The BLTS Archive - Human Dichotomy
by Zenece (zenece@gmail.com)

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Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination.

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"Captain, I wish to speak with you."

Kathryn was on her way to engineering to check on progress with the
warp core diagnostic B'Elanna was conducting.  She glanced sideways as
the ex-Borg fell into step with her.

"What's on your mind, Seven?"

"I have a question concerning human relationships,"  Seven stated.
There was a trace of curiosity discernable in her voice, if anyone
cared to listen close enough to pick it up.

Kathryn nodded curtly, indicating for Seven to keep walking with her,
her mind partially occupied with upcoming engineering business.

"Yes?"  she said briskly.

"Explain the purpose of your relationship with Lieutenant Torres,"
Seven asked in her typical straightforward way, effectively yanking
Kathryn's mind to the present.

Stopping dead in her tracks, Kathryn grabbed the other woman's arm,
turning her around.  "I beg your pardon?"

Seven seemed unfazed.  "You and Lieutenant Torres are not capable of
producing offspring, so I do not understand the purpose of your bond."

With each word, Kathryn's face became a little more flustered until it
was a nice shade of red.

"Not here," she hissed, quickly checking around to see if any of the
crew had heard them.  She pulled Seven with her, entering the closest
room available.  It was a storage room, thankfully deserted.

"Captain?"  Seven asked with her metallic eyebrow raised in confusion.

Kathryn briefly considered denying the whole thing.  But as she looked
up at the bright eyes in front of her, she knew that Seven wouldn't be
fooled easily.

"Who else knows?"  she asked sharply.

"Knows what?"  Seven asked, trying to make sense of her Captain's odd
behavior.

"That Lieutenant Torres and I are... romantically involved," she
explained impatiently.  "Who told you?"

Seven cocked her head slightly.  "I have observed several signs of a
romantic attraction between you and Lieutenant Torres."

"Have you told anyone else?"  Kathryn asked tensely.

"No,"  Seven stated.

Kathryn relaxed marginally.  Neither she nor B'Elanna were ready to
let their new-found relationship be public knowledge at this point.
"I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone else yet."

Seven nodded compliantly.  "As you wish."

"Thank you."  Kathryn breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Without the possibility of procreation, I do not understand the
purpose of your bond."  Seven picked up on her original question.

Kathryn frowned, slightly puzzled.  "The purpose of human
relationships is not procreation, Seven.  People get into
relationships because they love each other."

"The result is the same: love leads to sexual intercourse which
results in procreation.  That implies love is nothing but an
instinctual pretext that insures the survival of your species," Seven
replied.  "However your love will not result in conception.  It is
illogical."

Kathryn tilted her head slightly.  "Human beings are not slaves to
procreation.  What separates us from lower life forms is precisely
that ability to control our instinctual urges.  We've evolved to the
point where people decide whether or not to procreate, whatever
nature's intentions are."

"Then the evolution of humanity is contributing to its own demise."
Seven stated.  "The instinctual need to procreate essentially insures
the survival of a species.  If with the evolution of a species comes
the ability to go against its natural instincts of procreation, then
the evolution of a species is counterproductive to its survival."

Kathryn raised an eyebrow.  "You're assuming that quantity
automatically supercedes quality."

"Quality is irrelevant if it leads to the extinction of a species,"
Seven countered.

"Is it?"  Kathryn asked.  "In these last few months aboard Voyager,
you've had a chance to experience the concepts of individuality and
free will, Seven.  Both concepts you've indicated on several occasions
might lead to the downfall of the human race in your opinion.  But do
you really think you could give these aspects of your life up and go
back to being a drone, a slave to your programming, living in function
of the survival of a collective?"

Seven remained silent for a moment, considering the option.

"No," she stated after a moment.

Kathryn smiled sympathetically, placing a hand on Seven's upper arm.
"Survival of the species is not our main purpose in life.  Thanks to
evolution, we are capable of exploring new aspects in life that are
only accessible if we choose not to be slaves to our instincts."

Seven cocked her head slightly to the left.  "And that is why you
chose to be in a relationship with Lieutenant Torres?" she inquired.

"In a way, yes,"  Kathryn said, after a moment's thought.

"I understand,"  Seven stated.  "Thank you Captain."

With that, she headed for the door of the storage room.

Surprised, Kathryn stared at her retreating back.  "Anytime."

Then she grinned and shook her head.

---

B'Elanna was lying on her side, comfortably curled up against her
lover.  Their lovemaking had been sensual and electric and afterwards
they had been enjoying a quiet and intimate togetherness.

She lifted her arm and lazily started drawing patterns on Kathryn's
abdomen.

After a while she propped her head up on her elbow and studied her
lover's face.

"You seem distracted," she said softly, leaning down to kiss the tip
of Kathryn's nose.

"Mmm," Kathryn murmured and gave B'Elanna a quick half-smile before
staring at the ceiling again.

B'Elanna softly stroked her cheek, knowing how Kathryn liked these
slow caresses.

"So what's on your mind beautiful?" she inquired gently.

"Do you ever think maybe we should settle down on an M-class and start
a new life for ourselves here in the Delta Quadrant?"  Kathryn
offered, noncommittally.

B'Elanna rested her hand lightly on the side of Kathryn's neck.  "And
give up on going home?" she asked.  "Why would we do that?"

"Because this journey will most likely get us all killed at one
point," Kathryn said hoarsely.

Frowning slightly, B'Elanna wondered what had brought on this train of
thought.  "So we shouldn't even try?"

Kathryn shook her head lightly.  "It's not that.  It's just... I'm
responsible for this crew and maybe it's up to me to make the hard
decisions for the greater good."

"And what's the greater good?" B'Elanna asked carefully.

Kathryn paused, clenching the muscles in her jaw.  "Survival," she
answered after a beat.

B'Elanna briefly closed her eyes as it suddenly made sense to her.

Kathryn's conversation with Seven of Nine the day before had
undoubtedly awakened her self-questioning side.  She wanted to know
whether or not she was doing the right thing by leading her crew on
this almost impossible journey.

But this was a blessing, B'Elanna knew, that only Kathryn could give
herself.

After a moment's silence, B'Elanna spoke softly.  "It's not enough to
just live, you have to have something to live for.  And I think we're
lucky.  We have Earth to live for, our homes and our families.  We
have hope, and that is what truly makes us feel alive."

She saw how Kathryn was absorbing the words, inwardly offering them to
the questioning voices that tormented her.

B'Elanna hoped that she would be able to silence them.

"Even if settling here would mean we'd survive physically," B'Elanna
continued, "the knowledge that we gave up on reaching the Alpha
Quadrant would kill us in the end."

She paused briefly.  "There's a difference between living and
surviving.  And, as ironic as it may sound; this crew can't settle for
survival, they need to live even if it kills them."

Kathryn remained silent after B'Elanna's discourse, but B'Elanna did
notice that some of the tension in her lover's body had dissipated.
She resumed softly tracing the lines of Kathryn's face and smiled when
she felt her lips purse to softly kiss the fingers tracing her mouth.

"When you offered the crew to settle on the planet with the 37's two
years ago, none of them stayed.  Everyone seriously considered it, and
yet they all chose not to.  They chose to try to get home.  Every
single one of them decided that survival wasn't enough.  And you know
why?  Because it simply isn't," B'Elanna stated.

Kathryn closed her eyes briefly.  "I don't think I've ever been as
relieved as I was back then," she whispered.  "I was sure there would
be so many...  So many who were tired of the journey, tired of
Starfleet, tired of hoping for something that might never come...  I
wouldn't have blamed them if they'd have chosen a more simple life."

"I thought about it too.  How it would be to get away from this
Starfleet life in space."  B'Elanna said slowly.  "And I realized that
I just couldn't give it up.  I'm a rebel without a cause, but with a
cause, you know?  I couldn't help but feeling that I would die a
little inside if I stayed."

Kathryn softly shook her head, smiling slightly.  "Still, get home or
die trying?  It doesn't exactly sound like a lifesaving idea.  Seven
has a point when she says that humanity defies all logic."

But the tone of her voice made it clear that she'd didn't mean it
seriously.

"It's what we do best."  B'Elanna grinned.

Kathryn turned her head and saw the sparkle in her lover's eyes.  "You
just live to defy, don't you?"

B'Elanna leaned closer to kiss Kathryn playfully.  "You know I do."

"I thought so,"  Kathryn murmured as she snuggled closer to her lover,
suddenly feeling how tired she was.

"And you should get some sleep,"  B'Elanna whispered in Kathryn's ear
as she heard her yawn.  She tucked the covers around them.

As Kathryn was falling asleep, B'Elanna studied her face, thinking
about the conversation they'd just had.

This was what made Kathryn Janeway a true leader, she thought.  She
was strong and decisive when it was required, but she had the capacity
to question herself from time to time to make sure that she was indeed
serving the best interests of the people depending on her decisions.

It was a quality B'Elanna admired greatly in her lover.

She studied the face of her lover as Kathryn mumbled something
unintelligible in her sleep and felt a surge of love for the woman.

Sure, humanity defies logic, she thought.  All the best things do...

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The End