Moonlight's Spell, part one
Summary: Uninhibited by their usual restraint, Seven and Captain Janeway share a passionate night together. When the Captain is faced with the astonishing consequence of their encounter, she is forced to cross yet another boundary she told herself she never would.
Disclaimer: This work is a piece of fiction, and is meant for entertainment purposes only. I have no ownership of Star Trek, the Voyager series, its characters or plot, etc.
Author's note: This is one chapter in an ongoing story. It takes place roughly during season seven. It is written as an alternative storyline and not all details are 100% accurate. It contains femmeslash and is rated M for graphic sexual content. Do not continue if this is not to your liking.
Chapter 10 – Memory Lane
"Captain," Tuvok called from his station, "shields are at 85%!"
"Harry!" Chakotay yelled, holding tight to the chair as the whole ship shook. "How's it coming on that comm. link?"
"Shields at 59%!" Tuvok said, this time with more urgency.
"The link is open, but they aren't responding, Captain!" Harry said, looking bewildered.
"Apparently we aren't welcome here." Tom commented off-handedly as he maneuvered the controls.
"I suggest evasive action, Captain." Tuvok said, to a bewildered Chakotay.
"Yes, Tom, evasive maneuvers. Get us out of here." Chakotay said.
He seemed tense, clearly distressed.
"Captain?" Tuvok inquired.
"Stop calling me that!" Chakotay said, red-faced.
"I am merely addressing—" Tuvok started, but was interrupted by Chakotay standing up suddenly.
"Tom, resume course. You have the bridge. Tuvok, make sure Lietenant Torres starts repairs on the shields. I'll be in the ready room."
The entire bridge crew was silent. Tuvok raised an eyebrow and watched Chakotay disappear into the ready room. Harry had a shocked look on his face. Tom looked honestly concerned, but took his spot in the Captain's chair, an ensign taking his spot at the helm.
Chakotay stood not five feet from the door, looking around the ready room with a weary look on his face. He approached the Captain's desk, he placed a hand on it and smiled, as if recalling fond memories. Next to the computer console was Janeway's favorite coffee cup, stained from constant use. He moved around the desk towards the chair.
At the corner of the desk lay a silver pocket watch, the one he had given her for her birthday. "Kathryn…" he whispered as he picked it up. It popped open, revealing the time to be nearly fifteen-hundred hours. He stood there very still, listening to it tick.
Slowly, he sat down in the cold chair at the Captain's desk. Still, he watched the seconds pass by on the face of the analogue clock in his hand. Nearly twenty minutes passed by in complete silence.
Suddenly the door to the ready room swooshed open. Seven approached him slowly. Her expression was neutral, but there was pain visible in her eyes. She appeared exhausted, for there were dark circles under her eyes and her hair was very messily tied up behind her head.
Despite this, she managed a small smile. "Don't get too comfortable." She said watching him carefully.
"Hm?" Chakotay said, as if awakening from a trance.
"You are only acting Captain." Seven said simply.
"Kathryn, how is she?" he said suddenly, looking at Seven as if he had just realized she was standing there.
"She is stable." Seven said, audibly relieved.
"And the baby?" Chakotay said, becoming excited.
"The infant is in stable condition as well." Seven said, sighing softly.
"Good." Chakotay said, "You know, Seven, you should really get some sleep."
"I intend to comply." Seven said, "First, I wanted to thank you."
"Thank me?" Chakotay said, bewildered.
"For supporting the Captain as you have since you discovered the nature of our relationship." Seven said simply.
Chakotay frowned at her, as if he didn't know what she was talking about.
"I realize it must be very difficult for you, considering your feelings for her."
"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about, Seven." he said, scratching his head awkwardly.
Seven ignored his denying comments. "I know that Kate—Kathryn cares very much for you and it is very important to her that she has your support. It is very important to me as well."
"Seven, you know that I—" but she did not let him finish. She simply turned and left without another word.
Chakotay scratched the back of his head with a laugh. "I guess Kathryn's not the only Captain she ignores protocol for."
(several days later)
"Come in." The Captain said, struggling to get off her couch to answer the chime at her door.
"Here, let me help you!" Seven said, entering Janeway's courters and racing to her aid.
"I'm fine!" Kathryn said irritably, steadying herself as she finally managed to stand. Her belly was very swollen, and her back was obviously suffering for it, pain visible on her face. She looked up at a baffled Seven. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean…"
"I am well aware that mood swings are a common symptom—" Seven started. The look on Janeway's face made her stop herself. "It is fine." She said calmly instead, "Are you ready?"
"Ready?" the Captain said frowning. She looked at Seven closely for the first and realized that she was dressed unusually. Seven's golden hair was down, flowing in waves down her neck and onto her bare shoulders. She was wearing an elegant scarlet dress and on her lips was a similar shade of lipstick.
"Our date!" Janeway said with a guilty expression, "Seven, I'm so sorry, I must have forgotten."
"Do you not wish to go?" Seven said, looking disappointed.
"No! Of course I want to go." Kathryn said soothingly. She looked down at her messy clothes, ran her fingers through her unkempt hair. "But I can't go like this."
"Why not?" Seven said with a frown.
"I look awful." Kathryn said making her way to her dress room.
"You look acceptable." Seven said simply, "You are beautiful no matter what clothes you wear."
The Captain blushed but shrugged it off. "You are too kind, Seven. But I have already spoiled our first date enough, let me at least clean up."
About twenty minutes later Kathryn had managed to find a dress that would fit tightly over her baby bump, but it was nowhere near as extravagant as Seven's. It was made from handmade materials, flowing and blue, and very near the color of Seven's eyes—which was probably why she had purchased it months ago. Kathryn had also quickly put on some dangly silver earrings and sprayed on some perfume.
Seven then led Kathryn by the hand to the holodeck. Kathryn found it impossible to break her gaze from Seven's glimmering sapphire eyes. From her devious glances, she had the sneaking suspicion that Seven had something up her sleeve, so-to-speak.
"What are you up to?" Janeway said with an amused grin.
Seven appeared to be having trouble keeping a straight face. When they reached the entrance to holodeck one, Seven paused and looked blushingly at Kathryn.
"Computer," she said, "run program Seven 119 delta."
Seven inhaled deeply and gestured for Janeway to enter as the holodeck doors opened. Janeway complied, but not without first raising an eyebrow with curiosity. She entered into the dark room slowly, peering about inquisitively.
Kathryn honestly had no idea what to expect. When they had planned their date the other day, Kathryn had suggested that Seven come over to her courters for dinner. Kathryn had assured her, quite falsely, that she was not as bad a cook as was rumored.
Seven had responded, "While I trust that your culinary talents are more than adequate, I had something else in mind."
"What, exactly, did you have planned?" Kathryn had said with her infamous raised eyebrow look.
"You will have to discover that tomorrow night at nineteen hundred hours." Seven had said with a shockingly playful expression.
"Where are we?" Janeway said as her eyes adjusted to the low light of the holodeck.
"Don't you recognize the Maestro's study?" Seven said as she started to light candles on the workbench beside the Captain.
"Yes!" Kathryn said in an excited voice. She looked about her, joyfully, at the contraptions and papers cluttered about the 15th century workshop. She turned to Seven, "But why are we here?"
"Six days ago you expressed to me your concern that we had never been on a date,'" Seven said, with emphasis on the word 'date', as if it were meaningless. "You were in error."
"What?" Kathryn said, astonished.
"A date or rendezvous is an agreement between two or more persons to meet at a certain time or place." Seven said, standing up and looking Kathryn in the eyes with earnest.
"Yes, of course, Seven, but what I meant was a romantic date." Kathryn said.
"I am aware." Seven said, nodding her head. "Still, we have spent much time together doing what others consider precursors to romance."
She led Kathryn by the hand through the cluttered study, glancing back at her occasionally as she spoke, "You and I met here at the Maestro's study several times. You repeatedly tried to get me invested in 'expressing myself.'"
"Yes," Kathryn said, watching Seven closely; she pursed her lips with a pensive frown, her eyes following Seven's wary movements, "I remember. You found the arts to be a waste of time. You said that time had merely been expended, nothing more."
"Such was my belief for many of the activities we engaged in." Seven said.
Kathryn looked taken aback, even hurt. Though she had known all along that Seven preferred efficient uses of her time, Kathryn liked to think that Seven secretly enjoyed herself none-the-less.
Seven's expression remained sober, "That belief was ill-informed."
A smile curled up from one side of Janeway's face. "Really?" she inquired curiously. "How so?"
"I intend to demonstrate that." Seven said matter-of-factly. "Follow me."
Again, Seven took her by the hand. She lead Kathryn towards the balcony. However, Seven must have made changes to the program, for instead of a balcony overlooking the lights of the city, there was a corridor.
Janeway followed Seven through the corridor. At the end of the hall they entered what Janeway first mistook to simply be the holodeck. Then she noticed a familiar face diving to the floor. It was her own.
A computer simulation was running of one of her and Seven's velocity games from nearly three years ago. Kathryn remembered it distinctly, for it had been yet another victory for her after a long winning streak and Seven's frustration was clearly visible.
"Good game," the simulation Janeway said with a smirk after the computer announced yet another win.
"For you." Seven's simulation said with agitation.
"What's all this about?" Kathryn said when the simulation ended.
"Considering your condition, I thought a simulation would be more appropriate, rather than another game." Seven said with what seemed like a playful smile.
"Yes, me too." Kathryn said, placing a hand instinctively on her belly.
Seven then spoke to the computer, "Computer, continue simulation."
Suddenly, the mess hall materialized around them. There were only half a dozen people scattered amongst the tables. Neelix was bustling in the kitchen nearby, whistling while he cooked away.
On the table was set a simple, yet half-eaten, breakfast: a plate of eggs, wheat toast and some fruit accompanied a cup of black coffee. Across the table was a plate of the nutritional concoction Seven preferred to consume for quite some time after joining Voyager.
Kathryn had the strange sense of déjà vu. "Seven?" she said, looking at the blond who was watching her almost eagerly.
"You invited me to breakfast in the mess hall on more than one occasion." Seven said.
Kathryn smiled, recalling the date in a dreamy voice, "Stardate 52841…"
"The first time I told you 'thank you.'" Seven nodded.
"Seven, what is all this about?" Janeway said, looking tired.
"We are almost finished." Seven assured her, then gestured for her to follow.
They went to leave the mess hall, but instead of the doors opening to the corridor, they opened to a turbolift. Seven stood close to Janeway as she stepped inside. Seven gazed down into her gray eyes, "This is where you first kissed me."
Kathryn grinned, "Not without provocation."
Kathryn sighed as she looked up at Seven's radiant face. She glanced at Seven's electric blue eyes, and then peered at her full crimson lips. Unconsciously, she licked her own. Kathryn's heart fluttered as Seven placed a hand gently on her arm.
Just when Kathryn was sure that Seven was leaning down to kiss her, the turbolift doors opened, revealing firelight dancing over the trunks of the huge trees that surrounded them. A drumbeat was echoing through the leaves. A cool breeze carried the scent of the sea up from the shore off in the distance. Two small moons in the western sky shown down on the celebration below, and on the north horizon, a large silver globe was just beginning to rise.
"Lumina?" Kathryn said dreamily.
Seven took Kathryn by the hips, peering down into her lover's face. "This is where we first danced together."
Kathryn beamed up at Seven, her body slowly moving back and forth with Seven's hands. She slowly caressed Seven's arms with her fingertips, smiling as she felt goose bumps raising Seven's hair on end. Kathryn stood up on the balls of her feet to touch the taller woman's lips to her own.
Seven drooped her head down, slipping her hand into the small of Kathryn's back. Kathryn whimpered ever so slightly as Seven took her neck by the other hand and deepened the kiss, sucking softly on Kathryn's lower lip. She wrapped her arms around Seven's waist, her hand wandering up the lean muscles of Seven's back.
Suddenly Kathryn broke the kiss with a yelp. She winced a little, placing her hand on her swollen belly. "She kicked," Kathryn explained, noticing the worried look on Seven's face, "hard."
"When was your last dose of nano-probes?" Seven said, looking concerned.
"This morning, I think." Janeway said, looking sheepish.
"You are supposed to report to the Doctor every eight hours for an injection of nano-probes." Seven said, angrily, "Otherwise you endanger your health!"
"I've been so forgetful lately." Janeway shrugged dismissively.
"Unacceptable." Seven said with a furrowed brow. "Fortunate for you, however, I have a dose with me."
"You do?" Kathryn said, looking shocked.
"Yes," Seven said, taking a hypospray from a small red purse she had hung on her arm, "After finishing the final details on this simulation I still had about 1.3 hours to spare before our rendezvous. So I completed my work on another batch of nano-probes.
"I modified this dose. It should last at least 24 hours." Seven said as Kathryn felt a small sting in her neck as she administered the hypospray.
"You never cease to amaze me." Kathryn said with a smile, rubbing her neck.
"You're welcome." Seven stated simply.
Kathryn then noticed that the music had died down. The sun had long set in the horizon and the three moons were high up in the night sky. She looked up at Seven, her golden hair framing that flawless face.
"This is perfect." She said to Seven, who had her arms on her hips again.
"I am glad you are pleased." Seven said with a seeming sigh of relief.
"I am pleased, Seven. But you didn't have to go to all of this effort for me." Janeway said stopping their swaying, "Honestly, just being with you is enough."
"On the contrary," Seven said with a frown, "I had to show you all of this so you could understand."
"Understand, what?" Janeway said with a furrowed brow.
"That the time I have spent with you has been more than just time expended."
"Seven, of course I know that!"
"But you have feared otherwise." Seven said, factually. "I have seen it in your eyes. I have seen it when you tell me that you love me and I do not reply with the same."
"Seven," Kathryn said rubbing Seven's arms soothingly, "I understand your reluctance to say it. It's not an easy thing to understand. But I certainly never meant to pressure you in anyway—"
"You have not pressured me!" Seven interrupted her with urgency.
"Still, you shouldn't feel like you have to feel that way about me, simply because I do." Kathryn insisted.
"Kate, I do, I do love—" Seven said, but was suddenly interrupted by the sound of Chakotay's voice.
"Red alert!" the comm. sounded, "All senior staff to the bridge!"
Kathryn couldn't help but roll her eyes, which had been filling up with tears. Why are we always getting interrupted? She thought to herself.
Janeway was just about to tap her comm. badge and Seven had her mouth open to speak when Chakotay came over the comm. again. "Chakotay to the Captain."
"Report." Janeway said she went to leave the holodeck, Seven close behind her.
"It's the Borg." He said in an anxious tone.
Janeway and Seven looked at each other fearfully. "We are thousands of light-years from Borg space." the Captain stated as she picked up her pace.
"Perhaps we have come upon a transwarp hub." Seven suggested as they entered a turbolift and headed for deck one.
Suddenly an explosion rocked the ship, causing Janeway to almost lose her footing. Seven caught her before she was jolted into the turbolift wall. The turbolift doors opened to the bridge, where the senior staff was struggling to evade a giant Borg cube approaching from the starboard side.
"They've taken out the starboard nacelle!" Tom and Tuvok said nearly in unison.
"Primary shields are failing." Tuvok announced, looking up at Janeway, "Secondary shields are at 53 percent."
"Captain!" Tom said looking at Chakotay, and then noticing Janeway, "The warp core is offline!"
"Tuvok!" Janeway said, turning around quickly, "Open fire!"
"The secondary shields are failing, Captain." Tuvok said to Chakotay, then he looked up at Janeway, "Photon torpedoes have had no effect."
Janeway could feel Seven's grasp on her arms, trying to hold her steady as explosions rocked the ship and the entire bridge crew.
"Captain," Seven said to her in a commanding tone, "you should not be on the bridge, it is unsafe."
"I'm not sure anywhere else is much better." the Captain said, holding tight to the control panel next to her. "Tom, can you get us out of here?"
"We've got thrusters only, Captain. We're like sitting ducks." He said, maneuvering the ship as best he could through phaser blasts.
Janeway was just about to open her mouth with another command when suddenly the bridge disappeared around her in a shimmer of light. Before she could figure out what was going on, she found herself in a dark chamber. She looked around, quickly putting together what must have happened.
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the shadows of the corner of the room. It was a familiar face, but Kathryn shivered fearfully as she realized who it was. She backed away, but there was no escape. Two figures behind her grabbed her by each arm, holding her still as she struggled to free herself.
"We meet again…" said the figure approaching her. She spoke in a cool and self-assured tone, "Captain Janeway."
"Yes," Janeway said in a sickened tone, "though I can't say I'm pleased."
"Oh I am." said the Borg Queen. "I have been looking for you."
"Really?" the Captain said staring at her fiercely.
"I see you have been busy." The Queen said gesturing to her swollen belly.
"You could say so." Janeway said, trying to contain her great distaste for the creature before her with gritted teeth. "What do you want?"
"I thought that was obvious." The Borg Queen said with a nod.
Suddenly, the figures behind her grabbed the Captain's head and neck. A pair of tubules pierced her neck, streaming Borg nano-probes into her blood. A shock of pain from her belly immediately washed over her.
"No!" Janeway screamed as her head began to throb. "You're hurting her!"
She collapsed to the floor, moaning in pain. Despite all that was rushing through her brain, she could feel that something was terribly wrong with the baby. But she was quickly losing consciousness, and the Borg Queen was simply standing over her.
"Please…" the Captain said, slipping into darkness.
~END PART ONE~
(to be continued)
This is the end of Part 1 of Moonlight's spell. Chapter 11 starts part 2.