| Caretaker With A Twist Captain_Crystal Captain Chakotay stood on his Bridge staring at the tiny ship on the viewscreen. ‘It is really small. No match for Voyager. No problem.’ “Captain, the Maquis ship is hailing,” Lieutenant Tom Paris said from tactical. “On Screen.” The sight he met was amazing. A lovely woman with bronze hair pulled back in an half clip and piercing blue eyes looked back at him. “I’m Captain Chakotay of the Federation Starship Voyager. And you are?” “You’re fleet. You should know who I am,” The woman answered. She was being stubborn. A large factor in her reputation. “Enlighten me.” “Janeway,” The woman said with a frown. “Do you have a first name? Or should I call you just Janeway.” “Call me Captain, Fleeter. I’ll tolerate nothing else.” “Alright, Captain. What can I do for you?” Janeway snorted. “A Fleeter who asks what he can do to help. That’s one for the records, eh Harry?” A man from off the viewscreen answered her back. “Definitely one for the records.” “Captain, I’ve lost over half my crew. You have too. I think we can work together to solve this problem,” Chakotay continued. “I didn’t have a problem until you followed us. You’re my problem. What makes you say I’ve lost half my crew?” “A fully operative Maquis ship would take advantage of Voyager’s situation. You haven’t.” Janeway laughed again. “What makes you think I’m not planning to do that when you trust me?” “Call it a hunch. I think you’re as defenseless as we are.” Janeway looked thoughtful for a moment. “Do you have a plan. Or should I beam over to discuss it over tea?” The Maquis crew laughed. Another part of Janeway’s reputation was her ‘Tea Technique.’ She slipped poison into her victim’s tea while pretending to discuss terms of negotiations. “Why don’t you just beam over. We’ll pass on the tea.” “Fine. We’ll discuss this like adults. But my crew will be treated as equals. You put them in the brig, I kill you. You aim a gun at them, I kill you. You threaten them, I’ll kill you. Got it?” She asked with a raised eyebrow. “Got it.” “Good. Now tell your crackerjack crew not to screw up, then we’ll talk.” The screen went blank. Chakotay turned to Ayala at the Ops. station and told him to get a lock. “Energize.” A blue shimmer and a man and Janeway appeared on the Bridge, phasers drawn. Ever so protective, Tom drew his phaser as well and aimed it at the arriving people. “Tom, put that away.” Chakotay walked up to Janeway and looked her in the eye. “I promise you that if you don’t threaten us with your phasers, we won’t draw ours.” “Harry, put that damn thing away. This doesn’t mean I trust you Starfleet,” Janeway said as she placed her phaser on her belt. “Nor do I trust you Maquis. Shall we talk in the Ready Room?” Janeway nodded before turning to her colleague. “Harry, I know they’re Fleet, but no trouble. Kay?” “Kay, Kay.” “I told you not to call me Kay.” “Sorry.” “Alright Fleet, let’s go.” Chakotay led the way to the Ready Room. Once inside, Janeway sat in one of the chairs near the door and crossed her ankles. She watched silently as Chakotay took his place behind the desk. “I have a proposal to make.” “I’m listening.” “We’re both reasonable people. We both have family at home waiting for us. We both want to get home. But that’s going to be near impossible with two ships. We should join forces with one ship.” “You want me to abandon the Eagle?” “Yes. We could do so much more with Voyager. For one thing, both crews could fit here.” “Yeah, but my crew are attached to the Eagle. They know her quarks and how she works. This isn’t Starfleet. You can’t expect my crew to just pack up and leave without a fight. They won’t. All you’re going to get out of that would be a mutiny.” “We all can’t fit on the Eagle either. So what do we do?” “I thought Starfleet had all the answers. You tell me.” “What can I do to convince you that leaving the Eagle behind is the best thing to do?” “Simple. Nothing,” Janeway said with a smirk. Janeway’s grin faded when she noticed his strong stare. “What?” “I feel something. Like I’ve known you a long time. Like I should trust you. Do you feel it?” “No,” Janeway lied. She had felt it since she laid eyes on him. Like she knew him a long time. “Janeway, I know a liar when I see one, and I’m looking at one. You feel it too, don’t you?” “Yes. Maybe a little.” Janeway watched as the Fleet Captain reached up to his collar and tugged off the pips that resided there. He placed them on the table. “Janeway, I’m going to start over as a friend.” Chakotay stuck out his hand. “I’m Chakotay.” “Kathryn,” Janeway said as her hand went out to meet his. “Nice to meet you, Kathryn. I know we just met, but I’m asking you to trust me.” “Why?” Janeway asked. “I don’t know. But I think one crew on Voyager is best. Please say you’ll trust me on this. Trust that feeling.” Janeway looked thoughtful as she weighed the possibilities. She did trust him. And one crew on Voyager did sound a lot safer than two ships. But what about her crew. She knew they were loyal to her ‘till the end, but serving on a fleet ship? She didn’t think that they would do this. They had to, though. “Alright. I trust you.” “Thank you.” “Don’t thank me yet. You still have fifty-four people who have to trust you. They all might disagree with me.” “But you agree with me. That’s all that matters. I have the Captain’s support.” “Well, what position will I be serving?” “How about First Officer? I could use someone with your command talent right beside me.” “You mean my talent for controlling the Maquis. If I’m in partial control, you think I’ll help you keep them in line.” “Well, yeah.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ “What!? I am not serving on a Starfleet ship! Captain, have you lost your mind!? Fleet’s the enemy!” Harry yelled in Janeway’s face. “Harry, calm down. It will be alright. We’re equals here.” “No we’re not! They hate us as much as we hate them!” “Harry calm down or we’ll settle this the Maquis way!” “Maquis ways have always been better!” “Fine!” Janeway pulled her fist back and slammed it into Harry’s nose, breaking it. “You want more of the Maquis way?” Janeway hissed. “No, Ma’am,” Harry whimpered from the floor. “You’re going to do your job the way I’ve seen you do it. I’m going to be the best Commander I can be. And so is everyone else on this crew. There is no Starfleet and Maquis crew anymore. There is only the Starfleet crew. We are ONE crew now. If I can do this, so can you.” “I understand,” Harry said standing up and walking to take his place at Ops. “Commander?” Chakotay said. “Yes, Captain?” Janeway responded. “Just checking. Ladies first,” he said referring to the twin command chairs. “Thank you,” Janeway said as she took her new seat. She knew this would be difficult, but she could do it. And so could her crew. Their crew. The End |