The BLTS Archive - Ab Urbe Condita
by Quadrantje (quadrantje@hotmail.com)

---

Disclaimer: The rights to 'Star Trek: Voyager' do not belong to me, nor do those
to 'The Mists of Avalon'. No money is being made of this and no infringement of
copyright is intended.

This occurs somewhere right after 'Muse'.

Thanks go to Kimberly, who was and is a great help and a dear friend. Thank you
Kimmy!

---
Prologue
---

Kathryn Janeway, former Captain of the Federation Starship Voyager, smiled as
her eyes raked through the room, coming to rest on each member of her crew. She
noted with pleasure how happy they all looked, how at home. The surroundings
were lovely; the entire hall was delicately decorated and the joy that radiated
from everyone made the air appear to shimmer, like it did on a hot day.
Refreshments were on the other side of the room – edible for once. In the left
corner, people were dancing; swaying gently to the music, for the fast beats had
died out hours before. After their rough landing a year ago, she never would
have believed that they'd feel so at home here now. Their days on Voyager had
been a source of dreams long after they'd landed here, what she'd longed back to
during her darkened hours. Voyager, the place that had become their home when
they had none, while all the time that was what they thought they were heading
for. Earth – home. She smiled somewhat sadly as she remembered the journey that
had indeed brought them home, but that journey couldn't be measured in light
years. Home wasn't a building or planet, but a feeling of belonging. Like that
old saying: home is where the heart is. She just hadn't realized that their
heart – her heart – was on Voyager. And by the time she did realize her home was
on Voyager, that home had been ripped away from her. But at least no one had
been arrested and forced to spend the rest of their days in jail. Instead all of
them had been able to build a new life for themselves. Then she became sombre,
as her mind drifted back to those who weren't there; those they'd never see
again.

She put down her glass on one of the tables strewn across the room and moved to
the open doors, while looking back at her former crew – her children – once
before vanishing in the dark of night. The houses around her were dim and no
moon graced the sky. The only light came from the hall she'd just left, the glow
from the windows drawing a long shadow in front of her. Her feet instinctively
carried her to the park not too far away. No one else was there and she felt
herself being swallowed by the silence, the sounds from the ballroom fading into
the night. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the dark and she could make out the stone
bench she often sat on during the day, when it was warmed by the sunlight and
the surrounding nature made for a beautiful view. Now, without the sun's rays to
give it colour, the place looked extremely different. The flowers, usually
brightly coloured and sparkling with life, now looked grey and dead. The trees
had become black giants, adding to the sinister mood. She sank down on the bench
and remained still, observing what she could see of the plant life around her. A
cold breeze played with her braided hair and she wrapped her arms around herself
as a chill travelled through her spine. The rustling of leaves broke the
silence, playing a delicate melody that soothed the old guilt, which still
surfaced on nights like these. Her mind found its way to a place close to peace
as she sat there; surrounded by nature, enveloped in the strong embrace of the
place she called home. . .

----

Kathryn Janeway, Captain of the USS Voyager – although off duty at the moment –
walked through the holodeck doors. Chakotay had once again brought up the fact
that she needed to take some time off and relax. Reading reports, apparently,
didn't count as relaxing. She had of course objected, listing every possible
reason for not going, ranging from not needing relaxation to captain's
prerogative. Unfortunately, he had fended off all her arguments and had even
joked that it was 'first officer's prerogative' to get his captain to take some
time off. In the end, she gave in, and booked three hours of holodeck time. She
had to admit it wasn't too bad. She was actually looking forward to it.

She started the new program she'd found, designed after an old book written by
Marion Zimmer Bradley, called the Mists of Avalon. It was set in the England of
King Arthur; revolving around Arthur's sister Morgaine, on her path to become a
high priestess on the mythical island of Avalon. She had been fascinated by the
unusual focus of the story and the timeframe in which it played. In most stories
Arthur's sister was told to be the evil sorceress, while here she was portrayed
as the calm and wise priestess. And not to mention the scenery was incredibly
beautiful; the gorgeous medieval England with its forests and hills, villages
and castles, and Avalon, which lay hidden within the mists.

Two hours later, Kathryn was rowing a small boat on the lake that harboured
Avalon. This – supposedly – was the test 'Morgaine' had to take in order to
become a priestess. To succeed, she had to find her way back to Avalon. Kathryn
stood up in the small vessel, her arms spread out to remain balanced. Her hands
started to rise in order to make the motion that would part the mists, when the
ship suddenly rocked, along with the whole holodeck, throwing Kathryn overboard
and into the holographic water. The first thought that entered her head when she
resurfaced was that this was another one of Tom Paris' pranks – one he would
think twice before repeating when she was done with him. A second later she
realized the red alert klaxon was sounding and quickly ended the program. The
water surrounding her vanished, as did the over-turned boat, as the mundane
yellow and black grid reappeared. She pulled the long gown she'd been wearing
over her head and picked up her turtleneck and jacket from the ground to put
them back on. Her uniform pants and tank top, which she'd been wearing
underneath the gown, were soaking wet, but she didn't even notice as she quickly
stalked out the door.

---

The bridge was chaotic, everyone trying his best to fight off the alien ship
that had suddenly de-cloaked at their star port bow and immediately opened fire.
It wasn't a very large vessel, but its first shot had been well placed, blowing
out communications in one blast. Their unexpected appearance gave the aliens an
advantage and it took a few moments for the bridge crew to fight back. Because
of that, the aliens managed to also disable their transporters and bring shields
down to 60. Thanks to their time in the Delta Quadrant, however, the crew had
learned to act quickly and their surprise didn't last long as they scrambled to
gain the upper hand. The small ship soon found that it was outgunned. Just when
Tom thought they'd won, another ship appeared, matching the first one in build,
but alarmingly bigger. It fired at Voyager, right as the turbo lift doors opened
and admitted the Captain. She stumbled onto the bridge, but caught herself on
the railing, barking, "Report!"

She moved to her chair as Tuvok reported Voyager's condition. Nodding in
comprehension once he finished, she immediately started handing out orders.

"Mister Paris, evasive manoeuvres Beta four. Tuvok, target their weapons. Fire
at will."

"Aye, ma'am!" Both men responded, their hands flying across their stations to
carry out her orders almost before she'd finished speaking. Once again they
showed that the last couple of years had made them all a great team. Voyager
slowly regained the upper hand. Apparently, the new ship, although bigger,
didn't surpass the first one in firepower and between Tuvok and Tom; the aliens
were no match for Voyager. A well-placed phaser shot from Tuvok disabled the
weapons of the largest ship. Suddenly both ships swerved and jumped to warp.
Within seconds, they were gone. Their disappearance – just as sudden as their
arrival – made an end to the battle.

"Stand down red alert." The klaxon stopped and the lights turned back to normal.
The bridge crew relaxed somewhat; glad the thread had ended. Tom turned his seat
to face the rest of the bridge.

"What do you think they w–" He travelled off mid-sentence as he caught sight of
his captain's appearance. Her hair fell in moist tendrils down her face, her
jacket clung to her wet torso and droplets of water dripped from the standard
issue black pants to the floor of the bridge. "What happened, Captain? Fell
overboard?" He joked.

"Actually, yes." She answered, a deadpan expression on her face, daring Tom to
contradict her.

"May I point out, Captain, that as we are on a Starship, one does not get wet if
he falls overboard? As a matter of fact, one does not even fall overboard."
Tuvok interjected.

"One does if she's on the holodeck while Tom's flying! No if you'll excuse me, I
believe I'd better change into something dry." She quickly walked to the turbo
lift, smiling at the surprised expression on Tom's face, who didn't seem to know
whether to take her comment seriously or not.

The lift doors opened and the Captain started to move in, stopping abruptly and
turning around just before setting foot in the 'lift. "And I want reports
regarding this incident on my desk in one hour." Amazingly enough, even looking
like a drowned cat – Tom could swear he'd heard sopping sounds coming from her
boots when she walked past Tuvok's station – she still managed to emit
authority.

---

The rest of the day was peaceful, making Kathryn almost doubt that the attack
had been real and not a figment of her imagination. If it weren't for the pile
of reports on her desk describing the whole event, she would have chalked it up
to her imagination and her hope for some action. As it was, the attack was just
another incident in a long line of incidents.

After having changed into a dry uniform, the Captain reported for duty, her
remaining holodeck time forgotten. She spent most of the day in her ready room,
reviewing reports and trying to piece together who had attacked them and why.
Then there were the questions of where to find fresh supplies and ores to keep
the ship running and how to get through the remainder of the month with the
rations she had left. They were just the usual questions to answer that surfaced
for every Starfleet captain who had an addiction to coffee and a ship, which was
lost in the Delta Quadrant. The sound of the chime came as a welcome
distraction.

"Come in, Commander." Chakotay entered, carrying a PADD and a slightly bemused
expression.

"How did you know it was me?"

"Let me see. I already have everyone's report on the attack, as well as all the
regular ones." She gestured to the pile of PADDs on her desk and her coffee
table, which was also littered with PADDs and – appropriately so – with coffee
mugs as well. "Not to mention it's almost time for dinner. I'd say even Tom
wouldn't give out high odds on that one." Chakotay grinned a bit sheepishly and
tugged on his ear.

"I didn't realize I was getting predictable." Kathryn smiled back briefly before
donning her role as captain again.

"What is the ship's status?"

"Communications and transporters are back online and shields are at 75. However,
there was a malfunction that caused some systems to overload. One of their last
shots was a direct hit." Kathryn stared out her viewport and seemed to
contemplate that for a minute.

"Almost as if they knew where to fire." She mentally shook herself and returned
her gaze to Chakotay. "How soon until the damaged systems are functional again?"

"It were mainly the sensors that were damaged, together with a few glitches in
the engines and some system failures. Nothing too serious, although Tuvok wasn't
exactly happy when his face came into contact with one of Neelix' cakes during a
temporal loss of artificial gravity in the mess hall. B'Elanna expects repairs
to be finished by tomorrow afternoon. Until then, we're running on impulse
engines only."

She smiled briefly when he mentioned Tuvok's problem. "I hope he wasn't too
embarrassed."

"Like a true Vulcan, he managed to suppress any hint of discomfort, even when
whatever Neelix had used as a substitute for whipped cream turned out to be a
bit stickier than it's supposed to be. He had a pretty hard time getting it
off."

"Poor Tuvok. And after that transporter accident a little while back."

"I'll never forget the look on his face when instead of beaming him to the
transporter room, it dropped him right in the middle of Chell's excuse for
chicken soup. I don't think I've ever seen soup that was that thick."

"You don't suppose it's deliberate, do you? I mean, it is a bit coincidental
that those malfunctions always involve Tuvok and some kind of abominable food."

"I wouldn't know, but maybe I should have a talk with Tom. Since we're on the
topic of food, what do you say to some vegetable lasagna? I happen to know a
certain first officer who'd like to have dinner with his captain tonight."

"Well, I don't know about that captain or first officer, but I wouldn't say no
to dinner with my best friend." She gave him a small wink.

"My quarters in half an hour?"

"I'll bring the wine." They shared another smile before Chakotay left the ready
room, nodding to Tuvok before walking to the turbo lift to return to his
quarters, the PADD still in his hand. He had some lasagna to make.

---

They never got around to that dinner, though. A scant ten minutes after Chakotay
had left the captain's ready room and went to his quarters, the ship shook
again. Kathryn groaned as she picked herself up from the ground, having been
thrown out of her seat at the sudden lurch. She tapped her comm. badge while
returning some of the fallen PADDs to her desk.

"Janeway to Conn."

"Paris here, ma'am."

"Mister Paris, I don't suppose that was another show of your manoeuvring
abilities?"

"No ma'am, we've been caught in some kind of spatial rift!"

"I didn't think so." Kathryn muttered. "I'm on my way."

---

"What happened?" She didn't waste any time on pleasantries as she came out of
her ready room, scanning the faces on the bridge for answers. Harry, standing at
Ops, was the quickest to answer.

"We hit a spatial rift. We didn't detect it because sensors are still not
working properly." His hands were flying over his console. "It's draining power
from the warp core. It's sucking us in!" He looked up at his captain, a slight
panic visible in his eyes.

"Captain to Engineering, how far are you on those engines?"

"We're working on it, Captain." B'Elanna's voice reported over the Comm.

"Hurry up, and keep me posted." She closed the link and looked back at Harry.
"How long do we have before it does serious damage to the ship?"

"I don't know, ma'am. At the present rate we have an hour at most." She nodded
at him, conveying some strength to the young ensign. He relaxed slightly, his
fear changing to determination.

"Assemble all the data you can find, I want to know exactly what we're dealing
with and more importantly, how to get out. Understood?" The captain received
nods and 'aye's from all over the bridge and moved across it to her chair,
immediately activating the screen between the two command chairs to call up all
the information she could find – which wasn't all together much with half the
systems down. Engrossed in their work, no one on the bridge looked up when
Chakotay arrived. He quietly asked for an update from Tuvok. A frown appeared on
his face when he heard the situation and he quickly walked over to his chair,
sitting down next to his Captain who was bent over their shared console. The
bridge was silent as everyone worked on a way to break free of the spatial rift
without destroying Voyager in the process.

---

A loud tearing sound suddenly shattered the silence that accompanied their
increasingly desperate search for a solution. Everybody looked up from their
panels, their eyes quickly moving to the Captain, hoping she had answers for
them.

"Tuvok, report."

"The rift's graviton pull has increased. Our hull plating is being ripped off.
Impulse is no longer sufficient to maintain position." The Captain had risen
from her chair without even realizing it.

"Bridge to Torres. Now would be a good time to get those warp engines online!"

"I'm trying, but we could use some help down here!" A slight nod from Janeway
was all Harry needed to be on his way to Engineering.

"We're loosing too much power. Life support is failing on decks 14 and 15."

"Evacuate those decks!" Another shredding sound was audible and Voyager lurched
radically. "Reinforce the hull!"

"We can't. There's not enough power! Our only chance is to get the warp engines
online and break free." Chakotay's eyes locked with hers briefly, conveying the
support his words could not.

"B'Elanna!" Janeway almost shouted into the still open comm. line.

"We're almost there, but there's just not enough power!"

"Reroute all secondary power to the engines!"

"Come on." B'Elanna's plea to the ship mingled with all the other noise of the
bridge. Kathryn balled her hands into tight fists, her knuckles quickly turning
white. Time seemed to stand still for a moment as the whole bridge crew silently
prayed for the warp engines to work.

"I've got it! Powering up warp engines." Everyone on the bridge released a
collective sigh of relief. Running her hands through her hair Kathryn unclenched
her fists and called out:

"Mister Paris, get us out of here at maximum warp!" Tom happily complied and
with a few more wrenching sounds, Voyager quickly retreated to safer waters.

---

An hour later, Janeway called a senior staff meeting to discuss the events of
the day. All the faces showed anxiety or weariness; even Tuvok looked more
serious than normal – the Vulcan equivalent of looking worried. Kathryn looked
around the room once to see all their attention focussed on her. Then she looked
at B'Elanna and opened the meeting.

"What is the extent of the damage?"

"The warp engine is back online, but I don't know for how long. It could shut
down any moment. Transporters, long-range sensors and holo emitters are off
line. Short-range sensors are barely working and shields are down to less than
25. Life support is down on decks 11 through 15. The rift tore off a lot of the
hull plating as well and drained an enormous amount of power. We've started
working on repairs, but the ship is in pretty bad shape. There isn't much we can
do without replacement parts and we will probably have to land somewhere to
restore the hull. In addition to that, our supply of ores is running low,
especially dilithium." B'Elanna's voice held less fervour than usual and her
frown had added a ridge to those on her brow.

"Were there any injuries?" Worry lines clearly showed in Kathryn's face.

"A few, but none too severe." The doctor smiled reassuringly to no one in
particular. "The crew on the de-pressurised decks were evacuated on time and
thanks to some quick thinking," His smile turned a bit smug. "my program had
already been downloaded onto the portable emitter before the holo grid went off
line."

"All right, our main focus should be the repairs. Seven, are there any planets
on sensor where we might be able to get replacement parts and ores?"

"There are none on short-range sensors. However, before the attack, long-range
sensors did detect a system. It contained four planets, one of which M-class,
and was centred around a yellow dwarf star. The sensors went off line before I
could acquire more data."

"That'll just have to do. Tom, plot a course with Seven to the approximate
coordinates of that system. Tuvok, I want a detailed report on that spatial
rift. B'Elanna and Harry, continue with the repairs. Dismissed." Everybody filed
out of the briefing room, their spirits a bit higher now that they again had a
goal to work towards. When only Chakotay was left, she sank down into her chair,
scrolling through the contents of a PADD. After a few moments she looked up at
him, her slightly clouded eyes silently asking him why he was still there.

"What if we run out of power before we reach a planet with the necessary ores?"
His voice was as calm as ever.

"We won't." Hers sounded a bit sharper than she'd intended, but her
determination was clear.

"How can you be so sure we'll succeed?"

"Because we have to. I promised I'd get them home and I won't break that
promise."

"Maybe we're already home." His eyes told her there was more he wanted to say,
but after a short hesitation, he turned around and left the room, leaving her to
think about what he'd said – and what he hadn't said.

---

Voyager's stubborn, redheaded Captain was on the bridge when they reached the
M-class planet where they hoped to repair their ship. She was reading a PADD,
focussed entirely on its contents, but still keeping an ear open for any change
on the bridge. Normally she would have read the report in her ready room, but
considering the two unpleasant encounters they'd already had and Voyager's
weakened state, she'd decided to remain in her chair on the bridge, able to keep
a close watch on all systems. Except for a small frown, nothing in her
expression or posture indicated that something was wrong, yet inside her mind
was going at warp speed – even though her ship was not – and her worries were
steadily growing. Not only were shields stuck at approximately 32, but the warp
drive had also malfunctioned about 1 billion kilometres away from the planet,
forcing them to travel the last part on impulse only. The PADD she was reading
contained Seven's report with all the data they'd been able to collect on the
planet, both from before the sensors went offline and after. It looked promising
enough, with dilithium in some of the northern areas and a good climate around
the planet's equator. It was uninhabited, meaning that they would have to get
spare parts somewhere else, but it did contain a large quantity of edible
vegetation to restock their depleted food supply.

She looked up when Tom announced they had reached the planet and put the PADD
down. Sitting up slightly straighter in her chair, she ordered him to land
Voyager.

"I'll try, but it's gonna get tricky with those sensors that keep acting up."

"I'm sure you can do it, Lieutenant. Just take us down slowly."

"Aye, ma'am." Paris followed her instructions and went down on minimum impulse,
keeping a close watch for any sign of trouble. Apart from a few bumps and some
swaying, it went pretty well – until he wanted to put Voyager down. Instead of a
gentle touchdown on the large clearing that was visible on the view screen and
readable on sensors, the hull suddenly scraped against a harder surface, making
a loud screeching sound that could be heard even on the bridge. Kathryn felt a
coldness grab her heart, fearing for her crew and herself like in every previous
situation where they'd faced serious problems. Then, suddenly and just for a
second, she had the feeling that they'd be home soon. It was a gut feeling and
had already gone before she was able to identify it, but it caused a surge of
hope to flow through her. She felt reassured and safe and the earlier fear had
vanished.

"What was that?" She looked around with a new determination and her voice was
just a notch lighter than before, which was only noticed by Chakotay. Paris was
working feverishly on his console and didn't have time to answer, so her
question hung in the air for a moment.

"The sensor data is wrong!" Harry's answer came from behind her and she and
Chakotay turned around. Harry didn't look up to meet their eyes, but continued
to type in commands. Then his head shut up abruptly, his wide eyes meeting the
command duo's. The noise had stopped as Tom had managed to fly Voyager a bit
higher.

"This is data from about twelve hours ago, the clearing is now on the other side
of the planet!" Tom's head jerked in his direction.

"Can you adjust the sensors?"

"No, but I can see what they say about the other side of the planet. Or, what
they say is the other side. The problem is that I don't know exactly how much
the planet has rotated, so I won't know where we are right now."

"Do it. Captain to Engineering. B'Elanna, the sensors are malfunctioning."

"I know, the problem is, the computer doesn't. It can't locate the problem and
the diagnostic says the sensors are working fine. I don't even know where to
start with repairs."

"Thank you, B'Elanna." Kathryn terminated the comm. link and turned back to
Harry. "Any progress?"

"No, ma'am."

"All right, Mister Paris. You're going to have to land her on instinct."

"Captain." Harry interfered from Ops. "I don't know where we are, but sensors
show that the other side of the planet is mostly mountains. Without sensors
working properly, it's going to be one hell of a ride."

"We'll have to take that chance; we can't stay here much longer. In the state
Voyager is now, an ion storm could be devastating and we can't rely on sensors
to detect them in time. Take us down, Mister Paris."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Go to blue alert. Captain to all hands, brace for impact." She gripped the hand
rest on her seat and turned her eyes to the big view screen, even though she
knew it showed the wrong side of the planet. Everyone around her was tense and
she more sensed than saw Chakotay frowning in the chair next to her. Despite the
situation, she still felt that spark of hope that had remained from her
'premonition' and she drew strength from it. The loud wrecking rattle returned
and she knew their lives were now in the hands of fate. She had always been the
scientist, needing to know the answers and hear the explanations for everything
before she could accept it. Now, she had to rely on their luck that they
wouldn't land on the top of one of those mountains or fly right into one. She
was surprised how easy she found it to accept that, believing they'd be fine
even thought the chances were against them. It was almost like her determination
to get home; if she believed in it strong enough and didn't give up, they would
get there. Her gaze shifted from the view screen to Tom, who was punching in
commands on his station so fast she was almost surprised it was still working.

Without warning there was a loud crash and the whole ship shook violently,
before it became quiet. She felt her head smash against something hard before
everything turned black. . .

---
A Journey Ends
---

Kathryn woke up feeling disoriented and a bit unsteady. Chakotay's name was
spoken somewhere in the background, but it was faint and she couldn't make out
any other words. She groggily opened her eyes; only to slam them shut a second
later, the bright lights of sickbay hurting her eyes. She kept them closed as
she tried to sit up. The movement made her head throb and she moaned softly
while leaning on her elbows, only propped up a bit. Her moan must have caught
the Doctor's attention for he was standing in front of her when she dared to
open her eyes slightly for the second time. He admonished her for trying to sit
up 'in her physical state' and darkly muttered something about difficult
patients, but shut up quickly when she glared at him. Her eyes had slowly
adjusted to the lights and squinting, she looked around her. As she had deduced
earlier, she was in sickbay, lying on one of the biobeds. All the other biobeds
were occupied, but none of their occupants seemed seriously injured. Most of
them sported bruises, broken limbs or burns. A few of the others seemed knocked
out, but she couldn't be sure. Tom and the other people aboard with medical
expertise were circling around, healing the injured as best they could. The
Doctor had also moved on to other patients after giving her a quick scan for any
lingering effects.

She tried to sit up straight again, but faltered. Suddenly strong arms were
supporting her, helping her up and putting some pillows behind her back. Once
she was seated she turned her head to see Chakotay smile back at her. Kathryn
gave him a small smile in return, letting him see she was okay, before demanding
to know the status of her ship and crew.

"You know Voyager wasn't in a very good shape to begin with, and ramming her
halfway into a mountain didn't exactly help. Just about every system apart from
life support is down and B'Elanna is fighting tooth and nail to make sure that
doesn't fail too." His disarming smile took the sting out of his report, but
couldn't completely belay her uneasiness.

"What about our crew? Were there any casualties?" A slight dizziness manifested
itself in her head and quickly spread through her body. With all the strength
she could muster she willed it away again, hoping that Chakotay wouldn't notice.

"A few, but not as much as expected in a situation like this. The lower decks
were hit the worst as they were the ones that directly rammed into the mountain.
As we hadn't gotten around to fix life support on decks 11 to 15, there was no
one there. We were lucky; we would have lost dozens of people if it hadn't been
for that earlier malfunction." He realised she wasn't looking at him any more,
instead her eyes were closed and her expression was somewhat strained.

"Kathryn? Are you alright?" She opened her eyes again and started to nod when
she suddenly lost her balance. Chakotay immediately put his arms around her,
leaning her against him to steady her.

"I'm fine." She rasped after a few minutes. "Just a bit dizzy." She started to
move away and he reluctantly released her, beckoning over the Doctor while she
sat up again.

"Doc, how is the Captain? Will she have to remain in sickbay?" Said captain
already opened her mouth to object to whatever the doctor might say when he
shook his head.

"No, except for some light-headedness and maybe a mild headache she's fine. As
long as someone keeps an eye on her and makes sure she doesn't overdo it, she's
free to go." Her mouth snapped shut, but neither the Doctor nor her First
Officer seemed to be paying attention to her.

"I'll stay with her. How long until she can return to duty?"

"After some good night's rest, she'll be as healthy as a woman her age can be."
Those last words earned him a cold look – also known as a Death Glare – from his
captain, but they still didn't notice her. Her patience had had all it could
take.

"Will you two stop talking about me as if I'm not here?" Her harsh tone
certainly got their attention; the Doctor visibly shrunk under her look and even
Chakotay looked slightly abashed. "Good. Now, Chakotay, shall we?" Without
waiting for an answer she slid off the bed, grabbing Chakotay's arm when she
felt the dizziness return, and almost dragged him out of sickbay. The doctor
heaved an audible sigh after the doors had closed behind them and whipped some
non-existing sweat off his brow.

"As Mr. Paris would say; that was a close call." He muttered with a tickle of
sarcasm. "She didn't even protest Chakotay's company." He rolled his eyes
skyward – well, he intended to anyway. Instead, his eyes rolled to the back of
his head and got stuck there. The Doctor sighed and mumbled something along the
line of 'and of course they can't spare someone to repair me, I'm just a
hologram'. He gave a hard knock first on his mobile emitter and when that didn't
work, on his own head. His eyes shot back with a plop and he ran his tricorder
over the next patient, still grumbling.

---

The following morning the captain woke up feeling well rested. For the first
time in years she'd fallen asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. She
quickly changed into her uniform and walked to the living room. Smiling gently
when she noticed the figure on her couch, she remembered the night before.
Chakotay had refused to return to his quarters yesterday evening after he'd
escorted her back from sickbay and had instead spent the night on her sofa. His
excuse had been that he'd promised the Doctor he'd keep an eye on her and would
do just that, but she had seen in his eyes that he needed to know she was safe;
that's why he was staying. The silent resolution on his face and the hint of
anxiety in his dark pools had stopped her from arguing. Although she would never
admit it to him – had in fact barely admitted it to herself – his presence had
made her too feel safe. For just a night she'd been able to forget about the
heavy burden that lay on her shoulders and fallen asleep easily. She was a bit
surprised that he was still asleep, but decided not to wake him. Instead, she
left him a message on a PADD, picked up the blanket that had fallen to the
ground and covered him with it. With a last glance to ensure he was still
asleep, she left for the Mess Hall to get a cup of coffee.

---

By 1300 hours, Kathryn was busy replacing a burned-out relay in one of the
Jefferies tubes on deck 7. Every crewman that could be spared had been called on
to help with the repairs, leaving a skeleton crew to deal with the normal
running of the ship. And now that they had landed Voyager, there wasn't all that
much to run. Suddenly she heard someone shout her name through the tubes.

"In here!" She called back and turned her head in the direction of the sound to
see who it was, as the echo's had made that impossible to tell. Within a few
minutes, Chakotay appeared around a corner and gave her a wide smile. "What are
you doing here?"

"I thought I'd make sure you got something to eat. Doctor's orders." She threw
him a mock glare before one corner of her mouth tugged up into her famous
lopsided grin.

"Just let me finish replacing this relay."

"Sure, I'll even lend you a hand." She rolled her eyes at his mock generosity,
but couldn't help but smile again.

"You're too kind." For the next few minutes they worked in companionable
silence, quickly finishing the work.

"All done." Kathryn stated firmly while picking up her tools again and crawling
towards the nearest hatch. After a few meters she stopped and looked back at
Chakotay, who was replacing the conduit. "Coming?" She said teasingly. Her only
answer was a big dimpled grin that made her heart flutter in a very uncaptainly
way before Chakotay followed her through the pipe.

---

The Mess Hall was not very crowded when they entered, as lunch shift was almost
over. They ordered some lunch, but Neelix detained them for a few minutes while
babbling on about one of his latest creations. It of course contained Leola Root
and he was certain it would become a favourite of the crew's. Their obvious
doubt didn't show on either of their faces. The only thing that saved Kathryn
from having to taste the dish was that Chakotay told Neelix she was still a bit
nauseous as a result of her injury and it would therefore be better if she ate
something without too much flavour. That, however, got him stuck with having to
taste it.

"Nausea because I hit my head?" Kathryn couldn't help but ask Chakotay once they
sat down at their usual table. "Now, I'm not a doctor, but that does sound
strange. I hope it's not serious." Her eyes twinkled at him even as she managed
to keep a straight face.

"Apparently, it's very common. . . for Bolians. I remember Chell having it
once."

"Well, no matter what made you think of it, thank you for saving me from that."
She pointed at the strange red-and-blue goo, which in response twinged in
seeming discomfort. She blinked once or twice in surprise before looking back at
Chakotay. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Chakotay, but I believe your food just
moved. What did Neelix say it was?" Chakotay just shrugged.

"I've learned not to listen too carefully to what my food is called, it tends to
be easier to eat that way."

"Well Chakotay," she laughed, pointing her fork at him, "maybe you can get out
of trying this by reminding Neelix that you're a vegetarian." He looked down at
the unappealing substance again, saw the distinctive tremor it gave, and decided
to take Kathryn's advice. He walked back over to the counter and came back a few
minutes later with a fairly normal-looking salad and some bread.

"Now that looks much better – not to mention edible." He sat down again and as
they had both skipped breakfast – she because she'd had too little time and he
because he'd been asleep until well past breakfast – they dug in and were silent
for the next ten minutes. Finally, after their first hunger was sated, Chakotay
easily started another conversation.

"Thanks for letting me sleep this morning. I didn't realise I was that tired."

"It's the least I could do after yesterday evening. I imagine you were quite
exhausted." Her thoughts momentarily flooded back to the previous day. It had
definitely been strenuous, between a battle, a spatial rift and a rough landing.
Her thoughts were transported back the present as Chakotay opened his mouth to
speak again.

"What about you? It must have been draining for you too."

"I guess those few minutes of 'sleep' I got in sickbay really helped." Her words
were accompanied by a light-hearted smile. After that their conversation turned
to business matters and a few minutes later they split up while he went to the
bridge and she returned to Engineering.

At the table next to the one they'd just abandoned, a grin played on Tom Paris'
face as his mind went over the conversation he'd just overheard. They had been
totally oblivious to his presence the whole time and he had heard every word
they'd said. It was clear to him that the Captain and Commander had spent the
night in the same quarters, probably hers, and that the previous day had been
quite tiring for both of them. The mischievous glint in his eyes would have made
Harry sigh and bid his nice shiny pip goodbye had he seen it. Tom Paris had just
come up with an idea, one that had the potential to earn him a lot of rations
from the betting pools – or meant trouble and possible demotion for everyone
involved.

---

"Come in, Commander." Chakotay stepped thought the ready room doors.

"There's no surprising you, is there?" Kathryn looked up from her position on
the floor.

"I'm already surprised you could find me; I've been all over the ship with these
damn repairs." She gestured to the relay she was replacing and pulled a face.
"On the other hand, I'm betting you've come to remind me to have some dinner,
which of course you're willing to provide. All that's missing now is my
presence." Her grin could almost be called hopeful. The tug on his ear told her
she was either right or he was going to tell her something she wouldn't like.

"Actually, I just finished talking to the Doctor. He wants to check you over to
see if you have any more head injuries. He said to tell you to report to sickbay
immediately." Her smile turned wry and she rolled her eyes at him.

"I don't suppose it would help if I told you I feel fine?"

"It wouldn't. Now we'd better go, the Doc was quite adamant you come right away.
He didn't want you to escape his clutches." She didn't respond, but turned her
back to him and made some modifications to the just installed relay. "Kathryn?"

"I'm coming. I just had to finish this." She stood up and brushed some dust from
her knees. Then she looked up at Chakotay again. "You don't have to escort me to
sickbay, Commander. This is my ship, I know perfectly well where it is."

"Well, can't have you 'forgetting' this appointment."

"Would I do that?" She was already walking to the door to the bridge and her
tone was light. He sighed dramatically.

"Kathryn, you're notorious for forgetting your physicals. Even the newest ensign
on the ship – had that been possible – would know you don't like to go to
sickbay. So yes, you would do that."

"Can't blame a girl for trying." She winked before stepping into the sensor
range so the door opened. "Nobody likes doctors; they have cold hands."

"Kathryn, he uses a tricorder. Not to mention that he's a hologram." His only
answer was an exasperated glance as she crossed the bridge.

---

"Oh, come on Doc. It's not that big a deal. Besides, you would be able to keep a
closer eye on her. And what harm can it do?" Tom was pulling out all the stops
in his pleading with the Doctor. Unfortunately for him, the hologram was immune
to his blue puppy-dog look and had moral subroutines that did not like being
ignored.

"No, absolutely not! I will not tell the Captain to wear a cortical node just so
you can see if she's participating in any . . . sexual activity." Had his
program contained the necessary subroutines, the Doctor would now be producing
more steam than an average steamer. "I'm a doctor, not a chaperone. And, Mr
Paris, I'm definitely not you!"

"And we're forever grateful you're not." Janeway quipped as she strolled in with
Chakotay. "It's difficult enough having one Tom Paris, I don't even want to
contemplate having two."

"Captain!" The Doc jumped at her voice and seemed to deflate while his anger
vanished. Tom wondered briefly whether he had actually been producing steam, but
quickly dismissed the thought.

"Don't sound so surprised; you did order me here." The Doctor grumbled a bit and
shot Paris a loathing glance, but decided to use the opportunity and examine the
Captain; after all, it was almost a miracle she'd come. Tom quickly returned to
his work refilling the medical supplies. While doing that, he kept an eye on his
commanding officers. The Doc quickly scanned the Captain and studied the
readings for a minute, a look of near shock appearing on his face. Janeway and
Chakotay didn't pay any attention to it. They seemed to be having a
communication with just their eyes and facial expressions. Tom's attention was
pulled away from the pair by the sound of a loud cough. He looked up to see the
Doctor staring pointedly at him, his expression somewhere between amusement and
austerity. Tom quickly returned to his job, but strained his ears to hear what
the others were saying.

"Well, Doctor. Is there a problem?"

"No, no problem. Your caffeine levels are lower than usual and your body
actually seems rested for a change." His surprise at those readings was
noticeable in his voice.

"The replicators are still down, so it's a bit difficult to get coffee today."
The Captain explained.

"I guess that must have helped you sleep too. I told you that might help with
your insomnia." Paris could practically see the Captain roll her eyes, however,
her answer sounded anything but annoyed.

"Oh, I think that cutting back on coffee wasn't exactly what helped me sleep."
Her voice had dropped to something that very much resembled a purr and Tom's
head whipped around to catch her expression. She was staring up at Chakotay with
a crooked grin and an unidentifiable look in her eyes. Tom's mind went over this
new information while the Doctor told Janeway she was fit to go and Tom just
caught Chakotay inviting her to dinner before the sickbay doors closed. As soon
as his shift was over he raced to Harry's quarters, a new glint alight in his
eyes.

---

"Chakotay?" The commander looked up from the food he was preparing to face
Kathryn, whose eyes were serious and held an emotion he hesitated to name.
"Thank you."

"What for?" Her realization from that morning, about how his presence made her
feel safe, had stirred something in her and she plunged into uncharted
territory. Collecting her thoughts she took a deep breath before meeting his
eyes with hers.

"For always being there for me. You always try to make things easier for me,
making my burdens lighter. I don't know what I would have done without you."
Chakotay laid down his knife and turned to come face to face with her.

"You're welcome." They stared at each other for minutes before he finally came
to his senses and turned back to the food to add pasta to the boiling water. He
quickly changed the subject. "How are the repairs coming along?"

---

"Okay, that's it. You ready?" Tom looked from the console they'd been working on
to Harry.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this." As opposed to Tom's expression of
excitement, Harry looked wary, but resigned to his fate – whatever that would
be.

"Oh, come on, Har. This is gong to be great! Where's your sense of adventure?"

"It decided it wasn't old enough to participate in one of your schemes. I don't
know what's worse; that my sense of adventure is smarter than I am or that I'm
actually doing this." Tom rolled his eyes at Harry's lack of enthusiasm, but
didn't comment. Instead, he turned the panel on.

"Oh, Chakotay, this is wonderful." The Captain was practically moaning in
delight. "What did you say it was called?" Tom's eyes grew wide.

"Sounds like I was right about them finally getting together." Harry turned a
definite shade of pink in embarrassment and looked slightly sick at the same
time. They could hear Chakotay's chuckle over the one-way comm. link.

"I'm glad you like it, Kathryn. It's called Tagliatelle. I had to use some
substitutes, but I think these Talaxian tomatoes improved the taste." Harry had
to laugh at Tom's sudden dumbfound expression and closed the comm. link.

"That'll teach you not to listen in on other people's conversations. Now come
on, you better hurry if you still want to make that dinner you promised
B'Elanna. Hey, you could make tagliatelle, it sounded delicious." He gave Tom a
pat on the back and dashed out the door before Tom regained the use of his voice
and managed to rope him into doing the cooking.

---
Captain's log, Stardate 53932.4.


It's been a week since we landed Voyager. Until yesterday almost everyone,
including me, was working on repairs, but we're quickly running out of spare
parts. I've sent out shuttles to search neighbouring planets for much needed
spare components and away teams under the supervision of Mr Neelix are on the
planet to look for edible plants, to restock our food supply. The only systems
operational are life support, short-range sensors, replicators and the comm.
system. The remaining Engineering crew is using replicated parts to continue
repairs, but most are just too complicated to replicate. Lieutenant Torres is
trying to build some of the more crucial and complex components from scrap and
has made some progress in getting weapons online. I'm looking through ships
systems for anything that could help us. Meanwhile, Tuvok is working very hard
with the security teams and is coming up with alternative defences, as we're
practically helpless down here. Work is slow going, but I'm sure we'll manage to
get this ship flying again. I've got a crew to get home.

End Log.

---
Captain's log, Stardate 53937.6.


We've now completely exhausted our spare parts, but did manage to get weapons
online; or phaser banks at least. None of the shuttles have found a civilization
or ship, let alone one advanced enough to obtain the spare parts we need. But
half of the shuttles aren't back yet, so maybe one of the other teams found
something useful. Neelix has been very successful in finding foodstuffs. He's
only explored the eastern valley, but that has enough edible plants to last us
for at least a few weeks. Lieutenant Torres has relinquished her effort to build
some of the parts we need in favour of searching for ores. Sensors have detected
a large quantity of dilithium a few miles north of here and she has taken a team
there today to see if it's possible to mine. We don't have any people to spare
so I've delayed exploring other parts of the planet until repairs have
progressed or until the food in the eastern valley starts to run low. Repairs
are going to take a long time, but we seem to at least have landed on a fertile
planet. I wonder why no one has settled here before. Reports from the shuttles
that have returned indicate the other three planets in this system also hold
useful resources, although none of those planets are M-class. Whatever happens,
we won't run out of resources soon.

End log.

---
Captain's log, Stardate 53940.7.


Almost all of the shuttles have returned by now, but two still have yet to come
back. None of the away teams state that they've found anything that could be of
use in repairing Voyager. Replicator use is now restricted to medicine and
engineering equipment or parts only, as we don't know how much longer we'll have
to rely on them. Repairs have almost ceased, as more people are needed to gather
supplies now that everyone eats in the mess hall or from what they cook
themselves. A few crewmen have volunteered to work in the mess hall, while
Neelix is still mostly out on the planet to coordinate the food extraction.
However, even the resulting higher quality of food hasn't been able to keep
moral up. A large portion of the crew has already given up hope of ever getting
off this planet and Lt. Tuvok has informed me some are even discussing what
living on a planet again will be like. And even those that still have confidence
in Voyager and me have taken to calling the planet Vora. Tom Paris came up with
that name and informed me it stands for 'Voyager's Repair Area'. But, no matter
how uplifting that name sounds, it still means a lot of the crew have already
given up.

End log.

---
Captain's log, Stardate 53942.3.


Commander Chakotay stormed into my Ready Room at the start of my shift today and
practically demanded I give up the search for spare parts and prepare to build a
home on this godforsaken planet. Apparently I'm 'not seeing reason' and am 'too
stubborn to see what's best for my crew and myself'. How dare he! So I kindly
informed him I'd already gotten stuck on a planet with him once and that was
more than enough. Not to mention that I've made a promise to this crew to get
them home and I'll keep to that, even if he thinks it isn't in their and my best
interest to do so. It seems he finally came to his senses though, and realized
we are still in a command structure and I'm the captain. When I told him I
wanted to send out the Delta Flyer to explore the sensor readings Seven has
discovered in the logs of one of the shuttles that returned yesterday and which
might indicate a vessel, he had the nerve to tell me he'd lead the mission even
though it was 'doomed to fail'. He left just a few minutes ago and took Harry
and crewman Nicoletti with him. He'd better have cooled down when he gets back,
because if he ever pulls a stunt like that again I'll throw him in the brig for
the rest of this journey, which will continue, despite believes to the contrary.

End log.

---
Captain's log, Stardate 53942.4.


I'll have to apologize to Chakotay once he gets back. He was just being the good
First Officer he's been for the past five – almost six – years. He may have
acted with slightly less restraint than my normally consummate officer, but the
weeks on this planet have done that to everyone. I myself behaved far from
admirable and allowed our little disagreement to turn into a full-blown fight. I
guess I saw his suggestion to stop the searches as a sign that he'd given up
too, just like so many of our crew. I saw it as a sign that he was loosing
confidence in me and didn't support me like he promised he would. I'll try to
make it up to him once he comes back. I just hope he finds something to get
Voyager running again.

End log.

---

"Bridge to Captain Janeway." Kathryn shot up in her bed and quickly tapped her
comm. badge lying on her bedside table.

"Janeway here."

"Captain, the Delta Flyer has just returned. The away team . . . um . . . isn't
in very good shape, ma'am." The hesitant Lieutenant in charge of Gamma Shift
said. Kathryn was instantly wide-awake as all kind of horrible scenarios flashed
through her mind. Her shock lasted no longer than a split second and wasn't even
noticeable to the young Lieutenant on the bridge.

"Beam all members of the away team directly to sickbay and inform the Doctor I'm
on my way. Janeway out." As soon as the comm. link had closed she hurried into
her uniform and walked out of her quarters. The way to sickbay seemed to last
forever, but she willed herself not to run and look as if everything was normal.
Even their journey home didn't seem as long as the few minutes it took to get to
sickbay.

Upon arriving she saw Sue Nicoletti sitting on a biobed and pressing a hand to
her head while laughing with the Delaney sisters. A biobed further an obviously
weak Harry was being fussed over by Seven, who seemed to alternate between
scolding him for getting injured and asking if anything hurt. Harry went through
all of it with a sheepish grin on his face, a possible result of both 'feeling
like mush' – as Tom would have said – or Seven's behaviour. As Janeway entered
he looked up and whispered a 'Good to see you again, Captain'. A quick smile was
all she could muster. Then her eyes landed on the biobed on the far side, where
a motionless Chakotay lay. Both Tom Paris and the Doctor were bent over his
still form. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw his handsome bronze face covered
in an ashen hue.

"How is he, Doctor?" The hologram gave her a quick glance before turning his
eyes to the tricorder in his hand.

"His injuries are quite serious. I've given him a sedative while Mr Paris and I
repair the wounded tissue. Don't worry; he'll be all right. If everything goes
well, he'll be ready to be released by tomorrow and be back on duty in a few
days." He turned around rather abruptly and continued treating the Commander.
Kathryn, still standing by the biobed, looked down at his large form and grasped
his hand. Her thumb caressed the back of his hand as she leaned down and
whispered to him.

"You better hurry up and get well, Chakotay, because I owe you an apology."
Realizing she was standing in the Doctor's way, she gave a last lopsided grin
before pulling up her command mask again. She released his hand and briskly
walked over to Nicoletti and Kim.

"What happened?"

"We were attacked, Captain." Came Harry's answer. "It turned out that planet
Seven thought she saw on sensors belongs to the same race that attacked us a few
days ago."

"Thank you, Ensign. Why don't you both take tomorrow off to recover and rest
up." She strolled out of sickbay before they could reply.

---

The planet seemed sinister as it lay before her, dipped in the black of night.
An almost full moon cast a pale light over the large hills at her feet and the
stars in the sky formed unfamiliar constellations. She still wasn't used to that
even though she'd spent practically her whole adult life in Starfleet,
constantly going to distant parts of the galaxy; not to mention the last six
years in the Delta Quadrant. The hills were barren, as only the valleys between
them held life.

Words and events tumbled through her mind, some about the planet, others
concerning Voyager's journey, but most visiting another planet in a different
quadrant, one that still was thousands of light years away. Over twenty-two
thousand to be precise. She sighed; they'd made it at least two third of the way
home, only to be stopped by an attack and a spatial rift. She'd probably never
see Earth again, none of them would.

She remembered her family – her parents, sister, relatives – and the old house
that held so many wonderful childhood memories. The wide fields, golden with
corn come harvest time and her thinking tree in the back of the yard. From those
years in Bloomington her thoughts drifted to the ones in Starfleet. How she'd
worked her way through the Academy and did all she could to make her father
proud, only to be helpless in the face of his death. Her change to command track
and all the guidance Admiral Paris had given her. How she'd worked her way
through the ranks to finally be given her first command – and to ultimately end
up stranded here.

All the while she stared at the moon, the only familiar sight in the alien world
she now faced.

Suddenly she straightened up and wiped away the lone tear on her cheek. Her eyes
made a slow sweep of the surrounding area as the red glow on the horizon
announced the coming dawn. Her mind returned to her ship and crew and her
expression became detached as she turned around. There lay Voyager, its hull
battered and systems failing, but with a lively crew. A crew that would now have
to build a new home, one on this planet: on Vora.

With a new goal planted firmly in her mind, Captain Kathryn Janeway stepped
towards the exit hatch to inform the crew that they'd be home soon. A home of
their own making.

---

Over two days later she stood in that same spot again, overlooking the high
hillsides and the dramatic dips of the valleys. Only this time it was broad
daylight, somewhere around seven o'clock in the morning, and Chakotay stood to
her side. The rest of the away team stood behind them and was scanning the
surroundings or climbing out of the access hatch to join them. When they were
all gathered around her, Kathryn told them they'd start at the eastern valley
and initiate their search for an appropriate site to build their new home from
there. They silently made their way to the valley.

Once there they began to scan again, taking more precise readings with the
tricorders they'd modified in the last few days to improve their scanning range.
It had taken a lot of work from B'Elanna and Harry, but the scans now extended
to the edge of the valley. Kathryn and Chakotay had just spotted a clearing at
the far edge of the valley and were moving that way to explore it more closely
when they heard a sound behind them and whirled around.

"Kathy! Welcome to the Karim system!" Kathryn groaned when she heard the
familiar voice and closed her eyes for a moment to gather her patience before
looking at Q, who had just appeared a few foot behind them.

"What do you want, Q?" She could feel the throbbing at her temple begin that
announced a coming headache.

"Why Kathy, I'm hurt!" Q said in his normal indignant voice. "I come to help you
and your pathetic crew and you greet me as if I'm some kind of pest." Kathryn
merely heaved a big sigh and Chakotay found it wiser to hear Q out before
informing him he wasn't a pest – a pest would have been much more welcome. "Oh
well, as you obviously don't want my help, I'll just go. I have better things to
do, you know. Maybe I'll strand Jean-Luc Picard on a planet with that gorgeous
doctor of his. What was her name? Beehive, Beebe, Beverly? I'm sure he'd
appreciate it, not to mention make more use of it than you two did. Humans. I
went through all that trouble with bugs, which are even more dull than you
bipeds if you can imagine, to give you some alone time with Chuckles here, far
from command protocol and all that you're always nagging to him about, and you
can't even muster up something as simple as a kiss!" He huffed in a rather
patronizing way, but Kathryn didn't really notice. She was momentarily
speechless and didn't snap out of it until Q raised his arm to snap his fingers.

"Wait. What did you mean about helping us?" She didn't even dare touch the
subject of her and Chakotay's time on New Earth. Q raised an eyebrow at her and
frowned at her in a demeaning manner, but didn't comment.

"Oh, just go to the top of that hill there and you'll see what I mean." He
pointed to the hill south of Voyager. "Bye, Kathy." With a snap of his fingers
he vanished again. Kathryn and Chakotay stood staring at each other for a few
minutes, absolutely stunned, before Chakotay spoke for the first time since Q
had appeared.

"Well, that was. . . interesting. But we'd better head back to the rendezvous
point." Janeway nodded mutely and they walked back in silence.

---

They quickly rounded up the rest of the away team and went on their way back to
Voyager. There, they checked in to see how everything was going before walking
through the valley south of Voyager and to the hill Q had pointed out. Even
though they travelled as fast as possible, it was almost sundown when they
reached the summit. Kathryn was the first to arrive at the top and immediately
stopped. Chakotay, who was immediately behind her, bumped against his frozen
Captain – and halted too. They overlooked the next valley in shock and
amazement. The rest of the team slowly arrived and gathered around them, also
stunned into silence by the scene that greeted them. There, illuminated by the
red glow from the setting sun, was a large but seemingly uninhabited city, with
a large sign in front of it. The sign read Vora. . .

---
A Journey Begins
---

The whole team looked on in amazement as the last rays of sunlight vanished
behind the bumpy horizon. Kathryn's eyes were glued to the sign, her mind racing
to comprehend its meaning. Was it a vision, a dream, the last remnants of a race
long dead? But then what did the sign mean? Was it just a strange coincidence,
which had prompted her crew to use the same name the sign held? She doubted even
Tuvok, the ever-precise Vulcan, would estimate that chance as anything other
than zero.

The sun by now had truly set, taking with it the last source of light, so
Kathryn could no longer distinguish the letters that puzzled her so. She tore
her eyes away from the dark silhouette that was the only visible remainder of
the sign and turned back to her crewmen. Her eyes moved across the group, seeing
her own questions reflected in each of their eyes. Her gaze lingered longest on
Chakotay, questioning, imploring and understanding flashing between the two of
them until she voiced the question that was on all of their minds.

"What the hell is going on here?"

"Isn't it obvious, Kathy?" Q, appearing for the second time that day, asked in a
voice that clearly indicated it should be. "I built you a city!" Another round
of silence followed his proudly spoken words.

"You what!" Kathryn finally exclaimed after a few moments of staring dumbfound
at the omnipotent alien.

"Well, you were planning to built a city too, weren't you? I just helped things
along a bit." He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture while rolling his eyes
and continued in his same arrogant tone of voice. "Not that you measly humans
could have ever made such a beautiful city, of course, but it's the thought that
counts. So, Kathy, what do you think?" But Kathryn merely gaped at him, too
shocked to speak. Q looked at her with an expectant look that was almost sweet,
obviously waiting for her rebuttal. When after a few minutes she still hadn't
said anything, he huffed in his usual indignant manner, any trace of the earlier
charm gone. "Oh well, it's no fun when you're not even throwing some insult at
me." He was about to leave with a flourish when he suddenly seemed to remember
something. "Oh I almost forgot! Since I technically can't interfere in your
lives – the Continuum, you see – I can't allow you to use this city's technology
to repair Voyager and resume your journey home. Therefore, we've come to an
agreement; you, my dear Kathy, won't be able to leave the planet. After all,
this crew won't leave their beloved Captain behind again, would they?" He
quickly snapped his fingers, vanishing before anyone could stop him.

As if by silent agreement, everyone but Kathryn and Chakotay followed his
example, returning to Voyager in order to give their commanding officers some
privacy. Even after they'd left though, it took a long time before either of
them spoke. Kathryn was still staring at the city, even though nothing more
could now be seen than a vague outline. Chakotay, who knew she was deep in
thought, patiently waited for her to speak. When it didn't seem she was going to
anytime soon, he decided to break the silence himself.

"What do you think; should we call the planet Vora or use its official name
Karim III and name the city Vora, as Q obviously had in mind?" He purposely said
it in a light voice, hoping to shake Kathryn out of her musings. Her answer,
however, acted like a bucket of ice water, making him feel as if he'd been
frozen to the ground.

"It's only fitting to name the city Vora, after all, it'll be used to repair
Voyager. That is, if there's anything left of it once B'Elanna's through with
it."

"You don't seriously think we'll leave you behind, do you?" The slight edge of
his voice showed he was afraid he already knew the answer.

"Of course you will! It's the only available option. Just promise me you'll get
that crew home, Chakotay."

"No!" He, by now, was as close to shouting as he ever got. "I won't let you
sacrifice yourself, Kathryn!"

"I'm not sacrificing myself; I'm saving my crew!" Kathryn yelled back at him.

"Maybe they don't want to be saved; at least not like this. Do you really think
they'd abandon you here, Kathryn, alone?"

"Why not, they've done it before!"

"They came back for us on New Earth!"

"Because they had the antidote, a solution. There is no way out this time,
Chakotay, no loophole! And I can't let them throw away what may be our only
chance of getting home because of me!"

"And what about you? Don't you deserve to get home too?"

"I can't go home! Didn't you hear Q; I can't leave this planet!"

"Then we'll stay with you." Chakotay now sounded resolved rather than angry.

"You were saying that I deserve to get home, well what about you? Or Harry? Or
Tom, or Tal Celes? Shouldn't they get home too? And what about Naomi; doesn't
she deserve to see her father? I can't go home, but you can. All you have to do
is leave me here." They stared at each other, reading the determination in the
other's eyes. Each was now fighting for what they loved the most: their crew –
and each other. Hope, desperation, courage and guilt all showed in the slight
sheen of Kathryn's eyes, while fear, worry and love swam in his dark pools.
After an eternity that lasted just a few moments, Chakotay whispered two last
words, "I can't", before he turned around and walked back to Voyager alone,
leaving Kathryn to stare after him until he was swallowed by the darkness,
before finally letting loose the tears she'd been fighting.

---

It wasn't until almost an hour later that Kathryn finally re-boarded Voyager.
The corridors she passed were abandoned and she realized how late it was. Slowly
and in silence, she made her way through the empty hallways back to her
quarters. Her mind was already on the coming goodbyes. So absorbed in her
thoughts she was that the sound of her beeping combadge nearly made her jump.

"Torres to Janeway." While silently berating herself for her jitteriness,
Janeway halted just short of a turbolift and hit her badge.

"Janeway here. What is it, Lieutenant?"

"We're having some problems down in the mess hall," B'Elanna's strangely nervous
voice said, "could you come and lent us a hand?"

"Sure, I'll be right there. Janeway out."

---

With a brisk pace, the Captain strode into the mess hall – and froze when she
saw how crowded it was. On queue, the crowd parted for her, forming a path to
the centre of the room where Chakotay was standing, together with the rest of
the senior staff.

"What is the meaning of this?" Though her voice sounded threatening, her eyes
shifted from side to side like a cornered animal.

"Chakotay told the crew what you were planning as soon as he got back. We're
here to tell we don't want that." Tom sounded uncharacteristically serious and
devoid of his usual jokes.

"We won't leave this planet without you." B'Elanna continued in a soft tone.

"If you can't go, we don't go." Harry finished steadfastly. Kathryn looked
around at the faces of her crew, each of them determined, her expression still
resembling that of a cornered animal. The crew remained quiet, practically
holding their breath. Suddenly she turned around and left, leaving behind an
anxious crew.

---

"Where's the Captain?" Harry asked B'Elanna, practically bursting into the room
that now posed as Engineering at the same time. She turned to him with a frown
on her face, but, with her precious engines just about squashed and the rest of
Voyager in shambles, that didn't necessarily have anything to do with his
question. Now though, her scowl deepened and Harry knew it wasn't good.

"She went to Vora, the city." Harry felt the knot in his stomach begin to
tighten. He knew he didn't really want to know more, but his mouth didn't seem
to grasp that concept.

"Why?"

"She didn't say and I didn't ask. But she had the same look on her face as she
had in the Void, just before ordering us to go to the wormhole and leave her
behind to deal with the Malon." Harry heard that underneath her frown, B'Elanna
sounded very worried. "It was about an hour ago; Chakotay went after her." Harry
nodded hopefully.

"If anyone can talk her out of staying behind, it's the Commander." They smiled
at each other, though neither smile seemed convincing; they both remembered
their Captain's guilt during their time in the void and how bent she had been on
sacrificing herself for her crew. Only a miracle could save them now.

---

"Status!" The worry shone out of his obsidian eyes when Chakotay entered the
Bridge fifteen minutes late for his shift. Luckily for the bridge crew, they had
time to wipe any smile of their face and quickly return to their work while
Tuvok stoically reported Voyager's status. One look at the Commander's worried
face was enough for Harry to know that he hadn't gotten anywhere with the
Captain. With a disappointed sigh and careful to avoid drawing Chakotay's
attention, he went back to work.

When his shift was over, Harry hurried into the turbo lift and ordered it to
deck eight, where the exits to the planet were. Within a few minutes, he was on
Karim III and headed for Vora with a determined step, hoping to find his Captain
in the soon-to-be darkened city. After a lot of searching, he found her sitting
in one of the smallest houses; all lights were turned off while she stared
through a window. The resemblance between this scene and the one he had seen a
few times when he caught the Captain looking out her view ports when he came to
deliver a report struck him immediately and he had to swallow hard before he was
able to draw her attention.

"Captain?" The short silence made his heart rush in fear.

"What is it, Harry?" She didn't turn around, merely stood there staring off into
the dark night sky.

"Can I have a word with you?"

"Sure Harry, what is it?" She finally turned to face him and Harry could barely
contain a startle. Her eyes, strangely big in her pale face, looked dead; they
showed no sign of the strong woman he had come to respect and love like a mother
in the past years. The moonlight made her face look stark and white, resembling
a skeleton. He was almost afraid he was too late, that there was no one left
behind those staring eyes for him to save. But then, a small flicker of life
appeared in her eyes, so fast it was gone before he could truly believe it was
there. That split second of life though, gave him the courage to continue.

"Please don't make me leave."

---

Morning found Janeway at the top of the hills overlooking Vora. Her eyes held
life again, even though the bags underneath them told of little sleep. She had
spent the previous night talking to Harry, hearing his ideas, his unwillingness
to leave her behind, even if that meant never seeing Earth again. Listening to
the young Ensign had made Kathryn realize what a fine crew she had and, perhaps
even more important, that they wouldn't abandon their Captain and would even
disobey her orders if necessary. Now she was waiting for Chakotay, who Harry had
gone to get. In her head, she was already going over the different crewmembers
and things they would need, trying to plan as much as possible for their
impending move to the city.

The sound of footsteps and a slight crack behind her made her turn around to see
her First Officer a few feet away. He was looking apprehensive, unsure why she
had asked him to come here. She realized the breaking twig she had heard had
been intentional on his part, because he had wanted to give her some warning he
was coming. She gave him a crooked smile and saw him relaxing. With a pat on the
ground, she told him to sit down and he settled himself comfortably next to her.
They both stared at the city beneath them for a few moments, comfortable silence
surrounding them, before Kathryn turned back to him and again smiled a crooked
grin.

"I'm sorry, Chakotay."

His eyes remained attached to Vora just a moment longer, but then he too turned
to face her. "What for?"

"I made your job even more difficult. I ignored your advice and shut you out
because you were looking out for me. Again. Can you forgive your old captain for
her foolishness?" Chakotay was no match for her pleading eyes.

"You're hardly old, Kathryn." His dimpled smile told her all she needed to know.
Janeway grinned relieved and patted his thigh.

"Luckily I've got my best friend to remind me of that."

"Oh, it's strictly self-preservation: I'm only a few years younger than you are,
so if you're old, I can't be young either." Her merry laugh lifted his heart and
he was happy to see her cheerful again.

"Now I remember why I keep you around."

Chakotay pretended to be insulted. "And here I thought it was because of my
great tactical skills and for being such a fine First Officer."

"Well, not to say I don't appreciate those attributes, but really, next to your
dimples, your talent to keep your Captain amused is your greatest asset."

The lively sparkle in her eyes made him bold and invited a wicked grin of his
own, which brought out said dimples. "How exactly are these dimples my greatest
assets?"

Kathryn blushed slightly, hesitating for just a moment. "They make you look
younger." She replied with a small wink. They simply looked at each other for a
moment before they both burst into laughter. When after a few minutes their
laughter faded, they sat in comfortable silence, enjoying the silent moments
just spent being together.

"So, I'm guessing you didn't ask me here just to apologize. What was it you
wanted to talk about, Kathryn?" Janeway remained silent and for a moment
Chakotay thought she hadn't heard him, but then her eyes moved away from the
spot of grass they had been studying and she gave him a smile.

"You know me too well." She seemed quite content with that fact. "Yesterday,
when I went to Vora to think." Chakotay remained silent, but did raise an
eyebrow in a Vulcan-like gesture. "Alright, to feel sorry for myself. Anyway,
while I didn't exactly pay attention, I did notice that it seemed somewhat
familiar. So, this morning while Harry was getting you, I took another walk
through Vora and discovered that the buildings are placed in the same pattern as
they are on Voyager. For example: the streets are numbered as decks 1 through 15
and on 'deck 1' is a large town hall, which I think signifies the bridge, with a
few smaller rooms for meetings, like conference rooms. On 'deck 11' is a large
power station, there's a hospital on 'deck 5' and a few buildings that are
supposedly meant for restaurants or cafι's are located on 'deck 2'. There are
also a lot of open areas complete with control panels surrounding the 'Voyager'
part of Vora. I'm not sure what those are, but I think Q has kept in mind
additions to the city."

Chakotay raised his eyebrows in a barely noticeable expression of surprise. "Q
has certainly given this a lot of thought." He commented. "What about housing,
schools and food production?"

"As far as I could see there are a lot of buildings meant as housing, the same
as or more than the quarters we have on Voyager, even if you don't count those
open spaces around Vora. I haven't really paid attention to schools or farms."
Kathryn quickly searched her memory. "No, I really wouldn't know. We'll have to
make a few maps of Vora; that would make this a lot easier. We can't really
assign housing until we know exactly what we have." Chakotay nodded in
agreement.

"I'll send some people from Stellar Cartography to do that; it should fall right
into their area of expertise." Kathryn concurred and motioned for him to
continue. He hesitated for a second before breaching the next subject. "I also
think we should hold a memorial of some kind for the crewmembers who didn't
survive the crash. Or maybe for all those who died in the Delta Quadrant."

Kathryn nodded grimly. "I should have thought of that myself. Good, shall we
hold that the day after tomorrow?" She didn't look at him to see what he
thought, but cast her eyes over the valley while outlining the rest of her
plans. "That should give Neelix enough time to plan it and for B'Elanna to see
what we'll be able to use of Voyager once we're leaving on the planet. And then
the day after the memorial we'll start planning our move to Vora. What do you
think?"

Chakotay smiled. "Sounds like a plan to me."

Kathryn returned the smile and inclined her head slightly. "Alright, let's go
and put this plan into action then, shall we?" Full of new determination, they
got up and calmly walked back to Voyager.

---

The next few days were busy ones for everyone as they helped Neelix with his
preparations for the memorial, mapped Vora or worked on B'Elanna's ship wide
inventory. But even with those busy schedules, a lot of the crew found the time
to assure Janeway that they didn't mind this situation in the least; they were
all willing to stay on Karim III, even if that meant never reaching the Alpha
Quadrant. In the immortal words of Tom Paris: 'It's a small price to pay for
staying with such a wonderful – and lovely – Captain.' (a statement which had
caused a lot of applause and cheering and had even brought a smile to Kathryn's
face).

The day after the memorial, the command team, as planned, started preparing the
move of Voyager's crew to Vora. With the recently finished maps from Stellar
Cartography at ready, they took another walk through Vora, discussing their
different options.

"I don't know, Chakotay. I just don't think it's fair to assign these houses
like we did crew quarters. What right do we have to let someone live in one of
the smaller houses just because they were an ensign on Voyager. Those ranks will
probably lose their meaning once we're living in a city, or at the least become
less important. How can I rightfully live in that castle Q made as the Captain's
Quarters when it could easily fit a few families! I can't do that, Chakotay, not
when it's my fault we're stranded here in the first place." Chakotay had
listened quietly while she talked and had even nodded in agreement a few times,
but at hearing that last sentence suddenly lost his temper. "How many times do
we have to tell you?" He asked, half angry and half desperate. "It's not your
fault we're here! You did what you had to do." Kathryn was visibly startled by
his harsh tone and Chakotay quickly lowered his voice. "Why can't you believe
that?" The anguish in his face showed Kathryn clearly how much this affected
him.

"I'm sorry, Chakotay, I never realized how much this bothered you." She
apologized.

He smiled to show her it was okay. "I just hate to see you that sad." His voice
had returned to its normal soft tone. "But we were discussing how to divide
housing. I think the best way to do that is to just let everybody keep his or
her own quarters, at least for now. We can always switch them later."

"What about roommates?" Kathryn inquired. "A lot of the ensigns now share a
room. I know we agreed to that so there'd be a few extra rooms in case we ever
needed it and for power preservation, but those reasons don't seem so relevant
here. Should we split them? If we do, the original system wouldn't work
anymore." She had a contemplative wrinkle on her brow, one that was matched by
the one on Chakotay's face.

"Well, some of them might not even want to split. The Delaney sisters for
instance; they don't seem to mind sharing a room. Neither do a few of the
others. And some crewmembers would even like to share a house here. I don't know
about Tom, but I think B'Elanna is feeling quite serious about their
relationship."

"Living on a planet will certainly encourage the crew to start relationships."
Kathryn intoned.

"They'll start to pair off eventually, you mean?" Chakotay asked with a smile.

"Something like that." Kathryn's famous crooked grin had appeared. "And there
are probably also people who would want to move, get different neighbours."

"That's possible." Chakotay nodded thoughtfully. "They have forged a lot of
friendships over the years and I think a few would like to live closer together.
The only problem is how we are going to organize all this?"

Kathryn shrugged. "Why don't we just let them figure that out for themselves? We
let everyone write down their preferences: close to whom, alone or with someone
else – those off course will have to be given by both parties involved – and
perhaps also who they wouldn't want to live next to. We'll go over those
together once we have them all and see how usable it is."

Chakotay smiled. "I think that's a good idea – on one condition."

His smile was infectious and soon Kathryn was grinning too. "And what would that
be?"

"That I get to live close to the Captain; I really like her and I've gotten used
to living next door to her over the past few years." Though his tone was light,
his eyes conveyed a certain seriousness.

Kathryn smiled back tenderly and patted his arm. "Oh, I don't think she'd mind.
In fact, I think she'd be very glad to know all those difficult traits of hers
haven't caused you to tire of her company." Her voice almost cracked at the end,
having trouble bypassing the lump in her throat.

"I don't think that could ever happen; she's much too precious to me." Their
eyes locked and they both smiled.

"I'm glad." Her hand slid off his arm as he moved to place a hand on the small
of her back. After a few minutes of strolling silently down 'deck 3' like that,
Kathryn returned to their original topic, thought their closeness didn't change.
"Well, now that that's settled, our only problem is the different size houses."

But as it turned out, that was one puzzle that solved itself just a few days
later.

---

"Torres to Janeway." Kathryn, secretly glad for the interruption, put down the
report on the different type of buildings she had been ploughing through and
answered her comm.

"Janeway here. What is it, B'Elanna?"

"Have you read Seven's report on the structures in Vora?" B'Elanna sounded
strangely breathless.

"I'm reading it now. Why?"

"Good. Go to the chapter 'buildings constructed for the purpose of habitation'."
B'Elanna continued, completely ignoring Kathryn's question. Janeway quickly
skipped to the right part in Seven's rather detailed report.

"Yes?"

"How many different buildings are there?"

"Five." Kathryn was starting to become impatient.

"Just as I thought." Having received the answer to her query, the Chief Engineer
seemed to have completely forgotten about her Captain, who was on the verge of
demanding an explanation. Luckily for B'Elanna, she became aware of her
superior's impatience when said Captain cleared her throat and she hastened to
tell what she'd found. "Captain, I think we've just found a way to change the
size of a house."

A pause. "What? Are you sure, B'Elanna?" Kathryn could hardly believe her ears.
Then she remembered Q was responsible for the creation of the city and knew
anything was possible.

"No, I'll have to test it to be sure, but I thought you might want to be here
for that." Anything else B'Elanna had wanted to say was cut off as Kathryn
jumped out of her chair and practically sprinted out the Ready Room door,
remembering that it opened on the Bridge just in time to slow down before the
doors opened.

"Where are you now?" Kathryn was now halfway across the Bridge and decided to
bring along Chakotay, who miraculously managed to hand over the Bridge to the
Lieutenant at Ops and step in before the lift doors closed.

"At the power station on 'deck 11'."

"We'll be right there." The link was terminated before B'Elanna could ask who
'we' were. With a shrug, she returned her attention to the fascinating
collection of buttons and controls in front of her.

---

An hour passed before the Captain and Commander returned to the Bridge and went
straight to the Ready Room. B'Elanna's discovery had been even more wondrous
than they'd expected; not only was the size of the buildings adjustable, ranging
from reasonably big for one person to big enough for a large family and a wide
selection of pets and other animals and still have room to spare – the type
Kathryn had referred to as a 'castle' – but the style was also custom
designable. In addition to the controls in the power plant which regulated the
size, each house also had its own control panel that allowed the owner to change
its whole appearance at will. Roof, number of floors, staircases, kitchen,
bathroom, living room, porch, doors – everything was modifiable. As Chakotay had
joked, the only thing missing was a roll-out garden. This new discovery had
immediately solved their earlier problems with the assignment of housing. All
that was left to decide now was whether everyone got to choose the size of their
own house or if that would depend on the number of people living in it. With
renewed energy, they went on with the planning.

---

It took another few days, but finally, more than two weeks after Q had first
shown them Vora and nearly a month and a half since their crash on the planet,
Voyager's crew was finally ready to move into their new homes. Spirits were high
the day of the move; most saw this as a new adventure, or just the continuation
of the old one. It also helped that everyone had just about gotten the
neighbours he or she wanted and moved into a house that was not only a lot
bigger than their quarters, had every piece of equipment in it they could want –
and some that had taken B'Elanna's team quite a few days to figure out what they
were supposed to do – and to top it off could be altered and changed to become
exactly what they wanted. Everyone got a few days to move to Vora, get used to
their new surroundings and change their house to fit their preferences, before
they had to get back to work, be it different from what they usually did.
Kathryn, having grown up around the farming lands of Indiana, hadn't needed
anyone to tell her that the planet's fall was almost halfway past and that, if
they wanted fresh foods next spring, they would have to plant the seeds for
crops now. Because they had to act fast, everyone was called on to help; people
to take care of the growing food supply would be appointed later. For now, their
main priority was making sure they'd have a good harvest next year.

---

The next few weeks passed swiftly and before they knew it all the seeds were
sown, everyone had settled into their new life and found something to do and the
winter had made its appearance. The days were growing shorter and the cold drove
most people inside. Tom rode around in his newly constructed vehicles, drove
them to their limits, found another flaw – however minor – in the design and
called on Harry to help him fix it until, after a few days, they build a new
prototype or modified the old one and started the cycle all over. Harry had also
contrived to start up a band again and he and the 'Kimtones' were planning a
concert soon. The Doctor was happily testing the new gadgets and medical
equipment he'd found in the city's hospital to their limits, Neelix was opening
a restaurant, as was Chell, using vegetables from the hydroponics bays, and
Seven was further exploring her humanity. If she wasn't playing on her piano
(which had mysteriously appeared in her house the day after she'd expressed her
wish to learn more about music) she was learning about it – or other aspects of
her humanity – from Harry. Chakotay had taken up woodcarving again and was
building everything from furniture, which was in high demand from the other
Voyagers or Voragers, to toys for Naomi. Kathryn had regained her scientific
life and B'Elanna'd immediately picked up her old job as Chief Engineer and
claimed the power plant as her domain. After a few weeks of taking apart
everything she could find and flicking every switch on the planet – not always
with the best results as everyone agreed after the great power shutdown of the
first day – she knew the city better than even Q, though she was smart enough
not to say that too loudly as the omnipotent pest had the habit of showing up
whenever his name was mentioned – not unlike the devil, as one Earthborn Ensign
claimed, though she couldn't remember exactly what that old proverb had been.

All in all, things were going peacefully and Chakotay was humming softly to
himself as he walked the few meters from his house to Kathryn's for dinner, like
they did almost every night nowadays. On Voyager, those dinners had been to
discuss business or to relax after a long day of reports, but here they'd simply
been a way for them to spend some time together – and for Chakotay to teach her
how to cook.

Some days, a few of the former senior staff joined them, but mostly it was just
the two of them, swapping news, remembering other times or simply enjoying each
others company. Today though, they had guests; guests with a very important
announcement and some equally important questions.

Chakotay rang the doorbell, knowing his normal knock would probably not be
enough to get Kathryn's attention as he was a bit earlier than usual and she was
likely still busy with her research. And indeed, it took a while before she
opened the door. He was just about to ring a second time when the door opened,
revealing a towel-clad Kathryn with a sheepish expression on her make-up-free
face.

"You're early! I didn't expect you for another hour." She absentmindedly brushed
a lock of hair behind her ear.

"I thought we might make one of my mother's recipes tonight, but that takes a
while to prepare." He nodded slightly towards her momentary robe. "I'm sorry if
I came at a bad time."

Kathryn blushed slightly but made no effort to pull the towel around her tighter
like she'd done on New Earth." That's all right. I was done a bit early today
and thought a bath would be nice before our dinner with Tom and B'Elanna." The
stubborn lock had fallen down her face again and she impatiently brushed it
away. "Why don't you start and I'll be right down." She let him in before
disappearing upstairs.

True to her word, she joined him in the kitchen no more than fifteen minutes
later. Chakotay was just searching through the drawers for a certain knife when
she stepped in wearing a long dark blue dress.

"I didn't know we were going formal today." Chakotay joked, noticing her dress
and the matching necklace and earrings. "I'd better go back home and change." He
was wearing a comfortable tan shirt and jeans.

"B'Elanna contacted me earlier; she thought it might be nice to make the night a
bit special. I figured she'd contacted you too. Don't worry, you can replicate
something and change here, it doesn't really matter."

Chakotay smiled. "Are you sure your replicator rations can take that? I wouldn't
want to rob you of your precious coffee. I know how important it is to you."
Kathryn pretended to slap him, but he quickly ducked away.

"Oh, you're worth it. Even though this looks pretty good on you," she teasingly
fingered his apron; "you look even better in a nice suit." She grinned at him,
only half joking. After a few seconds, her grin turned into a smirk as she
continued teasing. "Besides, that'll give me an excuse to steal your rations
when I'm out." He burst into chuckles at her mock serious face, quickly joined
by her throaty laughter.

"So what're we making?" She finally asked, directing the conversation back to
dinner. With a startled exclamation, Chakotay made a strange dash towards one of
the forgotten pots.

---

The bell rang. "Stop tugging on your shirt!" B'Elanna hissed to her
uncomfortable companion.

"I feel like I'm a teenager again and I'm meeting my girlfriend's parents for
the first time. Why couldn't I just wear that 'Formula I' shirt?" Tom wined.

"Because," B'Elanna replied, her tone suggesting she'd answered that question at
least ten times before, "Kathryn and I thought it would be fun to make it a bit
more formal. Besides, it isn't every day you tell your friends." She put extra
emphasis on the word, "that you're planning on getting married." She slapped at
his hand as he was about to tug on the collar of his shirt again. Wiping a spot
of imaginary lint off his suit, she turned around just as Kathryn, looking
stunning in a long evening gown and jewelry, opened the front door.

"Ah, there you are. Come on in, dinner's just ready." She stepped aside to let
the younger couple pass.

"You didn't cook, did you?" Tom joked, quickly dropping the hand that was once
again moving to his shirt as he saw B'Elanna's glare.

Kathryn chuckled. "Don't worry, Tom, Chakotay supervised." At that moment, the
person in question called from upstairs.

"Kathryn?" He sounded slightly uneasy.

"Yes?"

"Could you come up for a moment, please?" Kathryn dramatically rolled her eyes
and looked at B'Elanna conspiringly.

"Men; can't even dress on their own. Make yourselves comfortable and we'll be
there in a moment." She led them to the dining room before going to see what
Chakotay wanted. When she'd gone, Tom raised a speculative eyebrow, his
uncomfortable shirt momentarily forgotten.

"Well, maybe we should start up those old betting pools again; it seems they're
finally getting together this time."

"Oh shut up, Flyboy." B'Elanna said, pushing him in a chair, though her voice
was light. "Remember all the other times you said that?" "Yeah," Tom replied,
not deterred in the least if his twinkling eyes were any indication. "But I'm
right this time; I'm sure of it." B'Elanna just shook her head, not even
bothering to counter his words. Only time would tell.

---

"Dinner was great." B'Elanna complimented as they moved to the couch for some
after-dinner coffee.

"Thank you," Kathryn replied, "the recipe belonged to Chakotay's mother. I'm
just glad it's not as difficult as it looked." For some reason, that answer made
B'Elanna's eyes nearly fall out of their sockets and cast a quick look at
Chakotay, but he didn't notice as he was busy getting coffee and herbal tea from
the replicator. Kathryn didn't seem to have seen it either for she just
continued. "You sounded like you wanted to tell us something earlier, what is
it?"

"Well," B'Elanna said, hesitating slightly and exchanging a look with Tom. When
everybody had sat down with a cup of tea or coffee in front of them, she
continued. "Tom and I are getting married." It came out a bit hurried and
Kathryn noticed how B'Elanna gripped Tom's hand. She shared a glance with
Chakotay; they'd discussed this while preparing dinner and had expected
something of this nature. Simultaneously, they broke into a wide smile.

"That's wonderful news!" Kathryn gushed.

"When's the big day?" Chakotay followed with a brotherly smile. Tom and B'Elanna
looked relieved.

"We haven't exactly picked a date yet." Tom answered, glowing like it was his
wedding day already.

"But we want it sometime in the coming month." B'Elanna quickly added, no less
excited.

"Well, congratulations!"

"Thanks. But that's not all." B'Elanna glanced at Tom again. "We'd like you to
lead the ceremony, Kathryn, you know, as former Captain. And Chakotay, I'd like
you to give me away. You're kind of a brother to me and, well, I'd really like
it if you would. . ." B'Elanna was by now nearly stuttering.

"I'd be honoured to." Chakotay said, saving her further uncomfortable moments.

"As would I, B'Elanna."

B'Elanna smiled delighted. "Great. We've asked Harry to be best man and Seven's
gonna be Maid of Honour."

"Seven?" Kathryn was surprised that, after all the hostilities between the two
women, Seven would act as B'Elanna's Maid of Honour.

B'Elanna blushed slightly and shrugged. "She's mellowed since she got together
with Harry and she's been a great help in the power plant." Chakotay and Kathryn
shared an amused smile; none of them had forgotten how much B'Elanna had valued
Seven's help in Engineering. Then, Chakotay lifted his cup for a toast.

"To your wedding and marriage; may you live long, happy, and learn not to kill
each other in the process!"

Tom chuckled. "I'll drink to that!" Everyone laughed at B'Elanna's indignant
glare and raised their glass.

"To B'Elanna and Tom!"

---

"Well, that was nice." Tom commented as he and B'Elanna walked home after their
dinner with the former Command Duo.

"Yes, it certainly was." B'Elanna agreed. "Hey Tom?"

"Yes, B'Elanna?"

"I think you're right." She shifted under his arm so she could look him in the
eye. "You remember Kathryn told us they'd made dinner together and that they'd
used one of his mother's recipes?"

"Yes." Tom replied, screwing up his face in an attempt to figure out where
B'Elanna was going with this.

"Those recipes are secret and can only be passed on to someone in the family."
B'Elanna explained. "I remember how Seska used to beg him for some of those
recipes, I don't know why, maybe she thought that would prove how much he
trusted her. Anyway, he never gave her even a scrap of them. Yet here he is,
using them with the Captain."

"So. . ." Tom said, recognition dawning in his eyes. "Either they're very
seriously involved. . ."

"Or he's pretty sure they will be. Either way, a relationship between those two
is very probable."

"Of course," Tom continued, his smile fading a bit. "it can also mean he's given
up and doesn't want those recipes to go to waste, so he's teaching them to the
only person he could ever see as his wife." He exchanged a look with his
fiancιe, both their good moods taking a slight downward plunge. That theory was
perhaps the most probable and, sadly enough, the least desirable.

---

Chakotay stopped. There, just a few meters away from him and exactly where he'd
expected her to be, was Kathryn. He'd noticed that she'd been avoiding him for
the past couple of weeks, ever since B'Elanna and Tom had announced their coming
marriage, finding excuses for their usual joint dinners or else acting distant,
though she tried hard to disguise it. And today she'd snuck out just after the
two newly-weds. Finally feeling fed up with her strange silence and wanting to
end her self-imposed isolation, he'd went after her. The first place he'd
thought to look was the park that she'd gotten into the habit of visiting every
day. Despite the cold, it was filled with flowers and plants of all colours,
shapes and sizes, the doing of Q no doubt. But now, with nothing but the rays
from the pale slice of moon to illuminate it, the cacophony of colour was for
once dimmed and left behind little more than a grim place with shadows for
company and the sounds of night creatures and rustling leaves for music, an
eerie orchestra from the planet itself. Chakotay stood there for a short
eternity, drawn by the vision of unearthly quality, which was beautiful in his
eyes because of one unmoving segment, sitting on a small stone bench and looking
for all the world like she belonged within the ghostly scene. Finally able to
break the strange spell that had seemingly held him in its grasp, he took a step
closer and accidentally stepped on an unnoticed twig, causing her to look up
startled at the resulting crack, which sounded loudly in the silence.

"What are you doing here, Chakotay?" Her eyes were hidden from his sight by the
darkness, but her voice sounded tired.

"I could ask the same of you, Kathryn. I noticed you were gone and decided to go
find you and ask why you've been avoiding me lately." She turned her head away,
back in the direction she'd been staring at before she'd heard him approach. To
his surprise, she didn't deny having been avoiding him, but instead asked one of
the questions he'd least expected her to ask.

"How do you feel about me, Chakotay?" He was momentarily dumbfounded, but then
realised the answer she most likely wanted.

"You're my best friend." However she saw right through his words.

"That didn't answer my question. How do you feel about me?" He didn't know what
to say and searched for words. She interpreted his silence as unwillingness to
answer and continued herself. "I'm sorry, you shouldn't have to say the words
first, not after last time." She moved again, looking his straight in the eye,
her voice changing to a softer tone than before. "The truth is; I love you,
Chakotay. I have for years. But I hid it too damn well, even from myself. I
didn't even realize until New Earth, after your beautiful ancient legend. When
Voyager came back that time, I had to bury those feelings again, afraid of
loosing myself and the ability to guide our crew home if I didn't. Now, here,
with no ship to captain and no crew to lead, I am finally able to act on those
feelings."

Chakotay had finally regained the use of his voice, his heart beating loudly.
"Then why didn't you?" She stared at him a few long moments and he noticed a
sheen in her eyes, though he couldn't say for certain if it was from the moon or
tears.

"Because I didn't think you still felt that way about me." He took a few steps
closer, spanning the remaining space between them and sat down next to her on
the small bench. He waited for her eyes to find his before speaking.

"I fell in love with you the day I met you; that moment on the Bridge when I
wanted to attack Tom and you stepped between us. You were so close that I could
have easily taken you hostage before anyone knew what was happening; yet you
just stood there, not moving a muscle and simply staring at me with those
piercing blue eyes of yours. Instead of becoming my prisoner, you captured me
that day." His voice was just as calm and intense as it had been while he'd told
her his angry warrior legend more than four years ago. When he paused, Kathryn
kept staring at him, searching his eyes for what he was about to say. After a
beat, he continued. "I never stopped."

It was silent for a moment and neither moved as their eyes remained linked,
sharing a special bond. Then, Kathryn's face broke into a beaming smile, her
eyes turning moist. Slowly, she lifted her hand to Chakotay's face, tenderly
tracing the lines of his tattoo. In a few seconds, they'd somehow moved, holding
each other in a tight embrace. And just as Kathryn had feared, now that she'd
given in to her feelings, everything but the tall and gentle man holding her
fled her mind, caught as she was in the sweet embrace of their changing
relationship...

---
Epilogue
---

Kathryn Janeway, former Captain of the Federation Starship Voyager and now
resident of Vora, Karim III, smiled to herself as her gaze travelled the length
of the large and beautiful hall. Her eyes took in all the special details: the
lovely decorations, a lot of which had been made by little Naomi Wildman; the
food and drinks, a joint effort from both local restaurants; the couples who
were dancing in the left corner, their attention solely on their partners as
they moved slowly to the gentle tones of the piano. Surrounded by all these
familiar faces, she turned pensive and her mind travelled to a year back when
they'd practically crash-landed on this now dearly loved planet, though she'd
cursed it many times in the beginning. Thinking back to her almost frantic
search for a way to leave this planet, which had nearly ended in her own
desperate attempt to sacrifice herself by staying behind. She found it hard to
believe now how much she had wanted to leave the planet that was now her home.
Then she became sombre, as the faces of those they'd never see again drifted
through her mind's eye; those of her crew who hadn't made it and those they'd
forever left behind in the Alpha Quadrant.

She silently left the room, leaving her wineglass on one of the assorted tables
and looking back once before stepping through the doors into the cool night air.
She quickly made her way to the park, unhindered by the absence of light.
Remembering a night of months ago, when she had also visited this place after
dark while a party – a wedding that time – had continued in the hall, she sat
down on the stone bench. Letting her mind drift as she stared at the sleeping
flora around, which trembled slightly in the cold late-summer breeze.

Just like that other night, she suddenly became aware of someone approaching her
from behind, though she rather felt than heard his presence. She smiled, knowing
he'd come looking for her just like last time. She didn't turn around.

"What is it, Chakotay, miss me already?" He came to stand behind her, wrapping
his arms around her small frame and she happily snuggled into his embrace,
feeling the low rumble as he chuckled softly.

"And here I thought you'd be happy to see me."

"Always, my love." She finally looked up at his handsome face and smiled
tenderly. "But you do know you'll have to go to your own home tonight; the groom
can't see the bride before the ceremony the day of the wedding, it's bad luck."

"I know." Chakotay sighed. "And I still wonder how I'll be able to stay away
from you for that long."

Kathryn's grin turned up at the corners, looking slightly devilish. "I'm sure
you'll manage." She shifted slightly. "But until then, you can keep me company
here." He wordlessly sat down next to her and they remained there for a long
time, spending the last few hours before their wedding day together.

---

The End

---

Author's Note:

Ab Urbe Condita is a Latin saying that means 'from the founding of the city'.
The Romans used it as a reference point to state the year (like we do with the
birth of Christ – BC or AD) wherein the city of course referred to Rome (753
BC). It is also the title of Titus Livius' life's work, which comprised of 142
books that detailed the history of Rome from its founding some seven and a half
centuries prior until his time (he was a good friend of emperor August's who
ruled from 27 BC till 14 AD).