The Sato Series, Episode 3: a new Frontier

“I am,” Kathryn agreed. They exited the Velocity court, trying to recover their respective wind.
Ro Laren was coming down the corridor, and smiled faintly at them. Kit held out her arms to her lover, conscious of how strained things had been over breakfast that morning. In fact, they had been strained ever since Kit had renewed her marital relations with her wives. Laren stretched up to kiss Kit’s cheek. “Tough match, Averone?” she asked.
“Always, when it’s Kathryn,” Kit admitted. “We’re going for a beer.”
“Why don’t you come along?” Kathryn invited Ro. “I’m buying.”
Laren grinned. “In that case, okay,” she agreed. “Kittner, aren’t you supposed to be dogging Lenara’s heels?”
Kit nodded. “Yeah, but Aunt Cassidy’s with her. Mom said I could take a breather. Which is good because her Trillness is about to work my last good nerve,” she laughed. “Lenara does NOT like having a shadow. She can get pretty bitchy when she doesn’t like something,” she added.
Kathryn laughed. “It’s not bitchiness, it’s pregnancy,” she offered. “Ask Seven what a joy I was when I was carrying Geejay.”
Laren nodded. “She’s mentioned it a few hundred times,” she needled her former CO.
Kit was relieved when Laren slipped her fingers into Kit’s hand, squeezing lightly. She knew Laren was struggling with the knowledge that Kit had slept with Emily and Jenny, but the Bajoran was making a valiant effort to quash her jealous reaction. “Are you nervous about the negotiations?” Kit asked Kathryn. “You know, first duty as an Ambassador, yada yada,” she teased.
Kathryn pushed open the door of the pub. “I’m not nervous about the negotiations, but I have to say, P’Arth makes me nervous, all by herself,” she admitted, steel grey eyes flashing. “I can’t put my finger on it, either,” she allowed.
Kit scowled. “Everyone says that about her. She’s got this whole mister nice-guy image going on, and there’s a cobra hiding in that basket,” she opined. “I can tell everyone likes her, against their better judgment.”
Laren nodded. “It’s hard to imagine her being a killer,” she agreed. “I’ve seen all brands of murderers, thieves, terrorists, and liars,” she said enigmatically. “But I cannot peg her, to save my life. Her Pagh is unreadable,” she groused, climbing onto a bar stool.
Kathryn waved the bartender over and ordered a round. “I get that same sense around her. Like she wants everyone to think she’s a noble war hero, and not a coward skulking down back alleys. Yet she has an alibi for Joely’s assault. But I can’t shake the feeling she was behind it.” She sipped her beer the second it was in front of her. “Kieran’s handling her well, so far. Don’t you think?”
Kit nodded. “Better than I am, I’m afraid. I’m in a state of inner rage. I’ve meditated more over the past several days than the whole previous year.” She tasted her beer, grimacing. “How the hell do you drink this stuff?” she asked, wiping her tongue off with a napkin.
Laren and Kathryn howled with laughter. “Why didn’t you order a soda, if you hate it?” Kathryn teased her, waving the barkeep back over.
Kit shrugged. “I keep thinking I must be missing something, since everyone I know drinks it, but then I remember it tastes like burro piss,” she explained.
“Having yet to sample burro piss, I wouldn’t know. I’ll take your word for it,” Kathryn replied dryly.
“When do you have to rejoin our Trill charge?” Laren asked, smirking at the running commentary.

“When Aunt Cass hails me. They’re helping Kate move her things to the ship,” Kit replied. “Man, you coulda knocked me over with a feather. Kate and Joely? Can you believe it?” she asked incredulously.

“I think it’s great,” Laren said softly. “Joely has had a very tough go of it, since the camps,” she added, toying with her beer.
Kathryn nodded. “I think everyone who was captured has,” she opined. “And I think Joely loves Kate very much. With Kate, the only symptom is that she doesn’t bitch at Joely like she does everyone else,” she laughed.
“She’s actually nice to her,” Kit noted. “At least, she is in public,” she continued, allowing for the possibility that in private, Kate was just as curmudgeonly as ever.
“What matters is Joely is happy,” Laren put in. “Ever since Joely’s injury, Kate hasn’t tried to hide what’s going on with them, and Joely just glows with pride.”
“Love truly is blind,” Kit smarted.
Kathryn smacked her arm. “Cruelty does not become you, young lady,” she chastened her granddaughter. “A little respect for your elders.”
“Aw, come on, Kathryn, you know I’m joking. I love Kate. She was so great with Mom when she was remembering P’Arth after her brain injury.” She turned to explain to Laren. “Mom had to relive it all, and I watched her do it. Which explains why I hate P’Arth so much. You’d better hope Grandpa doesn’t find out she’s in the system, because I know he will kill her. He didn’t know a thing about the abuse until Mom was recovering her memories. He felt so awful that Kieran never trusted him enough to tell him.” Kit recalled that terrible day in the hospital, when Gerry Thompson had nearly cried himself sick over Kieran’s abuse, and his perceived failure as a parent.
Laren saw how upset it made Kit to remember, and she slipped an arm around her. “Averone,” she said softly. “It’s ancient history. All of it. P’Arth, Kieran, we have to let it go. They have. There’s no point in harboring that hatred for Kieran if she doesn’t harbor any herself,” she reasoned calmly.
Kit sighed, but nodded. “I’m trying. I really am. But Laren, you didn’t see the fear in her eyes. She was like a wounded animal, screaming in pain. Jesus,” she shivered, remembering the sound of Kieran’s hysteria. “I cannot imagine what that woman did to her. Shit, you know my mom. You know she has a seriously high pain threshold. And she was screaming Laren. At the top of her lungs. Like a Klingon in a rite of ascension ceremony,” she said, trying to make the memory dull in her mind.
Kathryn nodded silently. “I saw Kieran carry her own severed thumb back to Voyager, after an away mission, and she didn’t even grimace. It had been lopped off by a Hirogen who had meant to take her head off,” she told them. “When Naomi was kidnapped, she took a disruptor blast point blank in the chest, and never even cried out. When Emily jumped off the Admin building, Naomi told me, Kieran almost tore her own arm off hanging off the edge of the barrier wall. But the only times I’ve ever seen her in pain were definitely more emotional than physical. When Naomi was sick, when she found out about Kit’s abuse—those were the low points of her life. I can’t imagine her being hurt badly enough to scream like that. I just can’t fathom it.”
“Well, ask Naomi, because we both saw it. Ask Kate Pulaski. Kieran didn’t remember any of us at that point, but she remembered Kate. Because Kate had saved her from P’Arth.” Kit smiled then. “When Mom finally calmed down, she kissed Kate’s cheek and told her she loved her. And Kate damn near lost it. It was worth the price of admission, seeing that.”
Laren chuckled. “So even Kate has a soft side. Good for Joely for having access to it. I should make a point of stopping by their quarters with a housewarming gift.”
Kit smiled at her lover. “What a great idea. Let’s get the Wildwomen organized, and show up en masse. Maybe we can interrupt something,” she giggled.
Kathryn snorted, finishing her beer. “Okay, I draw the line at picturing that. I have to get home. You two have another round on me. I’ll see you both tomorrow, I’m sure,” she added, waving at them as she left the pub.
“I thought she’d never leave,” Laren flirted, leaning over to kiss her lover. “Now, how about if we go home and do something Cassidy will interrupt when you’re back to playing bodyguard?”
Kit grinned. “I like the way you think. I’ll race you.”
_____________
Robin Wildman punched commands into her workstation, checking her schedule over the next several days. The negotiations were set to begin in a couple of days, but until then, she had very little on her schedule, since many of the crew were still off the ship and exploring the Earth. She glanced up from the monitor, and noted Ro Laren standing expectantly in her doorway.
“Laren,” she waved her inside, “what brings you by?” she asked pleasantly. She had been expecting the Bajoran to show up, and she was surprised it had taken her so long.
“Robbie, I need to—could you—I really need to talk to someone,” she finally admitted, still standing in the door jamb, as if crossing the threshold would seal her fate somehow.
Robin laughed. “You have to actually walk through the door, Ro. I can’t yell across the room,” she chastised the First Officer.
Laren smiled sheepishly, scooting through the door, which closed behind her as Robin hit a key on her desktop control board. “Now, sit down and tell me what’s on your mind.”
Laren fidgeted in her chair, but arranged her legs and finally stopped crossing and uncrossing them. “Lenara said I should talk to you about my situation with Kit,” she began, uncertain where to start.
“She mentioned to me that Kit had resumed her relationship with Emily and Jenny,” Robin prompted her, trying to convey assurance to the rattled Bajoran. Robin tucked her shoulder length brown hair behind her ears. “How are you handling that?”
Laren grinned. “At least you didn’t say ‘how are you feeling about that’,” she smarted. Laren noted Robin was waiting for a serious answer, and she sighed. “I am feeling like benawa,” she confessed. “How the hell do you do this, Robs?”
“Do what, exactly?” Robin clarified, blue eyes twinkling.
“Share,” Laren said bluntly. “Without letting it drive you crazy.”
Robin nodded. “Well, my circumstances were a bit different than yours. Lenara was my wife, and she was in love with Naomi, and to a lesser degree, with Kieran, too. And I knew I was going to lose her to them if I didn’t learn to deal with my insecurity,” she explained gently.
“Precisely,” Laren agreed. “Kit is in love with them, and I am going to lose her if I keep her from them. How did you stop feeling insecure?” she asked plaintively.
“I’m not sure I ever really have,” Robin replied honestly. “Not completely. Feelings aren’t like a plasma coil you can turn on and off,” she pointed out. “It’s a surrender I make every day,” she realized. “A surrender of my ego, a surrender of my will, a surrender of my fear,” she said consolingly.
The Ro must surrender.
“And you mastered the ability to surrender. How did you learn it?” Laren pressed.
Robin smiled warmly. “I slept with Naomi,” she replied simply. “In fact, I was the first one to cross the boundary between the platonic and the romantic dynamic we all shared. Because deep down, I wanted Kieran and I wanted Naomi every bit as much as Lenara did. The four of us just had an incredible chemistry, even before we were lovers. I just had to surrender, first, on the level of admitting to myself what I wanted.”
Laren considered. “Jenny said something similar. She thought she was going to lose Kit to Emily, unless she learned to love them both and accept that they still loved each other. And Jenny ended up being the one to introduce the idea to Kit, to help Kit accept that it was truly what she wanted, even if Kit couldn’t say so out loud.” She pondered a moment. “So the fearful one was the one who created the group bond,” she murmured.
Robin nodded. “I could hardly fault Lenara for what she felt when I had been the one to be unfaithful to her. I was so afraid she would cross that line that I crossed it myself. Of course, Naomi really encouraged me to.”
“Kit would be thrilled if I slept with Emily or Jenny,” Laren agreed.
“And how would you feel about that?” Robin asked faintly, knowing full well Laren was conflicted.
Laren exhaled slowly, her bangs lifting off her forehead on her breath. “I care about them, Robbie, I really do. And if I think about a one-on-one situation with either of them, I can almost imagine it. But in my head, when I picture that, I picture myself exclusively with Emily or with Jenny, still. Not a group arrangement. I mean, I could be involved with any of them, singularly. But I can’t imagine being involved with more than one of them at a time.”
Robin nodded enthusiastically. “That’s progress. It’s a step forward. I was the same, Laren. I could see myself individually with each of them, just not in a group dynamic. In fact, the group mentality didn’t emerge for a long time with us, not really. We experimented with it on our honeymoon, but really, it was more like I had three wives, as opposed to a group marriage. I didn’t really understand the fanu’tremu, not then,” she recalled.
“So you loved all three of them as individuals, but not collectively?” Laren asked, trying to get a grip on the concept.
“Right. But the longer we lived together, the more accustomed I became to seeing my wives with each other, and the more affectionate we became as a collective. The seamlessness emerged over time. We each had our individual couple dynamics, and emotionally, we grew closer and closer, until the natural progression became an emergent group dynamic. We still have our individual relationships, but we have a relationship as a whole entity, as well. And truthfully, the times when all four of us are together sexually are the most fulfilling, because our gratitude for what we share is so prevalent at those times, we’re overwhelmed by it,” Robin shared. “And the fanua’thal’nara is sacred to Lenara, so when we’re together that way, it is very much a spiritual experience.”
Laren nodded vigorously. “As with my people. Bajorans treat sex as a very spiritual thing, partly because it is a gift of our vulnerability, and partly because the Pagh lifeforce is exposed completely then. And it joins with your partner’s Pagh, so that the Prophets become aware of the coupling,” she explained. “It feels wrong to me to love Kit as much as I do and not have our names written in the sacred scrolls of the temple,” she added sadly. “Do you ever feel—jealous when you know two of your wives are together?” she asked, biting her lip.
“Yes. I try not to be, but it is a balancing act. The longer we are together, the less jealous I tend to be, though. What used to be an acute insecurity is now a fleeting pang, a momentary thing. Because I know if I hear Lenara and Naomi making love, I always have the right to join them, and they would welcome me.”
“Do you, ever?” Laren wondered.
“Rarely,” Robin admitted. “We are good about according one another privacy. But I still know I have the option. And once in awhile, the sound of them will make me so wanton, I do let myself intrude. Especially Kieran and Lenara, because they are both very vocal,” she said, chuckling.
“Yes, I know,” Laren teased. “I was at the farm with you, remember?” She considered. “Is it ever just a dynamic of three?” she asked.
“Sometimes,” Robin allowed. “When Kieran was missing, it was only Naomi and Lenara and I. And Kieran is much busier with ship’s business that the rest of us, so we are often a threesome when Kieran can’t be with us.”
“Are there imbalances?” Laren asked, relaxing a bit with the topic.
“Sometimes. For example, when Kieran and I decided to have Cami, we were very closed coupled in the early months of the pregnancy. And now that Lenara is carrying Naomi’s child, the two of them are rather cocooned, from time to time. But we are all cognizant of the tendency to close out the others, and we challenge ourselves not to. Naomi made a point of coming to me, offering herself, making sure I was dealing with the pregnancy and the repercussions. And we police each other, in a sense. If we see someone becoming exclusive, we’ll make a gentle suggestion to include all of us, and it always works.”
Laren laced her fingers together, thinking a mile a minute. Could she be the one to say to her partners she felt neglected? She doubted it. “Did you ever feel—inadequate? Like the other three really wouldn’t miss you if you fell into a black hole?” she asked softly.
“I did in the beginning. It’s what kept me from allowing the boundaries to dissolve in the first place. I was so sure the three of them would leave me out, push me away. But they never have. I also know Kieran felt pretty disposable when she came back from the jungle planet. The three of us hadn’t curled up and died without her, and it made her question whether she was redundant to our happiness. She struggled with that a lot. But Naomi drew her back in, convinced her how necessary she is to our fanu’tremu,” she explained. “Truly, I cannot imagine this marriage without each one of us in it. When Kieran disappeared, it took us a very long time to find any equilibrium again. And then it was mostly because Cami was born, and we knew she needed a nurturing home environment. Children necessitate and in some sense, facilitate, the bond between us. I can’t explain that any better,” Robin realized. “You’ll understand if you ever have children with the girls.”
“Do you think of Cami as yours and Kieran’s?” Laren asked, curious about how kinship worked in a group marriage.
“Absolutely not. We know she is genetically ours, yes, but she is just as much Naomi’s and Lenara’s child as Lenara’s baby is all of ours. We forget, sometimes, Cami is genetically mine, because she only looks like Kieran. I cannot wait to see what Lenara and Naomi’s baby will look like,” she said absently, trying to picture their daughter. “Laren, I know you’re struggling, right now. But I swear to you, the fastest way to get over it is to reach out to Emily and Jenny. Are you and Kit able to be sexual, now that she’s slept with them again?”
Laren nodded. “Yes, but I am very self-conscious about it now. I keep wondering if she’s thinking about them when she’s with me.”
Robin nodded. “I promise you, she’s not. At least, I never have thought about being with my other wives when I was with one of them. Although I admit, sometimes I picture two of them together, or all three of them, and that can get me pretty excited. It’s an incredible experience, watching three people you love as they love each other,” she murmured. “Being a spectator can bring a whole new dimension to your sex life,” she confided, blushing slightly.
Laren chuckled. “Robbie, you’re so cute when you get all shy,” she teased. “But I appreciate your willingness to talk openly. I know you’re a private person, ordinarily,” she said gratefully.
“So that’s my advice,” Robin concluded. “Reach out to Emily or Jenny or both. Let yourself experiment and explore. The logistics will work themselves out.”
Laren breathed deeply, meditatively. “I’ll try,” she decided.
_____________
Katie Torres was on the Chancellor’s ship again, just as she had been almost every time Geejay Janeway wanted to talk to her. It seemed Ja’Kir was either on Sato, or Katie was on his ship with him, day in and day out. Geejay found herself openly scorned, now, when she tried to spend time with Katie. Katie had begun to talk about going to Qo’noS to live, and how she wanted to be a warrior. She and Ja’Kir played all sorts of battle games, and when Geejay had asked to play along, they told her she could not because she was human, and too fragile. At one point, Katie had grown weary of Geejay asking, and she allowed her to participate, but she hurt Geejay within minutes, and Geejay had gone to sickbay with a deep thigh bruise.
Geejay had been spending most of her time in her room, doing mathematical equations to distract herself. She had inherited Kathryn and Seven’s collective love of math, of its precision and logic, and in the past year, she had begun to excel in school in the sciences. Geejay had also read everything she could find about Klingon culture, and Seven and Kathryn were amused to see that the replicator logs indicated she had been sampling qagh, rokeg blood pie, and Pipius claw.
Now with the holidays behind them, and Katie giving Geejay the cold shoulder, Geejay was becoming more and more withdrawn. Kathryn and Seven had unsuccessfully tried to get her to take an outing with them, Naomi could not coax her to the holodeck, and even Cassidy Thompson couldn’t persuade Geejay to go diving with her in Florida in the manatee preserve. It was then that the adults understood without a doubt that Geejay was depressed, because she had fallen in love with Bessie and Babar, and her refusal to dive with Cassidy had Seven and Kathryn very concerned.
Seven knew they needed to call in reinforcements. She discussed the problem with Kieran, who agreed to have Geejay come to the bridge. Children were rarely, if ever, permitted on the bridge of a starship, and Geejay had only been allowed twice since coming aboard Sato. Seven trusted that the promise of going onto the bridge would get Geejay out of her room, if for no other reason than it would give her something to rub Katie’s nose in. Geejay took the turbolift to the bridge, and the doors opened with a resonant “whoosh”. She stood there, uncertainly, looking around.
Kieran stood up from the Captain’s chair, smiling at her young friend.
“Permission to enter the bridge, Captain?” Geejay asked hesitantly.
“Granted,” Kieran replied, laughing inwardly at the formality of Geejay’s manner. “Come and sit in my chair, Sport,” she offered, glad that the invitation got Geejay to smile ear to ear.
“Really?” she squeaked, trotting down the ramp from the tactical stations to the command stations. Geejay sat down slowly, feeling the way the chair conformed to her body, gazing lovingly at the controls.
“Would you like a tour?” Kieran asked, taking the First Officer’s chair beside her young friend.
Geejay’s crystal blue eyes glistened. “This activates the sensor display, right?” she asked, pointing to the panel in front of her. “And this activates communications, shipwide,” she added, reciting. “Tactical, engineering, mission operations. If I choose one, the display panel changes for that subsystem.”
Kieran nodded. “That’s right. And if you want to systems at once, you tap two subsystem activation keys, and the display reconfigures for those two subsystems.”
Geejay tapped through the various subsystems and correctly identified every button on the console. Kieran was suitably impressed. “I can tell you’re Kathryn’s daughter,” she said approvingly. “How did you learn all that?” Kieran asked, her chest filling with love for the younger Janeway.
“I have my own ship,” she said haltingly, as if embarrassed. “A holographic one I command,” she added. “I guess that’s dumb, huh,” she muttered.
Kieran touched her sleeve. “Not at all. I used to play starship, too. Only I didn’t have a holodeck, so Cassidy and I drew control panels on chalkboards and we made command chairs out of our game room chairs.”
Geejay smiled gratefully. “You did? You don’t think it’s a silly game?” she asked.
“Who told you it is?” Kieran asked, suspecting it had been her own insensitive daughter.
“Katie. She says all my games are dumb, now. She likes to play Rite of Ascension,” Geejay explained. “Only I can’t play it. The painsticks hurt too much,” she said softly, not wanting anyone else to overhear.
“Katie has been using pain sticks?” Kieran asked, alarmed. Her heart began to race, and she wanted to run to find her daughter, to verify she was breathing.
“Not real ones,” Geejay clarified. “But the ones she programmed are bad enough,” she said sadly. “The holodeck controls won’t let her program real ones. She can’t figure out how to override the safety protocols. Only, please don’t tell her I told you that, because if she gets in trouble, she’ll blame me,” Geejay pleaded. “You promised me if I had secrets, I could tell you,” she reminded her tall friend.
“And I meant it,” Kieran agreed. “But I’m glad you told me, honey. I’ll have B'Elanna change the holodeck controls so Katie can’t program them to hurt herself, or you.” She smiled sympathetically at the little girl, knowing how her feelings were being hurt because Katie was ignoring her.