Warning: Contains nudity. Rated R.
The
Many Uses of Science
“Carbon 14 compounds.”
“Metallic sodium 24.”
“Are you crazy?” Janeway asked her first officer with a look of disbelief. “Look at the rate of beta decay.”
“The readings are distorted. You’re overcompensating for the solar radiation ionizing the upper atmosphere,” Chakotay said, leaning back in the ready room chair.
Janeway was beginning to become very frustrated with her first officer. “Have you forgotten all your radiocarbon dating lessons in those anthropology classes at the Academy? Carbon 14 has a half-life of over 5000 years and is constantly produced by high-energy neutrons from space. Sodium 24 has a half-life of less than 15 hours. We already know the surface is covered in carbon-based plant life. Now what isotope are we more likely to find?”
Impudently, he asked, “Then where are all the beta particles coming from? Besides, we found large deposits of light metals in the last three systems.”
She explained, as she might to a small child, “Solar radiation ionizing the atmosphere -- those systems were strange exceptions to the rule.”
“So, how to you explain the gravimetric analysis? It either has large, even deposits of extremely light elements, or the planet is hollow.”
Janeway just looked at him.
He made a small concession, “I guess it could be nitrogen, but it’s definitely not those carbon compounds.”
Janeway rolled her eyes; she had endured enough. She knew she understood the formation of star systems better than he ever would and it annoyed her that he would tread where only those highly educated in the pure sciences should go. That was one of the reasons she had such a rapport with B’Elanna Torres, who had an intuitive knowledge of the nature of the physical world. But for Chakotay, she had a plan for revenge. With a mischievous upturn of the corners of her lips, she said, “Care to put your money where your mouth is, mister?”
He flashed his dimples and asked, “In what way?”
“A friendly wager.”
“Sounds interesting. What did you have in mind?”
“Well, do you remember that incident with the Laundernian swamp squid in my shower?”
“Of course,” he laughed.
“And you just happened to be outside my quarters with a holo-imager?”
“Um, yes. Well, you see, my quarters…”
“Don’t bother, Commander. My point is, you are in possession of some holo-images of me in a somewhat compromising position…”
“I would never…”
“Don’t worry, I’m not asking for them back, but I would like to even the score. The winner gets a session with the loser and a camera. Agreed?”
Chakotay shook his head in disbelief. “Just when I thought I knew you. Okay, Captain, I accept your terms.”
“Ensign Kim, now that we’re close enough, run a spectrographic analysis of the planet. Let’s see what it’s made of.”
“Aye-aye, Captain,” he said form the Ops station of the bridge.
The captain faced forward in her chair again and returned her attention to the viewscreen. After a moment, her eyes flickered to the left, towards the strained visage of the commander. His entire posture betrayed his nervousness. She wondered which possibility made him more anxious.
“Are you all right, Commander?” she prodded.
Narrowing his eyes, he replied, “Yes, Captain.”
“Do you have that report yet, Ensign?” she probed, in order to heighten her first officer’s discomfort.
Ensign Kim said, “Preliminary test results indicate the curst is composed mainly of carbon and carbon compounds. It is unusual for a plane t that size to display such low gravimetric readings, though.”
“You’ll have your chance to study this planet in further detail as we pass by.”
“Understood, Captain.”
“Commander, I’m going for lunch; would you care to join me?”
In the turbolift, Chakotay could feel the heart coming off her body, as she stood too close.
“So, Chakotay, I suggest we go to your quarters, since you’re the one with the holo-camera.”
Though he was feeling a bit shy, hearing Kathryn talk that way was beginning to make him substantially hard. He had to think other thoughts, and quickly, as Starfleet uniforms could be strikingly immodest at times. He thought of Seven of Nine’s icy coldness and felt a drop in temperature.
Soon they were in his quarters. He stalled by tidying his clean living room. Kathryn did not waste any time in retrieving the camera from the shelf. She adjusted the setting, and then just stood there.
“Well?” she asked, impatiently.
He froze like a deer caught in a bright light. He never believed Kathryn would go through with it, but she seemed insistent.
“Need some help? Start with the boots. That’s an order.”
Chakotay obeyed, as it didn’t seem like that big a step.
“Now the jacket. You can keep the turtleneck… for now.”
Still easy enough.
“Socks”
His first bit of flesh newly exposed to the air didn’t frighten him, as it was only his feet. Nevertheless, it was the beginning of a slippery slope.
“Now the turtleneck.”
He was having second thoughts.
“Pants.”
“Uh, Kathryn, I don’t think…”
“We had a bet; you lost. Seems simple enough to me. Now take off your pants.”
“I can’t,” he implored.
She sighed and tossed the camera onto the couch.
“Kathryn, don’t be angry with me.”
She stomped over to the couch and plopped herself into it. Then she took off her boots.
Confused, Chakotay asked, “What are you doing?”
“What does it look like? I’m taking off my clothes in my first officer’s quarters. Trust me, it’s a tradition that has a long and colourful history among less scrupulous captains across the galaxy.”
Chakotay blushed furiously, as she pulled her turtleneck over her head. “But, well, I haven’t had my shots in a while and…”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but we aren’t going to have sex.”
“I…”
“This isn’t about sex, it’s about power. Now are you going to take off your pants or what?”
He felt compelled to ask, “But why?”
She replied, “Because I never forget. Because I hold a grudge. Because my revenge has been a long time in coming, Chakotay. Oh, and because I’ve wanted you for years and I may never be able to have you.”
“Okay, but you still have most of your clothes on.”
“I’m not the one who lost the bet.”
Chakotay hung his head and continued to disrobe by removing his pants. Standing there in his tank and boxers, he wished for divine forces to intervene or at least for the bridge to call.
“Kim to the Captain.”
As the disembodied voice of the perpetual ensign interrupted them, Chakotay thought Harry was just about as divine as it got.
Janeway snorted, and then demanded, “What is it, Ensign?”
Unfazed or unnoticing, Chakotay guessed the latter, Ensign Kim said, “You’re not going to believe this. You know those bizarre gravimetric readings we’ve been getting? We thought the planet was composed of light elements.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Well, sensors seem to indicate that the planet is hollow.”
The captain and first officer stood mute, staring at each other in disbelief.
She was the first to interrupt the silence. “You may bring the ship as close as you would like to investigate.”
“But, Captain…”
“That will be all.”
She ten turned to Chakotay and said, “Well, then who really won the bet?”
“You were right about the elemental composition and I guessed it was hollow.”
“That means there’s only one thing for us to do.”
“I agree,” Chakotay said as he gathered up his clothes.
Kathryn peeled off her tank top. He could only stare at her beautiful smooth skin and lacy bra as she slid out of her slim pants. He appreciated her body for a moment more, before starting to remove the last of his clothes.
He paused with his thumbs hooked around the waistband of his boxers and asked, “Why, Kathryn?”
She released the clasp on her bra and let her breasts spring free, before answering, “These pictures will fuel a lonely captain’s erotic fantasies for a very long time. Possibly long enough for her to get her crew home and be free to do as she truly desires.”
“What’s the difference, Kathryn? You can’t say we aren’t engaging in sexual activity. Even the way you act around me in public has a sexual undertone. You touch me with your hands, caress me with your voice, alternately seduce me and destroy me with your flawed logic. Why this last barrier? We’re standing here in our underwear and I think, just maybe the crew will still respect you in the morning if you’re true to your heart, and I dare say your body’s desires.”
She looked at him, her features shadowed by sadness, and said, “You know I’m not one to make compromises, but let’s just do this one small thing and I’ll see if I can live with it.”
“Okay. This one small thing.”
She knew it was late, but on this night, like many others before, she pulled the drawer out from the dresser. Hidden in the back was the PADD, not unlike the countless stacks of reports that populated her quarters. But she regarded this one with far more affection, as it held the memories of that day in his quarters.
He had held her gently, only ever daring to caress her cheek as the timer counted down on the camera. She wished the impatient device could have given them more time, but after it activated, they no longer had an excuse to continue the embrace. They snapped a few more awkward images of each other before she hastily dressed and escaped his quarters with only the tiniest of glances back. The entire time she desperately wished the circumstances were different. Or at least that she wouldn’t feel like it would break some moral law if she did follow her heart.
“Maybe someday,” she whispered. “Maybe someday things will be different for us, Chakotay.”
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