As the days past Seven found herself spending more and more time in the holodeck. Her interactions with the characters in holonovels always proved educational and after her recent conversation with the Captain she was hesitant to continue her research using live subjects. The holodeck on the other hand was an efficient learning tool and the Doctor had programed a number of holonovels where she could interact with characters from a myriad of species and practice interactions with them simultaneously. During one such encounter Seven engaged in a Klingon mating ritual, wherein the female woos the male with a display of aggression. During this ritual she suffered a laceration to the right side of her face when the shard from a glass she had thrown ricocheted off a wall a hit her.
As she walked out of the holodeck onroute to sickbay she reached for her wounded check and wiped away the blood that had gathered there. Although the cut was not deep she found that it was bleeding profusely and she could not stop it from dripping down her face and onto her neck. As she rounded the corner and headed down the hall to sick bay she saw the Captain approaching in her dress uniform.
She watched as Captain Janeway's eyes became dark and unreadable as the traced her face from the gash on her cheek down her chin and to her neck. Seven stopped and watched the Captain's face as she studied her and again felt an unfamiliar feeling build in her chest, it felt as though pressure had been released from her chest and was sliding down her body into her abdomen.
"I was injured on the holodeck and am on my way to sickbay for repair." Seven said while she studied the Captain's eyes and watched her eyelids relax shielding her emotions.
"Understood." Janeway said nodding her head in acknowledgement. "May I ask how you were injured Seven?" she said while studying the wound and running her fingers gently beneath the cut and moving closer to Seven.
The soft pulse in Seven's abdomen began to travel southward and halted at the apex of her thighs as she felt the heat from the Captain's body on her charged skin.
"I was engaged in a Klingon mating ritual and was hit by some debris."
Janeway raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Anyone I know?" She said through a smile that never quite reached her eyes.
"The ritual was part of a holonovel the Doctor created to assist me in improving my social skills." Seven said flicking a solitary eyebrow upward in an unspoken challenge.
The Captain looked down for a beat too long, "Right. Well, I am due on the bridge." With that Janeway began to walk away from Seven and down the hallway.
"If you have the time, I would like it if you would accompany me to sickbay." Seven said authoritatively. She was surprised by her own request and looked down after she said it. She knew that what she was asking was unnecessary and inappropriate but she said it anyway. She accounted the breach in protocol to her injury and the impact that it was having on her implants.
"I think one of my implants may be malfunctioning and I would appreciate an escort."
Janeway studied Seven as irritation then worry chased each other across her face.
"Captain to the Bridge. Report."
"Nothing to report Captain."
Seven looked the Captain's fingers as they pressed her com badge and watched as her breast thrust provocatively towards her with the motion. Janeway studied Seven's eyes as she pressed her com and waited for the response, she felt a swift kick of pleasure press into her belly as she watched Seven's survey her com badge and rest on her now erect nipples.
They walked together in silence to sick bay and were greeted by a concerned looking Doctor.
"What happened Seven."
"I was injured during a Klingon mating ritual in the holonovel you created." Seven said without emotion.
The Doctor gestured for Seven to lie on one of the healing tables and proceeded to heal Seven's skin with a lazar.
"Doctor, one of Seven's implants is also malfunctioning."
"Really?" The Doctor said with obvious irritation at the Captain's diagnosis as he pull out his tricorder and began to scan Seven's body.
"All readings are normal, what is the nature of the malfunction?"
"I am experiencing unfamiliar sensations in my body." Seven said emotionlessly.
"Can you describe these sensations?" the Doctor asked studying Seven.
"I felt a pressure in my abdomen and a pulsing sensation in my pelvis." Seven said as she wiped the remaining dried blood from her collar with a cloth.
Captain Janeway moved away from the bed toward the back wall leaning her right shoulder into the curved wall as one of her hips jutted forward.
"What were you doing when you experienced these sensations?" the doctor asked as her studied her cortical implant with his tricorder.
"I do not believe that is relevant. This physiological response is the product of a technological malfunction, your job is to correct that malfunction." Seven said frustration clearly showing on her strained face.
Seven looked up from the Doctor and watched the Captain's muscular body press into the wall and the tiny rocking movements that the Captain's body was making as she rested on one leg and balanced against the wall. The pulsing sensation dug deep into her pelvis as she rested her eyes on the cradle of the Captain's hips.
Janeway watched Seven closely as the Doctor continued to examine Seven. She couldn't help but notice that something was most definitely askew with Seven's behaviour. Seven's lips were slightly parted and her eyes were running up and down the her body as she rocked against the wall. Seven's eyes revealed a longing that was unmistakeable to Janeway, a longing that was creating waves of trepidation and arousal that were cascading through her entire body.
Janeway knew that the next step in Seven's transformation into an individual was already having an impact on her. Seven was opening up sexually and Janeway had done everything in her power to shut that part of her own humanity down the minute that they had arrived in the Delta Quadrant and she realized that there was not a single person aboard that she could ethically become involved in an intimate relationship with. Janeway stared out the window into the blackness and sighed as the Doctor completed his examination.
"I do not require further testing Doctor. I have determined the cause of the malfunction and I do not require your assistance. I will correct the malfunction during my regeneration cycle."