A Tale of Two Sixes

by Semerket

Strange circumstances bring a Cylon to Voyager. How will she adapt to her new environment? Femslash.

2. Part 2

Pairing: Seven of Nine/Six

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I don't own em. The inspiration for the title is from Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. This is femslash.

A/N: I self beta, so I'd like to pre-apologize for any errors. As always, please review.

A Tale of Two Sixes

by Semerket

Part 2

"I'm not sure. I recognize these constellations, but I have no idea how to triangulate my previous location from such a distance." Solaria rubbed her temples in frustration as she studied the star charts that Seven was viewing from a console in astrometrics. The duo had been going through charts and scans for the past few weeks and with every passing moment the Cylon realized her chances of getting back to her people were slim if not impossible. Captain Janeway had stopped by astrometrics to observe the two blonds as they searched for a solution. Solaria continued, "And besides, how do we even know that the wormhole will open at the same location anyway?"

Seven tilted her head thoughtfully, "You are correct. It is impossible to determine the consistency of the other end of the wormhole. We would have to study it from the other side in order to make an estimate."

Six looked a little hopeful. Kathryn gently placed a hand on the Cylon's shoulder, "And that is something that we simply cannot do. Surely you understand, Solaria. Its just too far out of the way and too unstable. I can't risk my ship and crew." The Captain said sympathetically.

The Cylon was crestfallen."Of course I do, Captain." As disappointed as Six was, a part of her didn't want to leave Voyager anyway. The possibility of a new life devoid of impending doom was quite appealing to the Cylon. So far the people she had encountered on Voyager seemed kind and accepting for the most part. There was also the issue of leaving Seven; she found herself drawn to her and she suspected that Seven felt the same way.

"In the meantime you are more than welcome to stay aboard Voyager."

"Thank you, Captain." Six smiled. "And I intend to do my part aboard Voyager."

"I'm glad to hear it. I'll be going over possible assignments for you. Let me know if you have any preferences or areas of expertise." The Captain excused herself and headed for the bridge, leaving Seven and Six alone in Astrometrics.

The silence immediately became awkward. Seven was still dwelling on the kiss that Six had given her when she had left her quarters. After extensive research on the subject she had come across two likely conclusions. It was either a friendly gesture or an invitation, but the Borg was unsure.

"Would you care to join me for lunch? I'm getting hungry." Six said.

"I have an appointment with the Doctor. Perhaps another time." Seven lied, using a phrase that she had come across during her exploration of Voyager's computer data base.

"Alright then. How about dinner in my quarters? Say at eight?" The Cylon sounded hopeful.

There was a long pause as Seven considered her next course of action. Seven realized that the kiss was meant to be an invitation. It both excited and terrified her. "I will arrive at eight," she monotoned.

"I'll see you then." Six beamed.

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Six wandered the halls of Voyager comparing it to the long gray corridors on Cylon vessels. She felt a pang of homesickness as she made her way to the mess hall. She had been eating in her quarters during the first few weeks of her stay even though she'd been encouraged to use the mess hall. She simply hadn't been ready to associate with others from the ship and she had remained hopeful that she would return to her people. But now she was sure that leaving was no longer an option, and she realized she'd have to make an appearance eventually.

When she entered the mess it was bustling and well lit unlike the first day she'd been on Voyager. There was a lull in the conversation as people became aware of her presence. A few moments later conversation resumed again; she guessed much of it would be speculation about the new person. The Cylon couldn't help but feel a tinge of anxiety creep up. She had to remind herself that this wasn't a Colonial vessel; she didn't have to lie to these people... or kill them.

It didn't take long for Six to understand the drill: get in line, grab a tray, and get your ration. It seemed efficient enough. She chuckled to herself at the term. Seven was rubbing off on her. She wished she was with her right now.

Six smiled at Neelix after she received her portion and scanned the room for an empty table. Spotting one in the corner by a window, she made her way over there. Half way to her destination a young man waved at her before she walked past. He was sitting at a table with another man and a woman.

"Hi there! You must be new to Voyager. Care to join us?"

Six felt a little apprehensive. She'd never been 'social' with humans in the past, at least not in an amicable way. "I wouldn't want to interrupt..."

"No, not at all." The man beamed. She smiled and took a seat at the table. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. He introduced himself, "I'm Harry Kim, this is Tom Paris and Be'lanna Torres."

She nodded and used her new name even though it still felt foreign to her. "I'm Solaria Six."

Tom piped up, "So how have you been? Since we beamed you off that shuttle?"

"Well, I'm alive." Six replied as she stared absently at the gelatinous brown glob on her plate. She poked it with her fork and tried to hide her revulsion. This was very different than what she'd eaten the last time she was in the mess hall. "What was this again?"

Be'lanna snickered, "We try not to think about it, but its not quite as terrible as it looks." Six looked at Be'lanna inquisitively; her focused gaze caused the other woman to squirm. "What?" She asked testily.

"I've never seen anyone like you before." She said observing the ridges on Be'lanna's forehead.

"I'm half Klingon."

"Well you're very pretty Be'lanna," Six said sincerely.

The Klingon blushed at her compliment."Thanks."

"I really like the diversity of Voyager. Where I come from everyone looks the same." Six smiled at her own joke.

The man called Tom replied with subtle interest, "Is that so?"

Six waved it off nonchalantly. "You have no idea."

"We don't encounter many humans in the Delta Quadrant." Tom continued. "So your name is Six? Like the number?" Tom asked with genuine curiosity.

"Yes, but I suppose its more like a designation." Six used the term that Seven frequently utilized.

"Like our Seven?" Tom asked sounding positively amused. "You weren't assimilated by the Borg were you?" Tom asked jokingly causing everyone at the table to chuckle.

Six smiled too, but she remained slightly confused by his inquiry. Seven had mentioned that most people had a negative view of the Borg. Was Tom insulting her? "I don't understand what you mean."

And she really didn't. Her confusion was partially due to some ignorance of the Borg, but also because Six didn't have much more social experience than Seven. She just had better programming. Unlike some of her more popular sisters she was never used for infiltration. Instead she was used primarily in heavy combat operations. As a result, her social skills weren't as polished and she was often very conscious of what she said.

She also realized that it might be beneficial to avoid topics regarding cybernetics. Seven was able to convey to her that being associated with the Borg was considered a negative thing, and if what Seven said about the totality of Borg assimilation was true, then they wouldn't like the Cylons any better if they knew what they'd done to the twelve colonies.

Tom laughed good naturedly. "Oh its just the name thing. You know, like a serial number," he emphasized the last part much to the amusement of his friends.

Serial number.

Solaria hid it well, but she felt the dig. She realized that he had good intentions, but it was reminiscent of something the Colonials would call her. Toaster. Robot. Machine. They were inanimate objects and in the human world 'things' had serial numbers. Objects had serial numbers. She was an object. Objects were created for the convenience of man- a mechanical servant. The more she thought about it the madder she felt herself get. Six was a little surprised at herself. She hadn't realized what a toll her previous existence had taken on her, not mention that six was her model number after all. 'Get a grip on yourself!'

Six decided it was time for a subject change, "I was talking to the Captain earlier and she mentioned finding an assignment for me. I was wondering if you had any recommendations?"

Harry piped up, "We could always use more bridge crew."

Be'lanna asked, "Do you have a particular area of expertise?"

Six looked thoughtful. "I thought about security. I was a soldier before I came to Voyager. But I think I might prefer a change of pace. Perhaps something in engineering or astrometrics, or one of the sciences."

"Well a word of warning," B'Elanna continued, "Seven is in charge of astrometrics and she can be a real pain in the-"

Harry frowned, "Be nice, Be'lanna."

Six tried to hide the fact that she was mildly offended by the other woman's comment. "I've spent some time with Seven and she is a bit difficult socially, but I don't mind her company."

Six continued to chat with the group until she'd managed to finished most of her food. Afterwards she quickly excused herself; she still felt awkward in her attempts to converse.

"I think I'm going to invite her to Sandrine's" Harry beamed after Six left the table. "What do you guys think about her?"

Tom looked down at his drink, "She seems nice, Harry."

Harry frowned. "You don't sound very convinced."

Tom looked thoughtful as he tried to be honest with his friend. He shrugged, "Well, she seems nice-"

"Yes, you've said that."

"But she just seems a little off. I can't put my finger on it exactly." Tom said carefully.

"Harry, we think she's a weirdo." Be'lanna said bluntly. "If I have to listen to her go on and on about God one more time..."

"Well, I think she's nice!"

"I think her sanity blew with that shuttle. I mean don't get me wrong, she seems plenty 'nice'. But there's something strange about her and lets face it: anyone who enjoys Seven's company has some issues." Be'lanna and Tom both laughed.

Harry argued, "She's been through a lot! She's stranded on an alien vessel with no discernible way to get back to her people and no concept of where she is."

Tom tried to placate his friend, "Look Harry, we don't disagree with you and we don't dislike her. Its just that-"

"What?"

"You see a pretty face and 'wham' you're infatuated. Just because there's slim pickings in the Delta Quadrant doesn't mean that every woman that comes on board is right for you."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Forget it Harry, forget I said anything."

Be'lanna laughed, "He means you'll jump at anything in heels."

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They both stared in odd fascination at the smoking, blackened beef. "Well it seems that I know as much about replicators as you know about cooking." Solaria laughed.

Seven felt better immediately. Perhaps this was what the others referred to as humor? She smiled at the truthfulness of Solaria's remarks.

"You really should do that more often."

"I should burn food frequently?" Seven wore a puzzled expression.

Six laughed at the woman's bluntness. "No, you should smile. You have a beautiful smile," she said in earnest, her features softening as she did so.

Seven noted the way that her heart rate increased at the look Solaria was directing her, "Shall we continue our meal in the mess hall?"

The Cylon frowned; she wanted to have Seven all to herself. "No. How about we just replicate something that is already prepared instead of trying to put the ingredients together and do it ourselves? We can do that, right?"

Seven tilted her head as she considered her suggestion. "That would be acceptable. Do you have any suggestions?"

"I thought you would." Solaria wore a puzzled expression. There was a silence as both women stared at each other blankly. "What do you normally like to eat, Seven?"

"I prefer to consume my nutritional supplements."

Solaria immediately associated Seven's nutritional supplements with the word 'bland'. She imagined it would taste similar to the organic goo she had frequently consumed on base stars. "But what kind of food do you like to eat?

"I do not consume solids."

"But you can still eat them, right?"

"Yes, but I find it to be...more time consuming and less efficient."

Six fought the urge to roll her eyes. Some how it came to no surprise that her companion, who had been living among humans for nearly two years, had never bothered to eat real food. She smiled encouragingly at Seven, "This isn't about efficiency, Seven. This is about fun!"

Seven stared at her blankly. "I fail to understand how the consumption of nutritional elements can serve as a form of entertainment. Explain."

Six laughed at the seriousness of her companion's request. "I'll show you instead." The Cylon had a look of determination on her features. "Computer, what are the top five most popular food selections among the crew?"

The monotone voice of the computer calmly replied, "Pepperoni pizza, cheeseburgers, french fries, assorted ice creams, and alcoholic beverages."

Solaria said, "OOo, lets have that!"

Seven shifted from being confused to down right uncomfortable. "That is a large quantity of food for two individuals of our weight and body mass."

"Well what we don't eat we can just recycle, right?"

"That is correct."

"Then lets do it."

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An hour and a half later...

"Mmmm. This is really good. I like this better than the burger," Six beamed as she scarfed down a slice of what the computer had referred to as 'pizza'. She was seated on a medium sized, blue Starfleet issue couch next to Seven. The coffee table in front of them was covered with empty plates, napkins, and a soon-to-be empty pizza box.

Seven took a cautious bite, "Indeed. If Mr. Neelix's cooking was this adequate I would try eating on a more frequent basis."

Solaria laughed loudly. A little louder than she intended.

Seven noticed her response, "You are intoxicated."

Solaria laughed again. "I am not." She reached down and clumsily felt around near the foot of the couch until she felt a bottle. She picked it up and glanced at the label: Beer. "You didn't like these much, did you Sevem?" The Cylon slurred a little.

"I prefer not to consume alcoholic beverages- they make me feel ill."

The Cylon pouted at Seven comically as she reached out and stroked her face, "Aw, poor baby."

Seven flinched a little under the unexpected contact and blushed. She eyed Solaria curiously. Realizing her forwardness, she withdrew her hand slowly, "I'm sorry if I offended you." Six shifted so that she was farther away from Seven.

"You did not offend me, Solaria." Seven monotoned, hiding the fact that she did miss the contact.

The Cylon cleared her throat and decided to keep the conversation in more comfortable territory. "If Seven is your 'designation', do you have another name?"

"Annika Hansen is my human name."

"I think its a nice name," Six smiled. "But you don't like to use it?"

"Even though I was severed from the Collective and have become an individual, I do not feel comfortable using my human designation. I am no longer that person."

Six smiled, "I suppose I can understand. Although I must confess that even though Solaria feels foreign to me I'm beginning to like having my own name."

A look of surprise flashed across Seven's face, "Solaria is not your real name?"

The Cylon chided herself mentally. Maybe she shouldn't have had so much to drink if it was going to make her so talkative. "Before I came to Voyager I would have been called Six. Its my model number. All the other Sixes look exactly like me. We don't usually take names or emphasize individuality for that matter. You aren't a 'you', you're a 'six', or an 'eight', or whatever your model is," She winked at the other woman, "I thought you were a 'Seven'."

Then she continued to explain, "The only Cylons that use names are either famous, leaders, or spies." The Cylon rambled resentfully, "Unfortunately in a society where individuality is typically frowned upon, being famous is often equated with leadership ability."

Six thought back to her time spent on Caprica while the occupation was in full swing. She remembered standing in a busy town square as she and many other Cylons, mostly Sixes and Eights, attended a speech where an eight called Boomer and a Six called Caprica spoke out against the occupation. They talked about peace and love; concepts that most Cylon's were unable to understand because they'd never felt love. They rallied other Cylons into thinking that they needed to follow the human fleet and live in peace with them.

Solaria didn't know whether or not she agreed with them at the time, but anything had to be better than getting blown up or shot by the resistance every few days. Solaria often resented Caprica Six and Boomer. They enjoyed their celebrity because of their infiltration, but they had only experienced one resurrection, not to mention all the little luxuries that came with being human and individual.

It was Cylons such as herself that had to do the real leg work, the dirty work of the occupation. Countless times she had walked the streets and forests of a recently nuked Caprica searching for human survivors. Her white overcoat and bright blond hair a sharp contrast to her black slacks and boots. Whoever thought that a white overcoat was a good choice for combat gear was either blind, stupid, or a Three. They always had a way of dressing inappropriately, wearing scarves and coats while everyone else was in tank tops. Not to mention their affinity with the color white; she was sure it had something to do with God. Solaria couldn't even remember the last time she saw a Three engage in real combat. They were good at barking orders, lecturing about God, and sitting on their high and mighty asses. It was the Fives, Sixes, and Eights that suffered the highest casualty counts and resurrection rates.

Seven observed the sudden shift in the Cylon's behavior. What had started out as friendly banter had brought up some negative memories for Solaria. She was deep in thought as she took a swig of her beer and stared absently at the table. She eventually laughed to herself and muttered, "Frakkers."

"Solaria?" Seven asked, concern creeping into her voice. The Cylon didn't respond so she tried again, "Six?"

That seemed to get her attention. "Yes?" Six refocused her attention on Seven.

"You are upset."

"No, I just thought of something is all." Six stared at her hands as she wondered how to lift the mood.

"Why Solaria?"

"Huh?"

"Why did you select Solaria for a designation?"

Six shrugged, "When the Captain asked it was the first thing that came to mind. There was a Colonial Battlestar...a warship named Solaria. I was part of the team that assaulted it. I managed to board it. Then I decompressed it."

"You survived this event?" Seven was unable to keep the surprise from her voice.

Six smiled sadly, "No. It was my first death and resurrection." Six looked at her hands. "It was... jarring."

"You resurrect?"

"When a Cylon's body is destroyed our consciousness downloads into another identical one." Solaria cleared her throat, "We retain all our memories."

"Do you ever feel guilty?"

"About what?" Six asked.

"About the things you did when you were at war."

"Sometimes."

"The crew often blames me for my actions as a drone. I helped assimilate millions of individuals."

"Yea, Seven, but you didn't have free will. What's my excuse? There were approximately three thousand people on board the Solaria and I blew them all out in to space. Who was controlling me? Hell, I can't even begin to count them." Six looked down at her hands. "Promise you won't tell anyone about that."

Seven watched Solaria keenly. "I will not mention this information to anyone."

"Thanks." Six smiled. Feeling an overwhelming need to touch Seven, she tried to think of a suitable excuse. "Can I touch your hand, the one with the metallic implant?"

Seven was taken aback, even if it didn't entirely show on her face. She cleared her throat nervously. "If you want to."

Solaria moved closer to her and reached across her lap and grabbed her hand. She ran her fingers across the smooth metal casing. She marveled at how warm and soft the material was. Seven unconsciously leaned into her touch.

Solaria looked Seven in the eye. "It doesn't feel the way that I thought it would." Six intertwined her fingers with the Cylon's. "You're very beautiful, Seven." Solaria said through half-lidded eyes as she slowly leaned into Seven, catching her lips with her own. Seven sat still and allowed Solaria to kiss her. She observed a sudden increase in her own temperature and heart rate, all signs that indicated arousal. She reveled in the warmth of Six's mouth against her own. She felt Solaria flick her tongue against her mouth, gently requesting access. Seven slowly opened her mouth and allowed her tongue entry.

Taking Seven's response as her queue, Six gently pushed Seven back against the couch and proceeded to straddle her. Feeling Seven tense, Solaria stopped and gently grabbed the Borg's face with her hands, "Is everything okay?"

Seven thought for a moment before nodding seriously, "Yes."

Six smiled and recaptured the womans lips in her own. This time she slowly kissed her way across her face and down to her neck. The Cylon carefully felt behind Seven's neck until she found the zipper to her bio suit. She pulled it open and moved her hands along the Borg's back. Seven froze when she felt Solaria touch the bands of her abdominal implant. Solaria stopped again. "Do you want me to stop?"

Seven felt embarrassed. "Yes, please." Solaria released a frustrated breath that she'd been holding in as she moved off of Seven. "I am sorry." Seven apologized as she blushed bright red. She didn't want anyone to see her implants, especially Solaria whose opinion she valued immensely. She couldn't bare the thought of Solaria recoiling in disgust at the hideousness of her borg implants.

She smiled encouragingly at Seven. "You don't have to apologize, Seven. If you're not ready then its just not time yet. We can go slower."

Seven looked longingly at the door. Sweet escape. "I should return to my alcove to regenerate." She said as she popped up from her seat, trying to compose herself.

Six stood up and grabbed her arm, "Wait." The tall drone stopped in her tracks. "Stay with me tonight."

Seven became confused, "You still wish to copulate with me?"

"Well yes, I mean no. I mean I just want you to spend the night." Six quickly explained herself. "I don't want to be alone."

Seven relaxed visibly and allowed the other woman to lead her into the bedroom. Solaria tossed off her shoes and climbed onto the bed on top the covers. She patted the other side and motioned for Seven to come over. Seven hesitantly moved to the edge of the bed and following Solaria's example, removed her shoes and laid down beside the Cylon. Realizing how uncomfortable her companion was, Solaria simply wrapped her arms around her, and proceeded to rapidly nod off.

"Good night, Seven." Solaria mumbled as sleep took her.

Seven waited until Solaria had fallen asleep before peeling her arm off and quietly heading towards the door. The evening had far too many new sensations for Seven and she needed time to process them.

The next morning, Solaria woke up with a start. She was disappointed when she realized that Seven had left, but she wasn't surprised. What did surprise her is that the other woman had stayed for as long as she did.

"Computer, lights up." She sat up and yawned as the lights came on. Then she proceeded to groggily head towards the bathroom to have a shower and replicate some fresh clothes. She selected a black halter top, and a black pair of slacks.

Remembering that she was supposed to meet the captain she headed to what they referred to as her 'ready room'. Ready for what, she wasn't certain.

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The Captain had just sat down behind her desk when she heard the door chime. "Come in."

The doors swished opened to admit the svelte form of Solaria. At first glance the Captain almost mistook her for Seven. "Good morning, Captain."

"Six, its good to see you. Have a seat." The blond woman sat down across from the Captain. "Would you like something to drink? Some coffee?"

"No, thank you."

"Well I've taken a look at the crew schedules and I have a number of openings. We especially need help in sickbay. The Doctor could always use an assistant. At the moment my helmsman has been helping out part time."

Solaria cringed internally at being trapped in sickbay with the ships EMH program. Even though she'd had limited interactions with the Doctor, it hadn't taken her long to realize that he could be quite irritating at times.

"I'm not sure if I'd have the stomach for it. I can't handle the sight of blood," she lied easily. Lying was one of the primary functions of her model. Anything she might see in Sickbay would pale in comparison to the horrors she'd witnessed, or even committed, during the war.

"So do you have any thoughts about where you'd like to be assigned?" The Captain asked.

"I think I'd be good in astrometrics." The Cylon smiled as she thought of Seven.

The Captain wasn't really surprised with her request. The crew was already discussing how much time the newest addition of the crew had been spending with Seven of Nine. "Any particular reason?" Janeway prodded.

"Actually yes. As a Cylon I have the ability to recognize star patterns and charts."

Kathryn's eyes widened slightly. It took the computer hours of scanning to distinguish between distant star patterns let alone one person. "With the naked eye?"

"Yes."

"I also considered engineering; but I'm still familiarizing myself with Voyager's technology so astrometrics just seemed like a more logical choice for now.

"Hmm." The captain wasn't expecting that. "Well I don't see why we can't start you out there." She continued, "Seven, is in charge of astrometrics." Solaria nodded in response. "I take it the two of you have been getting along?"

"Yes, I enjoy Seven's company."

"I'm glad to hear it. She needs more friends." The Captain resisted the urge to add 'her own age' to the end of that sentence.

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Seven tapped away at her console in astrometrics. Seven had spent the better part of the morning mulling over everything that had happened with Solaria the previous night. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't stop thinking about how Six felt when she touched her. How she tasted. How she smelled. It was infuriating in a way she had never experienced before. Then Seven found herself doing something she'd never done before.

She swore.

"Damn it!" The tall drone immediately experienced shame and surprise at her lack of self control, but she also experienced satisfaction. Perhaps this was why B'ellana Torres shouted obscenities so frequently. Seven leaned over her console slightly and took in a deep breath. After feeling a slight tap on her shoulder she spun around and was surprised to see the source of her frustration standing before her.

"Seven, are you alright?" Solaria was genuinely concerned. She'd never seen the drone upset.

Seven collected herself, "I am...fine. I did not hear you come in."

Six raised a skeptical eyebrow, but accepted her answer. "Well guess what!"

Seven was confused at Six's phrasing. Realizing that Seven didn't understand the expression she continued, "I've been assigned to astrometrics." She smiled happily.

Seven's eyes widened with surprise as she realized that it would now be impossible for her to stop thinking about the other woman. Her presence could only be described as inefficient at best. Not wanting to offend her new friend she monotoned a phrase she'd learned from her social lessons with the Doctor, "Then I look forward to our working together." And on some level she did.

"Seven..." Six was disappointed, "If you don't want me here then I can just talk to the Captain-"

Seven blanched at the idea of explaining to the Captain why they couldn't work together. "That is unnecessary. I will adapt." Seven turned back to her console and tried to look as busy as possible. Anything for an excuse to avoid eye contact.

"Are you sure?"

"I am quite 'sure'." Solaria had been spending enough time with Seven to recognize her subtle moods. Even through Seven's borg monotone Solaria was able to pick up on a hint of irritation.

She was really concerned now, "Are you mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad at you?" Seven monotoned, staring at her console as though she were trying to bore a hole in it with her eyes.

Now Solaria was getting annoyed too. The Cylon rolled her eyes, "Well you're obviously not excited about me being here." Solaria mentally berated herself for not realizing that Seven might feel awkward about the arrangement after their recent nocturnal activities.

"I do not feel excitement." Seven replied haughtily. "I am Borg."

"Yea, well you were feeling something last night." Solaria said smartly. That got the drone's attention and she turned to look at Solaria with surprise. The Cylon took a deep breath. This wasn't going as well as she'd expected. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that and I didn't mean to upset you yesterday, if that's what I did-"

Finally finding the means to express herself, Seven cut her off, "No. You did not 'upset' me, Solaria." She let out an uncharacteristically frustrated sigh, "I do not know what to say. I am unclear on the proper protocol for this type of relationship... I am unsure how to proceed with you."

Six smiled. "Lets just see where things take us. Okay?"

Seven allowed herself a slight smile, "That would be acceptable."

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Two weeks later...

Seven looked over Six's shoulder as she operated a console in astrometrics. Solaria smiled when she felt Seven hovering. She liked it when Seven hovered. "Yes?" she asked playfully as she turned around to face the former drone.

Seven straightened up, "You are adapting to Voyager's technology much faster than I anticipated." Seven had spent the better part of the day analyzing her sudden, albeit irrational compulsions to say nice things to Six.

"Wow. Did I just impress the Borg?"

The drone appeared thoughtful. "Perhaps."

"How about we have dinner in my quarters?" Her question sounded innocent enough, but it was obvious that dinner was not the only thing she had in mind.

Seven fidgeted uncomfortably as her face became infused with heat, "I was going to go over some schematics for an engineering project. But I think I can reschedule."

The Cylon chuckled and rolled her eyes. She turned away from Seven as she continued to work at the console. "I just don't understand you people." She whined, "You work all the time. You work almost every day! Where I come from we hardly work at all when we're in space. Our ships maintain themselves."

"How is that possible?"

"They're cybernetic."

"Approximately 48.92 percent of the components on Borg cubes is cybernetic and self sustaining; however, there is still the need for manual maintenance. Surely there is some maintenance required on Cylon vessels?" Seven asked seriously.

"Not really."

"Intriguing." They were quiet for several minutes as they both considered what to say to the other.

Despite their previous conversation their chemistry wasn't quite the same. Now most of their attempts at communication were either flirtatious or uncomfortable and strained. Seven now understood that what they were experiencing was often referred to as 'sexual tension'. Seven's assimilated knowledge of sexuality told her that the preferred option to alleviate said tension would be...

"Solaria, I would like to join you in your quarters."

The Cylon stared at her blankly for a moment, surprised at the abruptness of her request. "Um, what?"

"I wish to join you in your quarters so that we may engage in sexual intercourse."

The Cylon's eyes widened with shock and confusion. "Now? Like right now?"

Seven replied confidently, "I am aroused. And based on your increased temperature and heart rate I have come to the conclusion that you are aroused as well." The drone hesitated slightly, perhaps she had erred in her assumption, "Would now be a... 'bad time'?"

"No! No now would be...I mean I want to, but-" Six might have completed that thought if Seven hadn't picked that moment to grab her and kiss her senseless. The Cylon wasn't sure how long they had been kissing, but her brain was telling her that she needed to breathe. "Seven," Solaria said through ragged breaths. The drone allowed her passion to get the best of her and she proceeded to kiss the Cylon showing no indication of letting up. Seven pushed her against the console and Six shifted so that she was sitting on it. They continued to kiss passionately and Solaria wrapped her legs around Seven's waist and pulled her in even closer. It wasn't long before Six felt Seven snake a hand up her shirt, eliciting a moan.

At some point Six heard a swishing sound, which promptly reminded her that they were still in astrometrics. Solaria and Seven froze when they heard a startled gasp from behind them.

Captain Janeway stood just inside the doorway to astrometrics with her mouth agape in a way that was reminiscent to that of a fish. They pulled apart and quickly composed themselves.

Seven calmly observed the intruder, "Captain."

The Captain opened and closed her mouth several times before finally finding her voice again. Then the Captain grumbled in a tone that left no room for argument.

"Both of you will accompany me to my ready room. Now!"

TBC...

Comments are welcome. ;-)