NEW:  The Reactions of Mammals... 1/1 [PG] VOY (7/K, 3of5)

Title:  The Reactions of Mammals to Dermal Stimulation
Author:  Michael Roy Hollihan (hollihan@bellsouth.net)
Series:  VOY
Part:  NEW 1/1
Rating:  [PG]
Codes:  7/K, 3of5

Summary:  Seven's cat, Three of Five, provides the answers to her dilemma with
Harry Kim.  #3
of the Three of Five series.

Archivist:  I'm sending a single file to the ASC archive.  @}-------- A rose for
your hard work. 
No other archiving allowed.

Disclaimer:  Star Trek: Voyager and its characters are the property of
Paramount.  This story is
mine and is not intended for profit.  All rights not Paramount's are the author's. 
No archiving,
reposting, publishing, or other distribution without prior consent.

========================

Dear Reader,

I've been repeatedly asked to write another sequel to "Three of Five" and
"Resistance is Feline." 
But until now I never had the inspiration.  My thanks to Greywolf for finally and
accidentally
providing the spark.

Mike Hollihan
Memphis, Tennessee, USA

========================

The Reactions of Mammals to Dermal Stimulation
Michael Roy Hollihan
(c) 1999


Seven's Borg-enhanced hearing had many uses.  Most she simply took for
granted.  She had
learned over the last year, though, that when it came to her cat, Three of Five,
nothing could be
taken for granted.

Deeply engrossed in a recursive algorithm for calculating the
frequency-drift/distance ratios of
non-repeating, tunneling space-time phenomena--Ensign Paris called it 'sniffing
out wormholes' in
his imprecise vernacular--Seven was interrupted by a faint sound.  She looked up
suspiciously,
waiting to see if the noise would reoccur.  When it did, she immediately
recognized its source.

"Three of Five?" she called out in a clear, imperative voice.  Seven straightened
up and swept her
head from side to side.  She could just barely register the sound of a meow. 
Relaxing into
annoyance, she said, "Computer, open door to Cargo Bay Two."

The door swished open and a black-and-white blur streaked in.  "Three of Five,"
she ordered,
"attend me."  The blur slowed down into a young cat striding, tail erect, to his
water bowl.  Three
of Five did not seem to hear his master's voice.  Seven let the annoyance seep
into her voice. 
"Three of Five, come here."

Three stopped, head turning from Seven to his water to Seven and back.  He
turned with a bound
and ran to Seven's console.  With a smooth arc--one that had gotten more
graceful Seven noted,
as he got older--he leapt up onto her workstation.  With the insouciance that only
a cat can
manage, he started meorwing and rubbing his cheeks on Seven's poised hand.

Unconsciously, Seven began to scratch Three behind his ears.  His eyes closed as
his head reached
up into her fingers.  After a moment, he fell over and gave her his, "You may
now scratch me
some more" look.

"You have been disciplined repeatedly for going into the hallway unattended. 
Yet you continue
this behavior."  She almost asked him to explain before catching herself. 
Although Three of Five
was incapable of understanding speech, Seven had learned he could distinguish
tones of voice. 
She had found that he would react to her, in a crude form of comprehension, if
she spoke long
enough and with a consistency of tone.

In this instance, Three of Five merely lay on his side, watching Seven blandly. 
His tail switched as
she stroked the short fur of his side.  After a moment more, he laid his head down
as well.

An idea came to her.  "Computer.  Can you discern Three of Five's bioreadings
from other life
forms?"

"Affirmative."

"Can the door sensor be reprogrammed to open when Three of Five is on the
hallway side of the
door to Cargo Bay Two only?"

"Affirmative."

Seven was pleased.  "Do so.  The door is not to open when Three of Five is the
sole life form on
the interior side of the door.  Understood?"

"Reprogramming complete.  Both conditions have been encoded."

Seven looked to the purring Three, whom she was still idly stroking.  "Now you
will not need to
interrupt me when you desire to return to your proper station."  Three yawned
complacently.

A test of the system was called for.  Seven rose and walked to the door.  As it
slid open, she
turned to see Three scrutinizing her and the door.  In a flash he was up and
trotting to her,
breaking into a run when Seven continued through the door.  She paused out in
the hallway as the
door closed, and listened.  On hearing a soft *thump* and an angry yowl, she
nodded in
satisfaction.

"Seven, did you forget something?"  Harry Kim was coming towards her, smiling
and
surreptitiously--or so he thought--observing her mammary glands.  His skin was
flushing mildly
and his eyes began to dilate.  Seven no longer questioned Ensign Kim on this
behavior, as he
rarely gave answers that made any sense.

"No.  I am testing a program.," she said.  She put her hands behind her back and
faced him,
waiting for his next question.

Harry was looking around in confusion.  "I don't see anything."

"The object of the program is on the other side of the door."

"Ah, Three of Five?"  He smiled as he leaned against the wall and crossed his
arms.  Seven had
observed that many of the male crewmembers did this during courtship or
dominance rituals,
believing it to be a display of sexual prowess.

"Yes.  He repeatedly attempts to leave the Cargo Bay."

"Can you blame him?  Cats are curious animals."

"Indeed.  They are also resistant to training."  She spoke from long experience.

"Cats are also stubborn," Harry said with a laugh.

"Why do you ascribe a human characteristic to a feline?"  This tendency of the
crew toward
anthropomorphising Three of Five baffled her.

Harry ducked his head a moment in thought, then raised it with a smile and a
laugh.  "Does Three
actively resist modification of a recurring set of behaviors?  Even though some
other behaviors
can be modified?"

Seven raised her eyebrows in surprise at Ensign Kim's succinct and moderately
precise
description.  "Yes."

"That's the definition of stubborn, Seven."  Harry's laugh grew louder.

Seven recognized the ironic use of a rhetorical trap and was impressed.  Ensign
Kim was more
frequently mindful of the precision of his language of late.  She suddenly realised
the nature of the
present situation.

"Ensign Kim, do you wish to copulate?"

Harry's laugh died a strangled death and his skin flushed deep red.  "Um, what? 
Where did *that*
come from?"  He pushed off from the wall and backed up a step.

"Your conversation was becoming a courtship ritual.  Am I mistaken?"  She
looked at him flatly,
certain she was correct.

He rubbed the back of his neck and looked away.  "Um, why do you always say
that?"

"Why do you initiate courtship and then deny it?"  He had done this several times
and she had yet
to perceive his purpose.  His actions were contradictory and counterproductive
to his aims.

Harry looked over his and Seven's shoulders and then turned his body away.  He
quickly walked
off, nearly breaking into a run.  "Sorry Seven, I've got to get to the Bridge."

Seven stood there baffled.  The Bridge was in the opposite direction.

=== === === ===

That evening, before she began regeneration, Seven sat on the floor with Three
of Five in her lap. 
She had discovered that Three of Five enjoyed this position and that she derived
some pleasure as
well.  She used the fingers of both hands to scratch behind his ears.  He writhed,
eyes squeezed
shut.  Seven was amazed that any creature could derive such ecstasy from a
simple scratching.

Three rolled onto his back, spreading his legs and exposing his underside.  Seven
had first thought
this to be a simple feline demonstration of submission--appropriate to their
relationship.  She had
later come to see that this was another invitation by Three of Five to stimulate a
different area. 
Her left hand still cradling and massaging his head, she began to make long soft
strokes up and
down his belly with her right.  Three's purring grew even louder.

Purring had been an unexpected benefit of having a cat.  She had not yet
determined the nature of
the stimulation she received from his purring, but she did enjoy it.  The physical
proximity, the
manual stimulation, the auditory reactions, the direct emotional satisfaction she
enjoyed--

The realization dawned so unexpectedly she stopped rubbing and scratching
Three of Five.  He
shook his head and looked up in surprise, meowing at her to keep going.

Seven had an answer to her dilemma.

=== === === ===

Seven entered the Mess Hall the next morning with her priorities in order.

First, she scanned the Mess to determine that Ensign Kim was there.  He
was--seated alone with a
padd he was reading closely.  He sipped absently at a cup of coffee.  Lt. Torres,
Ensign Paris, and
Ensign Wildman were not in the Mess Hall, so she would not have an immediate
distraction to
counter.

Second, she went to Neelix and secured some solid nourishment.  She
ascertained that they were
simple, vegetal or grain preparations, easy to consume in small bites that did not
complicate
conversation or occupy her hands.

Third, she went over to Ensign Kim's table and stood next to him, waiting. 
Humans had an
inefficient custom of requiring invitation before seating oneself.  Seven had
learned that following
it led to less disturbance than ignoring it.

Harry looked up finally and smiled.  Seven asked, "May I join you?"

"Sure," he said, gesturing to the seat opposite.  Seven sat down, placing her tray
carefully in front
of her.  "How are you this morning, Seven?"

"I am performing within optimum parameters," she replied.

"Glad to hear it."  He returned to reading his padd.

This behavior still confused her.  Sometimes, humans sitting alone would profess
to wish to
remain alone, but desired company.  Sometimes they actually wished to remain
alone.  Sometimes
they would engage in conversation; sometimes they would simply sit silently as
though they were
still alone.  There were no clear behavioral markers to distinguish what was
actually desired.

"What are you reading, Ensign Kim?"  The Doctor had taught her to use such
obvious questions
as initiators of conversation.

Harry glanced up.  "Hm?  Oh, the distributions of M-class planets in this sector. 
They seem to be
getting more numerous.  It may mean we can expect to meet more people--and
more hostiles."

"A reasonable deduction," she said.  She then began her experiment.

Seven leaned forward slightly and grasped both the padd and Ensign Kim's hand,
turning the padd
so that she could read it also.  She noted that he did not react adversely.  "What
are your
findings?"

He drew closer without thinking and with his free hand pointed to a cluster of
data points.  "It
looks like the distribution is to our port side, and that we're moving obliquely to
it."

She tried something else that the Doctor had repeatedly urged her to do.  She
smiled at Ensign
Kim.

Harry looked up, did a double-take, and then blinked his eyes a few times.

"Perhaps we can go to the Astrometrics Lab and verify your conclusion?"  When
he hesitated, she
quickly added, borrowing from something she had once heard Lt. Nicoletti say,
"If you have the
time."

Harry smiled broadly.  "Sure, Seven.  Let's go."

Once in Astrometrics, they downloaded Harry's padd data into the lab computer. 
After calling up
the maps on the large display, they stood together just studying.

Seven carefully moved several centimeters closer to him.  She had, at the
Doctor's insistence,
previously studied up on the concept of 'zones of comfort.'  This biocultural
artifact varied across
species, and even humans; Seven had tested the concept for several days to verify
it.  She was
already painfully familiar with Ensign Kim's 'comfort zone' through their many
mutual
assignments.  She judged herself to be at his threshold.

They continued their study for an hour more.  Once, when Seven accidentally
drifted closer to
Harry, he unconsciously jerked away, almost falling over.  Seven reached out to
steady him with
her hand at his back, and then maintained the contact for three extra seconds
after he regained
equilibrium.  Ensign Kim's respiration and skin color did not appreciably alter.

Seven judged her initial experiment a success.

She decided to begin the next phase.  As they were closing the computer's
programs, she rested
her hand on Harry's forearm, very lightly, as she would lay her hand on Three of
Five when she
wished to stop his incipient departure.

"Ensign Kim, would you stop by Cargo Bay Two this evening?"

Harry frowned and sat on the edge of the console.  "Sure, Seven.  Why?  Is there
a problem with
your regenerator or something?"

"No."  She paused, stuck with how to proceed.  Directness always provoked a
flight reaction in
Ensign Kim, but she found dissembling to be irritating.  "I spend a period of time
with Three of
Five before I begin my regeneration cycle.  I find this time to be relaxing and
Three of Five is
often what Ensign Paris calls 'playful.'  I thought you might wish to share it with
me."

Arms now crossed and his expression unreadable, Harry studied her face a
moment.  "Sure.  I'd
like that."

=== === === ===

At the sound of the Cargo Bay door opening, Three of Five sprang to attention
on Seven's leg. 
He crouched, ears back and tail low, watching the approaching figure.

Seven continued to stroke Three of Five's fur.  This often served to calm his
flight-or-fight
reaction.  "It is Ensign Kim.  You may stand down," she said.   After some more
coaxing, he did.

Harry stood a few feet away, admiring the tableau.  Seven was seated on the
steps to the
regenerators, legs extended, both hands working the fur of her cat.  Three of Five
was draped
muscleless across her legs with one paw hanging in the air, tail idly moving in
hypnotic curls,
half-closed eyes directed at Harry.  It was the perfect picture of companionship.

Harry had to admit that the Doctor's diagnosis and course of treatment had been
excellent.  He
*had* known what he was doing in suggesting that Seven get a cat.

Harry joined Seven, sitting next to her and scratching Three of Five behind his
ears.  Three laid his
head down on his other leg and closed his eyes.  He started to purr with pleasure,
enjoying the
extra attention.

"How was your day?" Harry asked.

"I completed the variance/drift algorithms.  I assisted Chief Engineer Torres in
realigning the
inertial dampers to optimum calibration.  And--"  She stopped, mindful of her
situation, and what
she hoped to accomplish.  "It was acceptable.  How was your's?"

Harry's laugh caused their shoulders to rub together.  Seven enjoyed the contact
and the
physiological reaction it engendered.  He said, "Acceptable as well, I guess.  The
Captain is going
to let me take Gamma watch."  He was speaking to her, but looking at the cat.

Human social hierarchies were inordinately complex.  Frequently there were
overlapping and
conflicting relationships involved.  But sometimes, things were clear.  "You have
been given a
promotion."  She was sure she was correct, but phrased it with a questioning
tone.

"I have."  Harry looked at Seven plainly.  "This is my lucky day, I guess."

At that moment, sensing that he was no longer the center of attention, Three of
Five quickly put
his paws on Harry's fingers and play-bit one of them, startling Harry.  Both
humans returned their
attention to the proper focus.

"He was not attempting to bite you, En--  Harry," she said.  "It is merely an
instinctual
practice-play of predator behavior deriving from his artificially juvenilised state. 
A by-product of
his being a pet and not living in the wild."

Harry nodded without saying anything more.  

They stayed that way, silent and comfortable, for quite a while.  Seven felt the
internal symptoms
of regeneration and said, "Ensign Kim,.I must now regenerate.  Thank you for
your--"  She was at
a loss for words.

"You're welcome.  I enjoyed it."  As he stood up, carefully favoring sore muscles,
Seven scooped
up Three and placed him in his usual night-time place at the foot of her
regeneration station pad. 
She smoothly rose and walked with him to the door.

The entire process had met all conditions of success.  Seven was proud of herself. 
Although she
had initially been perplexed by the intricate nuances of human social intimacy, she
now saw
unexpected benefits--much like those her relationship with Three of Five
provided.

She decided to attempt the next level, as she understood it from her study of
human interaction. 
While they walked alongside each other, not turning to look, she placed her
fingertips in the palm
of his hand.  His fingers briefly touched her's before he closed his hand over her's. 
The sensation
was, for such a simple thing, very pleasurable.

They stopped at the door after it swished open.  Harry said, "Good night, Seven. 
See you
tomorrow?"

Before she could remind him that this was a pointless comment, as they were
certain to see each
other, being on a closed ship, she caught herself.  "Yes.  Good night."

Harry smiled slowly and released her hand.  Seven saw that his skin was flushed
and his
respiration and heartbeat were increased as well.  But he had not run away this
time.  Her own
physiological reaction was similar, though more subdued due to her superior
sympathetic and
autonomic self-control.  Harry gave a small wave and continued down the
corridor.

Seven self-monitored her internal reactions, using some techniques that Tuvok
had taught her. 
She was suffused with a reaction that seemed to correlate with what she had once
heard Megan
Delaney describe as 'warm and fuzzy.'  It was worthy of further investigation.

Seven went back towards her regenerator and saw that Three of Five was
yawning and watching
her.  She called out, "Computer, replicate Feline Treat number 3; two portions." 
A few seconds
after the hum of the replicator ended, she saw Three of Five's nostrils valving
open and closed and
his eyes widen.  He stood up and levered himself back and forth, working his
muscles back to
limberness, yawning some more.  Then he bounded off to his dinner dish.

She had an inexplicable desire to share her--well, feeling.  The concept of
'reward' was still
something she was skeptical of, but Three of Five deserved this one.

FINIS