Part one of "Little blue world" - an AU series
by Jinny
March 2001
Disclaimer: Paramount owns all. I'm just playing.
"Can I ask you a question, off the record? If things had happened differently, and we were on the Maquis ship now instead of Voyager, would you have served under me?"
Chakotay to Kathryn, Parallax
Remember back when Chakotay and Paris really disliked each other, when B'Elanna hated Starfleet rules and regs, when Tuvok and Chakotay bumped heads regularly, when Kathryn never let her hair down around the crew (literally), when Paris was a pig and Harry Kim a nervous weenie? Remember all that Maquis-Starfleet tension? The days of plotting and spying about Voyager? When crises were solved without the aid of Borg know-how, and the possibilities for real emotional connections between certain crewmembers actually seemed like possibilities not just pipe dreams?
This series takes us back to the beginning and heads off in a completely different direction. I know, as AU plot lines go this one isn't very original, but it sure as hell beats some of the things TPTB have inflicted on us over the years.
This one's for the folks who reacted with horror when I said I was throwing in the fanfic towel & brought me back to (or away from) my senses. You know who you are. Chakotay in leather pants gets a mention for JinnyR. He's there for all of us, really, but she asked specifically :-)
To the Array
by Jinny
March 2001
~~~
Seska swore and thumped a clenched fist down on her arm rest. "What the hell is taking them so long down there?" she hissed.
Michael Jonas hovered nervously behind her. He didn't quite trust Seska at the best of times, but seeing her both enraged and sitting in the command chair of the Liberty made his stomach twinge with involuntary nervousness.
She spun in her chair to glare at him. "Would you stop pacing like a damn nursemaid?"
Jonas fought to keep a flush from rising to his face. "You said it yourself", he replied, forcing himself to sound calm, "they've been down on that planet for a long time. How do we know Janeway hasn't taken both of them captive?"
"Chakotay can take care of himself", she snapped back. As if belying the confidence of her words, her thumb nail found its way into her mouth and she began gnawing along the edge of the cuticle in frustration.
Jonas should have known better, but couldn't help himself. "What about Torres?" he asked. "I thought he was just going down there to find her and bring her back." He snorted derisively. "This stinks of a damn Starfleet plot".
To his surprise and relief Seska merely continued chewing, her eyes boring holes into the viewscreen. On the screen in front of them lay a barren planet, ordinary and dull as far as desert planets went. This one, however, had the added novelty of being located smack in the midst of the Delta Quadrant. Seska could hardly believe this herself, despite the insistence of the sensor readings, and the sudden appearance earlier of the equally disoriented Starfleet vessel.
She flinched involuntarily at the memory of Janeway's priggish face appearing on the viewscreen. She had talked to Chakotay calmly, radiating authority as she asked if he was missing any crewmembers. One of their own crew had not been returned from the array, or so she claimed. Chakotay had agreed to go first to the array, and then down to the planet with her to find their people. For some reason Seska had despised the small woman on sight. Chakotay, however, seemed oddly disposed to trust her, a fact that only make her loathe Janeway more. Surely he had all of his subservient Starfleet impulses out of his blood by now? Still, he had acted oddly deferentially towards this Captain, agreeing to go with her without an escort from his own ship.
Seska could taste bile rising into her throat at the mere possibility of that cocky Starfleet bitch holding Chakotay prisoner. She turned to glare again at Jonas.
"Alright", she snapped. "We can't just sit here. Let's do something."
Jonas tried to ignore the queasy sensation he felt at the sight of her lips curving up into a cruel smile.
"Do what?" he said.
Seska's animalistic grinned stretched even wider. "Let's go pay a visit to Janeway's precious Voyager".
~~~
Tuvok stood facing the Caretaker, trying to repress the irrelevant thought that the man he was speaking to was not really the Caretaker at all, but merely a representation created so that others could interact with him. He let his breath out slowly through his nose and tried to focus his thoughts on the conversation.
"You must send us back to the Alpha Quadrant", he said, once again.
The old man shook his head forlornly. "There isn't enough time", he moaned, "not for all of you."
Tuvok inhaled and released another careful breath. "You used that phrase before", he remarked, "but I am unsure what you mean by it."
The Caretaker sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Not enough time. It's extremely complicated, going back", he mumbled. "And I'm not finished yet."
"Finished what?" Tuvok resisted the illogical desire to frown. The Caretaker seemed to ignore him, staring off over his shoulder into the distance. Tuvok stood watching him, wondering what course of action Captain Janeway would recommend in this situation. Something rash, no doubt. Despite all the years he had known her, the Captain still managed to surprise him with her unorthodox approaches. Taking the Maquis leader down to the planet with her, for example, while sending Tuvok back to the array to find out how to work the technology, and to negotiate their passage home. Perhaps she was trying to gain Chakotay's trust while they attempted to come to terms with their radical dislocation. On the other hand, she might just be trying to keep a close eye on the man she was sent to capture.
"I didn't mean to hurt any of you", the old man said suddenly, causing him to start slightly. "I was just trying to find a match."
With a burst of clarity Tuvok finally understood what the creature was saying. "You have been trying to reproduce yourself."
The Caretaker turned sad eyes on him. "Yes, yes", he said softly. "But I have failed. And now I won't be able to take care of them anymore."
"Take care-" Tuvok broke off, thinking quickly. "You are referring to the Ocampa."
The old man nodded and cleared his throat in an gesture oddly reminiscent of a real aged human. "Now it's all too late. None of you were a match."
"They may surprise you with their ability to take care of themselves."
The old man looked at him sharply, as though seeing him for the first time. "I can't help you all", he said again, "there's not enough time. But I could help some of you."
Tuvok opened his mouth to ask for clarification of that remark, but was interrupted by a chirp from his communicator.
"Yes", he replied.
"Lieutenant". He was greeted by the voice of Mr. Rollins, the crewman he had left in charge of the bridge. "We need you back here right away. We've had an unauthorized transport on deck eleven. Sensors show that there's a small group of Maquis aboard Voyager."
A non-Vulcan would have felt some apprehension at this announcement. A quickening of breath or heartbeat, an increased level of adrenaline in the body. Tuvok merely raised an eyebrow with practiced understatement.
"Beam me back", he ordered calmly. As he de-materialized he thought he saw the old man nod his head in farewell, then sink back into his chair.
"Some of you", he muttered.
~~~
"Then they must already be in one of those tunnels Kes told us about." Kathryn Janeway peered across at the Maquis Captain, Chakotay, who nodded in silent agreement.
Kathryn threw a quick glance at the well-organized Ocampan city around them, then slapped her communicator. "Janeway to Voyager. Mr. Rollins, please respond." She frowned at the lack of response. "Janeway to Tuvok, do you read me?"
Tom Paris copied her attempts, then shook his head. "No go, Captain. The energy field must be blocking our communicators."
"Then we can't beam back either." She frowned again. "Torres and Kim probably aren't in the best climbing mood right now."
Chakotay eyed them both with an inscrutable expression, then turned towards Kes, the Ocampan who had led them here. "Can you show us a way out of this complex?"
"Of course. Follow me". The young woman began to stride towards a far doorway. Tom walked beside her, while her Talaxian friend Neelix scurried to flank her other side. Kathryn fell in step with the Maquis leader, matching his determined strides with her own.
As they hurried along she found herself observing him out of the corner of her eye. The photo in his file didn't do him justice, and she couldn't help being struck by how good looking he was in person. It wasn't merely his well set features, the brown leather trousers that hugged his hips, or his closely cropped hair, shot through with a scattering of grey. There was something about his demeanor that no holographic imager could capture. He not only radiated calm confidence, but a definite sexual energy. She had sensed it the moment he had materialized onto the bridge.
He turned his head towards her with a questioning glance, and she immediately chided herself at the stray thought. If anything she should be measuring him for a position in her brig, not in her bed. She admonished herself again for *that* thought, and forced her eyes to focus on Kes' back. She could worry how to snare her prey once they were safely back on Voyager.
"What I don't understand", he said, as though they were mid-conversation, "is why the Caretaker needed so many beings from the same species."
"What? Oh, yes," Kathryn glanced at him abstractedly, trying to draw her muddled thoughts together.
"If he's testing us for something," Chakotay went on in his smooth voice, "and I'm not compatible, then why would you be compatible? It just isn't logical."
At that Kathryn stared at him sharply.
"What? What did I say?"
She shook her head dismissively. "It's nothing." At his curious glance she allowed a small smile to play across her lips. "I have a Vulcan as my chief of security", she admitted, as they rounded another corner.
Chakotay nodded in understanding. "I see. Is he any good?"
"One of the best."
The edge of his mouth twitched ever so slightly. "Logically".
Kathryn almost laughed at his quip, then drew herself up short with the recollection of exactly who she was talking to. This wasn't some colleague she could share friendly banter with, this man was a terrorist, a criminal she had been sent to capture. With a spasm of discomfort she realized this was the second time in so many minutes that she'd had to remind herself of that fact.
Chakotay watched her out of the corner of his eye, his eyes shrewdly measuring the emotions that flickered across her face. There was something odd about this woman, this Starfleet Captain. He felt a curious sense of recognition, as though they had met previously. Of course that was impossible. But he knew enough about his own gut instincts not to dismiss such a sensation. It more than likely meant that their paths had been destined to cross. But to meet how? Would she be dragging him back to the Alpha Quadrant in proverbial chains to meet the demands of Starfleet justice? Or did the fates have something quite different in store? Judging by her behaviour so far, it was impossible to tell what her own intentions were.
Lost in their separate thoughts, they continued to hurry through the Ocampan city, seeking their lost crewmembers, and a path to the planet's desolate surface.
~~~
Tuvok barely had time to take a step forward when the Bajoran woman drew herself up, her phaser bristling in his face.
"You picked a bad time to come back, Vulcan", she purred.
Tuvok quickly surveyed the room. Two Maquis brigands stood by the door, weapons in hand, while another one stooped over the transporter console. The transporter operator lay huddled on the floor, a phaser burn clearly visible on his chest.
"So I see", he remarked calmly.
The woman inclined her head slightly towards the man at the console. "Get on with it, Hogan", she ordered. The man nodded, and began rapidly manipulating the controls.
"Activating site to site transport", he reported.
"May I ask precisely what you intend to accomplish?" Tuvok asked the woman.
She turned to him, a sneer flashing across her features. "I would have thought that was obvious", she hissed.
"You will not be able to capture this vessel."
The woman laughed. "If I wanted to, you'd better believe I could." She sniffed disdainfully. "For now I'm just kidnapping some of Janeway's precious crew." She turned again towards Hogan. "Make sure you get Commander Cavitt. That turncoat".
"Mr. Cavitt was merely performing his duties by observing your crew", Tuvok commented.
"He spied on us for Starfleet", the woman spat out. "And I'm going to reward him for a job well done." She pushed the phaser closer towards his chest. "Get back on the pad", she ordered.
Tuvok took a small step backwards as the woman continued to bark instructions over her shoulder.
"I want senior crew", she snapped, "Get me whoever has rank and is still aboard. Doctor, Counselor, I don't care. Round them up. We're going to-"
Whatever the woman planned to do with the crew was lost in the tingle of the transporter beam. Tuvok rematerialized in a slightly darker room. Two men, one human and one Bolian, immediately flanked him.
"Welcome to the Liberty", one of the men said pleasantly. The other one hit him over the head with a large hypo-spanner.
"Damn Vulcans", he muttered, as Tuvok crumpled silently to the ground. "They're so melodramatic".
The other man nodded his assent and poked the immobile security chief with the toe of his boot. "And so heavy", he added with a sigh, as they bent down to pick him up.
~~~
"All I'm asking", Hogan said as he followed Seska onto the bridge, "is what you're planning to do with them now we have them. Fry them all like you did to Cavitt?"
Seska threw herself down into the command chair and ignored him.
"Try and raise Chakotay again", she ordered.
"I've been trying regularly", Jonas mumbled, "but they must be below the surface. There's still a field blocking our signal."
"Luckily for us", Hogan said, "it's probably blocking Janeway from finding out what's happening on her ship."
Seska snarled and turned to face him, "Look, I'm not going to sit around while Janeway runs this show. I want to know how we ended up here, and what she's done with Torres and Chakotay".
"Fine," he shot back, "but that didn't mean we had to mortally would one of her crewmembers. Her first officer no less. You think she's going to forgive and forget?"
Jonas looked startled. "You killed one of them?"
"No one rats on me and gets away with it.".
"She shot Cavitt", Hogan told him.
"You what!"
"We were supposed to get in and grab some people and get out", Hogan said, "Not go off on a little mission of vengeance."
Seska pushed herself out of the chair. "You two seem to have forgotten that we're terrorists", she said, glaring at them both. "That's what Starfleet thinks of us, regardless of our reasons, or what we've each actually done. Why not act the way they expect us to? Besides," she added, putting her hands on her hips, "the treacherous rat didn't die. He's just wounded."
Hogan stepped closer to her. "And then you took their doctor away. Who's going to treat him?"
A sudden shock wave rocked the ship. Seska stumbled and grabbed the back of the command chair for support. "What the hell was that?"
Jonas punched his console keys furiously. "You're not going to believe this."
Seska turned away from Hogan to scowl at him instead. "Believe what?"
"It's Voyager", Jonas stammered.
"What about Voyager?"
Jonas swung in his chair to face them. "It's gone", he said simply.
~~~
Jonas' statement hung in the air for a few moments, as the others stared blankly at him.
"What do you mean gone?" Seska demanded eventually.
"It's not on sensors," he replied, "it's just... disappeared."
Hogan stepped closer to peer over his shoulder. "Where did it go?"
"I don't know." He scratched his head helplessly. "Maybe that array that brought both our ships here took them- " he broke off as a warning alarm sounded. "Proximity alert", he announced. "A warship is coming into range."
"On screen".
The formidable looking alien vessel began firing rounds of ammunition at the planet.
"What do they want down there?" Hogan wondered.
"Let's find out", Seska said. "Hail them."
"Channel open."
An alien male appeared on the viewscreen, his black hair thickly braided and arranged ornamentally around his head.
"We claim this planet and the array orbiting it on behalf of the Kazon Ogla", he announced imperiously. "You will leave this region of space immediately."
"We can't do that right now", Seska replied. "We have people down on the planet."
The alien narrowed his eyes and sneered at her. "A woman commanding a ship?" He muttered something offscreen then turned back to them. "Get your people and go, woman", he ordered. "But leave our array alone." The picture flickered then disappeared.
"They cut us off", Jonas said, somewhat superfluously.
"Like hell we will. We need that array to get us back to the Alpha Quadrant", Seska said, ignoring Jonas. "Keep scanning the surface for Chakotay and Torres." She slipped back into Chakotay's chair. "And transfer the sensor records to my station. I want to see what really happened to Voyager."
~~~
Kathryn blinked furiously as the glare of the hot sun beat down on her face. She squinted and pushed down with her forearms, pushing herself up out of the hole and onto the sandy surface. She had barely found her feet when another explosion caused the ground to shake. Kathryn stumbled into a pair of firm arms, and looked up into the kind face of the Ocampan girl.
"Thank you Kes."
"You're welcome Captain", the young woman replied in her soft voice.
Kathryn turned to survey the group. Tom Paris, Ensign Kim, and the half-Klingon woman stood rubbing their eyes. Neelix, who had helped the weakened pair to the surface, hovered protectively next to Kes. As she watched, Chakotay pulled his lithe body free from the cavity with apparent ease, then raised himself to his feet, brushing sandy residue from his chest.
"Who's firing?" he demanded. Kathryn began to shrug, then realised he was addressing the Talaxian.
"It's probably the Kazon again", Neelix said, shaking his head ruefully. "They think they own this planet. Actually," he went on, "they think they own a great deal of this region of space."
Stirring herself, Kathryn slapped her communicator. "Janeway to Voyager." There was silence. "Janeway to Tuvok. Are you reading me?" She frowned over at Tom, who futilely mimicked her actions once again.
"Maybe it wasn't the EM field after all", he offered. "Maybe Voyager's communications are down."
A nearby explosion sent a cloud of dust into the air, and caused them all to nearly lose their footing again.
"We have to get off the surface", Chakotay said. He reached inside his vest and drew out a small communications device. "Liberty, do you read me?"
"Chakotay?" A woman's voice came back clearly. "Are you alright?"
"We're under attack. We need immediate transport, for seven people."
"Seven?"
"That's right."
"But I thought-"
"Just do it, Seska".
Kathryn felt her eyebrow raise at the obvious tone of command in his voice. This man was used to being obeyed. As if feeling her gaze on him, the dark-haired man turned his head in her direction. Irrational as it seemed, through the prickling of the transporter beam, Kathryn was almost sure that he had smiled at her.
~~~
"You did what!"
"I thought she'd double crossed you."
"You had no right to make a decision like that. Let them all go."
"Go where? Voyager's disappeared."
"What did you say?" Stepping into the command room of the Liberty, Kathryn caught the end of the exchange between Chakotay and Seska. Now she pushed her way to his side, hands on hips. "Where's Voyager?" Paris crowded behind her curiously, while Neelix and Kes lingered in the doorway.
The Bajoran woman glared at her, venom in her eyes. "Gone. I don't know where."
The newcomers stared at her in disbelief. Chakotay spoke first. "How could it just disappear? When did this happen?"
"About half an hour ago. Just after we got back on board and had -"
"Stowed some of my crew in your cargo bay", Janeway cut in, her voice dangerously quiet.
Seska shot her another angry look. "I don't have to answer to you", she spat.
"No," Chakotay shot back, "but you do have to answer to me."
"Maybe they used the array to send themselves back," she suggested.
"Why would they do that? Without their senior officers? Without their captain?"
Seska's eyes darkened at his rebuke. "How would I know? Their first officer was a damned untrustworthy spy. Who knows what they've been negotiating with that Caretaker creature."
Kathryn began moving towards Seska but Chakotay held out his arm to stop her. "Wait. We'll go back to the array, the two of us, and see what we can find out."
Kathryn stared at him for moment, measuring him, then nodded her assent. "We should take Tuvok", she added. "He was talking to the Caretaker before. He knows how the array functions."
"In the meantime", Chakotay told Seska, "you'll do nothing to the Starfleet crew. Agreed?"
"Agreed," she said reluctantly.
"I'll come with you", Tom offered.
"No", Kathryn said, "stay here. Keep an eye on that ship. We'll be back soon with some answers."
Although she had said "ship" it was clear to all present that wasn't what she really meant. As they left the room, Tom sank into the nearest chair and smiled insincerely at the Bajoran woman. "Seska - so nice to see you again. Did you miss me?"
Seska bared her teeth. "As much as I miss Orchett's disease."
Tom sighed and turned his attention to the viewscreen. "I knew this was going to be a fun mission", he mumbled. "Just wait 'til I tell my friends back in the penal colony about this adventure. They'll be green with envy."
Seska snorted. "Right, Paris. You have friends."
Tom nobly ignored her. Under the circumstances, it was the least he could do.
~~~
"Not you again", the Caretaker sighed, as the three figures materialized in front of him. He cradled his banjo in his lap, plucking the strings disconsolately with one hand.
"We need you to send us back home", Kathryn said, moving towards him.
The old man waved his free hand tiredly. "No time, no time. I did what I could."
"When I spoke to you earlier you said you could help some of us", Tuvok began, "were you referring to Voyager? Did you send Voyager back where it came from?"
"Yes, yes, that's it", the Caretaker gave them a small smile. "I sent them back. Not all though", he shook his head. "You were scattered, you see. And I didn't have time."
Kathryn kneeled down so that she could gaze into his face. "My ship, my crew, are they alright?"
The man frowned in confusion, then nodded. "Yes, yes. Fine. I sent them back home."
Kathryn let out a breath of relief. Seska had only kidnapped fifteen crewmembers, which meant that one hundred and twenty had been safely returned to the Alpha Quadrant. That's almost all of them, she thought, and a weight she hadn't even realised she was carrying suddenly lifted from her shoulders.
"Mr. Tuvok said you mentioned another of your species. Is she nearby?"
The old man shook his head. "No. She got bored. She's a long way away now. I don't know where." He looked at them blearily. "I'm sorry, but I can't do anything more for you. You should go."
"Paris to Captain Janeway."
Janeway tapped her communicator. "Go ahead."
"Captain, the Kazon are demanding that you leave the array. They say it's their property."
At the sound of his voice the Caretaker moaned. "No!" He tried to sit up straighter, clasping her forearm with surprisingly strong fingers. "You must not let the Kazon have access to this technology. They will annihilate the Ocampa".
"Of course, we don't want to hurt them-"
"I will set the array to self-destruct. You must leave now".
Chakotay moved to Kathryn's side. "We have no other way of getting home if you don't help us."
Kathryn stood to face him. "We can't abandon these people."
"What about the Prime Directive? Not interfering with their natural development?"
"We're already involved", she argued. "We didn't ask to be, but we are."
Chakotay blinked at her. "That's a pretty thin argument."
"We'll find another way home."
Tuvok spoke up then. "On the Maquis ship? Surely it would be illogical to expect the Maquis to tolerate the presence of Starfleet crewmembers on their vessel."
The old man waved his arm at them. "You must leave!"
Kathryn's communicator chirped again. "Captain", Tom's voice reported, "I think you'd better hurry back. The Kazon are getting nasty. They've just fired a warning shot past the bow. At least I think it was a warning shot. Either that, or they can't aim straight."
The Caretaker's eyes widened and he groaned once more. "I'm dying", he whispered. As he closed his eyes his human form vanished, coalescing into a pulsating pink mass of energy. A deeper voice emerged from its centre.
"You must set the self destruct. Please." As they watched the nebulous life form quivered a few times more, then shrank until it measured only a few centimeters across, then disappeared. In its place lay a small white rock. Chakotay bent to pick it up, fingering the warm surface thoughtfully.
Kathryn turned to him. "Obviously I'm in no position to give you orders," she said.
He stared up at her from his crouched pose. "No, you're not", he said calmly, then glanced at Tuvok. "Surely it would be more logical, Mr. Tuvok, to consider the good of the many over the few." As he said the word logical, he threw Kathryn a curious sideways grin.
Tuvok nodded slowly. "That dictum would also apply," he conceded.
"Then set the self destruct", he ordered, rising to his feet. Tuvok looked to Kathryn for confirmation. She merely nodded, then scrutinized the Maquis leader, who was still cradling the rock in his hands.
"That was a very... compassionate decision", she said softly.
His brown eyes met hers with a hint of amusement. "Was it? Remind me of that in seventy years time."
He glanced at Tuvok's back, as the Vulcan hunched over an interface terminal, programming the array. "Scratch that", he said. "Remind me tomorrow."
~~~
As Chakotay, Kathryn and Tuvok strode back onto the bridge, Seska quickly jumped out of her seat to face them. "What's going on?" she demanded.
Kathryn answered her. "The Caretaker is destroying the array. We should move to a safe distance."
"What! You can't let him do that. We need that array." She stepped threateningly close to Janeway. "This was all your idea, wasn't it? Damned Starfleet, always making decisions that affect-"
"No, it wasn't". Chakotay said, stepping in between them, his physical presence cutting the tension between them. "The Caretaker is dying, and he won't abandon the Ocampa."
"You should have stopped him."
Chakotay stared her down. "This isn't a matter for discussion. Set a course away from the array, maximum warp. And hail the Kazon."
"Channel open", Jonas called out.
"This is Chakotay, Captain of this vessel speaking. The entity who owns the array has enabled a self-destruct mechanism. For your own safety, I suggest you move to a safe distance."
The belligerent Kazon leader appeared on the screen once more. "If you think this will fool us into leaving this array, you're sorely mistaken. I have claimed this technology, and we will not abandon it."
Chakotay leaned closer to the screen. "This is no trick. Scan the array yourselves, and you'll see. For your own sake, move to a safe distance."
The Kazon swore and disconnected his transmission.
"They don't appear to be leaving", Jonas remarked.
Chakotay nodded towards Seska. "We're out of time. Get us out of here."
"Aye", she said sullenly, punching the controls.
As the small ship jumped to warp their sensors detected the array's explosion, which quickly engulfed the Kazon warship.
Chakotay sighed. "Looks like we've made an enemy today", he said, running a hand through his hair tiredly.
From the conn, Seska glared at him. "I'd say you have", she muttered.
Kathryn couldn't help wondering where this dangerous woman's loyalties lay. She sensed there was some personal relationship between her and Chakotay, and that the Bajoran was obviously full of anger. She was also clever, headstrong, manipulative, and willing to take risky action to further her aims. How would she handle the intrusion of a Starfleet Captain into her life?
Chakotay touched her shoulder softly to attract her attention. "Come into my office", he said. "We have a few things to talk about."
Seska watched them leave together, her lips tightly pursed. Tom in turn watched her, then rubbed his fingers tiredly across his forehead.
"I smell trouble", he said to no one in particular.
~~~
Kathryn sighed and brought her legs up onto the mattress. Chakotay watched her from his perch on the room's only chair, as she clasped her crossed legs, lost in thought.
"Obviously if this is going to work then both our crews will have to work together".
She looked up, as if startled to find herself in his room. "What? Yes, you're right." She shifted on the bed, staring out the window absently, then back at him. "I'm not sure how the Starfleet crew will react, working alongside people they consider rebels."
"Then we need to make sure we set a good example. To show them that we mean to make this into one crew."
Kathryn shrugged. "Of course. I'll take whatever job you want me to-"
"Will you be my first officer?"
She blinked in surprise. "I didn't know they had that post on a Maquis ship."
Chakotay smiled. "We do now. Our crew structure is a little different, but we still need a hierarchy, otherwise things just wouldn't get done." He scratched his face thoughtfully. "Normally everyone knows what their position is, and the newcomers just have to find out by fitting in. But in this case I think we'll have to make it more explicit."
Kathryn looked doubtful. "Are you saying your crew will accept orders from me?"
"Not as a Starfleet captain, no. But as someone that I've put into a position of responsibility," he paused, "they'll accept that, if only because they respect me. Later, you'll have to earn that respect yourself."
She stared at her hands for a moment, thinking over his offer. "It does sound like the best way. But this is going to be difficult. For all of us." She met his eyes as she said the words, and it was obvious she meant for herself as well.
Chakotay smiled again, an easy grin that somehow lowered the tension in the room. "Would it make you feel better if you pretended that you'd caught me? That this is a temporary arrangement until we get back to the Alpha Quadrant?"
Kathryn felt herself smiling against her will. "I guess I have seventy years or so to plot your overthrow before we get there."
"We have a great store of tactical planners on board too", Chakotay said, matching her smile, "I'm sure together we should all be able to come up with some interesting scenarios."
"Alright". She sobered, nodding her assent. "You've got yourself an XO."
"We have a lot of problems to sort out about integrating our crews. Simple logistics just to start." He sighed. "There were thirty one of us aboard when we left the Badlands. Seven of my crew died when the Caretaker brought us here. And there's sixteen of your crew that Seska," he hesitated, looking for a polite word, "retrieved from Voyager."
"Plus Kes and Neelix", Kathryn added, ignoring the mention of Seska. That was one problem she didn't want to think about right now.
"Right", he agreed. "They want to come with us, and I think we should let them. Neelix claims he knows this region of space, and we could do with a guide." He added the numbers in his head. "So counting you as well, that means we have a complement of forty three."
"Will we fit?" Kathryn glanced around the room he had euphemistically referred to as his "office". Her eyes fell on a hand woven blanket which lay folded at the end of the bed. His bed. She felt curiously light headed at the realization. This small room they had retreated to was his only private space. There was no ready room, no observation lounge. Life on this vessel was not going to be anything like a normal tour of duty.
"We'll have to shuffle rooms around a little, but yes, I think so." Chakotay stood, smoothing his tunic with one palm. "I guess we'd better go and tell the crew", he said.
She nodded, sobering at the thought. "I guess we should."
He paused by the door and turn to look at her. His eyes seemed to peer deep into her face. For a moment she was struck by the odd sensation that her skull had turned transparent and he could see all the way through her. She pushed the irrational thought away. He was obviously good with people, this Maquis leader. That didn't make him telepathic. Chakotay rested one of his large hands on the doorframe.
"I guess this wasn't quite the mission you had in mind when you left earth", he commented, eyeing her carefully.
She returned his stare, aware that they were measuring each other on a number of levels.
"Not exactly", she conceded. "I came to find you. But I wasn't expecting such an extended return journey. Although I'm sure it won't be a dull trip back."
Chakotay smiled, showing his disarming dimples once again. "That it won't Kathryn, that it won't."
~~~
End of part one
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