Chapter Twenty
'The time is 0600 hours.'
Kathryn's eyes blinked open. She smiled slightly at the weight on her back, glancing over her shoulder to see Buffy's head resting between her shoulder blades. The movement was enough to rouse her mate.
"Hmm, Kathryn?" Buffy murmured sleepily.
"Shift aside, honey, I've got to get up." Kathryn said, trying to move.
Buffy shifted, but she moved so that she was covering Kathryn more, instead of less. "You're still on vacation, baby, so unless there's an emergency, you need to enjoy it. Who knows when you'll get another one."
"That's not how it works, my sweet." Kathryn told her. "I'm the captain. I'm always on duty. Even on vacation. Besides, I sent a message to my senior officers for a meeting at 0800. Our time here is almost up, and it's time to discuss our options."
Buffy sighed, but kissed her neck as she moved. Rolling to her feet, Kathryn gave her a proper kiss, but pulled the sheet over her breast to cover the temptation before heading to the ensuite. Buffy laid back and relaxed as she watched her mate prepare for her day.
"What do you have to do today?" Buffy asked as she went to the replicator to order her a coffee. "Willow programmed in Folgers Dark Colombian in the replicator for you. At least you can enjoy that until you can get your sister's again. She put all that stuff you taught her to good use when from the holodeck. She probably knows these systems as well as you do, at least the ones she could access. She was kind enough not to hack into anything... yet."
"Thank you, my love." Kathryn accepted the steaming cup, taking the first sip with a moan of pleasure. "For the coffee and the warning. The first thing I need to do before I log on is to stop by Sickbay for a thorough examination."
"What?" Buffy froze, her eyes wide with sudden fear. "Why? Did I hurt you?"
"No, love, of course not." Kathryn reassured her quickly. "But when Seven did the deep scan on the crew, she discovered the incomplete gene that had been added into my DNA. According to what Dawn told me, the gene should have been completed with our mating, and the Doctor will need to know what to expect for anyone who decides to accept mating with a S'Terran."
"You know that he won't find any medical explanation for your new abilities, right?" Buffy asked her. "Any more than he'll find a medical explanation for ours. He wants one of us to come in for a complete physical and a round of testing."
"One of you?" Kathryn's brow raised in amusement.
"Won't be me." Buffy admitted with a grin. "I've had enough of hospitals, even that one. Besides, unless it's a potential fatal wound, I doubt any of us will willingly go back in there. I think I'll ask Faith and Willow if they'll go. Faith's the next strongest after me, and she doesn't have my hang-ups, and Willow will be able to give him the information about us that he needs."
Kathryn's low laughter made shivers of pleasure run down Buffy's spine. Leaning down slightly to kiss her mate, she tweaked a bare, hard nipple as she passed. "You behave, you hear me, darling. No more playing in the holodeck. I need to get some work done today."
Buffy pulled her mate close and kissed her neck, inhaling deeply. "I promise, but the mating fire may flare up again even without my help. We're new mates, so it'll be a little unstable for a bit. Kinda like how newlyweds are always horny."
Kathryn gripped a handful of blonde hair and pulled her head away, knowing how much Buffy liked her forcefulness, shivering inside at the spark in her amber eyes. Buffy involuntarily bared sharp teeth as she growled. "This is not behaving, my sweet."
"You know better than that, Admiral." Buffy purred in S'Terran. "That's no way to make me behave."
Kathryn nearly moaned at the feral fire igniting in her blood. With a jolt, she realized that she could smell Buffy's arousal. She knew without looking that her mate's inner thighs were coated with sweet nectar. She licked her lips in hunger as Buffy remained passive in her grip, making no move to influence her decision in any way, which somehow only made her want the Prime even more. That bare hint of submissiveness made her want more. Without thinking, she wrapped her arm around Buffy's waist and yanked her close.
- - - BtVS - - ST: Voyager - - -
"Report." Kathryn ordered as she stepped onto the bridge an hour and a half later.
"Everything's quiet, Captain." Ensign Kim informed her.
"I'll be in my ready room." Kathryn retreated to her ready room to go over several of the reports that were marked priority one. As she suspected, they were mostly reports regarding the changes in the ship, although she could also see a few from the Doctor. Those she saved for later since he had given her the highlights of the messages during her exam. As Buffy had told her, he didn't find any indicators that explained her new strengths and sharper senses.
She smiled faintly as she recalled his frustration. Unlike Klingons, and Vulcans, whose enhanced strength and senses were mostly due to evolving on heavy gravity worlds, the Doctor could find no reason for the bone strength of normal-grav bone density or the strength that defied the delicate muscular structure. Everything that was developing within Kathryn herself. She left a message for Faith and Willow to see the Doctor after they awoke, and why.
Shaking her head and brought her mind back to her work. She only had another thirty minutes before the meeting that she had scheduled, and she wanted to be at least mostly caught up on reading the reports that had been collecting at her workstation while she had been with Buffy. She knew that there were going to have to be some decisions made, and plans. Exactly, thirty minutes later, her alarm chime rang out and she downloaded all the reports to her portable workstation and migrated to the conference room, where she continued to read as she waited for her officers to join her.
"Good morning, Captain." Chakotay greeted her, leading the crew in. "The Doctor won't be joining us for this meeting. He sent me a message that Faith and Willow arrived in Sickbay to answer his questions regarding their people."
She smiled up at him as one by one they took their seats. For the first half of the meeting, they reiterated their previous reports regarding their beloved ship. Kathryn met the gazes of those who knew about Voyager's new sentience, and their barely noticeable nods reassured her that they would not be mentioning it. "All right, people. We've only got a few days left here. Tell me something new."
"Well, Captain," B'Elanna began. "The energy intake for the ship has changed. The changes to the systems have made them faster and more powerful, but somehow, they are using less energy. The girl, Willow, really is as good as you claimed. She made some changes to several programs, and even Seven was impressed. She told me that you explained our technology to her while you were in her town, but she be some kind of genius or something, cause she was picking this stuff up on the first few tries."
"She is a genius, especially in regards to computers, but she's also telepathic, so she's probably absorbing knowledge as fast as you're thinking about it."
B'Elanna nodded. "I can get with that. Anyway, she proposed the idea of collecting some kind of element and converting to the energy needed to power the ship. It would solve our problem with resources and more importantly, eliminate the need for replicator rationing." Kathryn smirked at her and nodded for her to continue. "The response time for Voyager's systems has increased nearly 50."
"Has everyone become familiarized with the upgraded systems?"
"Yes, Captain." Tuvok answered. "After a detailed analysis of each new system configuration, I have familiarized myself and taught the other members of the beta and gamma shift as well as the crew of the alpha shift that were occupied with the 'testing'. I have also submitted detailed documentation for the new configurations of all systems, which are accessible from any workstation, as well as training programs on the holodeck."
"Good." Kathryn nodded. "I want all of us here up to speed before we leave. Beyond that, we can train them on the way home. Next? Seven, did the Doctor check your implants?"
"Yes, Captain." Seven of Nine answered. "He has told me that the changes to my implants have not impacted their function in any way. They continue to function at peak efficiency. They are merely more aesthetically pleasing. He has noted that although there are as flexible and malleable as flesh, they still retain the texture and temperature of metal."
"All right." The captain smiled, relieved. She turned her her security officers. "Tuvok, did you get the training simulation recording of Buffy and Faith against the Hirogen?"
"I did, and I must admit that I am... impressed." Tuvok admitted. Everyone but Laren and Kathryn stared at him in open-mouthed shock. "They fought off the Hirogen forces with little difficulty."
"Little difficulty." Tom gasped. "The Hirogen? Are you serious?"
Tuvok looked over at him with a raised brow before ignoring the question and activated the recording on the main viewscreen. They all watched as the Prime and Alpha fought their way through the advanced Hirogen simulation with laughter, sarcastic wit and sexual innuendo (mostly from Faith). Kathryn watched with a faint smile of pride as she recognized some of the techniques that she had taught them herself. Glancing around the table, her smiles widened as she took in the wide eyes and open mouths, especially Chakotay's. She turned back to Tuvok when he began speaking again. "They constantly alter their attack, giving them unpredictability. Their jocularity unsettles their opponent. They are formidable fighters one on one, but when they fight together, nothing has been able to stand against them."
"What do you say to the idea of possibly using them as something similar to Marines?" Kathryn asked him. "They don't take orders well, but protecting their home and family is what they do best."
"Are they reliable?" Chakotay asked. "More importantly, can we trust them?"
Kathryn sat back in her chair. "They don't take orders well, because they have very little trust for authority figures. The police in Sunnydale wasn't worth the color of their uniforms, the mayor turned into a 60-foot demon and tried to eat their graduating class and the council that was supposed to support and care for them treated them like slaves with lethal combat ability. The younger ones will follow Buffy, Willow and Faith through hell, heaven and beyond, and those three trust me enough to know that I could never abuse that trust."
"So you're saying that you can control them?"
"The mystical powers that decided their destinies couldn't control Buffy Summers." Kathryn actually laughed at that. "No, for them, it's all about respect. I fought at their side, in their war, and I earned their respect. Just like I accede to her authority when in her territory, she'll accede to my authority here in mine."
Chakotay's eyes narrowed slightly at the affection in her voice, but remained silent.
"If they remain on the ship, then they will do whatever necessary to protect both this ship and the crew. Believe me when I say that pissing them off is the last mistake anyone would ever make." Kathryn stood and passed out padds. "Moving on. I have ideas that I want to implement in regards to the ship, the crew and our remaining time here in the Delta Quadrant. I spoke to Seven and Tuvok briefly while we were in Sunnydale, but I wanted to get my ideas down in their entirety before I approached it."
"These are some extreme changes, Captain." Chakotay remarked as he read through the padd. "What's bringing this on?"
"It's been on my mind for a while, but as I study the changes made to this ship in their entirety, I've come the realize that they may need to be implemented sooner rather than later."
"What do you mean?" Tom asked.
"I don't think these changes were merely gifts." Kathryn admitted as she moved back to the head of the table. Picking over the reports, she held them up one by one as she mentioned them. "We have better shields and weapons. Our systems, including propulsion and warp, have been streamlined for better power and more efficient energy consumption. We have five new decks, four with crew quarters that are 50 larger than the standard for this vessel. Our hull is not only armored, but has been strengthened by almost 150. No, ladies and gentlemen, these are not just gifts. I think Dawn is preparing us."
"Preparing us for what, Captain?" B'Elanna asked.
"Families." Kathryn answered solemnly, finally sitting back down. "Dawn has prepared Voyager to become a generational ship."