Water
by Patty R
Rated G
Voyager was orbiting a class M planet which in several ways was an equal to Earth. It's biggest difference was that this particular planet had much less land. When sensors swept over the deep, cold oceans, they managed to encounter some odd readings, especially far within the very dark blue waters, which peaked Kathryn Janeway's interest immediately.
She specifically desired to got down with the away team which was beaming down to see if any new foods could be gathered.
Sitting in her ready room this day, she tossed the thought out to Chakotay, "It has been a while since I've led an away team to a new surface. I'm going tomorrow with them. So you can stay in charge here, how's that sound for you?"
A pair of dimples arose when Chakotay considered this, "Are you saying you wish to get away from us for a bit, Kathryn?"
Not *us*, she thought, *you*. Sitting alone with this man, and hearing the way her name rolled off his tongue was enough to make her stomach tickle. Though Kathryn considered answering him honestly, she really needed some time away from him, for her own peace of mind.
"Yes Commander," she brought the cup of coffee to her lips and drank it down before finishing, "Is this a problem?" her voice took on that edge which nearly dared Chakotay to put up a fight. But he wasn't in the mood to figuratively get beat up into a pulp or anger her. So instead he just smiled again and told her he'd arranger the schedules.
After asking Neelix for information on this planet, which she discovered was unnamed and had not been disturbed by other species because though it was rich in foods and plants, it also had an odd reputation of not having inhabitants, not anymore at least. No other creatures except for the occasional aquatic or small mammal was ever seen since a great devastating war had broken out amongst the ancient ones that once lived on that land countless centuries ago. But not much more was known.
So, ever the scientist Janeway was going to see what could be discovered amongst whatever relics could be found.
The morning the team arrived was absolutely beautiful. The sky was slightly different than the one of Earth, the land was oddly more sand than dirt until they walked much farther into the land. Once they had beamed down they had seen that unlike the beaches on Earth this land did not recede little by little into the ocean but rather seemed to quickly phantom into the deep recessed of the waters. There were nearly no waves in this very quiet planet.
Everyone was involved in checking the plant life and seeing which fruits might beedible and safe to send back to Voyager, except the Captain who was walking around looking at some ancient ruins near the waters which held various designs within the walls. Each was different, few involved scenes which depicted wars and battles. And the forms of these people which once lived here was nothing short of amazing.
Janeway ran her fingers over one in particular which showed what these people had looked like and it was like no other creature she had ever laid eyes upon. Her tricorder suddenly leapt to life and was indicating something near the waters edge. Never one to let curiosity get the better of her, she slowly made her way to where the foam of this ocean curled the sand.
"Away team to Captain Janeway." her commbadge chirped.
"Yes?" she stopped walking and stared out.
"Captain, we have managed to find several fruits which are good and are soon ready to leave the planets surface. Nearly done here." the Ensign on the other side said.
"Excellent Ensign Morgan. Let me know when we're ready to leave." She once more made her way to the edge of the beach to where the waters hid what her tricorder was picking up. She stepped closer and suddenly felt the very spot where she was standing give way. The sand-like surface was not as stable as they had originally thought, acting almost like quicksand near the waters edge and instantly she was falling into the navy waters.
In her struggle to make it up to the waters surface she managed to knock off her commbadge. She gasped repeatedly for air but too much water had entered her mouth when she had gone down the first time. A part of her mind noticed that this water was also less saltier than any other she had tasted. She went under again as her body was falling into the deeper waters. No matter how hard she kicked to go up she was losing strength quickly. Janeway could feel her lungs begin to fight because they so badly needed oxygen, she estimated herself to be at least 15 feet under by now.
Suddenly she felt a quick tug on her shoulder and was turned around. Her eyes opened incredibly as before her very eyes was none other than what looked like a merman. It's face was unlike any humans though, with eyes that were extremely large and black all around and no nose to be found. The skin was a nice shimmery green blue shade and there was not a bit of hair on it, there was also a tail where his legs would have been. Kathryn felt herself losing conscience when the creature grabbed her around the nape of her uniform and swam her deeper into the waters.
And suddenly, they were both gone.
On Voyager, Chakotay was sitting in his commanding chair looking over the latest reports when an urgent message came from the away team.
"Commander! I can't believe this." Harry Kim reread the message and instantly put it thru, "Sir, they are unable to find the Captain anywhere and no one can find her via her commbadge either. She's been missing for over fifteen minutes."
"What?" Chakotay swiveled around in his seat and then took to his feet. This can't be happening, he thought, sweet spirits, how could she just disappear?
Without turning to look at Tuvok, Chakotay told the Ensign to begin searching everywhere within a 15 mile radius, using every kind of scan they had available. There wasn't any trace of any kind of beam out, the planets surface was being looked thru by the away team so Voyager began to try to scan thru the water. It was denser than normal water and something was making the reading nearly impossible to figure out. Another painfully slow fifteen minutes passed by before anyone spoke again.
"Commander," the voice was undeniably Vulcan and was insistent, "sensors have picked up what seems to be a very faint commbadge signal."
Chakotay finally turned to look at him with his eyes looking haunted, almost afraid to hear where the message was coming from, "Yes?"
To everyone on the bridge that day, it looked as if at that moment Tuvok aged several decades suddenly, "It is coming from the inside the ocean, Sir. Nearly 50 feet down."
The Commander's throat locked up and he extended a shaky hand out to help him hold onto the back of his seat. He didn't have the strength to even breathe as the enormity of what had they'd all heard became the truth to his heart. So many battles she had fought, legions of villains she had done battle with and she had drowned?
Images like a movie put on slow motion danced in his mind and he saw each look, once more felt each touch and again heard each word they had shared. Each minute that nothing on Kathryn appeared clawed at Chakotay's resolve. Each heart beat hurt deep within him. It was now nearly a half hour since she'd disappeared and yet nothing. There was no way he would believe she had drowned without absolute proof. He turned suddenly and began to walk towards the turbolift.
"Tuvok, you have the Bridge. I'm heading down to the planet surface."
Just as he was about to reach the lift doors, Tuvok stepped in front of him. "Sir, that would be an unwise decision. We can not have both Commanding officers missing in this time of crisis."
Chakotay knew this to be true. With Kathryn missing, and at the moment presumed dead, he should remain aboard Voyager. But his soul was calling him to the surface. He would not break down in front of this man. All the intense pain he was carrying since word of Kathryn's disappearance would remain tucked away until he could suffer in privacy, and if and when that moment came, there would be no turning back. He looked like a man who was nearly dead would.
"Tuvok, I need to be there. I need to do more than just sit here and watch as everyone tries to figure out what happened to her. You can bring any formal complaints to me later, but at the moment, no one is stopping me." He leaned closer into Tuvok's personal space and brought his voice down another octave, "No one. Do I make myself clear?"
The Vulcan knew there was no way to argue with this man once he set his mind to it. So he stepped aside and quietly watched the Commander's rigid form walk into the lift.
The Bridge had been quiet as the exchange between the two men threatened to explode but once Chakotay left, everyone immediately came to life once more.
"Ensign Kim, call the away team and let them know that the Commander is going to be joining their search. And tell them to take extra precautions."
"Yes Sir."
Eyes opening. Head fuzzy. Air smells different. "Where am I?" the words left Janeway's lips before her vision completely caught up with the rest of her. Her stomach was in turmoil and it all came back to her in a flash. The cold water, lungs filling with it, and then something dragging her deeper.
She sat up and was finally able to see exactly where she was. The space around her seemed to be some kind of huge air bubble and she had been laying atop a soft algae bed. She was still fully clothed but barefoot.
Outside the air bubble was a scene out of a fairytale she had once heard about such a creature. It had it's back to her and it was definitely the thing that had rescued her. Muscular and not exactly scaly, this merman was swishing his incredible tail in a very smooth back and forth motion to maintain it in place. His area was nearly lab-like with alien machinery that hummed all around them, it maintained the room lit with something similar to conical light bulbs and it was all very tidy. In one part which looked very similar to Kathryn's own desk, she squinted to see what looked like some sort of drawing of this merman and another smaller, similar looking creature. A female?
With a quick action of his upper body and tail, it swam over to where her air bubble was and looked in on her. Kathryn stiffened her spine to not recoil for whatever this alien was, it had been kind enough to help her. Taking a better look this time she was able to see what made this merman tick. He was about twelve feet long, a good portion of that being tail with no visible genitalia. His face was not ugly, per se, but it did not have a lot of human features: no nose, ears, or hair. The eyes were extremely large and focused with fascination on her. The hands were not long fingers like human hands but rather web-like seeming more like a duck's foot in form with shorter digits. Its skin did not look at all scaly but more like a shark's flesh and it had gills along the side of the neck.
Might as well try to communicate with him, she thought. "Hello."
The merman tilted his head to the side and continued to look at her. It opened its mouth and imitated her motions. Kathryn could see very short sharp teeth inside the lip-less mouth. That's when she realized. If these creatures were fully aquatic, they would have no need of vocal cords. How do they communicate?
As soon as the thought entered her mind, she felt something touch her mind and knew the answer. She reached out mentally with a gentle, peaceful image and received one in kind. Then little by little more came to her, similar to a little movie being replayed inside her mind and she saw what had happened to them.
The merman, she still had no idea what his name was, had seen her standing near the waters edge. Knowing the sand would not hold her body weight. Stayed nearby until she had fallen in and felt compelled to help her since it was his fault she had come so close. Once she was unconscious he had sprayed a liquid into her neck to help ease her travel into the deeper waters. Something that had stopped her lungs from collapsing completely and also helped in clearing the water that she'd swallowed.
They were within his home and yes, these were a peaceful creature. The others that had fought long ago above land had died because of war and hate. That last sad thought came to her and she felt all the emotion this merman had felt once he realized there was nothing this water bound race could do.
When it had been looking at her while she was in the ruins, it had seen and felt that the Voyager team was not a danger. So it had secretly continued watching her, but had not tried to communicate because it was unsure if these two legged creatures could do so telepathically. Janeway knew that this was the moment her tricorder had picked up on him.
Kathryn saw another smaller version of this one coming into the lab and swam along side the male to look at her. Yes, there was no denying it: this was a female. The features were more delicate and even curvy in some parts. When it drew near her mate, dolphin like sounds came from within her and they communicated this way for a minute or so.
Janeway brought her hand to the spot over her heart, gave a small smile and said, "My name is Kathryn Janeway. How is your name pronounced?"
Both the aquatic aliens turned their huge eyes towards her and searched her mind to try to understand her. Then they answered her with curious dolphin sounds that resounded through to her. It was like a dolphin's song filled with chirps and clicks and she knew there was no way she'd be able to pronounce it.
More thoughts filled her mind as the merman explained how he had been able to quickly construct an air bubble inside a force field from one of the machines he had and that was how she was able to breathe now. Though there was much more to learn from each other both knew that they would be bringing her to the surface very soon. He was now mixing together the same liquid he had injected her with to help her make the trip back.
The female creature relayed a telepathic message to Janeway. The others like her seemed to searching for her. Especially one that was in the same area she had been before, and this one was particularly in turmoil. Chakotay's face flashed with the message and Kathryn gasped.
Would Janeway like to pass a message onto him?
On the surface Chakotay was now inspecting the ruins where the Captain had last stood. He saw the shoe prints she had left behind and with a lone finger traced it. He was so sure he would find some trace of her somewhere. Something, anything that the away team had missed . No. He would not think about how much he missed her already and what her fate seemed to have been. He had sent the away team a distance from this site, needing time to think and trying to understand how everything in his life had suddenly become nothing.
Continuing the inspection he saw a short distance away that near the water there was a good sized hole. The tricorder showed that this was the place the commbadge had fallen into. Chakotay walked as close to the spot as he could, looked down into it. Nothing but water met his view. He drew a breathe and held it and wondered if she had felt panic, had she even been conscious on the way down.
Now as these depressing thoughts ran in his mind a sliver of a tear fell from his eye. Suddenly a huge sob was ripped from him and his knees gave out causing him to sink into the abrasive sand. "No. No, please. Too much I wanted her to know," he cried out to the empty sky as his hands fell onto the lap. Moments moved sluggishly on until finally his shoulders slumped.
The tears that wet his cheeks fell freely now as he in some way knew that this emptiness that filled him would never leave. *I love you* was the one thought that kept circling his mind. His spirit was broken and for a freak moment Chakotay considered following his love to her watery grave.
And as he sat there in infinite pain, he felt something fluttered thru his thoughts. It almost sounded like his love's voice in his mind. Was this what madness felt like? Was he now forever haunted by her words?
No. There it was again. His puffy, red rimmed eyes opened and he looked out into the water to see a green blue head poking out there. Chakotay's brows came up and his mouth fell open when he realized this alien had sent him a thought from that short distance. And what it had relayed was his name, but in Kathryn's "voice".
"Who are you?" he asked. "And where did you hear Kathryn's voice?"
The head bobbed a bit in the water but no words were yelled back. Instead what Chakotay got was a faint mental image of his Captain within a maintained air bubble. He saw her smiling and telepathically conversing with these creatures. She was not being held against her will but it had been done to save her.
Wiping his cheeks onto his uniform sleeve he tapped his commbadge, "Chakotay to away team. Meet me where the Captain was last spotted. It seems something has information on her whereabouts."
Still inside her air bubble, Kathryn knew that the merman had nearly finished the liquid needed to help her head to the surface. In spite of wanting to learn more with them when the merwoman had shown her Chakotay kneeling on the sand, crying, it had taken every ounce of self control to not try to swim out on her own.
Finally the merman turned back to her holding the injection which would help her make it to the surface safely. Kathryn smiled and watched as he deactivated a small area of the force and thrust it at her. She took it and injected herself in the neck area, eager to see get a move on. Once it was working, the merman took her by the hand, completely disabled the force field and quickly began swimming out of the lab.
This time Kathryn was able to see how these people had managed to create an entire world deep inside this ocean. They lived within beautifully maintained coral buildings, where small colorful fish and curious marine creatures darting to and fro. Well populated by other merpeople, this underwater city was covered by a huge formation that must have been what had interfered with Voyager's sensors. This way they could live peacefully and never been seen unless one ventured deep into their territory.
Once they were both far from the city, Kathryn could see they were quickly headed for the surface, and though she had no immediate need to breathe she wanted to reach her crew -- but mostly Chakotay. They made their way quickly with the mermans' rapid swim and soon arrived at the waters edge. Just before breaking the surf Kathryn looked back once more and smiled to them both and sent them a goodbye and thanks for helping her.
"Sir! The Captain!" yelled Ensign Morgan just as they all saw that she was being helped onto the secure edge of the beach by her new friends. Cautiously making their way to her Chakotay took her by the left arm and another Ensign by the right and dragged her a good distance out of the water. She looked like a soaked calico cat with her hair all matted to her forehead and neck, but the sight made the commanding officer fall in love with her all over again.
"Captain, so glad to see you again." his voice was still rough from all he'd cried but those dimples exploded on his cheeks again.
"Thank you Chakotay," she locked eyes with him and smiled, "but I'd prefer you give me a nice warm hug instead."
Without so much as another thought to the team standing near them, Chakotay's arms pulled her to him. He spoke tenderly against her nape, "I thought I had lost you this time." He looked over her shoulder and saw the merman just beneath the water's face. Immediately he issued him a mental thank you and smiled when he saw the merman lift his hand in return. Chakotay hoped he would have a better change later of getting to know Kathryn's rescuer. But for the moment she was in his arms and nothing else mattered.
She pulled back slightly and took a good look at him, not even paying attention to the now huge wet spot she'd left on his clothes. It seemed he had grown several more gray hairs in the time she had been missing, Kathryn mused. Then as gently as a summers breeze she caressed his cheek with her still cold hand, "Never. Besides ... do you think I'd up and die before ever tasting one of your kisses?"
Chakotay drew in a shaky breathe and said, "Only one? I have an endless supply for you. But wouldn't it be a surprise for the others?"
She glanced over his shoulder to where the away team was casually acting as if their two commanding officers were not on the border of initiating a new relationship. "I think they've been wondering why we haven't. Let's not let them wonder any more." Upon her agreement, Chakotay leaned forth the extra inches and gave into the wants and desires that had been created upon their first meeting, and kissed Kathryn until the very world began to spin all around them. Moments, hours, eons later when they finally both were able to draw back it was to the sounds of clapping and wolf calls from the ones that had witnessed them.
"Have a got a story to tell you!" She boasted as they slowly made their way off the beach.
The End.
