pook41 | New Voyager fic

Title: From the Start
Author: Pook
Fandom: Star Trek: Voyager
Rating: PG13
Summary: At the beginning of their journey home
Character/Pairing: Janeway/Chakotay
Spoilers: None
Warnings: None
Author’s Notes: This is the start of a ‘getting to know you’ series. Thanks to Katlady for the beta and the idea
Prompt Number for fic101: list 2 - 25 – moment
Disclaimer: CBS/Paramount owns everything. No infringement intended.
Date: 28/1/07

~~*~~

“Do you need time to think about my offer, Mr Chakotay?” Kathryn had settled back in her chair, trying to read the Maquis’ facial expressions. He’d shown a small hint of surprise that he’d quickly masked. Maybe he’d expected the Maquis to be dropped off at the nearest planet or to spend a lifetime in the Brig. There was no way she would’ve left them in the Delta Quadrant. For the most part, Kathryn agreed with the Maquis’ fight and reasons for doing what they’d done. There was definitely no love lost between her and the Cardassians.

Chakotay’s hesitation to answer straight away had been taken as a good sign by Kathryn. It meant that he could think through a situation when time permitted. She’d already seen that he was capable of snap decisions and wasn’t ruffled and remained professional in a tight situation. During the short time they’d been together, they’d worked well together. She’d felt there was a growing rapport between them, hoping that he’d felt it too and that they could build on it as they continued to work together.

Offering him and the Maquis a place on her ship had been the only logical thing to do under the circumstances. When she’d explained her plans to Tuvok for the Maquis using her own brand of Vulcan logic, he’d agreed with her assessment of their situation and her plans. Chakotay’s previous experience as a first officer, along with his performance evaluations, had shown that he was more than capable of doing the job and his work as an advanced tactics instructor would be invaluable as well.

It was now up to Mr Chakotay to agree or not.

Chakotay had found in the last week his life had been turned upside down and inside out. Befuddled would be an apt description for him and his emotions now. A great deal had happened in the past week. Starting with nearly being captured and almost certainly killed by the Cardassians, only then to be violently hurled 70 000 light years to the other side of the galaxy. Followed by battles with the belligerent Kazon in which he’d destroyed his ship to save the very Starfleet vessel sent to capture him and his crew.

At the end of the fight with the Kazon, that Starfleet vessel’s captain had destroyed perhaps their only way home. He’d been amazed at the diminutive but courageous captain. She’d shown the kind of moral backbone he’d thought wasn’t possible anymore in a Starfleet command officer. The lack of moral fibre displayed by the Federation and Starfleet over the Cardassian treaty contributed to his and many other fine officers’ decision to join the Maquis.

Janeway had blown up the Caretaker’s Array to protect the Ocampa, an innocent race that she’d barely known. A brave and moral decision he’d thoroughly agreed with but it had stranded them all so very far from their homes.

Chakotay knew that her decision had affected her. Deeply. Janeway had felt the full weight of her order when she’d spoken to B’Elanna about all of them missing their loved ones. But it hadn’t let it distract her from making the tough decision.

And to top it all off, the captain had just offered all the Maquis a place on her ship - not marooned on a planet in the Delta Quadrant or a long trip home in the Brig but active roles on her ship. She hadn’t sugar coated the situation either. A third of her crew had died when the Caretaker had taken them from the Badlands. She needed the Maquis to get home and expected them to fully contribute to the running of the ship, depending on their skills and experience, beginning with her choice of him as her First Officer.

Not Tuvok but him. She’d said Tuvok wasn’t as qualified as he was.

Janeway had spelled out her reasons and her plans. They’d sounded very reasonable to him and not a ploy to keep him under control. In fact, she hadn’t shown any hint of subterfuge at all. His crew had been beamed into the cargo bay while the battle raged. After the battle, she’d ordered Tuvok to escort his wounded crew to Sickbay for treatment while most of the rest had been provided with a meal in the Mess hall. They weren’t even under heavy guard. All her dealings with him and his crew were very reasonable and hospitable.

So far.

Chakotay was under no illusions that that they were on some holiday cruise. It wasn’t going to be smooth sailing all the way home. They’d already made one enemy, the Kazon. There were going to be tough times ahead for everyone as the Maquis had to make adjustments to running the ship the Starfleet way and her crew had to adjust to having the relatively untrained yet resourceful Maquis around.

It was going to test all of them. The captain had told him how she wanted the ship to run but left it up to him how it got done. She’d proven to him that she was a flexible leader who was able to delegate effectively. In his mind, it was a good start.

Chakotay knew in his mind without a shadow of doubt that he could work under Janeway. There were so many moments when he’d felt that way, beginning with the first time they’d met face to face. When he’d beamed on to her Bridge, she’d calmly told everyone to put down their weapons and they all did. Everyone instantly knew who was in charge. It was her air of authority. Without unnecessary posturing, the captain had come straight to the point, determined to find Kim and even B’Elanna when she’d discovered she was missing as well.

Looking back at the whole incident, a strange feeling of tightness grew deep in Chakotay’s chest. He’d been so angry over Tuvok’s betrayal and seeing Paris as well had made him even angrier but Janeway had stepped in between him and Paris, her small hand on his chest, the power of her calm voice. He could’ve thrown her clean across the deck without any effort but the power of her touch had stopped him in his tracks. As soon as possible, he hoped to seek answers from his spirit guide on how that was possible.

Everything that happened after that just confirmed to him that he was ready to follow her anywhere, even to the end of the Universe. He smiled as they were already at the end of the galaxy, so things, he hoped, could only get better. It would be another thing to ask his spirit guide.

Kathryn watched as a smile grew on his face. She began to relax a little as she waited for his decision. Her hands were on her lap and her thumb gently rubbed the back of her other hand. Patience was never one of her strong points. Holding on to her hands stopped them from fidgeting.

Even after all the mental to-ing and fro-ing, the pragmatist inside Chakotay realized he had no other choice just as the captain hadn’t any other choice. There was a slim chance the captain could get them home with the crew that had survived if all the crew were focusing on running the ship. If she’d decided not to drop the Maquis at the nearest planet and keep them in the Brig, there were too few Starfleet personnel left to run the ship and guard the Maquis.

There was no point in the Maquis trying to take over for exactly the same reason. Even though B’Elanna was a very good engineer, the unfamiliar and brand new bio-neural gelpack technology that the ship relied on was completely unfamiliar to her. Could they fix the ship without the specialists engineers? Probably not, and even if they could fix it, the time taken to find the problem would give the Kazon or some other hostile aliens the chance to destroy them. Anyway, he was sure that Janeway would lock out all the systems as soon as the mutiny was underway. Chakotay had been in no doubt that Tuvok and the captain had already set up the lock out codes to all the key systems. He couldn’t believe that she would be naïve and not plan for any eventuality.

Janeway had the numbers on her side. She could just drop them at the nearest planet if they caused too much trouble. But why cause trouble? Yes, he could make her life difficult by demanding concessions. But to what end? Did he really want to quibble over wearing a uniform, their jobs, or who got what room? It wasn’t about whether he wore his leather or red and black, or even his ego, or even hers. Talk about rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, he smirked to himself. They were going to need everyone pulling together; all in the same direction if they were going to survive. It was life or death.

The Caretaker had forced them into this position and it was now up to both of them and their crews to make the best of it.

Decision made with strangely no regrets. Yet another thing he had to find the time to contemplate the reason why. “No, Captain. I don’t need any time. I accept.”

Finally smiling, Kathryn was relieved and pleased all at the same time. She walked around her desk. Tuvok had told her that Chakotay had been a levelheaded commander and her tactical officer had been in no doubt that Chakotay would accept her offer and all her plans. But she wasn’t so sure. He would be giving up command. It wasn’t something any captain gave up easily. So it was with a fair amount of relief that she greeted his acceptance. Finally, there was something to be happy about since their arrival in the Delta Quadrant. “Thank you, Mr. Chakotay.”

Chakotay stood up as she approached him and smiled as well.

“Or should I say, Commander Chakotay.” She thrust out her hand and he gladly accepted it and returned her firm, sure handshake.

“Thank you, Captain.”

“Good. That’s the hard part over.” Smiling, she was glad he’d accepted because she hadn’t really considered a plan B. If she had to lock up the Maquis, she didn’t have enough spare crew to guard them. After speaking to Tuvok, she wasn’t even sure they could keep them in the Brig for all that long before they would try and more than likely succeed in escaping. Leaving them on a planet would leave her with the barest minimum crew to operate Voyager. Too many of her crew were inexperienced. She had her doubts that they would make it back without the help of the Maquis.

Chakotay was beginning to like her smile. It lit up her face. Her eyes sparkled. He couldn’t help but return the smile. It was contagious.

Kathryn noticed his dimples for the first time. She’d always loved dimples. He had a lovely smile and she liked the way it crinkled his tattoo. She would have to ask him about the tattoo one day. Quickly, she shrugged off her wandering exhausted thoughts and was all business again. “Now, let’s get to work. Mr Tuvok has the Bridge for the rest of Alpha shift. He has assigned temporary quarters to all your crew. Each member will be provided with enough replicator rations for two uniforms and basic toiletries. I’m afraid that’s all we can spare at the moment.”

An almost overwhelming feeling of sadness washed over her as she thought of her dead crew. Her emotions about them were still very raw. Kathryn looked down, trying to get control. The dead hadn’t even had their memorial service and she was already renting out their rooms. Some of the dead she hadn’t even met while others like Alicia Stadi and Scott Cavit, she’d known for some time. Perhaps the whole ordeal was finally catching up on her. Struggling to contain her emotions her jaw clenched then she continued, quietly, “By now, the personal effects of my dead crew have been removed from their quarters. Because of the energy situation, your crew will have to make do with … err… some second hand items until the situation improves.”

“I understand, Captain” He could see her struggle to regain her control and reassured her that they would cope with what ever they could supply. “The Maquis had a similar …policy.” Janeway had no reason to be so apologetic. Just replicating that many uniforms for his crew would put a strain on their stretched energy supplies. It needed to be done. It was symbolic.

Kathryn rubbed her tired face. “Currently, your crew is in the Mess hall. After we brief them….”

“Excuse me for interrupting, Captain.” He wanted to tell them himself as his last act as their captain. “I respectfully request that I be allowed to do it as my last act as their captain. I believe it would be best if I brief my crew by myself. Most of them are fairly level headed and will accept the changes, but there are one or two that are hotheads, a little unpredictable when cornered.” Chakotay wasn’t going to say one or two were borderline psychopaths and may try to hurt her.

Janeway thought for a moment and agreed that it would be a final symbolic act as captain. At this moment in time, she didn’t have the energy even to argue the point. “Alright, Commander. After you brief them, Lieutenants Rollins, Andrews, and Baxter will give them the standard familiarization tour of the ship then escort them to their quarters until we can find them a duty station. They’ll have access to Sickbay and the Mess hall. The holodecks are out though. Mr Kim is working on a way to tap into the unique energy matrix. In the mean time, I’d like you to prepare a list of where you think your people would best fit in.” Kathryn picked up a padd from her desk and handed it to him. “This padd contains a list of all the positions available on the ship and the experience and positions of my crew. No one will have their place or seniority guaranteed.” It took her a moment to register what she’d said as she saw Chakotay grinning again. She must be tired. She laughed at her slip of the tongue. “Well, almost all positions are up for grabs.”

Chakotay was glad she could laugh at herself. If he’d known her a little better he may had made an off the cuff comment about how he’d blown his one chance to nominate to be captain but it was still very early days in their relationship. Tensions were still bound to be high on both sides. He felt sure that in the back of her mind and definitely in the back of Tuvok’s mind, they may have thought the Maquis would want to take advantage of the precarious position and take over the ship. He didn’t think a Maquis mutiny would happen without him and so far it hadn’t even crossed his mind and wasn’t likely to either. Chakotay would appease the hotheads as he’d always done by pairing them with the calmer members of his crew to nip in the bud any lingering disaffection quickly.

“There is one position I’m making a decision on now. The chief helmsman. I hope you won’t have a problem with my choice.”

Chakotay hardly knew anyone from her crew but the only person he’d seen at the helm so far was Tom Paris. He had to admit begrudgingly that Tom had done a very good job when they’d fought the Kazon. “Paris?”

“Yes. Is the soon to be Lieutenant Paris going to be a problem for you or the rest of the Maquis?” Kathryn challenged.

“No, Captain. He saved my life on Ocampa and so now my life belongs to him. I'll personally take responsibility for his safety.”

“Good.” Janeway was glad that had been settled then carried on, “We’ll meet tomorrow to work out the personnel situation before the morning briefing.”

“Yes, Captain. At 0700 hours?”

“Yes, Commander. Would you care to share a ration pack for dinner with me in the Mess hall, say around 1930 hours?”

“Yes, thank you.” Chakotay agreed with a nod. For appearance sake, it was important that they were seen to be working together and even sharing a meal together in a public place where more of the lower decks could see them. It should put a stop at any outlandish rumours. His only task was to go through the personnel situation. He was glad for the invitation as he wanted to get know her.

“Fine. We can use the time to get to know one another.” Kathryn glanced at her chronometer. “I’m due down in Engineering to give Mr Carey a hand in repairing the plasma conduits shortly.”

“May I suggest that after I brief my crew, I send my top engineer, B’Elanna Torres to give you a hand?”

“Yes, thank you. Would you please send in Mr Paris when you leave?”

“Aye, Captain.” Chakotay turned and left her Ready Room.

Kathryn was pleased that it had gone so well. She’d been prepared for a fight but deep down she knew that he had no choice just like she didn’t have any. Commander Chakotay was an intelligent man who thought more about the welfare of both crews than his status or ego. It was at odds with the utterly ruthless captain that his intelligence file had depicted him as. Headquarters had obviously tried to put his and the Maquis’ actions into the worst possible light, possibly to assuage some of their guilt for causing the Maquis to form in the first place and all the problems in the DMZ that their terrible decision had caused.

Tuvok had provided her with a more balanced view of what kind of man and leader Chakotay had been. And she agreed with Tuvok’s assessment. She could work with the man and although she’d only known Chakotay for a week, she trusted him with her ship, her crew and even her life, if she needed to. Kathryn was at a loss to explain how she’d come to trust him, so completely and so quickly that but she felt it nonetheless. She had learned over many years that her gut instincts were pretty good and she rarely ignored them.

Kathryn couldn’t ignore one other thing. Her addiction to coffee. She desperately wanted a cup of coffee but would have to wait until their energy situation eased. If she kept herself busy, she wouldn’t notice her hands shaking waiting for the next hit of black gold.

*Beep beep*

Thankfully the door chime pealed to provide her with another distraction.

“Come in.”

“You asked to see me, Captain.” Tom stopped in front of her desk.

“Mr Paris, you have a problem.…”

~~~*~~~

New Voyager fic

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