Disclaimer: see Part 1
Coeur de Lion
by Katie
Chapter 4
Would It Be Wrong
Although they were only at a few meters' distance
from the shore, they weren't able to touch the bottom of the
lake with their feet. Frank raised himself up the landing stage,
and once he was sitting on its edge he pulled Catherine up. He
pulled her up that sweepingly that she sat astride his lap and
almost knocked him over. They had to laugh again, but they
soon sobered because the sexual tension between the two of
them was getting stronger and stronger with each moment
passing.
Now Catherine's dress was sticking tighter to her body
than before so that nothing was left to the American's
imagination any longer. Her nipples had grown stiff once
again and were pressing hard against the rust-colored fabric.
The water was running down over her skin in tiny rivulets,
disappearing into the low-cut of her dress. Some pearls of
water were dripping from her chin and the tip of her nose, let
alone from the strands of her hair.
Only when she said that he would certainly catch a
cold if he remained in his wet clothing did he realize that he
was looking the same. Frank could but nod and lifted his arms
high above his head when Catherine pulled the shirt out of the
waistband of his trousers. The sight of her firm breasts
moving beneath the fabric spellbound him, and all of a sudden
he felt his throbbing member pressing hard against her crotch.
He closed his eyes and suppressed a low moan.
The light breeze charmed his hot wet skin and made
him open his eyes again. Catherine was smiling at him. She
was running her hands over his smooth hairless chest, teasing
his erect nipples and memorizing the shape of his torso. Her
hands never wandered further than the waistband, though.
"Catherine," he began, catching her wrists with his
hands to stop her caress for a minute. She looked at him
askance. "Catherine, I don't want to take advantage of you. I
didn't mean to ... " He couldn't speak any further, because she
kissed him once more. Frank was torn between his desire and
his conscience. He knew that Catherine's emotions were
roused strongly and he didn't want to take advantage of her.
"We never mean to fall in love, François. It just
happens. You're not taking advantage of me. I love you and I
want you. Now," she told him, looking very serious all of a
sudden. Frank had to believe her words, had to believe the
expression in her eyes. She really meant it. So he pulled her
towards him so that the could feel her body through the wet
fabric of her dress on his naked skin. Catherine cupped his
face with her hands and they kissed with all their devotion.
"You've buttoned your dress up wrong earlier," Frank
managed to say after he'd regained his breath.
"Oh, well, I don't think I'll wear this dress any longer
anyway," Catherine replied with a most seducing smile on her
lips. She was about to pull the dress over her head, when
Frank stopped her. He wanted to unbutton her dress, taking
his own sweet time in discovering her body. With one arm he
was supporting her back so she was able to bend back as far
as possible, while with his other hand his opened her dress one
button at a time. He followed the movements of his hands
with his lips and tongue, licking and kissing her wet skin.
Somehow they managed to free her arms from the sleeves of
the dress so that her body was exposed to the air down to her
waist. Frank paid particular attention to her breasts, sucking
and kissing them all over. He felt her fingers drawing through
his wet hair, pressing his head against her chest. Catherine
wanted this to last forever. Low moans were escaping her lips
from somewhere deep within her.
Then she lifted her hips so that Frank could explore
her body further. The dress, however, kept sticking to her skin
and it took all of his patience not to tear it off her body. When
he was finally able to kiss a line from her breasts down to
between her legs, this elicited a sob from her. Frank stopped
to look at her. Her eyes were closed and her lips slightly
apart. He'd never seen anything more exciting than the face of
this woman when she was making love.
Catherine suddenly came back from whatever remote
realms she had been and smiled down at him. It was incredible
what her smile and her eyes were telling him. He'd never
thought that the expression of face could tell as much as hers.
He'd never been seduced that more willingly nor in a more
special way by a woman before. So his hands slid down to
either side of her hips and held her tight while he buried his
mouth and nose in her wet curls. The smell of her arousal only
helped to increase his own, and he hadn't thought that he
could get still more aroused.
Catherine's hands clenched his short hair and she
gasped loudly wen she felt his tongue nuzzling her clit. The
world around her exploded into a fire work of colors and
sounds and sensations before it vanished entirely and she felt
weightless, floating through a void white nothing. She heard
herself cry out loud from a distance.
The next thing she felt was being caught by Frank's
arms and gathered in his protecting embrace. She was
trembling all over and it took her a considerable time to calm
down. She wasn't sure whether Frank was such a divine lover
or whether she'd done without sex too long that the mere
touch of his tongue had sent her that far over the edge.
Catherine returned the embrace with equal force. Her voice
wouldn't obey her, so she managed but a husky croak. It had
never been that an overwhelming experience before, and they
hadn't even made love *properly* yet.
"Sh, my love, sh," Frank said repeatedly, caressing her
back gently. He felt her tremble in his arms. This had been
that unexpected that he even forgot about his own excitement
for a second or two. Only when she began to move her hips
against his and rocked them ever so gently, he became aware
of himself again. A soft hum of his filled the air and was joined
by a slightly louder moan of hers.
Again, they somehow managed to get rid of the last
remaining pieces of clothing. When Catherine lowered herself
down onto his arousal and let him enter her, he thought he
would go around the bend. Their lips found each other's for
another deep kiss, and soon their tongues were imitating the
movements of her hips rocking against his in their wild dance.
Every time their bellies touched an almost electrifying
sensation increased their pleasure. Frank answered her thrusts
as strongly as he could and it didn't take them long to hold
each other and recover from their climax. Frank could hear
her heavy pants and muffled sobs through the veil of the
roaring of blood in his ears.
They collapsed onto the warm boards of the landing
stage and lay huddled against each other. The world was
spinning, the treetops, the clouds in the evening sky were
dancing around them and came to a halt only slowly. The last
rays of the sun that found their down to Earth dried their wet
bodies, comforted their light slumber with their gentle warmth
and bathed their bodies in a glowing red light.
=/\=
Brigitte had just locked the door behind her and was
putting the keys in her handbag, when from the corners of her
eyes she saw a figure coming nearer. She lifted her head and
recognized Hauptmann Brückner. He was in uniform, as
always, and nothing about his formal appearance indicated
that he was going to the nightclub to enjoy himself. *If
somebody like him is able to enjoy himself at all, that is,*
Brigitte thought. She squared her shoulders a little bit. The
young woman hadn't expected to see him again that soon. If it
were her choice to make she'd rather she wouldn't see him
again at all. She wasn't even sure what to do after the birth of
the child. A few days ago she'd figured out to put the infant
into the arms of the first Nazi soldier she saw and to disappear
never to be seen again. She was still having Bobbie's address,
maybe she could go to him. Even if he was married meanwhile
or had another girlfriend, he'd certainly help her find a place to
live and work in the States.
"What do you want?" she said ill-mannered. A pig like
him didn't deserve it any better, especially if she was in a bad
mood like now.
"Why, be a bit more friendly to the father of your
child," Brückner replied calmly. He knew exactly about her
sore points and never hesitated to let her feel who he was.
That guy was unpredictable and that was what making him so
dangerous. He could be as gentle as he'd been earlier that
afternoon, and he could be a pig like now. Brigitte was glad
that his tries to hide his feelings behind a mask of command
were failing miserably and that the expression of his face
shopped his mood, even if only ever so slightly. "I was hoping
to be invited to join your welcome-back-party for Herrn
Leroux," he added more gently.
"I don't know anything about a welcome-back-party.
We're closed on Thursdays, see?" Brigitte pointed at the sign
at the wall next to the door with her finger. They'd hung a
cardboard sign there after the Germans had occupied their
town which said in German what everybody in Sainte Claire
had known by heart ever since the *Coeur de Lion* had
opened: "Donnerstag Ruhetag". Obviously the German loved
signs, so why not give them what they wanted? Catherine had
said that they weren't even realizing that that cardboard sign
was only making fun of them. So much about the master race.
"Of course I know, but today is a very special day, and
I thought that Madame Catherine was going to celebrate the
return of her husband," Brückner said appeased.
"Alors, I'm sure the two of them are celebrating this in
their own way, don't you think?" Brigitte shot back sharply.
This was just incredible!
"What about us? I was hoping to have a little bit of
fun, too tonight," Brückner said. Brigitte was alert at once.
She knew that tone of voice of his and it didn't augur anything
well. He closed the remaining distance between them and put
his arm around her waist. She tried to wriggle away from his
embrace, but his grip was too strong. Just for once she
considered her pregnancy to do her some good.
"You won't harm your child, will you?" she said
sweetly.
This worked. Although he didn't let go of her at once
but stole a kiss from her lips, she was sure he wouldn't want
any more of her tonight. "Gut, I'll come back tomorrow then.
And mind you if there will not be a *fête* tomorrow. Gute
Nacht!" He bowed, turned on the heel of his shiny boots and
strode away.
Only when he had vanished around a corner did
Brigitte allow a sigh of relief to ease her tension. She checked
on the door lock once more and then hurried to get to her
father's place.
=/\=
The stars were lighting the sky and twinkling down at
the two lovers lying wrapped in blankets on the landing stage.
The candle was burning and brightening the bottle candlestick.
A second glass was standing next to Catherine's and the
almost empty bottle of wine.
The lovers were recovering from yet another
lovemaking and staring into the night-sky, trying to find
patterns among them, listening to the chirping of the crickets.
Catherine was lying half on top of Frank, drawing idle
patterns on his skin with her fingers, while He was caressing
her meanwhile dried strands of her hair. The night was still
very warm and the most peaceful one either of them had had
in ages.
Suddenly, Catherine began to hum a melody. Frank
felt the soft vibrations of her humming as well as he heard the
tune. He wondered whether there were lyrics to the tune. He
whispered his questions softly.
"It's a song Séverine often sings in the *Coeur de
Lion*. It's one of my most favorite ones," Catherine
whispered back.
"Would you mind singing it to me?"
"Wrong, would it be wrong to kiss, seeing I feel like
this, would it be wrong to try, wrong, would it be wrong to
stay, here in your arms this way, under this starry sky. If it is
wrong and why will you send to me, am I content to be, will
you forever be wrong, when I need you so much, and I have
made so wrong. It must be right, it can't be wrong. So when I
need you so much, and I have waited so long it must be right,
it can't be wrong ..."
=/\=
"Where is my child? What have you done to her?" Sam
Wildman demanded to know for the umpteenth time. Their
Hirogen guard, who brought them their daily rations,
however, didn't reply. He just pushed their dishes with an
unidentifiable goo into the crowded cell. Even Neelix'
concoctions seemed more palatable then. None of the
prisoners doubted that the ship's chef was among those who
had been sent to the holodecks.
When the Hirogen didn't answer again, Wildman
couldn't control herself any longer. She jumped to her stiff
legs and darted towards the Hirogen. Although he was a great
deal taller than her, the impact with which she crashed into
him and gripped him by the collar made him stumble. "What
have you bastards done to Naomi?" she yelled at him.
This brought the other crew who had been dozing or
lost in their thoughts back to reality. They looked at the
scientist in awe, expecting only the worst to happen. When
they'd been thrown into the brig about three weeks earlier,
they had been treated rather rudely by the Hirogen, although
only two of them had tried to put up a fight.
Their Hirogen guard was so taken aback for a second
or two that he apparently didn't know what had happened in
the first place. But then he recovered his wits, gripped
Wildman at her wrists and flung her to the floor. She crashed
hard into the floor, hit her head with a dull thump and lost her
consciousness. The others present gasped in shock and some
of them bent over her to examine her.
"You can tell her that her child is ours. She is our prey
and we will hunt her down, just like you!" the Hirogen snarled
before he left the cell and activated the force field at the
entrance. Then he left the brig.
Joe Carey, B'Elanna's deputy, bent over the still form
of the scientist. His usually cheerful air had been replaced by a
worried frown ever since the Hirogen had taken Voyager.
Now he looked as worried as any of the crew had ever seen
him. It had been obvious that he cared more for Sam Wildman
than any of the other crew did, so the others made room for
him to examine her.
Only a few seconds later did Sam regain her
consciousness. She found herself lying in the arms of Joe, who
was holding her tightly. A dull pain was throbbing in the back
of her head, slightly blurring her vision. The constant
humming of the warp core, the rustling of the others' uniforms
and the voices sounded as though she were hearing them from
a great distance. Even her own voice sounded faint as she
spoke. "What, Joe, what have they done to Naomi? Why
wouldn't he tell me?"
The worry about her only child nearly broke the
engineer's heart. Naomi was the dearest person Sam had, and
there was no doubt about it that she would never be the same
if anything was to happen to her daughter. He couldn't think
of anyone on Voyager who didn't love the little girl. "I'm sure
she'll be taken good care of, wherever and whoever she may
be. Now try to get some rest, but you mustn't sleep," Joe
softly said and hugged her reassuringly. The impact on the
floor had certainly made her suffer a mild concussion. Perhaps
they should try to ask the Hirogen for permission to bring her
to Sickbay.
Tears were welling up in her eyes as she listened to his
words. He was so caring and gentle to her. "She's everything
I've got, I just want to know whether she'll be safe. It's not
asking too much, is it?"
=/\=
It was obvious to the others that Catherine and Frank
had spent the night together, but none of them did say
anything about it. It was their business only as far as it
concerned Catherine's happiness. And happy she seemed. She
was beaming with happiness, although she didn't look changed
at all. Her radiance was coming from deep within her, and it
was only Paul who could remember times when he'd seen her
that happy.
Brigitte realized very well what was going on, and she
felt happy for Catherine on the one hand, but on the other
hand she did envy her much. She had written the letter to
Bobby, but she felt reluctant as to whether to post it or not.
Those damn second thoughts had disturbed her repose again
together with the kicking of the child. Bobby wasn't going to
marry a French girl with her nursing the enemy's child. Once
again she had asked herself whether it had been worth the
intelligence she'd gathered. Once again she asked herself why
she had decided to keep the child when it hadn't been too late.
Once again she asked herself why she'd been foolish enough
to reject Bobby's plea—it had been a proposal after all.
Catherine went outside to wait for Frank. It was one
of the last days of the Indian summer and suddenly she felt as
though she had to enjoy every single day of it. It was only late
in the morning, but it was already very hot again. Perhaps they
could go for a swim later. The thought of the day before at
the lake made her smile, anything that hadn't to do with the
two of them only had been forgotten for a while. Frank had
been so gentle, so much unlike Maurice and yet ... their
lovemaking had been as passionate as always. Sometimes it
had seemed as though Frank knew her very well, he'd found
her most sensitive spots, had kissed and caressed her just like
she loved most.
"Bon jour, Brigitte," she said cheerfully, and put an
arm around the other woman's shoulders. "Ça va?"
Brigitte turned at her older friend and looked into
those beaming eyes of hers. Tears welled up in her eyes, and
she had to bend her head and study the tips of her dust-
covered shoes that were barely visible under her swollen belly.
"There are days I wish I were another woman."
"How so? Do you still miss Bobby?" Catherine
realized all of a sudden. She didn't had to wait for Brigitte's
approving nod to be sure that was what disturbing her. She
also noticed the letter she was holding. "You've written a
letter to him. That's a good idea, I think."
"For what use? He won't be interested in me!" she
burst, indicating her pregnant belly.
Catherine couldn't but gather the young woman in a
tight embrace. "Listen. If you told him the entire story I'm
sure he'd understand you. And don't forget that the child is
yours as well. Maybe it doesn't even look like Brückner, then
it'll be easier for you to forget."
"You're probably right. Perhaps Séverine could take
the letter to Goulot and give it the American she's to meet. It's
too risky to post a letter to America in Sainte Claire," Brigitte
thought aloud.
=/\=
The Hirogen who played the role of the commandant
on Holodeck 3 was the leader of the Hirogen party that had
taken over Voyager almost three weeks ago. To the crew of
Voyager who were not part of their wicked games of life and
death known as the Hunt on either of the three holodecks saw
him seldomly if not never. Harry Kim was the only one who
had to meet him on a regular basis . The young ensign was the
only one left of the Senior Staff to play himself in the that
killing game of the Hirogen. He had to report about the status
of the ship and keep him posted on the process of the
enhancement of the holodeck technology to the leader. The
Hirogen called their leader by his name Kaar, but Harry had to
call him by his title being Alpha. Harry didn't waste one
thought more than necessary whether this was just a
discrepancy of their universal translator or whether there
really happened to exist a homophone of the first letter of the
Greek alphabet in the Hirogen language. Later he came to
know that it was a translator discrepancy, because the Alpha's
second-in-command's title was Beta. That would be a
coincidence too much to be asked by chance.
Harry was just returning from one of the briefings with
the Alpha and was on his way back to sickbay, when he ran
into the Beta—or Sarpa, as he was referred to by his people.
He was so relieved about the fact that his fiddling with the
subroutine in Seven's cubicle had gone unnoticed by the sharp
eye of the Hirogen that he didn't pay any attention to where he
was going. The Hirogen being too arrogant to make way, it
was inevitable that the two enemies bumped into each other.
As commander of Holodeck 1, the Beta was still dressed in
his SS-man's uniform. The Alpha visited the three holodecks
only on random in which the World War II scenario was his
most favorite.
The Beta didn't say anything when preoccupied Harry
ran into him. But when Harry raised his head to look at him
angrily at first, but then ready to apologize, he realized that
the small dark eyes in the reptilian face of the alien told him
more than a thousand words. The hatred and the disgust
sparkling in them were only kept in check by the Alpha's
orders. If it hadn't been for them, his and his crewmates' bones
would already decorate the bulkheads of the Hirogen vessel.
The cold brutal gaze of the Beta gave Harry the
shivers and he silently thanked god for the Doctor's already
having made up a plan to get rid of them. The subroutine he'd
just finished writing when he was summoned to the Alpha
came back into his mind, and Harry wondered whether he'd
disguised it well enough as not to raise the suspicion of the
reptilian aliens. Having enjoyed Starfleet's training, though, he
didn't let his face betray his feelings. He could never forgive
himself if he failed his friends and family. He raised his chin,
set his jaw and squared his shoulders to withhold the stare of
the Hirogen.
This encounter lasted only a split second, but to Harry
it seemed as though he'd had to withstand it for minutes. They
headed off in opposite directions, Harry resuming his way to
Sickbay, and the Beta heading to Janeway's Ready Room.
The Beta had forgotten about the encounter with the
prey as soon as he entered the room in which the Alpha had
chosen to reside. "You wanted to see me, Kaar?" Sarpa said
after the doors had slid shut behind him. Kaar was reviewing
several reports on the screen of the computer terminal in front
of him, and waved at him to sit and wait for a few minutes
until he'd finished his studies. Sarpa remained standing where
he was. His commander had done some redecorating after
he'd decided to live aboard the alien vessel for as long as their
Hunt took. He'd brought the trophies of his most triumphant
Hunts with him, the bones of ships of races who had been
foolish enough to get in their way. The had been gathered in a
net which in turn had been draped over the wall opposite the
desk in the room. Again, Sarpa had to ask himself why Kaar
had chosen to stay aboard this ship whose ceilings were
almost too low for their tall men. Those Federations were a
good deal smaller than them.
Kaar's powerful voice brought the Hirogen second-in-
command back to reality. "How is it going on Holodeck 1,
Sarpa my friend?"
Sarpa hesitated. It didn't mean anything good if Kaar
was calling him his friend. So when he answered, he tried to
be as diplomatic as he could be. "My people are getting bored.
They want to hunt the Federations down as much as I do."
Bluntness was part of Hirogen diplomacy.
Kaar looked sharply at him. "That is no reason to
break my orders, Sarpa. I told you not to involve that child in
any of the scenarios. This is the last time I'll connive at your
insubordination. I was told by one of the guards that a mother
asked for her child. I took it that the child had been with her.
The next time I'll get to know something like this, you'll be
posted as a guard on our vessel. Is that understood?"
This time it was Sarpa who squared his shoulders.
He'd deemed it a good idea to get that child into the
simulation as well. It wasn't that satisfying to hunt down a
creature that defenseless, but that thrill of the mother's pleas
to let her live were even more exciting. "Yes," he hissed.
Kaar nodded, and then went on talking in such a
conversational tone as if there hadn't been any rebuke earlier.
"Tell your people to stand down. Those Federations are far
more interesting than I anticipated at first. I want to get to
know them and to understand them. Just the other day I
received data from a couple reproducing, and one of their
females is going to give birth any time soon."
Sarpa managed to suppress a frustrated groan. "If you
are that interested in their ways, why don't you just let us hunt
them down and read about them, or watch their audiovisual
recordings?"
"Because it's too theoretical," the Alpha thundered
out. And, having regained his calmness as if it had been
switched on, he added: "Besides, we do have to let them live
as long as it takes us to figure out how this holographic
technology works."
Sarpa grunted in frustration, he couldn't manage it this
time. He hated to admit that Kaar was having a point there.
Kaar nodded and held out a padd to his second-in-command.
"I understand your concerns, though, and you needs. So I
have made some changes in the holodecks' *duty roster*, and
decided to reassign or exchange several of the characters. This
may prove interesting."
Sarpa took the alien device Kaar was holding out to
him and scanned its contents briefly. "You have assigned
Seven of Nine to Holodeck 3. I took it you liked her voice?"
he asked in surprise. He hated it if someone was messing
around with his favorite prey, especially if it was his leader.
"Of course I do. I was just wondering whether she is
as good a medieval singer as she is a twentieth century
nightclub singer," Kaar admitted. He too had doted on the
former Borg. Sarpa knew that he wasn't going to tolerate this.
He didn't think in Kaar's ways at all. He and the others
just wanted to hunt down their prey and triumph, not to
indulge in sociological studies on a race that was going to
perish anyway. What good was it to get to know them
beforehand? Kaar was the best example to show that this only
evoked feelings for the prey, not against them. As soon as
there were feelings other than the lust to kill and the taste of
blood and the deep satisfaction involved that came with the
Hunt, it was impossible to complete it. Kaar had to be very
careful, or else it would be him who was going to be the first
kill in this Hunt. Not all of his subordinates were as patient as
Sarpa himself was.
The Beta didn't say anything, though. "What about
Kim then? I took it you needed him to keep the holodecks up
and running?"
Kaar snorted. "The kid is becoming too dangerous for
us. There are others who are as able as him when it comes to
the maintenance of the holodecks. I'm going to send him to
the crusades."
"But we have already had the crusades!" Sarpa
protested.
"That," Kaar said dangerously calm, "need not concern
you, Beta. You are assigned to Holodeck 1, but as I already
said I can easily change this."
The junior officer took a deep breath. If he sent him
back to their ship, he was going to break apart, Sarpa knew
that. So he had to obey, even if he didn't like it. "That will not
be necessary."
"I hope so," Kaar said coolly. "So see to it that the
changes are made without any major disturbances. And do not
forget the child."
To be continued ...
Coeur de Lion
by Katie
Chapter 4
Would It Be Wrong
Although they were only at a few meters' distance
from the shore, they weren't able to touch the bottom of the
lake with their feet. Frank raised himself up the landing stage,
and once he was sitting on its edge he pulled Catherine up. He
pulled her up that sweepingly that she sat astride his lap and
almost knocked him over. They had to laugh again, but they
soon sobered because the sexual tension between the two of
them was getting stronger and stronger with each moment
passing.
Now Catherine's dress was sticking tighter to her body
than before so that nothing was left to the American's
imagination any longer. Her nipples had grown stiff once
again and were pressing hard against the rust-colored fabric.
The water was running down over her skin in tiny rivulets,
disappearing into the low-cut of her dress. Some pearls of
water were dripping from her chin and the tip of her nose, let
alone from the strands of her hair.
Only when she said that he would certainly catch a
cold if he remained in his wet clothing did he realize that he
was looking the same. Frank could but nod and lifted his arms
high above his head when Catherine pulled the shirt out of the
waistband of his trousers. The sight of her firm breasts
moving beneath the fabric spellbound him, and all of a sudden
he felt his throbbing member pressing hard against her crotch.
He closed his eyes and suppressed a low moan.
The light breeze charmed his hot wet skin and made
him open his eyes again. Catherine was smiling at him. She
was running her hands over his smooth hairless chest, teasing
his erect nipples and memorizing the shape of his torso. Her
hands never wandered further than the waistband, though.
"Catherine," he began, catching her wrists with his
hands to stop her caress for a minute. She looked at him
askance. "Catherine, I don't want to take advantage of you. I
didn't mean to ... " He couldn't speak any further, because she
kissed him once more. Frank was torn between his desire and
his conscience. He knew that Catherine's emotions were
roused strongly and he didn't want to take advantage of her.
"We never mean to fall in love, François. It just
happens. You're not taking advantage of me. I love you and I
want you. Now," she told him, looking very serious all of a
sudden. Frank had to believe her words, had to believe the
expression in her eyes. She really meant it. So he pulled her
towards him so that the could feel her body through the wet
fabric of her dress on his naked skin. Catherine cupped his
face with her hands and they kissed with all their devotion.
"You've buttoned your dress up wrong earlier," Frank
managed to say after he'd regained his breath.
"Oh, well, I don't think I'll wear this dress any longer
anyway," Catherine replied with a most seducing smile on her
lips. She was about to pull the dress over her head, when
Frank stopped her. He wanted to unbutton her dress, taking
his own sweet time in discovering her body. With one arm he
was supporting her back so she was able to bend back as far
as possible, while with his other hand his opened her dress one
button at a time. He followed the movements of his hands
with his lips and tongue, licking and kissing her wet skin.
Somehow they managed to free her arms from the sleeves of
the dress so that her body was exposed to the air down to her
waist. Frank paid particular attention to her breasts, sucking
and kissing them all over. He felt her fingers drawing through
his wet hair, pressing his head against her chest. Catherine
wanted this to last forever. Low moans were escaping her lips
from somewhere deep within her.
Then she lifted her hips so that Frank could explore
her body further. The dress, however, kept sticking to her skin
and it took all of his patience not to tear it off her body. When
he was finally able to kiss a line from her breasts down to
between her legs, this elicited a sob from her. Frank stopped
to look at her. Her eyes were closed and her lips slightly
apart. He'd never seen anything more exciting than the face of
this woman when she was making love.
Catherine suddenly came back from whatever remote
realms she had been and smiled down at him. It was incredible
what her smile and her eyes were telling him. He'd never
thought that the expression of face could tell as much as hers.
He'd never been seduced that more willingly nor in a more
special way by a woman before. So his hands slid down to
either side of her hips and held her tight while he buried his
mouth and nose in her wet curls. The smell of her arousal only
helped to increase his own, and he hadn't thought that he
could get still more aroused.
Catherine's hands clenched his short hair and she
gasped loudly wen she felt his tongue nuzzling her clit. The
world around her exploded into a fire work of colors and
sounds and sensations before it vanished entirely and she felt
weightless, floating through a void white nothing. She heard
herself cry out loud from a distance.
The next thing she felt was being caught by Frank's
arms and gathered in his protecting embrace. She was
trembling all over and it took her a considerable time to calm
down. She wasn't sure whether Frank was such a divine lover
or whether she'd done without sex too long that the mere
touch of his tongue had sent her that far over the edge.
Catherine returned the embrace with equal force. Her voice
wouldn't obey her, so she managed but a husky croak. It had
never been that an overwhelming experience before, and they
hadn't even made love *properly* yet.
"Sh, my love, sh," Frank said repeatedly, caressing her
back gently. He felt her tremble in his arms. This had been
that unexpected that he even forgot about his own excitement
for a second or two. Only when she began to move her hips
against his and rocked them ever so gently, he became aware
of himself again. A soft hum of his filled the air and was joined
by a slightly louder moan of hers.
Again, they somehow managed to get rid of the last
remaining pieces of clothing. When Catherine lowered herself
down onto his arousal and let him enter her, he thought he
would go around the bend. Their lips found each other's for
another deep kiss, and soon their tongues were imitating the
movements of her hips rocking against his in their wild dance.
Every time their bellies touched an almost electrifying
sensation increased their pleasure. Frank answered her thrusts
as strongly as he could and it didn't take them long to hold
each other and recover from their climax. Frank could hear
her heavy pants and muffled sobs through the veil of the
roaring of blood in his ears.
They collapsed onto the warm boards of the landing
stage and lay huddled against each other. The world was
spinning, the treetops, the clouds in the evening sky were
dancing around them and came to a halt only slowly. The last
rays of the sun that found their down to Earth dried their wet
bodies, comforted their light slumber with their gentle warmth
and bathed their bodies in a glowing red light.
=/\=
Brigitte had just locked the door behind her and was
putting the keys in her handbag, when from the corners of her
eyes she saw a figure coming nearer. She lifted her head and
recognized Hauptmann Brückner. He was in uniform, as
always, and nothing about his formal appearance indicated
that he was going to the nightclub to enjoy himself. *If
somebody like him is able to enjoy himself at all, that is,*
Brigitte thought. She squared her shoulders a little bit. The
young woman hadn't expected to see him again that soon. If it
were her choice to make she'd rather she wouldn't see him
again at all. She wasn't even sure what to do after the birth of
the child. A few days ago she'd figured out to put the infant
into the arms of the first Nazi soldier she saw and to disappear
never to be seen again. She was still having Bobbie's address,
maybe she could go to him. Even if he was married meanwhile
or had another girlfriend, he'd certainly help her find a place to
live and work in the States.
"What do you want?" she said ill-mannered. A pig like
him didn't deserve it any better, especially if she was in a bad
mood like now.
"Why, be a bit more friendly to the father of your
child," Brückner replied calmly. He knew exactly about her
sore points and never hesitated to let her feel who he was.
That guy was unpredictable and that was what making him so
dangerous. He could be as gentle as he'd been earlier that
afternoon, and he could be a pig like now. Brigitte was glad
that his tries to hide his feelings behind a mask of command
were failing miserably and that the expression of his face
shopped his mood, even if only ever so slightly. "I was hoping
to be invited to join your welcome-back-party for Herrn
Leroux," he added more gently.
"I don't know anything about a welcome-back-party.
We're closed on Thursdays, see?" Brigitte pointed at the sign
at the wall next to the door with her finger. They'd hung a
cardboard sign there after the Germans had occupied their
town which said in German what everybody in Sainte Claire
had known by heart ever since the *Coeur de Lion* had
opened: "Donnerstag Ruhetag". Obviously the German loved
signs, so why not give them what they wanted? Catherine had
said that they weren't even realizing that that cardboard sign
was only making fun of them. So much about the master race.
"Of course I know, but today is a very special day, and
I thought that Madame Catherine was going to celebrate the
return of her husband," Brückner said appeased.
"Alors, I'm sure the two of them are celebrating this in
their own way, don't you think?" Brigitte shot back sharply.
This was just incredible!
"What about us? I was hoping to have a little bit of
fun, too tonight," Brückner said. Brigitte was alert at once.
She knew that tone of voice of his and it didn't augur anything
well. He closed the remaining distance between them and put
his arm around her waist. She tried to wriggle away from his
embrace, but his grip was too strong. Just for once she
considered her pregnancy to do her some good.
"You won't harm your child, will you?" she said
sweetly.
This worked. Although he didn't let go of her at once
but stole a kiss from her lips, she was sure he wouldn't want
any more of her tonight. "Gut, I'll come back tomorrow then.
And mind you if there will not be a *fête* tomorrow. Gute
Nacht!" He bowed, turned on the heel of his shiny boots and
strode away.
Only when he had vanished around a corner did
Brigitte allow a sigh of relief to ease her tension. She checked
on the door lock once more and then hurried to get to her
father's place.
=/\=
The stars were lighting the sky and twinkling down at
the two lovers lying wrapped in blankets on the landing stage.
The candle was burning and brightening the bottle candlestick.
A second glass was standing next to Catherine's and the
almost empty bottle of wine.
The lovers were recovering from yet another
lovemaking and staring into the night-sky, trying to find
patterns among them, listening to the chirping of the crickets.
Catherine was lying half on top of Frank, drawing idle
patterns on his skin with her fingers, while He was caressing
her meanwhile dried strands of her hair. The night was still
very warm and the most peaceful one either of them had had
in ages.
Suddenly, Catherine began to hum a melody. Frank
felt the soft vibrations of her humming as well as he heard the
tune. He wondered whether there were lyrics to the tune. He
whispered his questions softly.
"It's a song Séverine often sings in the *Coeur de
Lion*. It's one of my most favorite ones," Catherine
whispered back.
"Would you mind singing it to me?"
"Wrong, would it be wrong to kiss, seeing I feel like
this, would it be wrong to try, wrong, would it be wrong to
stay, here in your arms this way, under this starry sky. If it is
wrong and why will you send to me, am I content to be, will
you forever be wrong, when I need you so much, and I have
made so wrong. It must be right, it can't be wrong. So when I
need you so much, and I have waited so long it must be right,
it can't be wrong ..."
=/\=
"Where is my child? What have you done to her?" Sam
Wildman demanded to know for the umpteenth time. Their
Hirogen guard, who brought them their daily rations,
however, didn't reply. He just pushed their dishes with an
unidentifiable goo into the crowded cell. Even Neelix'
concoctions seemed more palatable then. None of the
prisoners doubted that the ship's chef was among those who
had been sent to the holodecks.
When the Hirogen didn't answer again, Wildman
couldn't control herself any longer. She jumped to her stiff
legs and darted towards the Hirogen. Although he was a great
deal taller than her, the impact with which she crashed into
him and gripped him by the collar made him stumble. "What
have you bastards done to Naomi?" she yelled at him.
This brought the other crew who had been dozing or
lost in their thoughts back to reality. They looked at the
scientist in awe, expecting only the worst to happen. When
they'd been thrown into the brig about three weeks earlier,
they had been treated rather rudely by the Hirogen, although
only two of them had tried to put up a fight.
Their Hirogen guard was so taken aback for a second
or two that he apparently didn't know what had happened in
the first place. But then he recovered his wits, gripped
Wildman at her wrists and flung her to the floor. She crashed
hard into the floor, hit her head with a dull thump and lost her
consciousness. The others present gasped in shock and some
of them bent over her to examine her.
"You can tell her that her child is ours. She is our prey
and we will hunt her down, just like you!" the Hirogen snarled
before he left the cell and activated the force field at the
entrance. Then he left the brig.
Joe Carey, B'Elanna's deputy, bent over the still form
of the scientist. His usually cheerful air had been replaced by a
worried frown ever since the Hirogen had taken Voyager.
Now he looked as worried as any of the crew had ever seen
him. It had been obvious that he cared more for Sam Wildman
than any of the other crew did, so the others made room for
him to examine her.
Only a few seconds later did Sam regain her
consciousness. She found herself lying in the arms of Joe, who
was holding her tightly. A dull pain was throbbing in the back
of her head, slightly blurring her vision. The constant
humming of the warp core, the rustling of the others' uniforms
and the voices sounded as though she were hearing them from
a great distance. Even her own voice sounded faint as she
spoke. "What, Joe, what have they done to Naomi? Why
wouldn't he tell me?"
The worry about her only child nearly broke the
engineer's heart. Naomi was the dearest person Sam had, and
there was no doubt about it that she would never be the same
if anything was to happen to her daughter. He couldn't think
of anyone on Voyager who didn't love the little girl. "I'm sure
she'll be taken good care of, wherever and whoever she may
be. Now try to get some rest, but you mustn't sleep," Joe
softly said and hugged her reassuringly. The impact on the
floor had certainly made her suffer a mild concussion. Perhaps
they should try to ask the Hirogen for permission to bring her
to Sickbay.
Tears were welling up in her eyes as she listened to his
words. He was so caring and gentle to her. "She's everything
I've got, I just want to know whether she'll be safe. It's not
asking too much, is it?"
=/\=
It was obvious to the others that Catherine and Frank
had spent the night together, but none of them did say
anything about it. It was their business only as far as it
concerned Catherine's happiness. And happy she seemed. She
was beaming with happiness, although she didn't look changed
at all. Her radiance was coming from deep within her, and it
was only Paul who could remember times when he'd seen her
that happy.
Brigitte realized very well what was going on, and she
felt happy for Catherine on the one hand, but on the other
hand she did envy her much. She had written the letter to
Bobby, but she felt reluctant as to whether to post it or not.
Those damn second thoughts had disturbed her repose again
together with the kicking of the child. Bobby wasn't going to
marry a French girl with her nursing the enemy's child. Once
again she had asked herself whether it had been worth the
intelligence she'd gathered. Once again she asked herself why
she had decided to keep the child when it hadn't been too late.
Once again she asked herself why she'd been foolish enough
to reject Bobby's plea—it had been a proposal after all.
Catherine went outside to wait for Frank. It was one
of the last days of the Indian summer and suddenly she felt as
though she had to enjoy every single day of it. It was only late
in the morning, but it was already very hot again. Perhaps they
could go for a swim later. The thought of the day before at
the lake made her smile, anything that hadn't to do with the
two of them only had been forgotten for a while. Frank had
been so gentle, so much unlike Maurice and yet ... their
lovemaking had been as passionate as always. Sometimes it
had seemed as though Frank knew her very well, he'd found
her most sensitive spots, had kissed and caressed her just like
she loved most.
"Bon jour, Brigitte," she said cheerfully, and put an
arm around the other woman's shoulders. "Ça va?"
Brigitte turned at her older friend and looked into
those beaming eyes of hers. Tears welled up in her eyes, and
she had to bend her head and study the tips of her dust-
covered shoes that were barely visible under her swollen belly.
"There are days I wish I were another woman."
"How so? Do you still miss Bobby?" Catherine
realized all of a sudden. She didn't had to wait for Brigitte's
approving nod to be sure that was what disturbing her. She
also noticed the letter she was holding. "You've written a
letter to him. That's a good idea, I think."
"For what use? He won't be interested in me!" she
burst, indicating her pregnant belly.
Catherine couldn't but gather the young woman in a
tight embrace. "Listen. If you told him the entire story I'm
sure he'd understand you. And don't forget that the child is
yours as well. Maybe it doesn't even look like Brückner, then
it'll be easier for you to forget."
"You're probably right. Perhaps Séverine could take
the letter to Goulot and give it the American she's to meet. It's
too risky to post a letter to America in Sainte Claire," Brigitte
thought aloud.
=/\=
The Hirogen who played the role of the commandant
on Holodeck 3 was the leader of the Hirogen party that had
taken over Voyager almost three weeks ago. To the crew of
Voyager who were not part of their wicked games of life and
death known as the Hunt on either of the three holodecks saw
him seldomly if not never. Harry Kim was the only one who
had to meet him on a regular basis . The young ensign was the
only one left of the Senior Staff to play himself in the that
killing game of the Hirogen. He had to report about the status
of the ship and keep him posted on the process of the
enhancement of the holodeck technology to the leader. The
Hirogen called their leader by his name Kaar, but Harry had to
call him by his title being Alpha. Harry didn't waste one
thought more than necessary whether this was just a
discrepancy of their universal translator or whether there
really happened to exist a homophone of the first letter of the
Greek alphabet in the Hirogen language. Later he came to
know that it was a translator discrepancy, because the Alpha's
second-in-command's title was Beta. That would be a
coincidence too much to be asked by chance.
Harry was just returning from one of the briefings with
the Alpha and was on his way back to sickbay, when he ran
into the Beta—or Sarpa, as he was referred to by his people.
He was so relieved about the fact that his fiddling with the
subroutine in Seven's cubicle had gone unnoticed by the sharp
eye of the Hirogen that he didn't pay any attention to where he
was going. The Hirogen being too arrogant to make way, it
was inevitable that the two enemies bumped into each other.
As commander of Holodeck 1, the Beta was still dressed in
his SS-man's uniform. The Alpha visited the three holodecks
only on random in which the World War II scenario was his
most favorite.
The Beta didn't say anything when preoccupied Harry
ran into him. But when Harry raised his head to look at him
angrily at first, but then ready to apologize, he realized that
the small dark eyes in the reptilian face of the alien told him
more than a thousand words. The hatred and the disgust
sparkling in them were only kept in check by the Alpha's
orders. If it hadn't been for them, his and his crewmates' bones
would already decorate the bulkheads of the Hirogen vessel.
The cold brutal gaze of the Beta gave Harry the
shivers and he silently thanked god for the Doctor's already
having made up a plan to get rid of them. The subroutine he'd
just finished writing when he was summoned to the Alpha
came back into his mind, and Harry wondered whether he'd
disguised it well enough as not to raise the suspicion of the
reptilian aliens. Having enjoyed Starfleet's training, though, he
didn't let his face betray his feelings. He could never forgive
himself if he failed his friends and family. He raised his chin,
set his jaw and squared his shoulders to withhold the stare of
the Hirogen.
This encounter lasted only a split second, but to Harry
it seemed as though he'd had to withstand it for minutes. They
headed off in opposite directions, Harry resuming his way to
Sickbay, and the Beta heading to Janeway's Ready Room.
The Beta had forgotten about the encounter with the
prey as soon as he entered the room in which the Alpha had
chosen to reside. "You wanted to see me, Kaar?" Sarpa said
after the doors had slid shut behind him. Kaar was reviewing
several reports on the screen of the computer terminal in front
of him, and waved at him to sit and wait for a few minutes
until he'd finished his studies. Sarpa remained standing where
he was. His commander had done some redecorating after
he'd decided to live aboard the alien vessel for as long as their
Hunt took. He'd brought the trophies of his most triumphant
Hunts with him, the bones of ships of races who had been
foolish enough to get in their way. The had been gathered in a
net which in turn had been draped over the wall opposite the
desk in the room. Again, Sarpa had to ask himself why Kaar
had chosen to stay aboard this ship whose ceilings were
almost too low for their tall men. Those Federations were a
good deal smaller than them.
Kaar's powerful voice brought the Hirogen second-in-
command back to reality. "How is it going on Holodeck 1,
Sarpa my friend?"
Sarpa hesitated. It didn't mean anything good if Kaar
was calling him his friend. So when he answered, he tried to
be as diplomatic as he could be. "My people are getting bored.
They want to hunt the Federations down as much as I do."
Bluntness was part of Hirogen diplomacy.
Kaar looked sharply at him. "That is no reason to
break my orders, Sarpa. I told you not to involve that child in
any of the scenarios. This is the last time I'll connive at your
insubordination. I was told by one of the guards that a mother
asked for her child. I took it that the child had been with her.
The next time I'll get to know something like this, you'll be
posted as a guard on our vessel. Is that understood?"
This time it was Sarpa who squared his shoulders.
He'd deemed it a good idea to get that child into the
simulation as well. It wasn't that satisfying to hunt down a
creature that defenseless, but that thrill of the mother's pleas
to let her live were even more exciting. "Yes," he hissed.
Kaar nodded, and then went on talking in such a
conversational tone as if there hadn't been any rebuke earlier.
"Tell your people to stand down. Those Federations are far
more interesting than I anticipated at first. I want to get to
know them and to understand them. Just the other day I
received data from a couple reproducing, and one of their
females is going to give birth any time soon."
Sarpa managed to suppress a frustrated groan. "If you
are that interested in their ways, why don't you just let us hunt
them down and read about them, or watch their audiovisual
recordings?"
"Because it's too theoretical," the Alpha thundered
out. And, having regained his calmness as if it had been
switched on, he added: "Besides, we do have to let them live
as long as it takes us to figure out how this holographic
technology works."
Sarpa grunted in frustration, he couldn't manage it this
time. He hated to admit that Kaar was having a point there.
Kaar nodded and held out a padd to his second-in-command.
"I understand your concerns, though, and you needs. So I
have made some changes in the holodecks' *duty roster*, and
decided to reassign or exchange several of the characters. This
may prove interesting."
Sarpa took the alien device Kaar was holding out to
him and scanned its contents briefly. "You have assigned
Seven of Nine to Holodeck 3. I took it you liked her voice?"
he asked in surprise. He hated it if someone was messing
around with his favorite prey, especially if it was his leader.
"Of course I do. I was just wondering whether she is
as good a medieval singer as she is a twentieth century
nightclub singer," Kaar admitted. He too had doted on the
former Borg. Sarpa knew that he wasn't going to tolerate this.
He didn't think in Kaar's ways at all. He and the others
just wanted to hunt down their prey and triumph, not to
indulge in sociological studies on a race that was going to
perish anyway. What good was it to get to know them
beforehand? Kaar was the best example to show that this only
evoked feelings for the prey, not against them. As soon as
there were feelings other than the lust to kill and the taste of
blood and the deep satisfaction involved that came with the
Hunt, it was impossible to complete it. Kaar had to be very
careful, or else it would be him who was going to be the first
kill in this Hunt. Not all of his subordinates were as patient as
Sarpa himself was.
The Beta didn't say anything, though. "What about
Kim then? I took it you needed him to keep the holodecks up
and running?"
Kaar snorted. "The kid is becoming too dangerous for
us. There are others who are as able as him when it comes to
the maintenance of the holodecks. I'm going to send him to
the crusades."
"But we have already had the crusades!" Sarpa
protested.
"That," Kaar said dangerously calm, "need not concern
you, Beta. You are assigned to Holodeck 1, but as I already
said I can easily change this."
The junior officer took a deep breath. If he sent him
back to their ship, he was going to break apart, Sarpa knew
that. So he had to obey, even if he didn't like it. "That will not
be necessary."
"I hope so," Kaar said coolly. "So see to it that the
changes are made without any major disturbances. And do not
forget the child."
To be continued ...