summary:

SUMMARY: Same characters, different universe. Very different. And perhaps the characters are not all that similar either ...
NOTES: The good news is that this story now has a plan for development rather than just rumbling around.

disclaimer:

TPTB are many. In a perfect world I would be one of them but it's not and I'm not. No infringement of copyright/trade marks or other intellectual property is intended. This story was written for fun and not profit.

warnings:

Warning: This story includes same sex relationships between women. If you are offended by this or it is illegal where you live or you are underage then please read no further.

Full warnings, credits and disclaimers can be found in the contents page and chapter 1.

text:

Part 4a

Annika stood on the bridge of the yuQmey chIl SoS'a and tried not to get too excited. Or angry with herself for being so juvenile. 'I'm like a geeky teenager with a crush on the most popular girl in school. Which is so ridiculous. People crush on me. I'm the crush-ee not the crush-er. And I'm not a fucking teenager!'

At 06.58 B'Elanna strolled in looking casual and relaxed. Her shirt was open and she had left off her uniform jacket. Her sleeves were rolled up to just below her elbow.

"You're here" she stated as though that was the last thing she would have expected.

Unable to think of an answer, Annika just nodded. She bit her lip to avoid blurting the first thing that her halting brain managed to signal coherently. 'She looks wonderful,' it whimpered.

B'Elanna raised an eyebrow in question. "Are you okay? You look a little pale"

"Fine," Annika managed to squeeze out.

"We'll get started then. Piloting a starship is about two things mainly. Math and gut-feeling."

B'Elanna pointed at the navigational console and gestured to Annika to sit. The half-Klingon pulled up a stool next to her. She observed that the human's hands were shaking.

"Are you sure you're alright? Are you feeling faint again." The Captain took her hand in order to feel the pulse.

Annika jumped and pulled her hand away. She looked abashed. "I'm sorry. I'm fine. It's just a little hot... and a little early... for me. I'm not used to the early mornings." She laughed unconvincingly and B'Elanna could see that her breathing was uneven. The captain looked doubtful.

"Where's the parrot?" Annika asked, trying to change the subject.

"The little pest was driving me crazy, so he's banished to the family room for the day. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Please carry on," Annika entreated. The human managed to concentrate enough to slow her breathing. She tried to smile more normally.

"If you're sure?"

Annika nodded.

"Alright then" said B'Elanna and resumed her lecture.

"You need the math to get you where you are going. Now you could have the computer do all the math. But where's the fun in that and what do you do if your navigation computer isn't working? On this ship we do it the old-fashioned way and then use the nav-comp to check our results."

Annika watched the Captain's face; she couldn't really listen because of the buzzing in her ears, so she settled for watching the play of expression across the strong face.

"Gut-feeling is short-hand for knowing your ship; feeling her engines; sensing her mood. An unexpected ten percent fall-off in the ship's power output and all your navigational cleverness isn't going to help you. And in short-range manoeuvres being able to feel your ship is essential."

Annika was trying to abstract herself from the physical attraction that was sweeping through her. She wanted to pay attention but this was really hard. She'd never reacted to anyone like this before, let alone a woman. and she had no point of reference. She started classifying Captain Torres features into klingon and human to see if she could make sense of the attraction. Full mouth: human. Elegantly chiseled forehead: definitely Klingon. High cheekbones: probably Klingon. Beautiful dark eyes: could be either. Flawless caramel skin: again could be either. Physical strength: definitely Klingon. Even white teeth: definitely human. Wicked humour: Klingon. Skilled hands, powerful and graceful, probably deadly: both. The human shivered as she imagined those hands slipping inside her clothing, straying over her skin.

Shocked, Annika immediately clamped down on the fanciful daydream. 'Dammit, she probably doesn't even like women like that. And I don't either.' Meanwhile B'Elanna was droning on.

"You might think why bother. There are auto-pilots, sensors and motion computers for that kind of thing? And they are great...when they work. But a good pilot has to be able to keep flying safely even if they don't work. So you're going to learn to pilot the Queen without any computers or sensors apart from the front and rear viewscreens and an occasional check on our navigational position. When you can do that to my satisfaction then we will start bringing the artificial aids on line. We should have a lot of fun as we are going to enter the Hovtay' HoH'egh tomorrow night."

"You're kidding." Annika was shocked out of her daze. She dragged her gaze away from studying the play of the smooth muscles visible in B'Elanna's forearm.

"Nope. Not kidding. But we're going to plot a safe route, avoiding the most risky zones." B'Elanna reached under the console and drew out three padds and a star chart generator and then dumped them in front of Annika. "I hope your math is good or this is going to be a long day."

Annika tried not to feel desperate. How could she do math when even basic word formation seemed impossible? She stifled a moan when the captain leaned over her and then guided her hand to their current location on the star-chart. She was dimly aware of the half-Klingon explaining how to triangulate their position, allowing for stellar drift and the curvature of space. She was acutely conscious of the warmth being generated by the body a few inches from her own. If she turned her head a few inches, she could just see the curve of a small breast through the half-open shirt. 'A little more effort and I could touch her. Oh shit! What am I doing?'

"Okay. Now if you've got that I'd like you to repeat the same calculation for this point, this point and then that one."

Annika breathed out slowly. "I'm sorry. I didn't quite get it. Could you explain again."

B'Elanna eyed her irritably. "Are you stupid or are you just not listening?"

"Stupid I guess," Annika said weakly.

"Okay. I'll say it once more. But if you can't do this then we might as well give up now."

Annika forced herself to concentrate. Giving up was not something she wanted to do.

Much later that day

"You have just flown the Queen into a gas giant." B'Elanna walked around her angrily. "Have I just wasted 10 hours of my life? Because that's how it looks to me."

Annika glared at her. "You didn't give me the correct starting data."

"No! That's right!" said B'Elanna in mock disbelief. "I didn't give you the correct data because I am a malfunctioning navigation sensor that you were dumb enough to trust without cross-checking! So now you're going to start again from the beginning."

"I am hungry. I am tired. I want a rest."

"You can't have a rest. Your ship is lost in a dangerous area of space filled with asteroid fields and the uncharted remains of an exploded star. If you rest, you die and all your crewmates with you."

"I don't know why I like you," Annika grumbled as she wearily assembled her earlier calculations from the heap on the floor and prepared to begin again.

"What did you say?"

"I said I don't like you."

B'Elanna didn't reply but a small smile escaped. It disappeared as quickly as it had come. She gestured at the exhausted blonde to get on with her calculations. Apparently there was to be no reprieve.

That night

Anika collapsed into the softness of her bed. She had no final conscious thoughts. Sleep came instantly to her over-stressed mind and body. But not rest. Numbers, star systems, navigation arrays and formula whirled in giant nebulae mixed up crazily with tormented sexy dreams. Four hours and an instant of sleep later, her alarm sounded. She wriggled deeper into the bed.

She floated above a small planet. She could just see a tiny figure walking on the surface. The little figure was waving and gesturing. Annika threw one end of the rope in her hand towards her. The end of the rope slowly uncoiled and floated down towards the distant planet surface. It missed the tiny gesticulating figure. 'Hurry up! Do it again!' screamed the tiny figure. 'And do it right this time.' Annika slowly wound the rope back, coiling it in a huge loop beside her that got bigger and bigger until she had to run around it. Still the rope kept coming, and she kept coiling until it stood taller than herself.

"I would have got it next time," she muttered in her sleep. "I just need the right coefficient." The tiny figurine on the planet screamed angrily and the coil of rope sprang up and swallowed her. Darkness surrounded her.

She was lying on something large and soft, somewhere very dark. Cold blackness pressed in upon her. She felt something stir next to her and fear nipped at her heart. A soft moan. Annika jumped and tried to scream when something touched her. Her fear receded quickly, pushed away by a hot flood of desire as warm fingers trailed lightly over her breasts. Annika gasped. She pulled her companion towards her, burying her face in the smooth skin of her dream-lover's shoulder. Soft lips burned her skin...

"Get up Ms Hansen. You're late. I expect to see you in twenty minutes in deflector control" said the dream-lover bad-temperedly and unexpectedly.

Annika woke up and scowled furiously at the speakerphone on the wall. She threw away the pillow she was hugging.

"Don't be late" warned the uncompromising voice of the speakerphone. There was a pause. "And getting lost is not an acceptable excuse either. I can hardly trust you to navigate the galaxy if you cannot find your way on this small ship."

Annika heaved herself onto one elbow and rubbed her eyes. It couldn't be morning. She'd only just gone to bed...

She sat up sharply as the meaning of the captain's orders sank in. Twenty minutes! Her stomach rumbled. Breakfast or shower? She sank back into the pillows and groaned as she became acutely aware of the wet heat throbbing between her legs. She recalled her dreams, soft lips descending... She swallowed hard. Decision. Shower. Cold.

The cold water effectively jolted Annika out of her lust-induced haze. She began to talk sense to herself. It was so ridiculous, this physical attraction. She wasn't a lesbian. Never had been. She had nothing against lesbians but she certainly wasn't one, so this was just some stupid aberration. And even worse, the object of her unwanted attraction was the most awful, bad-tempered, unreasonable, stiff-necked woman she had ever met. And it was quite clear that B'Elanna Torres despised her too.

Annika leant against the cool wall of the shower. She ran her hand slowly across the soft skin of her stomach. Her nipples stiffened. An unwanted image of her tormentor, sinking to her knees in front of her, licking the water droplets from her skin, invaded her imagination. She abruptly straightened up and dropped her hands.

Maybe she was sick! Coming down with 'flu or something. That would also explain the fainting fit the day before yesterday.

Trying to be satisfied with her explanation Annika dressed, all the while telling herself that she was over her strange ailment now and today she would be back to normal. Everything would be fine.

In the family room

B'Elanna was finishing her breakfast with Tom. They were discussing the latest war news, both official and rumoured. Officially the Romulans had been heavily defeated in battle, however two more planetary systems had been placed under protective quarantine because of 'sneak attacks by the cowardly forces of the enemy'. The unofficial news from other trading vessels was that there were pitched battles across the entire sector of the Empire adjacent to Romulan space. The Empire was gaining the upper hand but at great cost. B'Elanna had put out several messages asking if anyone had news of her brothers' bird of prey; the Imperial Guard were always in the thick of battle so it was to be expected that Karnok and Anton would be involved directly in the fighting. B'Elanna wasn't exactly worried about them - that would be an affront to the two Klingon warriors - but they were her little brothers and she had to watch over them. So far the news was good. The HoS HeghmoH had wreaked destruction in every battle she had fought and casualties were light. There had been no word from either of her brothers. Not surprising as B'Elanna knew neither of them would have the sense to think of sending a message home.

The other rumours circulating amongst the trading ships they encountered, concerned the quarantine of Risa. According to the stories circulating, Risa was not in quarantine because of the Romulans. They had not penetrated that far into Klingon space. Exactly what was happening on that planet was unclear.

"Sounds odd," said B'Elanna. "I hope we're not going to be delayed there."

Tom glanced at her guiltily.

"What?" she queried. "Have you heard something."

"No," he lied. "It's nothing. How is your pupil getting along?"

B'Elanna rubbed her chin and sighed.

"That bad," he said trying to sound sympathetic.

B'Elanna stared at her coffee-cup with a bemused expression.

"Perhaps I ought to describe what she achieved yesterday after fourteen hours. You might not believe me otherwise." The captain slowly traced the rim of her cup with her finger as she listed Annika Hansen's progress. "It took her six attempts to master a simple nav comp. Eight attempts to get the hang of a basic two planet solar system approach. Four attempts to manage a level one manual orbit of a planet."

"Whoa!" exclaimed Tom.

"That was...the morning. In the afternoon we covered level 2 navigational exercises. It took five hours before she could manage them, all of them. In the evening she attempted to chart the Jorath Nebula and plot a course."

"Did she do it?"

"What do you think?"

Tom looked a little stunned.

B'Elanna shook her head and said quietly "I estimate that by the time we arrive at Risa, she will just about have completed basic pilot training, at least the theory. Four days." She grinned at him. "How long did it take you Tom?"

"Seven weeks," he replied. "You?"

"Six and six."

"Who'd have thought it. She's a genius."

"Off the chart I'd say. And she seems almost unaware of it. I can honestly say Tom that I probably learnt as much as she did just watching her rip apart some of the calculations. Obviously she doesn't have any practical experience and I caught her out by playing some really evil tricks, but assuming she can hack the practical aspects, she will make an outstanding pilot."

"Brains and beauty. It's enough to make you sick. What are you going to do today?"

"She needs to start getting to know the mechanics of space ships, so I thought warp engine design and theory and its practical application. In the morning... And then just see how it goes. She should be waiting for me in deflector control now."

"Doesn't she get any breakfast."

"Only if she gets up earlier. She may be a genius but I figure a little discipline will do her the world of good."

"Have you changed your opinion of her?" he asked hopefully. He wanted to pass some good information to Jeri.

"Yeah I guess," said B'Elanna slowly. "Now I think she's a clever, spoilt, rich-kid." She finished her coffee in a gulp. "I'd better get going. Don't want to keep her waiting."

Deflector Control

"Sorry I'm late," Annika started apologising almost before she got through the door, "I couldn't find... I'm sorry... I overslept."

B'Elanna looked up and scowled at her. The scowl was replaced by a confused look when she observed Annika's dumb-struck expression.

"What's the matter?"

"You're... I mean... I..." mumbled Annika in obvious distress.

B'Elanna took pity on the struggling blonde. "Just sit down there and relax. I'm not that angry. Just don't be late again."

"You're wearing a vest," muttered Annika, who by contrast was wearing a hunted expression.

B'Elanna looked puzzled.

"So? It gets hot down here. You might want to take something off too."

"No! I'm just fine," Annika snapped back quickly, smiling unconvincingly. She was already uncomfortably warm but the idea of wearing less clothing was disturbing. A suit of armour would look quite attractive she thought.

"Whatever. Let's get on. We have a lot to cover today. I might even let you take the helm of the Queen this afternoon. We have to pass near a pair of black holes - the gravity is so strong, you'll actually feel her moving against it. It's a good way to start learning to cope with the gravity of a planet without the risk of actually hitting anything. "There's no need to be nervous," B'Elanna said briskly, misinterpreting the blonde's weakening smile. "I'll hold your hand through it. Anyway first we're going to review the controls for the warp engines and the deflector. So I'm afraid we'll be crawling about in the Queen's innards."

Annika silently wailed to herself. This was worse than yesterday. Enclosed spaces, and a half-dressed goddess in close proximity all day. The few hormones she had managed to fool into lying down with promises of no more excitement had jumped back up again and were now doing calisthenics with the other millions.

B'Elanna was explaining the physics of warp flight, a subject Annika knew in theory which was just as well since she was completely unable to concentrate on anything apart from staring at the captain's naked arms and shoulders, the smooth caramel skin, and the light sculpting the motion of her finely delineated muscles everytime the captain turned or pointed at some feature of the deflector.

"I think we should have a look at the warp core now. It doesn't make much difference in practical terms but it's important to understand the machinery that makes it all possible. Without warp drive, we would still be puttering about between a few planets in our own solar systems and even those flights would take years." As she was speaking, B'Elanna lead Annika along a short access tunnel that ran between deflector control and aft engineering where the warp core lived. Following on, Annika realised despairingly that the Captain was wearing a tight pair of shorts rather than her usual uniform trousers and that she had really nice legs and that life was even more unfair than she had previously thought.

B'Elanna climbed up a short ladder inside the warp-core mounting. Annika watched her ascend. The Captain's ass was as fine as her other assets. Annika dragged her gaze away.

'Get a hold of yourself Annika. Do. Not. Look. I feel like some oafish construction worker,' the blonde whined to herself. 'Why don't I just fucking wolf-whistle and get it over with.' Her self-hate session was interrupted by an impatient hand beckoning her to join the captain.

She squeezed inside the mounting and found herself standing pressed up against B'Elanna Torres' side. The captain was staring almost worshipfully at the throbbing core of her ship. 'I wish she'd look at me like that,' thought Annika enviously, painfully aware of every point of contact along their thighs, hips and shoulders, the warmth of her body. 'I wonder if she'd notice if I touched her hand... it's right next to mine.'

"There's something mystical about a warp core; matter and anti-matter imprisoned together," B'Elanna said quietly. "It really is the beating heart of a spaceship." The captain blushed. "I'm sorry. That was truly dorky," she muttered.

'She's so cute when she's serious,' gurgled Annika's inner monologue, then Annika blushed too.

For a long minute they both gazed at the warp core, the blue glow from the core hiding their embarrassment from each other. The light seemed to re-energise the half-Klingon. She delivered a short lecture on the various warp core controls and monitoring equipment. Annika concentrated on not staring too obviously.

"Come on. We have a lot to accomplish today Miss Hansen. Next you're going to learn how to recognise and compensate for misalignments in the deflector and for fluctuation in output from the warp core. It's technical, so you'll have to concentrate." There was a certain steeliness in B'Elanna's voice. Annika started and quickly withdrew her gaze from her helpless study of the Captain's mouth.

"No problem," she said, trying to sound as though she believed it. "I'm looking forward to those er.. fluctuations and er.. other things"

"Misalignments," B'Elanna supplied helpfully. She took the blonde's hand. Annika quickly glanced down into the captain's dark eyes that were a disturbingly short distance away. Her expression must have been a picture of shock because the captain immediately smiled and reassured her.

"Sorry I didn't mean to surprise you, I thought you might need a hand down to the ladder." B'Elanna dropped her pupil's hand only to find it snatched back as Annika stammered incoherently.

"No! That's fine you can hold my hand. Anytime. I mean anytime you need to... Not that that's very likely to happen... much... I guess..." Annika tailed off as she continued to stare into the captain's eyes.

"Is there something wrong Miss Hansen?"

'Yes there is something wrong actually Captain Torres. Very wrong.' she complained silently. She felt exasperated by her own feebleness. 'Right this minute I want to kiss you. My whole body aches for your touch and I spent most of last night dreaming about touching you. How fucking wrong is that!'

For one awful moment Annika believed she might just have spoken aloud. The Captain was looking at her very oddly.

"Are you feeling claustrophobic again?" The captain's tone seemed a little sarcastic to the over-sensitive human. Irritated, and scared that B'Elanna would see through her, Annika decided on a diversionary attack.

"Actually there is something wrong. Could I ask you a favour?"

B'Elanna nodded assent although she didn't seem overly interested which only stoked Annika's irritation.

"Please could you call me Annika or Annie or blondie or bitch or brat or anything except Miss or Ms 'fucking' Hansen! You're driving me totally insane with it."

B'Elanna's eyes narrowed. "I like formality Ms Hansen - officers and men, teachers and pupils, employees and passengers - it stops the lines blurring. I'm sorry if that offends you but that's how I'd like to keep it," she said coolly. She dropped Annika's hand.

Annika was pleasantly surprised to find that anger eased her suffering. She stomped down the narrow ladder hardly noticing the descent.

"I was right about you from the off. You are a pompous, self-righteous bully. I'm going back to my cabin. Class is over Captain Torres."

B'Elanna dropped lightly to the ground beside her.

"Fine. I hope you can find your own way back." She turned her back on the blonde and then turned again to face her. "And for the record, it's apparent that my first impressions were correct also. I knew you wouldn't carry this through. You're a spoilt baby and the minute things don't suit, you chuck in the towel and sulk. You were just looking for a way out because it was too hard."

Annika just looked at her. For a second it appeared that the blonde was going to start crying, her eyes seemed oddly shiny but she didn't cry. She nodded slowly.

"It is too hard," she murmured. She crossed to the exit and disappeared left. B'Elanna could hear her footsteps moving away.

"Ms Hansen," B'Elanna called after her loudly. The footsteps slowed. "Crew decks are the other way." The captain's smirk became open laughter when she heard her former pupil swearing obscenely and with astonishing fluency.

The blonde re-appeared in the exit. "I suppose you think that's funny."

B'Elanna suffocated her hilarity with some difficulty. "Well it was. Actually I'm impressed. I have heard Klingons who swear more imaginatively than that but not many."

Still infuriated, Annika snapped "Well I don't suppose many people have had to spend 24 hours up close and personal with you! Effective profanity just needs the right motivation." She waited for B'Elanna to bite back but it wasn't to be. The half-Klingon had obviously recovered her calm and her sense of humour.

"That's me, a great motivator," B'Elanna responded cheekily and grinned again. Annika's ill-temper began to fade also. Reluctantly she felt the corners of her mouth turning up.

"Are you over your tantrum?"

The captain's smile took the sting out of her words and Annika couldn't help smiling back and it quickly became a joyous smile when B'Elanna added "So can we get back to work now... Ani."

B'Elanna pronounced her name in the Klingon form. In that instant, if B'Elanna had asked her to clean out the imperial guard latrines with a toothbrush Annika would have done it with that same smile plastered to her face.

"Fluctuations and misalignments," she said happily. "But what happened to all that professional distance?"

"I think hearing my parentage compared to the union of a Bajoran whore and a Romulan soldier by way of various members of the lower animal orders rather diminishes the possibility of formality. Your knowledge of Klingon idiom is amazing."

Annika looked embarrassed. "It's useful sometimes," she hedged.

"Yeah I guess... if you're ordering drinks in a brothel on Kundara anyway. All those stories you hear about the education of wealthy human children must have some truth."

"Not all of them..." Annika drawled slowly looking into B'Elanna's eyes. The latter looked disconcerted and Annika smirked feeling she had at last gained some control. A feeling which lasted all of two seconds.

"You'll have tell me more over dinner tonight. But for now - warp speed navigation awaits."

"Dinner," repeated Annika breathily. "Sure."

After class

"Hi stranger!" Tom greeted an exhausted Annika Hansen as she struggled back to her cabin carrying a mountain of preparation for the next day. "How's it going?"

"I'm too tired to know," she moaned. "You're boss is monstrous."

"From what I hear you're doing pretty well."

Annika perked up. "Really! Did she say that?"

Tom nodded and Annika beamed at him, so much that Tom had to resist the impulse to pat her on the head like an over-enthusiastic puppy.

"Tom... can I ask you something about the captain?" Tom didn't say no and he looked quite benevolent, so Annika pushed ahead.

"Does she have a partner... like a husband or... a wife?" She looked up at him anxiously. "I'm just curious..."

"No she doesn't. No-one special that I know of. Why do you ask?"

"No reason. Just curious."

Before dinner

Annika stared in turn at every item from her considerable wardrobe. They covered every surface in her cabin. She sighed unhappily.

'Why am I doing this to myself? I could wear a space-suit and she wouldn't notice or she'd make some crack.

'But this is my chance to make her notice.'

'Why should she notice - I don't even know if she likes women and even of she does, then what Annika? Where is this going?'

'I don't know. There's no harm in looking my best. If she's not interested then it won't make any difference. If she is... then I'll...'

'I'll what?'

'I don't know.'

Dinner

Annika entered the family room wearing a dress the colour of her eyes. Her make-up was perfect; her shoes were perfect; her hair was perfect; her scent was so wonderful, it verged on the illegal. She looked beautiful and she knew it but for once it made no difference to her. She was terrified.

Tom looked her way first. His mouth fell open and his jaw would have been on the floor.

"Wow," he said. "You look..."

"A buxom beauty!" shouted the parrot from his perch in the corner. Annika would have laughed at both Tom and the parrot if she hadn't been so focused on the captain.

B'Elanna looked up from her book. Nothing. If her eyes widened slightly, it could have been a trick of the light. She immediately turned her attention to Tom who was still burbling on.

"Shut up Tom. You'll embarrass the woman. Is everyone ready to eat? I'm afraid Ani that Tom's cooking tonight so I hope you have a strong stomach."

Annika hid her disappointment behind a dazzling smile. It took her a good five seconds to find the resources but she did it.

"I'm sure I'll enjoy it," she said. She wondered if she would be able to eat at all. B'Elanna was offering her a drink and fittingly for a Klingon ship there was a good selection of lethal beverages, some milder ones and a few that were downright repellent. Annika settled on a mild beer and found herself on the receiving end of raised eyebrows.

"What's wrong?" she enquired

"That seems a little erm ordinary for you."

"You think I only drink exotic cocktails and champagne..." Annika took a swig from the bottle and smirked.

"They would fit with the dress."

"What dress? Oh you mean this old thing."

"It matches your eyes. So when did you become a beer drinker?"

Still back at the point where B'Elanna had noticed the colour of her eyes, Annika was saved from having to answer by Arkoo's intervention.

"Drunken sot!" screamed the parrot. "Like your father!" "Like your father!" "Like your father! Daddy's girl!"

"Damned noisy bird," B'Elanna said irritably. Annika was astonished by Arkoo's outburst.

"How does it manage to always be so... inappropriately appropriate?"

"Visual cues and dumb luck I think. He is always getting me into trouble. For example the beer you're drinking probably set him off. It was the drink of choice of a woman passenger a few years back. She drank maybe twenty, thirty a day. She wasn't sober in five days. Her husband spent the whole voyage yelling at her that she was like her father." B'Elanna took a sip from her own drink and glanced sideways at Annika before continuing with her story.

"On the sixth day the woman disembowelled her husband with a broken beer bottle, just like that one. She wrote 'Daddy's girl loved her father' in his blood across the walls of their cabin. At the trial she claimed the final straw for her was the parrot screaming 'Daddy's girl!' every time he laid eyes on her."

"Oh my god! That's terrible." Annika stared at the bottle in her hand as though slightly worried that the madness might be catching. "Which cabin?" she asked apprehensively.

B'Elanna looked away, her expression very serious. "Of course we cleaned the walls and the deck of the cabin very carefully."

"You're going to tell me it was mine aren't you..."

B'Elanna grinned wickedly. Annika narrowed her eyes at the teasing and then allowed a small smile to appear. If they were going to repeat stories then she was not without ammunition.

Later on the bridge

B'Elanna was studying the readouts from the sensors. She had to make a choice of routes and wasn't sure which way to go. There were several readings that indicated possible ion blizzards across the main route through the Hovtay' HoH'egh yet avoiding them would mean grazing the edge of a huge area of star formation that emiitted massive radiation bursts. At high warp these were potentially dangerous.

Tom lounged against the console waiting for her decision. He wasn't overly concerned either way.

"You should ask Annie to calculate the probabilities," he said casually.

"Not a bad idea," agreed B'Elanna as she chewed the nail on her index finger.

"She likes you."

"Think so?"

"Lanna, you know what I'm talking about. She really likes you."

"I know."

"You do!"

"Tom, at the risk of sounding arrogant, she wouldn't be the first woman to show an interest. I do know the signs."

"You mean the drooling..."

"Shut up. She's not that bad."

"Are you interested?"

"Nope."

"Why not? She's smart, funny and beautiful. What's not to like."

"She's not my type. She's too..." B'Elanna mimed being flirtatious until Tom gave her a shove. "And she's extremely straight. B'Elanna Torres is not a holiday home for vacationing straight girls."

"You're not going to hurt her."

"She'll be gone from this ship in 36 hours. I don't intend to do or say anything that would give her the slightest encouragement. Beyond that I can't do much. If she wants to waste her time then that's up to her."

"What is your type, Lanna? We've been friends for nearly ten years and I don't have a clue what kind of woman you would like."

"Yes you do. You know most of my girlfriends."

"Lanna, you have a woman in every port, nice women too, but they aren't girlfriends, they're fuck buddies and then friends. They marry other people. You go to their weddings and they make you SoS tIDev to their children. I have never seen you in love."

"You're just jealous. Don't get at me because you gave up your freedom."

"I'm not jealous Lanna. I worry about you. You need someone apart from a bloody parrot."

"Maybe but I don't need Annika Hansen. Okay I think we'll go with the ion storms. They don't look too bad."

Annika leaned against the wall outside the bridge and tried not to cry or even care. B'Elanna Torres was right. She would be gone soon and this would be over. She would be okay again. But right this second it hurt more than anything she had ever experienced.

TBC