Alternate Conclusions
By H.W.
Chapter 10
Seven once again looked around the table before saying, "Since we are already moving on to other points let me close the point of starships for now by asking one last time if there are any more questions so far?
When nobody spoke up, Seven continued. "Very well, this brings me to the next point; uniforms. In the Coalition it is standard that the military and law enforcement forces of the individual planets have their own uniforms."
Seven lifted her hand to indicate Maras and Arandis in turn. "The Orions have their own uniforms, as have the Risan. Besides that the Coalition Factions have their own uniforms. Law enforcement troops that work for the Klingons wear Klingon uniforms, even if they are stationed on Risa or Orion. We will do the same. The planets and colonies will continue to have their own uniforms, but we will also introduce a uniform for Phoenix Alliance troops. To be worn on our ships, by law enforcement personnel that are under direct Phoenix Alliance command, and by Phoenix Alliance personnel that is working under our direct command, but does that work for us regardless of where they are in the Coalition."
"Good idea," Sisko agreed. "Are you going with an established design or are you starting from scratch?"
"Since we are using the Starfleet structure as a base for the Phoenix Alliance I am thinking of also using the Federation Uniforms," Seven explained. "I also want to use the colors to indicate the field the person works in, like it is now done in the Federation. Red for command, JAG (Judge Advocate General), and flight control. Gold for Engineering and operations, blue for science, medical, and counseling."
"You did not mention security," Tuvok pointed out. "I assume that they will also wear the gold color?"
"No," Seven disagreed. "You are correct, normally security and law enforcement troops wear a gold uniform color as well, but I find the range of gold too wide at the moment; literally ranging from engineers all the way to law enforcement. That is why we will introduce gray as the color for security and law enforcement from now on. Obviously we do not have to use Starfleet uniforms simply because we use the Starfleet structure. My choice is more driven by the fact that in this universe there is no history to these uniforms. They were not used by the Sol Empire, nor were they, or anything similar, used by any of the factions or planets that were free after the Sol Empire fell. Are there any questions or objections to using the Federation uniforms and colors, and including gray for security and law enforcement from now on?"
"A question," Sisko spoke up. "Actually two. The first question is; which uniform style? Some years ago the Federation introduced a new style uniform, but they left it up to individual commanders whether they introduced the new style or kept using the old one. I can only guess that this was in an effort that Starfleet has been introducing the last couple of years to give local command more freedom. I for one had the new style used on DS9, but the old style Uniform the Voyager crew around this table is wearing at the moment is still used at places all over the Federation."
"I am not really partial to either, especially since I still have to wear bio-suits," Seven pointed out. "I will leave the choice to the people around this table that will have to wear the uniform."
Sisko chuckled. "Well, that was actually my second question; just who has to wear uniforms? In the Federation politicians don't wear uniforms."
"Before I get to that point, from the people around this table you are the only one that has worn the new uniform style as well as the old. Please give us your opinion."
"The new one, no question," Sisko said immediately. "I personally, and my officers on DS9 agreed, like the new cut. It is a lot more comfortably and well, not as tight. They used a different material that still forms to the body, but doesn't constrict movement as much as the old one did."
"If that's the case, then I'm all for it," B'Elanna immediately said. "I lost count of how many times I striped down to my undershirt in engineering because the uniform top was so damn restricting when I wanted to do something."
"I did notice five marks in your file about inadequate clothing while on duty," Annika said amused. "Is that what Janeway meant?"
"We are talking about the undershirt that comes with the uniform, right?" Seven asked before B'Elanna could answer Annika's question. "The gray shirt where you attach the pips to the neck; the one I can see now under your uniform jacket?"
"Um, no. The black sleeveless T-shirt that goes underneath it," B'Elanna explained. "The style was referred to as a tank-top in the old days when people still wore it as a shirt. It's decent, I assure you. In fact, on Earth it was, when the style was popular, considered a normal piece of clothing to be worn outside in informal settings.
"I have never seen that," Seven admitted.
"It really is still decent, I assure," Annika spoke up. "Truthfully I don't know why Janeway reprimanded B'Elanna for it. I mean, alright, it's not the whole uniform, but it's still decent, and she was doing physically demanding jobs at that time, if the files are correct."
"Janeway said that I, as the Chief Engineer, had to set an example for the others," B'Elanna merely said.
Seven looked at Chakotay who lifted his hands. "Don't ask me; I want to be neutral in this. Kathrin had a point, but at the same time I think I would have taken of at the very least my jacket as well."
"I see," Seven said, an idea slowly starting to form. An idea she first had to discuss with the Doctor. "In any case, we were discussing uniforms. Ben suggested using the new style uniform, does anyone have an objection to this?"
Seven looked around the table and when nobody spoke up she continued. "The new style it is. As for the question who should wear them, as Ben just so rightfully pointed out, in the other Universe politicians do not wear uniforms."
"Yeah, but in the other Universe politicians are also not as hands-on as most of us will probably be," B'Elanna pointed out. "I mean, so I'll be a politician officially, but come on; do you really think that I'll stop getting my hands dirty now? Does anyone around this table that knows me really think that I'll just stand by and look while others are testing some engine?"
"Are you saying that you would prefer to wear a uniform?" Seven asked to clarify.
"Well, yeah. I guess I am saying that," B'Elanna agreed slowly. "Kinda ironic coming from someone that was making the biggest racket eight years ago about having to wear a Starfleet uniform, huh?"
"In eight years a lot of things change," Seven reminded. "For instance, what would you have said when eight years ago someone would have told you that Voyager was going to have run-ins with the Borg. Make an alliance with the Borg. Then take a Borg drone with you. Then be stranded in an Alternative Universe some years later. Where you would fall in love and marry the counterpart of that Borg drone. And a year after that you were going to be part of a government of a faction that controls fifteen species, amongst which the Humans... under command of that former Borg drone?"
B'Elanna grinned. "I would probably have said; wow, can I have that holo-program on a data crystal?"
"I'm wondering," Tom spoke up. "Isn't the whole point that we will base the top structure of the Phoenix Alliance of the Starfleet idea? Starfleet, not the Federation. In Starfleet the top decision makers are the Admirals, and they wear uniforms. Here we are decision makers; we give orders. Yeah, so we are called Ministers or in my case Rover, but still. If you ask me we should be in uniforms when we are on duty hours, just like anyone else that is in the direct command line of the Phoenix Alliance."
"I would be inclined to agree," Tuvok spoke up. "I would even add to that the suggestion that ranks are given to indicate the command position."
"Wouldn't that mean getting rid of the Minister positions Seven has created for us?" Neelix wondered.
"Not at all," Tuvok assured. "The Ministry will be the job position that is being fulfilled, while the rank is the command position a person has. For instance, a Commander could be the Minister of Culture just as well as an Admiral could be the Minister of Culture, if appointed into that position by the Intendant. However, that someone has the position of Minister does not automatically mean that this person would have the position of an Admiral in the chain of Command of the Phoenix Alliance, just because the previous Minister was an Admiral. It would only mean that the individual has the command authority that comes from the fact that he or she is a Minister."
"It's similar to the Klingon Security Department," Torres noted. "You all met Martok. General Martok is the Commander of the KSD. His rank is General Second Class, which is pretty much the same as the Federation's Vice Admiral. So pure on rank there are actually several people with more authority than him. But, as Commander of the KSD he is the third most powerful person in the Klingon Faction, directly below me and the Chancellor above me. As Commander of the KSD he can order people around that are General First Class, comparable to your Admirals, even though his rank is lower than theirs."
"Ah," Neelix said. "In that case I would say that Tom is right; we should all have uniforms to wear while we are 'on duty'. Of course, if you add Tuvok's suggestion that would mean that you would have to hand out ranks to us, Seven."
"I will give the matter some thought," Seven assured before moving on. "This brings me to the last point I wanted to discuss today; language. There is a rather interesting language make-up in the Coalition. Planets and quite some colonies have their own language. On top of that there is the official language of the Faction that is in control of that part of space, and on top of that there is the official Coalition language. While the speech is not that much of a problem since the universal translator can be used, it is especially the writing. While this too can be solved for normal individuals by a translator 'reading' the text and then 'saying' it the language selected, this is not an acceptable way of working for governmental officials."
"Why not?" Harry asked.
"Because of blame really," Seven explained. "No matter how good the software is, a universal translator can and does make mistakes. All of you experience at least once a day that the universal translator translates one, or even more words in a row, and you simply know that it has to be wrong because that is not what you are talking about."
Harry grinned. "Yeah, Jennifer and I had something like that yesterday. We were talking over the viewscreen with one of the Risan engineers that are working on renovating one of the old Risan governmental buildings on Risa and turning it into a Phoenix Alliance representative building. Anyway, he was showing us some blueprints and both Jennifer and I heard him say, 'of course, we could also put a snow vacation in the lobby'. After an amused chuckle we told him what we heard him say and he assured us that what he said was 'show location', with which he meant a manned location that showcases some of the industries we are active in so that if a person visits us for one thing, he might also see something else he is interested in."
Seven nodded her head. "But the thing is that while in daily life such universal translator mistakes are funny or just ignored, on the level of Ministers and higher, such a mistake can have dire consequences. Just imagine that the universal translator mistakes the word 'sell' for the word 'buy'. Because of this the universal translator is not used, normally, in the higher levels of government. It is common, almost mandatory, for such officials to know several languages. For instance, a Ferengi governmental official would know how to read, write, and speak, Ferengi, Cardassian, and Klingon. Obviously this is different in the Klingon sector since there the Faction language is Klingon, which is also the official Coalition language."
"If I may correct you there slightly," Torres spoke up. After Seven gave a nod, Torres continued. "What Seven said is correct. But where Seven talked about officials, I would like to add the common person to that. In fact, while universal translators do exist here, they are hardly used. Because Klingon is the Coalition language most people know it. So if, say, a common Ferengi and a Cardassian meet, they will simply speak Klingon and forgo the use of the translator. Case in point." Torres pointed to Maras and Arandis. "When we met up on Risa, what language did we speak?"
The Orion and Risan looked at each other for a moment to see who would answer, finally Maras took the word. "Klingon. In fact, even before you joined us, we are already talking Klingon. It's normal if you think about it. Because I have dealings on Risa, I have learned the language out of courtesy, but I'm not yet fluent in the language. So when Arandis addressed me in Klingon I was more than willing to continue in that language."
Torres nodded her head in thanks before addressing the rest again. "And that's basically my point. Yes we do have the universal translator, and yes it is used on occasions. But in general you can say that the 'universal translator' is the fact that both sides know how to speak and read Klingon even though neither of them is Klingon, as Maras just indicated. The universal translator is more of a commonly known alternative. If two people have different species meet and one of them doesn't speak Klingon, then the universal translator is used."
"Thank you for pointing that out," Seven took over again. "A very important point I had not even realized. But it does give meaning all the more to what I am going to say now. Since until the creation of the Phoenix Alliance our space was Klingon territory, the people in our faction only know their own language and the official Klingon language. As a Faction we do not yet have an official Faction language. We could introduce Federation as the official language of the Phoenix Alliance, however, I have no intention of forcing countless individuals to suddenly learn a new language. Therefore, I have decided that our Faction's official language will be; Klingon. I believe that this is the best solution because everyone in the Coalition already knows this language, including everyone in Phoenix Alliance space. Everyone with the exception of a very small group that is."
Looking around the table to indicate just who the 'small group' was, Seven added, "I am afraid that I have some homework for you. For those that do not know the language yet, I fully expect each and every one of you to be able to read, write, and speak Klingon within six months, and fluently within one year. Though I will allow for a little of an accent."
"Hu'tegh," B'Elanna said, with just the right force that a Klingon would use when saying the word, making the non-Voyager people around the table chuckle.
"I am afraid that I will insist on a little bit more than only being able to say 'damn' in Klingon," Seven said amused.
"Come on, Seven," B'Elanna said with a little grin. "How about some lenience? Not everyone of us is able to just assimilate a language. I mean, alright, the Doc could indeed download some files if he didn't already know the language, and Ben might know, seeing that he had to deal with the Klingons as a commander of DS9, but for the rest of us... I have had a Klingon mother, lived with some Klingons, and used holodeck simulations, and still I won't be able to hold a conversation in Klingon. These people here, and all of them out there know Klingon because they have learned it in school right alongside their own language, but for us... Klingon is a damn hard language to learn."
"You have a point," Seven had to agree. "However, Klingon will be the official language, and everyone around this table will know it. You asked for leniency; very well. My leniency is that fluently means without the aid of a universal translator. Writing means on the computer with the computer correcting misspelled words. Reading; no compromise. I do not want problems to ensue from nothing else than the fact that a text was misread."
"And the timeframe?" B'Elanna asked.
"One year," Seven said, relenting the six month limit she had said for the language. "After all, I also want you to do other things than study the entire time. But in one year time there will also no longer be an universal translator active during these meetings."
"My suggestion would be to have the view-screen on and set to the main Klingon news channel when you work in your office, and the universal translator off obviously," Kastra suggested. "More of a background noise. You will subconsciously pick up more and more words and learn their meaning. And on top of that, if you come across a word of which you don't know the meaning yet, take the time to ask to computer to translate it. I have found that if you have a base knowledge of the language you want to learn, that this is actually a very effective way of learning."
"And just how many languages do you know?" B'Elanna asked.
Kastra smiled when she felt that B'Elanna didn't believe that you could learn like that. "Speaking without the help of the universal translator; nine languages, and I'm in the process of learning Romulan at the moment. I kinda started off with the languages more close to home since I didn't think that I would ever be leaving. As for reading; seven. Though I must add there that I still make quite some mistakes in three."
"And you learned the speaking really from listening to the news?"
"You would be amazed how fast you can learn a language with the right incentive," Kastra said with a smile. This time the smile was because of the hand of a certain Romulan that had come to rest on top of hers, for anyone at the table to see.
"I think I'll look for a different incentive than that," B'Elanna said with a grin. "I don't think my wife would appreciate it too much if I used that kind of incentive."
"I'm glad to see that I married a very smart woman," Annika said as she bumped B'Elanna with her shoulder.
I am confident that you all will succeed," Seven assured before deciding that it was time to end the meeting for that day. "We have discussed quite some matters today. I would suggest that we meet again tomorrow at the same time so that I can give you an answer to the things I told you I would look up, and the things I said I would think over. The same goes for you all. You can use this day to think about the matters we discussed and see if you have any more questions. Any objections?"
When none were coming, Seven officially ended the meeting. When people were starting to get up, she asked, "Doctor, could I speak to you for a moment?"
~~~~~~~{}~~~~~~~
"I'm sorry I'm late," The Doctor said as he walked into the conference room. As he walked to his seat at the large round table the others were sitting at he explained, "I had some last minute details to change."
"Details to change?" Harry wondered.
"You'll see in a few minutes," The Doctor assured. "So, how is everybody today?"
It was ten minutes later when the door opened again. When B'Elanna saw Seven walking in her eyes got a little wider and she elbowed Annika who had been in a conversation with Donatra.
When Annika looked and saw Seven she looked back at B'Elanna and winked before standing up and saying in a loud voice, "Attention! Senior Officer on deck."
Grinning, the former Starfleet crew got up as well, quickly followed by the rest.
"At ease," Seven merely said, realizing only too well that she was being tweaked. She waited for a moment while Toby moved ahead and under the table and then sat down with Torres taking the seat beside her.
"Nice uniform, Intendant," Annika said as she sat back down.
"Thank you. It is a bio-suit that the Doctor created for me, cut like the new style Federation uniform. I figured since it was decided yesterday that all people in command should wear a uniform, it would be only fitting if I wore a uniform as well; seeing that I am command as well."
"Don't you get hot under there?" Annika wondered, seeing after a closer look that the uniform jacket was a normal jacket while the bio-suit was the part what would normally have been the shirt beneath the jacket.
"That is a benefit of the bio-suit material; it regulates body heat. The conversation yesterday about taking off parts of the uniform when being physically active gave me an idea. Doctor?"
"Ah, yes. Seven asked me if I could change the bio-suit technology a little; take out the electronics that interact with her Borg implants and instead make the inner lair of a material that pulls sweat away from the body. This new style bio-suit is not for Seven of course, she is still wearing the normal bio-suit; it's for the rest of you. Seven will give people that have to wear a uniform the choice between a standard uniform and a bio-suit uniform."
"With all due respect for the idea, but why would we bother?" Trinka asked. "I mean, as tight as those suits of you are, I'm amazed that you can even breathe."
"They just look that way," Seven assured. "Once you wear them you will find that they are actually quite comfortable, and since the material is extremely elastic it gives you more freedom to move than a normal uniform does. Yes, it clings to your body, but it also moves with your body with all the movement you make. Another bonus to the bio-suit technology is the fact that it regulates the body heat. You feel comfortable warm in temperatures from freezing to 50 degrees Celsius, and thanks to the Doctor's change your clothing does not get wet and sticks to your skin because of your own sweat. Because of this I believe it will simplify the matter of clothing a lot. Within limits, no matter what the environment is, the same uniform can be worn all the time. Either way, it is your, and anyone else that has to wear a uniform, own choice; both patterns are now uploaded into the Main Replicator system."
"So what's with the purple?" B'Elanna asked, indicating the color marking of the Uniform. "I thought it was going to be red, gold, blue, and gray."
"It is, for the fields I mentioned yesterday," Seven agreed. "However, I decided that since the Intendant is going to wear a uniform as well, there should be a color to indicate the Intendant level. Since red, my favorite color, was already taken I settled for purple, my second favorite color. The purple will be worn by me, the Sub-Intendants, my Advisers, the Inspector General, and the Rover. Unless of course any of them has a rank that demands they wear different clothing."
"In case you are wondering," Torres said with a grin, "That'll be me. I'll be damned if I'm going to wear that uniform. I may be an Adviser to Seven, but I'm still the Klingon Intendant as well."
"Good thing I like purple," Kastra said, trying to imagine how she would look in the uniform.
"Too bad I hate it," Harry added. Looking at Seven, he was quick to say, "But I'm sure I'll get used to it."
"I am glad to hear that," Seven said. "Now, yesterday we also mentioned ranks, and as I said I would, I gave the matter some thought. First I feel that I have to rectify a decision I made. I decided that my Advisers should have no command authority, unless, like in the case of my Mistress, that authority comes from another position they hold as well. I am going to change that. I feel that my Advisers should have a command position, if for nothing more than the fact that if they are not at my side they not always have to point out to others that they have the authority to do certain things because I ordered them to do something. Until 2315 Starfleet had the rank of Commodore. After that time they phased out this rank and instead split the Rear Admiral position in to a Rear Admiral Lower Half, and a Rear Admiral Upper Half. This again has changed in the last couple of decades to the point where even though it is officially not phased out, the rank of Rear Admiral Lower Half is no longer used. Presently the Rear Admiral Upper Half is once again commonly used as the first Flag Officer position and only called a Rear Admiral. We are going to keep the position of Rear Admiral as it is used nowadays in Starfleet; undivided. Below it, as the first Flag Officer position, we are once again going to introduce the Commodore position. However, while the position will fall between Captain and Rear Admiral in the chain of command, it will not be a position that someone can be promoted to. The Commodore position will only be for the Intendant Advisers, and as soon as someone gets appointed to the position of Intendant Adviser, they will have the command position of Commodore if their rank was lower than that before; if they had a rank to begin with. Of course, if someone has a higher rank they will obviously keep that higher rank."
"You mean I won't be demoted to Commodore?" Torres asked with a grin. Of course, she knew all of this since Seven had discussed all of this with her before during the 'giving it some thought' stage. That still didn't mean that she couldn't joke about it.
"Rest assured, I have no intention of demoting you," Seven said deliberately waiting for a moment before adding, "It is much too convenient that I can boast with the fact that the Klingon Intendant is my fiancée. Somehow the sentence 'my fiancée is a Commodore' does not have such an impact as the sentence 'my fiancée is the Klingon Intendant'."
Torres held her hands up in mock defeat. "Alright, alright. Consider me put back in my place, Intendant Phoenix."
"Good," Seven said with a smile before looking back at the others. "As for ranks for the rest of you; I have decided that all Ministers will get the rank of Rear Admiral. Let me point out, like we discussed yesterday, that this does not mean that from now on a Minister post means that people get the rank of Rear Admiral. I am giving you all this rank now because I believe that especially now in the beginning of the building of the Phoenix Alliance the command authority of anyone around this table should be undisputable. To most in the Phoenix Alliance the fact that you are a Minister only means that you are a politician, since they do not know just exactly what your fields of authority are. However, everyone in the Phoenix Alliance knows what a Rear Admiral is. As for the rest; the Sub-Intendants are obvious since that is their rank and the Intendant part of their title will remind people of just for who they can speak."
She looked at her counterpart before adding, "Annika, since as Admiral Supreme you are the leader over all armed forces, you will get the command position of Commander-in-Chief. Olkra, you as the Secret Service Commander, will get the rank of Admiral. Tom, as Rover you too will get the position as Admiral. Chakotay, as Inspector General you will get the position of Fleet Admiral."
"Why?" Chakotay asked. "I mean, not that I would mind a nice promotion, but I thought I would only get the authority to check things."
"That is correct, and that is also the reason," Seven agreed. "As I said, I did give the matter some thought yesterday. I selected you all because I want you to do a job for me, but at the same time I also do not want positions like the Minister positions, or for this matter the Inspector General positions, to become too powerful. Therefore I will leave the position descriptions as they are. You, as Inspector General will only get the authority needed to inspect things. The next Inspector General will get the same authority. However, by now giving you all around this table these high positions I can give you the authority I want you all to have, without setting a precedent for the future. I believe that once the Phoenix Alliance is firmly established the position descriptions and powers will more than suffice."
She shook her head a little. "However, we are not yet there. The majority of people in the Coalition still think that the whole Phoenix Alliance is some kind of scheme from the Klingons; even a lot of people in Phoenix Alliance space seem to think that. In that light it might be that they would not take a Minister serious, but they will definitely take a Rear Admiral serious. The same for you as Inspector General. As Inspector General they might try to deceive you, but as Fleet Admiral that can call in any troops he needs to do whatever is needed, they will think twice before trying to deceive you."
"So basically this is a one time thing," Tom surmised. "The people after us won't be getting these high positions?"
"They will not," Seven agreed. "After you, these positions will be given to people in the same way that they are given to people in the Federation."
Seven was quiet for a moment before adding, "However, let me be honest with you, the fact that I want you to have these high positions so that you can do your job correctly is only part of the reason. The other part is that I have these high positions to fill now. I cannot leave them barren until someone has proven that they deserve that position."
"You have nobody you trust enough to put in these positions," Donatra said in understanding. "Nobody but us, that is. You are already handing us positions where we could do a lot of damage if we wanted to. Handing us those high positions isn't really much of a risk to you. But to hand the position of, say, Fleet Admiral to someone you don't know and have no real file on is plain asking for trouble."
"Indeed," Seven could only agree. "And I have no intention of asking for that trouble. However, that is not the only change I decided on. Since now there are ranks between you ranging from Commodore to Commander-in-Chief, I have decided that all of you sitting around this table will from now on form the Intendant Advisory Board."
"Great, more work," B'Elanna said, while crossing her arms.
"Not really," Seven disagreed, knowing that B'Elanna was kidding, but still wanting to be clear about the point. "I did however decide to make the Intendant Adviser Board and official organ of the Phoenix Alliance. While you are not the kind of permanent Advisers the Intendant Advisers are, the Advisory Board mainly means that while in this room none of you outrank each other. There is also where you differ from, say, the advisers that the Bajoran Intendant has."
She took a moment to explain the difference. "The Bajoran advisers are positions; jobs to have. And their position amongst each other is determined by the specific post they have. The first adviser is in general considered the most powerful, the one that has most of the Intendant's trust. While the twentieth adviser is, well, in Kira's case it was merely a position given to someone that Kira wanted close for her own amusement. Ro Laren was not considered a powerful person as far as advisers go, her power came from her Special Forces rank of captain."
Seven shook her head a little. "I do not want that. Therefore the people of the Advisory Board I am now creating will be equal to each other for as long as the Advisory Board meeting lasts. One minute before the meeting Annika still outranks B'Elanna, during the meeting they are on equal level, and one minute after the meeting is over, Annika outranks B'Elanna once again. I want to prevent, especially for later Intendants, that the people in their government stay silent while sitting at a table with someone that is higher in rank and also governmental position."
"So this Board is something permanent?" Chakotay asked. "I hope it won't happen, but if you were to keel over right now, the next Intendant would also have this board?"
"The Advisory Board will be totally up to the discretion of the Intendants. They decide if they use it, and who will be in it. So it might very well be that a coming Intendant has the Commander-in-Chief in the Advisory Board, but also an Ensign that has abilities that are to the Intendant's liking. In that situation they will still have the same 'say' once the Advisory Board is in session. Just like whether they use the Advisory Board and who is on it, the Intendants will also be the ones to decide how often the Advisory Board will get together."
"And just how often do you plan on letting us get together as that Advisory Board?" Donatra asked.
"Once a month," Seven stated. "Of course, I do not want to hamper any of you in being able to do your job properly. If you have to be somewhere else you can join these meetings over a view-screen. In that regard we are lucky; our territory is relatively small, so while someone might have to attend a meeting over view screen, by they next meeting they should be long back and able to attend in person. In fact, I can see a situation coming in which I will be the one joining these meetings over view-screen. After all, my Mistress has to be in places all over Klingon territory, and sometimes beyond that. I can see situations forming where it can take my Mistress and me over a month just to get to a location my Mistress has to be at."
"Um, I've been wanting to ask about that," Ezri spoke up. "What are we to do then? I mean, we will have our quarters on this ship, and we agreed that we would follow you around so that we could do the hands-on thing you prefer. You know; see things with our own eyes. So, what are we going to do if you leave on a journey like that? I mean, you just said that you will join those meetings over a view-screen. Does that mean that we have to move to the houses on Mars for that time? Are we following you around until we reach the boarder and then wait there for you to return on our own ships?"
"I," Seven began, only to be interrupted by Torres.
"A good point, and just as I welcome you all onto my ship to live here, I'm also not going to throw you all off just because I'm leaving Phoenix space and Seven is coming with me So, my suggestion would be that you make sure that you trust your Second-in-Command completely. Let them handle the day-to-day things while you accompany us on our journey. Consider it part of your political education; meeting species, dealing with them. For instance, while Seven and I are enjoying the ice-caves on the Breen Homeworld, people around this table might use the opportunity to make some deals for the Phoenix Alliance with the Breen."
"Right before enjoying some off-duty time on the Breen Homeworld yourself, of course," Seven added. "I have to admit that my Mistress and I did not yet discuss this point; mainly because we had decided that you would stay on this ship and not thought of setting any conditions."
Then she agreed, "Having said that, my Mistress is correct. This ship is now your home, and we will not ask you to leave when we have to be somewhere. My Mistress is also correct with the Second-in-Command suggestion. As I stated before; you cannot be at all places at the same time. Because this is not possible anyway, I much rather have you with me when I go to places. This way of thinking does not stop at the Phoenix Alliance border. Besides having to go to places with my Mistress, there will also be occasions where I have to be at places outside the Phoenix Alliance to make deals for the Phoenix Alliance. At those times I would like to have you with me as well so that I can have the right experts with me in those negotiations. After all, I picked you all for your positions for a reason. I may be capable of thinking of general ideas, but I will rely on my experts; you all, to think of the details that need to be brought up as well."
"Well, I for one sure won't mind visiting all kind of different places," Annika said with a smile. "Until now my life has been confined to the places where my owners wanted me to work, and after that to Voyager. I would love to be able to simply walk across the Breen Homeworld."
"Or Qo'noS," Seven added. "Because that is the first place we will be going to. I have to speak to the Chancellor to discuss some details."
"You can just go to see the Chancellor without an appointment?" Leeta asked surprised.
"I cannot," Seven said, before lifting an eyebrow and adding, "However, it just so happens that my fiancée is blood pact family with the Chancellor, and a good friend of him. She can go see him at any time. I merely tag along and mention some things since I am there anyway."
"It's nice to have connections, huh?" B'Elanna said.
"Don't sell yourself short, Seven," Torres spoke up. "Worf addressed you as 'my friend' when talking to you, and while it might have sounded like an average comment, Worf is extremely selective with using those words. He likes you, just that you won't be able to get away, yet, with saying to him some of the things I say to him."
"We will see when we will meet him," Seven said, not fully convinced, but also realizing that obviously Torres knew Worf a lot better than she herself did. "For now, we have a few more things to discuss."
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B'Elanna looked at the empty room with a bemused expression on her face. Arms closed around her from behind and she looked over her shoulder at her wife. "You know, I really have the urge to say, 'another day, another room to decorate'."
Annika smiled and looked at the room over B'Elanna's shoulder. "That was one advantage about being a slave; moving was simply not being brought back to where you normally slept."
Annika stepped around B'Elanna before adding. "But I like this way of moving so much more. Good thing is that this will probably really be the last time we move any time soon."
"Oh no," B'Elanna disagreed. "You seem to forget that as soon as the Phoenix is build we will be moving to that ship."
"I didn't forget, I just don't think it will happen," Annika disagreed as she moved further in to the room what soon would be their living room. She looked out of the window, seeing Voyager drifting gracefully in space. "I think that this place will truly be the place where we live for a long, long time. Mind you, I can see us moving to the Phoenix for some time when she is finished and Torres' ship is being upgraded, but after that we will be right back here."
"Why do you think that?" B'Elanna asked as she joined Annika at the window to look at the ship that had been her home for over eight years now.
"Remember what Seven said in the meeting where we told her that the Voyager crew had decided to stay?" Annika asked as she turned around and leaned against the window. "She said that we would continue to live on Voyager and follow Torres' ship around. And yet here we are in what are going to be our quarters on the Negh'Var. Seven rightfully says that she wants her government close so that they can see things first hand, but you know what?"
"What?" B'Elanna asked.
"I think it's more than that," Annika stated confidently. "I think Seven is building her own little community of sorts. In the meeting I had this morning with the Captain of this ship, Var'Ck told me that normally there is nobody but Torres and Seven living on this deck, and now suddenly every higher ranking Phoenix government member gets a set of quarters on this deck. Even the Wildman's because of Naomi's position as my assistant. Now granted, there is still a buffer of several rows of empty quarters around Torres' and Seven's quarters, but still. We are only a minute's walk down the corridor."
"Then why not also the rest of Voyager?" B'Elanna asked, not disputing Annika's words.
"I think for two reasons," Annika said thoughtfully. "First, with the exception of Naomi nobody of the lower decks was really that close to Seven. In fact, you can even say that the friendships between Seven and the rest of the Senior Staff really only started to grow since Seven had to leave this ship the first time. As if Torres freed her,"
"Freed her?" B'Elanna interrupted amused. "Annika, you know only too well that freeing was the absolute last thing on Torres' mind when she took Seven with her."
"I'm not disputing that," Annika agreed. "But that's also not what I meant. I wasn't talking about what Torres was planning; I was talking of what she did, be it deliberate or not. B'Elanna, I never met Seven when she was a member of the Voyager crew, but you yourself told me that Seven seems changed."
"Yeah," B'Elanna agreed. "I don't really know how to put this, so no cheap jokes about what I'm going to say next, but Seven seems fuller now, rounder; not so flat. She is smiling, laughing, joking, talking about feelings."
"And that's what I mean with Torres having freed Seven. I think the Seven we see now is the person she wants to be, and Torres lets her. As you know, I did have the... pleasure... of working with Janeway for some time before she got herself killed, and I don't think she ever did give Seven that chance to be herself."
"Janeway spent a lot of time with Seven," B'Elanna disagreed. "Being her mentor, and guiding her development."
Annika gave her a small smile. "You just said it yourself; guiding. When Seven wanted to do something that Janeway didn't agree with, what did she do? Mind you, I'm not talking about wanting to do something that's dangerous, or going back to the Borg. I'm talking about other things. Like... well, her relationship with Torres is the perfect example. I know that Seven told Janeway that she wants to have the relationship she has with Torres, that she wants a Mistress in her life, and Janeway told her that it was wrong. I mean, what would Janeway have said if Seven had told her that she was in a relationship with you, my wonderful wife, and that she wants you to be her Mistress? Would she have told Seven that Seven should go right ahead and try how a relationship like that feels for her, or would Janeway have told Seven that she should not do that and that a relationship like that is wrong?"
B'Elanna smirked and crossed her arms. "Well, put like that, no way. Janeway would have had no problem whatsoever with sticking her nose into Seven's private life and tell her that a relationship like that would be wrong for her and that she first would have to 'grow' by being in a normal relationship."
B'Elanna thought about it for a moment before adding, "But I think it's more than that. I think that the Borg angle also plays a part. The people here never knew the Borg, never heard of them until Seven told them what the Borg are. Hell, we don't even know if the Borg exist in this universe. Because of that these people never started off with Seven by fearing her; why should they fear a Human? More so because the people Seven met are the people that are normally the ones that are feared. So they just saw Seven as Seven. No fear because she's Borg, no misguided ideas about Seven being inexperienced, and in need of protection. They simply met Seven, nothing else."
"Right," Annika agreed. "And I think that we are now also meeting Seven like the person Seven wants to be. I think we, all of us, have found a person we like, and Seven has found a group of people she finally got to meet for real. She discovered that she likes to have us around, or be around us, whatever you want to call it. The thing is that Seven is in the unique position where she can make things happen."
She hesitated for a moment and amended, "Or should I say that Seven is in a position where she can make things happen, and she is in a relationship with someone that can make even more things happen? Torres, the biggest Intendant, who happens to have the biggest and baddest ship in the Coalition, and she's not about to separate herself from Seven. Yet she sees why Seven would like to have her friends, and government, around and Torres makes it happen."
Annika thought about the subject some more. "I mean, It's not like Torres is going to miss these quarters. Her ship has a standing crew of two and a half thousand, and besides that the room to transport ten thousand troops and enough supplies for those ten thousand troops to fight for ten days. Torres isn't really going to use her ship for that. If this would be needed one of the other Negh'Var class ships would do it since those troops first would to have to be picked up somewhere."
"Besides, we both know that Torres only has this ship for two reasons," B'Elanna reminded. "First, it's the biggest ship class the Klingons ever build, and second, this particular Negh'Var is the strongest and most powerful ship to be found in the Coalition. It has enough weapons to take on anything to be found in the Coalition. Hell, even when we have built the Phoenix class it would come down to skill. The Phoenix having the torpedoes that are four times as strong as those of the Negh'Var, but the Negh'Var having those huge Mark 18 pulse disruptor cannons which gives her four times as much beam power as the Phoenix."
"True," Annika agreed. "Let's face it, Torres has this ship so that she can arrive somewhere and can say 'if you don't shut up I'll destroy this damn planet and every one on it', and actually have the power to do so. So there is a lot of unused room on this ship, and to keep Seven close, and to have Seven keep her friends close, Torres hands over some of that space. I mean, quarters for Seven's government compared to the room I just mentioned? It won't even really be missed. More so since as I said, those quarters are on a deck that was normally not used at all, with the exception of Torres and Seven themselves. Besides that, the part of the ship that in now the Phoenix Alliance Embassy... alright, so now the ship can only take on five thousand troops should it really ever be needed."
"Well, put like that," B'Elanna agreed. She had finally managed to stop seeing herself and Torres as the same person. That way she could tell herself 'I wouldn't do that' and actually believe it. "I guess she really can miss the thirty family size quarters she set aside for the Phoenix Alliance government top to live in."
"And our offices also don't take that up that much room," Annika reminded. "Those are located on a deck where normally lower rank officers are housed if the ship takes on troops. The ranks that are high enough to have individual quarters, but low enough that those quarters are so small that the entire quarters of one person could into this room here. Which is fine because for offices it's more than big enough. Enough room for a desk and some and breathing room in the main office, have a smaller room to the side of it for storage of files and documents, and even have a toilet and sonic shower attached to the office for those long days of work. It's more than most people have in an office, just that the main office room is not as grand as other government officials in other places have."
"True," B'Elanna agreed. "I for one really like my office and have more than enough room in my main office, for now. As you said. All that I don't need at the moment I can store in the small room that is normally a bedroom."
She looked back out of the window and added with a grin, "But I sure like the fact that Torres and Seven are living in the middle of this deck and gave the quarters at the outside to us all. Look at the size of these windows. I can understand why Torres never took a set of quarters on the edge of the ship; security. But I for one love to see the stars."
"And talking about these quarters," Annika said gesturing to the room. "So, do you have an idea about how to decorate it?"
"I do," B'Elanna affirmed. "I really like the layout we have on Voyager. Why don't we simply copy it all here? Have everything exactly the same, even replicate the wall decorations."
B'Elanna pointed to the door to one of the bedrooms before saying, "That door would have to be moved from the left side to the right, but other than that it would work. We could even have everything in the same cabinets then. You know, have that kitchen unit with your favorite set of knives replicated and in the same draw on the left. That way, whether we are here, or on Voyager, or later on the Phoenix, as soon as we walk through the door, we walk in to our home. Just that here the furniture would stand a little further apart than it does on Voyager. And when the time comes to decorate the quarters on the Phoenix we do the same there. If at some point we get tired of the look we simply change the quarters on all three the ships."
"I like that idea," Annika admitted. "If we do that, we will have two rooms left though, since these are officially family quarters. What do you think of doing with those?"
"What do you think?" B'Elanna countered. "These are your quarters as well."
"I know," Annika said with a smile. "But you are on a role, so go on. If I don't like it, I'll tell you."
B'Elanna grinned when seeing the smile. "Alright, let me roll ahead then. Now, since you believe that these will be our quarters for a long time, I would suggest turning one of those rooms into a storage room. You know, where you keep things that you don't want to keep in your quarters, but that you don't want to get rid off either."
"I wouldn't know," Annika reminded.
"You will," B'Elanna assured. "Besides, you have already started to do it as well. You have saved things, it's just that right now it still fits in drawers. But a storage room would be perfect to keep things like our wedding clothes; torn buttons and all. Over time we will want to save stuff; memorabilia. And with a room size closet we have more than enough room to save sentimental things."
"Alright, we can do that. And the other room?"
"How about an office; an official office that is. Both you as the Admiral Supreme and I as the Minister of Science and Technology will have to do work at home. In fact, I think I would like that. If it's just reading stuff, why not do it here at home sitting on the couch enjoying a drink and snuggling with you? But that still means that we need a room where we keep the PADDs and the computer units to have the access if we need to look something up. We could also put a view-screen in there. As Seven pointed out; most of our meetings with people will have to be done over a view-screen anyway. Why not put one in there and do it from there?"
"Sounds convenient," Annika agreed. "It also sounds like you are setting things up in a way that we don't even have to go to the office in the Embassy to do our work."
"Sure we will, just maybe not every day," B'Elanna said, and thereby both agreeing and disagreeing with Annika's statement at the same time. "As Seven said, she won't ask her government to account for certain hours on the job, or that the work is done in a certain way. She has just one single condition for us; that we get the job done. She tells us what she wants, and we try to get it done."
She shrugged. "As I said, if my working day is only scheduled to be reading reports the entire day, I can just as well do it from here, as long as I get the job done. Or if the plan is for me to read reports and meet someone over the view-screen, again, I can do that from home. And if someone from the government wants to talk to me, depends on who it is, it can be done here, or I can say that I'll meet them in my office in five minutes and then simply walk there."
"Guess you got a point," Annika agreed. "Alright, let's do that." Annika walked in to the bathroom and smiled. "On second thought, how about we leave the bathroom as it is and make the rest of the quarters like we just said?"
"Why?" B'Elanna asked as she walked in to the bathroom as well. "Oh, that's why."
Besides the toilet, cabinet, and shower, there was also a rather prominent round bath that could easily hold ten people sitting on the molded bench that followed the rim. "Oh I like this. That's big enough to float in."
B'Elanna knew that in these family quarters there was also a small toilet attached to each of the three bedrooms. Attached to the main bedroom there was even a shower besides the toilet. But none of it compare to this main bathroom that was attached to the main living room. Clearly this was designed for main use by the family, making sure that there was enough room besides the facilities to also undress and dress. The finishing touch was a build-in replicator that from the looks of it could also be used to replicate new clothing and whatever else one used in a bathroom.
She walked over and kneeled besides the tub to check the control panel worked into the floor. "Thought so. I guess there is no water in this bath because the quarters aren’t used and were powered down, but this is designed to hold water constantly. Constantly heated and cleaned. We will always have a bath ready and waiting for us."
Annika peeked over the Klingon's shoulder at the controls. "Ah, that's why there are controls instead of just telling the computer what you want. Lots of options. And sometimes sliding a finger over a touch sensitive screen is so much easier than addressing the computer and telling it to add ten percent more bubbles."
"Bubble bath," B'Elanna grinned as she got up. "I see potential." She pulled Annika close and treated her to a passionate kiss. "I can't wait for us to be in there naked and needing. Makes me want to ravish you just thinking about it."
"Come on, let's get out of here," Annika said with a laugh. "I promise you, tonight you can do all the ravishing you want, and then some. But for now, baby, I heard Tom talking about wanting to go to that bar on Deck 10. Let's get us a group together and have a drink."
"Oh great, going to a Klingon bar," B'Elanna said, rolling her eyes.
"I thought you would love it," Annika laughed. "That's why I said we should get a group together. Fact is, we'll be living on this ship from now on. Best to mix with the locals from the beginning so that we all know what we are at."
"Wonderful," B'Elanna only said, but despite the tone of her voice she was kinda looking forward to walking into a bar with Klingons and get in their face. Should be fun. Maybe they'd even manage to get in their face enough to get the Klingons to buy them a drink or two.
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