> Still day one.
Yet again there was a long moment of silence between then. Finally B'Elanna asked, "Um, is it me or is it getting darker out there?"
"It is," Seven agreed. "I believe it is dusk setting in. Since we are close to the equator, the days and the nighttime will be almost just as long, regardless of whether it is summer or winter. I believe that the ten degrees off the equator that we are at will result in at most one hour more daylight during the summer compared to the winter. So there will be hardly any noticeable difference. In fact, the only real difference being the angle at which the star shines down on the planet."
"A bit more day time," B'Elanna countered. "I for one like to count dusk and dawn in the day time."
"But since we are close to the equator, these times are relatively short." Seven nodded to the window. "Dusk is now starting; I expect it to be dark within twenty minutes. Calculating from the position of the star when we landed, I estimate that this planet has a thirty hour day, give or take an hour. We will know the exact time by tomorrow when it gets dark."
B'Elanna got up and moved to the back of the shuttle. After a moment of hesitation, Seven did the same. They moved outside, and at the back where they were in the open, there was more light than there had been between the trees. Still, even here it was plain to see that dusk was setting in.
"Lieutenant?" Seven asked.
"Drop the rank, Seven. You just said that you won't listen to orders anyway."
"If I was proven right about if Voyager would show up," Seven reminded. "That would give you almost a full month of me having to call you by your rank."
B'Elanna chuckled. "Tempting, but nah. That's for when we can expect a rescue. But the thing is, we have to get to that point, and day to day routine will start real fast, like in a few days. That's when you will stop following orders, and it will stop being of use to give them anyway. If you did something today and know it has to be done, it's not like I will have to tell you again tomorrow."
"Very well," Seven allowed before asking, "What are you doing?"
"Just checking if it was truly dusk setting in," B'Elanna informed as she scanned the open place in front of them. "I guess it to be about two kilometers to the trees on the other side of the clearing, what do you think?"
"I think that you have excellent depth perception," Seven said after looking at the distant tree line. "Two-point-zero-three kilometers."
B'Elanna shook her head. "Naw, nature is just playing along. I guessed it to be two kilometers, and it decided to be that. I would have said the same if it had been a few hundred meters more or less too." She looked around before looking at the trunk of a nearby tree. "No mountains close to us and no river. These trees have the same plants growing on them from top to bottom. I don't think we have to worry about falling rocks of flash floods this evening."
Instead of replying, Seven was still wondering about what B'Elanna had said before about the reducing light. "What else could the drop in light intensity have been other than dusk?"
B'Elanna looked at her. "We did a scan for sentient life; not for how big life is. Remember on... no wait, that was before you joined us. Anyway, we made a stop at a planet once. Looked great, no sentient life. Trees looked a bit weird though; like they were more shrubbery than trees. Well, turn out they were. There are animals on that planet that where as big as Voyager. They were grazers luckily, and they were eating the trees. But still they didn’t show up on the scanners because they weren’t sentient. Believe me, if one of them stood over there, you would also think dusk had just set in simply because of the huge shade it makes."
"I see," Seven said. "I could have informed you that this is not the case here. At least not in the two thousand kilometer radius. When I was scanning our vicinity and I made a scan of that lake, I also scanned for other things, like large animals. I also checked if there was any sentient life to be found. Just because there was none when we scanned from space, does not mean there was none five thousand years before."
"None, eh?" B'Elanna asked, knowing it to be so or else Seven would have brought it up by now.
"None. It seems that we are truly alone on this planet. Or at least in this area; the sensors do have a limited range now." Seven paused before adding, "As I said, I also scanned for other life. There are a few kinds of animals out there that are bigger than us, but nothing that compares to what you just described. The biggest animal was about the size of half this shuttle. The rest of the animals were smaller. Though I must point out that the computer warned for a few animals that it classified as potential predators and they were big enough to take one of us down with ease. They seemed to be of the feline family."
"They normally are," B'Elanna agreed. "Bear, cats, or dogs. Normally one of those becomes top predators on most planets. Unless the planet evolved along the reptilian or insectoid line. So that means that it would be a really bad idea to head on out in a random direction, hoping to find people. There aren't any in a two thousand kilometer radius, and by the time you walked that far to see if there is more beyond that line, you have long since become a tasty kitty snack."
"Were you planning to do so?" Seven asked.
B'Elanna rolled her eyes. "No of course not. I'm just thinking out loud. Everyone knows you stay with the shuttle if you can. It's easier to find than you, and more often than not it gives good shelter. Though if we truly are stuck here it would probably something I would have tried in a few weeks if the sensors hadn't been working."
She turned and looked at the shuttle. "In that regards we are damn lucky. A pretty much fully intact shuttle. We have shelter, and not to forget in this temperature, air-conditioned shelter. Not many people that are stranded on a planet can say that. We won't starve because the replicator is still working... it is still working right?"
"It did not come up as inoperative when I did a scan of the shuttle before," Seven noted.
B'Elanna looked around her once more. Of course Seven had been right. Dusk was setting in at proverbial warp speed. She guessed that the entire transformation from light to dark would be, as Seven had guessed, twenty minutes. It was something to keep in mind. It meant that unlike in most places it you could not take the diminishing light as a cue to start making a shelter if you were out. Because by then it would be too late. "Come on, let's go check that replicator."
B'Elanna had already reached the door when she noticed that Seven hadn't moved. "What?"
Seven nodded in the direction of the open field. "I believe that wildlife was scared away by the sound the shuttle made when passing through the air and landing,"
"Crashing," B'Elanna couldn't help but correct.
"Crash landing," Seven countered, "and is now returning. I believe those could be described as bovine."
"Moo," B'Elanna said before taking a better look at the large animals that were slowly walking into the clearing. "Hmm, I would call them buffalos." She saw Seven open her mouth, and she had a feeling that she was in for a correction. So she added, "or simply grazers. Pretty big. I would guess that lead bull to be eye to eye with me."
"Why are you certain it is a bull?" Seven wondered. "A lot of animal families are led by female matriarchs."
"Well, for one thing he is bigger than the rest, though not by that much. I wouldn't want to get one of the cows pissed at me. But the other reason is that there is more than one thing about him that's big." B'Elanna pulled Seven close. "Take a look from this angle."
"I see," Seven said. "Clearly in fact. He is quite... endowed."
"That, or he is horny," B'Elanna pointed out.
"Interesting behavior," Seven noted thoughtfully. "I do not believe that our landing was the only reason why the grazers, as you call them, were not in the clearing."
"Too hot out," B'Elanna guessed, "Especially in the middle of an open field, with all those nice trees around it."
Seven nodded her head in agreement. "Yet they come back into the clearing at night. Clearly they have predators they need to fear. So they move into the clearing at night so that they can see further. I would guess that each such clearing will be home to one bovine family."
"And that the lead bull will be very happy in autumn," B'Elanna added with a grin. "There are, what, about three hundred cows out now?"
"Two-hundred- seventy-three," Seven corrected. "Once again very close for a guess. Though I do not know how many of them are young bulls that are not yet ran out of the herd because they have not yet reached the reproductive age. Also, remember there is no autumn on this part of the planet. This means no spring, which means no perfect time to birth to calves. In such a situation, it should actually make more sense for the females to be ready for conception divided over the year. It means births divided over the year, which means not as many young animals at once that need protection."
"Then our bull is a lucky guy indeed. He gets to screw the entire year." Seeing the blonde's surprised look, B'Elanna chuckled. "Come on, lighten up a bit will you? We have enough to worry about as it is. I'm just glad that it's not those things as well."
"True," Seven agreed. "But we might have to worry about the thing that makes these animals move into the open at night."
B'Elanna sighed. "Party pooper."
~~~
> Still day one, evening.
"Well, at least that's a small favor," B'Elanna sighed. "Replicator's working, computer's working. Hell all of it is working. If we could rebuild the main thruster motor, we could fly this thing to a different spot so that we could land properly and I could expect the bottom before we would try space travel. Though I don't know if there would be much better places to find to land."
"A little further way from the equator would be convenient," Seven pointed out. "It would not be so hot, and if the shuttle was capable of flight we could move around as the seasons changed and stay in a climate we prefer."
"We won't be here long enough to have to worry about climate," B'Elanna said, still sure that Voyager would save them; they always had.
"It is too hot outside," Seven noted.
"You only been outside twice, for a total of thirty minutes maybe," B'Elanna pointed out. "You will feel better if you get used to the heat. It's the shuttle. The temperature in here feels normal to you now, so outside it feels hot. If you had stayed outside longer that would feel normal and this would feel cold. Oh, I was going to suggest this. Maybe we can crank up the heat a bit in here."
Seven looked at her like B'Elanna had lost her mind.
"Look," B'Elanna persisted, "I'm not saying that we should turn the AC off, alright? I'm just as glad as you are that climate control is working. All I'm saying is that we could add a few degrees. You know, to where it’s still bearable in here and where we can still sleep comfortable, but where it won't be such a shock when we go outside."
"And what were you thinking of?" Seven asked.
"I dunno," B'Elanna admitted. "I have the temperature in my quarters set to twenty-seven Celsius, with twenty-five in my bedroom. Since here we really only have one room, not counting the cockpit and shower, how about we keep it in the middle, say twenty-six?"
"Twenty-five," Seven countered. "I know that I can sleep comfortable at twenty-five, but twenty-six is a bit too warm for me to fall asleep."
"Cool with me. As I said, that's the temperature I have in my bedroom anyway. I'm glad that I don't have to argue with you to convince you that a few degrees really make that much difference," B'Elanna said, truly glad that they could at least skip that part. Then she frowned. "Um, you actually sleep? I thought you regenerated. Come to think of it, won't what be a problem for you now?"
"Yes, I do sleep these days," Seven said before adding bluntly, but in a not unkind way, "Kathryn is not in the habit of kicking me out of bed once we are finished having sex. I normally spent the entire night with her."
"Oh," B'Elanna said, "Right, um, that."
"As for my regenerating," Seven continued, "I do not truly need it. I just found it to be more efficient than sleeping. If I am with Kathryn I stay the night because then it is nice to fall asleep in her arms. But otherwise I prefer regenerating. I step into my alcove, and right out again. Or at least it seems to me like that. It is easier than having to undress, then dress for bed, then try to fall asleep, and then do it in reverse a few hours later."
"You, um talk to everyone so open about you and Kathryn?" B'Elanna wondered.
"I talk to nobody about Kathryn and me," Seven assured. "It is none of their business. However, since you and Kathryn shared a relationship, I do feel that I can tell you such things because you will understand the meaning of, and reasoning for, certain things. While there are quite some subjects I would not want to broach with you because I know the conversation would not stay pleasant long, I find that you are the only person with whom Kathryn is a safe subject to discuss because you will not disgrace the conversation. If not for me, then out of respect to her. When I tell you that I stay the night with Kathryn because it is nice to fall asleep in her arms you completely understand what I mean, you know the feeling, you know why it feels nice. And you will not only see that the 'Ice Princess' just told you that she likes to fuck. "
"I, see," B'Elanna said slowly. And interestingly enough, she actually understood Seven's point. Because if there was one thing B'Elanna knew for sure, it was that Kathryn never 'fucked'. Kathryn made love, even on those times it had to happen fast. She sometimes even forwent her own pleasure to only please her partner if there was just not enough time. "Um, well, alright, I can live with twenty-five degrees," she finally replied to the original temperature suggestion before continuing to check the rest of the shuttle.
~~~
>Still day one. Evening
B'Elanna looked at the small container that seemed so deceptively innocent, and yet was so advanced that it had taken over two hundred years just to create an actual working model from original concept. But then again, it probably hadn't been that easy to design a material that didn't just explode when it came in contact with the antimatter inside the container. "What do you think, get rid of it?"
"That would be extremely unwise," Seven said. "Even though we cannot go to warp, the warp engine running on idle, as you called it, is what is giving us our power. However for that to continue we do need the antimatter."
"Yeah, but it's like sitting on a freaking bomb," B'Elanna pointed out.
"With this amount on antimatter, no matter where you put it on this planet, it will be like a bomb," Seven pointed out. "You would need to put it on the other side of the planet for us to not get killed by the initial blast, and then we would still get killed because the explosion would burn up the entire atmosphere. As previous shuttle crashes have proven, the antimatter containers are extremely robust. None have exploded, even though sometimes there was not much left of the shuttle. So I would state that keeping it here and actually using it is the safest thing to do. That way it will be used up, eventually, without doing damage to the planet or leaving behind a proverbial time bomb for future people to find."
"Good point," B'Elanna agreed. "Besides we might need in our efforts to get off the planet. How long do you think it will last us?"
Seven decided to not correct B'Elanna bout leaving the planet. B'Elanna was sure they would, just like Seven was sure they wouldn't. Neither would convince the other any time soon. Only time would tell. She checked a few things and then made a few calculations on her PADD. "It depends on usage. If we do not use any energy at all other than running the climate control, there is enough antimatter to keep the engine running for five hundred years; Federation years, not the time it takes this planet to rotate around its star once."
B'Elanna nodded her head. "Alright, but I would say if we have it, use it. We will use the replicator. I don't see why I would have to miss ice-cream in favor of cooking grass over a fire."
Seven did some more calculations. "Even if we eat three meals every day... Federation days, not the thirty hour days of this planet,"
"I think for year Federation standard is good," B'Elanna interrupted. "But if I'm gonna talk days I mean the ones here. I don't want to go compensating for hours. I want to be able to say 'the day after tomorrow' and have you know with that what I mean. That should not be too hard since years are calculated into star dates anyway."
"Very well," Seven agreed. "In that case I will calculate a total of eight meals every day since the extra six hours each day would demand an extra meal for us both. It would leave us with 480 years of use."
"Food takes off only twenty years?" B'Elanna asked surprised. "Then why the hell did we have to go on rations more than once on Voyager?"
"Because we are only two people," Seven reminded. "Voyager has a crew of 140. Plus Voyager had an energy problem and every extra bit of energy used was one bit too much. We do not have such a problem here."
"Alright," B'Elanna relented. "Now, just for the sake of argument, since I still think Voyager will come for us, but let's say not. What else can we do to use antimatter so that it's gone when we are?"
Seven thought for a moment. "The most logical thing you do is to make sure that even in years to come we can keep using the things we can now."
"Meaning," B'Elanna prompted.
Seven lifted the PADD a bit to indicate it. "We have PADDs, we have phasers, we have a first aid station, we have a replicator. We do not, however, have spare parts for those items. In a shuttle it is assumed that if it breaks it will be repaired once you are back on the mother ship. I would suggest making a lot of spare parts. Because of the size of the replicator grid inside the replicator we are limited to a cube of thirty centimeters high, thirty deep, and forty wide. Any spare part we need has to fit in that. Some things like the phaser and PADDs can be replicated fully and there I would simply suggest increasing the number we have."
"Why?" B'Elanna wondered. "As long as we make sure that we have the parts to repair the replicator if it ever breaks down, why get extra phasers and PADDs."
"In case the replicator breaks and cannot be fixed," Seven pointed out. "For instance, there are a few platinum parts in the replicator. Platinum is one of the few metals a replicator cannot replicate."
"Fair enough," B'Elanna had to admit. "So, assume we make all double, at least what would that give us?"
"Also adding that we would probably keep the main computer and climate control running and would be sending a mayday continuously?"
"I thought you said we couldn't do that," B'Elanna interrupted.
"We could not if the temporal anomaly we measured from space was active here," Seven pointed out. "However, since time passed the same here as it does in space... ignoring the small time shifts that normally occur from being in space and that a computer automatically corrects... you could basically compare it with our travel through the zones. A signal would hit the reverse time stream and continue up. There it would hit the other time zone and continue further. And then it would be broadcast into space with the same time intervals that we sent the message with."
"So you are saying that sending the signal would only be done to keep me happy because it would travel only further back in time," B'Elanna noted.
"Not necessarily," Seven disagreed. "Remember when we scanned from space we did not see the lake as we see it now. We saw it as it was at that time. It is possible that unlike the first time lair, the reverse time stream has no effect on electronic signals that pass through it."
"How the hell is that possible?" B'Elanna blurred.
"I do not know," Seven admitted. "But I also do not know of any possibility to make a zone around a planet in which time travels in reverse, that is above a time zone where time flows normally, and under one where time flows twice as fast as in regular space. I assume that a being that can do that, can also make it possible for signals to pass through the reverse stream unharmed."
"Maybe it has to call in with mom when it's on vacation here," B'Elanna said sarcastically. "But hey, doesn't that mean that Voyager 'will' get our message?"
Seven shook her head. "It does not. We are still five thousand years in the past. A signal would have to be sent five millennia from now in order for them to hear it. However, that does not mean that sending a message is a futile exercise. Even five thousand years ago, meaning now for us, there were already space fairing species. For instance, five thousand years ago the Borg were already traveling at warp nine. And if we were to meet Borg from that time, they would even help us instead of assimilating us because back then the Borg still negotiated for their technology. We might be rescued off this planet, just that we would still be in the past. But once we are off the planet it would be easier to try and find a way of getting into the future. Maybe the species that has the technology to save us also has the technology to time travel."
B'Elanna finally managed a grin. "There we go, positive thinking. So how much would doing all the stuff you just said bring the antimatter down to?"
Seven made some more calculations. "It would still leave enough antimatter to keep the shuttle's climate control running for another four hundred years."
"Damn, that long?" B'Elanna said in disbelief. "Replicating all of that still only knocks that little off?"
"It is because it is infrequent use," Seven informed. "Replicating a phaser does cost a lot of energy, but it still is only ten seconds of work for a replicator. After that no more energy is used until another phaser is replicated."
"Then what the hell else can we do to use of the antimatter?" B'Elanna asked, making it sound more like a curse than a question.
"May I assume that you are not interested in doing utterly meaningless tasks to get rid of the antimatter?" At B'Elanna's frown, Seven elaborated. "Using the replicator continuously to make something you throw away. Like replicating a canister of water, throwing the water out the door, dematerializing the canister, replicating a new canister, throwing the water out, and so on."
"Yeah," B'Elanna agreed. "You can ignore that. I have no interest in spending my time doing stuff that is worse than prison work. We have to find a way that drains the energy without us having to break our back doing it."
Seven was quiet for a moment as she went over options. She wondered, what was the thing that normally drew the most energy on Voyager. "The shields," she said out loud.
"What," B'Elanna asked.
"We could use the shields," Seven explained. "Shields use a lot of energy. That is why voyager normally only travels with the deflector shield active, and the actual force field shields have to be activated if we are attacked."
"Yeah," B'Elanna agreed. "They drain like crazy. That's why we normally have to run and hide or turn and end the battle. Even Voyager can't keep it's shields up for days in a row."
"However, we are smaller than Voyager," Seven pointed out, "A lot less shield emitters, and basically an entire warp engine to power it. Plus, most power is normally drawn when we are hit by enemy fire. Just being active draws less energy."
"Alright, gimme a time here," B'Elanna prompted, even though she saw that Seven was already calculating once more.
Finally Seven looked up. "I believe we found our way of using the antimatter. On full strength the shields would use in one hour just as much energy as the climate control, computer usage, and replicator usage for daily use combined would use in one month. 400 years is 4800 months. And if my comparison of one month is one hour is correct that would mean that in 160 days... planet days since you preferred we talk about them when talking about days... or 5.3 Federation months, all the antimatter would be used."
"Alright," B'Elanna said thoughtfully. "I don't see much use in running them during the day, but I kinda like the idea of running the shields at night. To keep curious animals away if nothing else. So that would basically make it almost one year then. But as much as I feel that if we have it we should use it, I also don't want to use it all too fast. What you just said was at max setting right? How far down do you think we could safely go?"
"We are not in space," Seven pointed out. "There is no sentient life on the planet. There is no animal that could get into this shuttle, even if it had those razor like claws or teeth people like to give animals on the holodeck. We do not need to run the shields at all. I thought we were looking for a way to use the antimatter before it turned into an antimatter bomb simply because the holding device deteriorates."
"I know that," B'Elanna said annoyed. "I... alright, look. This is a 'what if' anyway, since I think we will be saved. But, if we stay here, eventually we have to build a life here or die. Now, we are in a position stranded people are rarely in; we have it all. We have all the food, and water we need. We have or can make all the tools we need. Hell, we even have the computer active which has the Federation database in it. We could read novels and plays for the rest of our life as we sit on our by then very fat asses because we did nothing. I know myself well enough to know that won't happen. I need stuff to do. Eventually I would start building stuff, try experimenting with actually growing food. So, yes, I do want to get rid of the antimatter in the long run so that we don't blow up a planet even if it's our prison. But until that time, until we don't need the shuttle anymore, I also want a safety net. I want to be able to close my eyes at night knowing for sure nothing can open that door because there is a shield active."
Seven opened her mouth to reply but B'Elanna lifted her hand. "Sentient or not. Animals can still be damn smart. You don't have to know who your great grandfather was in order for you to pull a handle down."
"Each time the door is closed, the number-pad lock gets activated automatically," Seven pointed out. "Besides pulling down a handle, the animal would also know how to type in a six digit code."
"Which I have seen freaking monkeys do!" B'Elanna shouted before storming off to the cockpit.
~~~
>Still day one. Evening.
B'Elanna looked up when a glass was held in front of her. After a moment of silence she took the glass and felt that an apology was in order. "Sorry for shouting."
"No need to apologize," Seven said before B'Elanna could say more. "It was twenty minutes ago and I was disagreeing with you mostly because I see it as part of my job on Voyager. I need to learn to not do that to the level I normally do on Voyager; it is not needed here."
"Part of your job?" B'Elanna repeated before she took a sip of the ice coffee Seven had given her. "I see that Kathryn told you all my little secrets. I love this stuff."
"She did not," Seven assured. "However, one evening she offered this to me, knowing that I do not like the coffee she drinks. She did say that you liked it. She did not, however, tell me all your secrets."
"It's how I started to drink it," B'Elanna explained. "Kathryn is always drinking that stuff of hers, and sometimes I just wanted to drink with her if we were cuddling... yeah, I am capable of that."
"I did not think otherwise," Seven assured. "If you were not, you would not have lasted as long as you did with Kathryn."
"Hmm," B'Elanna hummed, slightly surprised by the extremely simplistic, yet also extremely insightful logic. "Well, one day she surprised me with this. I only drank raktajino hot before then. Didn't like it much, but did drink it sometimes just to have something else to drink you know? I never tried this iced version until she gave it to me. I'm Klingon; we like heat. Not cold drinks. But I love this."
"As do I," Seven said as she lifted her own glass a little to indicate it. "Or better said, I like it. There are a few drinks I prefer over it. I would not like to drink it as my default drink, I prefer water for that. However, there is definitely something to be said for an iced raktajino after a strenuous task."
"Why did you say that you see disagreeing with me as part of your job?" B'Elanna asked, not about to let that question go.
"Because nobody else does," Seven pointed out. "Kathryn, Tuvok, and Chakotay, they order you to do something. You can or you cannot, and you report that back to them. They do not challenge you. They do not give you other options and keep... how did you say it once? Keep shoving it down your throat until you cannot but eat it?"
B'Elanna frowned for a moment as she wondered when she had said that. Then she narrowed her eyes and accused, "That whole enhanced hearing, we don't know half of it, do we?"
"Actually, you do. You just forgot," Seven disagreed. "When I just joined Voyager I made no effort to hide how good my hearing is. But I noticed that it made people uncomfortable. It took a child to explain it to me. Naomi told me that people themselves prefer to give out information. And just because a person tells another person something, that still does not mean that this person wants everyone to know this. So I started to react to less, pretended that I heard less. It made people more comfortable at least. True, it also resulted in me hearing some of the things people were trying to hide for me, but I consider that a bonus. But I cannot help it that people think that a closed door stops all sound."
"Stuff that people were trying to hide?" B'Elanna repeated. "I never hid what I thought of you; I said or shouted it to your face."
"And I appreciate that," Seven assured. "With you I always knew where I stood. I was not talking about you now. I was talking about people like Ensign Graiks, daring a friend that he would get me into bed so that he could get his hands on my 'big tits' and that he would 'bang that bitch doggy style' just so that he could see them move."
"Um," B'Elanna said, lost for words. Then she dared, "I always knew he was stupid. That's the wrong position to see them move much. Good to appreciate a nice back or ass though."
"I believe he was planning to record it," Seven said, and B'Elanna could swear there was amusement in that voice.
Then B'Elanna's eyes got wide. "Oh Kahless, it was you! I told you I thought he was stupid, so I never gave it much thought when his private file got stuck in the holodeck public program of the week."
"I made sure that Naomi could not walk into the holodeck and see it," Seven assured.
"Yeah, but I had to see it," B'Elanna countered.
"It is the program he was using," Seven defended. "I merely accidentally wrote a little program that made sure the next program he would run would go to the main data file instead of being deleted when he was done."
"That was for real?" B'Elanna cringed. "He kept saying someone had been playing a joke on him, that someone had doctored the file. We actually believe that since someone did clearly send that file to the public section. That explains why Tuvok never found out who did it; you are good at hiding your tracks. In fact, it's when I find absolutely no prove of tempering that I normally know it was you who messed with my stuff."
Seven lifted an eyebrow is mild defense. "I cannot help it that on that day he lived out his fantasy of having sex with a... what is it called, a sheep?"
"Um, no, that was a goat," B'Elanna corrected.
"It seems that as long as it has a vagina it is good enough for him," Seven noted.
"I don't think it's that," B'Elanna disagreed. "I think it's more that he truly wanted to fuck a goat for some reason. If it was only about getting inside a pussy that is a bit different then he would be more inclined to run holograms of other species. In these days it's more about sentiency than species. In fact, I can be glad that my parents liked having sex with a different kind of beings or else I wouldn't be here. Humans are apes, Klingons are bears. Hell, Caitians are cats. They even have fur all over their body, but I for one sure wouldn't mind a nice romp with one of their females. They are sexy as hell. Women are often described as 'catlike'. Can you imagine them? If they, as feline descendants, actually rub up to you and purr? Maybe even flick their tail at you in a 'come here' gesture?"
Seven listed an eyebrow at the description. "That sounds very detailed. One would almost say you speak from experience."
B'Elanna shrugged. "I felt like trying something new, and the holodeck is a good place to try. But that is what sets me, people like me, apart from people like Graiks. As you said, as long as it has a vagina it's enough for Graiks. With me the sentient thing comes in. Meeting her at a bar, having her flirt with me, and trust me, people talk about someone purring, well, you never really know what that means until a Caitian softly purrs in your ear and tells you she wants you. So yes, I have been there, if only holographic. But by then she turned into just another humanoid being that you like or dislike for its personality, and not for its species. So no, it's not the species, but the sentient thing. Thinking of having sex with a Caitian is cool, thinking of having sex with a goat is not."
"True," Seven agreed. "However in his case I do not believe that much thinking as involved. I am certain that the only reason why he did not have holograms of all the female crew members is because the computer does not allow it."
"Ehrg, B'Elanna said, having a feeling that Seven was very right about that. So instead she came back to the subject they had been discussing. "So, you see it as your job to fight with me?"
"To give you other options," Seven corrected. "You did in fact end up using more than one of my suggestions. It is you that started the fights."
"Because you happily ignored what I was saying and still wanted to do it your way," B'Elanna countered.
"Because I am not intimidated by you storming up to me, waving your fist under my nose, and saying 'no' without explaining why my option was not good enough. If you want to convince me you have to do just that; convince me."
"In Engineering I'm omnipotent, if I say so it happens," B'Elanna growled.
"Then it is a good thing I do not believe in deities," Seven said calmly. "I will tell you what I think until you either accept it, or prove me wrong in argument. Argument and not by shouting loudly 'because I said so'."
Suddenly B'Elanna grinned. "And you keep doing that Seven. You keep doing just that."
~~~
>Still day one. Evening.
"Well now that we know we can use the shields to burn off energy and basically use the antimatter, I think we should shoot for fifty years," B'Elanna said as she was testing the shields, just to be sure they truly did fully work. She liked the fact that landed or not, the shields would still form a layer around the entire ship, so it would also protect them against creatures that preferred to dig. Not that she was really expecting that, but she had learned to never assume stuff wouldn't happen. If you could think of it, Mother Nature already had.
Once satisfied that the shields worked, B'Elanna left them on, setting the strength on the first level for now, until the right level had been calculated. Seven had been right. Shields were created to protect against phaser fire or torpedo fire from space ships. There really was no known animal that could get through shields even at one hundredth of its strength.
"Excuse me?" Seven asked as she stared to undo her bio-suit.
"I mean... what are you doing?" B'Elanna blurred as she saw Seven starting to undress.
"Removing my bio-suit," Seven stated the obvious. "While I like its comfort during the day, it is uncomfortable to sleep in. Kathryn introduced me to silk two part pajamas. Those, I do like for sleeping."
"Ah, um, right," B'Elanna mumbled. As they were traveling, they had never slept at the same time, so she had never seen what Seven wore to bed. Or that Seven did actually sleep for that matter. "And, um, what I meant is that... once more just talking theoretically 'cause I think we are only here for a few days... is that we should aim for using all the antimatter in fifty years. By that time we either know that we don't need the stuff from the shuttle anymore, or we found long before that that we liked it and can start wasting less energy before it's too late and draw out the energy until it lasts a hundred years. Options, I like having options. I would suggest that we check the use once a day to see if we need to waste more or less energy to reach that line."
Very well," Seven agreed. "I could write a program for the computer that continues energy use even if we are not here, so that the antimatter is still used even if something happened to us."
B'Elanna swallowed before making sure her voice was casual as she replied. "There you go thinking negatively again." But in reality her mind was more on guiltily enjoying seeing the blonde get naked. Seven stood with her back to B'Elanna, and the Klingon had to admit, even if only to herself, that maybe Graiks had a point about having sex with Seven 'doggy style'. Because the blonde sure had a great back and behind. The words 'figure eight' was often overused, but with Seven it was fitting. More so because her behind did have some very nice shapes, probably so that it could function as a counterweight to the blonde's ample chest.
Seven finished peeling off her bio-suit and stepped out of it. As she was doing so she turned to the Klingon, giving B'Elanna a full view of her front as well. "Something happening can also include us being rescued."
B'Elanna felt that it was just unfair. Seven was already blessed by having big breasts, which turned heads of men and women alike when covered by a bio-suit, why did they also have to be so perfectly shaped when free of any confinement? Surely breasts of that size should show signs of starting to sag, even at Seven's relatively young age of twenty-seven. But no, Seven's breasts looked firm and the nipples were perfectly placed proudly on top of them, where they pointed slightly up instead of down.
Seven leaned to the side to pick up the pajamas and B'Elanna couldn't help but swallow as she saw the breasts move with the motion.
Seven lifted her eyebrows when she saw B'Elanna's reaction.
Knowing that she had been caught staring, B'Elanna lifted her hands in a 'hey' gesture and stated with surprising reasonability, "Hey, you know I like women, can't blame me for having a look if you go stripping in front of me. I was planning on changing in the shower."
To B'Elanna's surprise, a smile flashed over Seven's face. "I do not blame you at all. It just happens that I am not modest. I do know that in the Federation there is a taboo on nudeness. Even species like the Betazoids who often do a lot of things naked on their planet, dress for all occasions once they leave the planet. Because of that I try to comply to the lines of modesty on the ship."
"That and the fact that the last thing you want to do is give people like Graiks clear view of what they are fantasizing about when they are jerking off," B'Elanna added.
Seven lifted an eyebrow at the crude but very true statement. "And there is that. Plus even though the hidden compartments in the bio-suit are small, it is still convenient to have pockets. In any case, most people on the ship would consider such lack of modesty as wrong. Klingons on the other hand are known for not being prude. They often share baths; mixed baths, and do not get aroused from seeing the other sex naked. I assumed that since you are half Klingon it would be the same for you."
B'Elanna watched how Seven started to dress in her dark blue pajama. She decided that the color looked good on the blonde. And she guessed that it was the reason why Seven used the color. Which meant that Kathryn must have told her. "Ah, well, as far as that's concerned I'm truly a perfect mix between Human and Klingon. I can see people nude without getting turned on, but at the same time I sure like what I see."
"In that case I will change in private from now on," Seven offered.
B'Elanna smirked. "No need to be shy on my account. I sure don't mind seeing you get naked." She started to undress as well, but did turn away from the blonde while doing so. "So why no underwear? Isn't that uncomfortable?"
"Under the bio-suit?" Seven asked to clarify.
"Yeah. Must be uncomfortable, chafing and stuff like that."
"It is not and does not," Seven assured. She made sure that B'Elanna could truly not see her in a reflective surface before secretly enjoying seeing more and more caramel colored skin being shown. "The bio-suits are more than form fitting; they are designed to my body with layers of soft and smooth fabric in the right places. They also capsulate my breasts and prevent inconvenient movement, and in the bio-suits underpants would only move to very uncomfortable positions."
"I see your point," a naked B'Elanna said as she reached for her nightshirt.
Seven actually tilted her head a little to appreciate the movements of B'Elanna's firm behind. Seven was stronger than most Humans simply because she still had a lot of implants, one of which regulated hormones like adrenaline which resulted in Seven being able to constantly have the strength other Humans only had in moments of terror. B'Elanna on the other hand had clearly inherited the Klingon trait of having a body that went for muscles over storing useless body fat. Even fat Klingons had a layer of strong muscles under that fat. Just that eventually the body had enough muscles and had started to store fat. B'Elanna had a toned slender body where you could actually see muscles move under the skin. Seven liked it.
As B'Elanna picked up her nightshirt she saw Seven looking at her from the corner of her eyes. She paused for only a second before boldly turning to face her.
Seven looked at her in surprise.
"We have to share this cabin for a few nights, or for a few years," B'Elanna explained. "We both like the female form. Might as well get it over with so that we don't have to sneak glances all the time. Personally I much rather have an atmosphere where I don't have to reach for a piece of clothing or a blanket just in case you might see me."
"I see indeed," Seven said in clear double meaning as she let her eyes drift over B'Elanna's body. She definitely liked what she saw. Her caramel colored skin suited B'Elanna well. Her breasts were smaller than Seven's, but larger than Kathryn's; Seven's only other source of comparison. So she guessed them to be a C cup. Thanks to her Klingon heritage, and the fact that Engineering was one of the few physical professions left in Starfleet, B'Elanna was gifted with clearly visible muscles. Nothing bulky, but exactly the lean muscles you got from actually doing a hard job instead of sitting in a gym and train. "You are very esthetically pleasing," Seven finally allowed.
B'Elanna opened her mouth for a sharp retort, but then remembered that this was Seven talking. On a guess she actually said, "Thanks for the compliment."
When she saw Seven merely dip her head a little, B'Elanna knew that her guess had been correct. She reached for her nightshirt once more and decided that one compliment deserved another. "And Kathryn was right, you sure are one hot babe."
After having been intimate numerous times, even if it was with only one person, Seven knew more than enough bedroom talk, and knew that in this conversation 'hot babe' was not an insult. She started to put on her pajama and asked, "Kathryn talked about me, in the way that she would have said that I am a 'hot babe'?"
Her nightshirt now on, B'Elanna turned and sat down on her bed. She had to admit that she was glad that Seven's nightwear existed out of two parts. Because Seven had only just finished putting on her pants and was now in the process of putting on the silk shirt. In the process giving B'Elanna a clear view of something Ensign Graiks could only dream of; seeing Seven's ample chest move as the blonde put on the shirt. B'Elanna only barely stopped herself from humming in approval. "Well, if you want to be technical, Kathryn called you a 'very hot looking woman'. I paraphrased it and just said hot babe. But before you start wondering, it was not like she was telling me all about your sex life or something. It was kinda like how Kathryn told you about me. She was explaining to me how the relationship of you two differs from the one I had with her. She asked me why in the universe she should have objected to you wanting to copulate with her? She is not that stupid."
Seven sat down on her own bed. "I see that you are very careful about exactly saying what Kathryn said what our relationship was. Surprisingly tactful for someone who was talking bold and direct only moments before."
B'Elanna shrugged. "People never figured that out. I can be both. But they just see the hotheaded Klingon and don't even realize that while this time I didn't just shout at them, I did also not answer their question and on top of it changed the subject."
"Kathryn and I knew exactly what we would get from our interaction," Seven explained. "I knew that I could never give her the love of a lover. I believe you would say that it never clicked between us. I believe that one thing that makes the difference very clear is that the both of us do not begrudge the other also having some fun with others. In fact, before we left I reminded Kathryn of the fact that I would be gone for two weeks, and I also encouraged her to find someone else to have some fun with."
She saw B'Elanna frown. "I see you disapprove."
"Well, disapprove," B'Elanna stated carefully. "It's not my place to approve or disapprove. It's just the mental image. I just imagined Kathryn and me still being together and then me telling her, 'I'll be gone for a bit, go find yourself someone else to romp around with while I'm gone'."
"Because you were in a romantic relationship," Seven remembered. "Kathryn and I are not. She and I are friends and sleeping with each other is an activity we share. But we see it as such; an activity. So much so that if she indeed were to find someone to keep her company, I would probably ask her for details and enjoy the fact that she had so much fun. At least I would hope for her that she had fun. Kathryn and I are friends, so if Voyager is underway, and neither of us have a romantic partner, then why should we not enjoy having sex together?"
"You do realize that it's more complex than that, right?" B'Elanna asked. "If it was that easy, half the ship would be screwing the other half. Tom is a good friend of mine, and both of us like sex. But there is no way that I would let him screw me."
"Because you do not like men as sexual partners?" Seven wondered.
"Oh, no, that's not it," B'Elanna assured. "I'm a fifty/fifty girl. I don't have a clear preference. Or better said, you could say that I'm a person, um, person. It's the person that has to fit with me. But the thing is, with Tom and me, things would get complex. We both would feel that we need to be in a relationship. And we are great to hang out together, but terrible to be a couple."
"Maybe that is why it was easy for Kathryn and me," Seven guessed. "I knew up front that I could not be in an emotional relationship with her. Or more to the point, a romantic relationship, since the one we do have also has emotions. And she knew that I would be the wrong person for her to be in a relationship with."
B'Elanna lay down on the bed and pulled the blanked over her. "Why?"
Seven copied B'Elanna's movement, but after a moment decided that it was too hot for her in the room to sleep under the blanket. She moved it to the side again before finally answering. "Because Kathryn needs someone that accepts 'I cannot talk about it'. Or that holds her and does not ask 'what is wrong'. I am not such a person. I am however good in bed, and great to snuggle up against when sleeping."
B'Elanna chuckled before telling the computer to dim the lights. "I know what you mean. That's why we didn't last. It's not because I didn't love her; I did. It's the secrets."
"I skipped that part," Seven admitted. "Kathryn and I do not talk. Well, we do of course talk about whether we want to have dinner, or a project I am working on, or what we are in the mood for in bed. And we still have our philosophical discussions. But we do not talk about daily things. We do not share gossip. In fact, though we do talk about projects I am working on, one could say that we do not even truly discuss ship's business as I would discuss it with a captain. It is more like I am discussing things with an equal that is intelligent enough to at least grasp the concept of what I am trying to say. Such discussions do help me think, but even then there are some things I do not discuss with her because I know that I first have to have all the facts in order so that I can convince her. Otherwise Kathryn will, as she once called it, dig in her heals, and get stubborn and not accept a reasonable proposal no matter what."
"I can't stand a partner having secrets," B'Elanna admitted. "I mean, someone being in a dip and just telling you 'I'm fine', you will always have that. But that's not even having secrets, that's just white lies. But I simply heard one too many times 'I can't talk about that'. Even though I know that she had just spent an entire meeting with Tuvok or Chakotay, and all of that simply because my rank isn't high enough. It's that what finally make me call a stop to it."
Seven frowned. "Interesting. Knowing your personality, I would have guessed that lies would upset you more than not discussing a subject at all."
"White lies," B'Elanna corrected. "I would have been pissed to the extreme if Kathryn had lied to me about big stuff, and she knew it. That's why she didn't do it. In fact, that's probably why she said so often that she couldn't talk about it."
"I do not understand," Seven admitted.
B'Elanna turned onto her side and saw that Seven was not covered by a blanket. "Are you hot?"
"I thought we already established that," Seven said.
B'Elanna opened her mouth to reply but closed it just in time. "Very damn funny. I mean, is it too warm in here for you?"
"It is not," Seven assured. "However, it would be if I was covered by a blanket. This is an acceptable temperature for sleeping."
"Alright, that's the compromise then," B'Elanna grinned. "Anyway, what is it that you don't understand?"
"Why some lies would be acceptable, and some not."
"You never heard of the term 'white lies'?" B'Elanna asked surprised.
"I have, however, I do not know the true meaning of it," Seven admitted. "I do know that people tend to be dismissive of white lies, so I assumed that it was a definition of a small lie."
"Oh, no, far from it," B'Elanna assured. "Even the smallest of lies can be a terrible one, while a huge lie can be so unimportant that it's more a source of entertainment."
"It can?" Seven asked, clearly doubtful.
"You never talked with Kathryn about this?" B'Elanna wondered.
"No," Seven admitted. "It would be too close to talking about relationship situations."
"Ah, well, see," B'Elanna began, trying to explain it. "There are small and big lies, you get that part?"
"I do," Seven assured.
"Well, both can be bad lies or harmless ones," B'Elanna continued. "A small lie that would be really bad would for instance be that I said that I tested a spice and it's harmless and Neelix can use it for cooking. When in reality my 'testing' was that I nibbled it and didn't keel over dead. It's just a small lie that seems innocent simply because it doesn't matter and I didn't feel like testing. And in result half the crew died because my Klingon genes make me immune to the poison. Small lie, but a very bad one."
"I see," Seven said in understanding.
"On the other hand," B'Elanna continued, "We all know that Tom likes to have his little races on the holodeck. If he had one and was beat by Harry, but then went and told everyone that he won, how wonderful he was, how he left Harry standing at the start. We all know that he is talking crap because Harry is standing right beside him and is rolling his eyes. And as a result we are actually amused by his story of grandness. That's a huge lie, but an innocent one."
"And how does a 'white lie' fit into this?" Seven wondered.
"Mostly by combining small and innocent," B'Elanna explained. For instance... since you and Kathryn don't do the relationship part... one evening I got home and saw the fresh tears on Kathryn's cheeks. I asked her what was wrong, she said 'nothing'. I asked if she was alright, she said 'yeah'. Those are white lies. Innocent, well, as far as the fact that we both know she is lying,"
"But you do not like being lied to," Seven interrupted.
"And that's where white lies can go wrong," B'Elanna countered. "But the fact remains that it's an innocent lie because we both know that it's nonsense. And that in reality it's simply a whole conversation by itself. It says, 'no, I'm not fine but I don't want to talk about it, please don't push it'. Or, well, let's say that because I loved Kathryn I had lied back then and pretended that I love that coffee of hers. Yeah, that's a good example of a white lie. It wouldn't hurt anyone, and even Kathryn would not have needed to know. I could have kept it up for our relationship, it's not like I can't get it down my throat. Just that I don't really like it."
"I see," Seven said once more. "So for instance, if we make it back to Voyager, telling people like Tom or Harry that I have not seen you nude would be a white lie. Something I tell them because I know if I tell them I saw you nude, it would only start them wondering what you look like nude."
"Um, yeah, that would be a white lie," B'Elanna admitted. "And a good one at that. Even more so, if I actually tell people that I don't know what you look like nude. I have a feeling that you feature in the fantasies of more people than I do. I'm sure that if I told people I saw you naked, half the questions I would get back would be about your boobs and if they don't drop to the floor if you take your bra off."
"How can breasts drop to the floor?" Seven asked confused.
"Just a saying," Seven," B'Elanna assured. "It basically indicates sagging. As you know, when people get older, skin gets less firm, and with women that have big breasts that normally shows by them sagging down, losing their good shape. Not that you have to worry about that any time soon, it seems, you have a great rack there."
"I do not have to worry about that at all," Seven assured. "I am Borg."
"And?" B'Elanna prompted.
"And I have nanoprobes that heal skin cells," Seven elaborated. "Though there are signs of old age that they cannot stop, like hair getting gray, there are things they can stop. I do not have to worry about sagging breasts, or wrinkled skin."
"So you never worry about that?" B'Elanna wondered. "About how you look when you get old?"
"I do not," Seven repeated, "As I just said, I do not have to worry about things like that, therefore I do not worry about it. However, I have to admit that my viewpoint on the aesthetics of the body did change once I started having sex. Before that time how a person looked was irrelevant to me. It was more important how they acted. While how people act towards me is still important, I now also have found an elevated appreciation for their looks. For instance, Kathryn is older than me, yet she has a body that many people my age could only wish they had. I do appreciate her looks greatly."
B'Elanna chuckled. "Yeah she hides one tight body under that uniform."
"And I also think that you are incorrect," Seven continued.
"With what?" A now confused B'Elanna asked.
"You said that you had a feeling that I feature in the fantasies of more people then you do. I believe you are underestimating yourself."
"And I think it's time we call it a night," B'Elanna said, deciding not to go down that conversation road. "I'm telling you stuff I would never thought I would tell anyone."
"Because I am in a unique position," Seven guessed. "Even if you were in a relationship you would not tell that person the things about Kathryn you told me, because you respect Kathryn's privacy. However, since Kathryn and I share a sexual relationship, you feel comfortable telling me because you know that I will not tell others since I did not tell others about Kathryn and me as it is, and I know Kathryn enough to know what you are talking about. So I am 'safer' to talk to about Kathryn even though we are far from close. While a lover would not be safe simply because you would feel like that by telling your lover, you are intruding on Kathryn's privacy."
"That's quite profound of you," B'Elanna said, not being able to fully keep the sarcastic tone out of it.
Seven decided to ignore the tone. "You seem to think along the lines of a lot of the Voyager crew. That philosophical discussions is just that Kathryn calls us coming together to have sex. It is not. If we have philosophical discussions we talk about theoretical things. About what the result of situations would be that have not even happened. So even though I did not know what 'white lies' were exactly, I do have a grasp of certain things people do and do not do in relationships, or do different because they are in a relationship."
"Hu," B'Elanna merely grunted as she turned onto her back again, clearly signaling that the conversation was over as far as she was concerned.
And as they were waiting to fall asleep, Seven went over the words, trying to find exactly where she had pushed the Klingon away from a surprisingly open conversation.
~~~