The BLTS Archive- This Is The Captain Speaking by L.R.Bowen --- Send me comments. Please send me comments. I want comments. Any comments. You don't have to be a literary critic. Just tell me you read it, appreciated it or not, and anything else that comes to mind. I will answer you. Did I say I wanted comments? Thank you for reading, even if you don't mail me. WARNING: This story contains SEX. If you don't like sex, I guess that's up to you. If you are under eighteen, you've probably seen it all before. This is what is known as a gender-bender. A little strange, but I had fun. Hope you do too. Copyright 1995 by L.R. Bowen. Star Trek:Voyager copyright Paramount Pictures, Inc. Do not distribute without this notice and correct authorship attributed. Do not change the text in any way, plagiarize, fold, spindle, or mutilate. Thanks, I'll do the same for you. --- Captain Janeway opened her eyes as slowly as she could manage. She mentally searched herself for injury, but could locate no specific pain or weakness, although her feet ached. But she felt so odd--the carpet of the bridge deck under her face was rough and prickly, much more so than it should have been. Her body was stretched out somehow; too long, too big. Every little movement was wrong; her breathing, in a chest too deep and capacious, her swallows, in a throat with an unfamiliar structure. Janeway's adam's apple bobbed strangely as her lids gradually crept up. She lay on the deck in front of her command station, arms stretched over her head like a diver's. All around her, quiet groans and stirrings told her the crew was present and waking from unconsciousness like herself. Blurry miasmas still filled her head. There was an arm coming into focus in front of her, a long, spare arm with a strongly veined hand and prominent wrist bone. A light dusting of coarse strawberry blond hair covered the back of the long fingers, growing more heavily on the hand and arm. The uniform sleeve stretched tight over the muscular forearm, barely reaching halfway to the wrist. That was another annoyance; her own uniform seemed too small as well. Her shoulders pushed against the firm fabric uncomfortably, and the crotch of the jumpsuit dug in. Who was lying next to her, the owner of the long arm? Lt. Paris? She turned her head, feeling the carpet rasp against her cheek--or was that her cheek rasping against the carpet? No one lay to her right. She considered that for a moment, then dragged her face to the left. A dark head came into view. One of the figure's arms lay bent and the other was flung out to the side. Who was that? Chakotay had been in his seat to her left when Voyager had entered the nebula, but this wasn't him--it was a woman with long hair. Her uniform, in contrast to Janeway's and the owner of the arm's, was too loose. The sleeve covered her knuckles. The hand twitched, flattened against the carpet and pushed; the dark head rose. Janeway looked into narrowed deep-brown eyes, shadowed with a tousled wealth of straight black hair. Who was she? The ship's complement was small enough to render every face familiar, but this one was unknown. Her lips were full and elegantly curved, her facial bones strong and handsome. The eyes widened as they gazed into Janeway's, flashing the whites under the slight epicanthic folds of the lids. "Captain?" the woman said experimentally. "Yes, I'm all right," Janeway replied. Lord, what a croak! She spoke an octave and a half lower than her usual tones, raspy and throaty. The bronze-skinned face froze in horrified surprise. What was wrong? They stared at each other for a long moment. Then Janeway noticed something that froze her as well; the woman had a pattern of blue tattooed lines on her left temple, a pattern as familiar to her as the face of--her First Officer. Chakotay was trying to sit up, running his?-her? eyes in silent astonishment over Janeway's body. The captain darted her gaze back to the arm in front of her. She already felt the truth seeping through her awakening brain, but she needed some concrete proof. She clenched her fists, and the long muscular hand balled up in front of her eyes. She opened her fingers and let her eyelids fall again. Chakotay was kneeling now, bending over her. "Captain?" he repeated. A hand tentatively touched her shoulder. Janeway jumped and abruptly sat up. It was a bigger motion than usual, a greater distance from the floor to a full upright position. The tightness of her uniform didn't help. She felt the seams strain across her back as her head swam dizzily. To her right, a thin young man clutched the engineering console. His heavy mane of brown hair fell over his high, ridged forehead. He stared at his hands, then suddenly clapped them over his chest. Unmindful of Janeway's scrutiny, Chief Torres slid her hands down her body to her own groin and acquired a dazed look. Janeway stood up with a lurch. Chakotay moved to assist her with a hand on the elbow, but seemed surprised at her weight and at his own lessened strength; he had to catch her by the waist. He was shorter than her now, but not by much. His sagging uniform did not conceal his body, magnificent breasts straining against the fabric. The luxurious curve of his hips similarly pulled his trousers tightly across the back. Heavy black hair fell to his dimpled chin. Something about the lush figure and full lips stirred a memory in Janeway's mind: a star of old Hollywood, mid-twentieth century. Chakotay surveyed her so intently that she put her hands up to her own face. Crisp hair met her fingers, covering her square jaw and extending halfway to her prominent cheekbones. A beard? Oh, that was the limit. A loud groan from the forward console distracted her. Tom Paris, a pretty blonde with a small, delicate figure, dropped into his seat and rocked back and forth in despair, clutching himself all over. "I'm--it's gone," he howled shrilly. "What is this? I'm a girl! Jesus Christ... " He caught sight of Janeway and stopped abruptly. She whirled around to see more unfamiliar figures with disconcerting faces. The originally female Lt. Quigley at the weapons console was staring at everyone in turn, her uniform ridiculously tight on a brawny frame. Ops was still manned by broad-shouldered Harry Kim, but he stood a foot shorter and had long hair pinned up in a bun. He was punching console buttons, breathing hard and trying not to look down at his newly prominent chest. "Report!" Janeway barked, and everyone jumped at her baritone rasp. "N-no damage to the ship, Captain," replied Harry's sweet soprano. He put a hand over his mouth and stopped. "All personnel are accounted for. Shields and engines are functioning," said a level voice with a very familiar intonation. Janeway slowly turned to the security station, preparing herself. "Ship's chronometers indicate that eight hours have elapsed since Voyager entered the nebula," Tuvok continued, seemingly unperturbed. Janeway looked into the long-lashed eyes of the slender dark-skinned Vulcan woman and gave thanks for her old friend's practical calm. "What's our heading, Mr. Paris?" she asked. "Oh, Christ--one twenty seven mark eight," he replied shakily. "That's unchanged from the one we set to enter the nebula, Captain," said her First Officer. The smooth light alto voice sent a shiver through her. "Bridge to Sickbay," Janeway said. "Activate emergency medical hologram." The doctor's blessedly unchanged face appeared on her personal monitor. She relaxed into a smile. "Please state the nature of the medical emergency," he said briskly, then registered to whom he was speaking. "You're not the captain," he stated bluntly. "Yes, Doctor, I'm afraid that I am," she replied. "Your facial appearance has altered significantly. Indeed, your sex appears to have altered significantly." "Yes, Doctor, it has. The bridge crew has all switched gender. Please look at your medical sensors--has this effect occurred over the whole ship?" He turned away for a moment, his fingers dancing over a display. "The ship's crew formerly comprised twelve more males than females. The opposite is now true. Presumably, therefore, your supposition is correct." He frowned deeply and shook his head reprovingly at her. "Doctor?" "This will require a great deal of work to change all the medical records," he said accusingly. "Believe me, Doctor, we didn't do it on purpose," Janeway replied with the ghost of a laugh. "I expect you will have a lot of crew members visiting you shortly. Please prepare a report once you have evaluated enough people to draw any conclusions." "Captain, if I may make a suggestion," said Chakotay, "a shipwide announcement would be in order." Janeway sighed and looked up at the statuesque brunette standing beside her. "What do you suggest I announce, Commander? You're right, of course, but what do I tell them? I don't even sound like myself. That won't inspire confidence." "I have confidence in you, Captain. We're all in this together." His warm smile had the same feel as it had had before the transformation. She smiled gratefully back and punched a button on her console. "This is the captain speaking," Janeway began with as much bravado as she could muster. Her newly deep voice still seemed to come from someone else. She thought of all her people, counting on her in this as in any crisis, listening anxiously over the whole ship. "The transformation we have all undergone is disorienting, of course. But the ship is sound and there seem to be no lasting effects besides--the obvious. I assure you we are working on a solution and will keep you briefed, as the problem affects you all so--intimately. Whatever has the power to change the sex of an entire ship's crew can surely perform the operation in reverse." Actually, she had no idea if that were true, but thought it best to be optimistic. "Oh," she added as an afterthought, "please bring spare uniforms and boots to Cargo Bay 4, as we will all have to trade to find clothes that fit. The replicators can't make a whole new wardrobe for everyone at once. Please conserve their use. Captain out." "An excellent idea, Captain," said Tuvok, who had opened the front of his uniform to accommodate his bust. Kim was rolling up his sleeves and pant legs. Chakotay's uniform was too ill-fitting to allow him to sit down or bend over without dire peril. Her own throbbing feet reminded her that her boots were now several sizes too small; she tugged them off with difficulty. "All right, let's trade clothes as best we can," she ordered. Some of the crew looked a little green at the idea of stripping down in front of each other without much idea of what lay in wait for them underneath their uniforms, but began to pull tentatively at fastenings and turtlenecks. "Females, you may use my ready room," Janeway sighed. B'Elanna started for the door, then halted in confusion. Tuvok, Kim, Paris, Chakotay, and the other former males filed inside. Janeway struggled out of her clothes to the sound of popping threads and considered who to trade with. Paris should get Torres' uniform, Torres should get Tuvok's. Kim would fit with difficulty into hers--no, she should give hers to the Vulcan. She tried not to look too closely at herself; she didn't want the distraction just now. Her shoulders were fairly broad and her ribcage large. Chakotay's uniform would be the most comfortable. Quigley could exchange with Kim. Nothing was going to fit Chakotay. "Commander," she called into the ready room, "you have my permission to replicate yourself a uniform." "Thank you, Captain--I was beginning to wonder what I was going to do," he replied wryly. Pieces of clothing passed back and forth until everyone had changed into something acceptably sized. Janeway's outfit--formerly the First Officer's--was somewhat loose, but not too bad. Chakotay strode back onto the bridge and she almost gasped aloud. Now that he wore a perfectly fitting jumpsuit, every line of his tall, amply curvaceous, utterly spectacular body was stunningly revealed. Sophia Loren. That was who he resembled, passably in face and almost exactly in figure. Paris automatically gave a long whistle, a little louder and higher pitched than would have been wise. Chakotay fixed him with a glare that would have shriveled the testicles off him, if he had had any. Janeway suppressed a grin. Tom gulped, pursed his coral lips and turned back to the pilot's station. "Scan for that nebula," Janeway ordered. "That's the last thing we knew about before we were all knocked unconscious." "Aye, Captain," came the reply. --- Four hours later, the nebula had been located far astern and a course set at maximum warp. The sensor logs showed nothing unusual up to the point that every crew member had simultaneously lost consciousness, a few minutes after entering the region of charged gas and dust. An eight hour gap in recording extended up to a few minutes before they had reawoken transformed. There was no indication of how Voyager had been thrown such a great distance away. The doctor had treated nineteen people for the emotional shock. A few crew members remained under sedation. He reported that everyone had a changed genetic pattern, with the men acquiring an extra female X sex chromosome and the women a male Y. The original sex chromosomes with their many important genes still existed, but had been somehow deactivated in every cell of the body. "Obviously a highly sophisticated genetic technology. One would expect that the mere addition of chromosomes would have little effect on the already-developed body. The crew might almost have been regrown from the embryonic stage with the new pattern in place," he said. "That's a thought," Janeway interjected. "Check those crew members who have had operations or artificial organ replacements to see if the scars and devices are still there." "As a matter of fact, Captain, they are not. All of you may actually be inhabiting--as some type of memory implants--opposite-sex clones of yourselves." "In that case, where are our real bodies?" "If you will recall, Captain, I was not activated at the time the incident took place. I can hardly be expected to know what you did with them." "That would be too much to ask, I suppose. Janeway out." She decided to take a break for a meal and to tour the ship. Morale was obviously low. "Commander, you have the bridge," she said as she stepped into the turbolift, bumping her big shoulder on the door frame. Most of the crew members that Captain Janeway passed in the corridors looked at least vaguely familiar after a few moments, but some people had changed so much as to be virtually unrecognizable. She called everyone by name that she could. Only one person could be wearing four collar pips, so no one mistook her identity. The stares were quickly redirected. Neelix's dining room was not very full; people were taking their trays back to their quarters rather than face each other and be goggled at in turn. Ensign Roquelaure glanced up with a mouthful of stew as the captain entered, choked and spluttered, then apologized profusely. Janeway hoped that awkwardness would wear off in time--but how long were they going to stay this way? Neelix and Kes were serving lunch as usual. Both of them, surprisingly, looked almost the same as before. Kes was a little taller and flat-chested, but the fragile prettiness and short blond hair were unchanged. Neelix had acquired a double set of huge pendulous breasts, two on each side of his chest. His face might have been a little less hairy, but he could just have been shedding. Both of them did a double take at her. "C-C-C-Captain?" stuttered Neelix. "That's right, Mister," she said. "I think you look very handsome with a beard, Captain," said Kes soothingly. "Thank you, Kes. You look fine yourself," Janeway replied. She ate quickly, checking for any stray Talaxian bristles in the food, and headed down to Engineering. Lt. Carey had a beautiful head of crinkly red hair. He and Chief Torres were avoiding each other studiously. The technicians attended to their duty, but covertly examined their colleagues. In a polished metal surface, Janeway caught a glimpse of strong cheekbones and deep-set blue eyes. She moved on quickly. The captain inspected most of the ship, clapping people reassuringly on the back, trying to seem cheerful, putting off the moment of truth as long as possible. She was going to have to confront her new face. Finally she tapped her comm badge and said, "Janeway to Bridge. I'll be in my quarters." She hesitated a long moment before stepping in front of the half-length mirror over her dresser. A tall, spare, red-bearded man gazed back at her, swallowing hard. The hair was almost familiar; thick, wavy chestnut, but a little coarser than before and collar length. The beard was neatly trimmed and thick, enhancing the powerful, masculine bone structure of her face. Burning with curiosity, vaguely guilty--why? It was her own body, after all--she unfastened her uniform and slipped it off. It smelt of Chakotay and herself combined. With an unexpected sensual twinge, Janeway realized that she had been wrapped in his scent all day. Broad shoulders, long arms and legs. A lot of light chest and body hair like her father's. Big, corded hands and feet. Still with a woman's perspective, she realized that she was strikingly attractive as a male, with an aura of power and authority to which many people might respond. Kathryn Janeway had been born with that aura, which years in Starfleet had only deepened, but she had to admit it looked a little different on a man. Not enhanced: just--different. She took a long breath, expanding her muscular chest, and looked down. Red-brown pubic hair--familiar, but in an unfamiliar shape, a diamond extending up towards her navel. The room was warm and her penis and testicles relaxed heavily between her thighs. Janeway inspected herself visually for a long time before she could bring herself to touch her genitals. She picked up her penis gingerly and retracted the foreskin to examine the glans, moved the skin back and forth over the shaft experimentally, weighed each testicle in turn. The sensations in her hands were familiar, feeling the delicate skin, the firm balls within the crepey sac, but the rest of her body shivered hot and sweated cold alternately. Damn, these were hers! A rush of warmth surged into her groin and before her fascinated eyes, she had her first erection. She sneezed suddenly at the changing pressures in her sinuses. To be so focused, so forward, to have such a specific source of sensation bobbing in front of her was intoxicatingly strange. Hell, it was her body, wasn't it? Minute by minute Janeway felt more comfortable with her new frame. Another surge of generalized sexual warmth amused her. Working off some tension couldn't hurt. She ran her right hand down to the base of her pulsing hard-on and began to stroke in a steady rhythm. This shouldn't be too difficult. Very soon, she was gasping in surprisingly intense arousal. An image popped unbidden into her mind as she approached orgasm: that of the female Chakotay, his/her splendid figure unrestrained by any uniform. Those high, full breasts, trim waist and swelling hips would look wonderful in a strapless satin gown, or a sheer negligee, or nothing at all, flat on her back, cradling Janeway between soft thighs... She/he came with a suddenness that flabbergasted him. What was he, a teenage boy? Janeway went to wash his hands in the bathroom. Only when he caught sight of his bathrobe, a silky pink wrap, did he realize that he had undergone a paradigm shift. This body seemed right, natural, as if it had always existed in this form. He could remember being a woman, then a woman in a man's body, but now he was simply a man, albeit with a woman's memories. An additional transformation? He was going to have to mention this to the doctor. Perhaps the surge of hormones he had just provoked had something to do with it. Then again, if this really was a masculinized clone of his former body, it had always been male, even the brain. His feminine memories had blocked out that consciousness for a little while, but the biology was taking over. He was a little clumsy in urination, however, especially since he forgot to raise the seat instead of just the lid of the toilet. How many times had his female alter ego told someone to put it down again after use? In the bedroom, he absentmindedly took out his favorite pink nightgown before realizing it wouldn't fit. It would look pretty silly with all that chest hair, anyway. He was going to have to sleep in the buff. --- After a long night of interesting dreams, Janeway woke to Tuvok's voice. "Captain, we have reached the nebula again." "Very well," he replied. "I'll be on the bridge in twenty minutes." Once out of the shower, he reached for the slightly-too-large uniform, which he had put through the cleaning cycle. Hmm... a few stitches up the sides would improve the fit considerably. He found his little hand sewer and ran it along the side seams of the jumpsuit and shirt. There, that should do it. He surveyed the effect in the mirror, noticing that his lean hips and thighs emphasized his deep chest and wide shoulders. An undercurrent of female response told him that he actually looked pretty damn good. He'd always liked a man in uniform. Janeway chuckled, combed his wavy hair and beard, and headed off for duty. Tuvok turned over the bridge, reporting that his/her scans of the nebula were identical to the ones taken two days ago. It still had an unusual concentration of omicron particles, the same feature that had attracted Voyager's interest in the first place. "I'm going to prepare a probe," Janeway said. "Until we check this thing out as thoroughly as possible, keep us at least 100,000 km away from it." "Yes, sir," said the pilot without thinking. The captain made no comment on the error. "Kes," he said over the intercom, "I'm going to need some flowering plants from your garden." Janeway worked on his probe experiment for most of the first part of the shift, moving from Engineering to Sickbay to the shuttle bay. When it was ready, he returned to the bridge to find Chakotay in command. "Captain," he/she said, standing up to yield the chair. It was becoming increasingly impossible to think of anyone as anything but their present sex. In Chakotay's case, she was so obviously female that Janeway could barely visualize the big, crop-haired man she had been. His new male responses were taking over from the female memories; the mere sight of Chakotay's glorious, long-legged curves and sculptured features prompted arousal. Letting his gaze linger over her striking face, he noticed the tattoo again and suddenly wondered: if she were only a clone of the original, why would the marking still be there? She walked forward to the navigator's station and leaned down to speak to the officer, her uniform pulling smoothly over her full, firm buttocks. The captain lost his train of thought entirely and thanked his stars that the First Officer could not see the expression on his face. Had his libido increased with the unaccustomed amount of testosterone in his system? Or was this another side effect of having passed through the nebula? Janeway sat down (groaning inwardly at the heat left by Chakotay's body) and ordered, "Shuttle bay, transfer probe to torpedo tube." "Transferred, sir." "Launch probe." "Probe away." The little capsule sped away, beaming back telemetry to the command consoles and the science station. Nothing unusual yet. "Readings match those from our first entry into the nebula," said Chakotay. Janeway had trouble keeping his eyes off her full lips and gleaming black hair. "All right--keep cross-checking." The captain and First Officer worked silently side by side until Chakotay sat back and said, "That's it--our sensor logs end there." "Anything that happens now, then, should tell--" "It's gone." "What?" Chakotay peered intently at her monitor. "It was sending, then the data stream just ended." "Mr. Tuvok, did the probe explode?" "No, Captain, it appears to have been transported." "Transported by whom?" "Unknown. There are no ships in this area besides Voyager." "Damn! Is that what happened to us?" "Who could transport an entire vessel?" Chakotay asked. "Someone apparently can, Commander. Who it is--well, I'm hoping that little gizmo of mine will tell us something." The probe did not reappear for two hours, and Janeway took the opportunity to visit Sickbay. He was maintaining a half-pleasurable, half-tormenting, very stiff erection just from sitting in arm's reach of Chakotay, and was fairly sure this wasn't entirely normal. If he stayed on the bridge with her much longer, he was afraid he would fail to confine himself to visual contact. At one point, he had to retire to his ready room and masturbate for some relief. Chakotay seemed to pick up on the charged atmosphere; she kept meeting Janeway's gaze, and her lovely face was flushed. He hoped the warmth was only from embarrassment. If the First Officer was feeling half as randy as the captain, it was going to be difficult to keep them apart. "Interesting," said the doctor. "Yes?" said Janeway, craning to look at the readout on the medical display. "Hmmm," was his only response. "Doctor--" "One moment, please." His fingers pressed a complicated sequence of buttons. "Aha," he said. "Doctor--" "You have the testosterone level of an entire first-year Academy class, Captain." "You're joking." "A touch of hyperbole, perhaps. Your hormone levels are extremely high, and rising." "Oh, fine." "I had four patients this morning with similar complaints of exaggerated sexual desire. I had attributed it to the shock of the change of sex in their cases, but your readings are twice as high as any of theirs. I'm surprised you got any work done today." Janeway rolled his eyes. "What do you suggest, Doctor?" "Is the condition causing you significant discomfort?" "You could say so, yes." "I can give you a drug that will counter the effect of the high levels for a while. I am unsure of the root cause, so all I can treat is the symptom." He turned to pick up a vial. "Bridge to Janeway," said Chakotay's maddening, warming, sensual alto. "Good heavens, your levels just increased by five percent," said the doctor, brandishing a hypo spray. "I'm not surprised," replied Janeway, fighting down another blue-veiner as the doctor made the injection. "Janeway here. Go ahead." "The probe has reappeared, Captain." "Excellent. Bring it on board and we'll open it in the shuttle bay." He slipped off the examination table and was out the door before the doctor could say, "Come back for another injection in twenty-four hours if you still need it." --- "All right, Kes. Are these specimens the same as when we placed them in here?" "No, Captain. The male flowers are female now, and vice versa." "Flowers?" asked Tuvok with a raised eyebrow. "That's right, Mister. I needed some living organisms with a sex to run the experiment, and flowers were all that was available. Something in that nebula sensed the probe, transported it away, and cloned reversed sex versions of the 'occupants.' The original plants had a trace radiation signature that the clones do not share." "That might imply that it is an entirely automatic process." "I doubt that. I'd like to know who styled our hair before putting us back on the ship. I've noticed various other inconsistencies. Someone is finessing the 'process'. This whole business is too quirky for my taste. I still don't know exactly where the probe went or what was done, because the recorders were all wiped just like our sensor logs." "Why did the probe reappear so close to the nebula?" asked Chakotay. "Voyager was millions of km away when we woke up." "If the transport distance was based on the speed of the vessel in relation to the nebula, the ratio would be about right," observed Chief Torres. "That's what I surmised," said Janeway. "Whatever or whoever set up this little trap wanted the ships that blundered in here to take a while getting back. We went in on impulse power and came back at warp, so we've moved up their timetable." "Well, at any rate, if we go through again, we would be changed back to our original bodies." "Perhaps. I think we could make an experiment to confirm that. Kes, I'll prepare another probe and put those same plant specimens back inside. Let's run them through again." Janeway rose and the meeting broke up. Another day, and they had their answer. The plants had not only reversed sex again, but the original ones had returned. Apparently their real bodies were being stored somehow, and would be restored on another passage. "What do you suppose the purpose of this odd little joke could be?" Janeway mused. "Perhaps it's just that--a joke," said Chakotay. She smiled whimsically. Lt. Quigley overheard and snorted. Janeway was glad for the hormone suppressant; those breasts were starting to occupy his mind again. They locked gazes for a few moments, then the captain activated his intercom. "This is the captain speaking. You have all heard about the experiments we have run on the nebula, and I have decided to put the ship through. Be sure that everything is secured, since we expect that everyone will be knocked unconscious again. Keep your fingers crossed; we're going in. Captain out." "Mr. Paris, lay in a course and engage," he said. "Aye, aye, sir," said the pretty lieutenant. She pounded her console enthusiastically. Janeway smiled. Of all the bridge crew, Tom had probably adjusted least well to the change. He turned to Chakotay. "Ready?" "Why not?" Chakotay's brown eyes lingered on Janeway's strong features and lean body. She seemed almost regretful. Janeway felt a flood of intense, pure, unalloyed sexual desire drench him with sweat from head to foot. He took a deep breath and forcibly tore his gaze away from the impossibly alluring woman seated next to him. Well, in a few hours everything might be restored to normal. Or would it? If they remembered what had happened, how could the captain and First Officer remain professionally distant any longer? He knew that his longing was plain to read on his heated face. Voyager entered the nebula. "All readings normal," Ensign Kim said in her sweet soprano. The ship plowed on for several minutes without incident. Everyone on the bridge grew steadily more nervous, except for Tuvok. "All right, all right, what's keeping you?" Paris burst out. "Sorry, sir," she said a moment later. "That's understandable, Mister; we're all a little edgy." Several more minutes ticked by. Janeway listened to the First Officer's soft, trembling breaths and almost made a selfish wish. "We are approaching the opposite boundary of the nebula, Captain," said Tuvok finally. "What happened?" "Why didn't we--" "Shit!" This last was from Paris, who slammed her fist in frustration. "I don't know," said Janeway, his brow furrowed. "I think I'll have to look at those probes again." He slumped tiredly in his chair, worn down more emotionally than physically. How much longer would he have to contend with his impossible urges? "Captain, I suggest you get some rest," ventured Tuvok. "You will be able to think more effectively if you are not exhausted." "All right, Tuvok. Don't nag. One thing I do have to do before I leave, though." He reluctantly activated the shipwide intercom again. "This is the captain speaking. We have cleared the nebula, unfortunately without result. Until we have determined the reason why, we will retreat and hold position again. Be assured, I am doing my best to restore everyone to their proper condition." Except one or two, he silently added. Chakotay sat upright in her chair, her eyes locked on the captain's face. Her bosom heaved with her deep inhalations. Janeway twitched with conflicting emotions and burning arousal. If he couldn't kiss that beautiful mouth, embrace that magnificent body, bury himself between those long graceful thighs, he was going to--go to bed and sleep it off. "Commander, you have the bridge." Janeway stalked off without looking back. He stripped down and took a long cold shower, but without result. Every time he let his mind wander, it came back to the same damn fantasy: fucking Chakotay until she screamed in ecstasy. How was he going to work out a scientific puzzle in this state? He hadn't felt like this since the age of fifteen, when his female self had first fallen in love with a classmate. The doctor's drug must be losing effect. Shit. He masturbated twice before he managed to fall asleep. Some hours later, Janeway woke from relentless erotic dreams to hear the door swish quietly open. He lay rigid, eyes wide open to the darkness, as someone entered and approached the bed. Someone with a very high level security code, obviously. The sweet, musky scent that had been tormenting him for the last two days filtered through Chakotay's uniform as she knelt beside him. "Captain... " she whispered. "Are you asleep?" Janeway grunted. "Well, Captain, I couldn't stand it any longer. It's obvious you feel the same way, and I don't have the strength or even the inclination to fight it down in the face of that." "Chakotay--this is practically killing me," Janeway whispered back in agony, "but I'm the captain, and I can't--I can't make love to the First Officer." "No, of course not," she said slowly. "That wouldn't be appropriate in Starfleet protocol, would it?" "Not in the least." "Too bad." Janeway started at the tone, powerfully reminiscent of the male Chakotay. The former Maquis commander stood up and dropped her uniform to the floor. "I'm afraid, Kathryn, that you will have to settle for the First Officer making love to you," she said in her sensuous alto. "Oh, hell," said Janeway, and pulled his blankets off. "Computer, lights up half." His resistance was tissue-thin at best, and it had just dissolved in shreds. They faced each other naked, not quite unashamed. Janeway had an aching hard-on that he instinctively hid with one hand. How could he even think of doing this? His body screamed for her so loudly that he could barely hear the tiny voice of conscience. It would only be worse if he let this happen, but he couldn't help himself. Chakotay took her own hands away from her breasts and groin after a moment and gently touched the captain's shoulder. He reached up for her. She would have sunk down beside him, but he held her by the waist just to look for a moment. A sweet warm caramel color. Breasts a double handful each, with big tawny-brown nipples. An extravagant curve from the womanly hips to the tapered waist. Janeway smoothed his hand over the slight swell of her lovely belly and nestled it in his palm. She bent down and laid her hands on his shoulders, urging him to the mattress. Silky bronze skin met firm, hair-roughened muscles all along the length of both trembling bodies. Janeway brought his hands up along Chakotay's lush curves to the strong line of her jaw. She kissed his fingers, then leaned forward and molded her lips against his mouth. Janeway shivered at the strangeness, the delicious strangeness, of holding a woman in his arms so intimately. He had the memories of a mature and sexually experienced female and the virgin body of a man. On both counts, embracing a woman in bed was almost entirely new. She was so soft, so warmly scented, so smooth-skinned. Chakotay settled her breasts against his upper chest and right side, lying half on top of him, her right hand stroking the abundant fur on his left pectoral. Janeway kissed her marvelous, curving mouth, that grew moister and softer with the ardent pressure. Their lips parted slightly as they turned and slid across the other's, until both of them took the initiative simultaneously and deepened the caress. Janeway shook like a youngster at the feel of Chakotay's tongue entwined with his. Her heavy hair brushed his cheek with a cool satin touch. The captain's convulsive grip tightened around Chakotay's ribcage until she gasped for breath. He let her go and mumbled,"Sorry--I'm not used to being this strong." "That's all right. I'm not used to this body either." "Really? You seemed to settle into being female fairly quickly." "I'm still the same person. The flesh isn't what defines me. I'll admit my sexual orientation changed to fit my biology, the way yours seems to have done--" Janeway kissed her again. Her generous mouth was like a drink of cool water in the desert. To lie down and submerge his face in the spring at last, after circling in sight of it for days, filled him with fierce, painful joy. "Kathryn--do you think of yourself as a man or as a woman now?" "A man, actually," he confessed, "but of course my experience is all as a woman. My feelings are very interestingly... mixed. This body reacts like a heterosexual man's, but my mind--it's half influenced by my biology, half by my memories. And then, I know you used to be a man, one I was, um, who was attractive--I can't sort it all out. It's like those dreams that don't make sense. But I do know one thing--I want you so badly my damn teeth ache." "Don't even try to think about it," laughed Chakotay. She smiled down at him, running a finger over his red beard. Her hooded eyes narrowed to a darker look of passion. "I want you. I knew that the first time you addressed me by name. And you are still Kathryn Janeway, no matter what shell you inhabit. " Janeway let his long arms envelop the womanly form above him. Sliding his right hand over Chakotay's smooth back, he explored the planes of the shoulder blades, the ripple of the spine, the seductive dimples just above the buttocks. What a full, sweet curve they had! He tucked his fingers under her hipbone and touched the very corner of her pubic triangle, a few coarse hairs that ran up into the crease of her thigh. Chakotay responded with a sigh and a tilt of the pelvis that compressed Janeway's rock-hard cock with exquisite effect. The captain groaned, almost a roar, and seized a thick handful of black hair. He pulled her head down with some force, plunging his tongue again into her soft mouth. She moaned a little in surprised response, then pulled back to breathe. Janeway was suddenly frantic, about to explode. The pent-up tension had eaten away at his self-control for too long. He shook so hard that he had trouble getting his hands to her buttocks and lifting her fully over him. "Please, now, I'm sorry, please, now--" he gasped unevenly. "Wait, let me--" panted Chakotay, rising up on her knees. Janeway clamped his hands on her hips and yanked her down. He was unprepared for the effect of his unaccustomed strength; she had been poised over his rigid organ and came down hard, directly on it. His cock pierced her halfway with the first thrust, sinking deeply as he brought his hips up to meet her. She let out a strangled wail of pain and surprise. Janeway was beyond hearing. nside her, enveloped and clenched and thrusting as hard and fast as possible, he groaned loudly with each upward surge. Chakotay rode him gamely, realizing this couldn't last long. In a matter of seconds, he let out a long harsh cry and ejaculated copiously. She rolled off him and collapsed. Janeway came back down to earth with a sickening thud. She had cried out in pain--oh, no, he was so stupid--she had been a virgin as well, of course, and he had just ripped into her without thinking! "Chakotay--oh, damn--" She was trying to get her breath back, flinching and venturing a hand between her shaking thighs. Her fingers came away with a little thread of blood on them. "I hurt you--I just went crazy, I'm sorry. I feel like an idiot." Shit, I knew this was a mistake, he thought, and now look what I've done. Chakotay met his eyes. "That wasn't like you. I wonder... " "No, I hope it wasn't. That shot didn't work for very long," he said miserably. "What shot?" "A couple of days ago on the bridge, I had a terrible time keeping my paws off you. I visited the doctor to see what the matter was and he said I had a massively elevated testosterone level. He gave me a drug--it seemed to work for a while, but now I'm back to where I started. Look at that!" Janeway indicated his penis, already stiff again. "This can't be normal." "Not in my experience, no." The captain glanced up at the First Officer to see a faint look of amusement. "But it does open up certain possibilities." "A-are you serious?" "Why not?" "I hurt you! Why would you want to--" "I said, I want you. This body may be strange to you--" she reached out and touched his sweating chest,"--and you may not have the control over it that you would like, but it houses your spirit." "And anyway," she continued with playful lubricity, "You have to make it up to me somehow... " "Just give me another chance," he replied, his one-sided smile lighting up his lean face. "I'll be back in a moment," Chakotay said with a tweak of one of his nipples. She slipped out of bed and disappeared into the bathroom. "What would you recommend for a stinging sensation in a tender spot?" she called. "Um--well--a cold cloth is usually good," Janeway answered. "Mmm--you're right," Chakotay resumed in a moment. "But I think I might need a little something more." "Oh, Lord. Does it hurt a lot?" "Not so much now. I think a simple traditional remedy might do the trick." "Traditional remedy?" Chakotay reappeared in Janeway's pink bathrobe. She noted his wide eyes and grinned, "Hope you don't mind." "N-not at all," he stammered. The robe, meant for a smaller, slimmer woman, barely wrapped over her tall, statuesque body; deep cleavage and a long length of thigh flashed through the front as she returned to him. He started to sit up to see her better, but she shook her head teasingly. "Just stay right where you are. I want you flat on your back." "What's that got to do with home remedies?" "Well, you know how you put your finger in your mouth when you get a little cut? That's the basic idea." She knelt on the bed next to his head and swung a leg over. Sitting lightly on his chest, she faced him, her black-haired groin inches from his chin. The scent of her flared his nostrils and brought the blood to his face. "All right, I know exactly what you mean," he growled, putting his hands on her buttocks and urging her forward. The silky wrap fell around his head and he was cloistered with her, her musk concentrating in the air he breathed. She ran one hand between her thighs to brush the hair away from her lips, then held them open with two fingers. Janeway craned his neck forward, tentative and eager at the same time. He lapped softly at the delicate pink entrance, soothing the hurt, remembering very well what his female body had preferred. Start slow, let the juices begin, move up gradually, not too hard until she had had a few orgasms... He lost track of his game plan as soon as the nectar began to flow. Chakotay gasped and quivered, her fingers cradling his head and working into his hair. She moved steadily back and forth over his mouth, her thighs tensing under his hands. "Ohhh... so that's what it's like," she murmured in wonder. "And I always thought I was enjoying myself doing this... " Janeway plunged his tongue deep between her labia and stroked it upwards. Chakotay grabbed his hair and cried out, crouching double over him. He circled the erect nubbin over and over while the lush body he worshipped strung tighter and tighter. She fell forward with her elbows on the pillows and howled, sliding frantically over his face from chin to nose as she exploded in orgasm. Her legs trembled and shook, feet digging into the bedding. Janeway wrapped his arms around her hips and listened in ecstasy. I did that, he thought. I actually did that. When Chakotay had relaxed down onto the bed again, her left leg on his chest and her hips beside his head, he smiled up into the beautifully flushed face, licked his lips, and said, "Well, that answers that question." "What question?" "'Is she a moaner, or a screamer?'" Chakotay's eyes opened wide and she choked with laughter. Janeway joined her. "How's the sting?" he asked when he could draw a breath. "Much better, thank you. But I could still use some more of that home remedy." "With pleasure," he replied. She rose to her knees, then noticed his persistent erection. Running a finger along the underside, she watched his face and raised an eyebrow. "Let's do something about this first. I don't want you flying off the handle again." "Don't worry about--" "Trust me. I can tell. I've been there. Here." She lay down on the pillows and directed him to straddle her waist. "These need a little attention anyway," she said, hoisting her breasts in both hands. Janeway slid his cock in between them and moved back and forth, reaching down to press her luscious flesh more firmly around him. Her hardened nipples jiggled as he accelerated his thrusts, maintaining a little more control than he had been able to earlier. Still, he was caught unawares by the rush of feeling while his shaft slid over her soft skin. Chakotay received a gush of semen under her chin. Janeway leaned down and kissed her, wetting his beard. The smell of himself all over her chest stirred a deep feeling of satisfaction. "All right--now get back down," she said with mock severity. She wiped herself off with the sheet and settled her bottom over his face again, this time bending down his body to take him in her mouth. Sure enough, within a few minutes, and several of her orgasms, he was rigid and pulsing again. "What the hell is going on?" he mumbled against her labia. "Why ask?" she replied, licking around the sensitive rim of the head of his cock. "Just accept it as a gift." "I was dreaming something like this when you came in," he mused distractedly. "My people believe that dreams have reality. If you experience something in a dream, it has meaning, as much or more so than if it had happened in the waking world." "But which--" She plunged him deep in her mouth again and he forgot what he was going to say. Although he was gradually gaining some sense of control over his reactions, her lips and tongue sliding over his hard length occupied most of his attention. He returned to her cunt and tasted her greedily, provoking her into a squeal of delight. "Oh, my--" Chakotay climaxed suddenly, releasing Janeway's cock to avoid biting. Ok, that's five, he thought, unable to resist keeping score. He peaked again himself very shortly as she worked the thin velvet skin over his shaft. His balls were beginning to ache from the workout, but he didn't care. They collapsed next to each other, head to toe to head to toe. "Mmmm," smiled Chakotay. "I could get used to this." To Janeway's amazement, he still felt a heated desire for her as she lounged blissfully on the sheets, her full breasts relaxing to the side. He reached out and ran a hand up her smooth coppery thigh, admiring the hue of her skin against the dark background. Obsession? That might be a good word for what he was feeling. She caught his drift and laughed. "You know, you're going to be awfully sore." "Are you?" "Am I--?" "Sore." "Not really." He raised his eyebrows, a little ashamed to ask out loud. In answer, she rolled onto her back and held out her arms. "Don't worry. You haven't worn me out yet. There are some interesting points to being female." "Yes--I know," he smiled wickedly. "Right now, I seem to have it both ways." "That's just fine with me," she sighed. He moved over her. The tip of his cock touched her and nestled into her damp, firmly swollen folds. He pressed lightly against her body, but met resistance and did not move forward. "That's a little too high, I think," said Chakotay speculatively. "All right--how about there?" "I think--yes, that's it," she replied, "but let me hitch myself up a little--oohh." Janeway sank glans-deep, watching the strong, lovely face change, the lips soften and part, the lids grow heavy. "Mmmhff," said Chakotay. "Is that all right?" asked Janeway anxiously. "Unnhnn," was the reply. He moved in slowly, tense and suspended on elbows and knees. Chakotay closed her eyes and turned her head to the side. She seemed to be listening to inward voices, for she smiled faintly in quick twitches and raised her eyebrows. Janeway allowed himself to come to rest against Chakotay's pelvis. He was buried in her to the hilt, red and black hair entwining between them. Her pulse beat deep within her with the daintiest of rhythmic squeezes. She began to move her head back and forth, drifting it gently from side to side and letting out long sighing purrs. I must be doing something right, Janeway thought with a resurgence of confidence. He lifted himself up experimentally, withdrawing a few centimeters, then settled back down again into the warmth and wetness. His own feelings began to intrude on his observations of his partner. The urge to move washed through him and took over the rolling of his hips. Janeway pumped gently through the flowing heat, enjoying the pressure of the slippery walls that gripped his cock. They had come full circle now, back to his original tormenting fantasy and making good his first clumsy brutality. It was as good as he had hoped. She lay with her arms flung out, welcoming every sensation as it came. Her pelvis rocked hypnotically to meet him as their bodies' deepest unconscious instincts guided them. Janeway felt calm and centered for the first time in days. He had finally worn down the gnawing edge of frustrated lust that had tortured him since the transformation. This was how it might be under ordinary circumstances, neither of them under the compulsion of bizarre transformations or haywire chemistry. Would he ever know ordinary circumstances again? Would he ever have found himself like this in his female shape, lying with the big, crop-headed, warm-eyed man, her shining chestnut hair trailing over the pillows? He plunged into the welcoming body beneath him, listening to her little sounds grow into louder cries of joy. Janeway fucked Chakotay until she screamed in ecstasy. For a long time they lay in relaxed luxury, her head resting on his shoulder. He put his arm around her and kissed her fragrant hair. "Thank you," he said. He had been afraid he might go insane, having her constantly at his elbow and unable to say a word... The thought trailed off. What now? Now that they had indulged in the feast, sampled so much of what their bodies had to offer each other, what now? The change of sex made no difference to their basic situation. He had been half crazed with lust, she had been affected both by his longing and her own urges, and both of them had been more reckless with unfamiliar bodies than with the ones with which they had been born. But he was still the captain and Chakotay the First Officer. If anything, a relationship between them was even less appropriate than before. She sensed his withdrawal, a little shrinking of the surface of his skin, and caught his chin to look into his eyes. Her face mirrored his troubled feelings as she smoothed his beard. All the cares of office, so briefly put aside, descended on both of them again. Janeway knew there was nothing he could say to ease the intrusion of the truth. "Stay with me. Stay at least for tonight. Don't wake from the dream just yet," she whispered. "I don't ever want to wake up again," he said. "I just want to lie in here with you." This isn't real. The reality is out there, on the bridge, in the conference room, in every corridor of this ship filled with my crew, with my people. I have to take care of them. I am a Starfleet captain. That is my responsibility before all else. Before all else. No one can relieve me of that duty out here so far from home. Voyager is isolated from all reminders, all consequences except those that fall on our own heads. The loss of discipline will destroy us as its ultimate result. Something is playing with us, using us as game pieces, spurring us to break all ties with duty. I have to know who, and I have to know why, and I have to stop it. I can't rest without that. He lay awake until morning, cradling the sleeping Chakotay, who was weeping in her dreams. --- "There's nothing wrong with the analysis! Nothing! We've run every diagnostic, every test on those probes three times over." Janeway slammed a hand down on the conference table. Tuvok raised an exquisitely arched brow. "This would seem to confirm your supposition of a guiding intelligence behind the phenomenon." "Intelligence? More like malevolence. I can't shake the feeling that someone is playing a cosmic game with us. Roll up the dice, change the rules, and see how the pieces react. What's the motive?" "If a powerful being is deliberately trying to confuse us for amusement--" "Then it must be close by to observe," Chakotay interjected. "Why carry out such an elaborate prank if not to see the results?" "Mr. Tuvok--have there been any indications that we are being scanned?" "No, Captain, there have not." "Could the perpetrator actually be on board?" "I have run a Level 3 security scan of the entire ship. I found no evidence of any life forms other than the crew." "Could this being disguise itself as one of the crew?" asked Chakotay. "If it has the power to create all the effects we have observed, that is certainly not inconceivable," the Vulcan replied. Janeway thought for a moment, elbow on table, thumb and forefinger pinching lower lip. A memory nagged at the back of his brain, frustratingly elusive. "I read a report--years ago, I think--about a being that had a fondness for annoying starship captains--" "Q," said Chakotay with a start of revelation. "Its name was Q." "Oh, very good," drawled a fat, self-indulgent voice. Every head in the room snapped around to the window. A brawny, heavy-featured man, wearing a Starfleet uniform, captain's pips and an insufferable smirk lounged against the viewport. He tapped the tips of his fingers together in a parody of applause. "It took you long enough," he said, "and you are not quite accurate--I don't annoy starship captains in general; just one or two. My old friend Jean-Luc wrote that report, I suppose." Janeway echoed the name silently with his lips. The stranger's face lit up. "Oh, capital, capital!" he cried. "Any old friend of his is undoubtedly a friend of mine. Embrace me, my sweet--embraaaceable--you!" He held out his arms. Janeway realized with a start that she was no longer in the conference room. The lights were dim, and she--she! was surrounded with potted palms and a huge dance floor. Q--for it was obviously he--whirled her around to the sound of an unseen band playing Gershwin. Her full skirt swirled around her legs as he changed direction and went into a dip. Maintaining the pose, he looked her over with a leer. "Oh, I definitely made a mistake there," he purred. "Wha--what?" "Changing you into a man. I like you much better this way, my dear. Though it really was a hoot watching you try to pretend you didn't want to tumble your luscious Number One. Ooh, he turned out rather well, ne c'est pas? Simply ir-re-sis-ti-ble... " He pulled her up abruptly and continued the dance. Janeway began a slow boil. How dare he play with their minds and bodies like that? She nearly told him where to stick his ridiculous potted palms, but thought better of it immediately. This "Q" had used his power to play a sophomoric prank, but he could have used it to annihilate them instantly if that had been his whim. Or to send Voyager and all its crew into Earth orbit, for that matter. "Oh, my," she gasped a little breathlessly, "you were watching the whole time?" She hoped she sounded flustered enough. "I was a fly on the wall, a toad in the hole, a lieutenant or ensign or whatever fit the bill--you did respond so entertainingly to that little metabolic boost, my lovely," he sang in her ear. "You humans--you worry so much about what you do with your stupid little bodies. What's the difference? Get some fun out of your pathetically short lifespans, if you can." "So--ah, you were responsible for the hormone--" "Oh, I turned up the juice on everyone a bit, just to make sure things would get interesting, but the two of you--well! Most of that was just chem-is-trrry... " He spun her around under his upraised arm. "Why?" "Why indeed?" "What induced you to try this--experiment?" Oh, Lord, what had the rest of her crew been doing? She had been so preoccupied with herself and with the investigation that she had not even thought about that... "Oh, it was just an idea I've been kicking around. When I saw a Starfleet vessel way out here in the boondocks, I couldn't resist taking a peek. Imagine my delight at finding the little lost lambs." Janeway's hopes took a great leap. "Would you consider leading those little lambs home?" she cooed, and looked up at him with big beseeching eyes. Q made a face. "But you're having so much fun out here. Why go back to the Federation, where everyone is so earnest and dedicated to the betterment of humanity? Phooey. It doesn't get any better than this. No entanglements. No responsibilities. Who's going to know, even if you do want to carry on silly mating behaviors with your pet terrorist? The two of you could be the greatest piratical pair this sleepy little quadrant has ever known. Imagine it: Kate the Bonny Buccaneer and her loyal sidekick Big Chief Blue-in-the-Face." They were standing on a rolling deck, spray blowing and sails billowing. Q wore a huge, curly black wig, a feathered hat, and a long coat with brass buttons. Paris stood at the ship's wheel, dressed as a sailor in loose striped trousers. All around her, her crew were distributed in the rigging and tops and manning the deck. Chakotay stood beside her in a giant war bonnet and a tiny breechcloth. He looked down at himself, covered in war paint, then at Janeway. She had on a corseted dress with a d'eacute;colletage so low her breasts bulged out alarmingly. A cutlass and flintlock pistols hung at her waist. The rest of the bridge officers, similarly restored to their original bodies, were all dressed in colorful piratical outfits. Torres had a black eye patch and Tuvok a squawking parrot on his shoulder. "It's perfect; think about it," said Q. He brandished a silver hook in place of his right hand. "The freedom of the seas. The wind in your hair. Take what you want out of life, no holds barred. Who needs to go home?" "I do. All of us do." Janeway looked him in the eye, undistracted by the chaos around her. "We need to go home. You can send us there." "Oh, what fun would that be? Boring, that's what I call it. Besides, my dear, with determination like yours, I wouldn't dream of depriving you of the pleasure of doing it yourself. And maybe you'll reconsider, hmm? No? Oh well, there's plenty of time to do so. About seventy years, if I don't miss my guess." "Ta ta, and bon voyage." He waved his hook in dismissal. --- Captain Janeway finished her personal log and sat back in the chair behind her desk. The comforting familiarity of her ready room surrounded her on every side. She looked at her hands, for what must have been the hundredth time that day, and was reassured again that they were hers. The memory of another pair of hands, big, corded ones covered in strawberry blond hair, dimmed in her brain. Had it been just a dream or a collective hallucination? She could no longer feel sure. Actually, she admitted quietly to a corner of herself, she was deliberately pushing the recollections away, consigning them to a safe box of unreality. They would have to stay there. Too disruptive to allow her to keep them out in the open... The door chime sounded softly and she answered, "Come in." Her First Officer stood silently just inside the room after the door closed again, looking at the floor, the desk, out the viewport, anywhere, except into her face. Waiting for her to speak. "What is it, Commander?" she asked briskly. The box was shut and locked. He took a long time to answer. "Will you make an announcement to--the crew?" Chakotay said finally. She knew that was not why he had come to her, but she could not answer the question he tried to put. "I would like to, yes, but I'm not sure what to say, to be honest with you. My memory seems to be playing tricks on me--I haven't much idea of what was real and what was that Q character setting up his scenarios." "Real? Reality exists in our minds. Why do you need anything else to confirm it?" he said, and finally met her eyes. His head was drawn down a little into his chest, so that his lids raised up at her over an intent stare. "I like to keep my feet on the ground." "Very sensible," he whispered, and looked away, drawing his lips in tightly. "Since we are in a starship, that sometimes takes extreme measures," she smiled with deceptive lightness. More extreme than I would ever have liked, she thought. How can I be so calm at the sight of that face? I have to be calm at the sight of that face. Chakotay echoed the smile, but the expression was only a movement of facial muscles. "Well, I do need to tell them something, even if it's just, 'Everything's normal now, get back to work,'" Janeway said, and rose. He moved aside to let her pass. She stopped and looked up at him, familiarly big, as she returned to the bridge and her duty. He held his hands clasped behind him, motionless as a statue. "Thank you, Commander," she said, putting a hand on his arm. "For what, Captain?" His features were a cool mask. "For your--performance in time of crisis. I need a good First Officer that I can count on to do his duty to the ship--and assist his captain to do so as well." Chakotay's expression warmed very faintly. "You're welcome," he said, and followed her through the door. She took her seat on the bridge and activated the shipwide intercom. "This is the captain speaking... " Lord, but it was good to have her own voice again. --- The End