The deal was simple. Easy even.

  Janeway was glad the Forlocci didn't know the true value of dilithium. They were using it for precious jewels and money. It was almost comical that it had TRUE uses like traveling the stars.

  Janeway went back to her quarters in record time to find that her new "friend" was in a replicated tiny shelter on her desk asleep. She looked in on him. He'd left the front of it open. Evidently he knew that there weren't any varmints that would be after him aboard the ship. She sat in her chair and he awoke to the sound.

  "Uh, Captain! I..." He got up. He was still wearing his uniform and trying to stand while throwing off the covers.

  "At ease. You're not on duty. Remember?" She reminded. He still felt silly for being caught sleeping by the Captain.

  "Reflex I guess..." He gulped.

  She looked tired as well.

  "It looks like I'm the only one that came to you." He said looking around the room to make sure. Janeway looked around the room as well.

  "I guess." She seconded. "Now. I hope I'm not disappointing you so far." She lowered her face right down to him. He gulped looking up at her eyes.

  "Ma'am?"

  "Did you read the order I had to give after Tom's accident today?" She asked. He shook his head no slowly. He was very scared of the all mighty powerful Captain. It was worse now that she was bigger.

  Her new rule wouldn't affect him much anyway. She gave him the details.

  "I had to order the men to follow their protector's orders. As of now, all men aboard Voyager are demoted under their protectors. I hope it's temporary, but it is necessary." She looked at him as if he'd be running away. He wasn't. "Don't you think I'm being unreasonable?" She asked him raising one eye brow. In the absence of her number one exec, she had no one else to confide in.

  He gulped and shook his head no.

  Janeway's eyes softened. He was adorable. She knew he was either too afraid of her to tell the truth, or actually used to having a woman over him anyway. How long had she been his Captain? She didn't remember him hardly at all.

  She made herself a cup of milk before bed. Her tiny companion said nothing until spoken to. She was sure there was a way to "fix" his apprehension around her. Chakotay had been the same way, at first. Then she'd gotten him to come around. How had she done it? She was trying to remember.

  She decided to give him a task to do. Duties almost always got people motivated.

  "All right then. Now that you're my... personal assistant. I'd like for you to go through the records." She hesitated for a moment. "Computer, replicate a hand held roster at Mr. Schroeder's scale."

  "Transfer complete." The computer replied after a sliver sized unit appeared.

  Janeway continued. "Go through the roster and make a note of each man and his whereabouts. Then have the computer guide you to them and make SURE my order is being carried out. With your size, you'd be the galaxy's best spy you know." She was as encouraging as possible. "And if you get done quickly, I'll have a little reward awaiting you." She could be charming at times. This was one such time. He gulped and went about his task as soon as the computer would transport him.

  The Captain shrugged and got ready for bed. If his personality was any indication, he'd be faster at this task than Seven. Then she'd KNOW that he wanted her to reward him. Instead of her regular toggs, she looked through her clothing drawer for something more appropriate. There were things that hadn't been disturbed in her drawer since they left Earth but still fit.

-     -     -

  "They are hiding many things." The male Forlocci told his matriarch. She nodded solemnly.

  "Did you spot any men?"

  "No. Not unless they look just like the females."

  "Unlikely. I made sure and saw pictures in their computer. Did they suspect anything?" She asked him knowing that he wouldn't be able to lie to her. All males knew that one lie would mean their death.

  "I detected nothing. I found their females were still wary though. It was if they didn't know their own jobs."

  "Unlikely. They claim to have been in this ship for years. They are covering something up. The weapons?"

  "Very useful. They carry charges like ship lasers and have different settings. They could be used to heat food, or vaporize an enemy."

  "Good. Anything else?"

  "Much else. They won't speak of their transporter. We should have it."

  "In time. I shall stall so that we may stay aboard for a while. We should be able to get their computer to download what we need to know. If only we had a spy here."

-     -     -

Chapter 7

   B'elana was ready for her eight hours of sleep. The maintenance schedules were falling behind for the first time since they'd launched. They were just too short handed and running the ship too hard. At least they weren't due back into long haul mode for some time. She'd have to probably call Seven again for help.

  As she was giving the next officer her report, a familiar yet disturbing face showed up. Marla Gilmore from the old Equinox. B'elana figured she'd lost her way and was wandering the ship.

  Her jaw dropped when she was handed Marla's new assignment authenticated by the Captain.

  "Well... welcome aboard." B'elana still could not believe it. The willowy blonde had been 'scrubbing' the floors with a particle broom just last week. Now she was again an engineer, second class at least. "I hope you remember everything." B'elana gave a slate full of authentication codes and duty parameters to the "new" woman.

  She would be reporting for duty directly under B'elana.

  The Klingon beauty worried. She also caught Marla smiling at Tom still hanging just above her neckline. That was TOO much for her Klingon blood. She gently put Tom just out of reach in her octagonal tool box. She slammed the lid putting him in sheer darkness and stood on her tip toes to look the blonde in the eyes.

  "Don't even THINK of putting the move on Tom. He's mine!" She made sure her point was clear. It was all it took to put Marla in her place. She slumped her shoulders and backed up.

  "Yes, Ma'am." She'd only been trying to be friendly. Her happiness was going to be short lived if she had to dread going to work day after day. It must be slated in the stars she was going to hate every last second of her existence. Diandra, the duty diagnostics officer, took Marla aside and gave her the low down on the current status of the warp core.

  B'elana shouldered her tool box and took it to her quarters not wanting to let her "precious" cargo out. He was being punished for being "too cute". B'elana didn't understand why she was so angry with Gilmore and Tom. She just was.

-     -     -

  Seven's dream continued until her Borg implants told her brain that it was time to wake up. The proper allocated amount of time for sleep was reached. Seven became awake whether the dreams were over or not. Her eyes snapped open and she was first greeted with her human feelings and senses coming back as if a switch were turned on. She wanted to have a bed to fit in like the other humans, but she simply did not need one. Gravity was irrelevant when it came to sleep orientation and rejuvenation.

  Her eyes focused and she saw the flicker of Borg implanted eye socket technology around her field of vision. She didn't need them to be human, but they were forever there anyway. As was her singing voice that the Doctor loved so much. Another gift. She inhaled deeply letting herself embrace the sensations that came to her. Her individuality.

  Then she saw them. Her eyes squinted, but her vision was perfect enough to see what she was looking at. It was simply that her brain denied what her eyes were reporting.

  There were several men on the floor around her feet. Seeing that she was awake, they stepped back out of the way as if awaiting her next move.

  "State your purpose." She asked curiously down at the tiny beings.

  Leonard Smitherman, the weapons tech maintenance man stepped forward looking up at her as if she were the largest building in the universe. "We saw that your... your shoes were dirty. We cleaned the computer, and the alcove here, we were just finishing up." He gulped as if it might be a sin to have touched her in her sleep. The men seemed to be holding their breath. It made no difference to Seven. She checked her foot wear to validate the claims.

  "My shoes are indeed cleaner, except the bottoms." She lifted each. The sides and top were shining as promised.

  "Uh, may we..." Leonard asked holding up the sonic particle projector used primarily to clean debris from shuttles after away missions. It was replicated to his own scale for use.

  Arching her eyebrow she didn't deny the request.

  She raised her foot and three men shot under it quickly to get the job done. Two were hauling the big thermal energy pack. Leonard used the nozzle to clean the bottom of her shoe to perfection. Then they repeated when she lifted the other shoe.

  Seven inspected the job. "You've done a thorough job cleaning my footwear. However, it was a waist of time and resources since the cleanliness of my shoes is irrelevant." She'd let them do it against every strand of logic in her brain. Yet, it made her angry that they'd done it because it was even FURTHER confusing her. She hated to be confused more than anything. Why was she ENJOYING their efforts to clean her shoes? They were just shoes!

  "Sorry," is all they said and beamed themselves back to the little village they'd built for themselves on the work bench. Seven looked at them all looking at her and didn't know what to do.

  Instead of resuming her work, she practically ran out the door to get away from everything.

  Very seldom did Seven wander the ship with no particular destination. But the walls moving gave her the feeling of not standing still. She had to get some air. When all other human emotions escaped her, there was always tension to fall back upon.

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