The BLTS Archive- Janeway and Chakotay: The Early Years: Skipping Stones by monkee (wiecek@earthlink.net) --- Archive: ASC and BLTS Author's Note: This is the first in a new series -- Janeway and Chakotay: The Early Years. The series will be a collection of unrelated, stand-alone short stories and vignettes about how the friendship developed prior to New Earth. Disclaimers: Paramount owns Star Trek Voyager and all of its characters. --- *GLOLK* Chakotay absently tossed another stone into the water. It felt good to sit on the shore of a real lake and do absolutely nothing. He was grateful, too, that the other half of his 'team', Kurt Bendera, felt no compulsion to make small talk. They'd known each other for years, and could sit in silence comfortably. He and Bendera had been the first to return to the rendezvous point, and he was determined to take advantage of the beautiful afternoon on this uninhabited moon. It was the first off-ship down time he'd had in three months in the delta quadrant -- the sky was blue, the air was clean, and he was happy. To the east, he could see Ensigns Williamson and Chang heading their way. To the west, The Captain and Kes had just come into view. There was still no sign of Seska and Vorik, which was somewhat of a relief. Seska had been making some awkward overtures toward him again lately, and he was dreading the confrontation that was sure to come. It had been a mistake to get involved with her, both professionally and personally. She was strong, and he'd always been attracted to strong women, but she lacked the compassion to balance her aggressive nature. He didn't have any idea why he hadn't seen it before. Whatever spark had ever existed between them was long gone, at least as far as he was concerned. He plunked another stone into the lake in frustration, and watched the ripples spread out in gentle rings. It was soothing. Then he turned his attention to the two approaching women. He couldn't believe he'd managed to convince the Captain to come along, and was equally surprised that Tuvok hadn't objected. Perhaps they both had seen the inherent logic of the suggestion. It was an away mission that presented minimal risk, and she did need to get away from the confines of the ship occasionally. It was good for her. He could already see that it was going to be difficult serving as Janeway's first officer. Not professionally, of course -- she was smoothly capable, always fair, enthusiastic, funny, and kind. But she tended to drive herself too hard. She didn't always delegate responsibility as she should, worked far too many hours, and, near as he could tell, seldom ate. Probably because she used all of her replicator rations on coffee. He'd never seen anyone drink as much coffee as she did, even back in his academy days. Anyway, looking out for her well being was one of his jobs, and he could tell it was going to be a challenge. Williamson and Chang walked up to where they were sitting and stood stiffly at attention. Bendera, turned away from them, grinned at Chakotay, rolled his eyes and mouthed the word 'Fleeters.' Chakotay suppressed a laugh, and also tried to scowl at Kurt without looking obvious. "At ease," he told the two Ensigns, patiently. "The Captain and I agreed that the briefings could wait until we beamed back up to the ship. Relax, pull up a rock." Williamson and Chang exchanged an uncertain glance, then shrugged and sat down, looking visibly relieved. With the two former Maquis setting an example, it didn't take long for them to relax -- Williamson leaned back onto his elbows and crossed his legs at the ankles. Chang sat cross-legged and looked up at the sky. Nodding with satisfaction, Chakotay idly reached for another stone. His fingers closed on a smooth, flat pebble. Instinctively, he picked it up, altered his grip, and whipped it across the surface of the water. One...two...three...four...it bounced five times before submerging. Bendera whistled low. "Not bad," he observed. He located his own flat pebble. His attempt also yielded five skips. Soon all four of them were hurling stones into the water, trying to outdo each other. So far, no one had exceeded five jumps. Ensign Chang, who was, Chakotay recalled, a physicist from stellar cartography, kept offering technical advice about angles and release velocities. His expertise was not helping him. He'd only managed to get four jumps. The Captain and Kes had arrived at the rendezvous point, deeply engaged in an intense conversation. He exchanged a brief glance with the Captain -- they nodded at each other in acknowledgement -- but then she and Kes settled on the bank some distance away and continued talking. Ensign Chang had just concluded that, due to the density of the rock and the temperature and probable surface tension of the water, no one would be able to better the original record. Chakotay snorted and snapped his arm, whipping the pebble he was holding across the water. One...two...three...four...five...six...SEVEN! The three men laughed and applauded. "Impressive, Old Man!" Bendera exclaimed, slapping him on the back. "I don't know about you two," he added to the Ensigns, "but I concede defeat. I humbly bow before you -- you are the Stone Skipping God of the Delta Quadrant!" Chakotay rolled his eyes and laughed. --- "Did you see that?" Kes asked, her eyes wide. "See what?" Janeway asked. "Commander Chakotay bounced that rock on top of the water!" Kes exclaimed. Ah. That. Yes, she'd been watching the group out of the corner of her eye, pleased to see comfortable interaction between her crew and his. Mostly, though, she'd been listening with great interest to Kes, who was telling her how she'd met Neelix. Her respect for the Talaxian had just increased exponentially, although she'd liked him from the beginning. But she had seen the stone skittering across the surface of the lake. It looked like fun. "Oh. Yes, I saw it. Impressive," she said. "Do you know how to do that?" Kes asked. Her voice was melodic, and always soothing. And she was so interested and engaged in everything that happened around her. Taking Kes and Neelix along on this journey had been a good decision. She smiled at the young woman and nodded, "Yes, I can do that." "Will you show me?" Kes asked, enthusiastically. Laughing, Janeway shifted to a stooped position and began brushing her fingertips over the stones around her, searching. "First, you need a smallish flat pebble," she instructed. "Ah, here's one -- Yes! That one's perfect, too." Kneeling beside Kes, she indicated the proper grasp. "Balance the stone on your middle finger, like this, and put your index finger on the edge. Hold the top lightly with your thumb. Yes! That's it. Now, bring your arm back, and when you throw it, you're going to move your arm, sharply, at the elbow. When you release it, snap your wrist. Remember that you're trying just to skim the surface of the water. Keep in mind what it is that you want to do -- that really helps..." To demonstrate, she narrowed her eyes and looked out over the glassy lake. She imagined the stone obliquely striking the surface, then pulled her arm back and, in a fluid, rapid motion, released the stone. One...two...three...four...five...six...seven...eight...NINE! Kes' delighted cry was drowned out by raucous cheering from the other group. She heard Bendera's distinctive voice shout, "Beat THAT, Indian boy!" Damn. She hadn't meant to do that. She turned and gave Commander Chakotay what she hoped was a sheepish shrug. But he didn't seem to be upset about being upstaged. In fact, he was smiling broadly at her. After just a brief moment, she realized that she was staring at him with her mouth open. She recovered quickly, but was still disconcerted. She had NEVER seen him smile like that. He smiled -- often, in fact. And he had a rather distinctive subtle grin that he used frequently on the bridge, but this smile was different. He could light up a room with that smile, and those dimples. She was grateful that she hadn't actually said 'Wow!' out loud, but it didn't matter, for Kes seemed to have read her mind. "Commander Chakotay has a beautiful smile!" she observed. "I hadn't noticed until now." She glanced at Kes warily, but her face was a mask of innocence. Janeway smiled and nodded in noncommittal agreement, and they made their way over to the other group. Once there, Kes joined the others in their stone skipping efforts. Janeway tentatively approached Chakotay. He saw her coming and started to chuckle and she bit her lip and shook her head, embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to show you up like that," she said, ruefully. He laughed. "That's all right, Captain. I will gladly relinquish my 'Stone Skipping King of the Delta Quadrant' title to you." "It's just that I had a really perfect stone..." she explained. "Just the right weight, right? You can always tell just by picking them up..." "Yes! And it was flat -- something similar to slate, I think. And it was just slightly concave...it was perfect," she added, almost feeling the stone still in her hand. "So," he said, conversationally, "where did you hone your stone-skipping skills, Captain?" "At a small lake near my home in Indiana..." And so it was that she found herself talking - really talking - to her first officer, for the first time. Sharing personal stories of her life and background with him, drawing his own stories out. Smiling, laughing - connecting. --- Seska emerged from the woods somewhat behind Ensign Vorik. The entire day had been frustrating and disappointing. She'd tried to maneuver herself onto Chakotay's team, and that hadn't worked. Then she'd been stuck with Vorik, of all people, and then she'd had to tromp through woods and underbrush collecting rock samples for analysis for two hours. She was aggravated and on edge and cold. She was always cold. She was cold on the ship, cold on away missions and she was damned sick of pretending to be Bajoran and play nice on this ship of fools. She knew she couldn't stay, but had yet to determine a course of action. Her hopes that Chakotay would begin to see what a complete ass Janeway was and lead a mutiny were fading by the day, and unfortunately she couldn't do it herself. There were a few people she thought she could count on, but not enough. No, she was stuck here, for now. But it was killing her -- having to serve under that Starfleet martinet, Janeway. She knew it wouldn't be much longer before she snapped. Vorik had stopped and turned around, apparently waiting for her. "Go on ahead," she told him, tersely. "I'm going to rest for a moment -- I'll catch up." "Technically," he said, in his infuriatingly precise manner, "we should stay together at all times. According to regulation..." "For crying out loud, Vorik," she interrupted, "we're in sight of the landing party. It's all right." "Perhaps," he said, "but I believe..." "Maybe I just want a little peace and quiet," she snapped. "Go on ahead. I'm the team leader here - consider it an order." He raised his eyebrow. She hated Vulcans. "Very well," he said, picking up his sample case and walking away, unperturbed. Letting out an exasperated sigh, she dropped her case on the ground and sat down on it. At least she outranked the annoying little...what did B'Elanna always call him? P'Tak? Squinting, she scanned the away team, which had gathered on the banks of the lake. She spotted Chakotay, and froze. He was talking to Janeway, and it was clear, even from a distance, that they weren't discussing ship's business. They were standing close, as if they didn't want the entire away team to hear them. Janeway was speaking animatedly, moving her hands around a lot, and Chakotay... She would like to have been able to believe that she recognized the look on his face, but the truth was -- he'd never looked at her quite like that. He was focused intensely on Janeway, his entire body radiating admiration and attraction -- it was obvious in the way he was holding himself, and in the sparkle in his eyes. Why hadn't she noticed this before? Absently, she wondered if Chakotay even realized what had happened. Probably not. He could be a bit thick -- it was one of his charms. A cold, sick feeling settled in her stomach. She was torn. On the one hand, she was furious at herself for even caring. She should never have let Chakotay get to her the way he had. He was supposed to have been simply a means to an end, and she was ashamed at the way he'd gotten under her skin. And on the other hand, there was Janeway. The idyllic tableau before her had pushed her over the line. She knew now that she hated that woman with every fiber of her being. Hated her Starfleet morality, hated the sound of her voice, hated her prim little hairstyle, hated everything about her. It was all Janeway's fault -- all of it. She was going to have to masquerade as a Bajoran, of all things, for the rest of her life. And now she didn't even have Chakotay as a diversion. Damn her. As she sat, staring, she saw Chakotay laugh again, eyes and dimples flashing. She heard herself actually snarl in disgust and anger. She had to do something, and soon. She glowered at the command team until they blurred red, and out of focus. Damn that woman. --- The End