By; Captain_Crystal
Kathryn Janeway noticed the tremors going through her ship as soon as they started. All she was doing was waiting for Harry Kim’s analysis on what the occurrence was.
“Harry?” She asked for what must have been the third time in five minutes.
“It’s some kind of frontal boundary. I’m not sure where it came from, but it looks pretty strong,” Harry replied.
“I agree Captain. It is my advice that we proceed on a different heading to avoid being caught in this storm,” Tuvok chipped in.
“Tom, take us in the opposite direction of the front. Warp 3,” she ordered.
“Aye, Captain. Warp 3.” She felt the ship turn and shudder again.
“Captain! The front is following us!” Harry announced loudly.
“Tom, lose it.”
“No effect! It’s still coming!” Paris yelled over his shoulder.
“Intercept in thirty seconds! Twenty-five! Twenty! Fifteen seconds!” Kathryn involuntarily shuddered as Tuvok counted down, quite possibly to her ship’s destruction.
“Five! Four! Three! Two! One!” The ship launched into a tailspin. The inertial dampeners were apparently not able to keep up considering everyone was being thrown around like rag dolls.
Tom gripped his console, Tuvok hit the railing, Chakotay was holding his chair so tight it might rip off, Harry had just flew over everyone; landing on Tom.
Kathryn’s strength was slipping; she was sliding out of her chair. There was nothing she could do about it. Just before she slipped, she heard a voice.
‘Kathryn Janeway, my friend. This is my gift to you for saving the Ocampa. Thank you.’ As soon as the voice was done speaking, she slipped. Hitting the rail was the last thing she remembered before the silence enveloped her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chakotay stumbled to his feet as the ship stilled.
“Where are we?” He asked to no one in particular.
“Commander, there is massive ship damage. Turbolifts and transporters are down. The Main Computer is offline. Warp engines too. Engineering say that it will take them a few hours to get impulse. Until then, we are dead in the water,” Harry reported.
Chakotay saw a heap of black through the smoke and leaned down to help it up. He rolled the person over to see the blackened and bruised face of his captain and best friend. Quickly he checked her pulse. It was weak and barely steady.
“Tom, are you all right?”
“Yes sir.”
“Grab the med kit. Kathryn hit the rail.” Tom reached under his console for the little black case. When his fingers found it, he grabbed, pulled, and ran. He was at Captain Janeway’s side in seconds. Tom ran the small medical device over his friend’s limp form.
“Severe concussion; fractured arm; broken ankle; internal bleeding. It looks like the rail wasn’t all she hit. It looks like she was thrown over a console into a rail. I don’t know what happened, but I can’t treat her with just a med kit. We need to get to Sickbay. Most of her injuries can sit until we can get the lifts back up, but this internal bleeding could kill her.”
“Harry, do we have transporters?”
“No sir. Engineering says that they are working on the engines.”
“Bridge to engineering.”
“Torres here. I’m really busy down here. If you want those engines, I suggest you leave us alone.”
“I don’t want the engines. Your new top priority is the transporters. I need them in ten minutes.”
“That’s impossible. I can’t give you transporters in ten minutes!”
“Then Captain Janeway’s gonna die. She’s bleeding internally and we need the transporters to get her to Sickbay. You know the lifts are down.”
“Yes sir. Transporters in ten minutes.” It was an agonizing ten minutes, too.
“Torres to Bridge. I think I can give you one transport for one person. ONE! Ok?”
“Ok, B’Elanna. I get it, one! Harry; beam her to Sickbay immediately.”
“Aye, Sir! Transport in progress.” Chakotay saw her form shimmer away, come back, and shimmer away a final time.
“Did she make it?”
“Yes, Sickbay says she’s there.”
“Do we have sensors?”
“Short range.”
“Good, find out where we are.” Harry looked down and a few seconds later he shook his head, rechecked the sensors, and stared at disbelief at the readings.
“Harry?” Chakotay questioned his look of disbelief.
“Sir, I checked the sensors. They are working, sort of. If these are right, then we are in the Beta Quadrant, Sir.”
“Beta? Are you sure?”
“Yes Sir. 1,000 light-years away from Earth.”
“One year! We’re ONE YEAR away from home!” Tom yelled. He looked at his Commander. He didn’t look so enthusiastic.
“Sir, one year. Isn’t it great?”
“Yeah Tom, great.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Your home will be with your family. My home will probably be a grey jail cell. B’Elanna’s too. Chell, Serena, Ayala, Cheek; all of us. Fleet will still see us as Maquis. They would rather see us locked in a rehab. in New Zealand than let us pursue our newfound relationships.”
“They’ll let you go. Captain Janeway will make sure of that.”
“I know.” Chakotay still looked depressed but Tom dropped it.
“Tuvok? Report?”
“Injuries reported on all decks; three critical. The Doctor is requesting Mr. Paris’s assistance in Sickbay. Major hull damage on deck nine; hull breach on deck ten. The energy wave has disabled all off-ship communications.” Chakotay rubbed the back of his neck as Tuvok rambled on about the ship’s injuries. His thoughts weren’t on the bridge, they were centered on a slumped form in Sickbay.
‘Is she alright? Will she live to make it through? Will I ever see those beautiful blue eyes again? Oh god, what if she doesn’t make it? She won’t be able to free the rest of the crew?’ Chakotay’s thoughts rambled on as Tuvok was giving his report. He stopped to listen when Harry began to make his report.
“Sir, the ‘lifts are back up now,” Harry reported.
“Good. Tuvok you have the Bridge. I’ll be in Sickbay.”
“As I thought. I am sure that Captain Janeway will live.”
“I hope you’re right,” Chakotay said as he walked out.
“For your sake,” Tuvok added as the Commander walked out of sight.
The lift ride for poor Chakotay was agonizingly slow. It seemed to take hours to reach deck five where in reality was only a minute. He tried his best not to run down the corridor to reach Kathryn. He tried to keep a normal pace but ended up speed-walking to Sickbay's doors.
Chakotay entered to find Sickbay rumbling with action. There were a total of four patients in the room. Ensign Vorik, Ensign Karter, and Lieutenant Cheek were the other three he vaguely noticed. His main attention was on the surgical bay where the Doctor was working frantically over his friend.
“Mr. Paris! I need 20 CC’s of trianelene!”
“Here,” Tom said as he passed the Hypo to the Doc. “Commander!” Tom shouted as he spotted his CO.
“What’s her condition?” Chakotay asked.
“It doesn't look too good. I’m sorry,” he said quietly.
“I am, too,” Chakotay whispered and he looked on to his dying friend. He suddenly heard alarms blaring.
“Mr. Paris! I need the cortical stimulator!” Doc yelled over the confusion. Tom ran to his side and tossed him the CS. The Doctor placed it on Kathryn’s forehead and pressed the button for a pulse. The instrument hummed to life as it sent shockwaves through Kathryn’s brain.
“No pulse; No blood pressure; Minimum electrical activity in the mid-brain,” Tom reported.
“Again!” The Doctor ordered. The CS was activated again.
“Thready pulse, but It’s there.”
“Quickly, 15 CC’s anaprovolene.”
“Right!” Tom said as he injected Kathryn with the Hypo. “The pulse is gaining strength. Blood pressure 110 over 65.” A few seconds later the Doctor scanned her again.
“Her Pulse is back to normal and so is her blood pressure. She is in a coma right now Commander,” he paused as he stepped closer to the Commander. “I am concerned, however. For a while there, she had minimum electrical activity in her brain. It’s possible she may have suffered brain damage.”
“How much?” Chakotay asked.
“I can’t even speculate on that until she is awake. I can tell you that she won’t BE awake for several hours. You should go get some rest, Commander.”
“Would you mind if I stayed with her for a while, Doctor?”
“No I suppose not. But, I will shoo you off after about an hour.”
“Alright. An hour.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
An hour later, Chakotay awoke to the moaning of the person in front of him. He gently squeezed Kathryn’s hand and patiently waited for her to fully regain consciousness.
“Ohh,” she moaned lifting her right hand to her head. The Doctor entered the room hearing her discomforted groan. He gently injected her with a hypospray and left the two to their privacy.
“Where am I?” she finally asked.
“Sickbay. How do you feel?”
“Oh god. Like I was hit with a shuttle. Wait a minute. Wait,” she said looking deep in his eyes.
“What?” he asked after enduring her lengthy gaze.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“Kathryn? It’s me. Your best friend, Chakotay.”
“I don’t know you,” she answered as she pulled her hand out of his grasp.
“Doc!” Chakotay yelled.
“Yes?” he asked as he marched in the room.
“Can you tell how much brain damage there is now?”
“Yes. I will. Captain, what do you remember?”
“Well, that last thing I remember was on the Al-Batani. Where is she and where am I?” she asked angrily.
“Kathryn,” Doctor asked using her name. “What’s your full name and rank?”
“Lieutenant Kathryn Marissa Janeway. U.S.S. Al-Batani. And you all are?”
The Doctor looked at Chakotay.
“Oh, uh, I’m Commander Chakotay. U.S.S. Voyager.”
“You’re not the captain?”
“No.”
“I want to speak to the captain of this vessel.”
“You can’t do that.”
“And just why not?”
“ It’s difficult to explain.”
“Explain it anyway! Where’s the captain!”
“Alright!!” It’s startled the Doctor to here Chakotay yell in that manner. He never got mad enough to yell.
Chakotay balled his hands into fists before replying.
“You have suffered some sort of brain damage. You don’t remember, but you are the captain of this starship.”
“I’m only a Lieutenant. You have me mistaken with someone else.”
“Ask the computer to confirm your voice pattern.”
“Alright. Computer, confirm voice pattern.”
*Confirmed voice pattern. Captain Kathryn Janeway.* Kathryn drew a blank.
‘Computers can be programmed to lie. So can holograms. People lie. But, why would they lie to me? They’re in Starfleet uniforms. That gives me a reason to trust them. Well, what do I do?’
“See Kathryn? You are the Captain. Listen. You were tossed into a rail on the bridge and you lost consciousness. We got you here and the Doctor said you had Brain damage. We didn’t know how much, until now. You can’t remember the last fifteen years of your life.”
“Wait, slow down. Why can’t I go to Starfleet Medical?”
“We’re about seventy-thousand light-years away from anything resembling Starfleet. Will you help me? I’ll help you.”
“Help you do what?”
“I want you to order command of the ship over to me and I’ll try to help you remember the rest of your life.”
“Alright. What was your name again?”
“Chakotay. Commander Chakotay.”
“Right, right. I knew that. Um. Computer? Transfer command to Commander Chakotay. Effective immediately.”
*’ Voice print recognized. Transfer complete.’*
“Ok. Now, you hold up your end of the deal.”
“Of course. Doctor, can she leave?”
“Of course. But I want her to wear this cortical monitor, just to be sure,” he said as he placed the monitor on the bone behind her ear.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
“That’s a first!” the Doctor exclaimed sarcastically.
“What do you mean?” she asked unsure of his meaning.
“In the five years that you have been on this ship, I have never heard you say thank you and actually mean it. It was like you never appreciated me.”
“I’m sorry you think that way. I’m sorry and I’m sure I respect you and appreciate you very much. I’m sorry that I have never said those things to you. Remind me and I’ll say them again when I remember who you are.”
“You may not realize it, but that means a lot to me, Captain,” Kathryn cut him off.
“Since I don’t remember being Captain, can you have everyone please call me Kathryn?” she asked both of them.
“Of course. I’m sure that they would understand. I’ll make sure that they know. Let’s go.”
“Alright. One sec.” She walked over to the Doctor and put her arms around him in a hug.
“Thank you for everything Doctor. Keep up the good work, OK?” she said pulling away from the hug.
“I will. Thank you, Kathryn. I..., I’ve never been hugged before.”
“I’ll try to remember to hug you more often. Bye Doc!” she shouted breezing out of the room.
“She is astonishing,” he mumbled to the Commander.
“Yep. Now you see why I love her so much. She’s like this all the time, she just never let it show before.”
“Well, I wish she would do it more often. You better follow her before she gets into any more trouble.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
We walked down the corridor together. I watched carefully as Chakotay put in an access code to the doors of what looked like a holodeck.
“Where are we?” I finally asked.
“Holodeck. I thought you might like to see some videos.”
“Videos? You mean like home movies?”
“Yeah.” Chakotay placed his hand on my arm and guided me to a couch that had materialized. We sat down and Chakotay ordered the computer to begin the playback.
I watched quietly as the monitor showed me and a few others at what looked like a Christmas party.
‘Come on, Captain! Drink some eggnog.’
‘Are you kidding Paris? Knowing you, and I do very well, I know that you have probably spiked it beyond belief. You’re not getting me drunk!’
‘What’s the fun in that?’ The Tom froze for a moment. ‘Captain. you’re standing under the mistletoe with Chakotay.’ The Kathryn on the screen blushed for a moment and then pulled Chakotay’s head down to hers for a brief kiss.
‘That’s what I’m talking about!’ Tom yelled. For the Chakotay, it appeared the kiss ended way to soon, and the Kathryn’s cheeks were still burning red, but she had a small smile.
“I don’t want to see any more,” I said standing up. Chakotay stopped the playback and walked behind me to take my hand.
“I know this must be a bit frightening, but listen to me, I won’t hurt you and I just want my friend back. “ I looked back at him and saw barely contained desire coursing through his eyes. I gently reached up to trace his tattoo. It felt like it was something I had wanted to do for a long time. My hand found its way behind his head and dragged his lips to mine. I kissed him, just like in the video.
As we came up for air, my memories hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks. I remembered all that had happened in the last fifteen years. I remembered him and I remembered protocol. The moment was shattered.
“Chakotay, I....” I couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“Yes, Kathryn?”
“I remember.” It took him a moment to realize what I had been saying.
“All of it?”
“All of it,” I repeated. “But it doesn’t matter.” He seemed shocked by my words, but my actions shocked him more. I pulled him down to me again and kissed him as deeply as I could. I wanted to show him that there were no boundaries any more. He had already shattered those with that first kiss on Christmas.
Sequel soon!