PART I

The woman awoke slowly, clambering painfully up through the fog that surrounded her brain. When her heavy eyelids eventually fluttered open, squinting against the dull light that suffused the hut, she found herself looking into the face of a dark stranger with deep, sparkling eyes. The woman groaned and tried to raise herself but immediately an intense pain stabbed through her and she gasped, sinking back into the soft bed beneath. "Don't try to move" said a gentle voice beside her, as the stranger laid a restraining hand lightly on her shoulder, "you're badly injured, you must be still." The woman turned her face back towards the speaker and opened her eyes again, her teeth clenched tightly against the pain that pinned her down, "Wh...who...are....you?" she asked.
"A friend" came the smiling reply. "I found you like this three days ago, out in the woods" the stranger informed her patiently, "You've been in a high fever ever since. I thought you were going to die, in fact I think with those injuries you should be dead, but somehow you're still here."
"You....you looked..after me?"
"Yes. I did the best I could."
The woman smiled weakly and swallowed, her breath shallow and fast. "Thank you" was all she could manage to say.

"Do you have a name?" asked the dark stranger, when she had helped the woman to take a refreshing sip of water.
"I suppose....I must have" she replied doubtfully, "but I...I..."
"Can't remember?"
"No."
The darker woman smiled gently, reaching out to place a cool damp cloth on her patient's sweaty forehead. "That's alright" she reassured, "I'm sure I'll think of something to call you. I have the same problem, actually." A frown of puzzlement crinkled the pale woman's brow and the other smiled as she continued her ministrations. "I woke up about a week ago, not far from where I found you" she explained, "I don't remember anything before that." She began to mop the sweat from the woman's naked chest and arms as she continued "I found this place by sheer chance and, since it seems to have been abandonned, I took up residence. So far I've found everything I needed to survive." She paused to rinse out her cloth in the bowl beside the bed and then moved down the blonde's glistening body, wiping very gently around her bandaged midriff, and asked "do you remember anything?" The woman thought, struggling for memories, for any shred of information about who she was or where she had come from or how she had got hurt, but there was only emptiness. "No" she admitted, rolling her blonde head slightly on the pillow, "nothing at all" before a stab in her abdomen stole her breath.
"I'm sorry I don't have anything to give you for the pain" said the 'friend', her sorrow evident in her voice, "but you seem to heal quickly, I'm hoping it will ease soon."

The stranger's prediction proved correct over the next few days as the young woman's injuries continued to heal themselves and she rapidly regained strength. Her breathing became strong and regular, the pain only hitting her intermitently or when she somehow aggravated her wounds. In a week she was sitting up and insisting that she was well enough to get out of bed, though her attentive nurse would not allow it, telling her she was still too weak. The woman knew that was true, but lying around doing nothing did not feel natural to her and she was getting frustrated. Having nothing better to do, other than hunting for food, the dark woman spent hours sitting by the bed, chatting with the woman that was fast becoming her friend. At first they spent the time trying to help eachother remember anything that could give them a clue to their lives before this place but as it became evident that neither of them were going to remember a thing, it became less important to them.

"Sharika!" said the dark woman one day, totally out of the blue.
"What?" came puzzled enquiry.
The dark one laughed and began to explain her strange outburst. "There's a species of bird that lives here" she began, sitting forward on the chair that also served as her bed, "it has pale, golden plumage, almost the exact colour of your hair, and its call is 'shariiiiiiika'.... at least, that's how it sounds to my ear. I thought it would make a good name for you. What do you think?" The blonde smiled and took a swig of her hot drink as she rolled the word around in her brain, eventaully turning her crystal blue eyes on her friend and nodding "I think I like it. It will do very well."
"Good," replied the other, "I like it too."
"But what about you?" asked Sharika as her companion stood to remove her empty mug to the small kitchen.
"Well, I named you so I think you should name me" she replied.
"alright" agreed Sharika, laying her head back against the wall to think for a moment while her friend waited patiently. Eventually a word came to her and she said "Astra."
The dark woman mulled the word over. "Astra" she said, "I like that. Where did it come from?"
"I don't know. I have a very vague feeling that it means something but......I like the sound and I think it suits you."
"Alright, Astra it is" said the dark woman, with a radiant smile.

* * * * * *

Astra crouched silently behind a fallen tree trunk and peered through slitted eyes at her blissfully unaware prey. The creature chomped at the springy turf, oblivious to the danger that lurked downwind, its nose snuffling in the lush grass. Suddenly it lifted its head in alarm, its startled eyes wide and shining with apprhension. Astra held her breath and ducked down, careful not to make a sound. The deer-like animal's nose twitched furiously as it tried to find the source of the sound it had detected and suddenly a red flash streaked out of the forest upwind of the creature and came to an abrupt halt before it, revealing itself to be a red-haired rodent of some kind. It stared up at the deer, sniffed at its thin legs, made a strange little sound that fell somewhere between a puff and a squeak, and shot back into the undergrowth, leaving the deer to return to its grazing.

Astra let her breath out softly and adjusted her grip on her sharpened stick. She had found a sharp knife in the kitchen of her shack and used it to whittle several short lengths of fallen wood into lethal stakes. She could feel the steely strength of her right bicep ready to unleash its power and, even as she drew back her arm, heard the voice in her head that said 'wait... not yet.' As still as a statue she waited, iron arm drawn back, the only movement coming from her eyes as they followed every move her quarry made. 'Steady....steady...' said the voice in her head, as she watched the creature move nearer to find more succulent turf. Then the moment struck as the deer turned toward her and her little voice yelled 'NOW!' She sprang up, flinging her missile at the creature's chest with the controlled desperation of one who must succeed or starve. She didn't like killing these noble beasts, but she liked the idea of Sharika and herself starving even less. Still she was determined that the animal would suffer as little as possible and always made sure that her first throw hit its mark firmly and desicively. The stake penetrated deep into the animal's breast and it fell on its side, thrashed once, and died.

The animal was large and would keep them fed for several days, if she could find any more salt to use as a preservative. Astra had no idea how she had known that salt would preserve meat, it just seemed to be another one of those useful pieces of information that kept appearing in her mind. Intermitantly she would discover skills and knowledge that she hadn't realised she possessed, like fishing, for example, or hunting, which (despite her distaste of it) did seem to be instinctual to her. It seemed that she knew how to survive. She had tried to remember why that should be but the images were locked away somewhere deep inside and she was no closer to finding the key than she had been that first day, when she had awoken alone in the forest.

Sharika was different, of course, and not just in her appearance. Her knowledge and instincts lay in other directions. She was unfailingly, almost annoyingly logical and she seemed incapable of being afraid, even when she had been gravely ill, or perhaps she was just incapable of expressing her fear. Astra suddenly had a vague feeling that these 'attributes' were somehow connected with the artificial, mechanical componants that adorned Sharika's body, but she could make no solid conclusion on the subject. Indeed, her conclusions about her friend were far from solid and very confusing.

The woman had a disorientating effect on Astra. When they were together, she found herself moving closer, as if her body were naturally drawn towards Sharika, like a magnet. She wanted to take the tall blonde in her arms and kiss her and make love to her until......"Wow! Where did that come from?" she asked herself out loud. Something inside told her that she could not just pounce on a woman like Sharika.

* * * * * *

Sharika put the dishes she had washed on the side to drain and went back to the bed to lie down. She had spent the whole morning cleaning the cottage and now she was exhausted, but it would be worth it if it pleased Astra. The dark woman had gone out hunting at first light, refusing to let Sharika accompany her, saying she was not yet strong enough. She had been sure she was entirely recovered and certainly well enough to help in the search for food, but now she was so drained, after merely cleaning, that she was beginning to wonder whether Astra had been right all along.

As she lay on the familiar bed she thought of how much she wanted to please her friend. Something stirred inside her when she thought of the strong, dark woman that seemed to be such an opposite of herself. Astra could be exasperatingly impatient and illogical but, strangely, Sharika found herself most attracted to those aspects of her friend, perhaps because they seemed to be so alien to her own nature. As she mused on these aspects of her friend, her eyes fluttered closed and she drifted into sleep.

Astra's tongue slipped into Sharika's mouth as soon as the blonde's luscious lips parted. "Mmmhh, Shari" she moaned through her kisses, "you taste...so...sweet." Astra's hands stroked down and down...and down. "Aaaahhh," Sharika sighed, "mmm, don't stop....please."

"Shari!?" Astra's voice sounded concerned. She opened her eyes to find her dark friend standing before her, her eyes filled with worry as she enquired in a deep voice "are you alright?" her warm hand landing lightly on Sharika's shoulder.
"Yes.....why?"
Astra sat on the edge of the bed and said "I thought you were having a nightmare, the way you were thrashing about."
"Uh...no, I was just....uhm..."
Luckily for the blonde, she didn't have to find a way to finish her sentence, since Astra had noticed her day's handiwork and exclaimed "Shari! Have you done all this today?!"
"Well, no one else has been here" replied Sharika with a teasing smile.

Astra sunk deeper into the bed and took her friend's hand, admonishing her gently "Shari, you're supposed to be resting."
Sharika's eyes lowered and her full lips pouted a little as she murmurred "I thought you'd be pleased. You were only saying yesterday what a mess this place had become."
"Yes but I didn't mean you to clean it. I was going to do it myself later." Seeing her friend's look of disappointment, regret filled Astra's heart and she reached out to raise the blonde's drooping face. "I am pleased," she assured, her dark eyes sparkiling with love, "of course I am. It looks wonderful. I'm just worried about you, that's all. I know you're feeling restless but the more you take it easy, the quicker you'll regain your strength." She smiled and brushed an errant hair from Sharika's pale face before adding "You can't tell me you're not exhausted."
Shari huffed a little but had to smile at her friend's observation. "No, I can't" she admitted softly, letting her head fall onto Astra's shoulder, "but you do so much for me, I just want to contribute."
"You will" Astra soothed, her arm slipping tenderly around the delicate shoulders, "but you have to give yourself some time. It's only been just over two weeks, Shari! Give yourself a break, huh?" She squeezed the sleepy woman tighter and added "aren't I supposed to be the impatient one?"

* * * * * *

They became lovers almost without realising what was happening. One morning they woke up in eachother's arms and did what to both of them felt like the most natural thing to do when you wake up next to the person you have come to love with all your heart. They made love.

After that first beautiful morning when they discovered eachother so thoroughly, they woke up like that almost every morning. Whichever of them woke first would wake the other with touches and kisses that began tenderly and lovingly but soon blossomed into unbridled passion. Astra was the more aggressive of the two, frequently leaving marks on her lover's pale skin, but Sharika loved the strength and passion that her partner displayed, loved the sexy little growls and full-blooded roars that eminated from her during their more furious bouts of lovemaking. They encountered a few other inhabitants on their travels around their paradise, and made friends with several, regularly visiting them and inviting them for meals, but they really needed no one but eachother. When they were not making love or hunting for food, they would make plans to extend their house or explore their world, and in the evenings, sitting before the fire, they would entertain eachother with fantastical tales of their pasts, inventing whole, incredible histories for eachother. They lived an idyllic life and never once yearned for anything more than their small planet and the love they had found in eachother and as the weeks and months passed they became more and more sure that, whatever their lives had been before they came here, they could not have been happier or more fulfilled they were right now.

PART II

Captain Janeway hung her head in frustration. "Do you mean to tell me there's no way to get them back?" she asked exasperatedly.
"That's not exactly what I said, Captain" pointed out the Talxian, "I said we can't send anyone else down there or the same thing will happen to them as I'm sure has happened to B'Elanna and Seven."

Neelix knew of this strange planet where time sped up and memories were wiped. It was famous in this part of the Delta Quadrant for the strange phenomenon that had earned it the nickname of 'Forget-me-not' amongst the quadrant's natives. Its real name was Kal'aran and ten years ago it had been the home of a small but thriving society of farmers and artisans, but then had come the bizzare events that had turned it into the infamous amnesiac world that was now avoided at all costs. No one knew exactly what had happened there, only that there had been some kind of accident, or incident, or event that had somehow altered its atmosphere and accelerated its spin, and now anyone who entered the planet's atmosphere immediately lost their memory. The situation had been discovered quite by accident only a few years ago, after many mysterious disappearances, when a young pilot who had previously crashed there had found a working ship and (operating purely on instinct) had left the planet's atmosphere. As soon as he was clear of its influence his memory had been completely restored and, since he retained his memories of his time on the planet, he had been able to inform the appropriate authorities. He had been gone exactly a week as far as his family and friends were concerned, but in terms of the planet's timeframe he'd had years to explore the place and was able to give a very full description. It was this information that now reassured the Voyager crew that their comrades would be able to survive quite comfortably on the lush planet with its hospitable environment.

B'Elanna and Seven had known about the planet's strange properties when they had left for their away mission on a nearby star, but when the plasma storm hit without warning they had been skirting its atmosphere and were immediately pulled in. Two weeks later, the storm that had caught them unaware was still raging, preventing the transporters from getting a lock, and showing no sign of letting up.

"What about Seven's eidetic memory?" asked the captain suddenly, "would that be effected?"
"Presumably" Neelix replied, "we know that vessels' memory cores are wiped, which means that technology is not immune to the phenomenon. However, Captain, we also know that instinct is not affected. Seven and B'Elanna both have great survival instincts, don't they? I'm sure..."
"This isn't just about their survival, Neelix," interrupted the captain, "as you say, they're probably not in any real danger anyway. But we need to get them back." She sat back and eyed the EMH thoughtfully. "Doctor" she began, "if we could get a sample of the atmosphere, could you develop some kind of protection?"
"Possibly, it depends what's causing the phenomenon. If it's a virus of some kind I could probably create a vaccine. But wouldn't any probe we sent into the planet's atmosphere have its memory wiped as well?"
"Yes" agreed Janeway, slightly deflated, but then she perked up as she had another idea. "What if we put a tractor beam out, Harry?"
"We'd need specific co-ordinates" Kim replied.
"So pick a point, Ensign" Janeway ordered with a shrug, "pick any point just inside the atmosphere and tractor it into a cargo bay."
"Yes, ma'am, that might work."
"Good, then let's get on it. And set up a maximum strength containment field around the sample. I don't want anything leaking out into the computer. Dismissed."

* * * * * *

A sample of the planet's atmosphere duly collected and stored, the doctor set to work at once. He tested it for parasites, bacteria, viruses, radiation, alien entities and everything else he could think of but came up with nothing. "I'm sorry, Captain" he informed Janeway gloomily, "but I don't know what else I can test for. As far as I can tell, there's nothing unusual about it at all."
"Well then" acknowledged the captain dejectedly, "I suppose we'll just have to wait until this dammed storm has blown itself out. It can't possibly last much longer."

The captain's prediction, however, was incorrect. They sat helplessly for another ten days, waiting for the storm to abate enough to get a lock, and everyone was getting restless. There were even some murmurrings among the crew that they should leave the lost crewman to what was no doubt an idyllic existance and move on. They were able to use the time for some maintance work and Janeway comissioned several in depth reports that she had been putting off, but she did wonder how long she could reasonably wait before she was forced to leave. It went against everything she believed in to abandon members of her crew, but she had to think about the rest of the crew as well and she knew they could not wait forever.

As she sat gloomily in her ready room, nursing a mug of coffee, she was hailed by Harry Kim. "Captain," he announced excitedly "There seems to be a lull in the storm. I don't think it's over yet but it's definitely weaker."
"Weak enough to get a transporter beam through?" asked the captain hopefully as she sprang to her feet and headed for the door.
"It's a risk, ma'am" the ensign admitted, looking up as Janeway appeared on the bridge, "we can't get a 100% lock, there could be some cellular damage....."
"But if we wait, the storm could increase again" the captain finished.
Harry nodded sadly and acknowledged, "yes, ma'am. It's the best chance we've had, I can't guarantee another one."

Janeway stood back a little and, hands on hips, she dropped her head and took a deep breath. Did she have the right to risk her friends' lives to get them back to somewhere they didn't even know existed, to take them away from the beautiful planet that was the only home they knew and where it was more than likely they were perfectly happy? But Voyager needed both of them. They could probably make it home without Seven and B'Elanna, if they didn't run into too many more problems, but lacking their expertise would make life on board much more difficult for everyone, especially the captain herself. She had to think about what was best for Voyager and her crew and, in terms of their ongoing primary mission to get home, both the irascible Klingon and the arrogant Borg increased their chances dramatically. "How great is the risk of damage, Harry?" she asked quietly, wincing at the sudden ache in her temple and raising her hand to massage it. "At this point the risk of serious cellular damage is about 30%, Captain, and of minor damage much higher than that, about 75%. Those risks could increase though, at any minute."
"Or decrease" she pointed out.
"Yes, ma'am, but we have no way of knowing. The storm could blow out in an hour, or this could be our only chance. It's a gamble, Captain."

Janeway nodded. She hated decisions like this, but they came with the job. Her prime concern must always be with the wellfare of Voyager as a whole, she told herself, she really had no choice. She took a deep breath, held it for a second before letting it out slowly and then, standing to her full height, ordered "Do it, Ensign, directly to sickbay."

* * * * * *

Sharika sat between her lover's thighs, leaning back against the small, strong body, which was supported by a massive tree. She settled deeper into Astra's embrace with a contented sigh and gazed out across the calm surface of the lake. In the five years of love that the two had shared they had come to an almost total understanding of eachother, so that now they hardly needed to speak at all to share their thoughts and feelings. Shari could tell there was something on her lover's mind just by the way her hand caressed the long golden tresses that flowed over her shoulders.
"What?" she asked softly, smiling as Astra's hand stopped it's playing and dropped to rest on her arm.
"What 'what'?"
"What's the matter?" she clarified tenderly.
"Oh, nothing really, I'm just feeling a little......sad, I guess."
"Why?" asked the taller woman, gentle concern filling her voice as she twisted around to face her lover.
"BeeBee" was the answer.
"Ah" said Sharika, her face falling a little as she acknowledged, "I miss him, too. But we gave him a good life, didn't we? He was happy and he didn't suffer at the end."
"I know," Astra agreed, "I...I'm just being silly and selfish."
"No, no" her lover gently admonished as she delicately stroked the shallow ridges on Astra's forhead, "you're just a sentimental old thing."
"Hey! Less of the old!"
"Well, I don't know how old you are, my love," teased Sharika, placing tiny kisses on her lover's mouth "but I'm sure you're a lot older than me."
"Oh, really!?" she replied in mock surprise and annoyance, "I'll show you how old I am, Miss" and with that she pounced on Shari and bore her to the ground, struggling and giggling.

BeeBee had been the couple's pet. A strange little creature with bright red fur, standing about the height of Astra's knees. They had found him about four years ago, lying injured on a riverbank and had nursed him back to health. So grateful had the creature been for their attention that, when they tried to release him back into the wild, he stubbornly refused to go, following them around for days until they had finally adopted him on a permanent basis. He seemed to have no family of his own so he had joined theirs and become their loyal friend and beloved pet. They named him BeeBee because it was the noise he made when they scratched his tummy, or behind his prominent ears, and seemed to mean that he was as content as he had ever hoped to be. Two weeks ago he had been running around their little garden, trying to swot a small flying insect, when he had suddenly given a surprised little yelp and dropped to the ground. When the concerned couple reached him, he was dead; a heart-attack, they surmised, realising that he must have been a lot older than his puppyish behaviour had indicated. They had buried him in the garden and placed a little memorial there to mark the spot.

Sharika's giggles turned into gasps of pleasure as Astra's teeth sank into her neck and a hand found it's way inside her shirt to caress her generous breasts. She reached down to pull at her lover's top, managing to remove it completely before her long legs parted automatically, welcoming the smaller woman in as they wrapped around her wiry frame. With a rip, Shari's shirt was open and her lover's mouth was descending over her perfect flesh. "Nnngh, Astra!" she moaned as sharp teeth nibbled at her midriff and she held her lover tightly as the pleasure pulsed through her. She could feel her whole body tingling maddeningly as she arched into the hot kisses and began to quiver in anticipation.........and then her vision blurred and in a haze of blue light, she and her lover were gone from paradise.

* * * * * *

When B'Elanna and Seven's unconscious bodies materialised in Sickbay, the captain and the doctor were speechless. Neither of them had known what to expect, but they certainly hadn't foreseen that the two would appear half naked and entwined in eachother's arms. Despite their unconscious state, both of them were still breathing heavily and it was crystal clear that they had been interrupted in the act of furious lovemaking. The doctor cleared his throat and knelt down to run a scanner over the two. "There doesn't seem to have been any serious or lasting damage, Captain" he reported, bringing a relieved sigh from Janeway, "however, I will need to keep them here for a few days. There's some minor damage to both of them that I'll have to repair and they'll probably be quite disorientated when they come round. I'd like to keep them under observation for at least a week after they wake up."
"Very well, Doctor" the captain acknowledged as she headed for the door to get the ship back underway, "keep me appraised."

PART III

Kathryn watched the young woman from across the holodeck. She had come here to explore the caverns of T'Morr, a programme highly recommended by both Tom Paris and Chakotay, and guaranteed to help her unwind after the tension of the past few weeks, but there was still a programme running when she arrived and she had found herself in a forest on a warm, summer day, music wafting towards her along with the birdsong that filled the air. She had made her way towards the music, stopping occassionally to observe a passing deer or rabbit, and eventually found herself in a large clearing. On the other side there was a house built from stone and wood and a young woman crouched on the roof, fixing slates into place on the wooden frame. Janeway recognised the fit, lithe form of Lieutenant Jettahna Iskar, security officer and second in command to Tuvok.

The young Betzoid was beautiful, reflected the captain as she regarded Iskar from her secluded vantage point. She was in her late twenties, very fit and strong with well defined muscles, but still graceful and elegant in her movements. She had dark wavy hair that sat just above her shoulders, though when on duty it was held back in a short ponytail. She wore pale blue jeans, suede work boots and slightly grimy, loose vest top which revealed her shapely arms, glistening with the sweat of her labours. Around her slim but solid waist was a leather tool belt, with various tools hanging from it and poking from its pockets.

The woman stood, balancing expertly on the sloping roof, her back to the captain, and placed her hands on her hips, looking intently at the work she had just completed, searching for holes or flaws. Finding the job acceptable, she stepped back to the very edge of the roof, her heels hanging over and, ignoring the ladder that was leaning against the eaves, she bent into a crouch and sprang into the air, executing a perfect sommersault before landing on the ground in a crouch and standing up as calmly as if she had just jumped a metre rather than the ten she had actually covered.

Janeway gasped as a thrill of arousal jabbed her at this display of graceful strength and Iskar spun around in surprise. "Captain!" she exclaimed, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I was concentrating so hard I didn't notice you. Did I overrun my holodeck time?"
"That's alright, Lieutenant" Janeway said, when she had found her voice, "I think I'm a little early." She walked toward the house and enquired "what is this place? If you don't mind me asking. It's beautiful."
"The place is Antaris, on Betazed V, the house I built myself" explained Jettahna.
Janeway was astonished. "You built this!" she asked in amazement.
"Yes. Actually I'm still building it, it's not finished yet and I haven't even thought about the inside?"
"You do interiors too!"
"Oh yes, I do everything."
"From scratch? With no help?"
"Yes, ma'am."

Janeway was truly speechless. In the twenty-fourth century this was unheard of. Only a very few traditionalists had houses built like this, and building them, even a part of them, was a specialist craft, an art that usually involoved a whole team of artisans. Iskar noted the captain's admiration and explained "my grandfather was builder, a real old-style builder, back when it was still relivitely common on Betazed. When I was three he realised I was interested and he started to teach me. Over the years he taught me everything he knew and everything he believed. I don't agree with him on all of it, but for the most part I prefer the traditional ways of building. A house should breathe with the people that live in it, should absorb the life that goes on inside it. Metal, plastic, fibre-glass, duritanium - they don't breathe and they don't absorb anything." She looked at the captain and, finding her staring at the house in admiration, a surreptitious smile twitched her lips. After a while the captain turned back to the young woman and enquired "I'd heard you were a wood carver too."
"Yes, ma'am, that's my main thing actually. I just do this because it relaxes me" she added, indicating the house, "I guess it reminds me of home." A cloud descended over the captain's face as she winced internally at the guilt that washed over her, Jettahna could feel it emanating from her. "I'm sorry, ma'am, I didn't mean....are you alright?" she asked, touching the silent woman gently on the arm.
"What?" Janeway enquired, as she was brought gently out of he reverie of self-blame, "Oh, yes, I'm fine, thank you" and wanting to change the subject she said "I'd like to see some of your carvings, if I may."
"Of course," the woman agreed, "I have one here actually, I just finished it earlier. I prefer carving here, it seems to be easier to concentrate than in my quarters."

Jett led the captain around the side of the house to a small shed where a large panel stood, covered with a sheet. She lifted the object carefully and brought it into the light, removing the sheet to reveal the work of art below. The captain's eyes widened in appreciation and she let out a gasp of wonder. "My god!" was all she could say, for the piece was breathtaking. Carved smoothly into the panel was the image of a female warrior, almost naked but for the minimal, though beautifully decorated armour that adorned her voluptuous body. She sat astride a great war horse, which was galloping at full speed toward some unseen foe. The warrior's long hair streamed out behind her as she rode, one arm raised and ready to strike with the double-headed axe clenched in her hand, the other supporting her, its fingers tangled in the great flowing mane of her mount. The detail was incredible; every muscle and sinew in both horse and rider was visible, displaying the vast power and strength at their disposal. The pair were awesome, ferocious but graceful, unconquerable but elegant, terrible but beautiful. "A terrible beauty is born" murmurred the captain.
"ma'am?"
"W.B. Yeats" the captain explained before turning to Jett. "I'd heard you were good, but this is.....this is incredible" Janeway complimented, bringing a smile to the young woman's full lips, "it's beautiful and very powerful, it's like it's alive."
"It is," replied the lieutenant enigmatically, "that's the thing about wood, ma'am. Even when it's severed from the tree it still breathes. It moves all the time, contracting and expanding according to its environment." She reached out to caress the smoothe surface of the wood, her fingers trailing lovingly over the curves of her creation as if she were caressing a real, living woman, and added "that's part of why I love it."
"But surely replicated wood....."
"Oh, this isn't replicated, Captain. I only use the real thing."
Janeway looked suspiciously at her companion and asked "where did it come from?"
"Tharind VI. Neelix arranged it for me when we visited there last month. He managed to get a whole stack of it. Don't worry ma'am, it went through all the proper channels and all the tests before it came on board."
Janeway nodded and turned back to admire the work once more as the carver continued "the tree is called Bo'mok, it's one of the most common species on the planet so I got a great deal on it. It's a little like Lime in structure though slightly softer, but the fibres are pretty dense so it doesn't tear. Perfect for carving."
Janeway sighed and looked back at her companion. "I love it" she said, "you really are good, Iskar. I had no idea. I guess it never occurred to me that such a tough security officer could be so ..... sensitive."
Jett laughed. "Well don't it fool you, ma'am, I'm still an action girl at heart."
"Yes" admonished the captain, "I saw that earlier when you flung yourself off the roof."
"Well, it's more fun than using the ladder."
"And more dangerous."
The security officer looked slightly abashed but reminded her "the safety protocols are on, Captain."
"Of course" admitted the captain, with a little snort of self-abbregation.

* * * * * *

The young woman started to remove her tool belt saying "I'll be out of your way in a moment, Captain" as she stepped away towards the toolbox that stood by the front door, adding "I have to pack this stuff." At the Captain's stiffled smirk, she smiled and admitted "Oh I know these ones aren't real but my grandfather was so strict about looking after your tools, I guess it just goes against the grain to leave it."
"That's alright, Lieutenant" the captain placated, "why don't you just carry on? I'd be interested to watch."
Jettahna turned from her toolbox and regarded Janeway questioningly "Are you sure, ma'am" she asked, "what about your programme?"
"It can wait" the captain replied as she sat down with her back against a large pine tree, "I have to admit, after the month I've had, I'm exhausted. I think relaxing and watching someone else work would do me much more good than exploring some Vulcan caves."
"Okay," Jett laughed, "if you're sure."

She pulled a plank of timber from a large pile beside the house and stood it against the empty doorway, marking the height with a pencil retrieved from behind her ear. She double checked the measurements with a tape measure and then set about cutting the plank to length with a well-used but well-cared-for handsaw. The captain smiled and shook her head in amuzement as she asked "you got something against electricity?"
Smiling at the comment, the younger woman answered "no" as she stopped her sawing; "my grandfather did, of course, he thought it was cheating. I just find it more satisfying to do everything by hand."
"Oh, not me!" smiled the captain, "anything that makes life more convenient and comfortable, I'm all for it!"

As she listened to the sawing and hammering that followed, interspersed with the soft music from the old transistor radio, the mentally exhausted captain began to drift off. She found herself in a dark forest, running through the trees, the undergrowth grabbing at her legs as she passed. She didn't know why she was running, only that she had to get somewhere as fast as she could, or perhaps she had to get away from something. Suddenly a terrible flash of pain ripped through her chest and she dropped to her knees, gasping for breath and clutching at her aching heart. "CHOOSE!!" screamed a female voice in her ear and she turned but found no one beside her. Again a voice came from another part of the forest, a man this time "DECIDE, KATHRYN!" it yelled. She looked up to see four figures coming towards her and as they were illuninated by the sickly moon she saw who they were. Her father and her fiancee Justin stood on one side of the path and on the other Seven and B'Elanna, all glowering down at her and whispering menacingly, their voices rising gradually in volume "make a choice, Kathryn......choose which of us should die.....choose now.....decide....decide....DECIDE!!"
"Noooo!" she screamed, pressing her hands against her ears to try and stop the torturous noise, but the voices were inside her head and they continued to grow in strength "DECIDE....CHOOSE...NOW!!" Two black boots appeared in her blurring vision and a deep voice cut throught the cocophany "Captain Janeway" it said comandingly as hands took a firm hold of her shoulders and she looked up into the penetrating gaze of Jettahna Iskar. "Captain" she said, gentling her voice now, "It's alright, ma'am, you're okay. It's just a dream."