The BLTS Archive- Name
by Suz Voy (suzvoy@tesco.net)

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Date Posted: 4 August 1999

Archive: Sure.

Disclaimer - Paramount owns them.

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She was surprisingly easy to capture. I had not thought that of her,
had not thought she would give in so easily. From all accounts she had
been merely hiding with the telepaths, but that was enough for
collaboration.

She was the last surviving member of her crew. Some kind of accident
had led to an explosion of the warp core -- she had been the only one
to escape the death of her ship inside an escape pod, floating for
weeks.

Eventually she had taken refuge with the Katari - a telepathic race
who have long been hiding from us. Those that we captured were taken
to a camp immediately. I took her to my vessel.

It is my own weakness that allowed her to live, my own memory of her
Captain that prevented me from killing her immediately. She knew this.
She had no personal encounters with me when we were inspecting
Voyager, but she knew my name and she certainly knew Prax.

And I knew that something was wrong with her. She didn't fight, didn't
spit, didn't growl in anger as we screwed on the desk in my room,
making the experience somewhat disappointing. While inspecting their
ship I had read about the supposed Klingon sexual drive but that first
night she capitulated completely and did nothing.

The second night was better. She seemed to realise what she needed to
do to survive and this time when we fucked against the wall of the
bathroom I think she even began to enjoy herself.

I am not a cruel man, as much as she may have once thought I was. I
would not have forced myself on her if she had expressed disinterest.
But she never had, so obviously she didn't mind.

After the first few months I began using her name -- she had long been
annoyed with being called 'Gaharay', although she had never once said
so, I knew. She was surprised the first time I called her B'Elanna.

It was different, after that. Perhaps that was my mistake.

She rarely spoke at all, but now she became mute, her only
communication through head movements. I could tell nothing from her
eyes. When she was captured her eyes had been dark, confused. Now they
seemed lifeless.

It was a week after I used her name that I found her, lying in a pool
of blood on the bed. I still do not know where she got the razor, but
I shouldn't have been surprised. She had proven to be a most
resourceful individual.

A pity. A pity that she should die. She was the last link I had to
Janeway, and I was her last link to Voyager. I had thought she would
want to maintain that.

Sitting on the edge of the bed I contemplated calling for a cleaning
detail, when I noticed an information padd on the floor. Bending down
to pick it up I absently wiped the smeared blood from the screen to
read the words.

It was only one.

A name.

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The End