Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal
Part Eleven
"What should we do first?" B'Elanna asked as she put one arm around Seven's waist, and held onto Naomi's hand with the other.
"Perhaps we should find a place where we can acquire a ship," Seven suggested.
"Sounds like a plan to me," B'Elanna said as they walked into the market place of the space station Kisoden III.
The space station was sub-divided into smaller stores much like the shopping malls on Earth. Each store had a sign above the entrance with shopkeepers sticking their heads out trying to lure customers inside.
B'Elanna took in her surroundings, noticing a variety of different species bustling around them. As the three hybrids started to make their way through the market, B'Elanna began to notice their stares. B'Elanna followed their gazes, and wasn't surprised to find them all aimed at Seven. She glared back at them angrily and pulled Seven closer to her.
Seven smiled as she felt herself being hugged tighter to B'Elanna. She looked up at B'Elanna, "What is the matter?"
B'Elanna stopped glaring for a moment to look down at Seven. "I don't like the way they're looking at you, it's the same way Janeway ogled you."
"Let's find a ship quickly then," Naomi said as she tugged on B'Elanna's hand.
"This looks like as good a place as any", B'Elanna said as they stopped at Quazo's shipyard.
"Are you sure?" Naomi asked. "It doesn't look like they'll have anything good."
"We do not need anything extravagant, just something to get off this space station," Seven looked about her anxiously.
"What's the matter Seven?" Naomi asked. "We don't have to go back to Voyager, and the Socadan have released us.
"Voyager is still docked to this space station and I do not wish to come in contact with them," Seven said quietly.
"If they sold us out to the Socadan, what's going to stop them from catching us and doing it again?" B'Elanna said, catching on.
"Correct," Seven said as she walked into the shipyard followed closely by B'Elanna and Naomi.
The shipyard didn't look like much from the outside. On the inside it looked like even less. There were crates of ship parts strewn around the shop in random places and small to medium sized ships were placed in rows. Most of them looked like they were salvaged from battles or special anomalies.
"Ah, welcome to my store," a short, grey skinned alien said as he rushed over to Seven and shook her hand vigorously. "What is it that I can do for you this fine day?" he asked.
"We are looking for a ship," Seven stated, taking an immediate liking to the man.
"Well, I do not have anything top of the line, but you are welcome to look around," he said, pointing towards his hangar.
"Thank you," B'Elanna said. "I guess we'll call you over when we see something we like..." she paused, prompting the alien to answer.
"Oh forgive me, my name is Quazo, the owner and proprietor," he said, smiling and walking to the front of the store.
"Do you guys see anything you like?" B'Elanna asked as she scanned the large area.
Seven looked around, but most of the ships appeared either too old or no longer space worthy. "B'Elanna, I do not believe we will find anything of use here," Seven said dejectedly.
"Don't worry about it Seven," B'Elanna said comfortingly. "There are plenty of other places we can look."
"Wait," Seven said suddenly. "I feel something. It is like it is calling to me."
Seven quickly turned on her heel and started walking further into the hangar. She was turning her head rapidly in different directions, as if she was looking for something important.
After a few moments, B'Elanna walked over to Seven and grabbed her hand, "Seven, what's going on?" she asked a little worried.
"I do not know how to explain, but there is something here that wants me to find it."
Seven then started moving further into the bay with B'Elanna and Naomi in tow. When Seven finally halted they were standing in front of a moderately sized ship.
It was covered in dust and dark grey in color. At first glance it looked like just another piece of junk, but as the three women continued to stare they couldn't help but notice its sleek lines. The more they looked the more realized that this was the ship for them.
The ship itself was a little banged up, some of the hull plating was missing and a there was a large whole through the left wing, and a matching one that went through the center of the cockpit. It had clearly been in a battle.
The ship had two long pairs of curved wings. The first pair where on the sides and started close to the stern and curved outwards. The second pair started at the top of the ship, right before the cockpit and curved down along the body a little passed the stern. A small step ladder was below the cockpit that led onto the ship.
"Good choice," B'Elanna said as she moved behind Seven and wrapped her arms around her. "We can probably get a good price for it too," she kissed Seven's cheek.
As they continued to admire the ship, Quazo walked up beside them. "I see that something has caught your eye," he said smiling.
"Yeah, what can you tell us about it?" B'Elanna asked.
"I am afraid that there is not much of a back story to this ship. It was salvaged about 3000 light years from here. The man that brought it to me said that he found it near a black hole. It was badly damaged and will require a lot of work, but I can give it to you at a fair price."
"We were hoping that you would consider trading for it," Seven said.
"Well, that depends on what you have to offer," Quazo said, his interest piqued.
"B'Elanna and I possess superior engineering skills. We could repair some of your ships in exchange for this one."
"Alright, if you can repair these four ships," Quazo said, pointing to the other ships beside them, "then I'll let you have it."
"Those four ships?" B'Elanna asked, disbelief written all over her face. "You have got to be kidding, if I was paid by the hour I could buy a brand new ship with the money."
"They don't need that much work," Quazo said defensively.
"I'll tell you what, we'll fix two of the ships if you let us take any of the parts from the other ships to fix our own," B'Elanna offered.
Quazo looked like he was considering it for a moment before replying, "I think that I can live with that," before smiling again. "But just between us I would have been happy if you fixed just one of them."
Seven smiled as well, "B'Elanna, we should be going, we still must find a place to stay."
"Wait a moment, if you don't mind me asking, how did you end up here and not have a place to stay?"
"We were betrayed by our crew, they have left us here with nothing," Seven said sadly.
"That is horrible," Quazo said aghast. "Abandoning a woman as beautiful as you should be a crime," he said to a now blushing Seven.
"Do you know anywhere we can stay for a few days," B'Elanna asked as she unconsciously pulled Seven closer.
"Since you will be fixing my ships, I insist that you all stay here. I have a room above my shop that I rent out to customers every now and then, but you are doing a lot of work for me so you may stay for free."
"Thank you," Seven and Naomi said, both beaming at Quazo.
"I guess we should get to work," B'Elanna said, looking around. "Where do you want us to start?"
"I would like for you to repair these two," Quazo said, pointing to the ships on either side of them. "I will bring you some tools," he said, walking off.
"Alright, let's start with this one," B'Elanna said pointing to the one on her left. "It looks like it will need the least work."
"B'Elanna, perhaps one of us should repair the ships while the other gathers the necessary parts to repair our ship," Seven suggested.
"Oh, and who do you think should get stuck fixing the ships," B'Elanna asked as she playfully began to tickle Seven.
Seven, laughing and struggling to break free of B'Elanna's arms, said, "Well, you were a chief engineer and I was only an astrometrics officer."
Seven finally managed to turn around so that she was facing B'Elanna, and rested her hands on B'Elanna's shoulders, smiling sweetly.
"Please B'Elanna," Seven said, kissing her softly. "I only asked because..." kissing her cheek, "you are so strong..." kissing her neck. "and so smart," Seven said giving her another longer kiss.
When Seven finished all B'Elanna could do was nod her head in acquiescence, a big grin on her face.
Naomi looked between Seven and B'Elanna before she fell to the ground laughing. "You are so whipped B'Elanna," Naomi said in between giggles.
This finally snapped B'Elanna out of her happy stupor. She looked down at the laughing child, then pounced on her and began to tickle.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Naomi said between laughs. "You're not whipped," she pleaded.
Finally B'Elanna quit the tickle torture, "And don't you forget it squirt," she said, grinning wildly.
When Naomi finally got up she said, "You're not whipped, B'Elanna, you're super whipped."
B'Elanna was about to jump in and start tickling Naomi again when the child scampered behind Seven, then poked her head out to stick her tongue out at B'Elanna, causing Seven to break into giggles herself.
"Captain," Chakotay said as he walked into the ready room. "I would like to talk to you about bringing B'Elanna, Seven, and Naomi back to Voyager."
"What about it Commander?" Janeway asked, looking up from her reports.
"Are you sure that it's wise to bring them back?"
"Of course it is. You know as well as I do that it's going to be next to impossible to replace them."
"I realize that, Captain," Chakotay said with a sigh. "It's just that if we force them to come back, they're going to be even more upset with us."
"I realize that they aren't exactly going to be pleased with us Chakotay, but eventually they'll get over it."
"With the knowledge that B'Elanna and Seven have about Voyager they could turn into a huge security risk. They could give away vital information about Voyager."
"That is exactly why I want them back here. As long as we keep them on Voyager they won't say anything."
"I had a feeling you might say that, which is why I've come up with a plan B."
"Alright, let hear it," Janeway said with a wry smile.
"Well, I've been speaking with some of the people on the space station, they can provide as with a very powerful internal scanner. We can use it to keep a constant lock on Katarian, Klingon, and Borg DNA. They'll never know that we're keeping tabs on them and if they ever try anything we'll know before it starts."
"How soon can you get the scanner?" Janeway asked.
"I could take a team with me to the station and pick it up tomorrow afternoon," Chakotay said, smiling.
"Are you sure the scanner can be adapted to Voyager's systems?"
"I've already talked to Carey about it. He said it should be a pretty simple installation."
"Good, make it a top priority project, and I don't want anything about this getting back to B'Elanna and Seven."
"Yes Captain," Chakotay said happily as he left the ready room.
"Well that's the end of that," B'Elanna said smiling.
She had finally finished repairing the first ship. It had taken a good couple of hours to find the replacement parts and even longer to integrate them into the ship.
"I wonder what Seven and Naomi are up to?" B'Elanna mused as she made her way out of the ship.
"B'Elanna, B'Elanna, you have to see this, it's so cool," Naomi said as she ran out of their ship and began pulling B'Elanna in.
B'Elanna smiled at the enthusiasm of the child then, as they walked into the ship, her jaw dropped.
"How...? what...? This can't be right?" B'Elanna said, looking confused.
"This ship is far more advanced that I realized," Seven said, smiling. "We are standing in a sub space pocket."
"What?" B'Elanna asked, still not understanding the situation. "It is impossible for this ship to be so big on the inside."
"Perhaps this will help to explain," Seven said as she pushed a button.
With a slight popping sound, the inside of the ship was suddenly smaller. Whole sections of the ship just disappeared into nothingness as B'Elanna stared in awe.
"The people that built this ship created a device that allowed them to generate a mini universe inside this ship. When I push this button it opens a door into it," Seven said, pushing the button and watching the ship grow suddenly bigger.
"This is incredible," B'Elanna said happily as she walked over to Seven. "Finally things are going our way," B'Elanna leaned down and gave Seven a kiss.
"That is not all, B'Elanna," Seven said, smiling as well. "When we shut down the sub space pocket anything that is in the pocket becomes completely undetectable, but when it is open we have access to a large amount of power, as well as superior weaponry and shielding."
"Of course," B'Elanna said, thinking out loud. "When the sub space pocket is open all of the technology inside it links with the ship."
"I have been able to get partial weapons, shields and engines on line, but it will require at least another two weeks before we know everything about the ship."
"Is it enough to leave the space station?" B'Elanna asked.
"We may leave as soon as the work on the other two ships is completed."
"Well, the first one is done, so we should be able to leave some time tomorrow afternoon."
"If we salvage all the parts we need before we leave, we should be able to complete the repairs anywhere."
"I think that this calls for a celebration," B'Elanna smiled as she pulled out some money from her pocket. "Quazo gave us a little spending cash because I finished the first ship so quickly," she explained. "First we'll have to get you some clothes." B'Elanna said as she pointed to Seven's bare feet, and a paper dress, "and then we'll go out for some dinner."
Seven and Naomi smiled and quickly began to get ready. After spending those few days in the lab with a bunch of aliens that had no idea what good food tasted like, this would be a welcome change.
After wandering around the station for about an hour, the three women finally found a clothing store. It was the only one in the area that could create shoes and clothing specifically for humans. All of the other stores only had models for the local species.
"What type of dress should I get?" Seven asked.
"How about this one," Naiomi asked as she pulled a dress and blouse off the rack. The dress was white with a black trim that reached an inch below her knees with two slits that went up to mid thigh. The blouse was designed to match the dress to look like one dress. It also had the black trim to it, and was sleeveless.
"Go try it on," B'Elanna encouraged as she ushered Seven to the change rooms. "We'll look for a pair of shoes."
"These would probably be nice." B'Elanna said as she picked out a pair of sandals. The soles looked like they were made of some kind of white cushioned gel. The laces that attached them to Seven's feet were made of a flexible black material.
Just as B'Elanna looked up she saw Seven walk out of the change rooms. The dress clung to her in all the right places and B'Elanna couldn't help but think how beautiful Seven looked.
"Do you like it?" Seven asked. "It is quite comfortable."
"I think you look great." B'Elanna said giving Seven a kiss.
"Try these on too." B'Elanna said as she lifted up the sandals that she had picked.
When Seven sat down B'Elanna helped her put them on and adjust the laces.
"I find these shoes quite comfortable as well." Seven said as she walked around to get a feel for them.
"We'll take them." B'Elanna said to the salesperson.
When Seven, B'Elanna and Naomi finally found a restaurant that they all liked, it was getting pretty late. B'Elanna was contemplating just getting their food to go, but this was also the first time that she had been able to go on a date with Seven.
The inside of the restaurant was quaint. It reminded B'Elanna of an old English pub back on earth. Almost everything there was made of wood, and gave off a cozy feeling to anyone that entered.
Seven smiled as she sat down and looked around the restaurant. It really was a nice place for a first date. Soft music was playing in the background, and the people at the other tables really seemed to be enjoying themselves.
A waiter walked up to them, giving them their menus, "Good evening."
"Good evening," Seven responded. "We have never had any of your cuisine before. What would you suggest?"
"I'll get you the chef's special," the waiter said, smiling. "It's is compatible with the digestive systems of most species on the station."
"Thank you, that should be fine," B'Elanna said.
As the waiter left to give their order to the chef, four very large men entered the restaurant and were seated next to them. As their talking and laughing grew louder the restaurants other patrons quickly realized that they were drunk.
"Excuse me, would you mind keeping it down," B'Elanna shouted, finally losing her patience.
One of the men turned around with a sneer on his face ready to shout back, when he got a good look at B'Elanna and Seven. His sneer immediately turned into a leer as he looked the two women up and down. He then got his friends attention, and they began talking quietly.
B'Elanna smiled. "That was easier than I thought," she said to herself as she resumed her conversation with Seven and Naomi.
"Hey there beautiful," one of the men said, interrupting their conversation. "How'd you like to come on over here," he slurred as he looked at Seven.
B'Elanna stood up angrily, "Look pal, leave my girlfriend alone."
Seven stood up, trying to calm B'Elanna down. "B'Elanna, perhaps we should get our meals to go," she said quietly.
"Hold on, things are just getting started," another of the men stood up.
"Let me make this clear," B'Elanna growled. "Leave us the hell alone!" she walked up to them ready to throw them out if she had to.
"What's the matter? We're not good enough for you?" the third one asked ungainly lurching to his feet.
"Even if you weren't drunk off your asses, we wouldn't want anything to do with you!"
"I think it's time this bitch was taught a lesson," the first one sneered.
The other two men nodded and started to advance on B'Elanna. They attacked the half Klingon before Seven could intervene. The first man opted for a quick punch to B'Elanna's head, but she easily ducked and rolled out of the way.
"Seven, stay back!" B'Elanna said as she noticed her moving closer out of the corner of her eye. "I don't want you getting hurt."
Seven still looked like she was going to rush into the fray when Naomi grabbed her hand. "Seven you're not strong enough yet," she pleaded.
This was enough to hold Seven back but she still looked on anxiously.
B'Elanna spun around quickly, tripping the first attacker, as another fist smashed down on the table next to her. She quickly grabbed the arm of the second man, twisting it until she heard a snap and a howl of pain. As the man grabbed his broken arm, B'Elanna delivered a sharp kick to his knee sending his sprawling to the floor. Another swift kick to the back of his head and he was down for the count.
The third man growled and tried to kick her, but B'Elanna jumped over his leg and kicked him sharply between the legs as she landed. The man dropped to his knees, grabbing his crotch, but B'Elanna wasn't finished with him yet. As soon as the man looked up she gave him a spinning heel kick to the side of the head, making him crumple to the floor unconscious.
Just as B'Elanna was about to celebrate her victory she felt a sharp pain in her back. She looked around to see the first man, his fist holding a knife in her back and a vicious grin plastered over his features.
"B'ELANNA!" Seven screamed. "This is not happening, this is not happening," she thought to herself.
The man slowly pulled the knife out, and the blood gushed out of her back. She dropped to the floor into a rapidly widening pool of blood.
To Be Continued...