Disclaimer:Star Trek and its characters belong to Paramount and
Pocket Books.
Prologue: Quote of
„Before Dishonour“ by P. David; the story
considers “
„
Idea
and story: Kathryn J. (= KathrynJonVoy)
Fakes:
Tachyon, Camryn, GillyH and Kathryn J.
Rating: NC17
Genre: Romance
Very special
thanks to my dear soulmate Elorie Alton for her
selfless help to translate my story from German into English.
Beta
More of
Kathryn J (=KathrynJonVoy) incl. illustrated versions:
http://www.newearth-jcparadise.de/
Summary: After Janeway’s physical death Lady Q takes
her spirit away with her („Before Dishonour"). About a year after the
memorial ceremony at the monument dedicated to Kathryn Janeway and after
Chakotay's resignation from Starfleet ("
Written
for the
VAMB Janeway Lives Story Challenge 2009
Kathryn J.
When In Doubt, Look Here
Captain Eden sat
in her ready room, staring at the strips of starlight that passed in front of
the view port like a shattered rainbow. The new slipstream drive of VOYAGER had
already passed its baptism of fire and the ship went quietly, accompanied by a
small fleet, towards the Delta Quadrant.
Afsarah Eden’s
thoughts turned to the first captain of this ship, Kathryn Janeway, and the
great sacrifices she and her crew had suffered as they’d fought their long way back
home. She had almost memorized the logs
of Janeway and her crew available at Starfleet Headquarters. If VOYAGER had only perfected the slipstream
drive sooner…how many lives could have been saved, how much suffering would
have been spared the crew! It seemed
like a mockery of history that Admiral Janeway had brought them home to the
Alpha Quadrant only to die ‘…So soon
after she also seemed to have finally found happiness for herself,’ Eden
mused.
She wished she
had known this remarkable woman better, a legend in her lifetime, to have had
the time to learn from her. Now she sat
at Kathryn Janeway’s desk, and she fervently hoped to bring this crew back home
intact and uninjured.
Only a few days
ago Seven of Nine came aboard. Her
contact with the Caeliar and the removal of her last Borg implants has been
troubling her. She expressed the desire
to help
VOYAGER had
settled into a quiet routine, accompanied by the constant hum of the slipstream
drive. The sensors gathered new data for
her science departments, and the
engineers prepared shuttles for future away missions, as they maintained the
ships systems.
The DELTA FLYER
was the heart of the shuttle fleet, equipped with slipstream drive, ablative
hull plating, and specially developed transphasic torpedoes that could be used
by the small vessel for special operations.
=^=
Chakotay sighed
as he stretched out in a chair in one of VOYAGER’s guest quarters. He’d resigned from Starfleet, giving up his
commission of captain a year after Kathryn’s death. He hadn’t intended to return to VOYAGER, but
he wanted to help Seven. She needed to
be a part of this mission and he couldn’t help but feel an obligation to
Kathryn’s memory, to care for the young woman.
While Seven went
to work immediately, spending long hours in the familiar surrounding of Astrometrics, Chakotay had stayed secluded in his assigned
quarters. He hadn’t wanted his presence leading
to tensions on the ship as he had been several crewmembers’ former commander,
but he was grateful that Seven was getting her chance
for answers here aboard VOYAGER and he didn’t want to cause Captain Eden any
problems.
He thought that
being aboard the ship had helped him too, he felt a belonging here, the one
place left he truly felt at home. He
could almost feel Kathryn’s spirit.
Sometimes he thought that at any moment the door would hiss open and
Kathryn would be standing in the doorway, or his combadge would chirp and she
would call him to her ready room. For a
moment his heart would speed up, as if he expected to see her. No, he would never forget her or their seven
years together in the Delta Quadrant.
Chakotay sensed
that he could face mourning for Kathryn here on VOYAGER and at last find some
kind of inner peace.
He was also glad
to find Tom on board, as he had become one of his closest confidants, one whom
he enjoyed sharing the occasional dinner.
He also noticed
that there seemed to be a deeper friendship forming between Harry and Seven. They seemed at ease with each other, and
their mutual interests, especially their shared love of music had drawn them
together. Obviously Seven
was seeing Harry in a different light now, he was stronger and more
self-confident since VOYAGER’s return to Earth.
Chakotay rose
out of the chair and went into his bedroom to retrieve a special bag. Opening it he took out his medicine bundle,
sat down on the floor, unfolding it.
Thoughtfully, he took the Akoonah in his hands as if to start his
meditation. Then he hesitated for a
moment and put it back down on the soft fur.
He pulled the bag closer to him and took out a similar package,
Kathryn’s medicine bundle.
He was honoured
that Gretchen Janeway had given it to him. Now it was the only thing of Kathryn
left to him but it meant the most. He
hadn’t as yet summoned the courage to open it.
Slowly he undid the neatly tied bow, then placing it on the floor, he
carefully unfastened it.
The stone, the
feather, the colourful shimmering crystal…Chakotay remembered exactly where
Kathryn had collected all these things.
Suddenly his
breath caught in surprise as a small box appeared. On the edge of it, next to
the symbols for eternity, commitment, fidelity and two spirits joined as one,
there was the engraving of the symbol of love.
Kathryn must have changed the symbol of hope to one of love on the Bonding
Box. It was exactly the symbol for the
kind of love shared by two people that had made the choice to bind their lives
together in a permanent committed relationship.
Tenderly he stroked the engraving, his breathing deepened as he
remembered Proxima…and
He lifted the
little box to his lips and closed his eyes, thinking of Kathryn. His hope now was to speak with her with the
help of his spirit guide, if only for one last time. Every time he tried, her soul didn’t come in
contact with his, perhaps he would have better luck here on VOYAGER.
=^=
The woman
slammed her Bat’leth back, fighting to free herself from the Borg drone who
held her twisted against his shoulder, his assimilation tubes impaled deep in
her throat.
She slumped down
when he released her and staggering she began to move through the cube, seeking
escape before the nanoprobes, he had injected into her, completed the
assimilation process. She fought to
maintain balance and consciousness, while the implants spread over her cheeks
and then over her body. As she felt
herself falling she tapped her combadge and disappeared in a shimmering blue
ray.
Within seconds
she materialized in a small ship.
Clinging to the helm console she pulled herself up, groaning in the
effort. She activated the control panel,
and with one last attempt locked in the autopilot.
A jolt shot
through the ship as it accelerated. The inertia dampers pulled at her as they
compensated the burst of speed. Phaser
beams leaped out of the Borg cube, shaking the small vessel and the pilot
collapsed, exhausted on the floor. Her
hand left a bloody trail where it slipped off the console and her face was
disfigured beyond recognition by the Borg implants and congealed blood. Her hair fell out in bunches sticking to her
clothing and the interior of the ship.
The Medkit,
hanging on the opposite wall was out of reach.
Instead, she pulled a small bundle close to her and hugged it against
her breast. ‘When in doubt, look here.’
Pressing her lips together, two bright traces formed on her cheeks as
her body trembled slightly.
Now she could only
rely on her ship and the programming she had entered earlier. If her plan worked…if not, well there would
be no one waiting for her…a strange but pleasant indifference and silence took
hold of her. Maybe it was the loss of
blood or the implants…her thoughts drifted.
Not resisting she let her mind flow, alternating between unconsciousness
and a twilight state.
=^=
“Commander, a
ship is heading right for us! It’s on a
collision course!”
Commander Tom
Paris, Voyager’s First Officer, immediately took command, discarding the PADD
he had been reading. “Red
Alert! Shields up! Weapons ready!” Touching his combadge he continued, “Captain,
to the bridge!”
The doors of the
ready room hissed open and an almond-eyed, dark haired woman stepped onto the
bridge. “On screen,” she ordered as she slipped into the Captain’s chair.
Only a small
point of light was visible in the distance.
“Lieutenant Kim, Ensign Lasren, do you have any readings?”
“No Captain, it
is still too far away. I’ll adjust the
sensors again.” Kim hurried over to
Lasren, adjusting something from the OPS station. Returning to his own tactical station he reported,
“We are scanning for the warp signature, maybe there is something in our
database.”
Tense minutes
passed as the fingers of the two men flew over the consoles. Could it be Hirogen or Vidiians? “Captain,” Kim said in amazement, “The
ship…it has a Starfleet signature!”
“That’s
impossible, unless it’s a ship from our own fleet?”
“No, …one moment, ma’am.
It’s the DELTA FLYER!”
“Computer,
locate the DELTA FLYER,” Captain Eden ordered.
“The DELTA FLYER
is located in the shuttle bay,” the computer’s female voice intoned.
“Who is our
visitor then? Scan for temporal
anomalies.”
“None,
sir!”
“Life forms?”
“One…maybe…but
only very weak…The bio traces are unstable, they flow…strange…I can’t say
whether they are human…I can’t get a
complete scan.”
“Hail the flyer,”
“No answer,
sir,” replied Lasren.
“Engage the tractor
beam on my command. Lock onto the flyer. Weapons continue to standby. Mr. Kim, send a security team to the shuttle
bay. I don’t want to see any surprises,”
“Captain, the flyer
is maintaining a constant course and speed, it’s
probably flying on autopilot.”
“Evasive
manoeuvres! Miss Gwyn, get us as close
to the flyer as you can. Mr. Kim,
lock onto the ship from behind with the tractor beam.”
“That’s
impossible at this speed, ma’am.”
“Can you engage
the ship’s systems?”
“No, Captain,
the shields and hull plating are at 100%”
“Aim for the
drive!”
“No effect!”
“We could
modulate the phase variance of our phasers so that it coincides with the shield
frequency. Unless it has been changed, the
shield emitters would overload,” Kim suggested.
“Just do it!”
The DELTA FLYER
was suddenly embedded in a cloud of sparks and dropped out of warp immediately,
followed by VOYAGER.
“Good job,
Lieutenant,” praised
“Fire
in the flyer!”
Lasren exclaimed closely watching his displays.
“The life sign, I’ve lost it!”
“Damn!”
“Do you have the
last coordinates yet?”
“Yes Commander.”
“Beam the pilot
directly to sickbay.”
Ensign Lasren’s finger danced over the OPS panel, “It doesn’t
work!”
“Mr. Kim,
tractor the flyer into the shuttle bay.”
“Aye, Captain.”
After a few
anxious minutes, Kim reported, “The flyer is on board.”
“Lieutenant…”
=^=
The Red Alert
broke Chakotay’s concentration, ending his meditative state. He flexed
his muscles instinctively readying for action, it took a lot of self control to
keep from storming onto the bridge.
‘It really
wouldn’t do if it would look like as if I didn’t trust Captain Eden to deal
with a crisis,’ he thought. Still he wanted to join the running
steps of Voyager’s crewmembers that vibrated the deck underneath him. He didn’t
care much for this passive role and for the first time actually regretted his
resignation from Starfleet. He wanted to be on the bridge now.
He felt VOYAGER
drop out of warp. ‘Perhaps it’s only an exercise,’ he
told himself in an effort to calm down, ‘There were no signs of
attack. VOYAGER is not on her own this time.’ He was grateful for the small fleet that
accompanied them.
‘When we
met the EQUINOX, we also hoped to be strong together…’ He sighed as
unpleasant memories rushed into his mind.
Chakotay rose
and moved to the viewport, seeing the DELTA FLYER towed into the shuttle bay
with VOYAGER’s tractor beam. The space around them was empty and
quiet. It had to be an exercise.
He shrugged his
shoulders in order to throw off the irritation at being disturbed during his
meditation. He had so hoped that this time he would be able to contact
Kathryn’s spirit, he needed to contact her just as he contacted his father
regularly. Damn he needed to tell her so much…
He suddenly felt
tired, worn out, so he rolled up the medicine bundles, but he put the Bonding
Box on his bedside table next to a tattered photo of Kathryn and him in happier
times.
He settled on
the bed and then reached for the well loved photograph, staring at it,
remembering. The doctor had photographed them during the first dance at B’Elanna’s
and Tom’s wedding reception. Captain Janeway was a bit annoyed at his
intrusion with his holocamera, because it didn’t
correspond to her Captain’s parameters at all. Her first officer held her
firmly in his arms…and Kathryn seemed to enjoy it very much.
Later Chakotay
had asked the doctor for a copy, and got Tom to turn it into a twentieth
century style photograph that he kept as his own secret.
A hint of a
smile flitted across his face, ‘Typical Kathryn.’ She was principled…the smile vanished from his
eyes – sometimes too principled. She even sacrificed her happiness and
even her life to it. Chakotay stared blankly into space.
=^=
,Ninety-nine .... Is it true,
Daddy?’ ‘What a clever golden bird you are. How did you do that?’... ..., Hi, Kath!’ ‘I hate tennis ...’ ‘I think it's fun.’ ‘ Well so long, Hobbes
... ' ... ... ‘My parents didn’t want me playing Parrises Squares.’ ... ... ‘She'll
become a future cadet I hope. Admiral Finnegan, may I introduce to you my
daughter, Kathryn Janeway.’ ... ...,This is the last
you’ll see of your home for at least a year, Ensign.’ ... ... ‘But I’d like you
to give some thought to command...’ ‘Command?’ ... ...
‘I’ve spent a very worthwhile hour with Justin, going over these plans, and I’m
quite taken with him. . He is smart, sensible – and he is tough ... He’ll need
that to be married to you.‘ ... ... ‘What is it Goldenbird?’ 'Oh Daddy, I just want you to be proud of me.’…
… ‘The best of the best should be in command... '... ... ‘On final approach to
the Tau Ceti system, sir.’ ,The
solar winds are kicking up, Lieutenant.'... ... ‘But you’re sinking deeper and
deeper. .. You’re going to get up, you’re going to face life.’
... ..., Hobbes?’ ,Kath? Is that you? I don’t believe it.‘
‘I’m so glad we found each other again, Hobbes..’ , Mark, Mark Hobbes William Johnson ...' ... ..., You’ll have to set the standard in your ships,
Kathryn. It won’t do to have a captain
who plays fast and loose with the rules.’… … ‘Commander Chakotay. My name is
Captain Kathryn Janeway..’ … … ‘She's the captain.’ …
… ‚I think we need to define some parameters about us.’ … …’Is that really an
ancient legend?’ ’No. But that made it easier to say.’
… … ‘Chakotay, I'm here.’ …… ‘For two people who started off as enemies it
seems we get to know each other pretty well, so I've been wondering. Just how
close do we get?’ ’Let's just say there are some barriers we never cross.’ … … ‘A captaincy?’ ‘If you’ll take it.’
‘What ship?’… ‚VOYAGER.’ … … ‚I let go you once, Kathryn. Please don’t ask me
to do it again.’ …… ‘Am I... are you saying I'm...
dead?’ …… ‚But... what if I want to go back?’ ’You can't.’ …… ‘Is there coffee where we're going?’
‘Bottomless cups of it.’… … ‚Kathy, we need your help.’ ‚Q -
you? My help?’ ‚. The Borg…because they assimilated
you they have access to your knowledge of us, they have access to the continuum.. They will come
quickly and destroy the energy cluster that are the
bases of the Continuum. This could effect the stability of the whole universe!’ ‘I could give
them false information if I could be assimilated once more…as a human. You could plant false information into my
brain for a short time’… …’I’d rather be human than become a Q.’… …’You’ve
helped us before and you’ve earned a second chance for yourself.’… …’All I need is a small vessel, a Starfleet vessel equipped
with certain items would be the best choice.’… …’Aunt Kathy, I’ve a gift for
you. I found this where Chakotay was
waiting for you in
Her life moved
as a mosaic through her mind. Chakotay’s face appeared in between the
mist of dim memories before her. She barely moved her lips trying to
speak to him, before finally quiet blackness surrounded her.
=^=
Harry Kim
watched with his security team as the DELTA FLYER was pulled into
VOYAGER. They stared through the viewport at two identical flyers.
But the very moment it touched the deck a blinding white flash of light filled
the shuttle bay, causing arms and hands to be flung over eyes. Finally as
their eyes adjusted again, overcoming their momentary blindness, there stood
only one DELTA FLYER.
“Report,
Harry! Are you ok?” Commander Paris’ voice sounded over the
comm. “We have registered a strong energy fluctuation on the hangar
deck.”
“Sir, there is
now only one DELTA FLYER here! There was an incredible bright flash of
light and then the duplicate was gone. No damage or injuries. We
are now approaching the flyer, Commander,” Kim replied.
“Understood, be
careful!
Lieutenant Kim’s
group hurried to the small ship. Their scans indicated fire and smoke
still in its interior. Quickly the security people opened the hatch, and
Harry swept his tricorder, scanning the cockpit through the thick smoke.
Snapping it shut he beckoned the crew men with the fire retardant.
He attached a
breathing mask over his mouth and nose and groped his way into the dark
interior of the DELTA FLYER. In the lower cockpit his foot touched
something soft. He bent down to get a better look. But quickly drew
back in surprise. In the flyer lay a drone face down, he could see bloody
injuries and recognized a torn Starfleet uniform. A Bat’leth lay on the
deck not far from the drone’s outstretched hand.
Kim’s fingers
ran nervously over the controls of his tricorder, and he frowned at the
display. Tapping his combadge, he said, “Kim to sickbay!”
“Go on,” replied
Dr. Sharak.
“Doctor,
get ready for a medical emergency! Erect a force field around the patient for
safety…that means I don’t know if it’s still necessary in his condition. Kim out.” Then he gave the order to beam the Borg
directly to sickbay.
“Kim
to Seven of Nine!”
“Seven here.”
“Please go
immediately to sickbay, I think the doctor will need you.”
“I’m on my way,”
she replied.
Kim sighed in
relief and then gave his report to
=^=
The monitors correlating the patient’s full body scans drew Seven of
Nine’s attention the moment she entered the sickbay. It was brightly lit
with all implants and injuries clearly marked in red within the digital outline
of the body.
Seven understood the significance of the read outs at once.
“Doctor, activate the EMH, it has been programmed with all of the knowledge
acquired by VOYAGER’s former Holographic Doctor. This human is not a
complete drone and the implants haven’t reorganized her body, neither is she
linked to a hive mind. You have nothing to fear from her at this point
and the EMH should help you to save this human.”
She could see Dr. Shakar’s doubt as he looked
up from the monitor.
“Don’t look at me like that! I was a member of the Borg collective
for almost twenty years. This is inefficient, and you have to do
something or this woman will die, just because she has been assimilated doesn’t
mean she is lost,” she snapped angrily at the doctor. “I am guilty of
losing Admiral Janeway, even though she always worked for me even as if she was
working for herself.”
Dr. Shakar returned to the monitor with the woman’s readings, noting the
readings for the respirator and her other unstable vital signs, “Computer,
activate the EMH.”
“Please state the nature of the medical emergency!” the hologram
demanded.
The Doctor motioned for the hologram to come closer and then pressing one
of the controls to remove the diagnostic shell to open and slip down away from
the patient.
“A human woman,” Seven murmured as she watched, but almost immediately
her curiosity turned to terror as her blue eyes widened and she stepped back
from the biobed. She slapped her hand across her mouth as if to suppress
a scream.
“Seven,” asked Shakar and he touched her arm in concern, “Are you all
right?”
“That’s…that’s …no…it can’t be,” she stammered. The usually cool and composed woman grabbed at the Doctor’s hand as if seeking his strength.
The EMH quickly used a hypospray and Seven
pulled herself together, “Just make a genome analysis and compare it to
Starfleet’s database. We need to find out whether…”
Seven cautiously moved forward again, her hand stretching out to the Borg
woman on the bed. She had never before needed to touch someone, but this
woman was different. Seven caressed the woman’s blood crusted temple
knowing it should be covered with auburn hair. An unknown sense of caring
awoke in her and a protective instinct surged through her, and tears collected
in her eyes.
“Do you know this woman?” Shakar asked in surprise.
“I’m not sure,” she answered, her voice trembling and almost inaudible.
At that moment the EMH turned the monitor to them to display his genetic
analysis. The screen showed a woman in her forties with neatly pinned up
auburn hair. “There is no doubt; this female is Admiral Kathryn Janeway, or her genetic double.”
“We will not have a final confirmation until she
regains consciousness and we can compare her memories with our computer data,”
interjected Shakar.
“I don’t think you need a computer, Doctor.”
“No?”
“Captain Chakotay…he and the Admiral…”
“Do you mean…”
Seven lowered her eyes confirming his conjecture. “And there are
Commander Paris, Lieutenant Kim and I, we will certainly be able to do more
than any technical device, since we all share common memories. Commander
Tuvok would be even better but he is, as far as I know, gone with TITAN to
“Step aside,” the EMH abruptly demanded, pushing them to the side so he
could move up to the biobed. “I need to stabilize her vital functions;
she is suffering injuries, attempted assimilation and severe smoke
inhalation. She is in critical condition; you won’t need to study memory
engrams if our patient is dead. I’m a doctor not a magician!”
Seven of Nine turned to leave the sickbay almost
colliding with Captain Eden, Commander Paris, and Lieutenant Kim. Then
she followed them back into the room.
“Report, Doctor,” asked
The EMH glanced up from the patient, and breathed a grumbling whisper to himself as he worked on the woman.
Each one seemed to have lost their ability to speak as the came up to the
bed recognizing the woman that lay there.
“The Genetic scans confirm what your eyes are seeing,” Shakar
spoke. “Seven of Nine has indicated that she is
not yet a member of the collective, and because of that we have a very good
chance of getting her back. The implants haven’t progressed very far and
have not been incorporated into her system. I have activated the EMH
because he has specialized knowledge of the process to reclaim people from the
Borg.”
“Commander Paris,” Captain Eden said. “I am going to leave this
situation in your hands; you have more experience with Admiral Janeway than I
do,” and she added with a smile, “The
fleet needs my full attention at the moment.”
“Understood, and thank you Captain.
I will keep you advised,” then he turned to the Doctor, “I am expecting an
update hourly, and an immediate update if there are any changes in her
condition. One last thing,” Tom Paris said as he turned away, “No one knows about our suspicions except the five of
us, let’s keep it that way until we know something for sure. Erect a
privacy screen.”
“I understand sir, you can count on me.”
“Do you think we should tell Captain Chakotay?” Seven asked as she
approached the group.
Tom stopped and then moved back toward Seven his
gaze turned inward in thought. He had to think of Chakotay and how his
inner torment tore him apart at Janeway’s death. He remembered his last
conversation with the grieving man just before VOYAGER began her return to the
Delta Quadrant. He had admitted his love for Kathryn Janeway.
‘You were in love with her, weren’t you?’
‘I was ...'
Tom swallowed, “I don’t know if it would be wise, to tell him before we
know something about her,” jerking his head toward the woman, “She could be a
clone…and who knows what she has been doing…I don’t know how Chakotay would be
able to take another blow if she isn’t Admiral Janeway.”
“I understand,” said Seven.
“But what if Admiral Janeway, or whoever she is
doesn’t survive? Is it right to withhold this information? What if it is her?”
interjected Kim.
Tom Paris rubbed his forehead, “Frankly, I don’t know, what is the right decision in this situation.”
Harry turned to Seven as Tom left the
room. He searched her face and then gently grasped her shoulders,
“Believe me Seven, I feel just like you do. Admiral Janeway was like a
mother to me, especially during our long journey home. She will always be
someone special…to both of us.”
Seven realized that Harry also struggled to control his feelings, “Yes,
you’re right.” And then standing in silence they shared their emotion
through the simple holding of two pairs of eyes.
=^=
Despite his self
imposed isolation from VOYAGER’s crew, Chakotay had observed the arrival of the
duplicate DELTA FLYER and he heard the speculations that flew through the ship.
He overheard a
discussion between some of the security men about the appearance of the second flyer
and then the disappearance of one of them in the shuttle bay.
‘Apparently that wasn’t a drill.’
He cornered Tom,
Harry and Seven, asking each one for information about
the flyer but each one gave him some kind of answer that told him nothing and
then hurried away on some urgent task.
He knew these
people and because of that he knew that they were hiding something from
him. So he decided to pay a visit to the
DELTA FLYER himself.
The end of the
beta shift was the best time, because ordinarily the main stations were the
only ones to be occupied during the gamma shift. The rest of the crew would retire to their
quarters for the night.
=^=
Chakotay found a
deserted shuttle bay. Everything was in
place and in the middle of the bay sat the DELTA FLYER with the other shuttles
lined up on either side.
On closer
inspection, Chakotay could see traces of phaser fire on the hull but the
special plating had withstood the damaging rays and only the traces of dark
lines were left.
He ducked
slightly and slipped inside the small ship.
The interior betrayed a violence that the hull had concealed. There was blood on the control panel and
floor, and here and there were tufts of auburn hair.
Apparently the
shield generator had caught fire because one side of the flyer had been
blackened with flame. Fortunately the
pilot had been on the floor away from most of the damage.
A Bat’leth lay
beside the pilot’s seat, and it was obvious that it was no decoration.
‘A Klingon on the DELTA FLYER?’ Chakotay shook his head in confusion. That made no sense at all, and where did all this hair come from, he thought as he picked up a
clump and rubbed it between his fingers.
It was the same colour as Kathryn’s and his heart ached with the thought
of never seeing her hair again.
Chakotay
carefully checked all the details, taking his time to be sure that he missed
nothing. Unlike VOYAGER’s crew, he had
all the time in the world and again gave thanks for the diversion from his
usual gloomy thought.
‘Perhaps I should request a task on board?’ he thought and remembered that Seven
had thrown herself into the Astrometrics department,
making it her whole world. ‘I’ll talk to Tom,’ he decided.
After looking
through the flyer he settled down into the co-pilot’s seat and picked the
Bat’leth up off the floor. His mind
worked on the questions that the appearance of the flyer raised and he
absentmindedly turned the weapon back and fourth in his hands.
His eyes were
caught by an ordinary package lying in the shadow of the pilot’s seat amidst
the congealed blood on the floor. The
package was also stained with blood and the pilot had to have had it with him. Obviously, despite his injuries, he had held
it very close to his body. It had to be
something very valuable to that person.
‘Something of value…for a Klingon….what could that
be?’
Giving into
curiosity, Chakotay kneeled down by the seat and easily fished out the package,
and then he sat back in his chair placing it on his lap.
It was an
unknown material that was both soft and firm and seemed to cushion the
contents. Carefully, he opened the
bundle and then drew back in surprise at the contents.
“No!” he
whispered as fright struck through him, when the mirror caught his eye. His heart almost stopped beating, his hackles
rose and he felt hot and cold at the same time for it was not just any mirror. It was the
mirror!
The glass was
framed by polished stones, ones that he himself had collected during their
odyssey through the Delta Quadrant and on the back he had engraved for Kathryn:
“When in doubt, look here.”
Kathryn had been
speechless with emotion when he’d tried to give her the mirror even though she
hadn’t accepted it. Everything had ended
in a misunderstanding…Chakotay remembered every moment of that evening on the
holodeck, when Tom had lent him his
Then it had seemed
that she had been ready for him…for this gift.
He’d wanted to give it to her again at their reunion in
Again as if from
a great distance he could hear Mark’s voice, hoarse with grief, and the
shattering of glass.
The mirror! Chakotay’s eyes widened. It had shattered on the pavement in
Mark had tried
to stoop down to retrieve it, but he had stopped him. He’d only wanted to go…to be alone…and he
didn’t want anyone but Kathryn to have it.
Chakotay looked
in the mirror. It was completely
undamaged! Even the silver bow was
around it, and how could this be? He
knew this was the same mirror, it was unique.
He had replicated it himself and then set the stones. How in the hell had a Klingon gotten this
mirror…and spirits, why was it completely intact? ‘I need to talk to him!’
The whole thing
was really mysterious. He’d heard Kim
ordered the pilot to be beamed to sickbay and that he was in extremely poor
condition and unconscious. He was also sure
also that Dr. Shakar or a member of his staff would be caring for the patient,
and that a visit to him wouldn’t be allowed.
He had to wait. ‘But I am sure that Tom or Harry could answer
some of my questions.’
Chakotay wrapped
the mirror again and putting the bundle under his jacket he left the shuttle
bay. This mirror was none of anyone’s
business and he was glad that he had found it first, instead of any other crew
member.
=^=
Dr. Shakar and
the EMH watched over their mysterious patient with unceasing attention. They stabilized her by closing all her open
wounds and then used their regenerative techniques to renew her injured
tissue. The Holodoc worked all through
the night, deactivating the nanoprobes in her blood stream, coupled with the
surgical removal of her Borg implants.
As he continued
his treatment her skin slowly changed from the characteristic Borg grey to a
healthy pale pink tone. Finally he
installed a regenerative hood over her head to assist the healing of brain
injuries and to stimulate the regrowth of her hair.
“Doctor,” the
hologram greeted Dr. Shakar as he returned from a short night’s sleep, “Her
blood pressure is stable, breathing and heart functions are working without
support now. I took bimolecular scans
hourly and can report an apparently progressive normalization of the
neurotransmitter dysbalance.” He tapped several buttons on the display to
show his human counterpart the data.
“What about the
unusual signature emitted around the cell structures and bio molecules?” asked
Dr. Shakar.
“Completely
gone. No traces.”
“DNA?”
“It is still one
hundred percent identical to Kathryn Janeway.”
“What do you
suggest now?”
“I would leave
the patient in an artificial coma until the head injuries have had more time to
heal. By then her hair will have been
regrown and maybe at that time she can receive visitors.”
“Good then, I’ll
run the report for Commander Paris.”
=^=
Commander Tom
Paris lounged comfortably on Chakotay’s couch.
He had just finished the dinner Chakotay had prepared. ‘No
wonder Janeway raved about his food, it was wonderful.’ But as good as it had
been the thought of Kathryn Janeway laying in sickbay and not telling Chakotay
left him on edge. He hated keeping his
friend in the dark.
“Tom,” Chakotay
sat down in the chair. “I don’t quite
know where to begin…but I feel I must confess something.”
“What would that
be,” Tom encouraged.
“Yesterday
evening, I made a trip to the shuttle bay.
I examined the DELTA FLYER because I was curious about what
happened. I have to talk to the pilot,
Tom. It’s very important.”
“That’s
impossible right now, Dr. Shakar banned any visitors. First we need to determine her identity and
to clarify the circumstances of her appearance here after she regains
consciousness.”
“Her, does that mean the pilot was a
woman?”
“Uh ... yes
..."
“A Klingon woman
so ..."
“What makes you
say that?”
“Tom, I found a
Bat’leth in the flyer.”
“Oh, yes…yes…
Tom took a deep breath, he had almost made a slip of the tongue himself!
“I also found
something else in the flyer, something that belongs to me…I mean…something that
had belonged to me…I wanted to give it to Kathryn as a very special gift.”
His eyes
narrowing, Tom leaned forward. “What does that mean?”
For the first
time he saw the package lying on the coffee table in front of him. He watched Chakotay reach for it. As he
slowly unwrapped it he told Tom the story of the mirror from the
beginning…starting with Tom’s
When Chakotay
had finished, he simply stared motionless at the floor, the mirror in his hand.
Tom didn’t know
what to say. Chakotay had never talked
so openly about his relationship with Kathryn.
Finally he laid his hand gently on Chakotay’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Chakotay.” He searched his mind, wanting to do the right
thing. “I’ll notify you immediately when
you can speak to the pilot.”
“Thank you,
Tom.”
‘Damn it,’ Tom thought, ‘Now
things will heat up. I’m afraid that he
will discover who the pilot appears to be too soon, before we know anything
about her.’ Tom paused in his
thoughts, ‘This increases the likelihood
that she really is our former captain.
Who else would attach that kind of importance to a mirror, except the
woman it was intended for…and Chakotay.’
“Next time
please ask me before you go off on your own. Please don’t interfere in an
ongoing investigation again, Chakotay. I don’t want you to get into
trouble.”
“You have my
word.”
Tom stood up,
preparing to say good bye. “Thank you for the dinner. Uh…Chakotay…, if
you like...if you’re not too much…I mean…I’ve always enjoyed the
Chakotay sighed,
“Thanks for the offer Tom, but I don’t know. Actually, I didn’t think I
would ever want to return…to
“I understand,”
Tom said softly. “Take your time, but perhaps it would also help you to
handle things better.”
=^=
At first Kathryn
Janeway could only hear muffled sounds as if she was surrounded by cotton
wool. Her throat felt dry and hurt when she tried to swallow.
Gradually the sounds cleared and became distinguishable. There were the
familiar noises of a Starfleet vessel, more precisely, of a specific Starfleet
ship.
‘I’m really
here again!’ she
thought. ‘The plan must have worked,’ she noted happily and felt
the relief flow through her body. Her mouth twisted into a slight smile
and her eyes fluttered as she tried to open them in vain. Her lids seemed
heavy as lead.
“Doctor, Admiral
Janeway appears to be waking up.” A young woman’s voice,
strong and familiar.
“Seven?”
Janeway whispered.
“Yes, Admiral, I
am here.”
A warm hand
touched hers pressing it gently.
“You are on
VOYAGER, and in sickbay.”
“VOYAGER,”
Janeway repeated her voice still flat from the coma but hinted tenderness as if
to welcome a long missed friend. She heard footsteps and felt the strong
tingling sensation of a hypospray application to her neck.
After a few
seconds her eyes lids no longer felt like weights and she tried to open them
again. There beside her bed were Seven of Nine and a quiet young man.
“I’m VOYAGER’s
Emergency Medical Hologram,” he introduced himself. “Dr. Shakar activated
me to take round–the-clock care for you. I have all the skills and
experience of your former EMH in my database and was therefore the best suited
to treat you,” he added not without the former EMH’s pride.
“Thank you,
Doctor.” Janeway managed to say despite her hoarse voice.
Seven fetched a
cup from the replicator, “You should have something to drink.” Then she
helped Kathryn to sit up in bed so she could handle the cup herself.
“Coffee?” Kathryn asked hopefully.
“I’m sorry,
Admiral, but the doctor ordered tea.”
Janeway made a
grimacing face, but then closed her eyes breathing in the enticing herbal
aroma. “Do you know how long I’ve wished for it, longed for eating and
drinking?”
Seven raised an
eyebrow questioningly.
“Ever
since I heard you the last time…Seven…when I was on that damn cube. It was a trap. I heard your voice but it
was too late. I couldn’t do anything…” Tears welled in her eyes and
blinking she continued. “It was terrible…all…the Borg, Q…except for Q junior. I had almost given up hope. I wanted so
badly to send you all a message.” She took some deep breaths and then
looked up into Seven’s eyes and smiled. “You look well, Seven.”
“The Caeliar…”
“I know,”
Janeway raised her hand. “I learned everything, the past, present, and
future all at once. I had no sense of time. Most of the knowledge
was removed by the Q when they finally let me go. They allowed me to
remember only the most important knowledge that I would need for the
present. I would be delighted if you would tell me everything about the
Caeliar sometime. I think I’m too tired though for a long story
now. Captain Eden is now in command of VOYAGER, isn’t she?”
Seven nodded.
“Of the original
senior staff, only Commander Paris and Lieutenant Kim are still aboard.”
Seven caught
herself just in time, before telling the Admiral that there was one other on
board.
“I need to
inform Commander Paris about your progress,” Seven
spoke quickly to avoid questions, which she was sure would soon be asked.
Although not telling Admiral Janeway the complete truth bothered her. “He
is currently the acting captain in Captain Eden’s absence. She is
attending to a fleet review with the other captains and an inspection of the
entire fleet. So lay back,” she helped Kathryn down again and took her
empty cup.
“Seven…please
ask Tom…for my things from the flyer…a small package.” And sleep overcame
her.
When she woke
again Tom Paris was standing by her bed speaking quietly with the Doctor.
‘Commander Paris.’ She smiled to herself. She felt pride in the
man that her former bad boy had grown into. She thought of all his
holodeck productions, how much fun they were, and how they shortened the long
trip home. How would it be on VOYAGER now?
“Admiral,
glad to see you back with us! Welcome aboard!” Tom’s warm voice pulled her out of her
thoughts. Impulsively, he took her hand and with a sheepish smile just as
quickly let it go.
Janeway moved to
reclaim his hand and holding it tightly said, “I am so pleased to be here,
Tom.” Her voice was heavy with emotion, then she
nodded to the doctor indicating that she wanted to talk to Tom alone.
“Seven has been
told…,” Tom started.
“Later, Tom,” she lowered her voice before she continued,
“B’Elanna and Miral are doing well. They will soon rendezvous with
VOYAGER.”
“You…how…you
know…?”
“I was with the
Q, Tom,” Kathryn said. Raising an eyebrow suggestively, she smiled her
Janeway wry grin.
Tom saw the look
on her face and his heart started to pound, ‘There is no doubt that this
person is indeed our Kathryn Janeway.’ And with joy and relief he
suddenly had to laugh out loud.
“Tom, I want to
communicate with my mother and my sister as soon as possible, and of course
Starfleet Headquarters and…,” She blushed slightly, “Chakotay.”
“Captain Eden
has informed Starfleet Command already, in fact after Dr. Shakar made the first
DNA scan and you were clearly identified by your genetic profile. Ma’am,
since you are responsive, we are now able to confirm that you really are the
Admiral Janeway that we know,”
Tom continued, “The
doctor just told me that he would like to dismiss you to your quarters
now. This time he doesn’t even have to require that you must be able to
take care of yourself. He knows since
you are not the Captain, you will not immediately head for the bridge, you are our guest. You should be
able to speak via subspace from your quarters. I’ll have to set up a
secure channel for you.”
“Thank you,
Tom.”
“Doctor, with
your permission, I want to beam Admiral Janeway to her quarters now,” Tom
called out in the direction of the Doctor’s office.
The Doctor
stepped out, “Permission granted.
Admiral, if you have any problems please call me. In any case, I want to seen you again day
after tomorrow.”
Then he
activated the transporter and watched Tom and the Admiral shimmer out of sight.
=^=
As soon as they
had materialized in Kathryn’s quarters she again asked, “My things Tom…what
little I had with me? There was a small
package,” she said indicating the size with hand gestures. “Your people haven’t found anything? It is…it is very important to me,” anxiety
creeping into her voice.
“I’ll take care
of it, ma’am,” knowing her so well he tried to calm her. “Certainly our security chief, Mr. Kim took
custody of everything,” but he knew exactly where the package was and who had
it.
Tom felt that
the truth about the package should come from its holder. It wouldn’t be appropriate for him to tell
her.
A couple of
hours later Kathryn luxuriated in her bathtub, gently moving her limbs. She loved the warm caress of the water
against her skin.
She had spoken
to her mother and Phoebe as well as to the stunned Admirals at headquarters. But she was still depressed because she
hadn’t been able to speak with Chakotay.
This conversation was the most
important one and despite several attempts she hadn’t been able to contact him.
Even her family
didn’t know where he was. They did know
he had expressed the desire to leave Earth.
He had been devastated by her death and felt like there was nothing left
for him.
They thought he
had probably gone with Seven, to care for her, but
Seven was here alone. Tom hadn’t
mentioned a thing about Chakotay. They
didn’t even know where his sister Sekaya was and apparently no one else did
either.
Kathryn
sighed. When would she see him
again? She had longed for him every day,
every hour of the last two years. After
their one night together she needed his kisses, his tender touches…
Unconsciously
her hands slid over the bath oil smoothed skin of her thighs, then her belly
and her breasts. She remembered that one
unforgettable night on Proxima…the conversations and exchange of dreams via
subspace, and finally the promise of their meeting in
Her heart started
to beat faster, but then slowed and became painfully heavy. ‘Where
is he?’ she wondered. Did he still
think about her as she did him? Her grave thoughts turned into tears. She cried away her sorrow and with it the tension of recent days.
Tomorrow she
would begin her report to Starfleet.
=^=
Chakotay had
accepted Tom’s invitation to visit his
‘Perhaps he is right, at some point I need to get back
to some kind of normal life. It can’t be
any worse than this.’
Tom promised to
talk about the mysterious flyer pilot, to report what they had discovered. He even thought he might bring the pilot with
him if Harry Kim and the Doctor gave their approval. That at least had sounded worthwhile.
He made it to
Holodeck 2 just before 1900 hours. It was closed with Commander Paris’ security
code. ‘I could understand that,’ he thought.
Chakotay fumbled
with his jacket, checking the mirror he had hidden in the pocket. He brought it hoping for the opportunity to
speak with the mysterious Klingon woman.
=^=
At that moment Tom dashed around the corner.
“Sorry I’m late. I’ll just let you in now,” he said entering his
access code into the panel. Then pushing Chakotay inside he said, “Find
us a nice place overlooking the
Somewhat lost, Chakotay looked around. The entrance to the holodeck
was disguised as a transporter station in the city centre of
He trudged toward it, the lump in his throat causing him to breathe
harder and harder as it slowed his steps.
Fortunately, a petite Italian waitress rushed to take his arm and pour
warm intentioned but incomprehensible words over him as she pushed him into a
chair. The table was right on the canal bank overlooking the bridge,
shielded only by a few tubs of oleander.
Chakotay mechanically ordered a bottle of dry merlot and two glasses.
“Prego, signore! You are waiting …for signorina bellissima?” she
chattered cheerfully gesturing in a garbled mishmash of language when she
realized that he didn’t understand.
“No, I’m waiting for my friend, Tom,” he sadly shook his head.
“Ahhh…Signore Tom…si…si…,” she giggled disappearing
into the interior of the café.
So he sat there alone, soft music and the splash of water filling the
silence.
Very soon she placed the wine and two glasses on the table.
‘He’d better get here soon,’ Chakotay thought and then heard
light footsteps behind him coming closer. He slowly pulled his eyes away
from the canal with its bright gondolas and turned toward Tom. But the
greeting for Tom remained stuck in his throat, as he felt an icy hand touching
him. He rose without thinking,
not noticing the overturned chair behind him. It wasn’t Tom. It
was…
She also stopped in her tracks in surprise, lifting the left corner of
her mouth that twitched as she saw him frozen in shock.
“No…Tom…You shouldn’t have done this! How dare you…,” Chakotay
choked out overwhelmed by his emotions, and slapped his hands over his
eyes. “Computer! End program!”
In a moment everything disappeared leaving the stark holo
lattice and grey walls.
‘Why was I so foolish to trust Tom with this
But suddenly a small hand gently caressed his neck, and it definitely was
not Tom’s. He reluctantly took his hands away from his face and looked
directly into a couple of sea-blue eyes that glistened with tears.
“Chakotay, I am here…,” whispered a warm, dark, familiar voice.
He lowered his hands gently on her shoulders not wanting to destroy this
miracle. “Kathryn… you’re not…You’re not…You’re really…?”
She firmly pulled his head down, and stopped his question with soft
lips. They tentatively touched his mouth, the warm tip of her tongue
traced his lips lovingly and her blue eyes slowly closed. He echoed her
gestures with the same gentleness.
Kathryn leaned in, resting herself against him, and he suddenly encircled
her, pressing her fiercely to his body. He sensed the familiar tingle,
like electric sparks that shot up from his knees to his groin.
“Kathryn…” he felt the warmth of her body pressed to his, then he gasped
as their lips and tongues again danced with passion.
“I thought we were going to meet in
“First I had to see whether you are flesh and blood…,” Chakotay said
smiling, holding her face with both hands and kissing her again.
“And?”
“I think maybe I will investigate what is under this surface in more
detail later…,” he said, grinning mischievously as his finger stroked
seductively over her dress.
“Computer! Continue program.”
The romantic
Her auburn hair
fell over her shoulders, shimmering like silk in the lantern light. She wore a simple blue dress that reflected
the colour of her eyes. Kathryn sat
there smiling happily at him, and he just sat there staring as if he couldn’t
get enough of the sight of her. Both
didn’t know what to say, caught in the magic of the perfect moment, knowing
they would now be together for all eternity.
As if in a
trance, Chakotay reached into his jacket and slowly pulled out the mirror.
“Oh Chakotay,
I’ve searched for it everywhere! I was
so scared…Q junior saved it and kept it for me.”
“You came with the duplicate DELTA
FLYER?” Chakotay said as all the pieces suddenly fell into place. The red hair…why hadn’t he simply scanned it
with a tricorder, he had known it reminded him of her hair. And the Bat’leth…Kathryn was a master with
it. “But how…and where…where were you?”
Kathryn left her
chair and came around the table to sit in his lap. She gently took the mirror from his hand and
looked into it, then back into his eyes.
“Chakotay, I
love you,” she gently traced his tattoo with her finger tip and then kissed him
tenderly.
“I love you too,
Kathryn,” he whispered sliding his fingers through her soft hair.
“I wasn’t really
dead,” she said laying her head on his shoulder. “I was with the Q. My…disembodied being…My spirit…was saved by
Lady Q at Q’s request.
“I was with you
all the time, I accompanied you when you buried your
commbadge and rank pips in the foundation of my monument. Oh Chakotay…I tried so hard to talk to you…at
the same time I was also in the Continuum too, seeing VOYAGER’s relaunch into the Delta Quadrant. It was as if I were everywhere at the same
time…,” her voice trailed off in thought.
“Tomorrow I will
write a report for Starfleet. Would you join me, and I will tell you everything
then? Let’s just be us today…just
us…Chakotay, I have longed for you,” she whispered in his ear.
“As I have for
you,” he whispered back and his lips sought hers.
“We have two
years worth to catch up,” she mumbled between kisses.
“We will have
plenty of time for a honeymoon here on VOYAGER, Kathryn.”
“Honeymoon?”
“Yes, when
Captain Eden returns, we’ll get married!
Did you really think I could let you go even one more time?”
“I’ll never
leave you again.”
Sighing, she
closed her eyes, as his lips caressed her neck.
He effortlessly lifted her graceful body up in his strong arms without
stopping his kisses. He walked to the
holodeck control panel, “Computer, end program.
Site to site transport for two people to my quarters.”
They
rematerialized in his living area.
Carefully he carried Kathryn, her arms around his neck, into his bedroom.
Kathryn touched
his cheek tenderly, turning his face toward her. Her fingers anxiously stroked over his lips,
and she closed her eyes and moved closer, offering him her own half open mouth.
“Spirits,
Kathryn…” he murmured just before he gently placed her on the bed and then
moved in to passionately kiss the mouth she offered him, “Tell me again that
you’re really here…really here!”
Kathryn chuckled
and then gave him a mysterious, seductive smile. “I have the feeling that I am really here…,” she replied while
looking down to his hand cupping her full breast and his fingers gently teasing
her nipple. She could feel the heat
build, even though the soft material dress separated his hand from her skin.
Her hand slid
over his arm and across his hips, targeting the bulge that tented his trousers,
“…don’t you?” she softly whispered.
Chakotay eyes
drifted shut and he could only manage a breathless nod.
She pulled at his trousers, sliding her hands inside when the fastenings
gave way, continuing her incredible torment. She skimmed his shirt with
her fingertips and then slipped inside to stroke seductively over his
skin. “Chakotay…,” she pleaded into his ear as heated longings long
denied fuelled a fire deep within her.
He rose to his knees, pulling her up with him and then kneeling face to
face they began to undress the other. Soft touches with fingers and lips
caressed the exposed flesh in exploration.
They sat close to each other, her breasts brushing against his chest
spreading the heat of arousal. He gently caressed the sensitive skin of
her curves. Again and again, his thumbs drew small circles over her erect
nipples.
Kathryn threw her head back with a low moan and then gasped in surprise
to feel something hard and throbbing thrust into the warm damp folds between
her thighs, touching her most sensitive spot, sending pulses like small
fireworks through her.
Chakotay took Kathryn’s mouth in a demanding kiss as his hips moved in a
slow rhythm. Soon a fine sweat covered her body, and suddenly she
stiffened her body shivering with spasms like small fireworks deep in side her.
“Oh Chakotay…,” she sighed arching into his passionate caresses.
He held her to him as he gently laid her down onto the bed without
breaking contact. She spread her thighs making place for him and gently,
yet full of passion their bodies met.
This was a valued gift, their love given freely to each other.
Happily they stilled, remaining motionless for a few moments, attempting to
preserve this precious memory. They tried to memorize it and hold it in
their hearts.
But soon their bodies took over and found a rhythm that rose rapidly to
pure ecstasy. Each breathed the other’s name trying to anchor them
together as they shared a wonderful hot whirlpool of emotions. Finally
energy spent, they sank back down onto his bed stunned by the vortex of
sensation they had shared.
With a last effort they pulled the blanked over them just before they
drifted off to sleep still entwined together.
=^=
Still half
asleep, Chakotay stretched with pleasure, carefully so he wouldn’t wake
Kathryn. He loved the warmth of her pressing against his back.
Slowly he turned
around, blinked and found himself looking into a pair of chocolate brown
eyes. Chakotay’s eyes shot open and he sat up, pulling the blanked close
to his body.
“Q! What
the hell…where is Kathryn?”
Q, with an
amused grin crossed his arms behind his head. “Why are you so unfriendly
to your best friend, Chuckles?”
“All right, Q,”
Chakotay tried to remain calm, careful to keep his feelings to himself,
although his heart was in his mouth and his thoughts racing. “Good
morning! Please, where is Kathryn?” With each word his anger at Q’s
wicked game grew.
“Oh!” Q
pretended to search to Kathryn under the blanket and then the bed. “I do
not know!” he replied with a insincere perplexed
face.
Chakotay rolled
his eyes and hissed furiously through clenched teeth, “And what do you want
from me then, Q?”
“I want to
congratulate you!”
“What for, a
woman I might have just lost for a third time…?” He didn’t know how much
longer he could maintain his composure.
Q stoically
ignored Chakotay’s rage, and replied with a grin, “No. Congratulations…she
is pregnant,” he answered sweetly.
“What?” Chakotay was stunned. “How…you devil…”
“You are the
devil!” Q shot back pretending to he hurt, turning away.
“I’m what?”
Chakotay’s hands trembled with the desire to wring Q’s neck.
Q sat up and
leaned in close, almost touching Chakotay, “I
don’t know what it is about you that makes Kathy like you so much. I’ll
certainly never understand her. But you
are the father…”
Chakotay’s jaw
dropped open, “But… but… That’s just not possible!”
“I’m sorry, but
our equipment for Kathy was a fully functional body,” Q shrugged his shoulders
playing innocent.
“But…I…Kathryn…but
it was only yesterday,” Chakotay dug deeper.
Q frowned and
rolled his eyes, “What day is it?”
Chakotay pointed
to his monitor that displayed the star date.
Q slapped his
hand to his forehead, “Sorry, it’s my mistake. I’m two weeks early…you
and your linear time, I’ll never get the hang of it. But sure, she is
pregnant. You can rely on me, Chuckles!”
He raised his
hands to snap his fingers, but paused, his tone softening, “…and Chuckles, keep
your eye on Kathy, better than you did before. It does seem to me that
between the two of you, you’re really the more rational person. I don’t
know if I would be able to arrange things again
for her…for you!”
Finally Q
snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash of light, leaving Chakotay to stare
at the spot where he had been.
=^=
Chakotay didn’t
know how long he sat there stunned but finally he was aware of a soft rattle
and then a melodic hum in the adjoining room. He jumped out of bed and
without bothering to dress he took the few steps to the bathroom. He tore
the door open with a jerk to find Kathryn standing beside the bathtub, a towel
pressed to her chest and with a shocked look on her face.
Relief spread
through him, his mind freed, he slumped against the door frame.
“Chakotay?” Kathryn said looking at him anxiously,
“Is everything ok?”
She moved in
close and put her free hand on his chest. She could feel his rapid
heartbeat. When he didn’t answer she stood on her tip toes and gently
touched his lips with her own. The kiss brought him out of it, his look
focused on her and not some distant memory so far away. He closed his
eyes and returned her loving kiss.
“I was afraid
you were gone…again.” His answer was tortured and tears welled up in his eyes.
“Oh, Chakotay,”
Kathryn cupped his face with her hands and tried to move past the shock.
Her towel fell carelessly to the ground. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t
want to wake you up…”
His eyes moved
slowly over her body. He could feel the heat pooling in his loins, and he
gently held her shoulders, pulling her to him to kiss her with devotion.
He rubbed his hands over her warm skin, caressing her firm breasts, her hips,
and down to her bottom.
Kathryn gently
freed herself from his hands and pushed him back toward the bedroom. He
smiled sheepishly when he noticed that Kathryn was also taking in his naked
form, from top to bottom.
Kathryn gave him
a seductive smile and slowly laid down on his
bed. She squirmed as Chakotay leaned
over kissing her toes and then moved upward covering her legs with the same
caresses. Soon he was kissing the inside
of her thighs and by the time he got to the top she was struggling to
breath. Finally soft sighs escaped her
when he began to explore the soft skin of her centre with his tongue.
“Please…,” she
moaned, ruffling his hair, trying to draw him closer, and arched her hips into
his face.
Chakotay moved
slowly over her, trailing kisses on her belly and then her breasts. “You make me crazy, Kathryn,” he whispered
moving over her, burying his face in her hair now as her body took him inside.
She encircled
him with her legs, moving with him in passion stoking the fire that burned
within. Kathryn screamed softly as her
innermost self seemed to glow and she felt his warmth spreading into her.
They stayed
together not moving until their heartbeats calmed and then Chakotay rolled over
and pulled her close against his side, cradling her in his arm so her head
rested on his shoulder.
He pressed a
lingering kiss on her forehead and then rested his hand on her shoulder playing
with her beautiful auburn hair.
He noticed her
eyes resting on a special object lying on his bedside table. “Your mother
gave me your medicine bundle as you…,” he stretched his arm out reaching for
the Bonding Box.
Her eyes
followed his movements and then with a lopsided, almost melancholic smile, she
took the casket out of his hand. She traced the engraved symbols
thoughtfully with her fingertip, and then looked up into Chakotay’s dark brown
eyes.
‘One symbol is
actually missing,” he began hesitantly while encircling her with his other
arm. Kathryn gave him a quizzical look. “The symbol of new life,”
he murmured, studying her face.
“Do you mean…you
want…really?” Her eyes widened and her lips quivered.
He bent toward
her, kissed her and laid his warm hand gently on her belly.
“You are
pregnant already…,” he whispered looking at her expectantly.
“Really? How…how do you know?” Kathryn questioned
in disbelief.
“From Q, he was
laying in my bed, instead of you when I woke up, so I thought you were off
again,” Chakotay said as she put her arm over his chest and snuggled close to
him. “He knew it already of course, but he accidentally picked the wrong
time for congratulations. Let’s say: a violation of the Temporal Prime
Directive,” he said his dimples sinking into his cheeks in a grin.
“I wonder, would
the Q actually abide by the Temporal Prime Directive,” she added dryly, then
laughed too.
Suddenly her
laughter stopped and she took on a serious expression. She looked deeply
into Chakotay’s eyes as she covered the hand resting on her belly with her own,
interlacing her fingers with his. “Are you happy?”
“I’ve never been
so happy, Kathryn,” and he lifted his hand to guide her chin upwards into a
passionate kiss. “Will you marry me?” he asked finally breaking the kiss.
“Yes I will,” she
whispered before her lips met his again.
=^=
“
“Go ahead, Tom.”
“Your ship is
now ready to go and waiting for you in the shuttle bay!”
“Thank you,
we’re on our way.”
“It’s like we
are saying good bye to our home, isn’t it?” Chakotay’s arm comfortingly
encircled her.
She nodded and
rested her head on his shoulder, looking around the ready room one last
time. Now it belonged to Captain
Eden.
“Oh, it was very
nice to be aboard VOYAGER again, above all without the responsibility for
everyone. I'm so glad that we finally
had time and peace for both of us,” she said kissing him. “I think I’m
ready to return to Earth, but I am afraid that there will a media spectacle
again, just like the time we returned,” her face twisted in a frown.
“How can we
blame people for that,” Chakotay said. “After all, it doesn’t happen everyday, even not in the 24th century
that someone returns from the dead.” He gently pushed a loose strand of
hair back from her face. “And I’m glad that you couldn’t run away from me
again before we could finally get married.”
Kathryn smiled
dreamily, “It was such a beautiful wedding that Tom planned for us. We
couldn’t have had such a beautiful place on Earth. I’m thankful that he used his holodeck
program of St. Marks’s Square in
Chakotay happily
pulled his wife close for a kiss and then they made their way to the hangar
deck.
Inside the
shuttle bay, the crew of VOYAGER had gathered together to say farewell, and
Kathryn and Chakotay walked through the crowd to their ship.
It was a very
modern runabout equipped with slipstream drive. It had just arrived bringing
materials and mail along with some experts from DS9. Using the slipstream drive it had only taken
a few hours to reach VOYAGER. Kathryn and Chakotay would return it and from
there return to Earth by way of Dorvan V for a visit with Chakotay’s family.
They both insisted that they didn’t need a crew to fly the runabout.
In about thirty
hours they would be back in the Alpha Quadrant. The new drive had reduced
so much cruising time so much that the galaxy seemed much smaller.
Commander
Torres, Seven of Nine and Lieutenant Kim got out of the runabout. They
had checked all the ship’s systems one last time, enjoying their closeness as
the experienced ones for the days of VOYAGER’s odyssey through the Delta
Quadrant.
Harry drew Seven up short and furtively close to his side. She
smiled back and cleaned her dirty fingers on the back of her catsuit.
B’Elanna headed
for Janeway and Chakotay immediately, heartily embracing both of them, “I hope
you can forgive Tom and me, we were forced to lie to you with Miral’s and my
lives in danger. We had to fake our own deaths.”
All three
struggled to hold back their tears. “You cannot always tell the truth,
unfortunately,” Kathryn Janeway glanced at her
husband, “when you’re on a classified or undercover mission to save
lives. I’m just glad we are all healthy and together again,
B’Elanna. Take care of yourself and Miral.”
“Certainly, I
will.”
“Seven, are you
sure you want to stay on board VOYAGER?” Chakotay turned anxiously to the
former Borg.
“Absolutely,”
she firmly replied, bowing her fair head slightly and raising an eyebrow.
“I think I’ve finally found my place. I’d like to add my experience to
support Captain Eden’s research…and also…,” she looked at Harry.
“I’m so glad for
you, for both of you, Seven,” Janeway heartily remarked and then said their
good-byes to her and Harry.
Commander Paris
and Captain Eden waited at the access hatch.
“What will you
do when you get home?” Tom asked.
“We’ll both be
able to teach at
“I’m sorry,
Admiral, please tell me again when your baby is due?” inquired Afsarah Eden.
“Three months,
but no need to apologize, I know that as a Captain you have plenty of things to
concern yourself with,” Kathryn said laying her hand on
“But don’t
forget what you promised me at the beginning of this mission,” interjected
Chakotay.
“I won’t, I will
bring out people home safely!”
Tom hugged them
both warmly, then closed the hatch, ordered all
personnel to move out of the shuttle bay and once everyone was clear he gave
Chakotay his permission to launch.
The runabout
lifted, hovering over the hanger deck, then swung lightly around and moved
toward the opening doors. It
accelerated, gathering speed as it jetted out of VOYAGER. After a few seconds a small dot of light
flashed briefly in the distance, then it was gone and had passed VOYAGER’s
sensor range.
=^=
“Your
orders, Admiral?”
Chakotay turned in the pilot’s seat flashing Kathryn a dimpled grin.
“Set a course
for home,” she replied in the same tone, and then stretched out comfortably in
the co-pilot’s seat. She had a cup of
coffee in her hand and lifted her feet to the edge of the console in front of
her.
Chuckling,
Chakotay activated the autopilot and then looked over at Kathryn, “Any further
orders, Admiral?”
She leaned her
head back, smiling seductively slowly lowered her lids but still looking at him
out of the corners of her eyes. Then her
deep hoarse voice whispered, “Chakotay?”
“Yes.”
“Kiss me…,” and she felt his large warm hand lovingly laid on her
baby bump just before his lips touched her mouth.
The End