Part Eleven
Janeway paced the length of her shelter, thoroughly pissed off.
She couldn't *believe* the nerve of her crew, or rather, her
*ex*-crew. Not only had B'Elanna completely flustered her by
informing her that Tom *had* indeed told her about the
incident, but the Klingon bitch had even told everyone about it.
And they'd believed her!
B'Elanna had countered every excuse Janeway had come up
with for abandoning Tom and the doctor. Then the entire crew
had resigned, throwing their comm badges at her feet. The
incident still made her uncomfortable when she thought about it.
She had instinctively tried to catch some of the badges,
forgetting that she was only dressed in a towel. As a result, the
towel had dropped to the ground, leaving her completely nude to
the crew's obvious amusement.
The more she thought about the episode, the angrier she became.
{How *dare* they?} she thought as she paced furiously. {They
have *no* right to treat me like this. I'm the *Captain*! They're
going to regret that they laughed at me!}
At this point, she noticed that she was standing beside her desk.
She grabbed the coffee mug and flung it against the wall.
Feeling satisfied when she heard the crash as the mug broke, she
picked up a couple of padds and threw them as well. Pretty
soon, she was moving through the shelter, destroying everything
in her path. All the while she was imagining what she'd do to her
ex-crew when she got Voyager back.
Tuvok, hearing strange noises in the captain's shelter, decided to
investigate. His knock went unanswered, so he opened the door.
For a moment he just stared at the destruction inside, then
quickly and carefully crossed the floor. When he reached the
captain, who was still unaware of his presence, he lifted a hand
to the spot where neck and shoulder met, giving her a nerve-
pinch before she could hurt herself.
The captain was obviously in greater need of counseling than he
had originally thought.
*****
Once again, SicA stood in sickbay, waiting for her chosen mate
to awaken. The holographic doctor had assured her that GenA
would regain consciousness at any time now; which was a good
thing, because SicA was losing her patience.
Finally the blonde opened his eyes. He blinked a few times, then
focused on the woman who was standing beside his bed. Despite
the fact that she was now obviously female, he recognized her
instantly. "SicA," he greeted in a slightly hoarse voice.
"You may call me MoZdee," she said with a smile. Seeing the
surprise in his eyes, she explained. "I have chosen you to be my
mate." Her tone of voice clearly indicated that this was a great
honor.
"I am honored… MoZdee," GenA said hesitantly. "But… May I
ask a question?" When MoZdee inclined her head slightly, he
asked, "Why did you choose me?"
"I appreciate beautiful things," MoZdee answered. "And you are
*very* beautiful."
GenA's eyes slid shyly away from MoZdee's. He forgot his
shyness, however, when he noticed where they were. He
glanced back at her. "How long have I been in sickbay?"
MoZdee hesitated for a moment. "You've been here for six
days, and unconscious most of the time," she finally replied. She
only remembered the amount of time because that was when she
started playing mind-games with Commander Chakotay. It had
been six days since the commander had last seen Tom Paris, and
even after the doctor had visited him the day before, the man
*still* didn't believe that Tom had left the ship along with the
rest of the crew. She would have to do something about that.
MoZdee turned her attention back to GenA. "Come," she said,
holding out a hand to him. "We have much to talk about."
*****
B'Elanna listened in disbelief as Tuvok informed her of
Janeway's actions. It sounded like the captain had thrown what
Tom would call a hissy fit. She had completely wrecked her
shelter, even going so far as to destroy the bed.
When Tuvok stopped speaking, B'Elanna sighed softly.
Janeway destroying her shelter left them with a problem, and
B'Elanna gave Tuvok a quizzical look. "So, what do we do with
her? We can't put her in a wrecked shelter, and I'm not about to
ask anyone to repair it. I'm not going to ask anyone to live with
her either. I don't think there's one person who would volunteer
to share a shelter with her. If she can ruin her own shelter,
what's to stop her from doing it to someone else's?" she asked.
She thought for a moment, then added, "And I definitely don't
want to risk locking her in one of the shuttles. Even if we erase
her voice print from the computer, she could still do a lot of
damage."
Tuvok tilted his head a fraction of an inch while he considered
the problem. B'Elanna had made some good points. Even if
some of the former crew could be convinced to repair Janeway's
shelter, there was nothing to stop her from trashing them again.
Putting her in another shelter created the same problem. And
locking her in one of the shuttles was also out of the question.
Finally, after several moments of silence, Tuvok returned his
attention to B'Elanna. "We could clean Captain Janeway's
shelter," he said. Seeing the protest in B'Elanna's eyes, he
quickly added, "I don't mean repair it, just remove the debris,
make sure there are no dangerous objects and give her a new
bed."
B'Elanna thought about it for a while, then nodded in agreement
before bringing up another concern. "You mentioned that she is
in need of counseling, and I agree with you. Unfortunately, we
don't have a counsellor, so what do we do?" She frowned and
added, "I'm worried that she might become violent."
Tuvok nodded in agreement. He, too, was concerned about this.
He had noticed the expression in Janeway's eyes when everyone
resigned. Obviously, she resented her former crew because of
this, so it was entirely possible that she could become
aggressive. "I can observe her if you wish," he finally said.
B'Elanna smiled in relief. "Thanks, Tuvok. I'd appreciate it. Just
be discrete about it."
Tuvok lifted an eyebrow. "Of course, Ms. Torres."
B'Elanna looked at the Vulcan and smiled at him. Tuvok was
tempted to shift his weight. Usually when she smiled like that,
an attack was imminent. B'Elanna grinned even more when she
saw his slight reaction to her smile. She shook her head and
snorted. "Relax, Tuvok. I was just remembering when we met
in the Maquis. At the time I never would have thought you'd
*ever* call me *Ms.* Torres."
Tuvok nodded his head. "Agreed. But times change, do they
not?"
"Yes, they do."
*****
Lost in thought, GenA slowly undressed. MoZdee had left a
little while earlier after they had talked for several hours. After
they arrived in GenA's quarters, MoZdee had started by listing
the benefits of being her mate. At one point, she noted GenA's
shock and explained that this was how it was done.
MoZdee had chosen him to be her mate, therefore she had to
catalog all the practical and material benefits *and* drawbacks
of being married to her. Then she would give him a couple of
days to consider her proposal. Before she left, she emphasized
that it was GenA's decision and if he decided that he didn't want
to be her mate, then she wouldn't try to change his mind.
GenA finished undressing and slid into bed, still mulling over
MoZdee's proposal. He wasn't sure that he really had much
choice. He had a strong feeling that if he rejected her, he would
seriously regret it.