A Perfect Mate – Voyager Chapter 3

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.

Warning: None

Rating: Teen

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.

Revision History: 05/30/06

Summary: Voyagers crew searches for the hidden laboratory.

B'Elanna grunted as she struggled to make her way up the steep slope covered with loose rock and gravel that rolled and slid under her feet. She was currently cursing the fact that she and her team had to wear bio suits with their awkward, ill-suited for this type of terrain, over-boots, while searching a mountain range for one particular cave entrance that might hold the key to them getting home. She looked up the slope gauging the remaining distance to its top. She shifted her weight and the loose rock under her boots gave way. She slid a few feet back down the slope before recovering her footing.

Heart hammering, she paused to catch her breath, and continued her interrupted silent monologue. A mountain range that had fistrum deposits scattered throughout its length rendering Voyagers sensors unable to scan for the cave from orbit and made their tricorders equally useless as well. Which was, of course, how she ended up, along with most of Voyager's crewmembers, searching said mountain range on foot. B'Elanna paused her internal dialogue long enough to scan the area around and ahead of her for anything that looked like it might be a hole in the ground. Seeing nothing promising, B'Elanna snorted and began picking her way up the slope again.

She had to admit to herself though that this was marginally better than being the focus of Janeway's curious, worried gaze. Kathryn could get those moments of perception at the most awkward times, such as this morning when she had commented that she wanted everyone in bio suits no matter what their relationship status. She had glanced over at B'Elanna with a small smile and then at Tom. The smile on her face faded, and B'Elanna knew as she saw the sharpening grey-eyed gaze that the Captain had picked up on the fact that something wasn't right between them.

Arriving at the designated coordinate and seeing nothing that looked like a cave entrance, B'Elanna polled her team. Nothing. Time to move on to their next search coordinate, B'Elanna located it and began picking her way carefully toward it. She and Tom had argued several days ago after he had gotten caught up in a game of pool at Sardines and forgotten to let her know he wouldn't be sharing dinner with her. They had agreed, and not for the first time, to give one another some space for a few weeks and see how they felt.

He wasn't cheating on her, she was certain she would hear about that from someone, nothing stayed a secret on this ship for long. He just didn't...B'Elanna frowned at her tricorder annoyed that she was unable to get a decent scan of the immediate area. She sighed, looked up the hillside trying to pick out the best path to walk to her objective, and continued her interrupted thought. Tom just didn't seem as thoughtful as he had a year ago, they still had fun together, the sex between them was great, it was just a lot of little things he didn't do that had started to add up for her recently. B'Elanna snarled to herself silently, that and Seven's field study of them. Why had Seven had to study them of all people?

Her anger left as quickly as it had appeared, leaving her feeling weary and depressed. As angry and upset as Seven's study had made her, the honest part of her couldn't disagree with the Borg's evaluation of their relationship once she had read her conclusion. Seven was right, both she and Tom were settling for one another, for the best possible mates for each of them available on Voyager. Of every male on the ship that returned her interest, Tom was the best match for her now that she had given up on Chakotay ever returning her interest. And, she guessed, she was the best possible match out of all the women on Voyager for Tom. But damn Seven for studying them in the first place, and damn her for pointing it out so...B'Elanna ground her teeth together...clearly.

B'Elanna scrambled over the crest of the slope in relief only to skid to an abrupt stop as she found herself staring down into a large and deep angular opening in the ground. It looked like a sinkhole, or the roof of a cavern that had collapsed. Suddenly the ground she was standing on gave way and she fell. B'Elanna flailed her arms about trying to find anything to hold onto to break her slide. As she fell, B'Elanna thought she saw a figure appear on the far side of the sinkhole. Someone saw me; she thought with relief just before a forceful impact on her helmet shattered it and rendered her unconscious.

Blackfur's ears laid down flat on her head in dismay as she looked at the jagged opening in the earth. She had run as fast as she could from where she had been watching the searchers once she realized where the one female was headed, but she had not gotten close enough to warn her in time. Cautiously Blackfur approached the edge and looked down. She could not see the human but she could smell blood, the female was injured.

The Rana examined the walls of the sinkhole carefully, looking for a way to get down into it so she could help Seven's clan member. Blackfur knew that these people were not actually Seven's clan. They were not her mother's siblings or parents, but they were the closest thing Seven had to a clan before she and Seeker mated.

Blackfur had asked Seven about them after Scarface had related what happened after she and Swiftfoot left. She had been curious about what they had said, wondered why they were not pleased that Seven and Seeker had mated. Seven explained that time had passed differently for them, that to them it had only been a few weeks, not the months that she had experienced. To them it seemed as if she had suddenly changed into a different person, and they blamed Seeker for the change, not understanding that it had been something that she had wanted as well. There was also the fact that she was choosing Rana ways over Human ways, Seven believed some of the disagreement was due to the fact they felt she was rejecting her own people and their ways.

Seven had smiled then, and indicated that they would be correct if they thought that. She found the Rana much easier to understand in their thoughts and actions than the constantly changing thoughts and actions of Humans. Looking solemnly at Blackfur Seven had told her that she and her family had accepted Seven. The crew of Voyager had not really accepted her. Janeway had told Seven she could find the clan she needed on Voyager. Janeway had made it sound easy, it had not been, and Voyager's crew had not replaced the closeness of the clan she had known before, the Borg. But that clan had kidnapped her and forced her to be a part of it and it was a bad clan. She did not want to return to them and take part in the bad things they did to others. It had been Seeker, and Seeker's family that had given her the feeling of closeness and acceptance she needed.

Thoughts of the conversation with Seven faded from Blackfur's mind as she finally mapped out what looked like a safe way down into the opening in the earth. Carefully she started making her way down into the earth, making full use of every root she could grab and digging her hands into the soil to slow her descent where there were no roots. Several heart pumping moments later she arrived at the bottom, dirt coated and scratched here and there, but mostly unhurt. She paused and shook herself, dislodging some of the dirt that had settled in her fur and then peered around. She was several body lengths down into the earth and the sun was at the wrong angle to cast much light into the opening making it difficult to see much in the gloom of the large chamber like cavern she found her self standing within. It was her nose not her eyes that finally lead her to the fallen human.

Blackfur made a churring distress filled noise when she saw the woman, the strange clear bubble that had covered her head was shattered, leaving jagged edges that had cut into the humans face. Blood flowed from cuts on her jaw and neck, and as Blackfur got closer she was able to see blood in the dirt beneath the woman's head. She knelt and carefully parted the dark hair looking for the source of the blood, and found a deep gash, as long as her smallest finger on the side of the woman's head.

She knew the woman was still alive, she could hear her breathing in the echoing silence of the cave. Blackfur looked back toward the opening; she could not move the woman by herself. It would be difficult to get herself back up to the surface, much less someone who was unconscious. She rose and went to look at the walls of the opening looking for a way back up, she would find other humans and bring them back to help this one. She had tentatively chosen a path when a strange noise caught her attention.

Blackfur froze, and peered into the gloomy depths of the chamber. Movement caught her eye and she stared in amazement as part of the cavern wall wavered and then disappeared, revealing a brightly lit opening. Technology Seven called it, the opening lead to an area surfaced with metal and filled with technology like Seeker and Seven had in their home. Two metal things stood in the opening, as tall as a Rana, and vaguely shaped like a Rana standing upright.

Blackfur started with surprise as they moved, walking on their two metal legs toward the injured human woman and herself. She hesitated for a moment indecisively, then darted forward, placing herself between the woman and the approaching metal things. Blackfur did not know who the woman was, but the human was hurt and unconscious, and unable to defend herself, so she would have to defend her if needed from these strange metal things.

As soon as she moved in front of the prone woman they stopped, and then to Blackfur's surprise the one on the left began signing in Rana. "Is she your mate?" it asked.

For a long dumbfounded moment, Blackfur did not respond, then she shook herself and answered, "No, I am unmated. She is clan to Seven my sister Seeker's mate, and she is injured."

The metal things did nothing for a moment then the one who had communicated before signed, "She is injured. We will help her only if a Rana asks and stays with her."

"You can heal her?" Blackfur asked.

"Yes," it replied.

Blackfur drew in a deep breath and made her decision, "Help her, I will stay with her." She watched as the metal things carefully picked up the injured woman, then with one last look at the patch of sky showing through the opening she turned and followed them.

Fifteen minutes or so later, if anyone had been around to watch they would have seen the opening appear once again in the cavern wall and several robots much smaller than the two that had appeared earlier emerge. Five went to where B'Elanna had fallen and began removing the blood soaked soil. The others scattered about the cavern and the raw walls of the opening to the surface. Ten minutes after they appeared, they completed their task, no sign of the damaged human or the Rana who had followed remained. The hidden opening once again camouflaged, the rocky walls of the chamber appeared unbroken and whole, giving no sign of the advanced technology a only few feet away.

"That is not an acceptable answer," Janeway stated emphatically, staring hard at Chakotay and Tuvok. She stared at her First Officer, "The collapsed cavern you found, are you sure there is no sign that she fell or looked in there? It's along the path she would have taken from her last position to her next search coordinate."

Chakotay glanced over at Tuvok questioningly. The Vulcan spoke up, "We found no evidence of her presence within the chamber or along the walls of the collapsed area. We did find footprints that indicated she was walking toward the area of the collapsed cave, and it is the most likely area for her to have disappeared as we found no sign of her presence between the cave and her next search coordinate."

Janeway started pacing slowly, "Yet there is not sign of her there." She paused, stared directly at him, "Do you think that she could have fallen in and someone removed her and all evidence that she was there?"

An expression passed over Tuvok's face as if he had bitten into something bitter, "I am uncertain, it does not seem a likely scenario. Yet, the Lt. Torres has disappeared, and we know she was headed toward the opening of the collapsed area and we can find no sign of her elsewhere."

The Captain resumed her pacing for a few moments, then stopped behind her desk and leaned upon it. "We've run into situations before where caves were not what they appeared to be. Is there any sign of a force field or any technology like the Viridians used to hide their bases?"

Chakotay straightened a frown upon his face, but before he could comment, Tuvok nodded thoughtfully and commented, "That type of technology might have been possessed by the researcher who created the Rana. If so, it is most likely used to hide the presence of her laboratory. I will return to the surface and scan for the presence of that type of technology."

"It was a stupid joke Dean," the oldest girl scolded they younger boy. Turning toward a young B'Elanna, she said apologetically, "He's always doing stuff like that to me." She said referring to the worm the boy had put on top of B'Elanna's sandwich claiming Klingons liked live food.

B'Elanna's response was only to glare and growl at the boy who finally had the grace to look ashamed of himself.

"Don't be mad, B'Elanna," Dean asked.

As quickly as she had gotten angry, the emotion drained away, leaving B'Elanna feeling embarrassed of her behavior. Unable to continue facing her two cousins' she turned and ran into the woods. Only to...

"Umph," was sound both made as air exploded from their lungs as they came into forceful contact with one another. B'Elanna scrambled hurriedly away from whatever she had run into when she realized it was fur covered, thinking it was some type of animal and might attack her.

Wide jade-green slitted eyes met hers, their owner apparently as surprised as she over their rather forceful meeting. As B'Elanna got a good look at what she had run into, she became more and more confused, she had never heard of any large cat like animal living on Kessik IV, yet somehow the strange catlike creature seemed familiar.

The young B'Elanna backed up cautiously as it rose to its feet from where she had knocked it down. At first, it rested on its hind and fore legs, but then it stood upright and made a curious sounding churring noise at her. The fur covering its body was black, and at first she thought it was uniformly black, but looking closer she saw dark brown fur mixed in with the black forming a muted pattern. The creature made another sound and gestured, and B'Elanna realized suddenly she was not looking at an animal but a person.

Again the same gesture, and this time B'Elanna heard in her mind, "Blackfur."

B'Elanna understood immediately that the strange cat-like person was naming itself, and that it was a she. Her mind racing, she blurted, "Are you telepathic?"

After a long moment, Blackfur replied, "Yes."

The two stared at each other curiously until Blackfur signed once again, "Where are we?"

B'Elanna frowned, "Recreational Park 5," she answered.

Blackfur looked around curiously, "This is where you were born?"

B'Elanna nodded. "Well not in the park, of course, but on this planet Kessik IV," she added. She watched Blackfur look around, the upright ears that showed through the longer mane of black fur on the head perked forward alertly. "Where are you from?" she asked curiously.

"Rana," Blackfur answered.

A flash of a rock-covered hillside passed though her mind, followed immediately by a sharp stabbing pain in her head. "B'Elanna," Blackfur's mental voice was filled with concern, and the furred hands that gently gripped her shoulders and steadied her conveyed the same emotion.

The pain faded as swiftly as it had come, leaving B'Elanna bewildered as to what could have caused it. "I'm ok now," she said to Blackfur, her voice still slightly shaky.

Blackfur held her for a moment longer, jade-green eyes searching hers, before finally releasing her. It was difficult for B'Elanna to read the different facial expressions on the broadly muzzled face, but she thought Blackfur looked troubled.

"Really, I'm ok. I don't know why my head hurt, but I'm fine now," B'Elanna reassured what she hoped was a new friend. She didn't really have any friends, and Blackfur hadn't commented or even seemed to have noticed that she was part Klingon.

Once again, jade-green eyes met her brown ones. "I would be pleased to be your friend," Blackfur signed, and belatedly B'Elanna remembered that her new friend was telepathic and could read her thoughts. "What are Klingon's and why would you be disliked because your mother is Klingon?"

B'Elanna instinctively bristled at the question, but the evident bewilderment and confusion in Blackfur's mental tone disarmed her. She looked down and kicked viciously at the ground, "Because the Federation used to be at war with the Klingons, so the other kids pick on me because I'm half Klingon."

"Pick on?" Jade-green eyes looked puzzled.

The half-Klingon girl thought at first Blackfur was kidding, but then realized she meant question seriously. "You know, tease, call names, do things like putting worms on you food because Klingons like to eat live things," her tone had dropped to a low growl by the end.

The broadly muzzled head dropped and Blackfur regarded her sadly, "I do not understand why they are unkind to you. Rana do not do these things to each other, we do not pick on or tease one another."

"No one's ever said anything mean to you?" B'Elanna asked disbelievingly.

Blackfur tilted her head to the side, obviously thinking. After a few seconds, she replied simply, "No."

"No," B'Elanna repeated, looking at her new friend in astonishment. Finally she sighed and scuffed her shoe across the ground moodily, "I guess Rana are much nicer than Humans, lucky you."

An uncomfortable silence fell between the two until Blackfur broke it, "Will you show me more of your planet?"

Despite her moodiness and a niggling feeling of jealousy toward Blackfur, the question pleased B'Elanna. It made it sound like she were some type of official ambassador for Kessik. She looked around at the forest, wondering what would interest Blackfur about it. "What other planets have you visited?" she asked.

"I have never been anywhere else but Rana," Blackfur answered, "and here now," she added.

"Oh," the young half-Klingon responded surprised. B'Elanna looked around again, trying to think of what she would be interested in if she visited somewhere for the first time.

"Many things," Blackfur signed, "what trees are these, what do you eat, how do you live?"

"These are genetically modified trees from Earth, their oaks," B'Elanna answered the first and easiest question. The second was not so easy; she liked so many different types of food.

Blackfur signed again, catching her attention, "Think about them."

"Oh, of course," B'Elanna grinned, this was going to be fun.