I'll give you everything
I possess
If you tell me where you keep
Your happiness
Sweat trickled down Ensign Janice Blair's brow as she concentrated on her battered console.
I look more and more
And I find less and less
A spark shot from the machinery in front of her, and she practically leapt out of her skin in shock.
I don't know what you know
But I make it up
As I go
Moving reluctantly back, she shook her head.
Show me
They way to my heart
Show me
The way
"Nice song."
Janice whirled around and found herself face to face with Second First Officer T'Perra Kathryn Paris. The other woman stood in the doorway of Astrometrics, one hand on her hip and the other arm resting on the door frame. Her beautiful brown hair was curly and shoulder length. The Second First Officer took great care with it, using only the finest products. Her skin was incredibly soft to the touch and held a tan that anyone would kill for. Her body was small and sleek, but at the same time it was slightly muscular, screaming of power. Her forehead bore the slight ridges of her ancestry, and the air about her was absolutely intoxicating. Her eyes were a deep blue gray, mysterious and inviting. You could get lost in them.
And that was how she liked it.
"You have a wonderful voice."
Janice blushed deeply, her face turning a bright pink that seemed to go well with her black hair.
"Th-thank you, Commander." She watched her commanding officer play with one of her tools for a moment before speaking.
"I noticed you're off this Friday night." Paris noted while still playing with the tools. Janice marveled at how nonchalant the other woman was acting as soon as she realized the purpose for the commander's visit. It was all part of her charm. "I was wondering if you were free. Perhaps we could spend some time on the Holodeck. I know of a wonderful French restaurant program. My father made it for my mother. He takes her there all the time."
Part of Janice wanted to say no. She knew the commander's reputation and knew this was just a game to her. Part of her wanted to take a stand, perhaps save herself a bit of heartache, but before she realized it, she'd already squeaked out an enthusiastic "yes."
-=-
"You're going out with the Second First Officer?!" Lily Delaney practically yelped at her friend Janice.
"Hush, Lily." Janice hissed, setter her lunch tray down on a mess table. They tried to get a solitary table off to the side, but the ship was much too crowded with the second generation and their children.
"Oh, wow." Lily marveled, shaking her head. "Oh, wow. Oh, boy. I wish I had your guts. When she asked me out last week, I was so nervous, I barfed. I wound up having to go to Sickbay. Miral Kim was so frustrated with trying to calm me down, she wound up calling the Doctor. Boy, does she ever have a temper."
Janice nodded and smiled at her roommate's bewildered expression. Lily Delaney was the exact opposite of her outgoing and energetic mother. She'd never been on a date in her life, even though she was an extremely attractive blonde with many prospective suitors. She had definitely inherited her mother's (and aunt's) beauty. Janice figured she'd be best to marry a Kim, for all of the Kim children were quite shy, (although, Miral was slowly pulling her husband out of his shell.) But they might both die before either of them ever made the first move.
"So, what are you guys going to do on your date?" Lily began picking at her salad, dismayed by the alien color of its leaves.
"She said she knows of a nice French restaurant her father programmed on the Holodeck."
"The Holodeck?!" Lily exclaimed loudly through a mouthful of lettuce. The lower ranking officers were hardly allowed time on the Holodeck due to the high population of the ship. Twenty or thirty years previous, the ship had acquired a sort of personal Holodeck technology from an alien ship, so only the higher ranking officers generally used the Holodeck anyway. Still, it was considered a treat by people like Lily.
"Wow." Lily whispered excitedly. She stopped suddenly, and her expression turned serious. "Look…" She continued. "She has a reputation… So… Just… Promise you'll be careful."
"I promise."
-=-
When her door chimed, announcing a visitor, T'Perra Kathryn Paris was in the middle of reading a book. She was one of the few bibliophiles in the world and refused to read a novel on a PADD unless it was rare or non-existent in print form. No one on the ship shared her love for books, and she wished for once that she could meet someone who did.
"Come in!" she shouted, marking her place and closing her book. She attempted to tuck a few curls behind her ear and scowled as they popped back into place.
First Commander Chakotay made his way into the room smiling. They younger officer smiled brightly in response, for the American Indian was her very dearest friend and perhaps the only person on the ship that really knew her. She often marveled at how much better he knew her than she knew herself.
"New book?" He pointed to the hardback on the seat next to her. Sitting on its opposite, he continued to smile warmly.
"Oh, yeah. House of Mirth. Edith Wharton. 1905. It's good, but no Twenty-Second Century Woman by Miriam Smitts. It's never been printed, though, which is sad."
"Hm. That's a shame. 1905, you say? That's older than me, and I'm old as dirt."
They laughed at their own private joke, but after a while Chakotay's smile disappeared.
"You know, I noticed not a single one of your many dates on this ship has ever reported to sickbay with a bite mark on their face.."
Perry turned to look out of the window at the passing stars, sadness overcoming her frame.
"Why is it that you're the only Klingon that I've heard of that doesn't give love bites."
Perry smiled weakly and turned back to face him. "In my eyes," she replied solemnly, "love bites require love."
Chakotay nodded sadly. "I heard about Janice." He continued. "Don't you think you should settle down?" He didn't mean to pry or nag, but he had begun to worry about his goddaughter.
"You sound like my parents." Standing and making her way to her drink bar, T'Perra just laughed. She entertained many people in her quarters, so it paid off having a ready supply of synthehol. She didn't really drink outside of a date, however, so it also kept tea, coffee, and a few of her other favorite drinks. She liked making and mixing her own drinks by hand, rather than just replicating them instantly made insisting that they just plain tasted better.
"They do want grand children." He replied as she began making two cups of their favorite tea.
"They can get them from Tommy." She stated simply. "Or even Miral if she took Little Harry's balls out of that jar she keeps them in." She laughed shortly at her own joke, but her companion remained stoic. She brought him his cup and sat back down, sighing deeply.
"Besides," she continued absently, dunking her tea bag. "I'll probably wind up marrying a woman if I do marry at all, so I won't be needing a spouse to have children."
"This isn't just about children." Chakotay took a small sip of his tea to taste its flavor. Going back to dunking his own tea bag, he continued. "Don't you want to have a real relationship like your mother and father? Or like me and Kathryn?"
Perry placed her mug on the coffee table and sat back on the couch, drawing her legs up and sitting on them. She tried tucking her hair behind her ear again and failed once more.
"I just worry about you, Perry. I just want you to be happy. Kathryn is my everything. My life. I'd be lost without her."
"I know, Chakotay." She smiled weakly in response. "I just don't think I'm ever going to find that one." Noticing her friend's worried expression, she quickly added, "But Janice seems fun. Good girl. Great officer."
Chakotay nodded.
"She is. She really is."
-=-
"Perry! Perry!" Five-year-old Bobby Janeway bounded down the hallway, waving something blue over his head. He was a small boy with freckles and a head of hair the color of his grandmother's. He was exceptionally cheery and extremely smart. Second Captain Wildman often joked about having to watch out for her post whenever he was in the room, a joke that always made the boy beam.
Perry smiled broadly at the realization that the blue object he held was, in fact, a book.
"Look! Look!" He ran up to the commander enthusiastically. "Lookit what grampa bought me! He says it's a book!" He looked at the cover and sounded out the words proudly. "The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss!" He smiled brightly and hugged his present. "I have a book now! Just like you!"
Perry laughed. She loved the kid like he was her own. She'd taught him to read at an early age, hoping to teach him the wonder of books. He was an excellent pupil with a voracious appetite to learn. She enjoyed teaching him more than anything. One day when he was older, she was going to teach him to fly a shuttle. It was best that he learn from her instead of his grandfather, "Crash" Chakotay, after all.
"Yep, kid." She replied, ruffling his hair. "Just like me."
"I made something for you!" The young boy added, rummaging through his pants pocket. Sticking his tongue out in concentration, he fished around a bit before producing an obviously home made necklace. He handed it to the commander proudly, proclaiming, "I made it in class! It'll bring you good luck."
Perry wasn't very big on jewelry – at all. She also wasn't very big on things that looked tacky, like the necklace the boy had produced. However, she was very big on the boy himself and the fact that he'd put so much time into making something just for her. Her smile widened as she accepted the present and gave the little boy a grateful hug.
-=-
Janice Blair couldn't believe where she was. She took a sip of her red wine synthehol, looking around the room in awe. T'Perra's quarters were fascinating to say the least. Janice shared her room with Lily, but T'Perra lived alone. Her room was filled with books and fascinating artifacts from alien cultures and ancient earth. Janice's favorite piece was a prisoner's coat replica containing an upside down pink triangle on the breast.
"In the early twentieth century there was a great war on Earth." T'Perra explained. "In the country of Germany millions of people were rounded up and put into concentration camps. Among them were homosexuals. The lesbians were actually viewed as asexual since women weren't seen as sexual beings, and they were forced to wear black triangles. This jacket, however, was the jacket of the homosexual male, who was forced to wear an upside down pink triangle on his shirt. That little triangle became the gay pride symbol when the civil rights movement started after the Stonewall Riots, which is a whole other topic in and of itself."
The commander's cabin also contained books, a mini bar, and a few other luxuries. It contained a lot in such a small space, but it was somehow uncluttered.
This was their third date, and Ensign Blair was both surprised and proud. The truth was, she and Perry had been having a wonderful time, she felt. They spent many meals together and laughed quite frequently at even the smallest things.
Janice knew she was breaking her promise to Lily. She was falling hard.
Perry, on the other hand, felt she took more amusement in the relationship. Janice was like a fun new toy, and she enjoyed every bit of their play.
"Perry," Janice broke their momentary silence and looked up at her companion. They were both sitting on the floor, their legs stretched out. They supported themselves on one arm, leaning toward each other.
"I must say," Janice continued, blushing a bit and feeling the slight effects of synthehol working on her system. "I have never had more fun than when I'm with you. You make even the mundane seem like a carnival."
"Mmm…" Perry replied, looking from Janice's mouth to her eyes. "I like a girl that uses words like 'mundane'." Holding the other woman's chin lightly, she leaned in to kiss her.
Their kiss was cut short, however, by the violent jolting of the ship.
-=-
"That was a warning shot." The alien proclaimed as soon as his hideous face filled the screen.
Second Captain Naomi Wildman recoiled at the sight of the man before her. He had four enormous nostrils set upon a face that secreted strange clear goo. His grotesquely pink lips were pulled back into a sneer, revealing sharp, yellowed, crooked teeth that sent a shiver up the Second Captain's spine. The rest of his body was large and a dark, sickly green, secreting goo just as his face was. He had little hair, and what he did have was straggled and caked with mud.
The doors to the bridge opened in protest, allowing the First Captain through. The ship rocked once more, catching the woman of balance. Gripping a rail, she held on tight until it was safe to walk again. Finally able to stand upright, she made her way to her command chair.
"This is Kishnan territory." The hideous alien continued. "Kindly leave immediately."
"We were under the impression," Janeway replied calmly, "that this was Majair territory, not Kishnan."
The alien huffed loudly. "It was Majair territory," he replied with an air of superiority. "but we claimed it in the name of the Empire two weeks ago. We're in the middle of a war, Captain, a war we Kishnan intend to win. You'd be best to re-evaluate whose side you're on. We saw you trading with the Kishnan a week ago. You've scanned our ship. You know you are no match for our technology."
Ensign Elijah Banes nodded gravely, reading his console. "Highly formidable weaponry, extensive shields… A field of temporal displacement…?" He looked at the Captain with a look of confusion then at the alien onscreen.
The doors to the bridge slid open, permitting the entrance of T'Perra Kathryn Paris and Janice Blair. As a low ranking engineer, Blair had no business on the bridge, but no one spoke up in protest. It was unimportant at the moment.
"You!" The hideous Kishnan on the screen paled noticeably at the sight of Perry, and his body's mucus changed to an odd yellow color. "You!" He punched a button in front of him, and the view screen switched to its usual view of the stars. The ship jolted violently as the alien vessel began its attack.
Before she knew it, Perry lost her balance and fell, hitting her head on the edge of the console on the way down. The room went dizzy, and she suddenly felt the sensation of being lifted. Before she blacked out, she realized her father and godfather were picking her up. For some reason she couldn't grasp, however, they seemed… different.