Title: The Warrior and The Woman
Author: Annette
Feedback address: newbie_2u@verizon.net
Date in Calendar: 19 December 2009
Fandom: Star Trek: Voyager
Pairing: Seven/B'Elanna
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 2,366
Summary: There comes a time when you just can't fight your feelings.
Archiving: Only with the permission of the author.
Advertisement: Part of the FSAC:DW09

Disclaimer: "Star Trek: Voyager," the characters, and situations depicted are the property of Paramount Pictures, CBS Television, and several other people or companies over the years. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes. Previously unrecognized characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. This site is in no way affiliated with "Star Trek: Voyager," Paramount Pictures, or any representatives of the actors.

Author's Disclaimer: Voyager and its characters are the property of Gene Roddenberry and Paramount Pictures. No infringement intended.

Author's Notes: This author greatly appreciates feedback and concrit, which you can send to Annette

The Warrior and The Woman


B'Elanna Torres was exhausted. The past few days were beginning to wear on the half-Klingon – her recent break-up with Tom Paris and the sorry state of Voyager after a recent attack had kept her running on adrenaline alone. Sleep would be welcome and, even though things were slowing down, she found herself with an enormous amount of energy that she needed to burn off. A trip to Holodecks was in order and so B'Elanna put Carey in charge and made her way out of Engineering as she considered the program she would run.

- - - - - - - - -

As the sun began to rise, the Warrior moved away from the camp. She had spent the better part of the evening silently dispatching as many of the enemy as she could and now she moved to the forest waiting for the moment the camp-dwellers awoke. Soon the sound of angry shouts could be heard as the soldiers scrambled about trying to figure out what had happened.

She had cut their number in half and the remaining ten soldiers quickly began to search – with intent to destroy – the band of cowards who had killed their comrades in the night. The Warrior had taken daggers, a bow and a quiver of arrows from the camp and had settled in a tree just inside the forest edge. She would need to make her half-dozen arrows count by taking out at least four of the ten remaining soldiers while they were still at a distance. She left a trail that would lead the soldiers into the forest slightly to her left. Once in range she would begin to pick them off with her arrows.

As the Warrior waited for the coming battle she focused on how it should proceed, visualizing each step of her carefully crafted plan. She concentrated on her breathing and keeping her adrenaline level at optimum as she felt the energy course through her veins. Even though she faced the possibility of death, she had never felt more alive.

The soldiers had finally found her false trail and she readied herself, adjusting her position and notching the first arrow. The trail was narrow and forced the soldiers to walk in twos making it easier to single out her targets. The first arrow found its mark and before the soldier realized what had happened his comrade fell to the second arrow. The remaining soldiers were now alert to the threat and attempted to find cover. As the third and fourth arrows flew, one fell and one escaped, but as the fifth and sixth arrows sang through the air two more soldiers met their fate.

The Warrior discarded her bow and empty quiver and grasping a dagger in each hand silently dropped to the forest floor. The remaining five soldiers headed toward her now and she needed to get them to the clearing. She moved in that direction and smiled as they followed obediently. After a few yards she spun and threw both daggers at her pursuers – each found their deadly mark. And then there were three…

As the Warrior broke through the forest edge, she did a quick scan of the area and chose the perfect spot on which to continue the battle. The soldiers broke through and ran toward their attacker stunned into inaction as they realized she was a woman. Their hesitation was enough to cut their numbers to two – well one and a half since she had managed to seriously wound one of them. Now she stood and faced the two remaining men with no weapons – or so they thought.

The soldiers began to circle the Warrior looking for the perfect moment to attack. The Warrior concentrated on the uninjured soldier knowing the other would soon succumb to blood loss. She didn't even flinch as he fell to the ground, but his comrade made a fatal mistake, as he moved his attention to the dying man the Warrior took full advantage of the soldier's lapse in concentration and quickly disarmed him. The soldiers eyes went wide as he waited for her to slice him open with his own sword. He watched as she raised the sword and closed his eyes to await the inevitable.

He heard a whooshing noise that he was sure was the sound of the blade as it descended toward him. Moments later, he realized that his head was still attached to his neck and opened his eyes to see the Warrior turn back toward him and toss his sword aside as she graced him with a feral grin. He didn't have time to wonder what had drawn her attention as she struck a crushing blow to his cheek. He staggered under the strength of the blow and knew that he would not leave this fight alive.

Knowing he had nothing to lose he took a second to admire the woman who would soon send him to his death. She was a true Warrior and he knew he could die with honor at her hand. He was determined to give her a fight and so he lashed back with abandon. It was a beautiful thing to behold, a ballet of power and motion but all too soon, it was over. The Warrior stood over the body of the last soldier and felt the rush of emotion well up within her. She squared her shoulders and threw her head back and howled in victory to the sky.

Lowering her head the Warrior breathed deeply, picking up the scent of the Woman who had entered the battlefield a few moments ago. She turned and moved toward her slowly, sinuously, further enthralling the already breathless Woman. The Warrior reached out and caressed the Woman's face, the energy between them almost tangible as the Woman leaned into the caress. They stood there for timeless moments staring into each other's eyes until the Warrior reached behind the Woman's neck and drew her into a searing kiss.

The Warrior looked down at the Woman, her eyes still dark with desire, her body pulsing with the after-effects of the recent battle and the new sensations this Woman was causing. She wanted to kiss this Woman, to posses her and be possessed by her. The Warrior took the Woman into her arms, reveling in the feel of the compact body pressed against her own.

Warning, this program will end in five minutes.

The Warrior stepped back in confusion upon hearing the disembodied voice. Her eyes darted around until they came to rest on the Woman. The voice was familiar… the Woman was familiar… but the Warrior was confused. A wave of dizziness washed over her and she dropped to one knee.

"Kahless Seven!" B'Elanna exclaimed breathlessly as she attempted to process everything she had just witnessed. Seven was glorious in battle, sensuous and seductive afterward as she approached and commanding as she crushed their lips and bodies together. B'Elanna shook off the arousal she was feeling and rushed to Seven's side as she saw the blonde collapse.

"Seven, are you alright?" The blonde was trembling and as she looked up at the brunette, B'Elanna witnessed something else she had never seen before – she had never seen Seven look so vulnerable.

"Lieutenant?" Seven was just beginning to recall who she was and where she was. She had often experienced strong emotion upon completing this holoprogram but it had never left her quite so disoriented. As she struggled to regain her equilibrium, she began to remember…

"Lieutenant Torres, I must apologize for my recent behavior." Seven was finding it difficult to look the dark haired woman in the eyes. It was all coming back to her – a feeling so much stronger than anything she had ever experienced but she wasn't sure what it was. "I cannot explain my actions but I will not fight you when you bring charges against me."

B'Elanna placed her hand on Sevens shoulder and felt the young woman trembling. The blonde would not look at her but her words had gotten through to B'Elanna. "What are you talking about? Why would I press charges against you?" B'Elanna reached out and grasped Sevens chin, turning her face so that she could see her eyes. What she saw made her gasp – the depth of emotions in those blue eyes disproved every notion she had about the Borg drone. This was a woman in pain – a fully human woman.

Warning, this program will end in 60 seconds.

"Computer, when this program ends begin program Torres alpha two." Torres alpha two will commence in 40 seconds.

B'Elanna turned her attention back to the woman kneeling before her. She coaxed Seven to her feet and led her toward a small cottage that appeared as part of the new holoprogram. The blonde followed without resistance, even complied when B'Elanna led her to a sofa, and pushed her down to sit.

The brunette slipped into the kitchen quickly grabbing a pitcher of water and a pair of glasses. She returned to the living room to find the young woman staring into space. B'Elanna's heart went out to the blonde and she found herself wanting to help ease her pain. She moved to sit next to the young woman and handed her a glass of water. "Here Seven, have a drink."

B'Elanna's gentle urging snapped Seven out of her trance and she accepted the glass taking a healthy gulp of the cool water. "Thank you Lieutenant."

"Call me B'Elanna." The dark-haired woman asked as she placed her hand on the blonde's arm. Although less pronounced than it had been, she could still feel her trembling. "Why were you running that program?"

Seven looked up at the half-Klingon for a second before dropping her eyes. "I have been attempting to understand strong emotion. The Captain and the Doctor have both been adequate in mentoring me toward regaining my humanity; however, their lessons have become redundant. The Captain is an exceptional model of emotional control and the Doctor's emotions have been programmed. I wish to understand unbridled emotion and I came to the realization that you would be the perfect tutor. Due to the adversarial nature of our relationship, I did not believe that you would assist me and so I chose to learn through observation. I must confess to having instigated many of our recent altercations. I wished to understand your ability to reign in your temper – to transition from a state of anger to a state of calm and continue to work as if nothing had happened."

"Okay, we'll revisit the whole provoking me thing later… Seven, I wish you would have asked me for help, I certainly would have at least talked to you. "

Seven looked hopefully at the brunette. "Lieutenant, may I ask you a question now?"

"Only if you call me B'Elanna. Now, what's on your mind?"

"I have run this program many times and have found much satisfaction in the emotion it allows me to feel. However, in this instance the result was quite different. I believe your presence changed the parameters of the program. In all other instances, I merely wished to complete the program and had only slightly varied the method of dispatching the soldiers. When I heard you enter I knew you were familiar to me and I found myself wanting to impress you." Seven hesitated as she attempted to recall the events more clearly. "I remember tossing the soldier's sword aside and fighting him hand to hand. I recall dispatching him and then the rush of emotion that caused me to vocalize. Then I turned to you and approached with intent to copulate with you."

B'Elanna saw the blush creeping up Seven's neck and felt her own cheeks warm as she recalled the blonde's kiss. She held her own counsel as she waited for Seven to continue.

"I am unable to adequately explain my behavior as I have never felt any emotion that strongly. I would like to ask you to help me understand what caused me to behave in this fashion and how I might control myself in the future."

Seven was wringing her hands as she waited for the half-Klingon to speak.

For her part B'Elanna was struggling with her own emotions – the feelings Seven had evoked were like nothing she had ever experienced. Moreover, seeing the depth of emotion in the young woman's eyes had B'Elanna feeling ashamed for ever having thought of Seven as an emotionless drone. She now understood that Seven was merely trying to cope with things she didn't understand and B'Elanna felt compelled to help her. "I thought you wanted to explore these emotions, not control them?"

It was not the response Seven was expecting and she looked at the half-Klingon for confirmation. "You would assist me with this… even after I accosted you? I do not understand."

"Yeah, I get that Seven and I think that's a big part of the problem. Neither one of us really took the time to understand each other. I mean when you think about it we have so much in common. We're both struggling with our identities, and we're both looking for acceptance. And as far as you accosting me Seven, if you recall, I didn't exactly put up a fight." B'Elanna watched the blonde as she processed what had just been said. She couldn't believe she admitted to Seven something she herself had just realized – that she cared for the young woman and could only equate her behavior to that of someone pushing away the thing they want most. All the petty remarks, the shouting and anger were a mask for what she was really feeling and if Seven was willing, they would explore these new emotions together.

Fin