The BLTS Archive - Music From Home by Agincourt (agincourte@geocities.com) --- All characters, setting, Star Trek Voyager and Deep Space Nine belong to Paramount/Viacom I've finally finished it. Some of you may have read the first two sections. This is the complete story, and includes those two posts. Please feel free to comment, if it's terrible, or if I've violated some rule, please tell me, this is my first story. Oct 23/97 --- Dax's hands played over the runabout controls, and the craft pitched over and picked up speed towards the wormhole's coordinates. A human would have felt tension, even anxiety, about being responsible for the operational segment of an experiment this important. Dax was far to old to feel anxious . "Major Kira." "Kira here, you're cleared for the wormhole. Good luck." "Thanks. Activating pulse ..."a button pushed, and the swirl of the opening wormhole filled her screen. The runabout entered the mouth, and to observers on the station, it was as if the tiny craft had been swallowed by God. Once inside, it took a considerable portion of her also considerable skill to keep the specially fitted runabout steady in the energy currents. The probe, magnetically attached to the hull, could be wrenched free by the slightest shear. It would take forever to retrieve, and Dax had plans to meet ... well, spend some quality time with Worf. She could already feel his hot breath and the firm grip of his teeth on the back of her neck. She could already feel the ache of the bruises. She approached the 'center' of the wormhole, the point where the monitoring probe was to be released. More buttons pushed, and the runabout slid to a graceful halt amidst the currents. The ship shuddered as if from a cold chill. She reached for the release button, and checking the telemetry readings to make sure she was stationary, pushed it. From then, the preprogrammed probe began to work on it's own. It was released from the hull, and attitude jets pushed it into place, out of the lane itself so it would not pose a navigational threat. It's interior machinery was already functioning, readying the sensors to scan passing ships, and if it's programming deemed it necessary, to shut down the wormhole with a massive burst of energy. The probe's cloaking device tried to activate, and found it wasn't receiving enough energy. It pinged the matter/antimatter cell to increase the flow, and the core's command chip complied, stepping up the mixture rate. The resulting flow was to much for the cable leading from one to the other, and it breached. The energy flooded through the body of the probe, devouring the machinery, until it came to the power core itself. The runabout, by this time, was well on it's way back through to the Alpha quadrant exit of the wormhole. Jadzia was blinded by the flash produced by the probe in the process of annihilating itself, and as she lost consciousness, the runabout was tossed through the collapsing exit of the wormhole. --- Aboard Voyager, Chakotay walked the periphery of the bridge, in the midst of yet another boring watch. He still could not bring himself to prefer the exciting watches. "I still do not comprehend your point."Seven of Nine was saying to Tuvok, who was rapidly losing patience, or so Chakotay surmised from the Vulcans' increasingly furrowed brow. "It is clear"Tuvok continued"that the Borg are doomed to fail in their quest to assimilate all life, because they are incapable of independent thought, and therefore incapable of independent growth as a society." "The Borg are not a society. The Borg are a collective."Seven countered, with an impeccably disinterested air. "I will not argue semantics. The structure of ...." "I don't think,"Janeway interrupted,"either of you is going to convince the other, so in the interest of harmony on the bridge ..." "... knock it off"an annoyed Paris finished for her. Tuvok's eyebrow raised slightly."I will be glad to 'knock it off', as you say, when I have convinced our guest of the logic of my argument. But perhaps the discussion can be continued another time." "Captain."Harry yelped excitedly."I have a massive energy reading bearing two-five-seven, about three light years away." The Captain, now back in professional mode, jumped up and walked to the railing."What kind of a reading? What kind of energy?" "It looks ... it looks like ... like a wormhole opening."He looked at her, without having to point out what that could mean for them, if it was the right kind of wormhole. "Mister Paris, chart an intercept course and engage, maximum warp." "Captain, there's more."Kim was dreading having to say it. "well?"Janeway turned. "It's the wormhole, Captain. It read like a wormhole in the process of ... collapsing." Janeway actually heard the word 'no' screamed in her mind. She toggled her communications panel. "Engineering. B'Elanna, I need as much speed as you can give me." and I may need more from you, dear, if this doesn't work out. Like a soft shoulder to cry on. The ship eked out slightly more speed, and they raced through space towards the site of the wormhole. "You are assuming this wormhole, if intact, will allow passage to the alpha quadrant?"Seven was down on the lower deck of the bridge now, next to Janeway. "I'm not prepared to assume anything. But I won't pass up the chance to investigate the possibility of getting this crew home."this crew, this ship ... never herself. She was tortured by it sometimes, in the middle of the night. "I will assist if necessary."The girl stated, matter-of-factly, and without the trace of hope or other emotion. To her it was merely a technical problem to be solved. "Two light years and closing."Kim observed. --- Aboard the runabout, Dax was waking slowly, as if from a long sleep. She tried to open her eyes, and realized they were already open. She fumbled for the emergency lights, and the computer beeped impatiently at her as if to 'remind' her that they were already on. She could smell the acrid odor of wisps of smoke in the cabin. She rose, unsteadily, from the pilot's chair, to make her way to the medical kit stowed in the back. She found it, and with practiced fingers, applied the ocular regenerator. The steady hum of the device, and the tingling sensation in her right eyeball told her that it was functioning as it should. Slowly, she began to see light and shadow. It was when she could make out blurry shapes and washed out colors when Jadzia heard the sensors announcing a contact. ---- "What is it?"Janeway inquired. "A shuttlecraft."Tuvok answered crisply."And it appears to be of Federation origin." "What?"the Captain turned, facing Tuvok. "Captain, perhaps it would be wise to have the doctor examine you for hearing loss."The Vulcan responded, before realizing she had heard what he said after all."It appears to be a class three runabout. It would seem to have come through the wormhole before it collapsed." "Did it collapse, or is it still there?" Kim answered this time."I read no evidence of a stable wormhole, although I am getting trace particles from the opening and closing of one." "Hail the runabout. Let's see what we have here." "Captain, the warp core on the runabout is damaged, it may breach any time. I suggest an emergency beamout."Tuvoks' calm but insistent voice rose over the excitement. Janeway had long ago learned to trust Tuvoks' judgment. "Do it. I'm going to see who we've collected here. Commander, Mr. Tuvok?"She nodded for them to follow."Mister Kim, you have the bridge" "May I accompany you?"Seven inquired, as they strode to the turbolift. "Of course."The turbolift doors slid shut behind them and Kim realized that he would rather have gone to find out who their new guest was and whether they had any way of making the wormhole come back ... --- When the transporter room doors slid open, the first thing Jadzia Dax saw was not the starfleet captain, or the commander, or the security officer, but a face from another life. A University romance, a torrid affair with one of her students ... but the Dax symbiant's host then had been a man, and that had been a hundred and fifty years ago, and the girl who stood in the doorway, was wearing silver now, instead of that blue off-the-shoulder dress she ... he loved so much. "I'm Kathryn Janeway, Commanding the USS Voyager. Who might you be?" Dax realized that that was the second time the Captain had said that. "I'm sorry, I must be a little shaken up. I'm Jadzia Dax, from Deep Space Nine. Where am I now? I thought the Voyager was lost with all hands in the badlands ...." "It's a long story, Lieutenant Commander. Let's get you to sickbay, we'll discuss it there." Seven of nine stood quietly as Dax was helped from the transporter pad by Chakotay, puzzled at the womans' stare, and wondering what it could mean. ---- A few moments later, they entered Voyager's sickbay, where Dax recognized yet another face. "You're using the EMH? Was your regular doctor killed when ..." "I'm afraid so."said the holographic doctor "But I assure you I am more that competent enough to fulfill the medical needs of this crew. On the table please."he reached for a medical scanner."My medical database includes a lengthy entry on Trill physiology."The scanner whirred, and he pointed it first at her midsection, then swept it over the rest of her body. As he examined her, Jadzia tried not to stare too obviously at the girl in the silver bodysuit, and decided that it was safer to watch the doctor's progress through his exam. "The life signs of the symbiant appear normal ... as do yours. Your retinal damage appears to have been adequately healed, although a bit sloppily. You did it yourself, I presume." "Forgive the Doctor, his bedside manner is ... a bit brusque. But he's the only game in town." interjected Chakotay, with a wry grin. "The only game indeed. Lieutenant Commander, I pronounce you fit for duty."The doctor said as if he was launching a battleship."Avoid exposure to bright light for a week or so, and your eyes will be as good as new." "Thank you." "Dax, I'd like to discuss how this accident may have happened. If we can somehow recreate the wormhole opening here, we may all be able to get home." "Of course ..." "But we can do it in the morning. You need your rest."The Captain turned to Chakotay." Commander, can you show our guest to quarters?" "My pleasure. This way ..."as Chakotay led Dax out into the hall, Kathryn wondered if their new guest really would be able to help them ... and why, barring the obvious, she had been staring at Seven of Nine. --- Dax lay quietly on the uncomfortable starfleet bed, a towel wrapped around her wet hair, and another around her body, the corner tucked between her breasts. The shower had washed away the acrid smell from the burning runabout, and made her feel ... human, she thought, smiling. It never ceased to amaze her how human idioms had crept into common usage among non-humans. Exposure to their culture had affected most of the Federation races to one extent or another. Spending so much time with them, one even began to think and talk like they did ... But now there were only a handful of humans within thousands of light years. She was lost, amidst an unknown area of space. Her first thought was, if she could not get the wormhole reopened, where would she find another host for the Dax symbiant in the event of her death? Her only other though was.... ... Her. Her name had been Hiera, and she had been a mere fraction of Dax's age, even then. Hiera, in the blue dress, calling him ' professor Dax ' ... and then. And then, after graduation, Hiera had approached her teacher, and whispered in his ear something that had made Dax's knees weak. The memory of the girl's lips so close to his ... her ... ear excited Dax even now. Dax's hands found their way under her towel, to caress herself, as if to recreate an old but unfaded memory of a touch. The memory of that evening, spent partly in a bar across the street from the University, and then, partly, in the tiny inn on the river. The real wooden furniture which creaked with every thrust, and strained under the force of their colliding bodies. But ... ... But this could not be her, Dax knew, in that part of her mind which would not allow suspension of logical thought. And if it had been, Trill custom did not allow ... as if that had stopped her before. If that thought had not fully brought her from her reverie, the chiming of the door did. Jadzia collected herself, rose from the bed, and pulled the corners of the towel to make sure she was adequately covered ... but barely."Come."she breathed, and then, embarrassed by the sound of her voice, cleared her throat. The door slid open, and Dax actually took a small step backward. It was her, and Dax knew she had to exercise all the restraint she had in her to keep from pouncing upon her prey as a Klingon in the bloodlust. As Worf sometimes did, to her delight. "Your designation is Dax?"Seven of nine said, after an uncomfortable pause. She was not used to the feelings she was experiencing. "...yes, it is. And your ... designation."The Captain had not explained Sevens' presence on the ship, but Jadzia had a feeling. This was the Delta quadrant, home of the Borg. But this girl was not a Borg.... "My designation is Seven of Nine. I am ... was Borg. You are a Trill." "Yes, yes I am."Jadzia unwrapped the towel from her hair, and patted her hair with it. She realized the girl was still standing in the doorway."You can come in, if you want." "Thank you."the girl stepped forward, stopped, and the doors slid shut behind her. "Shall I call you Seven of Nine, or .. just Seven, or ... what." Jadzia mentally kicked herself for her poor conversation. She already knew that she wanted the girl, whatever her name. God, but it was unhealthy. Living in the past .... and what about Worf? "I have .. a human designation, but I am not accustomed to it. You may call me whatever is most convenient."Seven would never have said that to any of the Voyager's crew, she realized, but something about this Trill was different. There was a presence here ..." Several Trill were assimilated at Wolf 359. The host bodies were assimilated into the collective, but ceased functioning shortly thereafter." "And the symbiants?"Dax felt somehow cold. "They were rejected. Our technology ... Borg technology is incompatible... this disturbs you?" Seven saw the pained look on Dax's face. "The safety of the symbiant is the first responsibility of a host." Dax sat on the bed, holding her head in her hands. Seven stood a moment, then took one furtive steep forward."I am ... no longer part of the collective. I have learned that other races object to assimilation. Resistance is .. not useless." "No, it's not."Dax said, knowing that, even considering the knowledge that the girl had been a Borg, she was finding it difficult to resist doing ... what she wanted desperately to do. But did she really just want the memory of a long dead lover? "I have made you uncomfortable. I will leave."Seven turned for the door. "No!"Dax cried out instinctively, before she could consider. More reservedly, she continued,"You don't have to leave. I would like to talk to you." "That would be acceptable." --- On the bridge, Janeway and Kim hovered over the sensor panel, examining the readings from the point in space where the wormhole had opened."what if we bombard the focal point with ..." "No, Mr. Kim, we've been over that, remember?"Janeway was obviously past the point of frustration."the wormhole is no longer stable at this end. The only possibility ... is if we recreate whatever it was that destablilized it in the first place. The wormhole should reappear, open for a short time, then close and return to its original position."but to do that, they would have to wait to talk to the sleeping trill. "I guess. Or ..."Kim thought"If the Starfleet station at the other end of the wormhole does the same thing ... they should be able to open this end as well." "It is possible that the station is unaware of what happened. That they could recreate the event is unlikely"Tuvok interposed. Kim scowled. Sometimes Tuvok could be extremely annoying. Those times seemed to be more frequent in the past weeks. Maybe he just needed to get laid. --- "May I ask a you a question, commander?"Seven of Nine stood, hands clasped behind her back. "Of course, but please sit down."Dax wondered if the girl could tell how nervous she was. Seven looked around the room, and for some reason elected to sit on the edge of the bed, just two feet from Dax. "I have noticed that you have been functioning abnormally. Your heart rate increases, your epidermal layer becomes flushed, and your breathing becomes irregular ... perhaps the Doctor has missed something. I will inform..." "No!" Dax cried out again. She realized that someone her age, with her experience, should not be so disturbed by the situation. Embarrassment replaced alarm. "It's just that ... you remind me of someone I... one of my former hosts knew once, a long time ago. A ... lover."She studiously avoided looking at Seven of Nine when she said the last words. "I see. I ... do not see."Seven appeared confused."How is it possible that my merely resembling someone from your past could affect you to this physiological extent?" "You misunderstand."Dax looked at her now, directly into her eyes. She could feel her control flagging ..."You don't just look like her, you ... everything is exactly the same. Your hair, your eyes, everything about you."Dax momentarily glanced downward, at Sevens tightly clad form."Everything." "Now I think I understand. You were mates, I take it."The matter of fact way Seven said this reminded Dax of Hiera, the fearless way she had offered herself. "... Yes, for a while."Dax smiled in spite of herself. Hiera had walked across the room at the inn, the cool breeze blowing in through the open French doors and flowing through her hair, her hands pushing the straps of the blue dress from her shoulders, which, with a slight shimmy of the hips, fell softly down to the floor. It was the first time Dax could remember feeling powerless, overcome by a woman, or for that matter, by anyone. Hiera had knelt before .. him, her soft hands caressing Dax's skin, her softer lips closing gently around Dax's penis, and teaching the far older being a skill that would serve ... her ... well in the future."She was my first true love." That the relationship had been short, and tumultuous, mattered little. "I have never had ... such a relationship. I was assimilated by the collective while still a child." Seven said, again without betraying any emotion."Within the collective there is no need for independant personal relationships." Dax smiled, now somewhat more relaxed"That must be terrible. Humans value ... interacting with each other more that anything else. Friendships ... are very important to them." "But you are not Human"Seven observed "Human ... is in the eye of the beholder. We share many characteristics. The need to reach out to others is very strong in my people as well." Jadzia came to a realization. Her greater experience, most recently with Worf, had taught her much. When Worf wanted her, he simply took her. That it was consentual was understood, and if she ever raised an objection, she knew her would not ... insist. To do otherwise would be dishonorable. Perhaps ... she could emulate Worf's example in this."You feel the need too, don't you?"Dax moved closer to the girl. "I have ... noticed some desire on my part to experience human relationships with members of the crew. However, as I must work with the other members of the crew, to do so might damage the efficiency of the crew as a whole."Seven again stated it as a cold fact. "Maybe you need to explore those feelings with someone ... who isn't a member of the crew." Jadzia's hand reached up, and brushed back her long hair, now almost dry. She leaned even closer to Seven, the towel straining against her body. Before Seven could come up with a response, she felt Jadzia's hands pulling her towards the Trill. Jadzia's lips touched hers, and they kissed, softly at first, then with increasing passion. Dax's tongue forced Sevens lips open, and the kiss deepened. Dax's hands now were playing over Seven's body, the bodysuit hiding little. A hand came to rest on Sevens breast, and she felt a slight squeeze. She felt herself losing control, and a soft moan came to life in her throat. Within moments, the kiss ended, and Jadzia paused to look for a response. That the response would be positive she was not sure. Hiera had never given any signals, she had been straightforward ... looking up, with a twinkle in her eyes, she had simply pushed her old professor down onto the bed, and climbed atop him. ' alright, mister professer, class is in session ... ' they had laughed at the joke, and then spent the rest of the night making love. Now, Seven's face still said nothing, even as her lips said."This .... would be acceptable." --- "I think I know what happened." O'Brien said, and the rest turned to look at him."The energy readings coming from the wormhole indicate a core breach, but not from the runabout, from the probe. It's possible that the runabout survived, and exited the wormhole while it was unstable." "But then it's possible that she could be anywhere in the universe." Sisko objected, clearly unwilling to accept that he'd lost a very old friend."can we recreate the movement of the unstable wormhole?" "Sure, but we have to recreate the probe core breach, and to do that we need another .." "Inform me when you're ready."Sisko turned and walked through the doors to his office. O'Brien looked at Kira."Why did I know he'd say that?" --- Jadzia lay atop the girl, her hands holding Seven down, their fingers interlaced, their knuckles white from the straining of it. Her mouth moved on Seven's, the crushing of their lips producing shudders of pleasure, a tingling that seemed to radiate down her body. Dax imagined the pleasure following the pattern of her spots, finally being released at the tips of her curled toes. Seven arched her back, her hips seeking to grind against Jadzias', wanting something she had never experienced, but knew instinctively. That it would not be quite what her instincts expected mattered not at all. Her tongue now penetrated Dax's mouth, tasting the sweetness there. Soon, Jadzia thought, perhaps the girl would taste the other sweetness. And on that thought, Jadzia slid her body down, the hands pausing to pinch and tease the nipples, to trace the hollow curve of the stomach, and then, as she looked up at Seven's face with a smile, came to rest against the soft curly blond tufts between the girls' legs, her thumb gently tracing up and down the lips. She momentarily wished Seven would open her eyes to look on her as she began, but then realized that the intensity of the experience would not, after all, suffer much. Seven actually cried out as Jadzia's tongue found her clitoris, and her strong legs sought to close around the older womans' head, but Dax' strong arms held the girls body in place, one leg beneath her, trapped by her weight, and the other enclosed by an arm, and placed over Dax' shoulder, the heel rubbing the soft skin of her back. As Jadzia's tongue played between the folds of Sevens' labia, leaving no sensitive spots unattended, she noticed that the sounds Seven made were not words. The girl lacked the cultural experience to say the normal nonsense phrases most humans did at this point, like"Oh god" or the like ... although when Jadzia closed her lips around the clitoris and applied a slight suction, she was positive Seven had emitted a low, throaty "yes!"... and the girls hands had found their way to Jadzia's head, and had been placed over her ears, as if to ensure the action would continue. When, finally, the moment came when any last vestige of control had been abandoned, and there was a gasp, which was held within, Jadzia looked up at the familiar face, which now held an even more familiar expression. After a moment, when the breath had been released, she moved back up to lie besideSeven, pulling the still shuddering body to her own." was that ..acceptable? " Seven's response was to clutch Jadzia closely, and buried her face between her ample breasts. Later, when Seven had fallen asleep, after a somewhat amusing conversation in which the former Borg had attempted to analyze Jadzia's technique, and then after a far more succesful attempt to recreate them in the reverse, Jadzia had had an idea, put on her uniform and stolen away. --- "I think I should take out a shuttlecraft. To take Voyager that close would be taking too much of a risk, if the wormhole reappears."Dax interposed. "Can you get the neccessary readings from a shuttle?"Chakotay asked. "I think so, Commander."Dax continued to look at Janeway."I'd like to try." "Very well, Commander Dax, but try to get your readings as quickly as you can, we're picking up some activity in this sector that worries me. We might have to get out of here in a hurry."Janeway said authoritatively. "Understood."Jadzia said, and headed for the turbolift. --- "The second probe will be loaded to the Ganges in five minutes, Captian Sisko. Major Kira has volunteered to take it into the wormhole."O'Brien stood in the office doorway."We've figured out what made the core breach the first time, and made sure that it'll happen again. This time, however, there'll be time for the runabout to exit at this end before the wormhole is destablilized. If Dax is on the other side, she should be able to enter the wormhole, and she'll end up back here. And when it closes again, it'll be fully stabilized ... we think." "Thank you Chief. Inform me when she launches." --- Dax expertly guided the shuttlecraft from Voyager's flight deck. She piloted the shuttlecraft around the larger ships' hull, and then headed for the point in space which had contained the wormhole. As she entered sensor range of the wormhole point, her communications reciever came to life."Janeway to Dax, we have two unidentified ships dropping out of warp between Voyager and your shuttlecraft. We'll try to get to you ..." The transmission was interrupted by the sound of a torpedo striking the ships' shields."Janeway out!" Dax reengaged the engines, and swung the shuttle around to face the ships, her fingers working the weapon system to readiness. As she targeted the closest enemy ship, A blue swirling light appeared around the shuttle."Dax to Voyager! the wormhole is reopening!" She examined the sensors"Head for it, Captain, it's unstable ... but it leads to the alpha quadrant!"As she swung the shuttlecraft back around and entered the gaping, swirling maw of the wormhole, she could already tell it would not stay open long. The two enemy ships, learning that Voyager was more than a match for them, jumped to warp just as the wormhole closed, leaving Janeway and her ship behind in the delta quadrant. "Tuvok!"Janeway turned "I'm sorry Captain, the wormhole is no longer unstable. It will not appear at this point in space again," Tuvok said, hiding his own frustration. Standing beside Janeway, a human girl wearing a recently replicated blue dress wondered if she would ever again see her teacher. --- The End