The BLTS Archive - Marooned by ILuvKate --- "I'll be damned if I can figure out what the problem is," B'Elanna exclaimed in frustration as she stood at the imaging matrix controls on Holodeck One, punching keys irritatedly. Kathryn standing a few feet away, held a tricorder, studying the readout. "Take it easy," she said. "We'll figure it out." She moved her tricorder in a circle, scanning. "There's some electromagnetic activity somewhere in the grid, but I can't..." Her voice trailed off as she keyed the device, frowning at the readings. "Yowww!" B'Elanna's yell was the last thing she heard before everything went black. She came to with her cheek pressed firmly against the searing hot roughness of sand. "Unnhh," Kathryn groaned and tried to sit up, squinting against the white-hot glare of the sun. What the hell--? Suddenly she remembered B'Elanna yelling, and looked around quickly. She spotted the prostrate figure in black and gold lying in a heap several meters away and she got to her feet, staggering. She caught herself by grabbing the rough trunk of a palm tree. She frowned at it distractedly as she started toward B'Elanna. "B'Elanna?" She knelt beside B'Elanna's motionless figure and put a hand on her shoulder to turn her over gently. "Uhhhhh," B'Elanna groaned in pain as Kathryn turned her. "Sorry, love. Are you okay?" Kathryn apologized. B'Elanna sat up, grimacing. "Yeah, I guess. What the hell happened?" she asked, flexing her arm. "I have no idea. Where *are* we?" Shading her eyes from the glare of the sun, she looked around. They appeared to be on a small island, surrounded by the ocean. Palm trees dotted the small expanse of land. "Computer, end program." Nothing happened. She and B'Elanna exchanged a look. "Janeway to Bridge." A sharp crackle of static burped from her commbadge. B'Elanna tapped her badge. "Torres to Bridge," she said impatiently. Her badge emitted a shrill whine, making both of them wince. "Well, Kathryn said, standing and looking around. "It looks like...." She laughed abruptly. "It looks like we're stranded on a desert island, my dear." B'Elanna sighed, frustration automatic at seeing a problem and not being able to fix it. They were surrounded by the ocean, and though it might be holographic, it was still water in which it was possible to drown. The safeties were probably malfunctioning, too. The sun was blindingly bright and painfully hot. That in itself indicated a safety problem. Sweat was already pouring down their faces. "We're going to be cooked in just a matter of minutes if we don't find shelter of some sort," Kathryn said. "Any suggestions?" "These palm branches are pretty long and wide," B'Elanna said, looking up at leaves of the tree beside them. "Perhaps we could make a shelter." Kathryn nodded, unzipping her jacket, while B'Elanna did the same. B'Elanna also stripped off her turtleneck, which Kathryn did not dare do, for fear of being badly burned by the sun pouring down on them. B'Elanna was darker and more resistant to sunburn. They worked quickly to fashion a crude shelter with the palm branches and leaves. Kathryn laughed to see her lover climbing the palm trunks like an agile monkey, throwing the branches and leaves down to her. When their shelter was finished they sat down under it. B'Elanna stretched out clasping her hands behind her head. Kathryn leaned over and kissed her. "Might as well have fun as long as we're marooned," she murmured, tugging the tail of B'Elanna's tank top out of her trousers and sliding her hand across the damp bare skin. "You gonna get out of that turtleneck?" B'Elanna asked lazily. "Be my guest," Kathryn grinned. B'Elanna obliged her, pulling the tank top off, too. Kathryn was kissing her deeply as she unhooked Kathryn's bra and tossed it aside. She slid her hands up Kathryn's sides, stroking the soft sides of Kathryn's breasts. Kathryn was half-on, half- off her, one thigh between B'Elanna's. B'Elanna moved her hips against Kathryn's thigh as Kathryn kissed her more hungrily. Kathryn drew back to pull B'Elanna's tank top over her head and remove her bra, bending to kiss B'Elanna's lush breasts and roll her tongue across the nipples. B'Elanna had slid her hands into Kathryn's trousers and was cupping her bottom, squeezing the soft flesh. Afterward as the lay curled up with each other, Kathryn reached for her commbadge again. "Janeway to Bridge," she said. This time, along with the annoying crackle of static, there were snatches of voices. "--tain....rking....unct..." "Apparently they've discovered that there's a malfunction, so they're working on it," B'Elanna said. She groped for her own commbadge. Gingerly, waiting for the earsplitting whine again, she hailed the bridge. The whine came, but there were no more voices. "I expect," Kathryn remarked, "that we'd better get dressed before they make it in here and find us in the altogether." B'Elanna pressed her mouth to Kathryn's bare shoulder. "Mmmhmm," she murmured. "That's a luxury I want to keep for myself. Kathryn smiled. "Me, too," she said. "I can't think of anyone I'd rather be stranded with than you." They kissed for a minute. "How about Chakotay?" B'Elanna teased, referring to Kathryn's stay on New Earth with Chakotay. Kathryn grinned. "Well....," she said, letting her voice trail off suggestively. B'Elanna just smiled lazily, not rising to the bait. Kathryn smoothed the dark hair off B'Elanna's forehead. "Y'know something, Chief Engineer?" she said. "What, Captain?" B'Elanna countered. "I love you," Kathryn said. Her eyes were warm on B'Elanna. B'Elanna felt her throat tighten. "Know something, Captain?" she asked. "What, Lieutenant?" Kathryn replied. "I love you, too," B'Elanna replied. The long, sweet kiss they shared then was interrupted by Chakotay's voice coming so clearly from Kathryn's commbadge, that they they both jumped. "Chakotay to Janeway," he said. "Janeway here, Commander," she replied. "Captain, we've restored communications with the Holodeck," Chakotay said. "Mr. Kim says they'll have you out of the holodeck in about ten minutes." "Thank you, Commander," Janeway said. "Janeway out." She and B'Elanna began to gather clothes and get dressed. They'd barely pulled the last boot on when the arch appeared. The doors slid aside to reveal Kim and Tuvok. Kathryn and B'Elanna stood, dusting the sand off their uniforms. "Captain, Lieutenant," Tuvok greeted them. "I trust you were not injured when the holodeck malfunction occurred." "I wasn't," Kathryn replied. "Something exploded or erupted almost in Lt. Torres' face, however..." She turned to B'Elanna, who shrugged. "There was a blinding flash of light," B'Elanna explained, "and I felt a concussive wave or something." "Yes, so did I," Janeway said. "It felt like somebody clubbed me from behind." She looked around at the holographic desert island scenario. "When we came to, this scenario was running. It wouldn't terminate." "Curious," Tuvok said from the holo-control panel, "there is no program with these parameters in the file." Kathryn and B'Elanna smiled at each other. "Well, except for the heat of the sun, which was excessive," she said, "it wasn't that bad." She headed for the exit. "B'Elanna, let's go to Sickbay and have the Doctor make sure there are no injuries we aren't aware of." "But--," B'Elanna started to protest. In answer, Kathryn grabbed her arm and propelled her through the exit. "It wasn't a request, Lieutenant," she said. "Move it." --- Copyright 1998 ILuvKate --- The End