Sensory Perception Chapter 1, a startrek: voyager fanfic

Sensory Perception

Acknowledgements

Thanks to; Kate Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan for portraying the characters, Kathryn Janeway and Seven of Nine, because without these gorgeous ladies we wouldn't have fuel for our wayward lustful imaginings.

To generate the stardates, I used the 24th Century calculator found on the TrekGuide website (trekguide_.com_/Stardates_.htm) because trying to figure it out on my own was doing my head in.

Story perspective: Captain Kathryn Janeway, first person.

Rated: M
This chapter contains mild erotica between two women.

Author's Note

Here is a very brief introduction to Kathryn's alter-egos in this story.
Katie - curious, mischievous, adventurous, likes to bend the rules
Kathryn - cautious, conservative, sticks to the rules, does the right thing

Chapter 1

Stardate 53436.26, USS Voyager, Delta Quadrant

Although I am tired after a long eventful day, I am also somewhat restless, so I find myself walking the corridors of Voyager. Something I started doing not long after we began our journey through the Delta Quadrant. For the most part my walks are solitary. Occasionally I will encounter an officer or crewman rushing to somewhere or other, but this is rare and I am usually left alone with my thoughts. Such is the case tonight.

I wearily rub my right hand over the back of my neck and sigh. My thoughts have been troubled over the last few months. Seven of Nine has been of extra concern. She has been acting out of character. With her continued re-integration into humanity from Borg drone I expect a little bit of erratic behaviour, but lately she has become withdrawn, even for her. Her behaviour has almost reverted back to the point of just after we severed her from the Collective. I am at a loss of what to do, she doesn't seek my council, as she once did.

Deep in thought, the glint of a flashing light from the external control panel to Holodeck One catches my eye as I am passing and pulls me from my musings. Walking up to the display I quickly ascertain someone has left a program running. A small frown creases my forehead and I rub it absent-mindedly. I make a quick mental note to bring this up at the next staff briefing, and file it away with the million and one other things on my mind. A closer inspection of the read out shows it was activated by Seven of Nine. The frown, which had not disappeared when I rubbed it, progresses to a scowl.

Odd, I thought I heard her being called to Engineering a few minutes ago. She can't have finished there already, from what B'Elanna indicated to me, the problem with the warp coil manifold would take at least a couple of hours. Expecting I was going to have to reprimand Seven, the part of being a Captain I enjoy the least, I sigh and query the ship's computer.

"Computer, locate Seven of Nine."

Seven of Nine is in Engineering. Came the disembodied voice in reply.

Strange, it's not like Seven to leave a program running. I surmise she left in a hurry and just didn't have time to deactivate it. As I reach out to terminate the program for her, an internal voice interrupts, halting my movement.

Maybe we should go in and check it out Kathryn. We might learn what's made Seven change lately. It is my curious, adventurous self with just enough logic in her argument to make me hesitate and consider her plan.
No Katie. That would be an invasion of Seven's privacy. My cautious self replies.
I'm bored doing the right thing all the time, I want to have some fun for a change. Katie sulks. And we might be able to help Seven if we do. She adds for good measure.
Absolutely not. I can't expect the crew to respect the privacy of others if I can't observe that simple fundamental rule myself. Kathryn counters.
Aw, go on. I dare you. She gives up on trying to reason with me.
No. I didn't become the Captain of a Starship by giving in easily.
I double dare you.
No. I'm not going to change our mind.
Fine. If you don't go in there and see what Seven fantasises about, I'm going to take charge when you least expect it and make you do something silly... in front of the crew. Katie pouts.
Don't you dare threaten me. Kathryn warned in her most commanding tone of thought. I will not let you...
You don't scare me Kathryn. Katie interrupts. "You can't control me. But I'll make a deal with you. If you do this I'll leave you alone for a month. Katie finished triumphantly.
One whole month. No exceptions. Kathryn bargained.
Deal. She agreed after a pause.
Fine, deal. Kathryn finishes in defeat.
Yay, let's have some fun. Katie squeals in delight.

Sighing out loud, curiosity having won my internal argument, I step up to the door. Looking left and right I make sure no one will see me enter.

"Computer, open Holodeck One door, authorisation Janeway Alpha One Beta."

The door before me slides open with a satisfying whoosh. If only the crew were that efficient and obedient. Unfortunately I am nowhere near prepared for the scene that greets me as I step through the door. What I encounter is so far removed from what I imagined, I may as well have been back in the Alpha Quadrant.

For all intents and purposes, it appears I have entered the lounge room of my private quarters. The room appears to be a perfect replication. I walk around slowly, checking random objects, but the room has been painstakingly, flawlessly recreated. Of course, I would expect nothing less from Seven but perfection. As that thought crosses my mind, I can't stop the left-hand side of my mouth lifting to form a small half-smile. Satisfied that I am indeed standing in a replica of my quarters, I walk over to the doorway that should lead to my bedroom, and barge through the doorway with typical Janeway gusto. Just inside the door I come to a sudden stop and my mouth drops open, jaw slack with surprise.

"What the..." I have come face to face with a stationary holographic projection of myself standing in the middle of the room.

"Oh Seven, you've gone too far this time." I exclaim.

The Janeway temper went from cold to boiling hot in the blink of an eye. I know I've made allowances for Seven that I wouldn't dream of making for other members of Voyager, but making a copy of me was crossing all sorts of lines.

Aren't you the least be curious as to why Seven would create this program? Katie asked.
Go away. I'm mad, not curious. Kathryn answered.
Are you sure about that?
Yes, there is no reason good enough for what she's done.
Really? I wonder. I bet she's made a 'nicer' you.
What do you mean, I'm nice.
Sure you are, when you're not Captain Janeway, you can be plenty nice. Not much call for that on Voyager though is there.
Oh shut up Katie and go away.
No I want to see what version of me Seven would make.
Argh you drive me crazy Katie, fine. Five minutes, then I'm going.

I walk around the other me slowly, inspecting Seven's perspective of my physical self with a critical eye. I am in my uniform, this is to be expected as, apart from the occasional velocity games, she rarely sees me dressed otherwise. I have to concede she has rendered a very good likeness of me, but not perfect. On closer inspection, I feel something is not quite right with my face. I seem to look younger or more youthful at the very least, but I can't quite put my finger on the difference.

The same questions race through my mind. Why has Seven created this program? What purpose does my holographic self provide? Has she created a 'nicer' me? Have I not been spending enough time with her? Does she feel the need she has to supplement our time together with another me? Oh Seven, I'm only human, and being the Captain of a Starship takes up so much of my time, you must know I would spend more time with you if I could.

Another thought suddenly occurs to me. How long has Seven been using this program? I decide to forego the internal debate I should have regarding the invasion of her privacy and consult the computer.

"Computer, when was this program created?"

Stardate 52988.77 Six months? That long ago.

"How often has this program been accessed?"

Five times.

Only five times, that's not as bad as I thought it would be. Without analysing too closely why, the infrequency of program use makes me feel better. I had seen enough, it was time to leave. Determined to meet with Seven to discuss the issue, regardless of revealing the inappropriateness of accessing one of her personal programs, I turn to leave. I even make it halfway through the lounge before my internal thoughts interfere with my decision.

You don't get off that easily Kathryn. What does our holographic self have that the physical us doesn't? What can Seven say to her that she can't say to me?
You almost sound jealous of her, me, us, I mean the holographic me.
Maybe I am. I thought we were Seven's friend, she knows she can talk to us about anything. Doesn't she? Katie said sounding insecure, uncertain.
Well we aren't always available when she needs us.
What if... what if Seven likes her more than she likes me?
Oh Katie, that's not fair.
Well now, I didn't say I was going to play fair. Where's the fun in that?

Returning to the bedroom, I stand in front of my other self and pausing briefly, I realise I'm about to cross a line, but what the hell, Seven did it first.

"Computer, replay the first five minutes of the program when it was first accessed."

The bedroom setting looks exactly the same, the only subtle difference I see is in the my holographic self. I am in the same position, but my expression seems more stand-offish, less approachable, less friendly, almost hard. Is this how she saw me six months ago? I ask myself. What was happening six months ago to make her see me this way? Suddenly 'I' start to speak.

"Seven, how can I help you?" pause.
"I'm not sure I understand what you mean Seven. See you how?" long pause.
"Continue. How do I see you?" pause.
"Try. Take your time." long pause.

"Well at least I looked pleased to see her." I mutter to myself. Only being able to hear one side of the conversation was going to make this difficult.

"Compter, stop playback." the scene stopped immediately. "Is there a personal recording associated with this program?"

Affirmative. Excellent.

"Reset playback and replay first five minutes including the personal recording."

The scene repeats but this time includes a recorded projection of Seven.

"Seven, how can I help you?"
"Captain, I ... I became aware of how you see me today."
"I'm not sure I understand what you mean Seven. See you how?"
"It was during the shift briefing this morning. During the meeting I looked over at you and you were watching me. Our eyes met across the table, and I realised something I had not before. I realised, you see me." Seven pauses, looks uncertain, as if she's trying to define her feelings into words.
"Continue. How do I see you?" The voice is mine but, the speech pattern seems a little too impersonal, somewhat Seven-like.
"You ... it's hard to explain."
"Try. Take your time." Kathryn puts her hand on Seven's arm.
"I could see your eyes so clearly. Even from across the table. And it had nothing to do with my ocular implant. I couldn't seem look away, I didn't want to look away. I realised your eyes are not just blue, they change depending on your mood. When you are angry they are almost gray, sadness makes them smokey blue. When you are happy they sparkle like sapphires."
"I see."
"Yes, that's it exactly Captain. You see. You see me. You see all of me. Most people see the Borg part of me and don't try to see beyond that, the rest of me, the human me. I hadn't realised that it mattered to me until today."...

Unconsciously my right hand extended to rest on Seven's arm, my compassionate heart, wanting to offer comfort to the emotionally hurting woman. The playback is complete, the image of Seven no longer stands before me. Looking at my hand touching thin air, I drop it to my side.

"Computer." I stop when my voice breaks, clogged with emotion from hearing Seven's innermost thoughts. I'm beginning to understand her need for this program. What was revealed in that five short minutes told me volumes about Seven's life on Voyager. And even though I knew I shouldn't violate her privacy now that I knew how intimate the recordings were, I couldn't seem to help myself from continuing.

"Computer, when was the program next accessed?"

Stardate 53271.94 Four months between use? Why such a gap?

"Replay the first five minutes, include personal recording."

Again the scene was the same. I looked at myself with a critical eye. The only changes seem to occur with me. My features appeared a little softer this time. The recorded image of Seven walks into the room again. The dialogue starts the same way.

"Seven, how can I help you?"
"Captain, today I became aware of how you hear me."
"Go on Seven, I'm listening." Kathryn smiles warmly at her. It's one of my rare full smiles, eyes sparkling like sapphires as Seven described in the other recording.
"I know I appear rude to some of the crew, I am still unfamiliar with the intricacies of social interaction, the finer points, the doctor calls it." she smiled shyly at Kathryn looking at her through half-lidded eyes. Is she flirting with me? I think in shock.
"Then the other day, we were alone in your ready room, the topic of discussion was..." she pauses, but only for a second. "Irrelevant. B'Elanna had complained about me again. You had summoned me, I was expecting to be reprimanded, but you asked me relay the incident in my words. You listened to me. I was about halfway through when... I realised you were actually hearing me not just humoring me..."

Has she really been that alienated by the crew, still, after all this time? Oh Seven, I didn't realise. I feel like someone has reached into my chest grabbed my heart in their hand and squeezed.

"Computer, state next access date."

Stardate 53401.83 One month later.

"Replay the first five minutes, include personal recording."

"Seven, how can I help you?"
Seven appears reluctant to speak.
"I became aware of your scent today Kathryn." She whispered looking shyly at me.

"My what?" I squeaked the words are torn from my shocked vocal cords. "Computer, stop playback. Replay five minutes from halfway, include personal recording." When playback resumed, they were not in the bedroom, so I walked back into the lounge.

Kathryn is standing at the view port, watching the stars. Seven, gets up from the couch and walks over to stand close behind her, very close.
"I love to watch the stars."
"I love watching you watch them." Seven whispered in her ear. She used her nose to move the hair away from Kathryn's face, and resting her chin on her shoulder she took a deep breath. Seven wraps her arms around her and clasps her hands together at her waist. Kathryn moved her hands to rest them gently over Seven's and leaned back into the embrace, sighing.

They stood that way for the rest of the playback. I closed my eyes at the romantic nature of the scene. Was that the way Seven meant the embrace, to be romantic? Or was she offering comfort? It's been a very long time since I've been held by someone, let alone held so tenderly. A sense of loneliness settled over me. Perhaps I was reading more into the scene than what was intended.

Katie. We need to stop this madness.
But it's starting to get interesting, don't you think?
No. This is wrong. We need to leave. Now.
No, we're staying. There's no way you'll let this happen in the real world, no matter how much you want it to.
That's not true. Kathryn said in a whisper.
What, you won't let it happen or you don't want it to happen?
Kathryn was silent.
That's what I thought. Well I'm going to enjoy being a voyeur for a while. I want, no I need to know how much Seven likes this other us.

"Computer, state next access date."

Stardate 53418.22 Last week.

"Replay five minutes from halfway through, include personal recording." There is no sign of us in the lounge so I walk back into the bedroom. Just inside the door, in a case of déjà vu, I stop abruptly upon seeing the scene before me. Seven has Kathryn pressed up against the wall, just inside the door, they are kissing.

... Seven angles her head to the left, increasing the pressure of her mouth against Kathryn's. Kathryn moans, her fingers flexed, digging into Seven's back. Seven leans back, breaking the kiss. The Kathryn that looks at Seven is quite obviously aroused, eyes half lidded, lips swollen indicating she'd been thoroughly kissed. Seven takes hold of her hands and raises her arms over her head, holding them there she initiates another kiss. Kathryn whimpered. Moving both of Kathryn's hands into the clasp of her Borg-enhanced one, Seven trails the other down her arm...

"Oh Myyyy." Unable to stop myself I tilt my head slightly to the left. Based on the other scenarios, I guess we're up to the sense of touch. A slow burn begins in my cheeks and travels directly to my abdomen, warp factor nine. I'm old enough, and know my body well enough, to know the signs of full-fledged, sexual arousal. If I react this way to seeing us kissing, what would it be like to be a participant? It had taken me a long time to admit I was attracted to her emotionally let alone physically. Now that I had, how was I going to deal with her knowing the attraction is mutual?

"Computer, stop playback." I say in a rush, finally coming to my senses.

"Oh Kathryn, I think you're in trouble. A lot of trouble. If she's covered sight, sound, smell and touch, that only leaves taste. You need to get out of here before Seven gets back." I realise I've been here for over half an hour. The last thing I need is to get caught.

"Computer, return to current program."

It was then that I heard the whoosh of the holodeck door open and close. Now what am I going to do? Think, Kathryn, think, and be quick about it. My inner voices were suddenly silent, typical. How are you going to explain this? That beautiful blonde bombshell of a Borg is going to be walking through that door any second and you're standing here with your libido hanging out.

"Computer, reset program." Seven's voice carries from the other room. The sound of her footfalls is getting louder. I look at the holographic me and before I can think my plan through, it's not like I had time to anyway, I whisper.

"Computer, delete character, override authorisation Janeway Alpha Two Beta." I hold my breath hoping Seven hasn't put a failsafe in place that only she can override. My concern is unfounded when the other me disappears in the blink of an eye. I carefully step into position and wait with bated breath, and hope the rapid beating of my heart won't give me away. Sometimes Seven can be far too perceptive for my own good.

Nothing in all my years could have prepared me for what happened next.

WARNING
The following chapter contains an explicit sex scene between two consenting adult women. If this offends you, leave now, or read on and be offended. If this is illegal where you are or you are not of consenting age, please use your discretion.