Chapter Text

Love’s Battleground

May 2373

This story takes place a few weeks after the conclusion of Eternal Flame

Killing was easy.

It had never been particularly difficult for her. While young girls on most other worlds had started to worry about their hair and clothes, Nora Laas had learned how to operate a phaser. More importantly, she had learned how to use it to kill. It had taken her long at all to become extremely proficient at disposing of Cardassians and not only with the use of an energy weapon.

Some twenty years later, the strawberry-blonde Bajoran found herself many lightyears away from the place where she had learned her skills, crawling across the underbrush on a nameless planet, on her way to do what she did best.

A bright moon was her only source of light but more than enough to illuminate her targets. The group of skeleton-faced aliens had not spotted her yet.

Laas had waited for hours to find an ideal spot to ambush them and had finally been rewarded when the four soldiers had decided to make camp by the remains of a building by an exposed clearing. Patience was the hallmark of every guerilla fighter and she possessed ample amounts when in combat.

She found a slightly elevated spot that gave her a perfect vantage point of her targets. Their bony heads made them appear fierce, down-right sinister, and she had little trouble imagining them as blood-thirsty Cardassians.

Much of this situation seemed familiar. In her younger days, laying an ambush like this had been a regular occurrence, although she had rarely been alone.

Sometimes her sister Leena had been at her side while others were hiding nearby, closing off any possible escape routes.

She didn’t miss those times, she didn’t miss the Resistance, the constant fighting and running, and the dread of never feeling safe. She did, however, miss Leena. She missed her a great deal.

She had been the only family she had ever really known. She had never met her parents and knew only that they had been imprisoned in a Cardassian labor camp and had managed to smuggle both her and her sister out when she was just a baby. She had never been able to find out which of the many camps her parents had been confined to and it hadn’t been due to her lack of trying.

All she knew for sure was that her only connection to them had died when Leena did. She had sacrificed herself so that she could escape Bajor, trying to find a better life somewhere else.

Laas gripped her mek’leth tighter and drew it close to her prone body. The Klingon sword was just one of the many melee weapons she was intimately familiar with. She felt a slight tingle in her stomach in anticipation of battle. She didn’t really like to fight but she knew that she was too good at it not to. Back then and even now, others depended on her being an efficient killer.

Fighting had another important advantage.

It didn’t allow her to think.

Not while her mind was entirely focused on the task. And once the battle was joined, instinct kicked in, seamlessly augmenting her skills and her experience, turning her into a near-unstoppable killing machine.

The alien closest to her turned from her hiding spot and she knew instantly that the moment to act had come.

Within a second, she was on her feet, keeping her body low and partially hidden in the high grass surrounding her, she stormed forward. She held her weapon with the blade turned backward to keep it untangled from the underbrush.

And then she was behind the skeleton man, bringing the razor-sharp mek’leth up in one swift motion, she severed his skull-like head with what appeared to be a minimal amount of effort.

She didn’t pause to confirm the kill. There was no need.

She dropped to the ground noiselessly only to come up right next to the second warrior who had only just begun to turn her way.

Her blood-soaked blade tore through his legs and the warrior hauled in pain before losing his balance and dropping like a sack of dead tribbles.

Laas knew exactly where the third alien would be. She swung the blade without even looking at her target and noted with satisfaction as she felt the sword tear through fabric and flesh.

The soldier slid off the blade and collapsed to the ground.

Laas stood and looked sharply to her right. But her fourth and final enemy was not where her mind’s eye had placed him.

She heard footsteps fall behind her. She cursed herself. How could she have been so careless as to him surprise her? She knew that she was not going to make it, that by the time she turned, the alien would surely have made his move and struck her down.

Giving up was not in her DNA, and she brought up her weapon in a swift motion.

“Wait!”

Her target had not been the one she had expected. Instead of an expressionless skull head, her blade was targeting the pretty face of a blonde woman in her late twenties.

She aborted the fatal strike just in time to avoid cutting off her shoulder-length hair and possibly her neck along with it.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Laas gasped in-between taking heavily-labored breaths. She hadn’t come here to talk.

“I’m looking for you,” the other woman said. She was about to continue when something else captured her attention, her eyes opening wide.

Laas knew instantly why. He was behind her, this time there was no doubt about it. She never got a chance to face her enemy.

“Computer, freeze program,” the newcomer said.

Their murky surroundings instantly paused. The trees stopped swaying, the distant crickets stopped chirping but most noticeably, the imposing warrior behind Laas had frozen midway through what looked very much like a killing blow.

“That was close,” the woman wearing a mustard-colored Starfleet uniform said as she rounded Laas and inspected the petrified soldier behind her.

She shrugged and walked toward the staircase of the ruins surrounding them. “It wouldn’t have been if you hadn’t shown up.”

Louise Hopkins was too preoccupied studying the physical appearance of the frozen soldier to notice the tone of annoyance in her friend’s voice. “Who are these guys? They look positively diabolical.”

“I just found this program the other day. Klingon calisthenics program, not a bad challenge on the higher difficulty levels” she said and sat on the stairs. The battle had taken the air out of her lungs. She looked back at Louis who was still studying the seemingly lifeless form of her attacker.

Louise was her best friend on Eagle and had been ever since they had been roommates at the Academy. Most people who knew about their friendship couldn’t help but wonder how two people so different from each other could be such good friends.

One, an emotional and outspoken Bajoran who had known war for most of her life, the other, a shy and introverted wunderkind engineer who had never left Federation space.

“You still haven’t told me why you’re looking for me.”

Eagle’s young chief engineer tore her attention away from the intimidating figure. “The real question is: Why are you hiding?”

“I’m not hiding,” she said and focused on the Klingon sword in her hand, deciding that it needed most of her attention.

“Oh really?” she said in a mocking tone.

Laas stood and walked away. “It’s called exercise, Lou. Maybe give it a try sometime.”

“You’re telling me you forgot all about your date?”

Laas froze but kept her back turned to her friend. No, she hadn’t forgotten at all. She was painfully aware that she was supposed to meet Eugene Edison. And she had wanted to as well. After all, it had been her idea that they would meet for dinner.

Her relationship with Eagle’s first officer, if one could call it that, had started after she had finally realized her true feelings for him during their last mission. He had been critically injured while they had been on an away mission together and had come close to losing his life at her side while she had been reduced to watching him helplessly. Right then and there she knew that she would not be able to bear losing him.

Gene seemed to reciprocate her feelings and they had embarked on a rather slow and awkward series of dates and innocent flirtations that had seemed to be leading them nowhere.

“It wasn’t really a date,” she finally said without turning to face her. She couldn’t manage to look her in the eye.

But Louise was not going to let her get away with it. She took a few determined steps closer to her. “Laas, who are you trying to fool? I know how you feel about him. But this thing will never work if all you do is avoid him.”

She sighed. “I just don’t know how to do this, Lou, okay?” she said and turned around. “I don’t know where to start. I don’t know what to do or how to do it. The whole thing is just very frustrating to me.”

Louise started to laugh much to her friend’s displeasure which she expressed with an icy glare.

“I’m sorry, Laas,” she said quickly. She looked over the dead and disabled bodies of her ferocious attack. “You’re telling me you can take care of a horde of vicious killing machines but you cannot face the man you are in love with?”

“It’s pathetic, I know.”

Louise placed her arm around her shoulder and led her toward the exit. This was new to her. A role reversal of sorts. She had become much more used to her headstrong friend taking her by the hand and helping her through difficult challenges.

“I guess there’s a first for everything,” she said with a smile as they both left the holodeck behind.

*        *        *

“The new warp core intermix formula has increased electro-plasma flow levels by two point six percent and has significantly improved the dilithium degeneration rate. The magnetic conduits and plasma injectors are now running at ninety-eight point eight percent efficiency which has allowed us to push the field coils in both nacelles beyond their design tolerance levels.”

Commander Eugene Edison listened carefully to the chief engineer’s report. But as much as he wanted to, his mind could not focus on what she had to say. It was too preoccupied with the woman sitting right next to Louise Hopkins.

The other department heads attending the regular morning briefing had seemed oblivious to the fact that the first officer had tried to make eye contact with security chief Nora Laas since the briefing had started while she had made great efforts to avoid it.

Gene couldn’t understand why.

He couldn’t quite get his head around why she was choosing to avoid him, going as far as calling off a date she had suggested. He did not doubt his feelings toward the fiery Bajoran and he knew that she felt the same. After the end of their last mission, they had started to truly enjoy each other’s company. They had even spent an entire night together, talking until the morning hours about anything and everything.

Gene soon realized that Laas had never had a meaningful and intimate relationship before. Yes, there had been the occasional fling in her past but generally, she had never had the time, or perhaps allowed herself the time, to pursue a lasting relationship.

She certainly didn’t have much of an opportunity to do so when she had been on Bajor, fighting the Cardassians on a near-daily basis. Later, at the Academy, when most young cadets experienced their first more involved attempts at relationships, she had usually retreated to libraries and study halls to catch up on the academic shortcomings she had desperately needed to catch up on, due to her unconventional childhood.

After graduation, she dedicated herself to her career. First as a marine, continuing what she was best at; fighting Cardassians, and then joining Starfleet’s security division.

Gene on the other hand was no stranger to relationships, both the ups and the downs. But Laas, he felt, was a person he could see himself caring for more than any other woman he had ever known. He couldn’t quite tell why that was. Perhaps because of the deep scars she carried with her. Or maybe because she was the toughest person he had ever known and yet longed for somebody she could be vulnerable with. Gene wanted to be that man for her.

“Commander?”

He quietly chastised himself for having his thoughts catch him off guard. He looked at Hopkins and gave her a small smile to convince her that he had listened to every word she had said. “Good, very good. What’s the overall performance increase we can expect from the latest modification?”

“At least point six four cochranes. Possibly more but we won’t know for sure until we’ve run some more simulations,” she said.

Gene nodded. “Well, let’s do that then,” he said and stood from the chair at the head of the conference table. “That be all for now. Thank you.”

The other officers quickly stood and filed for the two exits.

“Lieutenant Nora, could I have a quick word with you before you leave.”

She stopped and looked at him with surprise. Or was it panic? He couldn’t be sure.

“Actually, I have a meeting with Louise,” she said quickly and looked at the chief engineer with almost pleading eyes.

“That’s all right, Laas,” she said with a warm smile. “We can meet later,” she added.

Gene could tell that that was not the response Laas had hoped for and the cold stare directed at her long-time friend was ample proof.

Hopkins seemed unperturbed and followed the others out of the room, leaving Laas alone with him.

Gene slowly rounded the table, approaching her carefully. “I waited for you last night.”

She nodded slowly and couldn’t quite hide the guilty look in her eyes.

“I’m not sure what’s going on, Laas. I thought you wanted this as much as I did. And now you suddenly seem so distant, almost as if you are developing second thoughts.”

She looked right into his eyes. “I’m not.”

“Then what is it? I do understand if you want to take things slow and I think I’ve been patient. We both have. But you need to give me something.”

She turned to look out of the windows of the observation lounge. A small sigh escaped her lips. “I just need a little bit more time, Gene, please. My feelings have not changed. Not one little bit.”

He took a small step toward her. He was close enough to touch her and he wanted to. But he knew this was not the right time. “But what, Laas? Whatever it is, you can talk to me about it.”

She turned to face him. “That’s just it. I can’t. Don’t ask me why but I just can’t.”

He sighed and his shoulders slumped visibly.

“Please don’t give up on me.”

He gave her an encouraging smile. “Never.”

And then she simply slid past him and dashed for the exit like an injured animal, retreating from its predator.

Gene watched her leave without a word. He realized then and there that Nora Laas, the fighter, the warrior, the survivor, would not ever make the first move. If he wanted her, he had to fight for her.

*        *        *

She was mad as hell and she let out her frustration on dozens of soulless soldiers, consisting out of nothing more than light and shadow.

Armed with two mek’leth’s, one in each hand, she fought herself through a field of skull-faced opponents. It was not unlike a ballet of death as she practically danced through their ranks, jumping, crouching, sliding, and spinning, ultimately they all fell to her feet.

She wasn’t hiding, she told herself as she disposed of yet another enemy. Not this time. This time she was simply here to let out her frustration the only way she knew how. She didn’t know why it was so difficult for her to open up to Gene. He was a wonderful man, he really was. He truly did understand her and there weren’t many who did. Especially not men. And she knew something else. She knew it without a doubt in her heart.

 She loved him.

As her mind wandered, her fighting technique started to suffer. The enemy around her began to change tactics. Even though they were nothing more than computer creations, they did have the capabilities to learn. They noticed their organic opponent’s lack of focus and began to work together to exploit it.

Laas had not seen this coming.

Two of the warriors attacked in unison, bringing down their razor-sharp blades in one swift motion. She deflected in time but the impact caused her to lose her grasp on one of her ] swords. It dropped to the ground and she tumbled backward.

A third soldier darted forward from her blind spot.

Laas had gotten herself out of tighter spots than this one. With her now free hand, she caught the attacking man’s sword-wielding wrist and quickly twisted it behind his back. She heard bones crack as she held him in front of her like a shield. She pushed him hard toward his approaching comrades. Except for now, they had quadrupled in number. Her quick move had taken out two of them but another six remained and they continued bearing down on her. And the maneuver had cost Laas her only remaining weapon.

She felt a sudden flash of panic when she realized that she had been backed into a corner. Without weapons and clearly outnumbered it looked like she had lost. To computer-controlled marionettes. And all that because she had allowed herself to become distracted. It was almost unforgivable.

A battle cry ripped through the air and seconds later two of the approaching soldiers fell. The others turned to locate the new threat. It was all she needed. She charged forward and twisted one of their necks before helping herself to the dead man’s sword.

“Need a hand?” Gene said with a smirk. He was dressed in full combat gear and had a tight grip on very deadly Vulcan lipra.

Laas didn’t have time to respond as the remaining soldiers had recovered and were scrambling to deliver a finishing blow. She was faster, however. She parried easily and dished out a deadly response.

Out of the corner of her eye, she admired how well Gene carried himself in battle. She knew he was a decent shot with a phaser but she had not known that he knew how to handle himself in melee combat.

Moments later they both found each other again. This time back-to-back, surrounded by the few remaining warriors.

“Come here often?” she said between breaths. This battle had gone on longer than she had anticipated.

“First time, I’ve had the pleasure.”

“What’d you think?”

“Love the scenery. The natives, not so much.”

Laas nodded. Without another word, both of them engaged at the same time. Their skull-faced opponents didn’t stand a chance.

Gene’s long lipra was ideal for cutting down enemies at some distance but it didn’t work so well when the opponent was at arm’s length and he quickly found himself forced into a defensive posture.

She noticed and after cutting down her last opponent, she easily disposed of his foe as well, leaving them both out of breath and out of aliens to fight.

He lowered his weapon. “Nicely done, thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“This was quite exhilarating,” he said as he leaned against a dead tree trunk to try and catch his breath.

“Is that why you came down here?”

“I had to see for my own eyes what has been keeping you so busy lately.”

“Gene.”“

“I know,” he said, interrupting her, “you need time.” Still breathing hard, he forced himself to stand upright again, wiping the sweat off his dirty face. “I just wanted to tell you. I’ll give you all the time you need, Laas. If that is what it takes.”

He looked at her but she didn’t respond. She just stood there, frozen, surrounded by a field of fake dead aliens. He turned and started for the exit.

Only then did Laas notice that not all of the skull-faced warriors were slain. One of them still moved. It was making one last attempt to go for his sword. But he was too far away to hope to do any damage. When the soldier raised his hand, she realized her mistake. It wasn’t a sword at all. It was a phaser and it was pointed straight at Gene.

“Look out!”

He turned.

She ran and leaped forward.

The phaser discharged.

Laas high-tackled Gene to the ground just as she felt the whirl of an energy beam so close to her head, she thought she felt the heat of it singe her hair.

She glanced back at the soldier but firing the phaser had been his last ever act.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

She looked down at Gene now lying below her. Without a second thought, she leaned down and kissed him passionately.

He offered no resistance.

“All it took was for you to save my life,” he said after the kiss, hinting at the fact that he had never been in real danger thanks to the safety protocols of the holodeck.

“Why don’t you just shut up and kiss me?”

A wide smile crept onto his lips. He was happy to oblige