The Sato Series, Episode 3: a new Frontier

B'Elanna shook her head. “Damn, it’s like she has no idea why you hate her so much,” she puzzled over it. “Okay, I’ll let you get to your match. But hail me if you want to talk, okay?” B'Elanna studied Kieran’s slender face for any hint of crumbling.
“Okay. Thanks, Lanna. Give my love to No-Game,” she said softly, following the dark-skinned woman as they left the room.

_____________

Worf grunted and dove to avoid being struck by the Velocity disc, laughing heartily as he failed and Kieran won the match. “I never could beat you,” he growled, holding out his hand so she could help him back up.
Kieran assisted the muscular man to his feet. “You’re probably just out of practice. I have to play my daughter, Kit, frequently, so I stay sharp. She’s so good, Worf, it’s scary,” she bragged.
Worf slipped his arm around Kieran’s shoulders. “Loser buys the bloodwine, I suppose?” he asked.
“I’d better stick to juice or soda, since I have to go back to the bridge,” she replied apologetically. “How have you been, Worf? How’s life back on a ship treating you?” she asked, handing him a clean towel.
“It is good to be back with the Captain,” he answered. “And your friend Stephanie Moss is an honorable woman. Enterprise will not be the same without her,” he said appreciatively. “I was lucky Captain Picard and Commander Moss were willing to give me a position,” he said softly. “Especially considering that I cannot be promoted any further up the line. I fear I am a liability.”
Kieran hugged him as they walked out of the Velocity range. “Are you crazy? You, a liability? Worf, there’s not a captain in this fleet who wouldn’t kill to have you on their ship. Me included,” she assured him. “If you ever need a posting, you hail me, and you’ll have it in a heartbeat. In fact, I’d give anything to have you running security and tactical,” she groused. “The guy I have just doesn’t impress me. But there’s no one better that’s available.”
Worf started to reply, but suddenly, Chancellor P’Arth was there, blocking the entrance to the Chimera, and looking dismayed that Kieran had clearly found time to play Velocity, but not with the Chancellor. “Captain, Ambassador,” she said, not smiling. Kieran realized P’Arth actually looked as though her feelings were hurt.
“Chancellor,” Worf bowed. “We were about to have a drink. Will you join us?” he offered.
Kieran said nothing.
P’Arth waited for Kieran to echo the invitation, and when she did not, P’Arth declined. “I imagine you have a lot of catching up to do. I don’t wish to intrude. Excuse me,” she said as though she were suddenly embarrassed.
“Odd,” Worf noted, watching P’Arth hurry away.
“Not really,” Kieran put in. “I—told her the other day I doubted I had time to play a Velocity match with her. She caught me in my lie,” she explained.
Worf gave Kieran a quizzical look. “Is there something I do not know about your history with the Chancellor?” he asked.
“It’s a long story,” Kieran affirmed.
“Good. The longer the story, the more bloodwine I can drink,” he decided, bellying up to the bar.
______________
Shane Bilbrey exited the turbolift onto the Sato’s bridge, eyes darting around until she spotted Kieran Wildman. “Permission to come onto the bridge, Sir?” she asked, grinning wildly.
Kieran jogged up the ramp to the Ops station and gathered her into a lingering hug. “Shane,” she squealed, swinging her former star forward around. “It is so good to see you, kiddo. Are you ready for your interview?” she asked enthusiastically, setting her back on the deck again.
“Yes, Ma’am,” she agreed, nodding. “I can’t thank you enough for—”
“Ah,” Kieran cut her off. “Come on, let’s go sit in my ready room,” she way-laid the Lieutenant Commander. “Laren, don’t run the ship into the Earth,” she called over her shoulder, laughing.
“Damn, Coach,” Shane snickered. “You’re just like you always were. It’s good to see that captaincy hasn’t eroded your sense of humor.”
Kieran slipped an arm around her shoulders. “I’ve always just been me, kiddo. Now listen, you are going to have to work hard to impress Mossy—er—Captain Moss,” she instructed. “She’s been serving with Jean-Luc Picard, and she is going to expect perfection, because he does,” she advised, seating them both on her couch. “But be honest with her. Mossy won’t take any crap, but she also won’t pull any punches.”
Shane folded her hands in her lap. “What about my record from the Academy?” she asked nervously. “It wasn’t exactly stellar, Coach,” she reminded her.
“No, but your record since you graduated command school is spotless,” Kieran replied.
Shane laughed. “And how would you know that, Captain?” she asked, amused.
Kieran crossed her arms. “Shane. Do you think I can’t tell you every detail of every record of every kid I ever coached at the Academy?”
She smiled. “You know, I should have figured you could. Seriously?”
Kieran sighed. “Ye of little faith. You got your first commendation in the field two months into your tour of duty aboard the Slayton,” she recited. “You rescued two of your crewmates from a landslide on Xerxes two,” she added smugly. “You were promoted to Lieutenant three months later, and took over tactical, where you were decorated six times in the next year. Shall I go on?” she asked, grinning at Shane’s expression. “Listen, I told you a long time ago, I will be all up in your business 'til the day you die, Bilbrey. I love you. I am not about to forget about you for a second, or lose touch, or forget your birthday, or miss any milestone in your career. Deal with it. You get me for a Coach, that’s a lifelong obligation.”
Shane was visibly moved. “Damn, Coach. You really do care,” she realized. “It’s great to see you. I’m sorry I couldn’t make your wedding,” she added. “We were patrolling the Cardassian border.”
Kieran took her hand. “The Wildwomen loved the gift you sent. It hangs in our bedroom,” she added, smiling. Shane had taken a photograph of the Wildwomen when Kieran had been released from the hospital, bald head and all, and she had put it in a hand carved frame and sent it to Earth. “Listen, kiddo. You’re coming to the Captain’s Ball this week, aren’t you?”
Shane gave her an enigmatic look. “Captain’s Ball?”
Kieran smiled warmly. “Old ritual from my Voyager days, and Kathryn and I have kept it going all these years. I decided to make it a New Year’s celebration. You’re invited. Everyone who’s anyone will be there,” she advised her former star.
“Sure, Coach, I’d love it. Thanks,” Shane agreed.
“Okay, now, Mossy will be here any minute, so I have to make this brief. She’s one of my oldest friends. Promise me you’ll watch her back. She’s almost as close to me as my own sister,” she said with emphasis, knowing Shane would understand the magnitude of that assessment.
Shane nodded. “I promise. If she makes me her first officer, I’ll dog her every step, like you did mine back in school.”
Kieran squeezed her hand. “Good. She’s a hell of an officer, Shane. Hey, be sure to see Kit and Naomi and Emily before you ship out with the Sagan. They’ll be pissed if they miss you,” she advised her old charge.
“How are they all? I hear Kit is expected to be the youngest captain Starfleet has ever had,” she noted, smiling broadly. “Like your kid would do any less,” she teased. “And Coach, I’ve heard rumors about your time on that planet you and Seven got lost on that would curdle your blood. Is it true you put yourself on quarter rations for two months?”
Kieran grimaced. “You know the rumor mill, Shane. More shit than substance. Never believe what you hear,” she recommended, not wanting to confirm the stories for her former player.
Shane regarded her skeptically. “Uh huh. I thought so,” she concluded, nodding her head. “Your mods to the survival manual are mandatory reading for every away team in the fleet now,” she commented. “I could tell from the changes you made that you were pretty close to extinction more than once. I’m really glad you’re okay.”
“Thanks,” Kieran replied, getting up to answer the chime to her ready room door. “That’ll be Stephanie. She’s like me, not huge on protocol, but until she tells you to relax it, don’t,” Kieran advised in a last minute effort to smooth the road.
Shane dutifully stood at attention. Kieran smiled to herself. Shane would be fine.
_____________
Kathryn Janeway mingled among the guests, feeling utterly conspicuous in her ambassador’s robes while her family members were mostly in civilian clothes or uniforms. It felt peculiar to wear no pips and no pants, and Kathryn felt a pang of longing when she gazed over at Kieran in her uniform, looking at ease in the navy blue jumpsuit, red leather jacket, and red mock turtle neck. The boxiness of the uniform suited Kieran’s body, and Kathryn realized that her daughter’s wife was actually quite attractive, and growing more graceful in middle age. Gone was the gangly young woman who had romanced Kathryn’s chief engineer, the wise-cracking counselor whose sense of humor lightened the load of the Delta Quadrant. In her place was a thirty-nine year old woman, whose sparkling brown eyes still hinted at humor, but whose demeanor was matter-of-fact and forthright. Kieran had learned economy of motion from her martial arts studies with Kit, and she no longer gave the impression of loping or being uncertain what to do with her long arms and legs. She was poised. In fact, Kathryn realized, Kieran had adopted several of Kathryn’s mannerisms, including Kathryn’s tendency to pinch the bridge of her nose when she was frustrated, and the way Kathryn set her jaw when she was angry. Kathryn wondered absently if it had been conscious emulation, or simply adoption by familiarity.
Seven of Nine slipped up beside her wife, smiling warmly. “You miss it already, don’t you?” she asked Kathryn, referring to her former rank as captain.
“No,” Kathryn readily replied, “just the comfort of the uniform,” she laughed. “This robe weighs a ton, and it’s hot,” she complained.
Seven kissed Kathryn’s forehead, sliding Borg enhanced arms around the auburn haired Ambassador’s shoulders. “Yes, but you look regal, darling,” she complimented her wife. “And I am very proud of you.”
Kathryn smiled up at the blonde, quirking an eyebrow. “Why proud? I am no longer a senior officer, I have no rank,” she asked.
“Diplomacy is not a skill inherent to the Borg, as you may have noticed,” Seven teased. “Drones assimilate first and ask questions later or never,” she added. “Starfleet must think very highly of you to place you in this position of responsibility,” she explained. “There are so many worlds we know nothing about in the Beta Quadrant, and they are trusting you to make first contact with them. It is a formidable task,” she praised her wife. She noticed Kathryn watching Kieran. “She has risen to the pips admirably, don’t you think?” she asked the former captain.
Kathryn nodded. “She has. I was just musing about how much she’s changed since Voyager,” she added.
“That, my love,” Seven said, smoothing a stray lock of Kathryn’s auburn hair behind a delicate ear, “is because she learned so much from you.” She smiled at Kathryn’s immediate tendency to protest. “You know it’s true, Kathryn. She has told me any number of times that you are the finest officer to ever put on a Starfleet uniform. I don’t know that she appreciated you fully, when we were in the Delta Quadrant, and she has admitted as much. But since you took over the Sato, and she served under you as your number one, she has begun to understand how good you really are at command. And how difficult it is to be an effective commanding officer,” Seven described.
“Thank you for telling me,” Kathryn said softly. “One of the things she seems to have adopted from me is the tendency to be increasingly less expressive about her feelings, and she rarely if ever tells me things like that. I am not privy to her reflections, not like when she was my ship’s counselor.” Kathryn sighed. “That’s something I miss about her, actually. And something I wish she had not learned from me,” she added. “Bottling feelings up is dangerous. Hell, she’s the one that taught me that, and it disturbs me to see her doing it now.”
Seven nodded. “She is adept at it. I realized just how much so after we were rescued from the jungle planet, and I found out how much she had kept from me. I was hurt, and very angry about it. But I understand it, after living with you all these years, and with her. It’s nearly impossible to experience the full range of your emotions and not be consumed by them to the point of having it impair your decisiveness. Compartmentalizing things allows the commanding officer to emerge and be in control. And I am fortunate she did learn that skill, because had she not, I do not believe we would have survived that planet.” Seven’s glacier blue eyes glowed with a bittersweet remembrance of that time.
Kathryn nodded. “I shudder sometimes, thinking about how your lives hung in the balance every day, and how the slightest error in judgment could have spelled disaster for you both. And for Erin,” she added, thinking of her youngest daughter fondly. “But I worry about Kieran now. I see more of myself in her than I am comfortable with,” she said with concern.
Seven hugged her close. “Don’t fret, my Kathryn. Kieran confides in Naomi, and they are as close as ever. They have a very strong bond, and they never withhold anything from one another. Kieran knows very well how to leave the pips in the hallway when she goes home at night, and Naomi demands nothing less.”
Kathryn smiled. “Then Naomi learned from you how to deal with being married to a tyrannical leader,” she joked. “I’m glad she had such a good role model.”
Kieran Wildman was perched on the edge of the sofa in her quarters, in fact, holding Naomi from behind, and Naomi was sitting straddling Kieran’s right leg. Naomi was laughing at something Cassidy was telling her, and Cameron was rolling her eyes at Cassidy’s story. B'Elanna was talking to P’Arth, explaining the various relationships of the guests, though it was unnecessary. Detara’s report had detailed everything about the Wildman and Janeway families, and P’Arth had every name and kinship memorized.
Lenara Wildman was in the kitchen, talking to Ro Laren, who was watching wistfully as Kit, Emily and Jenny talked about their day, sprawling in the living room floor of Kieran’s quarters. Laren was pretending not to notice that Kit was spending more and more time with her wives, and she deliberately ignored the way they looked at each other, with abject desire and longing.
“Are you comfortable with the arrangements, then?” Lenara was asking, the double entendre hanging palpably in the air.
“For the negotiations?” Laren qualified. “Yes. Kit will be an excellent bodyguard for you. You trust her, don’t you?” she asked, her dark eyes registering hurt as she saw Kit kiss Emily.
“I do. Do you?” Lenara asked, again with a double meaning.
Laren sighed. “I do, but I had hoped to be able to do it myself. When Kieran and I laid out that plan, we didn’t know Starfleet was going to promote her right away.” Laren cut her eyes back to where Kit was sitting, noting that Emily was still kissing Kit.
Lenara knew exactly what Laren was thinking. “Well, then, as long as you’re at ease with the arrangements,” she offered.
“Why do I get the feeling we’re having two distinct conversations wrapped up in one?” she asked Lenara, irritated.
Lenara touched her hand. “Le’sharon,” she said softly, so no one else could hear. “You have to talk about it,” she urged her. “Your jealousy rolls off of you in waves,” she said in Trill, so only Laren would understand.
Laren hung her head. “I don’t know what to do about it, Lenara. I know Kit is married to them. I know I should be able to accept their relationships with each other. I know Kit wants to be sexual with them both, and with me. And yet I can’t seem to get over that hurdle with her. I can’t let go.” She bit her lip, disgusted with herself. “I don’t know how to stop feeling abandoned when I think about her being with them again.”
Lenara nodded sympathetically. “I wish I could help. But the culture I was raised in accepted these situations and we were brought up to expect them. I can’t related to what you’re feeling at all. But I know who can,” she said gently. “Robin. She was blind and mad with jealousy when Naomi and I fell in love. Talk to her, Laren. Ask her how she got beyond that jealousy, how she came to see a broader context for our marriage. Maybe she can help you cope,” Lenara encouraged the Bajoran.
Laren sipped her iced tea, shaking her head. “It’s embarrassing. You know?” she asked, eyes pleading for understanding. “I mean, how do I admit to Robbie that I won’t let my lover sleep with her wives? I have no rights, here, Lenara. I am the outsider, and yet, the three of them are allowing my insecurities to call the shots.”
“I know, but dre’cadre, it is because they all love you so.” She watched Laren’s reaction, one of surprise. “Don’t tell me you can’t see it, Laren,” she admonished quietly. “Can’t you?”
Laren shrugged. “I know Jenny and Emily care about me, yes. But love me? I don’t see that.”
“Uncover your eyes, then,” Lenara said in Trill. “It is right in front of you, if only you will look.” Lenara took both of Laren’s hands. “This is a critical point in your relationship. Don’t put Kit in a position of having to choose between you and them. She loves you, Laren, but she will have to choose her marriage if you force her.”
“I know,” Laren admitted. “And I know that’s the right thing. I know I have to let her segue back into a sexual relationship with both of them. But I can’t be part of that myself, and so I cling to her—or suffocate her, more accurately.”
“Come stay with us, when they need to be together. You’re always welcome here. And I promise we’ll keep you distracted from your heartache. I also promise you that Kit will be so grateful to you for that freedom, it will change your bond with her in positive ways you can’t even imagine. Believe me, wapur’on, I speak from experience.”
Laren knew her insecurities were only going to cost her the woman she loved if she didn’t get them under control in short order. The pleading look on Lenara’s face solidified her resolve. Laren squared her shoulders. “Okay. No time like the present, I suppose.”
Lenara was stunned as the Bajoran strode across the room, leaned down and whispered something in Kit’s ear.
Kit Wildman’s face registered pure bewilderment. “Are you sure, honey?” she asked aloud.
Laren nodded resolutely. “I am. As sure as I’ll ever be. So go on, before I let my better judgment scare me out of it,” she urged her lover. “I’ll stay here. Lenara knows what’s going on, and she promised to keep me distracted,” she added. She smiled at Jenny and Emily, helping them each off the floor in turn, and hugging them. “Go home,” she told them each. “I’ll be very late,” she promised.
The three women stood there, dumbfounded, staring at Kit’s lover. They hesitated as if they didn’t quite trust what Laren was saying.
Laren forced a smile. “I’m not kidding. Go on. Hail me when it’s safe to come home,” she instructed them. “Okay?”
Kit nodded mutely, then threw her arms around Laren, kissing her cheek. “I love you, Averone,” she said fiercely.
Laren kissed her full on the mouth. “And I love you, Kittner. More than I have words for.”
_____________
Kit Wildman led her wives down the corridor to their quarters, none of them speaking, but each aware of the milestone they had reached. Laren was giving them permission to be together again. She had learned, at least marginally, to accept this form of a relationship. And maybe she would never participate in it, at least not beyond her relationship with Kit, but she was stretching, challenging herself to give Kit the freedom to embrace the type of life she wanted. She was learning to want for Kit what Kit wanted most for herself.
And for Kit’s part, she had done her best to protect Laren’s vulnerability, but she had to admit to herself, she desperately wanted to be Emily and Jenny’s lover again. More than anything, she wished Laren would join them in Kit’s bed, but she knew that was too much, far too soon, and this much progress was phenomenal in and of itself. Wordlessly the three women slipped inside their quarters, headed to Kit’s bedroom, and dimmed the lighting. They lay down together, eager but restrained, sharing explorative kisses and gentle touches, slowly rekindling the passion that had made them a trinity in the first place.
Kit had forgotten the way it felt to have both women pleasuring her nipples, and the instant that her wives slid their hands beneath her shirt, she was writhing against their fingertips, needful and vocal in her response. Emily’s kiss was so familiar, etched in Kit’s earliest memories of consensual intimacy, and she welcomed it greedily, brain suffused with the overwhelming flood of recall: their first time in Florida, the long months of their courtship and the dozens of times they made love, the innocence of discovering passion and surrender. And for Jenny, that same sense of discovery came rushing back, the early days with Kit, and what it was like to be loved with tenderness and patience and selflessness for the first time.
As if they had never held themselves apart, the rhythm and seamlessness of their lovemaking returned, with all the willingness of their younger lives, and the exchange of meaningful looks and purposeful caresses. Kit felt her eyes fill with tears as Jenny whispered against her cheek, “Kyle, I want you so much. I’ve missed you.” Suddenly, Kit was barely twenty again, and Jenny was on one knee in the restaurant, proposing to her, looking so beautiful and perfect. “Corey,” she said through the lump in her throat. “I have never wanted to be away from you. I’m sorry it’s taken so long for this to work itself out,” she added, touching Jenny’s face with the softest of touches, then kissing her deeply.
As their kiss broke, Kit found Emily’s mouth with her own, fingers tangled in Emily’s dark hair, tongue questing against Emily’s. It was familiar and yet foreign at the same time, the way Kit made love, because certainly she had learned things from Ro Laren, and she had changed over time. There was nothing impatient in Kit’s demeanor, and teasing had become a comfortable part of her sexual repertoire. If anything, Kit had become more skillful because loving a Bajoran required a good deal of finesse, and Emily was suddenly grateful for the things Laren had taught Kit. Jenny noticed immediately, too, and felt the same sense of gratitude. The long months of waiting and wondering seemed worth it, now.
Kit was overcome with the knowledge that two women were undressing her, that these incredible women, her wives, had wanted her just as much as she had wanted them over the past few months of living together. There had been so much temptation, when she would see Jenny padding down the hallway in nothing but a towel, or when Emily was puttering in the kitchen in her bathrobe, and Kit knew all too well she had nothing else on beneath it. Kit had thought about pressing Emily against the kitchen counters, spilling the coffee grounds all over, making love to her right there, hiking her robe up around her hips and stroking her labia, lifting her up to penetrate the softness of her depths. She had imagined sneaking into the shower with Jenny, sitting on the tile bench with Jenny’s thighs draped on either side of her own, pleasuring her as the water kept them warm and wet and slick. Kit’s memories had been so acute, she could recall exactly the taste of Jenny’s kiss, of Emily’s nipples, of Jenny’s juices dribbling down her bottom lip as she devoured her.
Somehow they were blessedly naked, then, the warmth and the silky texture of skin on skin so intense that Kit felt herself trembling, felt the flood between her legs, heard her own voice crying out as Jenny took her from behind and Emily from the front, nipples erect and throbbing in Emily’s mouth and fingers, her body electrified in every nerve ending as her wives loved her. Jenny’s fingers were so deep in her, creating a delicious burning sensation that made her gasp with frenzied lust. Emily’s finger fluttered over her clitoris, matching the cadence of tongue on breast, and Kit felt herself peaking unexpectedly, the combined sensations too much for her body to process without the inevitable explosion of blinding desire. Jenny felt Kit’s climax building and thrust frantically to heighten it, and Kit babbled incoherently as she came, clutching at Emily’s body and shuddering, forcing herself not to stop either of them, letting her body start that ascent again. Emily moved down Kit’s body, mouth earnest against Kit’s sex, head pointed toward Kit’s toes. Jenny’s penetration shifted from her vagina to the much tighter opening between Kit’s buttocks, and Kit groaned desperately as Jenny entered her abruptly with two fingers, just as Emily began to suckle her clit.