Chapter 9
{3 of 3, tactical drone 8,778; your new designation is now 563 of 10,833, tertiary adjunct to Triplex 1,443. You will...}
{The transwarp schematics of species 6,534 have proven to be extremely reliable. The new design will be implemented on every Borg vessel...}
{Drone 563 of 10,833, you will oversee the assimilation of species 1,093. We have found a way to add their biological distinctiveness to our own...}
{The Federation starship USS Enterprise has deactivated cube 342. It has...}
{We need to adapt. We need a voice that is one of many, yet is able to work individually. Only that way will we be able to...}
{One of Many has been created. Her new designation is now One of Many, Queen of Borg...}
{The power flux weapon of species 5,736 is affecting the structural integrity of cube 5433 on decks number 5, 6, 8, 9, 34, 56, 57...}
{Sector 34,786 is unremarkable. No life-forms worthy of assimilation were found...}
{Shielding has been adapted; the power flux weapon is no longer affecting structural integrity...}
--bleep. Regeneration cycle complete.
Seven stepped out of the alcove and wondered once more what was going on. By now it had been three months since her first 'dream.' She had never reported them. First because she didn't want people to once more look at the Borg systems as a potential danger, and later because she had noticed that the 'dreams' didn't influence her negatively. She actually liked the fact that she was now 'living' her life as a drone. True, sometimes the memories weren't at all nice, but over all she felt a certain sense of home whenever she 'dreamed' about her life as a drone. A feeling she never had before; Drones didn't have feelings.
"Oh look, the Princess has awakened."
Seven turned to the voice and saw B'Elanna sitting on the floor a short distance away, with her back against one of the racks in the Cargo bay. She had a box standing between her legs, and on it stood a computer unit that she obviously had been working on.
"B'Elanna, why are you here?"
"Gee, hello to you too, baby," B'Elanna said while she got up.
"Good morning, B'Elanna. Why are you here?"
"You mean why am I here sitting on the hard floor instead of in our quarters lying in a very comfy bed?"
"Yes," Seven said before taking a long moment to properly kiss B'Elanna hello. Seven knew that B'Elanna would stay on Voyager while she had to regenerate; the Klingon had told her that she didn't feel like going to the village without Seven. But Seven was still surprised to see her in the Cargo bay.
"Well, one good reason is that by being here I could kiss you earlier."
Seven smiled at B'Elanna's words.
"But the real reason is that I went to bed, but... it felt weird."
"Weird?" Seven repeated.
"Yeah. I mean, look, remember how you slept in my bed because you missed me? Well, all it took was for you to sleep in that bed with me only one night before our away mission started. I went to bed and you weren't there, and... I like having you around when I sleep, alright?"
"But you slept in your bed before while I regenerated, why is now different?"
"Because then you were still sleeping on the couch. Then I had not yet woken up in the middle of the night to go pee and saw you lying beside me, and even better, could crawl into bed with you after I went to the bathroom. Besides, I, um, also kinda had trouble sleeping every time you regenerated in the last couple of weeks. Even though you were sleeping on the couch and I really shouldn't be able to notice a difference, I still kinda miss your presence in the quarters when you aren't there. It's just that since you weren't there you didn't notice. But now that I've slept with you beside me for two nights now, I'm hooked. I need you beside me to be able to sleep. I don't even want to think about one of us having to go on an away mission while the other stays on Voyager. Anyway, I decided I might as well come down here and do some work here while you regenerate."
Seven took hold of B'Elanna's hand and brought it to her lips to place a soft kiss on her knuckles. "You are a wonderful person, B'Elanna."
"Is that a polite way of calling me mushy?" B'Elanna joked.
"Klingons do not do mushy," Seven disagreed before tilting her head slightly and adding, "But yes, you are being mushy."
"Well then, let me be really mushy. Would you like to share a picnic with me?"
"I would love to," Seven said right away. "I am glad that the meeting with the Zamonan Queen went so well yesterday. I am looking forward to spending our shore leave with Dasia and her people."
"Me too," B'Elanna agreed. "I'm also looking forward to that party tomorrow night. I wonder how a society that's based on warriors parties; should be wild. Anyway, how about we go do our half shift, then we beam to the village and have our picnic at the lake."
"That sounds very acceptable. But since we are here on the ship anyway, I would like to go to the Captain for a moment before we start our half shift."
"Sure, what about?" B'Elanna asked while she started to walk to the door with Seven.
"About the fact that her Chief Engineer is extremely nosy."
B'Elanna stopped walking and looked at Seven. "What?!" Then she saw the small smile that was so Seven. That little smile that was really nothing more than the upturning of her mouth corners. "Oh, very funny. Fine, forget I asked."
Seven waited until they were in the turbolift before speaking up again. "I told you that if we could stay for the shore leave, I soon would start wearing different clothing than just my bio suit. Fawza, the leather craftswoman in the village, is making a set of clothing for me. It should be ready for me to wear to the party tomorrow. I want to ask the Captain if Fawza could make several more sets of clothing for me."
"Why do you have to ask the Captain this? Simply tell Fawza to make it. Or why not forget about that and simply replicate different clothing?"
"To answer your first question, you are making the same mistake I made in the beginning. You assume that I could simply replicate the local currency. But this is not the case. Since they themselves have replicators they would immediately know that we replicated their currency if we started to pay with it. We truly have to trade."
B'Elanna slapped herself against her forehead. "Of course. I always forget that. I see how they live and I forget that their level of technology equals our own."
"Indeed. And as for why I do not merely replicate clothing... do you agree that no matter how good the holodeck creations are, you still notice a difference between a forest in a holodeck and a real forest?"
"Sure, it's not blatantly obvious, but yeah, there is just something missing on the holodeck."
"It is the same with the clothing. Federation replicators do not replicate the skins of animals as well as the replicators of the Zamonan do. The Federation mindset is to make something almost the same, but not fully. If you replicate meat then it looks, tastes, smells, and feels like real meat, but on a molecular level it is different enough from meat to not be considered actual meat. This difference is normally very small, but if one pays close attention one can still notice a difference."
"Sure, everyone knows that," B'Elanna said while they stepped out of the turbolift. "It's Federation rules. It's simply to make sure that replicators aren't used to create life, or parts from animals. It's kinda the same as the rule that the transporters are built in such a way that they can't be used to create a second you... unless the transporter is malfunctioning of course."
"The Zamonan do not have such rules about the things they replicate. The skins they replicate are truly animal skins, just that they never actually covered an animal. Therefore the leather feels different than leather produced from a Federation replicator."
"You know this, how?" B'Elanna asked.
"I have tried it," Seven stated the obvious.
They stepped out of the turbolift and onto the empty bridge. With the ship landed and the main computer powered down for the duration, there was no need for a whole crew to be on the bridge. Only one person covered the bridge in situations like that. Clearly Janeway had opted to spend the duration of her shift in the ready room. No doubt having the sensors set to notify her if someone entered the bridge.
Knowing that their conversation wasn't over yet, B'Elanna leaned against the station where Harry normally stood instead of walking on to the ready room.
"When I was fitting some clothing yesterday I liked the feel of my leather clothing, I would like more real leather clothing," Seven said while taking her 'at ease' position with her hands behind her back. Seven tilted her head slightly to the side when she saw the expression that came over the Klingon's face.
"B'Elanna?" Seven finally asked after a moment of silence.
"Um, I think I just fried my brain. You just told me that you'll be wearing leather clothing."
"Yes, we have been talking about that for a while now. You also know that I went to see Fawza several times and she is the leather craftswoman of the village. Why is it such a surprise for you that she is making leather clothing for me?"
"Um, I guess I really didn't add up two and two. I'm so used to seeing you wearing that biosuit."
"Ah. By the way, you were correct; the tight pants do feel like a second skin. At first I thought that the clothing was too tight, but after having worn it for a few minutes, I must admit that it fit more comfortably than my biosuits normally do."
"You are going to have leather clothing that fits you like that?" B'Elanna repeated the obvious. She had to close her eyes for a moment while just thinking of Seven in leather, just walking around, or even bending over. "Oh gods, baby, you have no idea what it does to me to think of you wearing leather."
"Then you will be a very happy person when you see me in my new clothing," Seven assured. "When I was fitting my trousers Fawza told me that if her Mate had not been standing beside her, she would have jumped me right there."
"What?!" B'Elanna asked loudly.
"A joke," Seven assured. "Fawza enjoys joking with me, especially when her Mate is around."
"I... see," B'Elanna said slowly.
"Of course, her Mate agreed with her statement. She added that my leather top... you prefer to call that kind of clothing a 'tank-top'... looked really great since my.... assets filled the top out very well."
B'Elanna closed her eyes once more and now actually groaned slightly. "Seven, unless you want 'me' to jump you right here on the bridge, you better stop talking like that."
"Why?" Seven asked too innocent. "Do you have a problem with leather clothing?"
"Far from it," B'Elanna disagreed. "I actually have a little bit of a leather fetish. Seeing a woman in leather makes me so hot that I could start fires just by touching stuff."
"Ah, in that case I better not tell you that I also gave Fawza patterns for short leather trousers."
"Short?" B'Elanna merely asked, but with a slightly higher pitch to her voice.
"Yes. Fawza suggested I should have a couple of 'shorts.' I personally thought that they were a little too short, but Fawza assured me that they would be 'great.'"
"How... how short are we talking about?"
As an answer, Seven put a hand to her side, indicating the length, or better said, shortness of the pants. Indicating to B'Elanna that they would cut off right under Seven's behind.
"Oh, gods. And you are going to wear them around the ship?"
"Yes."
"Seven,"
"But I will mostly wear them in our quarters when I am off duty. However, when I am off duty and the situation allows for it, I will also wear any leather clothing I see fit outside of the quarters. There might be a time where I will wear my shorts, and there definitely will be a time where I will be wearing the long leather clothing."
"But only if the situation allows?" B'Elanna asked. No matter how much she wanted to see Seven like that, she also didn't want the blonde sex bomb to walk around like a... well, sex bomb, all the time.
"Yes. For instance, I certainly would not wear my shorts to one of the normal parties we have on Voyager, but I would wear them if this party was set on the holodeck and a warm vacation location was simulated. Do not worry, B'Elanna. I have no intention of shocking the ship. Leather will also not be the only kind of clothing I will wear from now on. I will also replicate normal fabric garments to wear off duty. Besides, I do not want you to spend time in the brig for punching all the people that would make remarks to me that they think are funny."
"I'm glad to hear that," B'Elanna said relieved. No matter how much she would love to see Seven walk around in leather, she really didn't feel like killing Tom, or Harry, or Chakotay, or the Doctor, or Samantha, or... anyone.
"However," Seven said while she came closer and whispered in B'Elanna's ear. "I remember how you told me about liking the look of a woman in leather, so I also have some patterns that will be solely for you to see me wear."
"Really?" B'Elanna asked, noticing that her voice had gotten a little higher again. She was amazed how this woman could affect her like that with mere words.
"Yes, while there are also some vests to wear over normal shirts to complete my normal clothing sets, I will also have some clothing especially for you. How would you like to see me in nothing more than some leather briefs and a halter top? Or maybe if you are really lucky I will walk around the quarters wearing nothing more than a leather bra and a leather thong."
"Please baby, don't do this to me," B'Elanna finally said softly, she really didn't trust her voice anymore at that moment.
"You would not like that?" Seven asked with a smile.
"Seven, we are about to go meet the Captain, I can't go in there with those mental images in my mind. How... how do you think you will get Kathryn to agree to sponsor this entire new wardrobe?"
"I am lucky as far as that is concerned. Fawza likes me, as does her Mate. Fawza made me a deal. She would make any clothing I want for me at cost only. There were only four conditions. First, the amount of clothing would have to be reasonable, but apparently her idea of reasonable is different to mine since she was encouraging me to choose more and more. Second, I would not tell anyone else of the crew that I would be getting clothes at that price, she does not want half of Voyager there asking her to make something for them."
"You just told me," B'Elanna pointed out, glad that Seven had moved away from producing images that were making B'Elanna's mouth dry, and a different place wet.
"You do not count. You are my Mate; they expect me to tell you. Besides, Fawza is also making two sets of clothing for you. My choice. And I chose something that I think will look very good on you. The third condition was that I, we, would take good care of the clothing. Cleaning it in the normal way, without using the replicators, which is something I would have done anyway. After all, if I use the replicator to clean the clothing than they would be taken apart on a molecular level, and then put back together again without the dirt, but also according to Federation rules. So it would change the real leather to a Federation imitation of leather. Fawza has shown me what cleaning materials to use, and how to use them. And the fourth condition was that once we leave this planet, Fawza has the right to boast about how much more I paid than the asking price because I was so impressed with her work."
"But, how does she want to do this? I mean, a full wardrobe for you, two sets of clothing for me, and I assume that the normal work for the village continues as well."
"True," Seven agreed. "But because Dasia likes us as well, Fawza has received the permission for limited replicator use. She is allowed to replicate the actual clothing in a standard size that is the closest to my precise measurement, but Fawza herself must do the final fit, turning good, but standard size, clothing into perfectly tailored clothing. You are scheduled for a fitting three days from now."
B'Elanna looked at Seven thoughtfully for a moment. "Honey, despite this being done at cost, this must still cost a lot."
"It does," Seven agreed. "The final costs are one thousand three hundred Koli. However, since coming onboard Voyager, I have not used any of my replicator rations... except for the last couple of months of course. I am hoping that the captain will agree to part with goods to that value in exchange for those replicator rations."
Seven didn't add that she was glad that Fawza hadn't taken her up on the offer to pay for the 'toy' after all. Seven had only thought about offering her replicator rations after her first meeting with Fawza, but luckily the woman had told her that a gift is, and stays, a gift.
B'Elanna grinned at Seven's clear enthusiasm. "You suddenly are into leather a lot."
"Not entirely. You merely opened me up to that possibility, and once I tried it, I liked it. However, you must take into account that I am merely using this opportunity. Right now I have the chance to get an entire wardrobe fitted exactly for me. Because of my implants I know that my clothing size will never change again. Therefore it is safe to have a lot of clothing made now. I do not know when the next time will be that we will come across such a talented leather crafts person. I do not intend to wear only leather from now on, in fact, I think that sixty percent of the time that I am off duty I will be wearing either my biosuits, or standard Federation clothing."
"Glad to hear that," B'Elanna had to admit. "Because not wearing it all the time, makes the times that you do wear it all the more special."
Seven stepped closer to B'Elanna again and softly whispered into her ear. "And talking about my biosuit. You admitted to me that you like the way I look in the form-fitting suit. Just for you, and only for me to wear in our quarters, Fawza will make me a leather cat-suit. Can you imagine, B'Elanna? Me wearing a cat-suit made of thin leather, closing around my body like a second skin? The neckline cut in such a way that my breasts are covered, but a very nice cleavage is still seen. How do you think my breasts will look, covered in shiny black leather? Can you imagine running your hands across my body, squeezing your hand between the tight suit, and my soft, warm, breast. What do you think; will you see my nipples through the leather? No, I do not know why I am asking you this, for I know for sure that you just looking at me in that suit will affect me. I am willing to bet that my nipples will become rock hard, so easy to see through the leather then."
Seven's monologue was stopped by B'Elanna suddenly coming closer and kissing her roughly. "Seven, if you don't stop it right now, I swear I'm going to take you right here. I've seen you take off that suit several times now, I'm sure I know how to do it."
Seven laughed and softly nipped B'Elanna's neck. "I was just joking about the leather cat-suit. While it would be interesting, it would also be a waste since I could use that money to buy other clothing I can use more often. Do not worry; I will be good, for now. But you must help me convince Kathryn."
Suddenly they heard a throat being cleared behind them. "Convince me of what?"
Seven and B'Elanna stiffened, neither of them moving for several seconds. Finally it was B'Elanna who spoke up. "Please don't tell me that we were just caught necking by the Captain."
"B'Elanna, I think we were just caught necking by the captain," Seven said amused.
"I told you NOT to tell me that," B'Elanna said while she slipped from between Seven and the console she was standing against. "Um, Captain," B'Elanna finally said, trying to muster up some decency.
"I assume that you actually came to see me?" Janeway asked, using all her command training to keep a straight face. "Or did you decide to live out some fantasy now that nobody is on the bridge?"
"No, Captain," Seven said, standing straight, looking as if nothing had happened. "I would like to see you to talk about clothing for me."
"Why don't we go into the ready room and talk about it?"
~~~~~~~~~~{}~~~~~~~~~~
"This is incredible."
B'Elanna and Seven turned around to look behind them at the man who had just spoken.
"It is," B'Elanna agreed as she looked out over the water once more. "It has something for everybody."
They were not far from the place where Voyager had landed. In fact, with a little effort one could still see some of Voyager's gray hull through the palm trees. The ship had been landed in a large clearing and people were busy with setting up temporary habitats between the palm trees so that the Voyager crew could live there while Voyager went through some much-needed repairs. A little further away the ground started to slope down to the warm water of an ocean. There were waves of just the right height for several water sports crashing onto the white sand of the beach. While a little to the right there was a small cove that resulted in an area free of waves.
Knowing that B'Elanna and Seven had been in Engineering when Voyager had landed, Tom informed them, "We already did a level two scan of the water. It shows that we can set up the security barrier in the water without disturbing normal marine life. No predator that we have to worry about is currently calling these waters home."
"Great, that means we can splash around without having to worry about sharks or something nibbling on our feet," B'Elanna said with a grin.
They walked to the water's edge and started to follow the beach to where the cove was. "So, how are things between you?" Tom asked.
"Great, why are you asking?" B'Elanna countered.
"Because you're acting different than the last time I saw you. Then you never touched; as if you were afraid to get burned. Now you're touching all the time. Hell, you've been holding hands for at least five minutes now. So, I'm curious. Honest curiosity, nothing else."
B'Elanna brought the linked hands to her lips and placed a kiss on Seven's knuckles. "That's because we realized that we'd much rather feel the heat than stay in the cold."
"Or in other words, Mr. Paris, now that B'Elanna and I are lovers we like to touch simply because we can," Seven added.
"So you finally stopped dancing around each other?" Tom asked with a grin.
"Actually, it is more accurate to say that B'Elanna and I have started to dance with each other. The most wonderful kind of dance; preferably done horizontally. Though other positions were most definitely tested as well."
Tom winked. "Care to describe that dance to me?"
Before Seven could reply, B'Elanna pushed Tom into the water, hooking a foot behind his legs to make sure that he would fall and get fully drenched.
"Hey!" Tom sputtered while wiping the water from his face.
"It sounded to me like you needed some cooling off," B'Elanna said between laughs.
Tom opened his mouth to reply but then hesitated and changed what he was going to say. "Actually, there isn't much cooling off in this water. It's nice and warm. Here, try it." He splashed enough water at B'Elanna to drench the front of her uniform.
Now it was B'Elanna who had to wipe the water from her face, giving Tom enough time to get up and start running. And with that, the chase was on.
Seven looked at them taking off and sighed. Then, realizing that there was no reason anymore to hold back, she smiled. B'Elanna wanted her just the way she truly was, which meant that what others thought of how she behaved suddenly became a lot less important. The smile never leaving her face, Seven started to jog after her lover and their friend.
Continued...