Arana's Tale - Chapter 6
By Kudara
Disclaimer: Star Trek Voyager and all who sail in her belong to Paramount/Viacom and no infringement of copyright/trade marks is intended.
Disclaimer: The Dungeons and Dragons Role-playing System is owned by Wizards of the Coast and no infringement of copyright/trademarks is intended. The only thing I would like to lay claim to is the original D&D character used in this story.
Rating: T (13+)
Feedback: Always welcome, feedback is what encourages me to keep writing. Please let me know what you like and what you dislike about the story.
Summary: Seven makes some changes.
Revision History: 8/17/04; 9/11/04; 03/17/05
Seven began showing me around the Bridge and greeting what she termed the "beta shift personnel". Seven first named the various stations and then proceeded to give a very basic description of what the person serving at the station did. Having seen how confused technical explanations left me, she choose her words carefully as she explained the stations to me
Finally Crewman Geran left the ready room. He looked a bit pale but nodded politely to us as he left, leading me to believe he had probably received a through dressing down but not an unduly harsh punishment. Seven and I were standing near the Science station as she looked over what she called the "sensor readings". From her description, these sensor readings provided information about the ship's surroundings.
Crewman Holson came out of the Captain's ready room escorted by Lt. Cmdr. Tuvok. I sighed, recognizing from the man's smoldering, resentful gaze that he was more than willing to blame us for his situation rather than himself.
Seven glanced at me as I gazed at his retreating form, followed by that of Lt. Cmdr Tuvok. "You regret your actions in the mess hall, Arana?" I turned to her and saw the uncertainty in her eyes.
"No, Milady. I do not; such churlish behavior cannot be tolerated, especially among a closed community such as this ship. I sigh because the young man cannot accept that he was the cause of his own failing, not you or I. Such a lack of acceptance and the hatred he continues to bear you is very damaging to his soul," I explained "as well as preventing him from changing his behavior."
Seven looked thoughtful at my words. "You are concerned for Crewman Holson, then."
I smiled at her, "I am concerned with his well being, yes. I am, after all, a priestess as well as a paladin."
Seven nodded sharply, acknowledging my words but, I thought, resistant to them. Undoubtedly she would like to continue seeing Crewman Holson in a purely negative light given the history between them.
"I am also concerned with your well being, Seven. Being the object of that type of behavior is… well, unsettling is probably understating the negative emotions that you are feeling as a result of his actions."
"While I find his comments offensive and juvenile, Crewman Holson's opinions mean nothing to me," Seven replied coolly.
I searched her eyes wondering if her words were true, and saw perhaps the barest flicker of doubt in them. If the words had hurt her, she had the emotions deeply buried.
Just then the Captain appeared in the doorway to her Ready Room. "Seven, Arana." She motioned for us to enter and we strode over and entered the room behind her.
"Crewman Holson has been confined to his quarters for a week for breaking Starfleet regulations," Captain Janeway stated. "What I want to know is why you didn't bring his behavior to my attention earlier, before I had to place an official reprimand for sexual harassment in his file, Seven."
"Captain?" said Seven uncertainly, obviously not expecting Janeway's reprimand.
"Seven, you are aware that you are supposed to inform the Captain or First Officer of instances of harassment, correct?" asked Janeway.
"Yes, Captain," Seven replied in a monotone.
I could tell from the tiredness about the Captain's eyes that it had been a long day for her. Though mine had been more devastating, I at least, had the advantage of a few hours sleep; I doubted she had gotten any yet. Currently she was giving Seven a tired, frustrated look; and I gathered that Seven's tone traditionally heralded a less than forthcoming exchange between the two.
Tentatively, I spoke. "Perhaps it would assist the Captain if you explained…," I paused searching for the correct word to get Seven to open up, "concisely why you felt it was not necessary to mention such behavior to her."
Two sets of eyes responded to my question; both of them, I thought, seemed thankful for the diversion.
"Comments about my attire, my mammary glands, and my body shape are relatively commonplace. I would have to report several crewmembers under the Starfleet guidelines. My studies of humanity indicate that this course of action would only increase the prejudice the crew displays toward me," said Seven.
I made an assenting sound, remembering how hard it was for the half-orc squire who had been one of my trainees, not to mention my own experiences with discrimination.
"You have a comment to make, Arana?" inquired the Captain.
"Yes, Ma'am, Seven's comment reminded me of the difficulties I had when I was the Senior Knight in charge of training. There was a half-orc squire among the recruits. While he did not have the problems with sexual harassment Seven does, he did have problems with being harassed due to his father's race."
"Orc?" inquired the Captain curiously.
"Admittedly a usually warlike and savage race," I said. "The recruit in question was the result of an orc war party that attacked his village. During the raid his mother was raped by one of the war party. Usually such children are killed before birth by the mother through the use of certain herbs. His mother, however, decided to keep her child and I am pleased that she did so. The young man is a credit to the Order of Torm; in all his actions there is gentleness and consideration for others. He did not have an easy time of it early on in the order though."
I could clearly detect the curiosity in the Captains gaze now, and was not surprised when she asked, "So what did you do?"
"Judging others by their race or their social standing is frequently the way of things in my world. However, it is unacceptable behavior in a Knight of Torm. I and the other training Knights spent a week observing the recruits, noting who the ringleaders and instigators were in the young man's treatment. The following week we began each morning reciting the Code of Behavior expected of a Knight followed by a run in full armor and weaponry."
I could see the Captain wince at my comment of full armor and weaponry and I paused a moment to smile slyly. "As we stated to them, it was our hope that the pounding would help the words move from their brains into their hearts. To assist in this, we repeated the words at full volume in the instigators' ears during the runs. After a week, several of the ringleaders had decided that the Order was not the place for them, and the ones remaining had experienced a change of heart." I paused again, then mused, "Perhaps the fact that it was a rainy week and the roads were muddy played a part in their decision making."
At this the Captain gaped at me for a moment, then closed her mouth and gave me a measuring look. Finally her mouth twitched and I could see the amusement in her eyes. "I don't doubt that it did. Unfortunately those training methods are not available to me, and in this situation I think it might actually be counter-productive as it would most likely exacerbate the hostility. However, it does give me an idea."
The Captain continued, "I think it's time I reminded everyone about the relevant Starfleet regulations dealing with the treatment of fellow crewmembers. Apparently quite a few of them have forgotten that Starfleet takes a very dim view of harassment."
Seven had been looking thoughtful throughout our conversation, now she spoke up. "Captain, for some time now, I have been considering experimenting with different styles of clothing. When you first separated me from the collective the esthetics of clothing was irrelevant to me; I simply wore the bio-suits that the Doctor designed. However, I have started to appreciate the appeal of ascetics lately, and I find the design of my bio-suits quite…lacking."
I saw the captain smile at the last word, matching the smile that had appeared on my face as well. I suspected that the majority of the crew would have used a word that was far less polite.
Seven lifted an eyebrow at our smiles and continued. "I believe an added benefit of different clothing would be to reduce the amount of improper comments directed at me, as I have noticed that the form fitting nature of my bio-suits seems to elicit most of this commentary."
The Captain rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Seven, you don't have to change your clothing just because a few members of this crew have forgotten what constitutes acceptable behavior for Starfleet personnel."
"I am not proposing this solely because of this incident. As I said, at first what I wore was irrelevant to me. However, that is no longer the case; the situation is merely an additional reason to begin my experimentation at this time instead of at some point in the future." Seven hesitated and then continued, "The bio-suit technology allows me to function more efficiently. I would prefer to incorporate the technology into whatever I decide to wear."
Captain Janeway nodded. "Do you have any ideas as to what kind of design you want for your bio-suit?"
Seven hesitated for a moment before admitting, "No, I have not decided upon a design yet."
"Ok, how about a jumpsuit over your biosuit? Since the bio-suit essentially has to be against your skin to give any benefit why not just use it as an undergarment and use a jumpsuit over the top?" the Captain asked.
Seven considered her question for a few moments. "Depending on the fabric of the jumpsuit, that should not decrease the efficiency of the biosuit."
The Captain turned in her chair to look at a square object attached to the desk; I realized that it was the same as the one located in my quarters. The Captain had described its usage to me earlier in the day and had called it a console. She tapped out commands on it for a few minutes, then turned the screen around so that Seven and I could see it. Upon the screen was a picture of a uniform similar to the one all the crew wore except that it was entirely black. The garment underneath was white with teal piping around the collar, instead of the grey the crew wore.
"This is a uniform commonly worn by civilian scientific staff on starbases and starships," Captain Janeway commented.
Seven examined the picture and the information displayed along side it. "The modifications you have made in the structure and material will allow me to wear the item over a bio-suit. You also changed the design of the bio-suit to look like a standard undergarment," she acknowledged approvingly.
Captain Janeway looked at Seven thoughtfully for a moment. "If you want to start studying for a provisional commission, I would have no objections to you wearing one of these." She touched her own uniform.
Seven shook her head, "I am not interested in joining Starfleet at this time; the civilian jumpsuit will be acceptable."
Captain Janeway examined her for a few moments longer then nodded briefly. She turned the console around again and spent another few moments tapping away at it. Finally she stopped. "I just authorized the modifications to the standard uniform and authorized you to wear it," she informed Seven. "I also transferred the replicator pattern to the replicator in Cargo Bay 2, and, since I noticed you have access to Arana's quarters, to her replicator as well."
The Captain hesitated for a moment and gave Seven an undecipherable look. "Perhaps we need to revisit obtaining quarters for you, Seven." She held up a hand as Seven opened her mouth, forestalling whatever Seven was about to say. "I know the Cargo Bay is the best location on the ship for your alcoves; I think there are other issues that need to be considered, though, besides convenience. But we can discuss the matter at another time."
Suddenly there was a chime at the door similar to the one I had heard earlier in the day when Seven arrived at my quarters. The Captain looked over at the door. "Enter.". Lt. Tuvok and another man entered the room. The new person wore black and red like the Captain; he was an older male, thicker about the shoulders and trunk than Lt. Tuvok, with a distinctive tattoo above his left eye. He held himself alertly, and I could tell he was a warrior. Whereas the Captain radiated energy, he seemed to hold his tightly inside him.
He looked me over curiously for a moment, then held out his hand. "You must be Champion Arana; I'm Commander Chakotay, First Officer of Voyager."
I reached out and grasped him firmly by the forearm; he looked slightly startled at my action, but it quickly vanished and he gripped my forearm in return.
I restrained myself from bowing to him after he released my forearm, contenting myself with a respectful nod. "I am honored to meet you, Commander Chakotay."
He nodded to me, "I look forward to speaking with you further, Arana."
The Captain broke in, "Seven, Arana, I need to speak with Chakotay and Tuvok about this evening's events. Seven, if you would make sure Arana finds her quarters I would appreciate it."
Seven nodded in answer and I replied, "Good evening Captain, may your rest be peaceful. Gentlemen, may yours be peaceful as well."
"Thank you, Arana," replied the Captain with a small smile.
We left the Bridge and headed toward my quarters. Along the way, Seven mentioned that Voyager had four other separated Borg aboard. One, a teenage boy, had been designed by his parents as a weapon against the Borg. He had originally been placed back with his parents, but Seven had found out they were lying about how he had been taken by the Borg. Voyager had returned to find that Icheb's parents had already placed him in danger, and had just barely been able to save the boy and itself from being assimilated. After his parent's actions, the Captain had given Icheb permission to stay on Voyager permanently.
The other three children were younger, and the Captain was hopeful that they would be able to reunite them with their families. I could tell from Seven's tone that she was not particularly happy about this; but I gathered that she was resigned to it. I hoped for the children's sake that their parents were more deserving than Icheb's had been.
By this time we had arrived at my quarters, and Seven followed me inside, continuing her discussion of the Borg children. Currently the children were 'regenerating,' a term Seven quickly explained was their equivalent to sleeping, and which to some extent also provided energy to them that reduced the amount of solid food they needed to ingest.
By this point my internal clock was informing me it was late in the night, and I could not suppress a yawn of tiredness. Embarrassed by the action, I apologized to Seven, "Milady, please excuse my rudeness."
"You are tired and need to sleep," Seven stated. after looking at me for a moment. "I should check to make sure the children are regenerating properly and complete my analysis of the sensor data from today."
I grinned at her ruefully, "I look that tired do I?"
"Yes," Seven answered shortly.
I chuckled, "I will take your advice and sleep then. I look forward to starting my studies tomorrow with you and Lt. Tuvok. What time should I arrive at the mess hall for breakfast?"
"The Borg children and I eat at 0700 hours… If you do not mind their company, we could arrive at your quarters at 0650 and you could accompany us," Seven finished somewhat hesitantly.
"I am honored by your invitation, Milady. I look forward to meeting Icheb, Metozi, Azan and Rebi on the morrow."
I received a slight smile at this, most likely because I had remembered the children's names. Seven stepped forward and stared intently for a moment at my face; I was puzzled but held my silence, wondering why she was examining me so closely. "Your eyes were green earlier, now they are green with gold pigmentation," Seven stated.
I nodded, "My father was a moon-elf and I inherited them from him. I have heard from others that the gold flecks in my eyes disappear when I am extremely fatigued or injured, which is doubtless why you did not see them earlier in the day."
I could see the curiosity in her eyes but after another long look, she simply nodded and said, "Have a good night, Arana," and turned and left my quarters.
"Good night, Milady," I said to the closing doors.
Exhausted I sat down on the bed and thought about what the Captain had said earlier about how to dim the lights. "Computer, dim lights 100." Obediently the lights set in the ceiling went dark and I was left with the dim light from the window. I sat for a while looking at the streaking stars and tried to comprehend the speed of our passage through space. "Computer, current time?" I asked.
"Current time is 2200 hours," came the reply.
"Computer, wake me up at… 0500 hours." In the dark I removed my doublet and laid it on the ledge above me, and then removed my boots and placed them on the floor beside the bed. I remembered the Captain had said something about replicating clothing to sleep in, but I was used to wearing a shirt and breeches to bed. Finally I laid down in the bed trying to get used to the conforming softness of it, at some point I fell asleep.