Janeway stepped onto the bridge and gasped. *Some* one had strung a load of.. rocks? plants? Janeway wasn't quite sure *what* they were...from the ceiling above the centre of the bridge. They were poised in front of the command chairs, and Janeway was not impressed, her already bad mood increasing.

"Who is responsible for this?" she snapped.

Tom flushed slightly. "Commander Chakotay, I think, Ma'am... He said something about Talaxian tradition?"

Janeway eyed him suspiciously. "Really."

"Yes!" Tom flustered. "Would I do a thing like this..." He trailed off.

"I won't answer that, Ensign," Janeway said icily.

She looked up and the... things... on her ceiling. They were rock-like, yet delicate too. They grew in all sorts of different formations - some looked like dismembered hands, some like brains and some were more like pasta. They were vividly coloured, but clashed awfully with the crew's uniforms...

The hiss of the turbolift opened drew her thoughts away from such irrelevant discourse. Especially when she saw who it was.

"Commander. Care to explain?"

"It's an old Talaxian tradition, Captain, called "Corale'en". Suspend pieces of coral from the ceiling of your vessel, perform a short ritual, and you'll have good luck. And we certainly need all the luck we can get out here."

"Luck is irrelevant."

"Luck is illogical."

"No it's not," Chakotay argued with Tuvok and Seven, but kept his eyes locked on Janeway. "Neelix thought it might be morale-boosting, so he came to me and I arranged it."

He flashed a smile at her, and Janeway found it difficult to ignore the dimples in his cheeks. The corner of her mouth twitched upward slightly. "Far be it from me to stand in the way of boosting morale," she said lightly. She turned as if to sit down, then suddenly turned back. "Wait... you mentioned a ritual," she said, suspicion edging her tone. "What does this ritual entail, exactly...?"

"Uh..." Chakotay fumbled for a second, then gathered his wits together. "Uh, well... it usually requires that the First Officer kiss the Captain whilst standing underneath the coral." And he did so.

Janeway gasped as she melted into his kiss.

Paris' low wolf whistle broke the mood, and Chakotay glared at him. "Paris, can't a man kiss his wife on their wedding anniversary anymore?" he demanded, but his tone was jovial.

Janeway smiled. "I thought you'd forgotten," she said, teasingly.

"Never," he promised.

Janeway looked up at the coral above them. "This was a wonderful... surprise, Chakotay. Talaxian tradition, did you say? I've got to go and thank Neelix..."

She left the bridge so fast that she never noticed Chakotay pale slightly, or Tom collapse in a heap of laughter...

~~~

"Neelix?"

"Yes, Captain?" The stout Talaxian stuck his head out of the Galley, recognising the Captain's voice immediately. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Kathryn lent her elbows on the counter and smiled that dazzling smile. "I just want to thank you for telling Chakotay about the Corale'en ritual... it was a wonderful surprise."

Neelix looked at her, his head tilted slightly to one side in a quizzical expression. "Coralle'en? I've never heard of it, Captain."

"You know... the Talaxian Good Luck tradition, that involves suspending pieces of coral from the ceiling of the bridge, then..." Her voice trailed off as Neelix's expression became more and more confused.

"I assure you, I have no idea what you're talking about," he said, wiping his hands on his apron. "I have no idea what this 'coral' stuff is, even... although it sounds nice... does it taste good."

"Waaaaait. If *you* didn't tell Chakotay about this Talaxian tradition... and, if you don't know it, I assume it's not in the database... how did he found out?"

"Are you sure he said Talaxian?" Neelix queried, but Janeway had already put two and two together...

"The...! He made it up!" she howled... "I'm going to get him for this...!"

Neelix watched her hurry out of the messhall, muttering curses under her breath. The last he heard was...

"I'm going to get him for this!"