hurt. I love you too much."

Seven looked at her with shining eyes, "You . . . love me?" 

"Of course, I love you," Kathryn said with a frown. "I don’t just make love with anyone."

"It’s just that you have never said it."

Kathryn leaned closer to the young woman, her intense gaze never wavering. "I love you," she breathed needing Seven to feel her sincerity. She kissed the soft lips gently, and whispered, "I love you, Seven of Nine." 

Her tongue stroked the soft skin and dipped into the mouth, "I love you, my darling, with all that I am."

Their lips met possessively, laying claim to their love and passion, finally realizing there was no denying this destiny. Kathryn had been meant to find Seven in this far away quadrant of the galaxy and in doing so found the only person she could ever love so completely. She had found her soulmate.

Chapter 6

Kathryn finished towel drying her hair as she walked back toward her assigned quarters.

She had taken advantage of the early morning hour to obtain a private bath while allowing Seven a few more minutes of rest.

They had solidified their physical relationship four nights before, and although Kathryn knew the young woman was growing increasingly lethargic she still insisted on making love each night before falling asleep in Kathryn’s arms.

Kathryn was disturbed at the very real possibility of the woman’s death if Voyager didn’t arrive soon. She knew that if they were searching at warp six, they weren’t due to be in the area for another eighteen days. She didn’t think Seven had that long.

She stopped outside their doorway, a sudden picture entering her mind, and she frowned in concentration. Seven had been extremely secretive about something for the last few days. She had been leaving the kitchens early, not waiting to have dinner with Kathryn at the end of her day, and retreated immediately to their room.

When Kathryn had come to the room after consuming her solitary meal it was to find the blonde quickly concealing something in a large piece of cloth. Perhaps she was utilizing the Denaldi equipment to try and rig a portable regeneration unit, Kathryn thought hopefully.

Kathryn quietly pushed open the door and slipped inside the room. She gathered her boots in her hand and sat in the corner chair to put them on.

Seven seemed to sense her presence, and rolled over with a groan, opening her eyes.

"Good morning, love," Kathryn said softly, walking over to sit beside the lanky blonde.

She sat on the edge of the bed and leaned down for a morning kiss, feeling loving arms sliding around her neck. Seven deepened the kiss with a murmur of appreciation, not releasing Janeway until she was breathless.

"Good morning, my Kathryn," She returned gently.

Kathryn brushed the backs of her knuckles over a pale cheek, surreptitiously feeling for a temperature. Seven appeared more pale than usual, and the circles under her eyes were quite prominent even after a full night’s sleep. Still, for all that, Kathryn didn’t notice a fever and wondered if the remaining Borg implants would prevent that telltale sign of physical distress.

"I am fine, Kathryn," Seven said, seeing the look of worry in the blue-gray eyes.

Taking advantage of the opening Kathryn mentioned her speculations of a few moments before asking the young woman if she had been attempting to construct a portable regeneration unit.

"No, Kathryn," Seven said, shaking her head slightly. "These people do not have the necessary technology for such an undertaking. Why do you ask?"

"Well, maybe I shouldn’t say anything, but I saw you working on something when I came in last night. I thought you were working on a way of drawing power for your implants, and if so, I was going to offer to help. I am a fairly decent scientist, you know," she teased gently.

Without commenting Seven pushed back the covers and slid out of the warm bed. Kathryn watched curiously as the tall woman walked over to their small dresser and pulled a cloth wrapped object.

"I finished this last night," Seven said reseating herself beside Kathryn. "I wanted you to have something to remember this time in case . . . " she trailed off, unable to continue.

"In case you don’t make it?" Kathryn finished for her, grasping the cleft chin and lifting the blue gaze to meet her own. She could see the answer in the sad eyes.

Seven didn’t tell Kathryn about the dizzy spells that were becoming more and more frequent. She didn’t tell her that she couldn’t eat anymore, and that after her work was completed she returned to nap for a few hours before Kathryn ended her day. Voyager would not make it in time. By her calculations she had a maximum of four days before her implants would begin shutting down her body.

Her gift to Kathryn was all she could leave her with. That and the memory of their love, which was why she insisted on making love every night even though she was so tired that her legs could hardly bear her own weight any longer.

She pressed the bundle into Kathryn’s hands and watched as she slowly unwrapped it.

Kathryn was surprised to see the glint of a finely honed blade. It was a knife. The blade was approximately ten centimeters long with a wicked curve at the end. The handle was made of white bone and finely carved. Kathryn made out a shape of Voyager on one side of the handle, and the destroyed Cochrane on the other. The sheath was made of a leathery skin from a shark- like beast that was considered a rare delicacy on this world.

With questioning eyes she looked at her young lover.

"How . . . why?"

"I made it from the salvaged piece of the shuttle you found," Seven admitted. "I utilized the Denaldi laser to shape and mold the blade. It is well balanced and will you serve you better than the small tools you have been utilizing on the dock."

Kathryn chuckled, remembering Seven use the last of the energy in the dermal regenerator to heal the small cuts on her hands from using the small, dull Denaldi knives to cut tangled fishing lines.

"Thank you," Kathryn said and gently kissed the young woman. "But don’t give up on me just yet. Voyager will make it. You’ll see."

She slipped the knife in her Starfleet boot, delighted to see it was a perfect fit. Was there ever a doubt, she wondered happily?

"Now, I have to go. I’m going to be late. Promise me you will rest whenever you get the opportunity," Kathryn ordered, sounding a lot like Captain Janeway. "I’m going to try to find Loman today and see if he’ll let you out of your duties. Since we don’t need any more supplies, perhaps he’ll let me work in exchange for our room and board." 

Leaning over for a last lingering kiss, Kathryn allowed thoughts of the day to slip from her mind as she concentrated fully on the taste of Seven’s lip.

**********************************

Kathryn strolled down to the dock formulating her argument to Loman as she went. There really was no need for both of them to work now. Kathryn was more than earning their keep, she thought.

She noticed a Denaldi male in front of her suddenly glance around suspiciously before ducking behind a smoke shack, then she heard whispered voices. Instinctively she knew the conversation was about the two strangers in the fishing village.

She looked around but the area was clear at this early morning hour, the sun just beginning to rise. Quietly she approached the side of the little building, intending to eavesdrop on the conversation, knowing her combadge would be able to pick up and translate the words easily.

"Have you finalized the arrangements?" came a gruff whisper.

"Yes. A small vessel will be standing by to transport you off this world, as well as two hundred thousand bars of vanadium."

An aggrieved hiss followed the words before a whining voice began. "He promised me two hundred fifty thousand bars." 

"The tall one is weak. She will not be an asset. You will deliver the females tomorrow night at the lighthouse."

The second voice was predatory and made the small hairs on the back of Kathryn’s necks stand up. Looks like Seven was right, she thought. Someone was attempting to sell them.

Kathryn realized they would have to leave the village as soon as possible. She would begin making arrangements today, while working and they would leave first thing tomorrow. There was no one to turn to for protection. Kathryn didn’t know who the third party was and didn’t want to inadvertently talk to the wrong person.

The conversation sounded like it was coming to an end and Kathryn slid around the back of the small building, hiding among a pile of rope and old rain barrels until the two thugs left. She waited a while just to be sure they were gone before continuing to the dock area. Her thoughts were swarming with ideas for escape, but she truly didn’t know if Seven was up to the challenge.

Around midmorning a storm began blowing in. Kathryn could feel the air temperature suddenly drop as the wind picked up. Glancing up she was surprised to see thunderclouds, heavy and angry looking, forming overhead. Rain storms were of course frequent here, but Kathryn hadn’t seen anything like this before.

"Secure the moorings!" shouted the foreman. "Start filling sandbags!"

Denaldians began rushing everywhere in an effort to secure the village.

"What’s going on?" Kathryn asked someone, concern darkening her eyes.

"We’re in for a blow. Looks like a big one. We need to tie down anything that could be blown away and secure the boats. Get busy!" he snapped before rushing off to his own duties.

She didn’t like the tone, but couldn’t argue with the direction. Time passed in a whirl as she pitched in to help. Rain began falling in a stinging slant, driving into her skin like little needles, but there was no time to worry about it. Suddenly a loud scream pierced the air.

A small fishing boat was being capsized by the massive swells that were cresting against the pier. One of the crew was tangled in the lines of the mainsail and was being dragged underwater. The boat was still tied off against the pier, but it was lying on its side. The cabin was filling with water and dragging it under.

"Help me!" he screamed, desperately trying to free himself. He couldn’t untie the knots in the rope. It was swelled tight with water.

Kathryn leapt off the side of the pier and landed on the hull, boots sliding momentarily while she grabbed for the sidelines. She pulled herself hand over hand to the panicked man, pausing when she reached him to pull Seven’s knife from her boot.

Seeing salvation so close he lunged for her, grasping frantically around Kathryn’s throat. If this keeps up he’ll drown us both, she thought.

She used the handle of the weapon to strike him solidly in the solar plexus and felt his grip relax marginally. Kathryn pushed him away before he could regain his breath and deftly sliced through the rope. As soon as he was free other hands were there helping the two onto the pier. The mooring line was cut and the boat was left to sink slowly to the murky depths of the raging ocean.

Shaking with fatigue and reaction Kathryn sank to her knees on the dock and drew breath in great shuddering gulps. She felt a blanket being placed around her shoulder and looked up to see Frae.

"You did well, Kathryn," he said thumping her on the shoulders. "Most everything is secured now, we can finish up. Why don’t you go have a meal and get some rest?"

"What will happen now?" she asked, wearily. "Is the storm almost over?"

"No," he said gravely. "This one is just getting settled in. We’ll be on shifts until it’s over. Someone will brief you later what your task will be. Go see your friend. Make sure she’s okay, and eat." 

Gratefully, Kathryn climbed to her shaky feet, pulling the blanket closer around her to ward off the chill of the wind. She had to lean into the gusts as she made her slippery way back to the main house.

*************************************

When the storm started Seven became frantic worrying about Kathryn, but she was ordered by the kitchen overseer not to leave the boat house. She was told that such storms were not unheard of and that everyone was expected to fulfill their duties. Hers was to make sure there was enough hot stew and heated drinks for the dock crews that would start coming in shifts.

Since this was just enough like what would be expected of her during a crisis on the ship she complied.

Nevertheless it was a great relief to see Kathryn stumble through the doors a few hours later. The small woman was soaked to the bone, and her lips were blue with cold. Seven immediately dropped what she was doing to go to her, not hearing the stern lecture start behind her only to be broken off as the overseer realized the young woman wasn’t listening.

Seven wrapped her arms around the fragile body of her lover and half-carried her over to one of the huge fireplaces. She left Kathryn for a moment to retrieve a dry blanket and replace the heavily sodden one. Kathryn’s teeth were chattering and Seven briskly began rubbing her upper arms to generate some heat.

"Kathryn, are you alright?" Seven asked, frightened when the smaller woman still hadn’t said anything.

"C...cccold," she muttered, shivering mightily.

"I shall be right back. I am going to get you something to drink." 

She returned a few moments later with a stiff Denaldi tea, she had added a shot of strong liquor to help warm the captain. Seven sat behind Kathryn, pulling the smaller woman into her arms.

"Drink this," she ordered, and helped Kathryn guide the drink to her lips.

Seven was gratified when the shaking gradually subsided and some color started coming back into the classic features.

Haltingly, Kathryn began to fill the blonde in on what had happened on the docks. She began with the overheard conversation and continued through the near death of the deck hand.

Seven didn’t interrupt. She allowed Kathryn to complete her tale, knowing that it was the captain who was talking now, planning what was to come. She was satisfied that the knife she had given Kathryn had already been used to save a life.

"We’ll have to leave as soon as the storm blows over," Kathryn finished.

At the same time, the stoutly built kitchen overseer stalked over to the two with her hands on her hips.

"Well, missy! Are you done with your break?" she asked sarcastically.

Seven felt the anger course through her veins and felt more energetic than she had in a week. They crash land on a hostile planet, people were making plans to see them as slaves, Kathryn had almost drowned attempting to save a member of this species, and then this repugnant sloth of a female has the nerve to use that tone with them?

She drew herself up to her full height and assumed her most intimidating Borg persona.

"We are not finished. I will let you know when we decide we are. You will not interrupt us again if you wish to continue to exist. Do you understand?" she asked glacially.

The Denaldi sputtered, "Uh . . . yeah . . . sure. Sorry," and scooted quickly away.

When she turned back to her companion it was to see Kathryn sitting with a hand over her mouth trying not to burst into loud guffaws of laughter. It was so good to see Seven with her dander up again.

Seven simply lifted the implant over her left eye and brow at Kathryn’s response.

"We must get you out of your wet clothing before you become ill," Seven informed her, reaching down to grasp the smaller hands and pull Kathryn to her feet.

"Remind me never to make you angry," Kathryn said gravely as they returned to their room.

As soon as the door was closed Seven gently removed Janeway’s wet garments, and lovingly rubbed the body dry with the towel Kathryn had draped over the chair that morning.

A loud booming sound caused the building to shudder and Seven let out a startled exclamation.

"It’s alright," Kathryn said reassuringly. "It’s just thunder."

"Thunder?" Seven asked. "I am sorry, Kathryn. I grew up in space with the Borg. I am unaccustomed to the effects of unpredictable weather patterns." Her eyes were large with fright.

Kathryn was used to a certain amount of arrogance and superiority from the Borg, not this vulnerability and she felt a surge of tenderness for her lover.

"It’s alright, darling. I know it’s loud, and at times frightening, but thunder really can’t hurt you."

She suddenly found herself stifling a yawn. Seven turned away and pulled down the covers.

"You are tired. Since you are on break for an unspecified amount of time and do not know how long your next shift will be, you should sleep now," Seven said in a no nonsense tone that Kathryn sounded remarkably like her mother, Gretchen.

She found herself responding to the voice and climbing under the blanket without a second thought.

"But what about you?" Kathryn asked, suddenly realizing the Borg might feel compelled to return to duty.

"I shall stay with you," Seven said promptly. "I am tired and I find this thunder unsettling. If I stay with you, I will not be afraid." 

She quickly stripped off her own clothing. Then Seven reset the tricorder they had previously used as a perimeter alarm to notify them if anyone attempted to gain access to the room.

Kathryn gladly held out her arms to enfold the young woman and even with the storm raging outside they fell into a welcoming slumber.

Chapter 7

The harsh clanging of an alarm klaxon woke them and they scrambled out of bed and into their clothing, rushing out of the room to the central meeting hall.

It was late in the evening, or early in the morning depending on how you looked at it, Kathryn thought noticing people rubbing the sleep out of their eyes.

The storm was raging, seemingly more powerful than ever she noticed as the rain pelted against the windows in driving sheets. Thunder boomed almost continually, shaking the structure and Kathryn felt Seven shivering where their shoulders touched.

She turned her hand brushing against Seven’s, letting her know she was there for her. Unmindful of the throng of aliens Seven gently clasped Janeway’s smaller hand in her own, careful not to grasp too tightly with the Borg mesh.

Loman drew their attention by stepping onto a quickly erected platform to address the crowd, holding up his hand for silence that was begrudgingly granted.

"We have a situation," he began and was almost overwhelmed by the muttering that broke out around him.

"Please, listen," he shouted over the din. Finally it quieted and he was able to continue. "The storm is stronger than we anticipated. I need everyone to go to emergency stations." 

He began barking orders to the various teams. As he completed his instructions to each team they vacated leaving a smaller and smaller crowd. Blue team was to begin filling sandbags and lining the edges of the dock and boat house. When they left he addressed the red team.

Red team was to ensure all mooring lines were secured to land and standby in case the lines tying the boats to the pier had to be cut. If the fishing vessels capsized, as an earlier one had done, they couldn’t chance the pier being snapped by the weight.

Green team was to tie down anything loose and standby to fill in for members of the other teams.

Finally, only nonessential personnel were left in the meeting hall. They were instructed not to leave the boat house. The emergency crews had their hands full, and couldn’t waste time rescuing bystanders that were blown overboard.

As the meeting hall emptied Kathryn was preoccupied with her thoughts. As a Starfleet captain she wasn’t the type to just stand around. She needed to help out.

Seven interrupted by tugging gently on her hand.

"I must go," she said, obviously not wanting to.

"Annika?" Janeway asked distractedly, unsure what the young woman was talking about.

Seven smiled at the use of her human designation, liking the way it sounded on Kathryn’s lips, but realizing the smaller woman wasn’t even aware of having used it.

"I must go to the kitchens," she clarified. "The emergency crews will require nutritional supplements and hot beverages."

"I understand," Kathryn said, and she did. "Wait, Seven I don’t know if you’re aware of what all is happening, but I believe the boat house in danger of sinking. If that happens I don’t care what our orders are, you are to find me. We have a better chance of survival if we stay together."

Seven seemed to realize the magnitude of the situation and said, "I will comply."

Kathryn knew the young woman had an extensive vocabulary by now and only fell back on her Borg intonations when she was extremely nervous.

"We’ll be fine," Kathryn assured her, starting to walk away.

"Kathryn," Seven said hesitantly, "our attackers may utilize this opportunity to capture us. Please do not carry out any assigned tasks alone, while I will remain in the company of the kitchen workers." 

She stepped close and wrapped her arms around the tiny waist of her lover. "I could not bear it if anything happened to you."

"I feel the same, my love," Kathryn assured her, "but I can’t just stand around and watch others trying to save us. I’m going to try to talk Loman into letting me help on the pier." 

Seven placed gentle fingers on Kathryn’s cheek. "No, you cannot. It is not in your nature. But you will be careful." It was a statement, not a request.

"I will," Kathryn promised as Seven leaned down to bestow a soft kiss on her lips before walking to the kitchen.

Kathryn rushed to catch up to the village leader. He was almost out the door, sliding into a heavy-duty raincoat.

"Loman!" she shouted, forestalling him.

He turned curiously at the sound of his voice.

"What can I do to help?" she asked with a determined voice.

Kathryn Janeway exuded an air of command and assurance at all times, but in serious situations that aura became even stronger. Even if she didn’t have experience at this sort of thing Loman was sure she could be counted on.

Unhappily conceding defeat he said, "Go to section forty-one and help secure the mooring lines."

Kathryn had been working on the docks for five days, but wasn’t used hearing the locations referred to by a number. At her confused look Loman turned to Frae who had just come in out of the driving wind and rain.

"Frae, take her to section forty-one. Work with her on the moorings."

Someone shoved a raincoat into Janeway’s hands and she pulled it on rapidly, following Frae outside.

She was soaked instantly below the hem of the jacket. The wind drove the rain sideways into her legs and whipped the edge of the too large coat. Her hair was plastered to her head and hung dripping into her face. Kathryn pushed it roughly off her forehead, reaching for the hood and pulling it over her head.

Kathryn leaned into the blow trying to keep Frae in sight, but the rain was coming down so hard she could barely see him even only a few feet away. Kathryn could feel her heart thumping in her chest, fear pumping adrenaline into her veins.

People thought Starship captains didn’t experience fear; that wasn’t true. But they learned to channel it, draw strength from it. That’s what Janeway attempted to do now. She was afraid for herself, and Seven. Afraid of the power of this storm, unsure of these people, but she would make sure they came out all right. She had made Seven that promise and would not let anything make her break it.

Fighting against the wind the trek to the end of the pier seemed to take forever. They were still about fifty meters from the end when they neared a small supply shed and Kathryn took advantage of it to get out of the worst of the wind for a moment while awaiting instructions from Frae.

He ducked into the small shed and returned a moment later with a handful of small black cylinders inside a clear plastic tube.

"This is supposed to be a breathing apparatus," he explained, shouting over the storm. "Someone authorized the wrong one so we’re going to have to assemble it." 

He was obviously furious at the wasted time. It would take precious moments they didn’t have Kathryn knew, but there was no getting around it. If they were blown over the pier in carrying out their duties they would need these.

She had difficulty connecting the intricate parts with her wet and shaking hands. Just then the wind began howling even stronger, trying to blow the equipment from her hands. The pier gave a mighty heave and lifted several feet into the air, tilting to port.

Kathryn grasped for the handle of the shed and held on desperately as Frae lost his footing and slid toward the sea. He clawed for the pylon and the wet rope handle and barely managed to grasp in and prevent himself from falling overboard.

Kathryn’s first thought was for Seven of Nine. She had told her they needed to be together to survive if something went wrong, now she wasn’t so sure. As weary as she had become Kathryn didn’t know if Seven had the strength to battle the raging wind and water to find her. In fact, Seven probably wouldn’t even begin to know where to look.

A short, sharp blast sounded shrilly, and Kathryn squinted at Frae trying to garner the meaning of the signal.

"What is that?" she shouted, thinking of Seven.

Frae struggled to get his feet under him, skidding over the slippery deck.

"It’s a warning signal. The stabilizing struts have burst," he shouted back, making his way toward her. "We have to stay where we are so rescue people where know where to find us."

Or our bodies, Kathryn thought grimly. This means we’re going down, I’ve got to find Seven, she thought feeling the terror wash over her, making her want to run screaming.

A dark shadow looming behind Frae drew her attention, bobbing and distorted in the torrent. Suddenly his arms were pinned to his sides as a large figure grabbed him from behind. Almost at the same instant a large cloth bag was slipped over Kathryn’s head. She began vainly struggling against her attacker. The cord was being tightened around her neck and she felt a curious swimming sensation at the edges of her mind.

"Hurry up!" she heard someone snarl, and recognized the man from the overheard conversation the day before.

Kathryn dropped her weight, trying to throw her assailant off-balance and only succeeded in nearly strangling herself. She gasped for air as her knees buckled, feeling herself drawn into comforting darkness.

**********************************

Seven was feeling a sick tightening sensation in her stomach. It wasn’t a sickness related to her deteriorating condition, she thought as she sat taking a much needed break. The sensation stemmed from her worry for Kathryn.

She had made the older woman promise to be careful, but Seven knew that things sometimes were beyond even the intrepid captain’s control. It would be just like her to put her own safety in danger to spare others, and the unknown conspirators were an added threat in an already deadly situation.

The former Borg decided being separate from her... lover?...girlfriend?... was unacceptable. She could not stay in the relative safety of the boathouse, not knowing what was happening to Kathryn.

Her decision made Seven went back to their room and grabbed the tricorder. It had been set the previous night as a proximity alarm, but she quickly recalibrated it to locate Kathryn’s combadge signal. The transponder they had built still sat on the squatty dresser, and Seven spared it a quick glance seeing that it was still functioning before leaving.

There was a closet near the front exit of the building that Seven had seen people removing raincoats from, and she grabbed one and slipped it just as a shrill signal cut through the air. The kitchen overseer had just come into the main room to serve a tray of hot drinks to a group of exhausted workers when the signal sounded.

"What is that sound?" Seven asked, pinning the plump woman with a deadly glare.

"It’s the distress signal," she answered the imposing blonde in a trembling voice. "It means we’re sinking and we’re supposed to stay where we are for a rescue."

Performing a swift calculation of odds, Seven realized if they were sinking anyone staying in the boathouse would drown. It was illogical to remain here, and if they were in trouble her orders were to find Kathryn. Since that had been her intention anyway she turned and stalked quickly through the front exit.

She wasn’t prepared for the force of the wind when it struck and grabbed onto the railing for support. Holding the tricorder in front of her she quickly scanned for Kathryn’s combadge and pulled herself in that direction.

Deadly anger surged through when she came upon the struggle near the end of the pier, and although her Borg nanoprobes were designed to regulate biological responses they couldn’t control the surge of adrenaline that poured through her system lending her extraordinary strength.

She grabbed Kathryn’s attacker with her Human hand, yanking him away from the compact woman. As she spun him toward her, she unconsciously altered the Borg implant covering her left hand. The bands of metal lining the insides of her fingers were altered into razor sharp claws, and she grasped him firmly by the neck and began tightening her grip. The tool was forced easily and deeply through the skin, cutting through arteries and severing his larynx.

Seven watched in satisfaction as the life drained from the dark eyes before flinging him several meters away from the pier, listening disinterestedly to the splash of the body hitting the water even as she pinned the other alien with a baleful eye.

Having just witnessed the demise of his partner the Denaldi abruptly shoved Frae away from him and lurched back in the direction of land, deciding that discretion was indeed the better part of valor.

Seven let him go, Kathryn being her only concern. Kneeling beside the still form she gathered her carefully into her arms and quickly removed the bag covering the classic features. For one instant she felt terror skitter up her spine before she felt the steady flutter of a pulse in Kathryn’s neck.

Frae stumbled over to join themand watched Kathryn’s eyes flutter as she quickly regained consciousness.

"How is she?" he asked sincerely.

"Seven?" Kathryn asked, "What happened?"

"You were attacked," she stated plainly. "I killed him."

She knew Kathryn hated the unnecessary taking of a life and would probably be very angry with her, but it was irrelevant. Kathryn’s well being was all that concerned Seven and if anyone threatened the small woman they would have to accept the consequences of dealing with the Borg. Borg justice was not merciful.

The snapping and groaning of the pier shifting around them brought them out of their private thoughts. A large swell poured forcefully over the side of the wooden deck, trying to carry the trio into a watery grave.

The tiny shed shuddered and one side of the roof lifted suddenly as it gave into the force of the gale force winds.

"We have to get out of here," Frae shouted. "The pier’s going down!"

Even half strangled and looking like a drowned rat Kathryn Janeway’s mind was a formidable tool. 

"What kind of equipment do we have in the shed?" she asked, assisted to her feet with Seven’s hand at her elbow.

"Not much," he admitted, struggling to the small building and forcing the door open.

Peering around he said, "There’s a lot of old rope, broken lanterns, and some tires for the land vehicles . . . odds and ends . . . that’s about it."

Kathryn stepped past him, taking stock of what they had to work with.

"Seven, get in here," she ordered quickly.

The relative calm of the shed was a relief, but they didn’t have time to dwell on it as they pulled rubber tires down from a neat stack in the rear of the shed and carried them onto the deck. Seven and Frae laid the tires down in three neat rows, four tires across.

While they were laying down the tires Kathryn drew her knife from her boot and quickly cut several lengths of braided rope. She knelt down next to her companions and handed them some of the rope.

"Tie them together, quickly." 

Now she had to find something to place over the tires to use as a raft, she thought looking around. There was no available lumber and she couldn’t cut wood from the pier itself, that would be impossible. Just as she was despairing being able to complete their float a loud flapping sound caught her attention and drew her gaze upward.

The roof was coming loose and was in danger of being blown away by the storm. There was no time to try and lash boards together, but the roof was already constructed with the boards actually having been glued together.

"Frae, help me!" she said urgently. "We have to get the roof off before we lose it."

He seemed to instantly understand her meaning and leapt to his feet. Kathryn secured her knife in the sheath that was carefully tucked inside her boot while Frae grabbed a very heavy-looking hammer from a nearby shelf.

Kathryn grasped the flapping end of the roof and bore down with all her strength, trying to keep it stable while Frae knocked the opposite end loose. It came free easily, most of the nails already having been snapped.

Just as Kathryn thought he was finished loosening the wooden slats the wind grabbed her end and tried to wrench it from her grasp. The wood raked her flesh cruelly as it tore free from her wet hold, but the unexpected flight was abruptly halted when a mesh encased hand grabbed hold of it.

"I have completed tying the tires together, Kathryn," Seven calmly informed her as if they were discussing what they were going to have for dinner.

No one else would have heard the fatigue in her voice, but Kathryn picked up the nuances easily, and could tell the Borg was about out on her feet. She was convinced of it when Seven abruptly swayed on her feet, and it wasn’t just because of the wind.

"Seven, are you alright?" she asked, placing a hand on the woman’s lower back.

If it hadn’t been for her hold on the rooftop Seven would have collapsed. She heard the fear and worry lacing Kathryn’s voice, and tried to ignore the inky blackness that was beating at the edges of her consciousness like blackbird’s wings. Taking great shuddering gulps of air she was finally able to regain her bearings before answering the captain.

"We do not have time to concern ourselves with that. If we are dead, it will not matter."

Kathryn couldn’t argue with that, and didn’t have time as the roof finally gave way and the three slid it off the structure and onto the tires.

The ends of the rooftop were staggered, making it convenient to slip the ropes through and tie off on the rows of tires. Almost finished, Kathryn thought as she finished tying off her end. Frae was working on the other side, and it looked like the pier was going to go at any second.

"Annika, I want you to use a piece of the rope and tie yourself to the raft. The sea’s going to get very rough and it’s going to be all we can do to hang on." 

Seven looked at her blankly for a moment before comprehending what Janeway was saying. Strange, she thought, my cortical functions seem to be impaired. When she still hadn’t moved, Kathryn crossed swiftly to the other side of the raft and grasped the young woman’s hands, gently leading her onto the makeshift raft.

"Come on, darling," Janeway urged with forced calm.

She helped Seven sit down near the center of the platform and carefully tied a section of rope around her waist, lashing it through the tongue and groove joints. When she finished securing the young woman she strapped herself tightly to the raft and shouted for Frae to hurry.

He wasn’t quite finished tying off his end, but decided it was close enough when a loud splintering sound suddenly filled the air.

Frae dove onto the raft, crawling frantically for purchase as the pier began collapsing. The tide surged over the sides and swept the small raft away, spinning it tightly and forcing Kathryn and Seven to hold onto the Denaldian as he tried to secure himself.

The deluge was coming down with such force that Kathryn could no longer see the lights of the boat house. Fear skidded through her belly and clawed frantically, trying to tear itself out and make her wail like a child, but she couldn’t allow it to dominate her. Seven needed her to be strong and with a strength born of desperation she forced the feelings into the recesses of her soul.

The wind and tide tipped the unsteady float, tipping it precariously and causing them to grapple for handholds. Kathryn squinted through the steadily falling squall and though Seven looked a bit green from all the tossing. She felt a decided tendency for her own stomach to try to evacuate through her mouth.

"Seven," Kathryn shouted, hoping Frae would hear and heed her advice as well, "Lie down, it’ll keep you from being slammed around so much."

She followed her own advice, gratified to see the other two doing so as well. Her stomach felt decidedly better, but she was still afraid. With the swells pouring over their small island they couldn’t completely lower their heads to the raft for fear of drowning, but the supine position did afford more grounded feeling.

Then it occurred to her that if she who had grown up on Earth and had experienced severe storms was afraid, what was her lover feeling right now? Seven had no concept of storms, and must be overcome with fright.

Kathryn stretched as far as she could on the raft and reached for Seven’s left hand. As soon as their hands touched Seven’s fingers intertwined with her own, clinging tightly to an anchor of stability in a not so stable world.

Hopefully this is as bad as it gets, Kathryn thought. We can just ride the storm out, and we’ll be fine. We’ll find somewhere for Annika to rest, and I’ll make sure it’s safe... where no one can try to harm us again, she promised herself.

****************************

She had never been so terrified in her life. Even when the Borg had come for her at six years old she hadn’t really been afraid. Papa said the Borg weren’t angry with them, that they were only curious. Even when they had materialized on the Raven in a burst of green sparkles she hadn’t been afraid. It had been a surreal experience, one she couldn’t begin to understand the complexities of as a child.

Emerging as an individual after eighteen years as a Borg drone she had been scared, confused and alone. Captain Janeway had changed that, supported her, offered her a foundation on which to build a new existence as an individual. It seemed preordained that she would fall in love with the small, dynamic personality that was Kathryn Janeway. Miraculously Kathryn loved her as well. But on the brink of discovering a new life, not as one alone, but as one of two, it would appear that it would never be. They were going to die.

Seven knew this with certainty, and mourned the loss of what would never be. She felt Kathryn’s small fingers close over her hand and clutched desperately at the lifeline attempting to convey all of her love, desire, and respect for this person as she could through her touch.

The torrent suddenly heaved the side of the small craft high into the air. Seven felt the inevitability of disaster strike as the raft capsized, and sent a small prayer to any entity in existence that Kathryn would somehow survive.

Being tied to the raft and suffering from extreme exhaustion and the beginnings of hypothermia Seven didn’t have the strength to untie the rope securing her to what had become a deathtrap. She instinctively held her breath, refusing to draw in the liquid death even as her lungs screamed in protest.

Thick, enveloping blackness rushed in on her, seemingly with a vengeance. She had been staving off the darkness for so long, had been fighting the ever increasing weakness, and just had nothing left to fight with. As she lost consciousness, succumbing to lack of oxygen, her body attempted to draw in air only to take in the sea.

**********************************

As soon as she felt the raft tipping end over end Kathryn reached for the knife secured in her boot knowing she would have to cut them free and praying she had the strength. The day had left her with muscles that trembled and threatened to give out completely with overuse. She easily cut away the rope securing her to the raft, holding onto the ends of it so she wouldn’t be thrown away by the force of the water.

An object struck her side and from the angle she knew that it was Frae flailing around in an attempt to free himself. Kathryn anchored herself to him with her legs and felt for the rope at his waist, severing it quickly. Time was of the essence with Seven still tied in place, and Kathryn knew the young woman lacked the strength to free herself.

Fortunately, Frae had only to reach out to grasp the edge f the float and pull himself toward the surface.

Janeway used the remnants of their bindings to pull herself through the turbulent water, and back toward the woman that she now knew she couldn’t live without. When she reached her side Seven was floating freely, secured only by the rope. Kathryn felt sick as she peered through the murky water to see Seven’s head lolling lifelessly on the leonine neck.

No, she shouted frantically in her mind, struggling in the panic induced fog to cut Seven free. As the bindings reluctantly parted Kathryn slipped the knife back into her boot even as she slipped an arm around the unconscious woman. At least she hoped she was only unconscious.

The torrent tried to carry the raft out of reach, but Janeway’s determination was greater. Frantically, she grasped the edge of the float with her free hand trying to pull them up as her tortured lungs screamed for air.

Wet fingers slipped on the edge of the wood and she almost lost her hold when strong hands suddenly caught and held her. The Borg implants served to greatly increase her mass, and it took the combined effort of Kathryn and Frae to haul the blonde out of the water.

Janeway was shaking so hard from her exertions that she needed Frae’s help to get out of the water herself. When she was finally on the tires she struggled immediately to Seven’s side. A quick check with trembling fingers told Kathryn that the younger woman wasn’t breathing, although she detected a very faint flutter of a heartbeat.

"Help me!" she demanded.

"I don’t understand," he admitted in confusion.

"She’s not breathing," Kathryn explained as she brushed the limp hair away from the beloved face. "We have to help her. I need you to help brace me."

Kathryn quickly adjusted the Borg’s torso and tilted her head back, even as she felt Frae wrap a strong arm around her. Holding onto the groves inside the tires with his free hand he attempted to stabilize the desperate woman from the pitching and rolling of the sea.

Quickly, she bent over pinching the Borg’s nose closed and breathing life back into the limp body. She lost track of time as she fell into a rhythm of inhale and breathe. Seven abruptly tensed beneath her, turning instinctively to her side as she expelled a significant amount of water before coughing uncontrollably.

Tears of relief stung Kathryn’s eyes as she helped Seven sit up and held tightly to the shaking body. Frae kept a strong hold of Kathryn, understanding that would be the last thing on the woman’s mind.

***********************************

The night passed slowly on the turbulent waters. Kathryn held onto Seven throughout the night as the blonde dozed fretfully in her arms. Seven had awakened only briefly after her near drowning and seeing that she was held closely to Kathryn had drifted back to sleep with a strangely contented smile on her lips seemingly oblivious to the tossing of their small craft and the continual downpour.

Kathryn and Frae endured the full force of the heaving, each believing they would have happily emptied the contents of their stomachs repeatedly. Thankfully, neither of them had eaten any lunch or dinner so there was no threat of that.

Eventually the squall began to blow itself out. It began as a lessening in the strength of the wind so gradual that Janeway didn’t notice until the sun began coming up and the bright rays pierced the last of the storm clouds. The force of the rain diminished and finally ceased altogether.

Kathryn heaved a sigh of relief and raised her face to the watery sunshine, attempting to draw in the blessed warmth. Frae took advantage of the calming of the waters to stretch out for a nap, and Janeway was grateful for the sense of privacy his sleep afforded to her and the Borg.

"We made it, darling," Kathryn said, brushing her fingertips against the pale cheek. 

"Just hang on a little longer. That’s an order." She said dryly, brushing her lips across Seven’s brow and placing a kiss on the cortical implant.

Several hours later the sun wasn’t as much of a blessing. They all had dry, cracked lips and the sun was burning unmercifully into their salt damp skin. A headache was pounding behind her temples, and Kathryn was beginning to wonder if they were going to make it after all.

"Do you hear something?" Frae asked, breaking the silence for the first time in hours.

At first Kathryn thought he was beginning to imagine things, but then she heard it as well. It was a very faint humming that grew steadily louder.

"There!" she said pointing to the horizon and straining to glimpse the hovercraft drawing nearer.

Frae was so excited he almost upended them before Kathryn could convince him to sit down and wait for their rescue.

The hovercraft made a beeline for the floating deathtrap, and paused directly overhead stirring the surrounding water into a frothy spectacle. A stiff cable was lowered to assist the trio to safety. Kathryn had to remind herself that these people lacked transporter technology as she helped secure the cable under Seven’s arms.

They were lucky they even possessed hover technology. This vessel had obviously seen better days and Kathryn wondered which unfortunate species had contributed it to this world.

She watched intently as the young woman was hauled into the air, releasing her breath only when she was safely inside the vehicle.

"You’re next," she told Frae who was only too happy to oblige with that particular ‘order’.

Janeway took the opportunity to look around one last time before the cable was lowered. She had always loved space travel, but having grown up in an agricultural community in Indiana sometimes found herself missing planet fall. She was convinced that this experience with the water planet had cured her of that forever. What she wouldn’t do to be back on Voyager with only the darkness of space surrounding the tiny ship.

The sound of the winch lowering the cable drew her attention to the here and now. Kathryn carefully drew it around her chest and snapped the hook in place. When she looked up the Denaldian in the hovercraft activated the winch to pull her up.

Halfway to her destination Kathryn heard the screech of straining metal. The cable abruptly snapped loose from the locking mechanism. Her arms and legs flailed helplessly as she fell. She landed badly, feeling the sickening crunch of shattered bone in her left shoulder and chest. Her head bounced resoundingly off the rubber tires, and just before the darkness took hold she dazedly watched the knife Seven had given her slip over the side of the barge to sink slowly into the inky depths.

Chapter 8

Sapphire eyes opened slowly, taking in the too harsh glare of the overhead lighting and the antiseptic smell inherent to any sickbay.

Kathryn had promised they would survive, she remembered with a small smile. When would she learn to believe everything the daring captain said to her? She should have known Kathryn would keep her promise.

Seven inhaled deeply and immediately regretted it when pain seized her chest in a vice-like grip. Gasping, she slowly released the breath wondering what had happened to her. The last thing she remembered was trying to hold her breath when the raft capsized, then a brief image of Kathryn’s concerned face suspended above her. There was nothing more.

Slowly, Seven’s eyes drifted around the small room. A steady beeping sound drew her attention to another bed situated across the room. Kathryn was sleeping peacefully on her back with monitors and tubes attached at various places around her body.

There was a stiff, white material encasing the auburn haired woman’s shoulder and left arm. Before she realized her intentions Seven had forced herself to sit up and uncaringly tore the monitoring tubes from her own body, disdaining the archaic medical technology.

A rolling metal cart handily provided the support the young woman needed to stay upright as she made her unstable way to Kathryn’s side. Her eyes watered with the effort o fighting back the fatigue and the tears rolled unnoticed down her face as Seven focused on her goal.

She sank down with relief on the side of the narrow bed, and absorbed the tender features with her eyes. Lines of exhaustion were deeply etched onto the charming features even in sleep. Seven regretted that Kathryn had worked so hard to provide for them since arriving on this planet and that she had been an additional burden to an already difficult situation.

After all this time of butting heads with an equally stubborn captain Seven intended to offer nothing but unfailing support in the future.

The opening of the door interrupted the press of Seven’s lips to Kathryn’s as a tall Denaldian nurse entered the room. Seven assumed the alarms that had sounded when she ripped out her monitors had alerted the hospital staff that at least one of their patients was up and around.

"You need your rest. What are you doing out of bed?" the nurse asked in a tone obviously meant to intimidate the patient. Unfortunately for her, she had never dealt with someone like Seven of Nine.

"I will rest here," Seven informed her in an icy tone.

"I don’t think so," the nurse retaliated, outraged at the notion of two patients sharing the narrow hospital bed.

Seven believed a demonstration was in order and reached out to grip the metal serving cart with her Borg enhanced hand. The top of the cart crumpled easily, bending to the superior strength of the young woman. Seven’s eyes never left the gaze of the Denaldian as the cart was crushed in her one-handed grip. The look in her eyes sent an unmistakable message, and the wide-eyed, frightened woman left without another word.

The young woman carefully slid aside the tubes connected to Kathryn’s body and slid into the narrow bed with her. They had been sharing a bed since arriving on this planet and she wasn’t planning on altering the sleeping arrangements. If the nurse came back with reinforcements they would just see how the Denaldians would fare against a pissed-off Borg.

*************************

Voyager slid into a smooth orbit around the third planet of a small star system. They were a day later in arriving than they had planned, but after blowing out the main power nodes by going full speed for the last week and a half were lucky to have made it at all.

Harry had picked up a faint transponder carrier wave twelve hours before reaching the system and recognized it as having a Starfleet signature. He had immediately relayed the coordinates to the helm, then thanked his lucky stars he had picked up the signal when he did since it had almost immediately vanished.

"Harry, anything on sensors?" Chakotay asked from the captain’s chair, keeping his eyes fixed on the small blue ball centered on the main view screen.

"I’m getting a lot of interference from the atmosphere. It’s dampening out any combadge signals."

B’Elanna Torres was at the aft engineering station, quickly punching in a devastatingly long set of commands. 

"I’m adjusting the sensor array to detect any Borg signatures." 

She knew the Borg implants gave off their own energy signals, and would be much stronger and easier to detect. When she had heard of the captain and Seven disappearing, she had been extremely worried. Her Human side allowed her to admit her worry over the captain, but her Klingon pride prevented her from admitting how worried she had been about Seven.

Initially, she couldn’t stand having the woman around and blamed her for everything the Borg had ever perpetrated. Over the years she had come to have a grudging respect for the frighteningly brilliant young woman but still enjoyed fighting with her. She decided that she and Seven were like the seven-year itch to each other. It was a lot of fun scratching.

"Got it!" Harry announced with an earsplitting grin. "They’re on the smallest continent of the southern equatorial region."

Chakotay happily returned the grin, feeling that things were finally going their way. Until Tuvok informed him of the pre-warp civilization that is. It was decided that Chakotay and the Doctor would replicate native attire and transport to a remote location of the area. They would use their tricorders to scan for the captain and Seven once on the planet since there wouldn’t be any interference from there. Tuvok would remain behind in command of Voyager.

The small away team was ready within the hour and beamed down to the small planet without incident. They tracked the combadge frequencies to a small white building near the eastern lake region, and were disconcerted to realize it was a medical facility.

"Perhaps Seven’s condition is worse than we expected," the Doctor said worriedly.

Chakotay was surprised to discover his thoughts mirrored the hologram’s. He supposed he should have been worried about the captain first, but in his heart believed nothing could really injure the dauntless woman. On the other hand they had been especially concerned for Seven’s lack of regeneration. He prayed she was alright for the captain’s sake.

"We’re not going to find out by standing here. Let’s go."

Upon entering the small facility they were directed unquestioningly to a small room on the second floor. When they opened the door Chakotay felt his jaw drop in astonishment, and if a hologram could faint he was sure the doctor would have.

************************************************************

Kathryn slowly opened her eyes, groaning at the pain in the left side of her chest and shoulder. A stark white cast covered the shattered extremity and she figured the chest was just very bruised.

Her girlfriend lay tucked neatly against her right side, and was watching her carefully. Since Kathryn had rapidly figured out what type of facility this was she didn’t think Seven’s presence in the bed was authorized, but she wasn’t complaining.

"Well, hello there," she said with a soft smile.

Seven returned the look and bent down for a gentle brush of the full lips.

"Kathryn, how are you feeling?"

"I’ve been better," she admitted. 

"But, we’re still here, and we’re together, and I love you." She said, her voice catching with emotion.

Seven gently brushed the smaller woman’s lips again with her own, feeling a familiar fire starting in her belly. Nimble fingers closed over a hardening nipple as she used her tongue to part Kathryn’s lips, deepening the kiss.

A startled intake of breath caused both of the women to jerk apart. They met the disconcerted gaze of Chakotay and the doctor standing in the doorway.

"About time you got here," Janeway said dryly, as though the two were late for a regularly scheduled conference meeting.

*************************

Captain Janeway had briefed and debriefed the senior staff of the starship minus one very busy doctor and one extremely weak Astrometrics officer. After that she conscientiously logged a complete report into the ship’s database as per Starfleet protocols.

Tuvok had finally been able to cut through the atmospheric interference to determine the fate of Q’ntar Village at the captain’s insistence.

The Denaldi had faired better than she had thought they would. Evidently the support structure beneath the boathouse was made of sterner stuff than the pier and had survived the monsoon. There were actually few casualties, and with a lot of elbow grease building a new pier would easily recover. Janeway realized she shouldn’t be surprised. These people had survived on this planet for centuries and storms of this magnitude had undoubtedly occurred before.

Kathryn was attempting to keep herself busy while the doctor examined and treated her lover, and was slowly going out of her mind. Just as she had decided she had enough and was going to find out what was going on her ready room door chimed.

"Come," she said in a voice that could slice duranium.

Chakotay walked in with a swagger to his step and a grin on his handsomely swarthy face, totally ignoring the put-out tone of the captain’s voice.

"Going somewhere?" he asked in a deceptively conversational tone.

Kathryn’s eyes narrowed suspiciously as she wondered what he was up to.

"Just on my way to check on a crewmember," she stalled.

"Uh huh. That ‘crewmember’ wouldn’t be Seven of Nine would it?" he grinned.

Here we go, damage control, she thought.

"Look, Commander, I know what you saw on that planet when you walked in on us, but I can assure you, "

"Kathryn, please," he said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "You don’t owe me any explanations. And you really don’t have to anything worry about. I’ve known you had feelings for Seven for a long time, and I always suspected she returned them. I’m just surprised you acted on them. To tell you the truth I thought you’d keep to yourself for the entire journey back to the Alpha Quadrant, and frankly I’m happy to see you were smarter than that."

Janeway leaned back against the edge of her desk with a heavy sigh.

"What about the rest of the crew?" she asked sadly, meeting his eyes. "How do you think they’re going to react? What are they going to think?"

"You don’t give them enough credit," he told her. "Do you really think anyone on this ship would begrudge you some happiness? Kathryn, you started out as just the captain with a crew. An authority figure. After all we’ve been through, we’ve become more. We’ve become a family, and your family wants you to be happy."

"Won’t they think I’m showing favoritism to Seven if we’re involved?" she wondered.

Chakotay smirked, knowing it was just like the diminutive woman to worry about such things.

"They know you better than that, although I think you’d better get ready for some teasing from B’Elanna and Tom," he warned playfully.

"They only real question," he continued, "is, are you going to assign her some quarters? It wouldn’t look very good for the crew to walk into the cargo bay and find the captain rolling around on the floor with her Borg girlfriend." 

Kathryn’s cheeks flamed at the unfamiliar banter, but she let it go and responded to his basic question.

"Actually, I’ve thought about that, and if everything works out like I want, you won’t have to worry about that particular occurrence," she said cryptically.

Chakotay wondered what she meant by that, but decided he would find out in due time. He happily kicked the captain out of her ready room, taking over her duties and sending her to sickbay to check on their resident drone.

The captain had surprised him this time, and he knew no matter what else happened the rest of the ride home would be far from boring.

********************

Janeway stepped into sickbay, interrupting the EMH who was in full-scale lecture mode. Seven of Nine was sitting on a bio-bed allowing the doctor to rant while she looked on impassively.

"Is there a problem, doctor?" she asked.

Seven could tell by the tone that Kathryn was the captain at the moment, but there was an unusual sparkle in the blue-gray eyes.

"I have repaired most of the damage to Seven’s implants, and I was just letting her know that she will need to regenerate for at least a week. Honestly, every time I get this crew put back together they promptly delve into some limb-severing crisis; Borg, Hirogen, species 8472. Sometimes I wonder why I bother," he said in a suitably aggrieved tone.

"Because we would not be able to continue without you. You are irreplaceable on board Voyager." Seven answered logically.

The doctor perked up noticeably at the ex-drone’s words, and although still slightly heartsick to find Seven involved with captain decided he could be gracious and allow the two ladies some time alone.

As soon as the EMH went into his office and blacked out the privacy screen Seven turned to the captain.

"What is it Kathryn? You appear to be excited."

"I am," she admitted. "Chakotay has taken command to allow me a few days to rest, and I was wondering if I could walk you home. I have something I want to talk to you about."

Seven understood the captain meant she would walk to her cargo bay two since she didn’t have any real quarters, and decided Kathryn was in a good mood. She wondered what the older woman was so excited about, but knew she would tell her in good time. Until then she was quite content to simply spend time with her lover.

Entering the corridor to the turbolift she felt Kathryn place her hand at the small of Seven’s back. It was just a light touch, but the possessiveness of the gesture warmed Seven’s heart. Kathryn had told her she wouldn’t treat Seven like a ‘dirty secret’, but she hadn’t expected this public display. It seemed Kathryn was making a statement when she didn’t remove her hand even as they passed startled crewmembers.

Seven saw the surprise in the crewmembers eyes, but was slightly astonished to see the looks of approval.

Entering the turbolift Seven directed it to take them to the cargo bay. Kathryn grasped her by the waist, gently turning her around and slipping her arms around Seven’s neck, pulling her down for a breath stealing kiss.

"Kathryn?" Seven asked with wonder when they finally separated.

"I just missed you, darling. Do you mind?" she asked nipping the chin lightly.

"No. I do not mind. I am just surprised."

Kathryn chuckled before admitting, "Well, don’t expect me to do that in front of the crew, but when we’re alone and the opportunity permits, I intend to keep reminding you of how much I love you."

"You forget," Seven said, "that I possess an eidetic memory. I will not forget."

"Does that mean you don’t want me to do this . . . " Kathryn slid her hands down the Borg’s body and around behind to lovingly squeeze the dual mounds of flesh on Seven’s backside even as her lips took firm possession of the fuller ones.

The turbolift came to a halt and just as the doors hissed open Kathryn slid away from the younger woman and calmly left her slumped weakly against the lift walls.

"Coming?" Kathryn asked cheekily, turning to grin at a flabbergasted Seven.

Visibly pulling herself back together, the blonde straightened up and managed to walk out of the turbolift. She kept peering at the captain under lowered brows for the rest of the short walk to Seven’s alcove.

"Sit down for a minute, darling," Kathryn requested softly before finding a seat on the dais.

Seven sat gingerly beside the smaller woman, thighs touching gently. Kathryn slid an arm around her waist and rested her head on a strong shoulder. The blonde took advantage of the position to pull the older woman closer against her, and snuggle into the auburn locks. After a few moments of simply enjoying the moment Kathryn brought up what she had been thinking about.

"Annika, have you ever considered having your own quarters?"

Seven gave the question appropriate thought before answering.

"Yes," she admitted. "There are times when I wish to be alone, and it is not possible. When I was first severed from the collective regenerating in a publicly accessible location was irrelevant. As time progresses, however, I find the thought of someone watching me while I am incapacitated . . . disturbing."

Kathryn was appalled at the thought of anyone taking advantage of the young woman while she was defenseless, and castigated herself for her own lack of foresight. Hopefully she could remedy that situation right now.

"Oh, Annika. I am so sorry. Unfortunately, you have to regenerate for the rest of the week here in the cargo bay. It’s just too short notice to make other arrangements. However, from the hours between 1700 and 0700 I will make it off limits except in an extreme ship wide emergency," Kathryn assured her.

"And after the week has passed?" Seven asked feeling nervous. It was apparent that Kathryn was up to something and that did not always bode well as the young woman had learned through experience.

Kathryn pulled away from the comforting embrace and took Seven’s hands into her own, looking up into the wide blue gaze.

"While you’re regenerating I’d like B’Elanna to modify your alcove and move it to your own quarters. In fact, I didn’t even have to ask her. She volunteered to do the job herself."

"These new quarters, would they be on deck nine with the rest of the crew? I do not think you would be comfortable ‘visiting’ me there," Seven pointed out.

"You’re right. That’s why I was wondering," Kathryn swallowed nervously, forcing herself to ask the question she had never asked of anyone before, "if you would consider living with me?"

The smile that lit Seven’s face could by no means be described as earsplitting, but to Kathryn it rivaled the nova of a star. Tears shined suspiciously in the ice blue eyes as Seven pulled Kathryn into a firm embrace.

"Kathryn," she breathed, "I want to live with you. I love you."

At that moment Kathryn Janeway knew she had never made a wiser decision. To wake every morning in the arms of this beloved creature was like ambrosia. To fight and make up, and live every day with a love she had traveled all the way to the Delta Quadrant to find.

Feeling Seven’s arms tremble Kathryn reluctantly pulled away.

"Come on, love," she said tenderly stroking the pale cheek. "Time to regenerate."

They stood up and Kathryn waited for Seven to step into the alcove before stepping forward and exchanging a tender kiss.

"B’Elanna will have your alcove installed in our quarters before you wake up. I’ll see you in a week, darling."

"Thank you, Kathryn," Seven said huskily. "For loving me."

"My love," Kathryn whispered, "you never have to thank me for that."

She stepped down and began entering the commands into the computer for Seven’s regeneration cycle.

"Sweet dreams," she whispered as the locking mechanism activated and Seven’s eyes slipped closed.

The end

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