Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or Voyager. They belong to people with far more power/money/influence/etc. than I could ever hope to dream about, being just a little Lady Darkfire. *gather's gigantic ki ball in each hand* Do you really want to sue me when you could get nothing out of it but a great deal of pain?
WARNING: LEMON
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CHAPTER 8: DINING WITH SAIYANS
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Captain Janeway sat on the cot across from her ensign. She prayed that this was going to work. The concept of an afterlife that was that real was very foreign to her, but on this voyage, far stranger things had happened. The only thing she wanted right now was for this member of her crew to survive, heart and mind intact. She knew that there were other things they would have to worry about shortly, but for now this would be enough.
Finally, Q flashed in along with two men. One was middle aged with piercing blue eyes full of pain and long, straight lavender hair that was tied with a leather thong at the base of his neck. He had a strong face and a fighter's physique. The other was a young man, probably in his early teens with hair the color and shape of a flame starting in a high widow's peak, somehow defying gravity. His eyes were snapping with emerald fire and his face and form were exactly like the other save for age. Both wore skin-tight white cotton tanks, dark baggy pants, and sneakers. It was obvious that they were father and son.
Rose was off the bed in a flash. She shouted, "Trunks!" and embraced him fiercely. Benjamin stood to the side, grinning at the sight of his parents.
Trunks breathed out, "Rose." Tears had welled up in his eyes and were streaming down his face, but they were tears of joy, just like hers.
Janeway could have watched forever, but there were things that had to be done, so she cleared her throat. They turned to her, both blushing just a little bit, and Rose giggled. "So are you going to introduce us, Ensign?"
She grinned. "Of course! Captain Janeway, this is Trunks Briefs, my husband, and this is my son, Benjamin. Trunks, Ben this is Captain Katherine Janeway, and these are the Doctor and Commander Tuvok, Security Chief."
Without removing his left arm from around his wife, Trunks shook the captain's hand. "Rose always described you as a very courageous and stubborn woman in all the best ways. I'm glad she was right. Anyone else might have given up on her and let her die."
"Well, I don't know about that, but you're welcome anyway. I hope you'll eat with me this evening."
At the mention of dinner, the two Saiyans' faces lit up, but Rose's had a comic look of mild horror on her face. "Oh, no! How are we going to get around THIS? I'd hate to foist two Saiyan appetites on Neelix!"
Ben laughed. "Don't worry, Mom. Before we went out to train, we went into the city to pick up some more supplies. He didn't want you to have to cook tonight since it was you're anniversary." He pulled out a capsule refrigerator from his pocket. "There's enough in these five capsules to last us a couple of months."
"Thank heavens!"
"Well," said the captain, "I'll see you at dinner then." She left Sickbay, Tuvok following her.
Q said, "Well I guess I should leave, too. This whole mess is bound to throw up some turmoil in the council."
Rose smirked at him. "Don't enjoy yourself TOO much."
He grinned and disappeared.
Rose turned to her son. "Ben, I'm going to get you assigned to one of the guest quarters. There's not much in the way of training facilities on this ship that could stand up to a beating from a Saiyan, so we'll have to find you some other way to occupy your time."
The boy snorted. "What kind of training facilities DOES this ship have?"
"Well they're suitable for a Klingon with an attitude and they can usually handle phaser fire from hand-held units. But you my dear are far stronger than that. Don't worry, I'll make some adjustments to some of the holodeck programs later, adding force fields and heavy shielding, as well as adjusting the gravity. I probably won't be able to do more than one hundred Gs, but with the other surprises thrown in, it ought to be a good workout. Of course, I'll have to get permission from the captain first and I'll need Lt. Torres' help, but it shouldn't be a problem. But you'll have to promise to take it easy. This isn't the GR at home, and your grandmother isn't going to be there to fix the thing if you blow it up, not to mention you'd blow a hole in the ship, killing everyone on board."
The boy gulped. He took the hint.
x x x
Rose led Trunks to her quarters. The bond was still sore, and there was only one way to completely heal it. Not that either of them objected to this sort of therapy, but they needed to get started quickly. As the door swished shut, all their restraints dropped and they attacked each other with kisses, shedding clothing as they went.
They fell to the bed, which was designed to take plenty of abuse considering the nature of some of the races that were a part of Starfleet crews. Trunks let his hands wonder all over his wife's body, taking in her sweetness and her scent, trying to keep control long enough to give them both as much pleasure as possible. Rose was not so patient. She grabbed his manhood, fondling him in the ways she knew would drive him over the edge. She wanted and needed to feel him inside of her, and she didn't feel like waiting. Trunks gasped, but he continued to play with her, feeling his Saiyan stubbornness come to the fore. But Rose had never lost this particular battle with him. She reached around to his back and grabbed his tail spot, first caressing it, and then pressing into it with the heal of her hand. He groaned and then grinned at her. *Impatient?*
*This has been a very long three days, love.* He moved his mouth back up to hers and relented to her wishes, entering her with one swift movement. He set the pace of their eternal dance and they slipped into it's graces with skill, passion, and the ease of long practice. They were truly made for each other, and matched each other's movements with the harmony of a well-trained and superior choir, with not even a single note being discordant or misplaced. As they climaxed, they each took the other's neck into their mouths, reopening the scars of their bonding and feeling their bond snap back into place like the setting of a dislocated joint. The pain was laced through with pleasure so intense that they just lay there in each other's arms, trembling with the force of it.
For the next few hours they just lay in the bed, their mental shields joined so that they were not blocking out each other but they were also not assaulting the two Vulcans on the ship with their very strong emotions. They never spoke, just letting their thoughts join and melt into their combined conciousnesses, reveling in the silence and in the bond and in each other's presence.
x x x
Benjamin was glad when he felt his parents' power levels start to rise, and he grinned when he felt their shields merge and intensify, blocking him and anyone else who could "listen" out. He knew quite well what was going on, and it made him happy. He looked at his escort, the rooster-headed Talaxian named Neelix. He was a happy sort, having a different kind of energy than fighting power. He was, in short, bubbly. Ben grinned as he realized that he could probably use the little man to get into all sorts of fun trouble, but he kept in mind that he was a guest, and the sorts of trouble that a Saiyan could get into would definitely wear out his welcome.
He said, "Well, Mr. Neelix, I wonder if you could show me this holodeck that Mom's always raved about? She said it had some good training programs."
"Training? What sort of training?" The Talaxian noticed the glint of mischief in the boy's eyes. Had his mother told him not to go into the holodeck?
Ben said, "Physical. I believe her exact words were 'programs suitable for a Klingon with an attitude.'"
Neelix grinned at the description of Lt. Torres. "Well, I don't know much about those programs, but don't you think they'd be a bit much for you? After all, you're what, thirteen?"
Ben didn't take offense at the thought that he would be that weak just because he was young. He knew that the man had only recently learned of the existence of the Saiyan race and had no one to compare him to, so he just snorted in amusement. "Not likely. I'm used to training kata in nearly 500 Gs and sparring with Dad in 400. Mom said there would have to be some major modifications to the equipment before it would be any kind of challenge to me. But right now I just want to have a little fun. I promise I won't break anything!"
Neelix chuckled. The kid was manipulative, but he believed the promise. "All right. We're fairly close right now." They continued down the corridor to Holodeck 3, but as they got there, B'Elanna Torres came around the corner dressed in her workout gear. "Oops. Looks like someone else is already going in."
Ben looked at the woman before him. He had two totally different reactions. The first was the same one that any humanoid male of his physical age would have had upon seeing her. After all, her Klingon ridges did nothing to detract from her beauty. If anything they added a sense of the exotic that enhanced her appearance. His second reaction was far less involuntary. Her power level was not amazing. It was even less than his mother's. But he sensed that she would be far more willing to USE that power. Perhaps she would like a sparring partner. He walked up to her and extended his hand. "Hello. I'm Ben Briefs."
Slightly surprised, the demi-Klingon took his hand, amazed by the grip he had. This kid couldn't be even fourteen! "B'Elanna Torres. What can I do for you?"
"Well, I kind of wanted to train a little, just to keep from being bored. But it looks like you've already got time booked. Mind if I join you? I'm not a bad sparring partner, and I promise I won't hurt you." Then a glint came into his eyes and a very Vegeta-esque smirk came to his lips. "Much."
The Klingon warrior in her stirred at the implicit challenge in the boy's attitude and stance. *Cocky brat! Well if that report wasn't any exaggeration, his boastfulness could be nothing less than the truth. What the Hell. I could use a good workout.* She smiled at him. "Sure kid. Why not?" She turned to the programming panel for the holodeck, punched in a few alterations and then turned back to the boy. As the computer announced it's readiness, she said, "Shall we?" and turned to the door. It opened with a woosh into a steaming jungle. The program was in standby, but the backdrop was already active. She waited for the boy to come in and watched for his reactions, but his visage had become a battle mask, revealing nothing. He was ready. She said, "The program is at level ten right now. There are seventy programmed warriors hidden in these woods. They are not sentient programs. You're just fighting the computer when it comes to strategy. The rules are that we fight each other and the warriors try to kill us. The safeties are off, so the threat is real. The only restriction is that we can't actually kill each other. And I warn you now, to a Klingon, there's no such thing as fighting dirty. I'll win any way I can."
The boy simply nodded, his fiery green eyes revealing nothing but the joyful anticipation of battle that she had seen on many a Klingon's face. The trademark smirk of the paternal side of his lineage was already in place. "Ready?"
B'Elanna grinned. This was going to be fun!
x x x
When they emerged from the holodeck, B'Elanna was laughing her head off at their last encounter. The warriors had finally managed to tackle the young Saiyan as a team, the computer concluding that was it's only chance to defeat the player. He, too was grinning, despite the swollen black eye that was the only mark she'd managed to put on his body for the whole session. Even though he'd never once raised his power level during the fight, deeming it unfair since she couldn't, he'd been more than a match for her, and they'd both enjoyed every minute of it.
He said, "Well, I'd better get going back to my quarters. Mom'll kill me if I'm late for dinner."
B'Elanna pursed her lips and squinted at the fresh shiner. "She's not going to take that amiss is she?"
He grinned. "Nah! This's nothing. You should have seen me the last time I managed to blow up the gravity room at home! It felt like every bone had been scratched with a knife and then put back in wrong. I was out for a week with that one! And Grandma kept calling me 'Vegeta's little shadow' and right then I knew it wasn't a compliment."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Vegeta?" she inquired.
"Yeah my Saiyan grandfather. He was always blowing that thing up when he was training. More than once, he nearly killed himself with it. He was so obsessed with becoming a Super Saiyan that his own safety didn't matter." The boy sighed. "Not that it mattered any way in the end. Android Eighteen was still able to kill him without too much of a challenge. But then the only fighter they DIDN'T kill was Dad, and that was after he had gone into the past to learn how to be a better fighter." He sighed again. "Well I gotta go. I'll see you around, okay?"
"Sure, kid, you can count on it."
x x x
For dinner with the captain, Rose replicated her husband and son some new clothes, knowing that she would have to get them both an entire wardrobe soon, but just doing the outfits for now. Trunks she put in a white mock turtle neck shirt and navy slacks with ship boots and Ben she put in a navy shirt and black pants and boots. There was nothing she could do about Ben's hair as, like his grandfather's, it stood straight up unless it was wet, but Trunks' hair was long and fine and she braided it down his back. (A/N: Loose it hits the bottom of his shoulder blades. I just thought he'd look so sexy like that! ^_^) She could have killed Ben and Torres both for him getting a black eye when she was trying to make him look presentable. She herself wore an elegant, seamless black dress with long sleeves, a neckline that was neither daring nor prudish, and a hem that flowed to an inch above the floor. She braided her hair as well, manipulating it into an intricate twist and securing it to the top of her head with her mother's Chinese combs, one group of items that she had sorely missed in Trunks' dimension because of their sentimental value to her.
Rose had gotten Neelix to help her prepare the huge meal that was now waiting for them in the formal dining room. She had enjoyed venting about what she considered to be the Saiyan race's one and only true flaw to him (A/N: Appetite. Remember that the only full blooded Saiyan she's ever met was Goku and he was dead at the time.) and sharing a few of the recipes that she had found over the years. He had sympathized with her, wondering how she had managed to keep the two of them fed. They apparently ate four times what a human did. Of course, he had to feed most of the crew every day, but they usually didn't "pig out," as the human saying went.
After threatening her husband and son with their lives if they didn't behave themselves and eat neatly, she led them to the dining room. The room was so rarely used that if it hadn't been for the ship's automatic air filtration system it would have been covered in dust. It's sole purpose was the formal entertainment of foreign dignitaries. Since Voyager had never been intended to solely be a battleship, she had been designed with all sorts of diplomatic amenities, and the dining room was one of them. The usual Federation decor, basic utilitarian elegance, was elaborated in this room with small touches; the gold trim, the plusher seats, the observation window that would always face any planet that they happened to be orbiting, giving the occupants a beautiful view with their dinner, and the slick black Risian marble tabletop. The ebony stone had veins of gold running through it, which matched the Federation uniforms of that color perfectly, keeping the uniforms from clashing with the room. The stuff was marvelously expensive, but for such a small piece of it, there was no reason to object to it's addition as the ship was being built.
As the captain came in, dressed in a simple burgundy dress that was much darker than the color of her uniform, she smiled at them all and motioned for them all to sit down. The dinner went smoothly, the Saiyans behaving themselves with their table manners, and they chit-chatted about the little details of Trunks' world. Rose had made a green apple pie from scratch, something that she knew that the captain would adore. In fact, she didn't let Trunks and Ben have more than one slice each, planning to let the bridge crew fight over the other half of the pie.
Janeway laughed a lot that night. She was amazed by the amount of food that those two could put away! Once they were through eating, she decided to satisfy her curiosity. "How can you two eat like that and still not gain fat?"
Rose grinned, remembering when she had asked Trunks the same question. Trunks chuckled. "Most of it goes into maintaining our power levels. Saiyan digestion is very efficient and can get a lot more energy out of food than that of a human, but we still need a lot more fuel than you do."
"How is that power stored? I mean, the human body stores energy as fat."
"Well, not all energy. I've known humans with pretty respectable power levels. When I went back in time, I met Krillin and Tien and Yamcha, and they were all very strong for being only human. They had pretty strong energy attacks, too, and they didn't eat any more than a normal human. I think that every person has that power, but without training they can never use it. I guess that in this dimension, that either isn't the case or the secret of using it was never discovered. In all that Rose has ever told me about your Federation, she never mentioned any race being able to use their energy like that."
"Hmm." That was surprising. She wondered if anyone in her crew might be able to learn how to do that. "So how does it work?"
Trunks was about to demonstrate, but Rose stopped him. "No, Trunks. When I fired at Q in sickbay, the alarms went off. The computer thinks it's phaser fire."
"Well I guess that's not a good idea."
She narrowed her eyes at him as the corner of her mouth turned up a bit. "No kidding!"
The captain decided to switch subjects. She turned to Ben. She indicated his black eye and said, "How'd you get that?"
The young Saiyan grinned. "I was sparring with Lt. Torres in the Holodeck. I started talking bad at her just to get her mad so she'd fight harder, and she surprised me. She's great! I think I'll teach her some moves. She's not stronger than Mom, but she's a lot more willing to just haul off and deck you! I like her fighting style."
The captain took in this information with a great deal of surprise. Ensign Briefs was stronger than her half-Klingon engineer? How had this happened?
Then she made note of something else and hid a smile behind her drink. She thought that she saw the beginnings of a crush descending on the young man. From Rose's descriptions, the Saiyan race seemed to have a lot of parallels to Klingon culture, but that didn't mean that B'Elanna would welcome the advances of a thirteen year old. Well, she was sure that the engineer would be able to handle him.
Trunks, who had also noticed the signs in his son, was not so sure, however. He knew how strong the urges could get. He might have to have a word with the young man later about control, as well as reminding him that the Klingon was married.
x x x
A/N: Well this is the last chapter that I've completed and revised. The rest will be additions from now on. *sigh* I don't guess anyone's actually reading this. Please, you don't have to review every chapter. Just tell me that you're out there! Any way, this should be done within two more chapters, three at the maximum. We have to deal with Q and the council, as well as the implications of what that other Q has done in DBZ-verse.
See ya next time!
WARNING: LEMON
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CHAPTER 8: DINING WITH SAIYANS
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Captain Janeway sat on the cot across from her ensign. She prayed that this was going to work. The concept of an afterlife that was that real was very foreign to her, but on this voyage, far stranger things had happened. The only thing she wanted right now was for this member of her crew to survive, heart and mind intact. She knew that there were other things they would have to worry about shortly, but for now this would be enough.
Finally, Q flashed in along with two men. One was middle aged with piercing blue eyes full of pain and long, straight lavender hair that was tied with a leather thong at the base of his neck. He had a strong face and a fighter's physique. The other was a young man, probably in his early teens with hair the color and shape of a flame starting in a high widow's peak, somehow defying gravity. His eyes were snapping with emerald fire and his face and form were exactly like the other save for age. Both wore skin-tight white cotton tanks, dark baggy pants, and sneakers. It was obvious that they were father and son.
Rose was off the bed in a flash. She shouted, "Trunks!" and embraced him fiercely. Benjamin stood to the side, grinning at the sight of his parents.
Trunks breathed out, "Rose." Tears had welled up in his eyes and were streaming down his face, but they were tears of joy, just like hers.
Janeway could have watched forever, but there were things that had to be done, so she cleared her throat. They turned to her, both blushing just a little bit, and Rose giggled. "So are you going to introduce us, Ensign?"
She grinned. "Of course! Captain Janeway, this is Trunks Briefs, my husband, and this is my son, Benjamin. Trunks, Ben this is Captain Katherine Janeway, and these are the Doctor and Commander Tuvok, Security Chief."
Without removing his left arm from around his wife, Trunks shook the captain's hand. "Rose always described you as a very courageous and stubborn woman in all the best ways. I'm glad she was right. Anyone else might have given up on her and let her die."
"Well, I don't know about that, but you're welcome anyway. I hope you'll eat with me this evening."
At the mention of dinner, the two Saiyans' faces lit up, but Rose's had a comic look of mild horror on her face. "Oh, no! How are we going to get around THIS? I'd hate to foist two Saiyan appetites on Neelix!"
Ben laughed. "Don't worry, Mom. Before we went out to train, we went into the city to pick up some more supplies. He didn't want you to have to cook tonight since it was you're anniversary." He pulled out a capsule refrigerator from his pocket. "There's enough in these five capsules to last us a couple of months."
"Thank heavens!"
"Well," said the captain, "I'll see you at dinner then." She left Sickbay, Tuvok following her.
Q said, "Well I guess I should leave, too. This whole mess is bound to throw up some turmoil in the council."
Rose smirked at him. "Don't enjoy yourself TOO much."
He grinned and disappeared.
Rose turned to her son. "Ben, I'm going to get you assigned to one of the guest quarters. There's not much in the way of training facilities on this ship that could stand up to a beating from a Saiyan, so we'll have to find you some other way to occupy your time."
The boy snorted. "What kind of training facilities DOES this ship have?"
"Well they're suitable for a Klingon with an attitude and they can usually handle phaser fire from hand-held units. But you my dear are far stronger than that. Don't worry, I'll make some adjustments to some of the holodeck programs later, adding force fields and heavy shielding, as well as adjusting the gravity. I probably won't be able to do more than one hundred Gs, but with the other surprises thrown in, it ought to be a good workout. Of course, I'll have to get permission from the captain first and I'll need Lt. Torres' help, but it shouldn't be a problem. But you'll have to promise to take it easy. This isn't the GR at home, and your grandmother isn't going to be there to fix the thing if you blow it up, not to mention you'd blow a hole in the ship, killing everyone on board."
The boy gulped. He took the hint.
x x x
Rose led Trunks to her quarters. The bond was still sore, and there was only one way to completely heal it. Not that either of them objected to this sort of therapy, but they needed to get started quickly. As the door swished shut, all their restraints dropped and they attacked each other with kisses, shedding clothing as they went.
They fell to the bed, which was designed to take plenty of abuse considering the nature of some of the races that were a part of Starfleet crews. Trunks let his hands wonder all over his wife's body, taking in her sweetness and her scent, trying to keep control long enough to give them both as much pleasure as possible. Rose was not so patient. She grabbed his manhood, fondling him in the ways she knew would drive him over the edge. She wanted and needed to feel him inside of her, and she didn't feel like waiting. Trunks gasped, but he continued to play with her, feeling his Saiyan stubbornness come to the fore. But Rose had never lost this particular battle with him. She reached around to his back and grabbed his tail spot, first caressing it, and then pressing into it with the heal of her hand. He groaned and then grinned at her. *Impatient?*
*This has been a very long three days, love.* He moved his mouth back up to hers and relented to her wishes, entering her with one swift movement. He set the pace of their eternal dance and they slipped into it's graces with skill, passion, and the ease of long practice. They were truly made for each other, and matched each other's movements with the harmony of a well-trained and superior choir, with not even a single note being discordant or misplaced. As they climaxed, they each took the other's neck into their mouths, reopening the scars of their bonding and feeling their bond snap back into place like the setting of a dislocated joint. The pain was laced through with pleasure so intense that they just lay there in each other's arms, trembling with the force of it.
For the next few hours they just lay in the bed, their mental shields joined so that they were not blocking out each other but they were also not assaulting the two Vulcans on the ship with their very strong emotions. They never spoke, just letting their thoughts join and melt into their combined conciousnesses, reveling in the silence and in the bond and in each other's presence.
x x x
Benjamin was glad when he felt his parents' power levels start to rise, and he grinned when he felt their shields merge and intensify, blocking him and anyone else who could "listen" out. He knew quite well what was going on, and it made him happy. He looked at his escort, the rooster-headed Talaxian named Neelix. He was a happy sort, having a different kind of energy than fighting power. He was, in short, bubbly. Ben grinned as he realized that he could probably use the little man to get into all sorts of fun trouble, but he kept in mind that he was a guest, and the sorts of trouble that a Saiyan could get into would definitely wear out his welcome.
He said, "Well, Mr. Neelix, I wonder if you could show me this holodeck that Mom's always raved about? She said it had some good training programs."
"Training? What sort of training?" The Talaxian noticed the glint of mischief in the boy's eyes. Had his mother told him not to go into the holodeck?
Ben said, "Physical. I believe her exact words were 'programs suitable for a Klingon with an attitude.'"
Neelix grinned at the description of Lt. Torres. "Well, I don't know much about those programs, but don't you think they'd be a bit much for you? After all, you're what, thirteen?"
Ben didn't take offense at the thought that he would be that weak just because he was young. He knew that the man had only recently learned of the existence of the Saiyan race and had no one to compare him to, so he just snorted in amusement. "Not likely. I'm used to training kata in nearly 500 Gs and sparring with Dad in 400. Mom said there would have to be some major modifications to the equipment before it would be any kind of challenge to me. But right now I just want to have a little fun. I promise I won't break anything!"
Neelix chuckled. The kid was manipulative, but he believed the promise. "All right. We're fairly close right now." They continued down the corridor to Holodeck 3, but as they got there, B'Elanna Torres came around the corner dressed in her workout gear. "Oops. Looks like someone else is already going in."
Ben looked at the woman before him. He had two totally different reactions. The first was the same one that any humanoid male of his physical age would have had upon seeing her. After all, her Klingon ridges did nothing to detract from her beauty. If anything they added a sense of the exotic that enhanced her appearance. His second reaction was far less involuntary. Her power level was not amazing. It was even less than his mother's. But he sensed that she would be far more willing to USE that power. Perhaps she would like a sparring partner. He walked up to her and extended his hand. "Hello. I'm Ben Briefs."
Slightly surprised, the demi-Klingon took his hand, amazed by the grip he had. This kid couldn't be even fourteen! "B'Elanna Torres. What can I do for you?"
"Well, I kind of wanted to train a little, just to keep from being bored. But it looks like you've already got time booked. Mind if I join you? I'm not a bad sparring partner, and I promise I won't hurt you." Then a glint came into his eyes and a very Vegeta-esque smirk came to his lips. "Much."
The Klingon warrior in her stirred at the implicit challenge in the boy's attitude and stance. *Cocky brat! Well if that report wasn't any exaggeration, his boastfulness could be nothing less than the truth. What the Hell. I could use a good workout.* She smiled at him. "Sure kid. Why not?" She turned to the programming panel for the holodeck, punched in a few alterations and then turned back to the boy. As the computer announced it's readiness, she said, "Shall we?" and turned to the door. It opened with a woosh into a steaming jungle. The program was in standby, but the backdrop was already active. She waited for the boy to come in and watched for his reactions, but his visage had become a battle mask, revealing nothing. He was ready. She said, "The program is at level ten right now. There are seventy programmed warriors hidden in these woods. They are not sentient programs. You're just fighting the computer when it comes to strategy. The rules are that we fight each other and the warriors try to kill us. The safeties are off, so the threat is real. The only restriction is that we can't actually kill each other. And I warn you now, to a Klingon, there's no such thing as fighting dirty. I'll win any way I can."
The boy simply nodded, his fiery green eyes revealing nothing but the joyful anticipation of battle that she had seen on many a Klingon's face. The trademark smirk of the paternal side of his lineage was already in place. "Ready?"
B'Elanna grinned. This was going to be fun!
x x x
When they emerged from the holodeck, B'Elanna was laughing her head off at their last encounter. The warriors had finally managed to tackle the young Saiyan as a team, the computer concluding that was it's only chance to defeat the player. He, too was grinning, despite the swollen black eye that was the only mark she'd managed to put on his body for the whole session. Even though he'd never once raised his power level during the fight, deeming it unfair since she couldn't, he'd been more than a match for her, and they'd both enjoyed every minute of it.
He said, "Well, I'd better get going back to my quarters. Mom'll kill me if I'm late for dinner."
B'Elanna pursed her lips and squinted at the fresh shiner. "She's not going to take that amiss is she?"
He grinned. "Nah! This's nothing. You should have seen me the last time I managed to blow up the gravity room at home! It felt like every bone had been scratched with a knife and then put back in wrong. I was out for a week with that one! And Grandma kept calling me 'Vegeta's little shadow' and right then I knew it wasn't a compliment."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Vegeta?" she inquired.
"Yeah my Saiyan grandfather. He was always blowing that thing up when he was training. More than once, he nearly killed himself with it. He was so obsessed with becoming a Super Saiyan that his own safety didn't matter." The boy sighed. "Not that it mattered any way in the end. Android Eighteen was still able to kill him without too much of a challenge. But then the only fighter they DIDN'T kill was Dad, and that was after he had gone into the past to learn how to be a better fighter." He sighed again. "Well I gotta go. I'll see you around, okay?"
"Sure, kid, you can count on it."
x x x
For dinner with the captain, Rose replicated her husband and son some new clothes, knowing that she would have to get them both an entire wardrobe soon, but just doing the outfits for now. Trunks she put in a white mock turtle neck shirt and navy slacks with ship boots and Ben she put in a navy shirt and black pants and boots. There was nothing she could do about Ben's hair as, like his grandfather's, it stood straight up unless it was wet, but Trunks' hair was long and fine and she braided it down his back. (A/N: Loose it hits the bottom of his shoulder blades. I just thought he'd look so sexy like that! ^_^) She could have killed Ben and Torres both for him getting a black eye when she was trying to make him look presentable. She herself wore an elegant, seamless black dress with long sleeves, a neckline that was neither daring nor prudish, and a hem that flowed to an inch above the floor. She braided her hair as well, manipulating it into an intricate twist and securing it to the top of her head with her mother's Chinese combs, one group of items that she had sorely missed in Trunks' dimension because of their sentimental value to her.
Rose had gotten Neelix to help her prepare the huge meal that was now waiting for them in the formal dining room. She had enjoyed venting about what she considered to be the Saiyan race's one and only true flaw to him (A/N: Appetite. Remember that the only full blooded Saiyan she's ever met was Goku and he was dead at the time.) and sharing a few of the recipes that she had found over the years. He had sympathized with her, wondering how she had managed to keep the two of them fed. They apparently ate four times what a human did. Of course, he had to feed most of the crew every day, but they usually didn't "pig out," as the human saying went.
After threatening her husband and son with their lives if they didn't behave themselves and eat neatly, she led them to the dining room. The room was so rarely used that if it hadn't been for the ship's automatic air filtration system it would have been covered in dust. It's sole purpose was the formal entertainment of foreign dignitaries. Since Voyager had never been intended to solely be a battleship, she had been designed with all sorts of diplomatic amenities, and the dining room was one of them. The usual Federation decor, basic utilitarian elegance, was elaborated in this room with small touches; the gold trim, the plusher seats, the observation window that would always face any planet that they happened to be orbiting, giving the occupants a beautiful view with their dinner, and the slick black Risian marble tabletop. The ebony stone had veins of gold running through it, which matched the Federation uniforms of that color perfectly, keeping the uniforms from clashing with the room. The stuff was marvelously expensive, but for such a small piece of it, there was no reason to object to it's addition as the ship was being built.
As the captain came in, dressed in a simple burgundy dress that was much darker than the color of her uniform, she smiled at them all and motioned for them all to sit down. The dinner went smoothly, the Saiyans behaving themselves with their table manners, and they chit-chatted about the little details of Trunks' world. Rose had made a green apple pie from scratch, something that she knew that the captain would adore. In fact, she didn't let Trunks and Ben have more than one slice each, planning to let the bridge crew fight over the other half of the pie.
Janeway laughed a lot that night. She was amazed by the amount of food that those two could put away! Once they were through eating, she decided to satisfy her curiosity. "How can you two eat like that and still not gain fat?"
Rose grinned, remembering when she had asked Trunks the same question. Trunks chuckled. "Most of it goes into maintaining our power levels. Saiyan digestion is very efficient and can get a lot more energy out of food than that of a human, but we still need a lot more fuel than you do."
"How is that power stored? I mean, the human body stores energy as fat."
"Well, not all energy. I've known humans with pretty respectable power levels. When I went back in time, I met Krillin and Tien and Yamcha, and they were all very strong for being only human. They had pretty strong energy attacks, too, and they didn't eat any more than a normal human. I think that every person has that power, but without training they can never use it. I guess that in this dimension, that either isn't the case or the secret of using it was never discovered. In all that Rose has ever told me about your Federation, she never mentioned any race being able to use their energy like that."
"Hmm." That was surprising. She wondered if anyone in her crew might be able to learn how to do that. "So how does it work?"
Trunks was about to demonstrate, but Rose stopped him. "No, Trunks. When I fired at Q in sickbay, the alarms went off. The computer thinks it's phaser fire."
"Well I guess that's not a good idea."
She narrowed her eyes at him as the corner of her mouth turned up a bit. "No kidding!"
The captain decided to switch subjects. She turned to Ben. She indicated his black eye and said, "How'd you get that?"
The young Saiyan grinned. "I was sparring with Lt. Torres in the Holodeck. I started talking bad at her just to get her mad so she'd fight harder, and she surprised me. She's great! I think I'll teach her some moves. She's not stronger than Mom, but she's a lot more willing to just haul off and deck you! I like her fighting style."
The captain took in this information with a great deal of surprise. Ensign Briefs was stronger than her half-Klingon engineer? How had this happened?
Then she made note of something else and hid a smile behind her drink. She thought that she saw the beginnings of a crush descending on the young man. From Rose's descriptions, the Saiyan race seemed to have a lot of parallels to Klingon culture, but that didn't mean that B'Elanna would welcome the advances of a thirteen year old. Well, she was sure that the engineer would be able to handle him.
Trunks, who had also noticed the signs in his son, was not so sure, however. He knew how strong the urges could get. He might have to have a word with the young man later about control, as well as reminding him that the Klingon was married.
x x x
A/N: Well this is the last chapter that I've completed and revised. The rest will be additions from now on. *sigh* I don't guess anyone's actually reading this. Please, you don't have to review every chapter. Just tell me that you're out there! Any way, this should be done within two more chapters, three at the maximum. We have to deal with Q and the council, as well as the implications of what that other Q has done in DBZ-verse.
See ya next time!