The BLTS Archive - Firefight
by ILuvKate

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"Ready, B'Elanna?" Kathryn strode briskly into the shuttle bay and
headed toward the shuttle Stanford, passing B'Elanna who stood at the
console keying touchpads. The Chief Engineer nodded.

"Yes, Captain," she said. "I'll be right with you," she replied.
Kathryn nodded and entered the shuttlecraft, taking her seat at the
helm and beginning preflight. In a few minutes, B'Elanna joined her at
the co-pilot's console and they finished preflight.

"Looks like we're all set and ready to go," Kathryn remarked. B'Elanna
nodded and Kathryn keyed the comm unit. "Shuttlecraft Stanford cleared
and ready for launch, Voyager."

"Depressuring shuttlebay and opening shuttlebay launch doors," the
technician on duty responded.

As soon as the shuttlecraft cleared Voyager and was on course, Kathryn
put the craft on autopilot and turned to B'Elanna who was busy keying
one of three PADDs lying on the console in front of her. Kathryn
grinned indulgently. Her little Klingon workaholic. B'Elanna, head
bent over the PADD, seemed unaware of her spouse's scrutiny, reaching
for a second PADD. Kathryn rose and stepped behind her, bending to
bury her face in B'Elanna's dark silky hair. She brought her arms
around to encircle her shoulders and B'Elanna straightened, looking up
from her PADD. She turned her face for Kathryn's kiss and they kissed
lingeringly.

"I didn't get my good morning kiss," Kathryn murmured against her ear,
"and I miss it."

"I'm sorry, darling," B'Elanna replied contritely, "but you were
sleeping so peacefully, I hated to wake you. And I had some last
minute stuff to do before this mission."

"Now since when have I ever minded being awakened by you for a kiss?"
Kathryn chided her. "I depend on that kiss to get me started each
day."

"That's the trouble," B'Elanna retorted, "it gets you started and
therefore I don't get to Engineering to do my last-minute things."
Kathryn grinned.

"You have a point," she agreed. "I can rarely stop at just one kiss."
She planted a hard, quick kiss on B'Elanna's lips and stepped back
over to her console, checking to see if everything was all right. "But
you love it and you know it."

"You know I love it," B'Elanna said. "And I'll make it up to you
tonight. In spades." They grinned at each other.

"Abros is coming into sensor range," Kathryn said. She and B'Elanna
were going to a small planet where they'd been told they could find
some tellerium deposits. B'Elanna liked to have a supply of the stuff
on hand and extra never hurt.

"Achieving orbit," B'Elanna responded, keying her console. "Preparing
to land." Shortly the craft settled onto the sparse, rocky soil of
Abros and the two women prepared to leave and find the first tellerium
deposit. B'Elanna exited the craft first, scanning in all directions
with her tricorder. Kathryn finished gathering the last of her
equipment and stepped out onto the surface. She flipped open her
tricorder, keying the instrument to scan for tellerium. "No life forms
detected," B'Elanna reported. Kathryn nodded, studying her own
display.

"There's a deposit about eighty meters from here," she said. "Let's
go." They set out in the direction indicated, walking in companionable
silence through a thin grove of scrubby trees with curious orange
needles and spurs. The scientist in Kathryn noted the odd growth and
she stopped to inspect it, scanning it with her tricorder. "These are
mildly poisonous," she said. "I'd advise avoiding these."

"Those spurs don't look friendly," B'Elanna agreed. They gave the
trees a wide berth and stepped out of the grove and into a wide flat
sandy expanse of land dotted with large boulders.

"This way," Kathryn said, pointing. They found the tellerium deposit
and spent the next several minutes gathering the ore and stowing it in
their equipment bags. They scanned the area again, finding another
deposit and headed toward it. The planet's pale orange sun was
climbing into the sky when Kathryn suggested they stop for lunch.
Kathryn had splurged replicator rations and packed an Earth-style
picnic lunch: chicken, potato salad, string beans, and bread, with
apple pie for dessert. They found a shady spot under a tree that
Kathryn's tricorder told her was non-poisonous and began to eat. This
tree even had a patch of grass under it, making it a prime spot for
lunch.

Afterward, B'Elanna moved over to curl up in Kathryn's arms. They
kissed. "You don't mind if I get started on tonight a little early, do
you?" B'Elanna murmured, her fingers toying with the zipper to
Kathryn's jacket.

"Not at all," Kathryn replied, laying a trail of kisses along the
curve of B'Elanna's jaw. "We're in no hurry. I thought we might
combine business with--mmmm!--" Here, a moan of pleasure issued from
her mouth as B'Elanna's hand sliding under her turtleneck found her
breast and squeezed it. "--ahh!--pleasure," she finished, finding
B'Elanna's mouth and kissing her deeply. B'Elanna returned the kiss,
sucking Kathryn's tongue hungrily as her hand found the nipple of
Kathryn's breast and rolled it in her fingers. Kathryn grunted as her
own fingers found the zipper to B'Elanna's jacket and undid it,
running the flat of her hand across B'Elanna's middle and up to cup a
breast through the turtleneck. B'Elanna arched her back, pressing her
breast more closely into Kathryn's hand. They shed uniforms piece by
piece and rolled around in their underwear, laughing, in each other's
arms, kissing and stroking bare skin. B'Elanna rolled Kathryn over on
her back, and, pulling her bra away, began to suck her breasts, making
her cry out in pleasure.

"Oh, God, baby, keep doing that," Kathryn moaned, tangling her fingers
in B'Elanna's hair. "Mmmm. Oh, don't stop." Her hands roamed over
B'Elanna's shoulders and back as B'Elanna continued sending waves of
pleasure through her. B'Elanna began to kiss her way down from
Kathryn's breasts, nipping lightly with her teeth here and there,
making Kathryn writhe, and finally reaching Kathryn's sex, teased her
by playing with the damp red pubic hair, fingers lightly touching the
slippery lips of her vagina and dancing away.

"God, B'Elanna," Kathryn groaned, "you're killing me, baby. Please!"

"Please, what?" B'Elanna said wickedly, running her tongue along the
length of the inside of Kathryn's thigh. "What do you want me to do,
lover, hmmm?" Kathryn gasped.

"B'Elanna, come on!" she begged. "I need you inside me. Come on,
darling!" B'Elanna rolled on her side, propping her head on one elbow
and watching Kathryn's flushed face, rubbing the palm of her hand up
and down Kathryn's thigh. Kathryn sighed in frustration, taking deep
breaths, knowing B'Elanna wouldn't be hurried if she was in a mood to
be slow. She was ready to howl with frustration when B'Elanna slid one
finger inside her.

The fireball exploded just bare inches from Kathryn's head, spraying
her and B'Elanna with dirt, rock, and burning grass. "Good God!"
Kathryn gasped, involuntarily curling into a ball, but almost
instantly straightening and reaching for her clothes. They grabbed
clothes and scrambled to their feet, another fireball whizzing through
the air land inches from them. They raced for the shelter of a cluster
of rocks, zig-zagging as they went. They dove into the cluster of
rocks, grunting in discomfort as skin was scraped raw on the rocky
ground. Two fireballs struck the rocks as they frantically donned
clothes, tugging on their boots and groping for their phasers. They
flattened themselves on the ground as a volley of fireballs rained
over their heads, splattering against the rocks.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Kathryn raged. "Sensors showed
this planet was uninhabited!"

"It could be some sort of automated weapon that we activated somehow,"
B'Elanna said breathlessly, trying to get her bearings. She crawled
over to a rock and peered cautiously over it, eyes searching for the
source of the fireballs. She ducked down hastily as another fiery
missile zinged overhead. She raised her head again and searched the
barren landscape, looking for some clue. To her astonishment, a large
metal shape rose straight up from behind a rocky ridge a quarter of a
kilometer away and let loose another fireball. She wriggled across the
ground to where Kathryn was. "Some kind of metal object rose into the
air," she said, "and let loose one of those fireballs." As if to
punctuate her words, a fireball exploded against a rock and showered
them with hot shards of rock. They brushed the burning fragments away
before their uniforms could be burned and backed away.

"One of us should try to get to the spot where that metal object is
and try to disable whatever it is that's firing at us," Kathryn said.
"We--"

"I'm going," B'Elanna said. "You lay down phaser fire and distract
them."

"Darling, please be careful," Kathryn said, taking her hand. "Come
back to me safe and sound." B'Elanna squeezed her hand and leaned over
to kiss her.

"If that's not incentive," she said, "then I don't know what is. I'll
be back. I love you."

"I love you," Kathryn said, reluctantly letting go of B'Elanna's hand.
"Be careful," she repeated. B'Elanna nodded and cautiously left the
ring of rocks as Kathryn fired her phaser several times in rapid
succession in the direction the fireballs had come. Worriedly, Kathryn
watched her lover's agile figure sprint, zig-zagging, across the
expanse of ground heading toward the fireballs' origin. She fired the
phaser several more times, drawing two fireballs in return.

B'Elanna crept from rock to rock, working her way toward the sound of
clanking metal she could hear. Suddenly a metal shape rose straight
up, just meters in front of her. She studied it for a few seconds and
then took aim with her phaser.

The phaser fire bounced harmlessly off the gleaming metal, spraying
uselessly across its surface. Muttering a curse, B'Elanna aimed for an
opening and fired again. She was rewarded by a rattle and a wobble of
the metal object and a fireball being fired fizzled uselessly to the
ground

"Good work, B'Elanna," Kathryn's relieved voice came over B'Elanna's
commbadge. "I think you hurt it."

"Don't send me flowers yet," B'Elanna cautioned, watching the machine
hover. "I don't think I hurt it all that much. It looks like it's
regrouping." She hunkered down behind the rock as the machine swiveled
in her direction. When nothing happened, she peered back over the
rock. The object hung motionless in the air. B'Elanna saw what looked
like a control panel and trained her phaser on it, and fired.

She was quite unprepared for the explosion that followed, and the
force of it. The sound was deafening, and her ears rang. A wave of
nausea washed over her. She could not hear Kathryn's frantic hail. She
sank down listlessly against the rock, unable to hear anything, her
stomach lurching queasily. She was dimly aware of someone shaking her
and looked up blearily to see Kathryn, her lips moving soundlessly.
She put her hands up and got Kathryn's attention. Her voice sounded
thick, dull, and dead inside her head.

"Kathryn, stop," she said. "I'm all right, but I'm deaf." Kathryn
searched her face, and then nodded.

"We need to get out of here," she said, letting B'Elanna see her
lips. B'Elanna nodded groggily. They made their way back to the circle
of rocks to reconnoiter before heading back to the shuttle. B'Elanna
was dazed and disoriented and Kathryn made her sit down at the back of
the rock cluster while she cautiously made her way back to where
they'd eaten lunch to gather up what they hadn't been able to grab
when they were attacked. She jogged back to the rock cluster. She got
B'Elanna's attention. "Let's try to get back to the shuttle," she said
carefully. B'Elanna nodded and got to her feet. Kathryn put an arm
around her shoulders and they cautiously headed back to the
shuttlecraft.

With a sigh of relief, Kathryn got B'Elanna into the copilot's seat
and she sat down at the helm. She activated shields and then went to
get the medikit. She ran the medical tricorder over B'Elanna. "There
doesn't seem to be any permanent damage to your ears," she enunciated
carefully to B'Elanna. "The Doctor can make sure when we get back on
board. I--" The shuttlecraft rocked violently as a barrage of
fireballs struck it on all sides.

"Damn," Kathryn growled. "There must be a backup to the damn thing."
She keyed the helm controls to lift off as another volley of fireballs
spread flame over the craft. B'Elanna turned to her console and keyed
in commands. The shuttlecraft rose into the air as fireball after
fireball crashed into it.

"Shields are holding," B'Elanna said hoarsely, her fingers flying over
the controls. The shuttlecraft zoomed into space leaving the small
planet quickly behind. They both breathed a sigh of relief as they set
course for Voyager. Suddenly a harsh rasping mechanical voice filled
the cockpit.

"Alien vessel," it said, "return to the surface at once or you will be
destroyed." B'Elanna, unhearing, took no notice. Kathryn keyed the
comm.

"You attacked us without provocation," she said. "We have left your
planet--" There was a violent thud as weapons fire suddenly raked the
shuttle from stem to stern. Kathryn consulted sensors.

"Damn," B'Elanna exclaimed. "There's ship after us!" Kathryn stared at
the shuttle's viewscreen with the aft view, seeing the short, stubby
ship behind them. "Uhh," B'Elanna winced. "Ow. I believe my hearing is
returning." She rubbed her temples.

"Can you hear me?" Kathryn asked. B'Elanna nodded, wincing again.

"Faintly," she said. "Like there's something plugging my ears, but I
can hear you."

"Good," Kathryn said with relief. "Now what are we going to do ab--"
They wobbled as weapons fire struck them again. "Let's return fire,"
she said grimly. "Target phasers--" Suddenly the air became thick and
choking as a viscous purple gas filled the cabin. "What the hell--?"
Kathryn exclaimed, her throat closing as the gas clogged her lungs.
B'Elanna staggered from her seat and lurched toward the storage
locker, attempting to get some breathing gills, but she fell to the
cabin floor, choking. They both passed out.

---

They came to an unknown time later, sprawled on the cold earthen floor
of a cave. Kathryn sat up, shaking the cobwebs of unconsciousness from
her head and looked around for B'Elanna, whom she saw lying a few feet
away. She crawled over to her. " 'lanna, baby? Wake up." She roused
her lover gently. "Come on, love, wake up." B'Elanna came to with a
growl, bouncing up to a crouch as Kathryn moved quickly away, out of
her reach. B'Elanna focused on Kathryn, and her face cleared. Kathryn
grinned and she smiled sheepishly.

"Habit," she muttered. "Guess I can't get out of it."

"That's okay," Kathryn said. "It'll probably save your life some day."
She blew out an explosive sigh. "Now, where the hell are we, and what
the hell is going on here?"

"I want to know how they gassed us," B'Elanna said, getting to her
feet and prowling the perimeter of the cave they were in. There was no
opening that she could see and she wondered if whoever had captured
them had transporter technology. Her question was answered as a form
suddenly materialized into view in front of them. The figure was
female, tall, angular, with curious blue scaled skin and golden eyes.
Her hair was an ivory color, hanging straight and thick to her
shoulders. She wore a robe of deep crimson, but wore no shoes on her
webbed feet. A curious creature to inhabit a planet on which there
appeared to be little water, Janeway thought. She turned toward the
creature.

"I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Starship Voyager," she said. "Why
have you brought us here?"

"I am curious," the alien said. "I observed you interacting with each
other before the automated weapons system activated. I wish to know
the nature of this interaction." Kathryn glanced at B'Elanna who
grinned and then laughed outright. The alien looked at her oddly.and
Kathryn scowled at her. Biting her lip, she sobered, but didn't look
in the least contrite. Kathryn favored her with another glare before
turning to the alien.

"If you had just asked nicely," she said irritably, "instead of
knocking us out with gas, we might have been glad to talk to you." The
alien just gazed at her.

"You did not respond to my request to return," she said. "It was
necessary to capture you. Tell me about this method of interaction I
observed." Kathryn folded her arms and stared at the alien.

"I don't think I want to tell you anything," she said. The alien's
expression did not change, but she stiffened.

"I am not accustomed," she said coldly to having my wishes ignored."

"And I," Kathryn retorted, "am not used to being, first, spied upon,
and second, summarily kidnapped and held against my will."

"You should have heeded my request to return the Abros, then," the
alien came back swiftly. Kathryn only stared back at her silently.
"You appeared to be enjoying yourselves." The alien's voice was
wistful. "My mate was killed when our ship crashed on the other side
of this planet seven cycles ago."

"I am sorry to hear that," Kathryn said, "but it still does not excuse
your action. We would have been glad to talk to you if you had simply
asked us. We--"

"Kathryn." B'Elanna had come over and put her hand on her arm. "What
would it hurt to talk to her?" She lowered her voice. "You're being
stubborn, my darling." Kathryn's face darkened, but B'Elanna
forestalled her, turning her so they were facing, and just gazing at
her. Kathryn grimaced.

"You're right, I guess," she said, glancing at the silent alien
apologetically. She took a deep breath. "I still object to being
summarily snatched as we were, but B'Elanna is right. It won't hurt
anything to talk to you. What would you like to know?"

"What is the nature of this interaction I observed?" the alien asked.
Kathryn curbed her irritation at the lack of apology from the
creature.

"We love each other," she replied, circling B'Elanna's waist with her
arm and pulling her close. "We seek to give each other pleasure, and
that is the way we do it."

"Did you love your mate?" B'Elanna put in, seeing that the alien was
still somewhat perplexed. Now the alien turned to B'Elanna looking
bemused.

"I am unfamiliar with the term "love" or, indeed, the concept," she
replied.

"Did you want to be with him all the time?" B'Elanna asked. "Did you
think about him constantly? Did you want to make him happy, make him
feel good?"

"I found a great deal of joy and contentment in my relationship with
Zorzar," the alien said, her voice somewhat dreamy.

"There, you see?" B'Elanna said. "You must have loved him. 'Joy' and
'contentment' in a relationship demonstrates love." She turned to look
at Kathryn who was, herself, looking somewhat bemused. "It is what I
feel when I am with Kathryn." Kathryn's eyes were suddenly wet and she
swallowed.

"Oh, my dear love," she whispered, "and I with you." They were both
overcome with emotion and drew close for a kiss. When they ended the
kiss, they hugged each other tightly. They drew apart and glanced
self-consciously at the alien who was regarding them with what could
only be termed as sadness.

"I am sorry for the loss of your mate," Kathryn said gently. "It must
be very difficult for you." The alien nodded distractedly.

"I never knew there could be such desolation," she said sadly. "Seeing
you together and seeing how much you care for each other makes me
remember my own happiness." She put one of her webbed hands into a
pocket of her robe and withdrew a small device.

"I will return you to your craft now," she said. Kathryn and B'Elanna
vanished to materialize at the entrance hatchway of the shuttlecraft.
They looked around.

"What an odd experience," Kathryn said. B'Elanna nodded, her face
thoughtful, her eyes far away. Kathryn drew her close, turning her
face up for a kiss. When they drew back, B'Elanna framed Kathryn's
face in her hands.

"I want to make love to you," she said. "Here and now." Without
answering, Kathryn took her hand and led her over to the spot where
they'd eaten lunch and they stretched out in the shade of the tree.
They kissed, long, deep, satisfying kisses, fanning the flames of
passion and savoring the buildup of heat in their bellies. Kathryn
undressed B'Elanna, slowly, drinking in the sight of her lithe, trim
body bared by the removal of each piece of clothing, stroking her
silky skin and feeling her shiver with pleasure in return at the
touch. When she was completely naked it was B'Elanna's turn to undress
Kathryn, which she did with sensuous slowness, kissing every spot she
could reach with her tongue. By the time they were both naked, they
were panting with desire for each other and their kisses became hotter
and hungrier. B'Elanna devoured Kathryn's breasts voraciously, sucking
the nipples until they were hard, stiff, and aching. Kathryn returned
the favor as their passion reached a fever pitch and they could no
longer ignore the pounding twin aches between their legs. B'Elanna
moved down to position herself between Kathryn's thighs and parted the
hot moist lips of her sex. Kathryn moaned, lifting her hips off the
ground as B'Elanna plunged her tongue deep. B'Elanna took her time
bringing Kathryn to orgasm, teasing, licking, and sucking until
Kathryn was ready to scream. Finally B'Elanna took pity on her and
brought her to orgasm, holding her hips as she bucked and spasmed.

Kathryn lay gasping, trying to get her breath. "Come here," she said
hoarsely. As B'Elanna, smiling, moved up to lie beside her, Kathryn
seized her, her hands clamping on her hips and pulling her up so that
her sex was poised at Kathryn's mouth.

"God!" B'Elanna gasped as Kathryn's tongue attacked her throbbing
clit, circling it, pulling on it, only to dart away and lick hotly the
length of her sex. Heat boiled through her as Kathryn's tongue sent
wild, licking flames along her body. She writhed in Kathryn's grip,
pushing her sex even closer to Kathryn's voracious mouth.
"Uh-h-h-h-h!" she groaned as she felt the orgasm building deep in her
belly. "God, Kathryn, don't stop! God, don't stop!" Kathryn gave every
indication of obeying that plea as her tongue plunged deep into
B'Elanna's hot wetness, pummeling the swollen clitoris hard, making
B'Elanna jerk with each touch.

B'Elanna came with a long, low groan of satisfaction and collapsed on
top of Kathryn who pulled her down to hold her tenderly in her
embrace, their bodies sticky with each other's juices and sweat. They
lay, arms and legs entwined, savoring the pleasant aftermath, loving
the feel of each other and skin against skin.

"I love you, baby," Kathryn murmured. B'Elanna snuggled closer into
her lover's embrace.

"And I love you, too, darling," she said. They drifted off into sated
slumber.

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Copyright 1997 ILuvKate

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The End