Celina had gone out to get another meal. Her "escort" was called to other duties.

  Celina was left alone aboard Voyager. Exactly the opportunity she'd been looking for.

  She KNEW the ship was intelligent. She'd seen the people talking to the ship and getting answers. She tried it herself.

  "Computer? Do you hear me?" She asked aloud. Ordinarily she'd think herself going mad. But the new opportunities were opening up all around her too much to pass them by.

  "Affirmative." An automated voice replied.

  "Can you show me back to my quarters?" She asked aloud where no one else could hear. She had to chose her words carefully.

  "Corridor six to turbo lift shaft. Deck four, block 41." It announced dutifully.

  "Am I allowed to go anywhere else besides there?" She asked looking around to make sure no one else was watching her talk to their computer.

  "Minimum access granted." The computer replied. As long as she wasn't under arrest, she had freedom to alot of areas.

  "Tell me where's the first place from here I may go..." She followed directions wishing she had one of the little personal units the crew had. She felt like a crocodile in the school yard having to talk to the walls for guidance.

  Very obvious. But also very convenient.

  But it was the same "obvious" stance that let the other very busy crew ignore her as if they'd seen the monstrous offworlder walking about on the ship all their lives. She was lead to a cleaning closet. It wasn't locked. It lead her to a maintenance storage room. There were plenty of goodies in it, but Celina wasn't here for petty theft. She didn't know what any of the strange things did anyway. She went next to another storage room that had parts for repairing the ship's interior. Paint and plastisteele plating. The next room almost made her want to scream success.

  The door opened and she was standing an a strange storage room with a hideous machine unlike anything else aboard the clean ship running in the corner. And right before her was a table with tiny men on it. They were moving about as if they weren't real, but Celina had a very heightened sense of smell. A hand me down from the "bad old days" on her planet. She could smell that they were very real. And she could smell their fear when she was spotted by them. She had to do something quickly.

  "Hello. I was just touring your ship and got lost..." She had to again select her words carefully.

  "Computer! Construct a level three force field around this work bench!" Tuvok said quickly and sharply. As quickly as the opportunity had come, it was gone. Celina knew nothing of forcefields, but the ship's computer would be able to make something that could stop her. She was at least THAT smart. She had to play her cards VERY carefully, and try not to let them see her mouth watering. Maybe she could get force shield technology from them as well.

  "I've never SEEN such small people before. The women must hide you VERY carefully so that untrustworthy intruders don't steal you away." She gestured with her hands and realized her mistake. Her claws further frightened them. There may have been a force field around them, but several men, even tiny, sweating badly put off a powerful scent to Celina's delicate sense of smell.

  She knew none of their names, but recognized them by tiny traits. A medium skinned man with slanted eyes and black hair did more talking than the pointy eared dark man. The dark skinned man with pointed ears had saved their lives, but it was all for the best. Celina would have SURELY been executed for doing such a thing. With such a smart ship she'd have been caught immediately. She had to THINK her way through this.

  "You shouldn't be in here. We cannot help you..." The medium skinned man was about to call for real help.

  "Please, I mean no harm. Just one question and I'll be on my humble way..." She tried to hide her teeth as much as possible too.

  "Yes?" One of the men stepped forward. He was bigger than the others, but not by much and had a wisp of blonde hair that made him stand out even further.

  "Our race has a TERRIBLE problem with transporting things. Is there anything you can tell me about your transporter? I mean, as long as I don't get anyone into trouble? The others aboard seem too busy for my stupid questions..." She leaned against the wall. It was the most unintimidating stance she could take.

  The men bought it. One of them beamed himself outside the containment field onto a crate that was right beside Celina's elbow. It was all she could do not to grab him and devour him like a grub worm. But she COULD control herself if there was a bigger war to be won later. The tiny man was SOOOOO vulnerable she couldn't believe it.

  Did he actually believe his trusty computer would save him if she pounced upon him? One jerk of her talons and the tiny man would be a wisp of meat on her finger. She shrugged to herself. It was a test of course. Life was full of tests.

  "We probably can't tell you EVERYTHING about the transporter. That's Federation law. But we do give some theories to other civilizations that are helping us. You're the Forlocci trader right?" He asked reading off a tabulator that had all of the information that she so desperately wanted. It was funny. All the information that could make her world a powerhouse (and herself fabulously wealthy) fit in a chip less than the size of the tip of her talon. She craned her neck further away so that he wouldn't be looking down her throat when she spoke.

  "Anything you can tell me, I'd be MOST grateful, but I'm just a STUPID diplomat you see. I'd have to record it so my engineers could hear it." She indicated her communicator hanging off her her robe like a decoration.

  "Sure, no problem." The tiny blonde man began reading off some formulas and gave the composition of the materials that would have to be combined to make a basic no frills transporter. She waited patiently all the while wondering what all the drivel meant. She was sure it was useless blabber to her people. But she knew that any one of the tiny men could bring the whole ship against her at any second.

  "And that's about all I can tell you." The tiny man concluded.

  "I'm eternally grateful. And now, I'm VERY tired. I haven't slept in two cycles during these negotiations." She could stay up for a straight month with no side effects, but these "humans" didn't have to know that.

  "Well, if you're lost, we could beam you back to your quarters, or I could just go with you and show you?"

  "I could NEVER repay your kindness. Would you please?" She extended her hand with her claws tucked into her fist. He stood on the back of her hand and held on to the cuff of her robe as if it were a hand rail.

  "Straight out the door, go left." He began. Celina could hardly contain her excitement. She'd found what she'd wanted all her life. Tiny sentient beings that could be spies, or servants, or food all wrapped into one. And they were incredibly intelligent! One of the other 'gifts' from her ancestors was steady hands. She held out her down turned hand like a platform for her tiny passenger. She doubted any of the human females could have kept such a steady hand while walking. He didn't even have to hold onto the cuff.

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  B'elana got out of the shower and made herself a quick snack with her replicator. It was late any way she added it up. She'd been up for 18 straight hours. The mental fatigue was already set in. She was simply going to crash on the bed when she remembered she'd WANTED to do something with Tom.

  "Tom?!" She looked at her tool box and remembered tossing him in it. She hurriedly pulled it open and gently dumped the contents onto the table. She was afraid she'd see a beat to death tiny corpse in with the tools, but to her relief she found Tom inside a non descript shuttle. He was secured into the pilot's chair and awaking from his sleep.

  B'elana felt like the villain yet again.

  She dug her thumb nail into the top of the shuttle and ripped it open like a cheap toy. She then tore the chair out with Tom still attached and crumpled up the rest of the ruined shuttle like a piece of aluminum foil to toss it into the garbage. "Tom. I'm sorry." She said, meaning it. He was still awakening and began to unbuckle from the ruined chair before she decided to crush it as well.

  "Tom, I don't want to fight. Can't we just talk about it tomorrow. I'm really tired. Aren't you?" She knew he was. He'd slept in her tool box that must have battered him around like the inside of a crashing star ship.

  He was still grumbling and rubbing his eyes. She knew he would be very sore from his ordeal, and it was still her "fault" she laid him down flat in her palm and crumpled the tiny empty chair in her hand to toss into the trash with the crumpled shuttle.

  Tom gulped as B'elana walked them to her bed.

  It would be the first time he was invited 'in for the night', but it was for all the wrong reasons. She'd imagined their first intimate night together, on the holodeck, with a huge Earth designed bed. Candles, maybe a Klingon sized swirl tub.

  Instead she was cupping Tom in her palm and rubbing him gently with one finger tip hoping not to "break" him any more. Of course all the nice couldn't overcome the discomfort he was in now.

  She was hurting inside. Their relationship had ALWAYS been the same. Him becoming smaller was just a way for her to recognize it even more. Except now, he was afraid to argue with her. She could too easily hurt him, whereas before he could at least defend himself from her anger.

  In her half asleep/half awake conscious brain she began to cry looking at him. Perhaps the Klingon side of her brain was asleep. Perhaps she was losing touch with reality now that reality had drastically altered the only man she could even begin to love. He was still awake as her finger went up and down his body gently. It was one of the very rare 'gentle' B'elana Torres moments.

  "Why are you crying?" Tom asked looking up at her. He was definitely NOT going to cry and show weakness to her. But seeing her cry made it too difficult to hold back anything from her. Her huge brown eyes were even more expressive as they moistened.

  "Please don't stop... loving me?" She asked. He could very easily hate her for the rest of his life now. She'd quickly became his enemy and hadn't even tried to. Tom wasn't prepared for her to be in pain. He thought she'd be gloating about her power over him. Ready to push him to the limit just to see if he'd snap. But she was even more caring than she'd been to him at his normal size.

  He desperately wanted to put his arms around her. Right now the best he could do was hug her finger. He got an idea and whispered into his mike. B'elana was momentarily startled when he dematerialized in her palm.

  "Tom?" She was about to get up and look for him, but he was definitely with her. She felt his tiny presence on her neck. He began whispering in her ear.

  "If I never grow back, if I get killed tonight. You must remember I won't stop loving you. I know you won't stop loving me." He hugged her ear lobe. It was exactly the right thing at exactly the right time. The well of tears over flowed and she slept with Tom nestled in her hair keeping a warm spot that warmed more than their flesh.

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