A/N: So thinking the other day I realized a bit of an omission I had made in a previous chapter. Because Chapter 5 was written after Chapters 1-4, 6-9 and 11-13, and I had just played the Mark of the Assassin DLC for DA2, I wrote Tallis into chapter 5 just for kicks. BUT looking back now, I realize I made her a hybrid and forgot to mention it when the Doc later says just who might have survived the toxin. My bad. *hand wave*

Chapter 13- Discovery

B'Elanna woke up exactly two hours after she had fallen asleep feeling fully refreshed. This is going to take some getting used to. Listening for a second, she heard the gentle rhythm of Seven's breathing in her bedroom.

I still can't believe that I gave her my bed and took the couch… I must be getting soft... getting a soft spot for tall blonde beautiful ex-Borgs... Oh well, seems I'm no worse for wear, in fact, I feel damn good.

Looking around in the dark she began to appreciate the new sharpness to her night vision. Things were not 'brighter' per se, but rather she could make out shape and contrast with incredible accuracy.

Considering her options and the woman sleeping in her bed in the next room, B'Elanna decided to go for a workout on the Holodeck before heading to Engineering early to get started on reviewing some of Seven's past proposals and do some research on her own into some new ideas that were fostering in her own mind. Seven had insisted on uploading all the data B'Elanna had asked for before going to sleep. B'Elanna shook her head in amusement and the memory sparked a thought that seemed so natural it bypassed all her inner self-deprecating defences.

She's so cute when she's stubborn and insistent...

Briefly shocked at the more-frequent direction of her thoughts, she shook her head as if to 'reset' her brain and quietly snuck into her room doing her best to ignore the half-naked blonde curled up in her blankets with her golden hair splayed about her pillows. Seven had wanted to sleep naked citing the inefficiency of wearing clothes specifically to sleep but B'Elanna insisted she at least wear a cotton shirt and shorts- mainly so B'Elanna didn't have the mental picture of a naked almost-six-foot goddess lying in her bed while she tried to get to sleep on the couch.

Don't look Torres, you're already going to need a shower later, and we don't need it to be a cold one. Besides, this woman has had enough people stare at her while she 'slept' ...yet another issue that needs to be brought up with Janeway… now where is my workout gear?

Hoping her rapidly beating hearts would not wake the sleeping beauty, B'Elanna managed to grab her gym bag and silently made her way back out to the living room. Throwing on her gym top and workout shorts, she laced up her footwear and slipped out of her quarters into the hall.

B'Elanna had arrived at Holodeck 1 to find it and Holodeck 2 occupied, although the occupants of Holodeck 2 would be out in 5 minutes. 'I guess I'll just wait here. Gamma shift is on duty so it must be Beta shifters post- supper.' She leaned back into the wall beside the holodeck doors closing her eyes while propping her right foot flat against the wall, her workout bag hanging in her left hand and let her mind wander. The events of the last couple of days were a lot to adjust to. The attack, her burgeoning... friendship with Seven of Nine of all people and the physical changes her body has gone through. As if on cue, B'Elanna's newly enhanced hearing started picking out strands of a conversation occurring down the hall and around the corner.

"…It's up to eight months rations now."

"What? Who put so much into it? There are only a handful of us that even know about it?"

"Look Z, if I tell you this, it never leaves your lips again and I'll deny it until the day I die, are we clear?"

What's this? A lower decks betting pool? Might be some juicy gossip here… B'Elanna grinned even though her eyes were closed as she mentally foamed at the mouth at the prospect of some good lower decks gossip. She heard the two crewmen stop just shy of entering the hall she was in.

"Stanz, my word is my bond, besides what do we Gamma shifters have to live for if not good gossip and intrigue?"

"Ha… ok, but the only reason I'm even telling you this is because it doesn't matter anymore. Two weeks ago Commander Chakotay caught me and Jenky talking about how we thought it was going to be the Captain who deflowered the Ice Princess and what the betting pool was up to." Stanz paused and to look around and leaned even closer to his friend. B'Elanna's eyes had bolted open upon hearing 'Ice Princess' but refused to move until she heard the rest- even as her blood began to boil.

"Anyway, he said he'd keep the whole thing on the sly if he could get in on the action. The day the Ice Princess went on the away mission with the Chief of Engineering he had me put three months of his own rations down on that night in my name with the promise to split the winnings 70/30."

"WHAT!"

"Shhh! Shhhhhh! Shit man, quiet, you're gonna wake the Senior staff! We've only got five minutes before we gotta be back in D-Processing- and besides, there's more... it seems that the Commander is even dating the Ice Princess! I heard one of the Beta shifters mention the gooey eyes they were giving each other when they were leaving Cargo Bay two last week. She had a picnic basket in her hands."

"Stanz, if any of the guys found out about this you'd forfeit all your bets."

"Shit man, I know, but with the Borg-bot in surgery all night the other day, the Commander lost all his rations. I don't think he'll be making another bet any time soon."

B'Elanna had heard enough. Her knuckles were white and the skin of her palms threatened to bleed from clenching her fists so tight. How dare they? HOW DARE THEY! …and, and, and CHAKOTAY?

All she saw was red, she was going to be doing some killing, starting with these two Gamma shift fools and then… ~…Klingon fire focused by Human determination…~ the words floated into B'Elanna's head like something out of a dream that she couldn't quite remember. She inhaled sharply and regained her focus. Her pupils dilated slightly and her eyelids relaxed the tiniest of fractions. No, it wouldn't do to snap the necks of these fools who thought it a fun pastime to wager on Seven's virginity but she would be putting a stop to it and would be having a little 'talk' with the Commander.

I could go for a nice week in the brig right about now...

Her adrenalin was surging, but a plan was forming in the mind of the Chief Engineer. First thing was first though, and that was to put an end to this pool.

B'Elanna pushed off the wall and let go of her gym bag. The air suddenly seemed thicker as her perception sped up exponentially. The gym bag was 30 centimetres off the ground. The muscles in her calves rippled. Her upper body turned.

~25 centimetres...~

Her first stride took her 1.5 metres...

~20 centimetres...~

Arms swung in opposing directions to balance her weight as she moved; tiny invisible eddies formed behind her small frame as she accelerated into her next step. Her brief inhalation and exhalations of air sounding a thunderous echo in her ears.

~15 centimetres...~

Her third stride was 3 metres in length, the end of the corridor was approaching. Her prey were 2.3 metres to the right of the end of the hall. The momentum would cause the turn to be difficult.

~10 centimetres...~

Decision made, her next stride saw her left leg lift and aim for the wall at the end of the hall.

Impact.

~5 centimetres...~

Hamstrings and shin muscles strained absorbing momentum as dense quadraceps, calves and gluteus maximus muscles tensed to release energy and spring the tiny form off the wall.

Thud!

The gym bag hit the floor as Crewmen Stanz and Zaaden found themselves suddenly pinned to the wall several centimetres off the ground with a flat palm against their chests and a very focused Chief of Engineering burning holes into their eyes with her stare.

"Hmpff!" "Wffffha-?" Shocked and barely able to breath, it was the best they could muster at the moment.

"Crewmen Stanz and Zaaden." He voice was remarkably calm and focused. "Stanz, it seems that you weren't enough of a fool to get caught once, but now twice running your mouth."

The squeak that escaped the mouth of Stanz as his face turned a shade of purple from lack of oxygen was enough for B'Elanna to feel as if she'd made her point so she released the human and Bolian who both promptly fell to the ground gasping for air. B'Elanna backed up a step and crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot impatiently signalling she was waiting for a response.

"*gasp*...Lieu-Lieutenant?" Stanz finally managed to stammer out after refilling his lungs with precious oxygen. Zaaden was content to focus on his breathing and quietly and slowly inch away from his crew-mate at the focus of the Chief of Engineering's ire.

"You seem to be suddenly at a loss for words Stanz- Zaaden don't you dare move-" a sharp look at the Bolian had him frozen once again in fear.

"Let me break it down for you Stanz. You see, I have a dilemma: if I throw the two of you out an air lock, I'll have to explain to the Captain why I did it and she'll likely throw me in the brig NOT for doing it, but rather for not letting her do it. You see, and I'm not telling you this as gossip, because it's really no one's business, but rather so you truly understand your position: tonight Seven broke up with Commander Chakotay after earlier today accepting a 'date' from the Captain herself." Stanz and Zaaden had recovered enough to hear the twinge of... disgust? in the Lieutenant's voice even as their eyes grew saucer sized at the implications of what she was saying.

"So now we come to the second part of my dilemma: if I tell the Captain about this little pool you fools have going on, she's going to flay Chakotay- denying me the pleasure- and then she's going to come down hard on you fools and make your lives a living hell. This to me would not foster something I am now trying to do. You see, despite what you plebs might gossip about me and Seven, I don't hate her, and even when I was the most pissed at her, I still would have had enough respect for the woman to be disgusted by what you're doing." B'Elanna uncrossed her arms and knelt into an almost predatory crouch never releasing either man from her gaze before continuing.

"Here's what we're going to do: first, this pool is done. I want a list of names and ALL the rations already collected on my desk in Engineering by 0800 today." At the collective wide-eyed gasp, she held her hand up to forestall any interruption. "Second, all of the disrespectful remarks about Seven are going to stop. Third, at a time I choose in the future, the 'Lower-decks Crewmen' ie you and your ilk are going to host a 'Seven Appreciation Party' where you will all make an honest effort to get to know her and treat her with respect- that will be where the rations are going to go by the way. I will contact you Stanz, on when we can make this happen. In return, I will not bring this to the Captain and it will die with me, Chakotay and your circle of fools." B'Elanna stood again and offered a hand to the two men who quickly glanced at each other before accepting and being pulled to their feet by the deceptively strong woman. Once they had their feet under them, B'Elanna stepped closer and plucked some imaginary lint off the shoulder of Stanz's uniform.

"Do we have an understanding?" She said almost nonchalantly as she continued to 'dust off' and straighten each man's uniform as if it were an important task needing to be completed.

Crewman Stanz may have been called a fool this day but he was not stupid, and neither was Zaaden. "Yes ma'am." both me straightened and found a point on the opposite wall to occupy their gaze while trying not to shake in fear of the eerily all-too-calm Chief of Engineering.

"Good. Now run along, I understand that you're both expected back in D-Processing?"

"Yes ma'am!" Both men turned and walked as fast as they could to the secondary hull section of Deck 5 and Deuterium Processing.

Shaking her head, B'Elanna felt she had enough exercise for the moment and went back to collect her gym bag from the floor beside some confused crew-members exiting the Holodeck.

End Chapter 13

***Visually, when B'Elanna takes off down the hall, I was thinking of a slo-mo shot in Alien 3 when there is a flare falling towards a bucket and floor that is covered in an extremely flammable material. Inter cut with the flare are reaction shots from the people as they all realize the hell that is about to break loose.***