Just For Practice:
Chapter 3
An unusual sight to see, the Federation starship Voyager was positively brimming with activity after Captain Janeway and Lieutenant Commander Tuvok came back from their extended visit to the alien planet that morning. Judging from the upbeat expressions on passing crew members' faces and the snippets of conversation Seven overheard as she made her way through the ship, the Captain was more than successful in her diplomatic mission.
Alone in the Delta Quadrant without the safety of the Federation to fall back on, the crew of Voyager encountered a multitude of alien races during their long and dangerous journey back to the Alpha Quadrant. Because they seemed to cross paths with more hostile races than peaceful ones, the crew considered themselves extremely fortunate anytime they established amicable relations with a new race. As rare as it was for them to form favorable alliances with an alien race, it was even more rare when those alliances produced mutually beneficial exchanges of resources and information. No matter how small these sorts of exchanges were, the Captain and her crew were always extremely appreciative. Even a little bit of help went a long way towards getting their ship back home safely and intact.
When they returned to Voyager, Janeway and Tuvok brought with them a wealth of technological knowledge courtesy of the aliens known as the J'haelani, a peaceful but somewhat reserved humanoid race. They were evenly matched in technological status with the exception of the J'haelanis' propulsion systems. Configured in a far more efficient design than Voyager's Federation-standard engines, their warp and impulse engines allowed for not only faster speeds, but a negligible drain on resources as well.
In the hopes that this promising technology could be compatible with her own ship's propulsion systems, with a subtle but triumphant countenance, Janeway stepped down from the transporter pad and immediately handed her First Officer the J'haelani equivalent of a PADD containing all the technical information they would need that the aliens were willing to part with.
Before Chakotay could inquire as to what the data module was, Janeway quickly explained the contents and tasked the First Officer with overseeing the project. Enthusiastic crew members swarmed throughout the ship like worker bees, a mixture of both Starfleet and ex-Maquis, all laboriously engaged in making modifications to the ship's engine and control systems under the strict guidance of B'elanna Torres and Ensign Harry Kim.
Stepping out of the turbolift, Seven of Nine mildly noted the extra crew members working on the Bridge and weaved her way through towards the Captain's Ready Room. Passing the Tactical station with her PADD in hand, she caught the eye of Tuvok as he conversed with one of his security officers. She nodded politely at the Vulcan, which he returned in the same manner.
That was Seven's favorite form of social interaction by far. Very little effort was required and there was no need for empty platitudes or annoying small talk.
When she reached the doors to the Ready Room, Seven noticed right away with bewilderment that her fingers were anxiously gripping the PADD and her heart jumped in her chest. Thinking back, this was not the first time the tall blonde felt this sudden rush of unpleasant sensations whenever Captain Janeway was involved. She vividly recalled the time she and Janeway were trapped behind a forcefield in the brig of Arturis's ship, an alien that had deceived them out of revenge for the assimilation of his homeworld by the Borg. In order to escape in the nick of time, Janeway reconfigured Seven's cranial implant using a microfilament from her combadge. As she did so, standing very close and talking in a low voice while holding onto Seven's shoulder, Seven felt those same odd sensations. Although they weren't as strong as the sensations were now, they were noticeable enough.
Over time, Captain Janeway had become much more than the seemingly self-righteous human that forcibly cut her off from the Collective nearly two years ago. She had become her mentor, someone that she looked to for guidance when she needed it, even if she didn't always agree with the older woman. However, after risking life, limb and even her crew to reclaim Seven from the Borg Queen, it became exceedingly evident that Janeway was more than just her Captain and mentor. She was someone who really seemed to care deeply for her, more deeply than any other individual in Seven's life, before and after her years as a Borg drone. Shortly after her safe return to Voyager from the Borg Queen's clutches, she felt these sensations gradually increase in both occurrence and intensity.
Seven never felt a pressing need to bring up these sensations to the Doctor or do any research on her own. Alternatively, she came to the conclusion that she was simply intimidated by Captain Janeway. She could care less about the crew's opinions of her, but she did care about what the Captain thought of her. After everything she did for her sake, the fierce Captain earned an enormous amount of respect from Seven. It was only natural that she was intimidated by her and sought out her approval. The only individual to reach such a status with the supercilious former drone, Seven considered Janeway her equal, if not more.
Doing her best to brush off the cumbersome physiological response, as she had learned to do in the past when they first started to manifest, she pressed the button outside the door and waited for the Captain to respond.
"Come in," Seven heard her call out from inside the room.
In that instant the doors parted for her. Seven crossed the threshold into the room and stood before the Captain's desk. Kind, beautiful and formidable when she needed to be, Kathryn Janeway sat behind the large circular desk working on her console, forehead wrinkled in concentration. Her fingers seemed to fly across the buttons. Seven watched those fingers moving in a flurry, captivated by the sight of them as she waited patiently for Captain Janeway to come to a stopping point.
A few seconds later those hands came to a standstill as Janeway looked up at the golden haired woman towering over her, the expression on her face as imperious as ever. Smirking and arching an eyebrow, she rested her forearms on the surface of the desk.
"It's well past nine hundred hours. Running behind schedule today?" she asked in an amused tone.
In response, Seven tilted her head upward, causing the light of the Ready Room to catch her dimpled chin as it protruded ever so slightly.
"So it would seem," Seven remarked with some irritation, "here is my report." She held out the PADD for the Captain and felt one of those long slender fingers lightly brush her own when she took the data module from her. As brief and as faint as that touch had been, Seven's Borg enhanced senses could still pick up on how soft the Captain's skin felt.
"Thank you," Janeway said, vaguely aware of the touch.
"Will that be all, Captain?" Seven asked, a little too eager to be dismissed.
Raising a mug of freshly replicated coffee to her lips and taking a sip, Janeway hummed with satisfaction and gazed at her Astrometrics Officer for a moment as she set the mug back down.
"Stay while I read this, will you?" she replied, the corners of her mouth curved upward, "I have a new assignment for you I'd like to discuss. It won't take long."
Somewhat astonished by the request and at a loss for words, Seven defaulted to an old and familiar response. "I will comply," she said reluctantly.
There was a hint of laughter in Janeway's eyes. It had been quite a while since she heard Seven say those particular words.
Reclining in her chair and propping her head up, Janeway held the PADD in front of her and started to read. Unaccustomed to being kept waiting like this and unsure of what to do with herself, Seven stood as still as a statue and tried not to watch the Captain as she reviewed her report. Instead, she focused on the scenery outside the Ready Room's windows.
Voyager was still in orbit around the J'haelanis' home planet and the breathtaking view of their green-blue planet was hard to ignore, taking up a substantially large portion of the windows. Sufficiently distracted for a few moments, Seven was startled when Janeway suddenly called out her name. Head snapping back to the source of that low and familiar voice, she realized with some relief that Janeway's eyes still appeared to be transfixed to the screen of the PADD.
"Yes Captain?"
"You know I don't like making my officers stand," said Janeway, gesturing towards the two chairs that faced the desk, "please sit."
Wanting very badly to decline and cooly remind the Captain that she preferred to stand as always, Seven sighed inwardly. If it were any other day, Seven wouldn't have hesitated to do exactly that. At this moment, however, she simply didn't have it in her to risk an argument with Janeway. Grimacing with disdain, the blonde obliged, easing into the chair and sitting in a poised position, hands folded in her lap.
Expecting to hear a protest, Janeway heard Seven's subsequent movements instead, the quiet swishing sounds of fabric shifting and brushing against each other. Without so much as a glance, she smiled to herself, pleased that the younger woman was actually sitting down.
After having been caught off guard earlier, Seven kept her focus on Janeway this time, following the auburn haired woman's every movement: her greyish sapphire eyes shifting from side to side as they took in each sentence, the occasional pursing of those dark red lips and her long elegant fingers that tapped on the screen to scroll through the report.
Hopelessly lost in the moment, Seven felt as though she could spend an eternity watching this woman work if given the opportunity.
Reaching the end of the long report, Janeway finally looked up in time to see a striking pair of light blue eyes keenly staring at her.
"Something the matter?" Janeway asked, frowning.
Stiffening, Seven shook her head. "No Captain," her face deceptively nonchalant.
Janeway nodded, no longer frowning but eyeing the blonde curiously. She reached across the desk to return the PADD to Seven, which Seven carefully grabbed to avoid touching the older woman's hand by accident again, and casually leaned back in her chair.
"Excellent work as usual," Janeway complimented her, "I take it you've heard what happened with the J'haelani delegation?"
"I have not," Seven replied, her ocular implant raised noticeably in tandem with her eyebrow, "however from my observations of the crew this morning I assume the talks were favorable."
"You assume correctly," Janeway inclined her head, eyes shining with pride, "they have graciously agreed to share their propulsion technology with us in exchange for some minor accommodations. It's not exactly quantum slipstream or transwarp technology, but if it will make our journey just a little bit shorter, I think it will be well worth our time."
"I concur," said Seven, her inflection a bit haughty, "what do you require of me?"
Janeway held back a snort. It was a rare occurrence for the candid ex-Borg to harmonize with her on anything as they seemed to clash on almost everything. From ship operations to ethics and unsurprisingly even the chain of command, Janeway could always count on her beautiful but cavalier Astrometrics Officer to disagree with her or blatantly sidestep orders. Yet no matter how angry Seven of Nine made her, Janeway undeniably had a soft spot for the ex-Borg, whereas most other people would have been unwilling to keep her on board.
Donning her captain's visage, Janeway leaned forward, her hands clasped and resting on the desk in front of her.
"Simply put, I would like for you to assist B'elanna and Harry. Their initial impressions of the technical schematics were encouraging, however the likelihood that we will be able to completely adapt our engines to the J'haelani's configurations is slim at best."
Janeway looked very seriously at Seven. "Given your knowledge of propulsion systems, I don't think I have to tell you that you'd be a great help to them as they make the attempt."
Seven dipped her head in acknowledgment. "I will assist them immediately."
"Thank you Seven. Oh and be sure to report to Commander Chakotay first."
Seven's brow raised slightly.
"Understood."
Satisfied, Janeway stood from her chair and languidly stretched, arching her back and moaning softly as she rolled her shoulders. She picked up her mug and walked around the desk. Passing Seven, she briefly rested a hand on the blonde's shoulder. The touch certainly wasn't unwelcome. Seven had grown accustomed to being touched in this manner by the Captain and even appreciated what the gesture meant. Her skin however would always tingle whenever that warm and slender hand made contact with Seven's body, no matter how fleeting.
Climbing the steps to the raised section of her Ready Room, Janeway breathed in deeply while she peered down at the planet. With a hand situated on her hip, she took a few sips of coffee and involuntarily closed her eyes with pleasure. Still seated, Seven followed her Captain's every movement, expecting to be dismissed by now. There was a certain amount of informality about this meeting that puzzled her, as if the redhead wasn't in any particular rush to send Seven on her way.
"Has anything interesting happened while I was away?" Janeway suddenly asked, her head half turned back towards Seven.
"Interesting? To what are you referring?"
"I mean with the ship and the crew," Janeway tried to clarify, "has anything happened that was out of the norm?"
Seven glanced at the floor, knitting her brows in confusion. Wouldn't the Commander have reported such things to her upon her return?
"To my knowledge there has been no significant change among the crew," she stated simply, "and the ship has been functioning normally while you were away."
"I see," Janeway mused, "I suppose I should be grateful that nothing bad happened," she said with a chuckle.
A few moments of silence passed between them. Seven thought about getting up and excusing herself, but something kept her from following through.
"What about you, Seven?' Janeway inquired again, "has anything interesting happened with you since we last spoke?"
Suddenly Seven's blood ran cold and she felt her heart sink into her stomach. She knew exactly where this was going.
Without missing a beat, Janeway added, "Are you still researching romance?"
She didn't even have to see the older woman's face to know that she was smirking.
"Yes, I..." Seven paused, her mouth dry, "I attempted to go on a date with a member of the crew last night."