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New Legend

Captain's personal log Stardate 51501.6 After the destruction of the array that allowed communication with Starfleet, Neelix invited the whole crew to a party. As usual, Chakotay and I attended together to show unity as the command team. Once the party began to break up, we returned to my ready room for a short nightcap and to talk about the contents of our letters.

"I knew her. In fact there was a time that I thought Mark had an interest in her." Kathryn said this as she walked back to her place on the couch sitting across from her first officer. In her hand she carried her second cup of coffee since the beginning of this conversation.

Chakotay looked at Kathryn intensely and fought with himself over what he should say next. Never breaking eye contact, he set down his tea and in a low voice, almost a whisper, said, "Any man who would even look at another woman when he could have you is a fool." He waited to see her reaction.

Kathryn was flattered. She placed her hand on his chest, just over his heart, and smiled as she said, "Oh Chakotay." She felt the warmth of his hand over hers as he squeezed and lifted it to place a light kiss on her finger. Without thinking, she scooted in closer to him and placed her free hand around his neck. He leaned in and kissed her softly, then rested his forehead on hers. Both felt nervous and hesitant about what came next. Kathryn remembered Chakotay's declaration of love on New Earth, and he knew that she felt the same, though they had never really discussed it. Both wanted to finish the kiss and see where it led, but, instead they sat, foreheads resting against each other for a pregnant moment.

Finally Chakotay said, "I really should be going." As he got up, his face betrayed his feelings.

"You don't have to go." Kathryn remained seated on the couch and gently pulled him back.

"Kathryn," he whispered. "I can't do this to you, not now, not with all that has happened. We don't know where this could lead, and I will not risk our friendship for one night when I may be taking advantage of you."

Kathryn understood why he was pulling away from her, but she also thought she understood something else about herself. A little more urgently she pulled him towards her and said, "Indulge me. Please?" She scooted back on the couch and Chakotay sat at the other end facing her. She looked at him with a smile on her face"I want to tell you a story, an ancient legend of my people." She looked up to see Chakotay smile. "Its about a female warrior who thought she had everything. She was to marry a man that she loved after what should have been a short battle with a few renegades of her tribe. But something went wrong and she found herself far from home working with those she promised to capture. In working with the leader of the renegades,"

"You mean an angry warrior?" Chakotay asked with a smile on his face.

Kathryn laughed a little. "Yes, an angry warrior. In working with an angry warrior, she began to learn about herself and who she could be instead of just who she thought she was. When she looked into the angry warrior's eyes, she saw the woman he saw, the woman she wanted to become. She also saw a man that she respected and accepted without wanting to change."

During her story, Kathryn and Chakotay's hands found each other and held one another. Chakotay's head was down when she finished and he said, "It's not that I don't feel the same way. I want this so much. However," he stopped himself as he looked at her. "Why don't we wait, just a few days. Make sure that this is right for both of us. If it is, what's a few days in the next 70 years? And if not, then we don't ruin our friendship."

Kathryn slowly shook her head while Chakotay got up and began to leave. Before the doors opened, he turned back to her and said, "I want this more than you can imagine, it's just a few days. I promise."

***

"Commander, take B'Elanna and scout out the Ourawi asteroid belt. B'Elanna says she needs some dilithium."

"Aye captain."

Chakotay began to leave, when Kathryn stopped him and added privately, "When you return, meet me in the ready room, I believe we have a conversation to finish." For a brief moment, Chakotay saw a telling smile on her face. Trying to hide his own smile, he nodded his head and finished the walk to the turbolift.

Chakotay finished the pre-launch checks as B'Elanna entered the shuttle bay. More cheerily than usual, he asked B'Elanna, "You ready to go?"

"My, my, aren't you cheerful Commander. What's going on?"

"Can't a guy have a good day without being put through an inquisition?" Chakotay asked playfully.

"Not three days after finding out that everyone he cared about back home died or is in prison." Chakotay stopped thinking about his upcoming discussion with Kathryn. His hopefulness replaced by the guilt he felt because he led the only group of Maquis that survived. In the last several days, he had thought about all the good people who died, but he also chose to think about his future, hopefully with Kathryn. He had to admit that since telling his former crew about the Maquis fate in the Alpha Quadrant, he stayed away from the rebels. Now he stood with his closest friend from that time, unable to escape his real feelings about the situation. B'Elanna could see how her comment changed the mood of her friend. She wanted to apologize, but didn't.

They entered the shuttle silently and left Voyager. They sat for a few minutes before Chakotay put the shuttle on autopilot and turned to B'Elanna. "We're Starfleet now. Did we sell out?"

"No, we did what we needed to and we built a life here." B'Elanna looked at her best friend and smiled. "You gave the order that saved us. As captain, your job was to look out for the well being of your crew and no one thinks you did anything but that."

"But at what cost?"

"What do you mean? All of us got a new chance at life on Voyager. I found the man that I will spend the rest of my life with. The whole crew has not only adjusted to life on a Starfleet ship, we have a better life than we would have had in the Alpha Quadrant. Believe me, no one blames you for anything."

Chakotay knew that B'Elanna was right, he just needed a little more time to think about what she said. "When did you become so wise?"

B'Elanna smiled again and said, "Oh, I don't know, I guess I have listened to a lot of ancient legends of Indian people." Chakotay laughed and took control of the vessel again.

"So when are you going to tell me what had you so happy earlier?"

***

"Captain Janeway to the bridge."

The captain sat in her ready room trying to get ahead in reading PADDs so that she would be free tonight. She found Tuvok's summons just one more annoyance on a day full of them. Anytime Chakotay went on an away mission, she had to deal with personnel problems, and today the sheer number seemed more than usual. However, she knew that she had to go. As soon as the doors to the bridge opened, she said, "Report."

Tuvok moved from the command seat and went back to his station at tactical. "Commander Chakotay's shuttle crashed on an asteroid in the Ourawi system. Communication has been lost."

Kathryn walked towards the helm and put a hand on Tom's shoulder as he continued to stare ahead. She shut her eyes to replace her captain's mask then turned so she faced Harry and said, "Life signs?"

"We are not close enough to have sensors pick them up."

Standing in the middle of the bridge, all eyes were on Captain waiting for her to issue the orders that each person believed she would. They knew that Tuvok should assemble an away team to assess the damage and hopefully find their friends. Giving that order had almost become second nature to the captain after surviving so long in the Delta Quadrant. However, Kathryn hesitated. She wanted to make sure that her decision to go after Chakotay would never be construed in the wrong way. She wanted to make sure that she didn't decide anything because of her desire for a romantic relationship with her first officer. "Lieutenant Paris, set a course just outside the asteroid belt, then meet me in my ready room."

Confused, Tom said, "Aye Captain" as Janeway walked towards her ready room.

When Tom went in, he found the captain pacing the length of the room. "Captain?"

"Tom, sit down, sit down. When we get to the Ourawi system, I want to go on a shuttle to pick up our people. Because of your personal relationship with B'Elanna, I want to know if you feel up to piloting that shuttle."

"I don't know that I understand your question captain."

Janeway stopped pacing and looked at the young man in front of her. She leaned against her desk, so that she was half sitting on it. She stood there for a couple seconds as her mind stopped spinning. Finally she said, "I want to know if you think your judgement will be impaired because B'Elanna is on that shuttle."

Tom shook his head in acknowledgment of the question. "Starfleet conventional wisdom would discourage me from going on that mission because I am too involved. They're right, I am very involved. That is the reason that I know I will bring her back alive. I want to be the first person that she sees so that I can hold her and reassure her that she will be alright. I also know that I would never be able to forgive the person that doesn't bring her back. I would rather that person be me than anyone else." He looked at the captain seeing her still struggle, a look that the had never seen on her before. He began to wonder if Chakotay had ever seen this vulnerability that no one knew she had. "If you're asking me if even knowing the risk of seeing her remains, do I want to go, the answer is yes. There is no where else I want to be."

Kathryn nodded her understanding. She started to walk around her desk again making her decision. "How soon before we are there?"

"About two hours."

"Start preparing a shuttle. Dismissed." Tom looked at her a little surprised as she sat down behind her desk again and picked up a PADD.

***

Captain Janeway entered the bridge. Immediately Tuvok began his report. "We have found debris from the shuttle on an asteroid in the heart of the field. Sensors indicate they crashed into it head on. There is no way either could have survived."

Kathryn stood in front of the command chairs and looked at the one that Chakotay usually occupied. "Mr. Paris, you're with me. Tuvok, you have the bridge."

"Captain, Starfleet protocol states that you should not leave the bridge -"

Captain Janeway had no interest in discussing the wisdom of her decision or Starfleet protocol, she cut off Tuvok and left a stunned bridge crew with "It's not the first time I am breaking protocol and if anyone is going to risk their lives to find Chakotay and B'Elanna, it should be me and Tom. Mr. Tuvok, hold current position until the four of us return."

"Aye Captain."

*** Chakotay felt his eyes open. He couldn't see anything around him, but he felt that the ground he laid on was a cement substance with water on it. He could hear water dripping somewhere in the room, but didn't know from where. He stumbled as he tried to stand up. His hands and feet were chained to each other behind his back. He tried to remember anything that would give him an idea of his location. He remembered sitting at the helm of the shuttle. B'Elanna sat behind him trying to fix the navigation system. It went off-line for no apparent reason. He couldn't steer the shuttle away from the asteroid that they headed for. He didn't remember anything after that.

"B'Elanna? B'Elanna? Are you in here?"

B'Elanna started to wake up a bit disoriented as well. "Chakotay? Is that you? Where are we?"

"I don't know yet. Are you okay?"

"I'm bound up and feel like I've been run over by a targ, but okay otherwise. How about you?"

"About the same. Nothing a dermal regenerator won't cure."

"Any idea where we are?"

"None. If I had to guess I would say we are on a planet in a basement of a structure." Chakotay could hear B'Elanna trying to wriggle out of her chains. "B'E, stop wiggling around. Until we know more about where we are and can construct a plan to get out, we need to stay calm."

"My hands and legs are shackled to each other behind my back, how am I supposed to stay calm?"

"I don't know, but you have to find a way. That's an order." Though he couldn't see her, Chakotay was pretty sure that B'Elanna gave him a death glare that their captain would be proud of. Her chains continued to scrape across the floor. Chakotay decided to change tactics. "Let's work together to find the nearest wall and look for an edge or something to break the chains. Come towards my voice."

B'Elanna found his change in commands near amusing, "Learning that Klingons don't take orders too well?"

"No, I have learned not to try and stop a headstrong woman." Chakotay was glad when he heard B'Elanna laugh a little.

"The Captain is teaching you well." B'Elanna's shoulder hit Chakotay's knee. "Okay Commander, where to from here?" Chakotay began to move across the floor and could hear B'Elanna follow him.

Part 2