Trust

Star Trek Voyager Fan Fiction
Season 5/6
Captain Kathryn Janeway had one goal – get her crew and ship back home. The Captain puts her mission above everything else, but would that also stop her from falling in love?
No copyright infringement intended. Purely for fun.
Written by LaughingLee (First fan fiction :)

CHAPTER 1

Captain Kathryn Janeway shook her head. She must have imagined it. Wait, there it was again. Someone was singing in the corridor. The singing seemed to be coming from all around her. The jeffrey's tubes! Janeway took the next turn and headed for Engineering.

Ensign Lee Roberts had been having a rough few days. The previous encounter with the local Delta Quadrant inhabitants had not ended well and she had spent the last week on night shift working on the gel packs. Something had infected almost all of the packs and no-one could figure out what it was. This frustrated the hell out of Lee and led to her current predicament. The problem had been running through her mind all day making sleep impossible and so she had started her shift a little early.

Lee had been crawling around the jeffrey's tubes around Engineering for the past few hours, running diagnostics on every pack she came across. Shifting her body, she sighed and ran a hand through her ash blonde hair. I'm going to need a few days in sick bay after this, Lee mused and stretched her back. Maybe Seven could lend me some nanoprobes to fix these kinks in my back and, well, everywhere else. Lee grinned and then sat bolt upright.

"Woohoo!" Lee couldn't stop laughing. She had figured it out. The gel packs were not only malfunctioning, they had also been infected with a virus that was acting like a biological agent. That's why her reconfigurations were only working for a little while and then not at all. The packs were sick. With a few small adjustments to the antivirus program she had been working on, the gel packs could be repaired. They would need individual adjustments to account for each pack's uniqueness. That would take some time, but at least they had a solution.

Captain Janeway scanned Engineering. At this time of night, the day shift had already finished and most of the night shift crews would be working on repairing the damages to the hull and lower decks. Janeway sighed. Why did most of her simple trade missions turn into battles across entire sectors? Luckily, Voyager had taken minimal hits with most of the damage centred in non-critical systems.

There it was; that singing again! Janeway followed it up to the top level of Engineering. A hatch was open and Janeway could hear someone chuckling and muttering to themselves inside the jeffrey's tube. The singing started again as the person moved closer to the hatch. Janeway took a step back, crossed her arms and waited.

Lee was ecstatic. Wait until Seven and Lieutenant Torres hears this! They'll be able to fix all the packs in no time. As Lee neared the hatch opening into Engineering, she heard a polite and completely unexpected cough. She got such a fright that she tried to stand up inside the jeffrey's tube. Lee bashed her head against the bulkhead, tumbled out and landed with her face flat on the floor. Janeway rushed forward and tried to help the crewman up. As she bent down, she realised the young blonde woman was doubling up with laughter. She recognised her as Ensign Roberts; part of B'Elanna's engineering team.

Ensign Lee Roberts rolled over and saw Captain Janeway. Her eyes widened and then she was laughing even more. Janeway reached down to pull the Ensign up, but her laughter was too infectious. Captain Janeway ended up sitting down next to her and chuckling as well. Slowly, the women calmed down and Ensign Roberts smiled.

"I'm so sorry, Captain," Lee explained as they stood up. "I wasn't expecting anyone else being around."

"You weren't expecting anyone on a ship with almost 150 people?" Captain Janeway smiled.

"Weird, right?" Lee laughed. "What brings you to Engineer? Couldn't sleep?"

"What makes you think that?"

"It's way past the usual officer's shift and you're wandering around Voyager scaring crewmen. Or is that a typical day for the Captain?"

"I like scaring crewmen, it keeps them on their best behaviour," Janeway said and wondered slightly at her familiarity with the Ensign. Probably the late hour, she thought. "But, yes, I couldn't sleep and walking around Voyager helps me think. Also, I heard you and had to investigate. You do realise you were singing, Ensign?" Ensign Roberts grinned widely. She gestured to a nearby crate and they sat down.

"I didn't realise I was so loud. I usually do it without thinking – it helps me concentrate," Lee said. "These bulkheads can keep the most dangerous radiation out, but can't keep a few melodies in. It's good you found the source, though. Otherwise Neelix would have ended up telling Naomi stories about the singing spirit of Voyager!"

"Why are you up so late?" Janeway asked, smiling. "Couldn't sleep either?"

"I'm on night shift, but I couldn't switch off my brain." Lee reached behind her and took a flask from her bag. "The gel packs were bothering me so I came up here to try and sort out the problem. I had an 'aha' moment and finally figured it out."

Lee started pouring two small cups of coffee while explaining how she was going to repair the packs. Captain Janeway was impressed with the elegant solution and said so.

"Thanks, Captain," Lee said. "Seven helped a lot with the algorithms and she's going to be happy we can get this sorted out." Lee handed Janeway a cup. "Sorry, I've already added milk, but there's no sugar in it."

"Thank you. Does the entire ship know I drink so much coffee?" Janeway took a sip and sighed contently.

"No, Captain. I've noticed whenever you're in the mess hall that you always ask for black, strong coffee." Lee paused. "That doesn't sound too much like a stalker, does it?" Janeway laughed and shook her head. They sat in silence for a while, enjoying the hum of the warp drive and a moment of peace on a starship lost light years from home.

"Captain?"

"Yes?"

"Are you doing okay?" Lee fumbled as Janeway turned to her and frowned. "I don't mean that you don't look okay, you look great!" Janeway smiled and Lee blushed slightly.

"What I mean is that I sometimes feel isolated on this ship," Lee continued. "We're all one big family and we mostly get along with each other. But, it's tricky being surrounded by the same people all the time. And it's difficult to find someone who shares your interests and who you can really talk to. Well, that's how I feel sometimes."

Lee glanced at Janeway. "I can only imagine what it must feel like to be the captain. The one who everyone looks up to. The one who can't show emotion or any weakness. The one who, because of stupid regulations, can't get too involved with any of her crew. Which is one of the regulations I will be making a huge fuss about when we get back to Earth."

Lee laughed slightly and looked at Janeway. "I hope I'm not out of line, but I've always wanted to ask you if you're okay. If you wanted to talk? We've been out here for almost five years. And, I'll completely understand if you want to ignore me and forget this conversation ever happened."

Kathryn Janeway was shocked. It was as if this woman had been reading her mind. She composed her thoughts and slowly breathed in the coffee steam.

"Thank you, Ensign," Kathryn said with a smile. "I appreciate that you're worried about me. But, I'm fine. Laughing with you and having a normal conversation has been nice."

"Okay, good. But my offer to talk stands."

"I'll keep it in mind." Kathryn took another sip. "This coffee is excellent. Did you make it yourself?"

"Good change of subject," Lee grinned and Kathryn simply smiled. "I programmed a new flavour into the replicators. You can try it if you want. It's called Lee Coffee Finally. It took a few tries to get it right."

"That's quite a skill," Janeway replied. "Most of my replicator efforts come out as something resembling mud."

"That's nothing. Watch this." Lee turned slightly. "Computer, how long until my shift starts?"

"In approximately 8 minutes," came the reply.

"Just in time," Lee murmured and turned back to the Captain. "With my amazing mind powers, I predict that I'll be contacted by an ex-Borg shortly."

Janeway laughed. "How could you possibly know that?"

"I have many skills," Lee whispered with a smirk.

"Seven-of-Nine to Ensign Roberts." Seven's voice echoed through Engineering and Janeway had to hold back her laughter.

"Seven, we've spoken about this. You can call me Ensign Lee like everyone else does."

"That is not your correct designation. It's procedure to address you on your rank and then family name."

"But, Seven, since the Academy I've been called Ensign Lee. Doesn't that take precedence over procedures?" Lee glanced at the grinning Captain and tried to keep from laughing herself.

"Very well. I will call you Ensign Lee, even though it is not accurate." Seven paused. "Ensign, are you purposefully trying to engage me in frivolous small talk?"

"Yes, Seven, I am. How did I do? New record?"

"No, you're previous attempts at distracting me yielded far better results. This conversation only took up 2 minutes. Your previous 'record' stands at 5 minutes."

"I apologise, Seven. I'll put in more effort next time. What can I help you with?"

"I wanted to remind you that your duty shift starts in 3 minutes and that you must report to Astrometrics. We will start working on the gel packs there."

"Thank you, Seven. I'll report to you on time. I appreciate the reminder."

"Do you?" Seven's voice sounded slightly uncertain.

"Yes, Seven," Lee frowned. "Why the question?"

"I simply find it interesting the difference between your reaction to me and the rest of the crew." Seven paused. "If you do not mind, I would like to discuss this with you further after our shift."

"Not at all, Seven," Lee replied. "See you in a bit. Ensign Lee out."

"I take it Seven reminds you about your duty shift every day," Captain Janeway said while finishing the last of her coffee.

"Yes. We've been doing shifts together for a while now," Lee replied. "In the beginning I was a bit wary of her, but now I really like her. She's an excellent engineer and very straight with you. What you see is what you get."

"I have been concerned about Seven's adjustment to Voyager. That she wouldn't have friends." The two women got up and Lee packed away the flask and small cups. They started walking towards the ladder leading to the bottom level.

"I think she's doing okay," Lee said as she followed Janeway down to Main Engineering. "We talk a lot actually and I think she's spending more and more time with the rest of the crew as well."

"That's comforting to hear." Janeway and Lee walked out of Engineering and headed to the nearest turbo lift.

"Will you be able to have a good night's sleep?" Lee asked as the lift's doors closed.

"I think so, thank you," Janeway nodded. The doors opened again and Lee stepped out.

"Sweet dreams, Captain, and thank you for the chat," Lee said. With a slight touch on Janeway's elbow, Lee exited the lift and was gone.

Why am I grinning like an idiot, Kathryn Janeway wondered and shook her head. Maybe it was nice not to be Captain for a few minutes. To talk without judgment or expectations. Or I'm in need of much more sleep than I realise. Kathryn smiled and headed to her quarters.

LLLLL

Seven looked up from her station as the doors to Astrometrics opened. Ensign Roberts was perfectly on time which Seven found admirable. She had been working with Ensign Roberts, no, Ensign Lee, for the past few months and found that she enjoyed their duty shifts together. The woman was efficient even though she always engaged Seven in conversations irrelevant to their work.

"Hi, Seven," Lee greeted the ex-Borg and pulled out her padd. "I have great news! I figured out the problem with the gel packs. We should be able to fix all of them in the next few days."

Seven raised her eyebrow and inspected the padd. She made a few small adjustments in some of the calculations, then handed the padd back. "I agree. Your solution will shorten repair time considerably."

"Thanks, Seven," Lee replied and started humming.

"Why are you in such a good mood?" Seven asked. "From previous experience I have noticed that even though you are constantly in a happy state of mind, when you hum or sing you are even happier. Did something happen?"

"Wow, I didn't know you were paying such close attention to me, Seven," Lee said with a laugh.

"It's hard not to. You are very loud and overly talkative."

"Thanks," Lee said, grinning widely. "And, I'm not sure if something happened. I ran into the Captain and we had a very nice chat. I wanted to ask her something and it turned into an interesting conversation."

"The Captain has conversations with everyone regularly. What made this one different?"

"I'm not sure," Lee murmured while opening up a panel below the main console. "But, I'll leave it to my subconscious to figure out for now. Let's see how many packs we can fix this shift."

"All right," Seven said and handed Lee a tricorder.

LLLLL

As Captain Janeway entered the mess hall the next morning, she heard a very distinctive laugh. It was still early and picking out the women sitting in the corner was easy. Ensign Lee was laughing while Seven tried to explain something. Janeway grabbed a cup of coffee and headed their way.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked.

"Not at all, Captain," Ensign Lee said between laughs and motioned for the Captain to sit down next to her.

"Interesting shift?" Janeway asked the still smiling Ensign.

"We repaired 25% of all the damaged packs on Voyager," Seven replied. "Ensign Lee's algorithm was easily adjusted to the individual packs. We should have all the packs up to full efficiency within the next 3 days."

"Seven, I think the Captain might have been referring to all the laughter," Ensign Lee grinned. "If you don't mind sharing."

"I had wanted Ensign Lee's opinion on some questions, but perhaps a second opinion would be helpful as well."

"Be ready," Lee whispered to Janeway.

"Captain, I have been researching sexual intercourse and the various, although they seem to be completely unnecessary, courtship rituals before and after. I had been asking Ensign Lee some detailed questions on sexual orientation as well as what positions -."

"Hold on," Captain Janeway said, raising her hands and trying not to laugh. "I think I understand the direction your questions are taking, Seven. What made you study this topic? I thought the Doctor had been quite thorough in his lessons."

"The Doctor's explanations were adequate, but very simplified," Seven said. "I need more concrete and practical answers. The Doctor also did not cover topics such as how to recognise a potential partner. I did try to discuss more detail on sexual intercourse, but the Doctor continually changed the subject."

"Most people are not very comfortable with discussing those kinds of topics, Seven," Janeway said, taking a sip of her coffee. "What do you mean by recognising a partner?"

"We were actually discussing that," Lee chipped in. "I was trying to explain that there's an affinity or attraction you feel with someone. A connection. You just click with that person. Trying to explain it better was getting tricky."

"I was interested in this concept of a 'type' that many people have," Seven carried on obliviously as Lee fervently shook her head.

"What do you mean, Seven?" Janeway asked. Kathryn was intrigued that the usually unflappable Ensign would have something she wouldn't want to talk about.

"For example, Ensign Lee has found that throughout most of her life she has been attracted to women. And mostly women who are older than what she is." Seven paused. "Captain, you are Ensign Lee's type."

"Really, Ensign, I'm your type?" Kathryn thoroughly enjoyed watching the younger women blush and squirm in her seat.

"Seven, didn't we talk about what is appropriate conversation in certain circles?" Ensign Lee managed to say while not looking at Janeway at all.

"Yes, but we are among friends, are we not?" Seven frowned. "I find it interesting that you are embarrassed by this. You are almost never embarrassed and we have discussed some very intimate subjects."

"O, good, a distraction." Ensign Lee visibly relaxed as Commander Chakotay came walking towards them.

"Good morning, ladies," Chakotay greeted them. "How are you this morning? What are you talking about?"

"Sex," Ensign Lee answered immediately.

"All right. I'll see you on the bridge, Captain," the Commander replied, briskly turning around and walking out again. Janeway burst out laughing and Ensign Lee soon followed suit.

"I didn't mean for it to come out so bluntly," Lee said. "But, he did ask."

"Perhaps the Commander is not as comfortable with the topic as we are," Seven remarked.

"I think very few people are as comfortable with it as you two seem to be," Janeway said, getting up from the table. "I need to get to the bridge. But, this was a wonderful way to start the day."

"Anytime," Ensign Lee said as they walked out of the mess hall. It was slowly getting more crowded. "I'm looking forward to my bed. Our shift starts the same time as yesterday, right, Seven?"

"Yes, Ensign Lee." Seven paused before they reached the turbolift. "Ensign Lee, I want to thank you. You have always been honest with me in all our working and social activities. I have found that you try and answer me even when I ask questions which I now realise were very personal and could have been considered offensive. I do not always understand why you laugh so much, but you always laugh with me, never at me. You have helped my adjustment to life on Voyager. I consider you a close friend and wanted to tell you that." Ensign Lee and Captain Janeway were stunned. Janeway smiled as Lee hugged Seven tightly.

"What are you doing?" Seven asked.

"I'm hugging you, Seven," Lee replied. "Friends do it to show support, empathy, affection and appreciation. Thank you, Seven. I also think of you as a friend." Seven tentatively hugged the woman back.

"Will this hugging happen on a regular basis?"

"Probably, Seven," Janeway remarked and laughed at Seven's raised eyebrow. "But, I'm sure Ensign Lee will respect your personal boundaries." Both women smirked at that as they stepped apart. They entered the turbolift and asked for their respective decks.

"Have a good regeneration, Seven," Ensign Lee said as Seven left the turbolift. The ex-Borg nodded to her and the Captain and continued down the corridor.

"Captain, is it all right that Seven's been talking to me?" Ensign Lee asked as the turbolift carried on. "I know you're sort of her mentor and discuss a lot of things and I wouldn't want you to feel as if I'm stepping on your toes or anything like that."

"Not at all," Janeway said. "I'm glad Seven has found a friend to talk about anything and everything. It's good for her." Ensign Lee nodded, pleased. She smiled and Kathryn was caught in the warmth of the younger woman's gaze.

"Well, have a wonderful shift," Lee said. Briefly, she squeezed Kathryn's shoulder as she walked out of the lift. Kathryn grinned and shook her head. It's good to have friends, she mused, not wanting to put any deeper thought into her own growing affection for the Ensign.