Title: Stronger 1/4
Author: quew
Disclaimers: Paramount owns Voyager and her crew, I don't. I'm just playing.
Warnings: Angst, bad words and f/f interaction.
Archiving: PM, if wanted, P&P if wanted; anywhere else is fine too, just ask and it's yours! :)
Feedback: I would crawl across broken glass for a simple 'I liked it'. Constructive criticism is also v. much appreciated: E-mail address.
Rating: R
Notes: Takes place after Seven has been aboard Voyager only a short time. Other than that, it could be anywhere in that part of Voyagers' time line.
#
The first time it happened, B'Elanna was watching half-curious, half-idle as the ex-drone weaved her way through the lower area of engineering. Leaning on the upper railing, the half-Klingon noted with something approaching interest how Seven did not touch any of the people she passed even casually, nor would she allow them to touch her arm in greeting or apology for being in her way. It was like the ex-drone had some sort of�personality field, generating a no touch zone around her body. B'Elanna jolted slightly as an unexpected surge of rage took her by surprise, making her hiss with its intensity. She watched the efficient working manner of Seven for a few more seconds, her eyes narrowed, and then went back to her station.
The second time was in the mess hall. It was only Seven's third or forth appearance, and as always she sat on her own, her back ramrod straight, her demeanor un-social and her expression masked. B'Elanna watched her out of the corner of her eye, feeling the bitter taste in her mouth she always felt when the ex-drone was in her proximity. The anger came quickly and she welcomed it, stabbing her food with vicious satisfaction.
'Damn Borg,' She muttered under her breath as anger boiled beneath her surface. 'Commits mass murder and then comes over here and acts superior to us.'
'Give her a break, B'Elanna, she's not a murderer - she couldn't help what she was made to do,' Harry murmured, sitting opposite her. 'She's human now, remember?'
B'Elanna snorted. 'Physiologically, perhaps. Mentally she's a stone cold machine and you know it.'
'B'Elanna!' Harry said, his voice resonating with dismay. 'When will you give her a chance?'
'When she dances the tango with a rose between her teeth!' B'Elanna snapped. 'Get over your little crush and start seeing the real Seven, Harry.'
'I am,' the young ensign replied quietly and firmly. 'Are you?'
B'Elanna stared at him for a long moment, and then rose from her chair with her tray. 'See you later, Harry.' She said, and left without a backward glance, her whole bearing transmitting disgust to the entire room�even Seven.
#
The third time, B'Elanna wasn't so lucky as to be able to leave. She was in the turbo-lift, the doors opened, and Seven walked in, hands clasped behind her back and her gaze touching on the Lieutenant for only a split second.
'Deck ten,' She said, her voice perfectly flat and monotone.
They rode in silence for a few seconds. B'Elanna glanced at the blonde and then ducked her head as the anger rose as it always seemed to do when the ex-drone was near. Before she could act on it, something happened to take her mind away from the tall women riding the lift with her: with a bone-jarring jolt, the turbo-lift ground to a halt.
'Kahless!' B'Elanna swore. 'What the�?'
'We appeared to have stopped, Lieutenant.'
'No shit, Sherlock!' B'Elanna snapped, feeling the bitter taste grow in her mouth. 'Tell me something I don't know!' She stepped forward and began working the panel by the door, trying to re-route power, over-ride the emergency system or just get the damn thing moving again.
'Very well. The electronic relays at port three-zero-five have experienced a fatal power fluctuation, rendering this lift, and as a consequence, us, unable to proceed to our destination.'
'How did you know that?' B'Elanna snarled, her hands on her hips. She was angry - angry that someone, especially Seven, would know her ship better than she did at a glance.
'My optical implant picked up fluctuations in the port approximately zero point two three seconds before it ceased to function.'
'And you didn't warn me?'
'Do you know how long zero point two three seconds is, Lieutenant Torres? I would not have been able to.'
B'Elanna shook her head, wanting to believe that deep down the Borg just hadn't wanted to warn her, but she knew that the other woman had not had time.
'Whatever.' She turned away from Seven and eyed the emergency hatch in the ceiling. 'Are you gonna help me get up there or not?'
'I do not think that would be advisable,' Seven stated. 'We have not even informed the Captain what has happened.'
B'Elanna snorted. 'They know by now. We don't need to go crying to mother with the skinned knee - wait until you break your leg, then go moan.'
Seven tipped her head to the side. 'Interesting. For someone who appears to be comfortable with the ideals and practices of a matriarchal society, you flaunt the rules a surprising amount of the time.'
'This isn't a matriarchy, Seven - she's the Captain, we follow her orders. That's the hierarchy. We'd follow her orders if she were six foot, bald, fat and tattooed with a penchant for oral sex in public and an addiction to coffee, as long as she was a good Captain. And anyway, I only break the rules that don't really matter.'
'By their very nature all rules should matter, or they would not be created. Your logic is flawed,' Seven said, placing her hands behind her back and raising her eyebrow.
'Of course it is! I'm not the most logical person, okay Miss Perfect?' B'Elanna snarled, losing her temper. 'But how's this for logic? You don't help me repair the 'lift. I get angry. You get hit. How's that for logical progression?!'
'Very clear and concise,' Seven said, showing no emotion. 'What do I have to do?'
'Help me up,' B'Elanna said as she pointed at the hatch, mollified only slightly.
'Very well. But you have no tools. How will you work?'
B'Elanna shrugged. 'I'll just rig it to get us to the nearest deck and fix it properly later. Now, are you going to help me up or not?'
After a few seconds where B'Elanna had to show Seven the best posture to take to give B'Elanna a leg up, the engineer was soon level with the hatch. She keyed it open and heaved herself through.
'I can see the problem!' She called, eyeing the EPS conduits that lined the turbo shaft.
When no answer was forthcoming, she turned only to find Seven pulling herself easily through the hatch.
'What are you doing?'
'I thought I would see if you required my assistance.'
'Well I don't. If I required it, I'd ask.'
'No, you would not.'
'You're right. Get down.'
'I only wish to help.'
'Yeah, right,' B'Elanna said, turning back to the broken relay.
'Lieutenant�' B'Elanna's eyes unfocused on the work and she felt her expression freeze - had Sevens' voice been�pleading?
'Get down,' She ordered, gruffer than usual.
'I do not believe that would be in my�in our best interests.'
'Oh, I don't know,' B'Elanna said, pretending to be fascinated by the circuits in front of her. 'I'm very interested in you leaving.'
There was a cold, stony silence behind her. B'Elanna was almost tempted to expect an attack on her unprotected back. She heard Seven start to lower herself back down into the body of the 'lift, when suddenly the whole thing jerked under her feet. She froze, barely daring to breath, waiting to see if it happened again. Very slowly, she turned to see Seven crouched by the hatch, frozen like a statue. Seven, sensing B'Elanna's eyes on her, turned her head as slowly as she could until she was just able to catch the half-Klingons' eye. For the first time that B'Elanna could remember, Seven looked�.scared. She hid it well, but the little tremble at the edge of her lip gave her away.
'Liuetenant�what is happening?'
'I�I don't know,' B'Elanna whispered, edging toward the hatch. 'Start climbing down.'
'I cannot.'
'You can! I'm not babysitting a frightened Borg through this! Get your narrow butt through that hole!'
Seven visibly unfroze, lowering herself carefully through the hole and landing as lightly as she could. B'Elanna waited a few seconds and then began moving once more. When she was still three steps away from the turbo-lift, she felt the structure lurch once more. Her stomach disappeared into her feet and her heart-beat felt like it was thundering through her body as she paused, one foot raised. The 'lift moved again, shuddering down another few inches. She desperately tried not to remember how far down the turbo-lift could free fall through the ship if the security measures did not kick in, and failed. Sweat appeared on her ridged brow as, with a screech that made her grind her teeth the turbo-lift began to move slowly down the shaft. She could tell by the rough fits and starts by which it moved that it was not moving by way of its given mechanics - no, it was working its way up to a freefall.
Gasping, she dived for the hatch, meaning to go through headfirst if she had to, when she met a blonde blur coming up the other way. Seven practically flew out of the turbo-lift, pausing only to grab B'Elanna and push off again from the lifts' roof. As she latched onto a piece of Voyagers mechanisms, the turbo-lift parted from its magnetic field and disappeared from view, the wind whistling around it as it dropped.
B'Elanna watched it go, shocked. There were so many safeguards in place that it made something like this practically impossible.
'Lieutenant Torres�' Seven said through clenched teeth. 'I cannot hold on much longer.'
Hanging from Sevens' grasp as she was, B'Elanna was in serious danger of falling. It was only Seven's quick actions that had stopped her from dropping with the turbo lift itself. Snapped out of her shock, B'Elanna began looking for a hand or foothold around her. Finally, she wedged her fingers behind two EPS conduits and very gingerly placed part of her weight on some others below her. As good as they were as parts of the ship, she did not think that the conduits were well suited for climbing purposes. Both she and Seven were stronger than ordinary humans, and had they had relatively secure positions they could have stayed there longer than either of them realized, but they had neither secure positions nor secure handholds. She also realised with a sinking feeling that as precariously balanced as they were, neither of them could reach their com-badges.
'Computer, hail Captain Janeway!' She called.
'Unable to comply,' came the computers' calm response. 'Communications in this area have been disabled.'
'What?' B'Elanna cried. Seven opened her mouth to speak but the other woman got there first. 'Computer, initiate site to site transport, two to the bridge.'
'Unable to comply.'
'What? Why?'
'Site to site transporters have been disabled in this area.'
'So we're stuck here?' B'Elanna yelled.
'I believe we have a bigger problem, Lieutenant,' Seven said, her voice only hinting at the tension she felt. B'Elanna looked up as the ex-drone looked down and horror tinged her features as Seven said slowly, 'I have heard another turbo-lift heading towards our present position,' Slowly, inexorably, B'Elanna lifted her gaze to the darkness above them, 'We are in serious danger.'