This isn't the Ka/Kes I had intended to write, but that has mutated into a J/Ka which showcases a few of my hobbies: empire crushing, cruelty to Vulcans, Captains and Harry Kim.  That will be completed ... well, one day.  Until then, I've borrowed a couple of plot points and a few lines of dialogue and created a completely different story.

A friendly visit from the neighbourhood thought police: "Fury" did not happen.  "Fury" did not happen.  "Fury" did not happen.  Oh, and the fact that Kes wasn't referred to in "Counterpoint", despite the fact that Suder *was* ... I'm going to pull a Braga: continuity doesn't matter.

Star Trek and all related characters belong to Paramount.  If money is being made by this story, I'm not getting any.

***

She was tiny next to Prax, her small frame completely dwarfed by his massive figure.  She radiated strength in spite of her size, though.  She reminded Kashyk of another gaharay woman he'd known once.

She showed no sign of fear, despite the armed guards surrounding her.

"Leave us," Kashyk ordered the guards.

"Sir ... this woman is dangerous," said Prax, but he stopped when he saw the look Kashyk shot him.

"If the doctors have done their work ... and they do seem to enjoy their continued existence ... she has been rendered harmless."

Prax opened his mouth, no doubt to remind Kashyk of the potential damage from their last encounter with a Voyager woman, but then he thought better of it.  He signalled to the guards and they left silently.

Kashyk turned back to the telepath.  Unlike many telepaths, this one did not cry or beg for her life.  Instead, she regarded him with a cool, appraising stare. Kashyk shivered, despite his doctor's assurances that her mental abilities had been neutralised.  She had killed two soldiers before being stunned and taken to the medical bay.  Now, though, she was harmless, not threatening enough to warrant hand restraints.  But still ... Kashyk suppressed a shudder as he remembered those soldier's deaths, the molecules and atoms of their bodies separating while she watched.

She glanced around his office, decorated with mementos from his inspections.  Her eyes widened when she saw the chess board, the black king poised to capture the white queen.  Or vice versa.  *Check*.

"Your name?" he asked.  He didn't really care, but it was a start.

"Kes," she said.  Her voice was husky, gentle.

"Why are you in Devore space?"

"I'm sorry if I violated your borders," she said softly.  "A subspace surge returned my shuttle to normal space by accident.  I had no control over where I came out."

"What is your connection to Voyager?"

She smiled slightly.  "Tell me about yours first."

He was amused by this frail creature who thought she could challenge him.  "They passed through Devore space.  I inspected the ship myself."

"I see."  She looked away thoughtfully.  "I served on Voyager for three years," she said finally.  "Changes in my sub-molecular make-up forced me to leave."  She tilted her head and Kashyk found himself on the receiving end of a piercing gaze that seemed to penetrate the very depths of his mind. *She's neutralised*, he reminded himself.  "Did Voyager survive your ... inspection?" She gave the word a cynical twist.

"Yes."

"Will I?"

A smile touched Kashyk's lips.  "Perhaps."  He reached out and touched the blond curls which framed her face.  Her ears were pointed, he noticed, but they were much more ornate than the Vulcan's had been. He ran a finger over one, stroking the lobe. "Execution is not an inevitability."

He could see that she understood him perfectly, but she remained cold.  "I think I'd prefer execution."

He moved behind her, admiring the smooth curve of her spine.  He pulled the blond curls back from her lovely ears and whispered, "Do you find the thought repulsive?"  She nodded slightly.  He smiled and leaned in for the blow.  "Captain Janeway didn't."

She stiffened.  "You're lying.  The captain would never--"

"I assure you, I'm being honest."  Half honest, anyway.  She'd never know.  "She was completely willing."

Kes shook her head, unwilling to believe him.  "I won't let you manipulate me," she said.  "I know the captain.  She would never--"

"You'd be surprised at what she could do in defence of her ship and crew."  *He* had been surprised; he had trusted in her compassion, her weak spot.  It had been a long time since someone had outmanoeuvred him.  "Her mouth is soft ... her hands are warm but dry ... her body is firm..." He trailed off, amused by the tension in Kes's body.  This one was a challenge, just like Janeway, but Kes was young, malleable.  She would give in, eventually.

She turned to face him.  She reached up and stroked his forehead ridges.  And then she kissed him.  She lacked Kathryn's intensity, but he had to admit, he found her compelling.  He kissed her softly, unwilling to bruise that creamy skin.  He pulled away as the kiss ended.

Her huge grey eyes were cold.  And then ... her body shifted, melting for a second and then resolidifying.  "Your doctors are not as good as you thought, Kashyk," she said softly.

He felt no pain as his molecules began to shift.  She was just like her captain, unwilling to cause unnecessary suffering.  "You created false readings," he choked.  Ironic. "Fooled my doctors..." He shuddered as he felt her mind touch his.

"You lied to me," she said.

His last thought was that Prax was right.  Voyager's women were dangerous.  And then his body dematerialised and he died.

END

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Copyright © 2000 Elizabeth M. Barr

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