Disclaimer:  The characters of this story belong to Paramount, and all rights are reserved for them. No copyright infringement is intended.  I only borrowed them for a little while, no profit will be made, except for maybe psychological.   WARNING: DO NOT read if you are uncomfortable with or offended by F/F romance implied. Few instances of bad language. Sorry for the melodrama. Constructive comments welcome, so please be gentle.    

T/7 story.   BCBones@aol.com          

(This is a sequel to Where It All Ends and Where It Begins.)

Where the Trouble Lies

“Captain, I disagree. We should avoid the Gherrin System,” Seven advised.

They had been at this for hours, and Janeway was on her last legs of patience. The staff meeting began at 1100 and it was now 1320, way past lunch.  The bridge officers were pretty much split between traveling through the Gherrin space and avoiding it entirely to cut down the time spent aside from getting back to earth. It was very tempting however, since the Gherrins, the main species in this system, had technological capabilities similar to their own, making it easier for an exchange of technologies and information.

B’Elanna frowned. She had not expected much opposition towards this side trip. Normally, she would be one against distractions from their course. However, after attending a conference with some of the Gherrin engineers, B’Elanna was highly intrigued by their matter-antimatter conversion advancements.  If they could be applied to federation technology, the modifications could make the engines far more efficient.

It was Harry’s turn to chimed in, “No, I think we should go with the Captain’s idea for a informal diplomatic exchange. We can avoid all the ceremony, and just get what we can through trade.”

“No, we need more time than that to explore their warp technology. I want to meet with their engineers a few times, maybe run a few trials with their help once I’ve made the modifications,” argued B’Elanna, as she leaned in on the table, making eye contact with everyone.

“We will endanger the ship. This species has the means and the number to destroy Voyager,” returned Seven, fixing her patent cool gaze on the lieutenant.

B’Elanna looked away first, and mumbled, “So you said before.”  Nothing had changed. Why did she think it would have?

“I must admit I have to agree with Seven of Nine. However, I understand the lieutenant’s position as well.  We have the opportunity to increase our ability to return to the Alpha Quadrant in a shorter amount of time,” Tuvok added.

“Alright, everyone. I’ve made my decision, based upon the views presented during this meeting. We will have a brief informal diplomatic exchange. Only B’Elanna and her team will accompany me to the surface, in which she will meet with the Gherrin engineers and obtain as much information as possible in the time given. Chakotay, make the arrangements with the Gherrin Foreign Minister.  Discussion’s over.  I don’t want to hear another word of it, Tom.” Janeway raised her hand, ending any further comment he was about to make, like a Queen ruling over her court.  “I need to get coffee.”

They filed out slowly, working the kinks out of their joints after sitting in place for so long. Though they worked out a compromise, it was still not quite the victory B’Elanna was working for.  Tuvok headed towards the bridge to make his own modifications to Voyager’s defenses and tacticals. Even though the Gherrins expressed no hostility thus far, in fact, they had been very welcoming, the past few weeks of atttacks and running from various sectors had put an immeasurable amount of stress on the crew.

B’Elanna walked into Engineering, running over several things on her mind. She had to assemble her team and get a run down of all the equipment they had available versus what she needed.  Sometimes she really hated all the responsibilities she was given, and all the expectations that went with it. How she could get any shit of value for them under such time constraints was beyond her understanding.

As the Seven was about the last to leave the briefing room, Janeway requested for her to stay a few moments. Seven stood, waiting patiently with her hands behind her back as the captain refilled her coffee cup for the third instance today.

“Seven, have a seat,” Janeway asked, gesturing toward the chair across from her.  It had been a while since she had spoken to the young Borg.

“How’s everything?”

“Fine, Captain.  I apologize for cancelling our Velocity game as we had arranged yesterday.”

“That’s alright. I’m sure you had some assignment you needed to finish. But I noticed last week you seemed to be preoccupied with something.  I was wondering if you needed help working things out?” Janeway offered.

“That won’t be necessary, Captain. ...Thank you. The situation has resolved itself,” Seven replied somewhat falsely. She wasn’t really certain herself.

“I see... Well, then.  I guess if there’s nothing else to discuss, I’ll let you get back to work.”

Seven nodded and left the room, leaving Janeway to pondering.  Seven made her way to Engineering. She felt uncomfortable with the fact she and Lt. Torres were on opposite sides of an issue again, as she did not want her actions to be misinterpreted. As she entered the archway into Engineering, Seven noticed immediately the level of activity in her crewmembers. Everyone had been called away from their duties to optimize the pending transfer of data and analysis. Seven had no trouble locating the lieutenant among the throng of people with her Borg ocular implant and rapid recognization patterns. Of course, it was a body, er... image, she was accustomed to seeking out.  Lt. Torres just passed a data padd over to Ensign Johan, when she felt someone approach her from behind.  She glanced over her shoulder to find Seven of Nine standing there.

“What is it, Seven?,” asked B’Elanna, as she walked over to the warp drive console with Seven trailing.

“Lieutenant,” Seven greeted. “I would like to offer my assistance with the data exchange and Gherrin modifications.”

“It’s alright, Seven. I’ve got people on it,” B’Elanna tersely replied. She was focusing her attention on calculating the fresh parameters for the new model she hoped to adapt. 

Believing that the lieutenant mannerisms were born out of another misunderstanding between them, Seven wanted to explain herself. Stepping close, she spoke softly, “Lt. Torres, my opposition to your ideas were purely out of concern for the crew.”

With the Borg’s words actually cutting through the thicket of her thoughts, B’Elanna paused what she was doing and sighed. “I know. It’s just that Harry and Lt. Carey have already volunteered their manpower, and I’ve already accepted it,” she spoke sincerely to Seven.

Her eyes softening with satisfaction, Seven replied, “Acknowledged. I will be in Astrometrics if you need additional assistance.”

B’Elanna assented with a crooked grin and watched the Borg’s departure.  Strangely relieved in a small way, she pushed the conversation into the back of her mind and focused on the immediate task in front of her. With a bit of luck, she’d be ready by 0800 hours tomorrow to beam down with Captain Janeway and get as much out of the trip as possible.

*           *            *            *             *

-Plop-  This was the third time the data padd fell out of B’Elanna’s hand. Back in her quarters, she sat on her couch, spending the remainder of the evening trying to prep herself with the notes she had taken during the first Gherrin engineers conference. It was no use, however, since this was the third time she allowed herself to be distracted. She might as well give up and retire for the night. But what would that accomplish other than tossing and turning in bed for a few hours.

‘Damn it. I should be concentrating on my work. Not a certain...,’ B’Elanna thought.

But every time she tried to focus on the material she was reading, some word or idea would remind her of the pretentious ex-drone.  There was still that unresolved issue of the Seven’s crush on her.  That’s all it really was, she was sure of it. But then why was she so preoccupied with it right now? There were just too many things going on. Her break-up with Tom, another close call at the colony, then learning about Seven’s developing feelings for her, and now the meeting with the Gherrins tomorrow.  She wasn’t even sure there could be a relationship between her and Seven without fighting involved.

‘A relationship? Where did that come from? Am I actually considering such a possibility?,’ B’Elanna scoffed, sparing a second to frown.

“This is ridiculous. I am going to get SOME work done tonight,” she said aloud to herself. With that, she headed off to Engineering.

It was quiet down in her department. The hum of the warp drive blanketed all other sounds. Carey was on duty tonight, third shift, and B’Elanna trusted him enough to handle any major problems that arose in the middle of the night and work with whomever was in charge of the bridge. Instead of finding him however, B’Elanna discovered Seven of Nine pouring over the data-storage nodes she was going to beam down with tomorrow.

Seven turned to the sound of B’Elanna clearing her throat. She greeted the arrival of the lieutenant with a familiar nonchalance as if she knew B’Elanna had been standing there all along.

“Good evening, lieutenant,” Seven said after recalling the proper phase.

“Evening, Seven. What you are doing here at this hour?”

“I completed my charting assignments ahead of schedule, but I am still unaccustomed to idle time. I believed I could be more productive by reexamining the data ports for optimal efficiency during your away mission tomorrow.”

“Oh, I see. Didn’t they ever teach you how to have fun?,” teased B’Elanna.

“If you mean “they”, as in the Captain and the Doctor, then yes.  They have encouraged pleasurable pursuits,” answered Seven. “However, fun is irrelevant at this late hour.”

“I beg to differ,” joked B’Elanna, and then she colored, hoping Seven didn’t catch her slip.  She moved over to the data nodes and began scanning a few herself.

Seven looked curiously at the lieutenant, before she questioned, “And why are you here in Engineering, lieutenant? Don’t you require regeneration prior to your away mission?”

Avoiding the ex-drone’s eyes, B’Elanna continued to check the nodes as she spoke, “I couldn’t sleep, and I wasn’t getting anywhere with my readings, so I decided to make myself useful.”

“Perhaps, the doctor can assist you with your difficulties?”

“No,...no thanks, Seven. I’ll manage on  my own. Once this mission is over, I’ll be able to crash. I mean sleep soundly,” B’Elanna explained, already answering Seven’s unspoken expression.

“Neelix says a good herbal tea is sufficiently relaxing as to induce sleep,” Seven offered as they continued the conversation, working side by side.

“I might just do that. You should think about regenerating too, Seven.  You have a long work day ahead of you, I’m sure. I wouldn’t want the Captain to think I’ve enslaved you.”

“I do not believe she does.” Seven quirked her lips. “At least not in the commonly used human connotation of the term,” she murmured to herself as the oblivous lieutenant walked away.

They continued to work amicably for the next half an hour, strangely chatting about idle things. Both tried very hard not to stand to close or lean over too much. (Wouldn’t have wanted all that heat to scramble all the data nodes.) If one were present, one would have noticed how nice the illumination accentuated the engineering feats of Seven’s blue biosuit. Or the way B’Elanna’s dark, rich hair would fall in her face, waiting for itchy fingers to pull it back and entangle themselves within. Oh, and of course, they discussed the validity of applying the Gherrin model to Voyager matter-antimatter injection systems, before finally a yawn spilt from the lieutenant’s sensual lips.

“Well,” B’Elanna glanced up as she put the ionic spader down, “I guess I am getting tired. Time to turn in. You should do the same soon.”

“Yes, I am almost finished.”

Nodding, B’Elanna began walking towards the main doors. “Good night!” she called out before she moved past the double doors.  B’Elanna had lingered there long enough, until she really got too sleepy. The work had gone smoothly, strange enough. She and Seven could actually collaborate well together. Was that important? Maybe. But it wouldn’t be much of a challenge in Engineering if there wasn’t some argument she could win against the ex-drone.

*           *            *            *            *          

Five hours came and went before the buzzer went off on her alarm. Groggily, B’Elanna opened her eyes, stumbled out of bed, and headed for the sonic shower, stripping along the way.  There was enough time to put on her uniform and grab some coffee before heading to Transporter Room 3 to meet Janeway.

At approximately the same time, the alcove clicked with finality, releasing Seven of Nine. She spent a few seconds orienting herself before stepping off the pad, as she did every time she completed regeneration cycle. With that, she headed towards astrometrics to monitor the away team on the surface with long range sensors.

Captain Janeway was already there when B’Elanna arrived at Transporter Room 3. Once the away team was settled on the surface, the equipment was beamed down as well.  The Gherrins were a tall, slender humanoid species with small ridges tracking along the lateral sides of their neck and extremities. Their facies were very human except for two upturned bumps that look like small horns, rising from their temples, and a slightly sloping forehead that made their heads appear almost cone-shaped. The men wore long stately robes over crisp suits while the women sleeveless suits with a long, flowing sash thrown over one shoulder, all in conservative gray and blue official colors. The Gherrins greeted the group warmly once again, but there was little delay in getting to the point of the exchange. The team took their leave of Captain Janeway and the Minister’s party, and was joined by engineers, some of whom Torres had met before during the initial contact.

“Eir Torres, we welcome you back to our facility,” greeted Mugay Gher, the Director of Engineering at the Gherrin Institute of Research Technology, an elegant but graying older man with a permanent squint in his eyes. Probably from staring at a lifetime of computer screens and fine hardware.

“Thank you, Kir Mugay. I’m sorry we have so little time to continue our aquaintance. It seems my crew... is anxious to return to our course towards the alpha quadrant.”

“We understand.  We are pleased with relations between our peoples thus far, Eir Torres.  I hope you will be able to obtain the information you need before your departure. I have assigned Eir Fugax,” the director introduced as he gestured to the individual right of him, “to assist you at our primary Engineering center.”

Lt. Torres returned Eir Fugax’s bow, who was a much smaller Gherrin, before the team parted from the director. They walked across freshly cut blue-green lawns along stone lined pathways, and headed towards the facility’s largest structure, a benzmonite brick and glass building with an almost silvery sheen. Most of the structures were constructed from benzmonite and starkite stones, Torres observed, harsh but resilient.

Their work was rushed, but Lt. Torres felt they were making quite good progress despite the time constraints.  The Gherrin advancements seemed to be well adaptable to Voyager’s system, confirming her initial hunch. But the true measure would be when she returned to Voyager and replicated the Gherrin model in the metal alloys they used under Star Fleet regulations.  The basic physical properities of both models were similar enough.  The captain’s voice startled her out of her reverie.

“Janeway to Torres.”

Shaking herself out of her trance, she tapped her comm badge to respond. -chirp- “Torres here. Go ahead, Captain.”

“B’Elanna, I lost contact with Voyager about three mintutes ago. I checked in on them half an hour before and just I tried hailing them just now. I need to you report back to the Minister’s office on the double.”

“Understood, Captain. I’ll inform the team. Have the Gherrin’s tried their communication relays?” asked Torres, already gesturing silent commands to the crew members around her.

“We’ve tried hailing them on all channels here, but received no response yet.”

“We’ll be there. Torres out.”  Hailing once again, Torres ordered, “Torres to the away team, the Captain’s having trouble contacting Voyager. I want you all to proceed to the Military Headquarters on the double, and I’ll meet you on the way!”

Although there could be any number of reasons why Voyager wasn’t responding, Torres seething in a sea of anger by the time the rest of her team caught up with the nearly charging Klingon.  She was so angry, but she didn’t know why. Was it because this glitch was adding to her already whopping to-do list?  First thing’s first, it’s to get to the bottom of whatever the hell was going on. 

They were led to the Defense sector, where the Captain and Gherrin Foreign Minister had been attempting to reestablish communications with their ship.  The defense facility operated with almost twice the amount of crew and computer consoles than Voyager’s bridge, overlooking a wide screen that resembled Astrometrics.  Whatever the reason for the lost link, it was not for the lack of technology.

“Captain,” B’Elanna acknowledged.

“Lieutenant,” Janeway answered with a nod. She and Minister Kalgas were bend over the main communications station.   “We’re still having trouble contacting Voyager on all subspace channels.”

“Can they be located on sensors?” asked Torres.

“I am afraid they have broken orbit,” replied Minister Kalgas. “I have requested that our nearest ship be notified to search for them. We should be able to visualize what is happening once our ship locates yours.”

“Only one?” the lieutenant blurted.

“B’Elanna,” chided Janeway. 

“It is alright, Kir Janeway. It would be best to withhold sending more ships,” explained Minister Kalgas,   “until we know more about the situation.”

“We understand and appreciate your efforts, Kir Kalgas,” Janeway responded diplomatically. She led Torres over to the side of the room.

“B’Elanna, I know you are concerned but we are still guests here. We need their cooperation, not the other way around.”

“I’m sorry, Captain. I guess I’m just on edge right now. I feel so useless...,” B’Elanna admitted, shaking her head.

“Well, I’m inclined to agree with you.” Janeway looked openly into B’Elanna’s eyes, allowing her own disquiet to be reflected.  “Take care of your team, and offer your assistance to the Gherrins. We’ll come up with something.”

*           *            *            *

“Evasive manuvers, Tom!” ordered Chakotay.

“I’m trying! There’s too many of ‘em and they’re coming in too fast.”

<BOOM...BOoM...Boom...boom!> Voyager rocked from the volleys delivered to their bow, throwing the crew about.  The faintly green ionic charges exploded, bouncing and tangling ecstatically on the shields as Voyager tried to out run the smaller vessels off its port and a larger one from behind. The vessels were a mismatched trio, with wicked-looking, insectoid, metallic gray and green hull designs, only Tom Paris could admire.

“Shields down to 72%, but holding. Weapons are loaded,” informed Tuvok.

Harry turned from one panel to another at his station evaluating all the data that was poring in. “No response to our hails. Damage reports coming in from deck 10.......to 14, and Engineering; electrical discharges shorting out some of the secondary systems. No damage to vital systems.”

“Tuvok, fire photon torpedoes, full spread off the port bow!”  Chakotay strode forward to the helm. “That’ll get the those two ships off our backs, then, Tom, I want you to barrel down on them.” He turned and addressed Tuvok again.  “Fire phasers, keep the pair together, isolate them, and take out their weapons array.”

“Aye, Commander.”

A series of staccato bursts of photon torpedoes erupted from Voyagers weapons bank, breaking off the attack from the smaller vessels but the larger one still loomed behind, keeping a sizable distance but enough to threaten the Voyager if it engaged.  But Voyager was now in pursuit of the two fleeing ships.

“Commander!” insisted Harry.

“What is it, Harry?”

“I’m picking up another ship on long range sensors at 15,000 km off starboard.”

“Another one of those?”

“I can’t tell. Sensors can’t pick up anything.”

“That’ll make four,” observed Paris.

“We haven’t been able to hail the Captain?,” Chakotay asked Harry.

“No, someone’s putting up a dampening field.”

“Keep trying.”

*           *            *            *            *

“We have to do something!” B’Elanna exclaimed. The highly agitated Klingon slammed her two hands down on the communications console. The poor Gherrin soldier flinched at the intensity which emitted from intimidating alien.

“That’s enough B’Elanna,” commanded the Captain unflinchingly. “Kir Kalgas, is there anything your ship can do to assist ours? Surely you can see that our ship is outnumbered and out-gunned, even though we may have better defenses.”

“I’m afraid,” Minister Kalgas began, “we cannot interfere. I cannot order our ship to engage the pirates.”

“But our crew’s in danger,” countered Lt. Torres, collecting herself after her reprimand for the second time today.

“Yes, I realize that. But you do not understand. Several generations ago, my people made a pact with the Shagall that we would not interfere with their affairs in this sector. Kir Janeway Captain, this used to be a troubled sector, where one aggressive species from the neighboring system would raid our colonies on the various planets you’ve passed by. Only when we combined our offensive efforts with the pirates, did this sector remain safe. The Shagall are pirates, nomads actually, living out of their ships and taking advantage of vulnerable vessels when possible, but for the most part they cause very little trouble to us.”

“Can you tell them that we are allies,” bargained Janeway, “and that we only want to travel peacefully through this space?”

“Declaring that we are allies may protect your ship, but the Shagall would perceive such action as a threat to the balance of power. And once you leave here, we will have to deal with the consequences.”

Defeated for now, the Captain nodded her understanding, and internalized the warring arguments she had just heard and her own opinions. She wasn’t ready to give up just yet, but she had to find a way to get the Gherrins to help without compromising their agreement with the pirates.

“Can you assist us with finding a way to get back to our ship?,” suggested Torres.

“If any of our ships approach, it would be seen as a sign of aggression on our part against them,” Minister Kalgas answered. “If your ship can return to our orbit, we may be able to assist with transportation then. But first, we must establish communication to your ship.”

B’Elanna hated the run arounds, the feigned helplessness, “my hands are tied” excuses. It was the not- trying that pissed her the most. While Janeway and the Minister remained deep in conversation, she stepped away from the crowd and moved towards the Ops station instead, before the temper she held in check reared its ugly head yet again.

She was worried, that was true enough. But Voyager had been in trouble before. And if anyone could see the crew through this, it was Chakotay. B’Elanna trusted her former commanding officer implicitly, after all they were Maquis. But they were in a fight, and it was a dishonor that she was not with them. And she wondered how they were doing. Tom was probably getting his kicks revving up the ship at maximum speed, dodging a torrent of weapons fire. Only she knew the pressure and responsibility he put himself under when he would question later if he should’ve turn port instead of starboard, sparing a few injured crew members.  At least she could have kept an eye on him from behind at her station, while he was at the helm.  And what about Seven. That Borg’s got it in her mind that she’s invunerable.

‘Kahless.’ She was going to bust some heads if anything happened to either one of them. B’Elanna stared hard at the Ops screen until the symbols and lights began to blur.... Or blink actually,...and display that one ship was approaching the Gherrin planet.  Shocked out of her trance, B’Elanna glanced up at the screen. It was Voyager.

“Commander Chakotay to Captain Janeway.”  A collective sigh of relief was let out.

Even the Captain could not leave out the elation in her voice. “It good to hear from you, Commander. How’s the crew?”

“Fine, Captain. In one piece and none the worse for wear. We had a bit of run in, but otherwise we’re ready to beam you aboard.”

“Understood. Give us a moment.” She turned to Minister Kalgas with an extended hand. “I’m afraid it’s time for us to leave Kir Kalgas. I’m sorry there wasn’t more opportunity for our people to work together.”

“It is very unfortunate, Captain. I pray for your safe journey.”

“Thank you.  Commander, five to beam up.”

Janeway strode onto the bridge with Torres in tow.  Tom looked up and acknowledged B’Elanna subtle nod with one of his own.  Old habits die hard, and she had to make sure he was alright. Chakotay began debriefing the Captain.

“We obtained a distress call from one of the smaller ships and proceeded to find out what condition the ship was in, when the other two emerged around the second moon of the neighboring planet. Apparently, they used the moon’s magnetic field to mask their physical readings from the sensors. It was too late to hail for assistance when they began their attack. Luckily for us, the larger ship never engaged us. Prior to returning to Gherrin, we received one hail from the vessel. They stated they were the Shagall and ordered us to leave the Gherrin system immediately.”

“What’s our status?,” demanded Janeway.

“Just a few secondary systems offline. Warp drive is operational. A few of the crew members were injured, nothing serious,” Chakotay continued, “when some of the systems shorted out from energy surges. Vorik, Chapman, Kristani, Oimole, and Seven are all in Sickbay.”

Torres inserted, “I’d like to stop off at Sickbay before going to Engineering to check up on a few people.”

Janeway assented, “I want a report on those repairs in 2 hours.”

*           *            *            *            *

“Lieutenant Chapman, please hold still,” ordered the Doctor. “I can’t treat your dermal burns with all your squirming.”

“Sorry, Doc, but it itches.”

“It’ll scar if I don’t apply this correctly.”

“It’s not going to matter where the sun don’t shine.”

“Lt. Chapman.”

The poor lieutenant, upon recognizing the familiar voice, flipped over a bit too quickly.  Stiffling a whimper, he looked up into the beautiful, but impassive face of Seven of Nine. She was a little dishevelled, with strands of her hair clinging loosely against her high cheek bones, but she still kept her grace about her.

“S..Seven, I thought one of the assistants was examining you.”

“Yes,” she replied, “they have completed their exam. I am undamaged because of you. Have you been sufficiently repaired?”

“Almost there. Thank you for bringing me here.”

“You are welcome, but it is I who should be thanking you for removing me from the panel before the energy surge.” 

Embarrassed, Chapman flushed. “Oh no, anyone nearest you would have done the same. But I’m glad you’re okay.” And for no other reason than to look into those big blue eyes again, bravely he asked,“Um... before you go back to Engineering, I was wondering, if you’d like to have dinner with me tonight?  We could meet in the Mess Hall at 1900 hours?”

Seven was unfamiliar with this particular situation. She felt grateful towards Lt. Chapman and a certain affection for her former date. Recalling, he had been so kind and extraordinarily tolerant during the entire dinner. In addition, he was quite aesthetically pleasing for a human male.  None of the Doctor’s socializing exercises ever addressed such a senario.

“It is...acceptable.”

“Great.”

It seemed like she stood there for an eternity, holding her breath, watching, waiting for Seven to answer finally. And it seemed like an eternity more, when she remembered how to exhale. Fortunately for B’Elanna, she was in Sickbay where the Doctor would have caught her if she passed out.

End of Part I