DISLAIMER: 

All Characters in this story belong to Paramount. I get not money for doing 
this. I just invited them over to come and play with me for awhile. This 
story is mine..written with the invaluable help of a great friend..Thanks 
for everything Lor! 

You are welcome to download this...just keep my name attached. 
This is my first attempt at writing fan fiction..so be nice! 

*********************************** 

WARNING: The material contained in this story is rated NC17. If you are 
     under 18, this is not for you. 

*********************************** 


Written by Orlith and Lor 

------
Captains log, Stardate ******* 

We have entered a region of space which seems to be unusually active with 
severe ion storms. As a result of the storms, there have been numerous 
problems among Voyager's systems. I will be relieved once we leave this 
part of the Delta Quadrent behind us. I can't relax until I am certain 
that the danger these storms represent to the ship is gone. 

** 

Sitting at her desk, Captain Kathryn Janeway paused while making her latest 
log entry. Leaning back in her chair, she stretched her arms behind her 
head in a futile attempt to ease the stiffness in her neck. She turned to 
look out the viewport as the stars streaked past. 
Suddenly, a call from the bridge interrupted her thoughts. 

"Captain, you are needed on the bridge. Sensors indicate a severe ion 
storm is developing." came Tuvok's calm voice. 
"On my way," she instantly replied. With a small, inward groan of 
exhaustion, Kathryn closed down her log entry, and returned to the bridge. 

"What's our status, Commander?", she asked as she made her way to the 
center seat. 

"Sensors indicate that there is a severe build up of ion particles dead 
ahead of us. It looks like this is going to be the worst storm we've 
encountered yet.", replied Commander Chakotay. 

"Tom, can we plot a course to avoid the worst of the storm?", was the 
Captains' first response. 

"I'm sorry Captain," replied Voyager's pilot. "This storm is the biggest 
I've ever seen. here is no way to avoid it. I think we are in for a very 
rough ride!" 

Quickly, Kathryn transferred the sensor information to her console. After a 
few minutes, she agreed with Tom's assessment of the situation. Turning to 
face the rest of the bridge crew, she began to give quick, decisive orders, 
"Have all hands prepare as best they can for this. Make certain that 
everything that can be secured down, is secured down." Then, she reaching 
for her comm badge, she spoke "This is the Captain, there is another storm 
developing ahead, sensors indicate that it is the worst one we've come upon 
to date. Make certain that all loose items are secured as best as you can 
and be prepared for any emergencies. Sensors indicate that we should 
encounter the storm within the next 32 hours." 

Then, having finished her announcement to the crew, Kathryn called down to 
Engineering. "B'Ellana, we are going to need as much power as possible 
diverted to the shields, it looks like this particular storm system is 
going to be bad. Make certain that all ships systems are prepared for 
this. We may have a lot of systems going down once this storm reaches it's 
full potential." 

In Engineering, Voyagers' half-klingon engineer made a face as she listened 
to the Captains orders. "We're working on that Captain," she replied. "The 
warp core is already strained from the first series of storms we've gone 
through, if this storm turns out to be as bad as it looks, things could get 
very bad, very fast!" 

"Just do the best you can B'Elanna. We know you're working on it." came 
the Captains confident response. 

Once all preparations were underway, Kathryn turned to her First Officer, 
and said, "You have the bridge Commander. I'll be in my Ready Room. Let 
me know when we near the storm." 

"Aye Captain", was his response. Chakotay turned and watched as Kathryn 
left the bridge. With a worried frown, he then returned to the Engineering 
station where he continued to try to prepare the Voyager's systems for the 
coming storm. 

***(Three hours later..)*** 

Captain Janeway was busy trying to take care of miscellaneous reports when 
she was disturbed from her work by the door chime. "Come." she spoke aloud. 

A few moments later, she was not surprised to see her First Officer come 
into her Ready Room. He had a concerned look on his face as he walked over 
to sit beside her on the sofa. 

"All decks have reported in, everything is almost ready.", he said. 

Getting up and walking to the window, Kathryn gazed out at the passing 
stars, with a worried expression on her face. Seeing this, Chakotay got up 
to stand beside her. Gently, he reached out and turned her to face him, 

"You look exhausted Kathryn," he said. "Why don't you go rest before we 
reach the edge of the storm. Sensors indicate that we will enter the outer 
edge of it within the next 12 to 18 hours, its hard to be certain just when 
we'll get there as the storm is continuing to grow in size and intensity." 
Irritated at the way he could see through her, Kathryn shook her head 
negatively, "No, I don't have time to waste right now. It's my duty to be 
on the bridge." 

Frustrated, Chakotay said "Kathryn, you've been working double shifts ever 
since we began to run into these storms, you look terrible. How can you 
expect to get through this if you don't take care of yourself?" 

Looking at him, she paused for a moment to look at the intense emotions in 
his face. *I'm not the only one who hasn't slept much.* she thought 
defensively. Speaking to him, she said "I've noticed that you have been 
spending alot of time on the bridge too buddy." 

With a smile, Chakotay nodded agreement and said, "You've got me there, why 
don't we both go down and get a something to eat while we have the chance?" 

Kathryn smiled at him and taking his arm she replied, "Sounds good to me, 
just don't make me eat any of Neelix's leola root surprise!" 

"Are you kidding, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy!" laughed 
Chakotay. "I want you to be able to hang on to me if the storm gets too 
rough, not in sick bay, strapped to a biobed while the Doc complains about 
the bumps!" 

She poked him in the ribs and laughed. Shaking her head at him, she 
mischievously said, "What makes you think I'd reach for you? Just because 
you have those big, strong shoulders doesn't necessarily mean that I'd pick 
you for support." 

Chakotay only grinned at her. Then, the two of them headed for the 
turbolift to go to the mess deck before the storm. 

Once they reached the mess deck, after looking at what Neelix had prepared, 
they selected the least dangerous looking of the menu choices, that is to 
say, those without Leola Root, and sat down together to eat. 

"What do you think this is?" asked Chakotay with a chuckle. 
"I don't even want to know." replied the Captain, eyeing Neelixs' odd 
colored creation with some trepidation. 

Taking a very small, wary bite, Chakotay chewed thoughtfully for a moment 
before speaking, "At least it doesn't taste that bad." was his answer. 

Both of them laughed and shared a private smile. 
After eating, they sat back and talked about nothing in particular for a 
time, just to enjoy each other's company. 

Looking at her chronometer, Kathryn rose, "It's time for us to return to 
the bridge, the leading edge of that storm should be getting close." 

Together, they left the mess hall and walked side by side to the turbolift. 
Entering the lift, Chakotay ordered it to the bridge. 

On the way there, the lights dimmed and the lift stopped. 

"Now what?" asked Kathryn. 

"Chakotay to Bridge. What's wrong with the 'lift?" 

"A minor power fluctuation caused by damage from the earlier series of 
storms. We are repairing the power grid now," came Tuvok's calm voice. 
"You should be moving again in a few minutes." 

"Well, that's just great." said Janeway. "What do we do in the meantime?" 

As she spoke, she turned to look at him, the expression in his eyes caused 
her to forget the rest of what she was going to say. The intense emotions 
she saw there created answering emotions in herself. 

The soft emergency lights gave her made her look almost like something from 
his dreams. Standing close to her, he could just make out the smell of her 
perfume, making him want to get even closer to her. Looking into her eyes, 
his pulse quickened at the answering emotions he saw there. Encouraged by 
what he saw, Chakotay gently pulled her closer to him, leaning close to 
her, his voice husky with repressed emotions, he softly whispered into her 
ear, "I can think of something. Do you have any idea of the effect you 
have on me?" 

His words sent a shiver down her spine. Kathryn could feel the light 
caress of his breath against her neck as he spoke. Uncertain how to 
respond, she was unable to prevent a small soft whimper from escaping her 
lips. 

Hearing her, his heart began to pound. Leaning his head down to hers, he 
kissed her, ever so gently. 

Surprised at first, Kathryn tensed, then, as the kiss deepened, she wrapped 
her arms around his neck and kissed him back passionately. 

Chakotay moaned softly at the feel of her in his arms. He tightened his 
hold on her, pulling her up hard against him. 

Kathryn shivered involuntarily at the feelings his kiss brought up in her. 
Some part of her argued that she should pull away from him, stop this now, 
but her body would not listen. She wrapped her arms tightly around his 
neck, pressing herself fully against his hard, muscular body. 

Just then, with a slight jerk, the lights came back to full strength, and 
the 'lift jerked back into motion. 

Started, they pulled away from each other and struggled to get control of 
themselves before reaching the bridge. 

***** 



see part 2 



Part 2: 

***** 

(Two days have passed....) 

***** 



"Captains Log...This storm is without a doubt, the worst I've ever 
encountered. For the past two days, the ship has been bounced around like 
a child's ball. Damage has been reported on every deck, and over half of 
the crew has been to sickbay due to injuries ranging from minor sprains and 
bruises to broken bones as a result of being slammed around. Several ship 
systems have been damaged due to the extremely high energy discharges 
caused by the ion storm. We have been working around the clock to repair 
things as quickly as possible to reduce the impact of the storm damage to 
try and prevent something more serious from occurring, unfortunately, the 
constant jarring from the storm makes any repair difficult to complete." 
With a sigh, Kathryn closed her latest log entry and ran a hand through her 
hair. *I can't wait to clear this part of space. I don't know how much 
more pounding Voyager can take before something major goes wrong.* 
Speaking aloud she said, "For that matter, I don't know how much more of 
this I can take!". Getting up, she walked over to the replicator and 
attempted to order badly needed pot of coffee. As soon as she gave the 
command however, the replicator immediately shorted out and the control 
panel exploded in a shower of sparks, knocking her to her knees. Smoke 
began filling her quarters. Before she had a chance to do more that jump 
back in surprise, the fire alarm began to sound. 

"Oh this is just GREAT!!!" she called out in disgust. "First, we get stuck 
eating whatever Neelix can throw together, and now I can't even get a cup 
of coffee!! Computer, turn off that damn alarm!!!" Trying to put out the 
fire, it became apparent that the computer sensor in her quarters was also 
on the blink, because the alarm kept right on howling. 

Before Kathryn could do anymore, Commander Chakotay burst into her quarters 
with a fire extinguisher in his hands. 

"Kathryn!! Where are you?", he called out, trying to find her in the smoke 
filled room. A first, all she could do was cough and hearing her, 
Chakotay ran over to where she was still fighting the now blazing 
replicator. He pushed her out of the way and then turned the nozzle of the 
fire extinguisher towards the flaming console, and quickly put out the 
blaze. 

Dropping the extinguisher, he then turned to check on Kathryn, only to see 
her on her knees coughing violently. 

Without saying a word, Chakotay picked her up in his arms and carried her 
to sickbay. Once they arrived there, he ordered the Doc to stop what he 
was doing and get over to treat the Captain immediately. The Doc quickly 
took in their smoky appearance and motioned for Chakotay to lay the still 
coughing Captain onto the nearest biobed. 

"Commander, please tell me what has happened." asked the Doc. 

"I was on my way to my quarters when I heard the fire alarms go off in the 
Captains quarters. When I got there, the replicator had shorted out and was 
on fire. By the time I was able to get the fire out, the Captain had 
collapsed on the floor from the smoke.", Chakotay said. 

"I was not collapsed on the floor!", choked Kathryn with a weak glare at 
the Commander. 

With a sarcastic voice, the Doc said, "Of course Captain. You have a mild 
case of smoke inhalation and your lungs show signs of chemical damage. 
There must have been some chemicals from the replicator that damaged your 
lungs ability to process oxygen. I can correct this, but it will be 
necessary for you to remain in sickbay for the next two days. Also, you 
have second degree burns on your hands and arms that will require 
treatment, as well as minor lacerations on your face." 

With a groan, Kathryn lay back on the bed as the Doc administered a 
sedative. Turning to Commander Chakotay, the Doctor assured him that the 
Captain would be all right. 

"Let me know when she wakes up." said Chakotay. Then, moving to stand 
beside her, he took her hand in his for a moment and caressed her face. 

Then, with an upset look on his face, he left sickbay and returned to the 
bridge to arrange a repair crew to fix the fire damage. 

****Several days later...**** 

"First Officer's Log, 

The storm is finally over, but Voyager is in pretty bad shape. The storm 
has left us without transporters, and in order to maintain shield strength, 
we have drained most of our fuel reserves. The transporters are off-line 
and the main sensor array is damaged. I hope that we find somewhere to stop 
and repair the damage soon, before things get any worse. 

*Not that it could get much worse." thought Chakotay to himself. *With 
our energy reserves down so low, the best speed we can make is Warp 3.* 

He was interrupted by a call from the Captain, "Janeway to Chakotay." 

"Chakotay here Captain.", he said. 

"Meet me in my Ready Room in 10 minutes." she said. 

"On my way Captain." he replied. 

When he arrived, B'Ellana and Tuvok were already there waiting for him. 
Tuvok spoke first, "Long-range sensors have located a M-class planet that 
may be exactly what we need to complete repairs to ships systems. The 
planet's inhabitants have limited Warp capabilities. We have contacted the 
them, and they have offered to help us by supplying what ever they are able 
to assist us. The planet is named Hakar 7 , the people call themselves the 
Hakai and are ruled by what seems to be a monarchy government. 
At this point, Tuvok took over the discussion, "The Hakai Monarch has 
offered to allow our crew shore leave while we are making repairs. The 
Hakai, as the planetary leader is called, has invited the senior officers 
to a personal tour of the Capital city while we are in orbit." 

Captain Janeway turned to Chakotay and said, "We should arrive there in 48 
hours. I need you to help B'Ellana compile a list of what raw materials we 
will need in order to manufacture the parts necessary for repairs. The 
Hakai has asked that we come for a state dinner and reception the night of 
our arrival. I have accepted his offer, you and I will go down in a 
shuttle to greet The Hakai as soon as Voyager is in orbit. B'Ellana will 
take a team to the Haaian Embassy and begin to work on getting the 
necessary supplies." 

Before Chakotay could respond, Tuvok broke in, "Captain, I must warn you, 
that while monitoring planetary transmissions, I have learned that there is 
a faction called the Mykoia which is attempting to overthrow the ruling 
government. From what information I have gathered, the Mykoia are fighting 
for what they call "religious freedom" and they wish to depose the Imperial 
leader and set up a democratic government system. 

Continuing, Tuvok said, "There is a chance that the Mykoia Militia may 
attack while you are on the planet's surface. We cannot use the shuttle's 
transporters either due to the unusually high levels of electromagnetic 
energy in the planets atmosphere from the mineral deposits. I must insist 
that you and the Commander take a security detail to the surface with you." 
Captain Janeway agreed with Tuvok's request, and on that note, Tuvok and 
B'Ellana left to begin preparations. Alone with Chakotay, she turned to 
him and motioned for him to sit down. Then, she smiled and said, "I know 
how much you love diplomatic functions, but I need you to come to this with 
me. If you don't, it could be seen as an insult and I don't want to lose 
this chance." 

A frown on his face, Chakotay looked at her for a moment, considering what 
he was about to say. "Captain, I'm not certain that I like the idea of 
going down into the middle of a potential war zone. With the Voyagers' 
transporters off-line, and the shuttle system useless, if there is an 
attack, we could find ourselves caught in a bad situation, with no way out." 
"I am aware of the dangers of this situation, however the Minister Ranek of 
the Hakai Council has given his assurances that there is no danger of 
attack while we are there. He says that the Mykoia forces are small and 
that they could not possibly manage an attack so far within the continent. 
According to Minister Ranek, the rebels mostly raid supply ships and other 
isolated outposts.", she informed him. 
"We can't take the risk of insulting them by refusing their offer, we don't 
have any other way to resupply." 

Softly, he said, "I understand that Captain, it's just that it is my job to 
protect you, I take that very seriously." 


At his words, she gently smiled at him and taking his hand in hers, she 
assured him "Nothing will happen, you'll see." 
***** 
"Captains Log, Supplemental. 

Our initial meeting with The Hakai went rather well. The Hakai are very 
much like us in appearance. While they do have limited warp technology, 
their weapons are quite primitive, I noticed that Tom seemed to want to try 
to barter for one of their weapons, I hope he doesn't do anything too rash 
to get his hands on one of the guns. I don't understand his fascination 
with weapons of this type. They remind me of twentieth century weapons which 
fired lead bullets. The planet is extremely beautiful. While we were 
being shown the Imperial Palace, I could not resist taking a moment to enjoy 
the stunning view of the mountains and forests. The sky here is a slightly 
darker shade of blue than that of Earth. As a result, the snow and ice on 
the mountains seems so clear and perfect. Minister Ranek must have 
noticed, because he has invited us to go on a tour of the nearby mountain 
range tomorrow morning. I am looking forward to returning to the surface 
and taking a walk through the trees which cover the mountain sides. I only 
wish that Chakotay would return with me, but he has decided to remain on 
Voyager to help with the repairs. At Tuvok's insistence, Tom and Harry are 
going to travel down in the shuttle with me tomorrow. The transporters are 
still down, hopefully B'Ellana will be able to get them back up and running 
soon, it would make it easier for the crew to enjoy the chance for 
shoreleave." 

Tom's voice broke into her thoughts, "Captain, we're ready to leave when 
you are." 

"I'll be right there.", she told him. She turned off her computer 
terminal, and headed for the shuttlebay. On her way there, she met 
Commander Chakotay in the corridor. 

"Are you certain you won't come down for the tour with us?", she asked with 
a smile. 

"No thanks" replied Chakotay. "I had more that enough of listen to The 
Hakai telling us how wonderful he is last night. You can tell me about the 
tour tonight over dinner." 

"Are you asking me out on a date?", said Kathryn with a sly smile. 

"Maybe" , he said. "You'll have to wait and see." 

Kathryn patted Chakotay on the back and laughed before continuing to the 
shuttlebay and heading for the surface. 

***** 

After arriving on the surface, they were met by a Minister Renek who 
greeted them, "Welcome back Captain! I see you brought some of your crew 
with you for the tour, where is your First Officer? I don't see him among 
your group." 

With a welcoming smile, Kathryn responded "Commander Chakotay was unable to 
join us this afternoon. Unfortunately, he was needed aboard Voyager to 
oversee repairs on our systems." 

The Minister frowned, "I am so sorry to hear that Captain.", he said. 
"Perhaps the Commander will be able to return to take a shorter tour before 
you leave." 

At this, Tom began to grin, seeing the look on her pilot's face, Kathryn 
quickly spoke, "I'll be certain to pass your invitation along to him, 
Minister. I'm sure that he will make every attempt to get away for awhile 
to take advantage of your generous offer." 

Listening to his Captains words, Tom made a valiant attempt to keep from 
breaking out into laughter. He was well aware of the true reason for the 
Commander's absence. *I'd like to see her talk him into coming down here 
for this.* he thought to himself gleefully. *I wonder what she would use 
for an incentive.* Chuckling to himself, he became aware of the intense 
look being sent his way by the Captain. Taking the hint, Tom quickly 
gained control of his mirth and followed along as the Minister lead them to 
a waiting shuttle. 

"I don't think I've ever seen a ship like that before." he said. 
Hearing this, the Minister explained, "This shuttle is specially designed 
for taking excursions into the ranges. It ha been specially designed for 
flight in the atmosphere and can land virtually anywhere. It is also armed 
with two defensive weapon pods, in case of a rebel attack." 

As she listened, Kathyrn became somewhat concerned, "I thought that you 
said there was no threat to us on this trip from the Mykoia forces." 
"It is better to be prepared in case of an emergency, than to be caught 
unawares. I'm sure that you would agree." replied the Minister somewhat 
evasively. 

Still not convinced, she replied "Minister, are you certain that there is 
no threat from rebel forces? I don't want to be caught in the middle of a 
fight." 

"Let me assure you Captain," came the Minister's smug, confident response. 
"We are quite safe. The rebel forces would not dare to attack us this 
close to the Capital city. Our military would quickly seek them out and 
destroy them." 

Still unsure if the trip was safe, the Captain hesitated for a moment, 
thinking. Then, she asked, "Just what is the objective of these rebel's? 
Why are they attempting to overthrow The Hakai?" 

With a dismissing toss of his hand, the Minister responded "These rebels 
are nothing more than a small, disillusioned group of miscreants. They are 
the dregs of our society who want to see the prosperity which our great 
leader has brought to our people destroyed for no other reason than because 
they are jealous of his greatness. There are always such in any society. 

Please believe me when I tell you that there is no danger of an attack. 
Not only are we close the he Capital City, but also it is standard 
procedure for any Imperial party to be escorted by a squadron of the best 

Military Strike forces. The Rebels would be fools to attack us." 
Dispite her misgivings, the Captain decided to continue as planned and take 
the tour. *We can't afford to insult the Minister while we are still 
bringing on the last of the supplies we need in order to complete repairs.* 

With a smile, she motioned for Tom, Harry and the two security personnel 
with them to board the waiting ship, then she followed. 

The first part of the tour was done from the air. The Hakain Minister 
ordered the pilot to fly west over the river into the mountains. The 
entire mountain range was covered in snow and Kathryn was captivated by the 
pristine appearance of the wild, untamed range. 

Observing her fascination with the snow-covered peaks, the Minister ordered 
his pilot to land the shuttle in a small, snowy meadow next to a small 
lake, high in the mountains. Upon landing, everyone left the ship and 
began to explore the area. 

The first thing that came to mind was the lake itself, it seemed to shimmer 
with silver and the water was calm and serene. The meadow was surrounded 
on two sides by rocky cliffs, that rose several hundred feet into the air. 
The other side was bordered by a forest of giant dark trees. At the very 
edge of the forest were small flowering plants that gave off a sweet scent 
which filled the clearing. 

On the far side of the lake, the forest seemed to grow right up to the 
water's edge. Several of the military escort had moved to the edge of the 
water and were keeping an eye on the trees. Noticing this, Tom walked over 
the where Kathryn was standing, she motioned to him as he joined her. "I 
wonder if we could get samples of these flowers to take back to Voyager and 
transplant to the Hydroponics Bay. The blossoms are stunning." 

"I don't know Captain, its worth a try." he said. "Have you noticed the 
way those guards are watching the trees? They seem abit nervous to me." 
Turning to look, Kathryn immediately noticed the same thing that Tom had. 
The Hakai troops were all watching the forest around them and each soldier 
had his weapon out and ready. She turned Tom and as she did so, she 
noticed movement in the trees at the far side of the meadow, near the cliff 
face. Realizing what she was seeing, Kathryn reacted swiftly. Pushing Tom 
forward, she cried out to him "Snipers over in the trees by the cliff - 
TAKE COVER!" 

Before either of them could move, gunfire rang out. To Tom's surprise, the 
Captain suddenly stumbled into him. Instinctively, he put his arms around 
her to steady her and realized that she was shuddering violently. 

Concerned, Tom looked down at her. The expression on her face told him 
something was terribly wrong. 

Her face had turned a deathly shade of white, and her eyes were wide in 
shock. She tried to put her arms around him, but instead collapsed in his 
arms. Reacting swiftly, he picked her up and began to run for cover. 

Tom carried her quickly to a rock formation that offered some protection 

from the attacking rebels, and laid her on the ground. He was horrified to 
see that his hands, arms and the front of his uniform were soaked with her 
blood. Quickly, he searched for the wounds, finding that Kathryn had been 
hit twice, once in her side and the other, low in the chest. He tried to 
apply pressure to the wounds in an effort to slow the bleeding, but she 
twisted in agony and he was not able to keep her still. 

"Lie still Captain!", he cried. "You're going to be okay, I'm here!" 

Kathryn tried to speak, but all she could manage was a hoarse cry of agony 
as another convulsion struck her body. 

At that moment, two of the Hakai guards arrived. With one look, the guards 
ordered Tom to follow them back to the ship to get out of the area. Tom 
attempted to pick up his Captain, but the guards stopped him, saying "No 
time, leave her, she's already dead!" 

Enraged, Tom tried to fight them yelling out, "You're wrong, she's still 
alive, we have got to get her back to Voyager!" But the guards only 
reaction was to knock him down with the butt of one of their rifles and 
drag him to the waiting ship, leaving the Captain behind. 

****** 

see part 3 

part 3: 

****** 

Onboard Voyager - 

Commander Chakotay was in Engineering helping B'Ellana and Vorik finish 
repairs to the shield generators when he received a call from the bridge. 
"Bridge to Commander Chakotay. There is a call from Lt. Paris for you Sir." 
With an apologetic look at B'Ellana, he headed for the doors, saying 
"On my way." to B'Ellana he said, "I'll be back as soon as I can." 

Arriving on the bridge, he told the Ensign on duty to relay Tom's message 
into the Captains Ready Room. He was totally unprepared for what he would 
find. As soon as Tom saw him, he almost fell apart. Near tears he quickly 
told the Commander what had happened. As he listened to Tom's words with 
growing fear, Chakotay began to shake with rage as he heard how the Hakai 
guards left the Captain behind. 

His first words to Tom were, "How could you allow them to leave her there, 
what were you thinking!" 

Tom reacting violently to this saying "I had no choice Commander! They 
knocked me out and by the time I came to, we were back inside the Imperial 
Compound. We have to go back for her, she was still alive when they left 
her there!" 


"I'm coming down there with a full security detail, be ready to show us the 
way to the site of the attack!" 

"Yes sir! Paris out" 

Running back to the bridge, Chakotay ordered a security team to meet him in 
the shuttle bay and then contacted sickbay and explained what had happened 
to the Doctor, asking him to join the away team and to prepare a med-pack. 

****** 

Back on the planet, at the site of the rebel ambush.. 

The Mykoia forces are checking the bodies of the Hakai guard who were 
killed in the fight. They are taking the weapons and any other gear which 
they feel could be used. One of the rebel soldiers noticed a figure lying 
at the base of a large rock formation and headed that way to investigate. 
When he arrived there, he is surprised to find that the body there is that 
of a woman wearing a black and red uniform that is unfamiliar to him. 
Checking the woman he realizes that she is alive and he calls out to the 
others. "Over here, I've found someone alive!" Quickly, the group's medic 
grabs his gear and heads towards them. 

Arriving, he is surprised to see that the survivor is not Hakaian, but of 
another species. "Who is she?", he asks the soldier. 

"I'm not sure, but could she be one of those Humans we heard about?", 
replied the soldier. "Can you tell how badly she is hurt?" 

"I don't know anything about her race, but it looks bad. Go get Riess and 
tell him what we found here." said the Medic. 

The soldier ran over to the team leader, Riess and brought him back to the 
medics' side. Looking down at the them, Riess said, "What have you got 
there Degais?" 

Degais did not waste time to look up at his leader, he continued to try to 
stabilize the unknown woman while he spoke. "I think that she is one of 
the Humans that our spies told us are here for repairs to their ship. She 
is hurt pretty bad, I don't know how to treat her injuries. I think we 
should send someone to take her closer to the city so that her own people 
can help her." 

Riess shook his head, "No, I can't take the chance of losing someone in a 
counter-attack. Patch her up as best you can and get her back to camp, 
we'll decide what to do with her then." 

Degais did not like that idea, but he did as he was told and, having done 
all he could for her there, he had the unconscious woman placed on a 
stretcher and carried back to the temporary camp. 

**** 

Arriving at the Mykoia camp, Degais quickly carried the limp body of his 
patient into the medical facility. He gently laid her onto a diagnostic table and began to take note of her injuries. 

Seeing that she had been wounded in the upper chest, Degais called for two 
of his orderlies to prepare the surgery area. Seeing that that was being 
done, he returned his attention to the woman fighting for life. Noticing 
the second wound, he quickly ascertained that the second shot had passed 
through and that he should be able to stop the bleeding from there easily. 
It was the chest wound that worried him. The bullet was still lodged 
somewhere within her, and he knew that he would have to get it out before 
he could try to stop the bleeding. 

From what Denais could tell, the bullet had shattered three of her ribs, 
then punctured her right lung. The woman was having difficulty breathing, 
and her lung seemed to in danger of fully collapsing. Bone fragments from 
the shattered ribs had caused damage to other organs as well and Denais was 
uncertain if he would be able to stop all of the internal bleeding. 

Moving her to the surgery room, he told his waiting staff "Remove her 
clothing while I get ready!" 

Returning from preparing himself, he started. First, he quickly stitched 
the side injury first, reasoning that he could do so in a short amount of 
time, and then move on to the more serious wound. Having stopped the 
bleeding, he began on the chest wound by first using a Danod Device to 
locate the bullet. Staring at the Danod screen, he tried to figure out her 
internal organ structure. 

"We have to stop the bleeding soon, or she will drown in her own blood." 
he said. "There is the bullet! It looks like it bounced off her ribs and 
lodged there, between the third and fourth rib." 

The bullet itself he could not remove, it was nestled next to her heart, 
had the bullet been a fraction of an inch to either side, she would have 
died instantly. He did his best to stop the bleeding, but he was not 
certain if he had managed to tie off all of the damaged blood vessels in 
her lung. Closing the incision, Denais asked his staff to finish bandaging 
her and prepare to move her to the main base medical observation area. 

******* 

go to part 4 



Part 4: 



****** 

Back on Voyager: 

Chakotay piloted the shuttle out of the shuttle bay, and headed for the 
planet's surface. Upon arrival at the Minister's compound, he immediately 

sought out the Minister himself. 

"How dare you leave Captain Janeway behind?" he exploded. 

"Whatever do you mean?" replied the Minister archly. "She was dead, and if 
not, soon would be. There was no time to waste on her. Our safety was at 
risk and we had to leave as quickly as possible." 

"How dare you come to me with such lies? According to our people who were 
there, you left Captain Janeway behind intentionally! Lt. Paris was with 
her when the assault began and he is quite certain that Kathryn was still 
alive when your troops forced him to leave her." 

Paris was stunned by the ferocity of Chakotay's words. *He looks like he 
wants to take a piece out of that self-righteous Minister. He's gonna have 
to stand in line.* he thought to himself. To the Minister, Paris said, 
"That's right, Captain Janeway was seriously injured, but she was still 
alive when your guards arrived. I tried to bring her with me, but your 
people forced me to leave her and when I tried to resist, one of them 
struck me with the butt of his rifle and knocked me out, by the time I came 
to, we were back here inside the compound. You have to help us get back up 
there and find her!" 

The Minister was unmoved by Paris' plea, "That is quite out of the 
question." he said. "I can not allow any of our Imperial Guards to leave 
the City for such a futile mission. We must have all of our troops here in 
case the rebels attempt a direct attack on the City. 

Besides, from the reports I have received, your Captain must be dead by 
now, even if she was still alive when you last saw her." 

A wave of almost uncontrolled fury swept through Chakotay as he heard the 
Ministers' words. At the thought that Kathryn might have died of her 
wounds before he could find her, his entire being was filled with despair 
and rage that she had been left so callously. 

His voice soft and dangerous, Chakotay told the Minister, "You'd better 
pray to whatever Gods you pray to, that I find Kathryn alive and that she 
survives this. Because if she dies..." he left the threat hanging and, 
with that Chakotay turned to Lt. Paris and began preparations to return to 
the site of the attack, leaving the Minister standing there. 

Returning to the shuttle, Chakotay asked Paris, "Can you find your way back 
to the meadow where you were attacked? 

"Yes Sir!" replied Paris. 

With no further words, the shuttle took of and headed into the mountains. 
After three hours, they sighted the meadow where the attack took place and 
Tom brought the shuttle in to land as close as he could to where Captain 
Janeway had been left. 



Almost before the shuttle completely settled to the ground, Chakotay was 
out and running towards the rock formation, calling out her name, "Kathryn, 
can you hear me? Where are you?" 

When he reached the rocks, Chakotay fell to his knees beside a patch of 
bloody snow. Using his tricorder, he confirmed that the blood was 
Kathryn's. Tears filling his eyes, and a terrible fear in his heart, he 
tried to find some trace of her, but there was none. 

Tom came to the Commander's side and noticed his emotional state. 

Disturbed to see Chakotay so close to emotional collapse, Tom tried to 
comfort him. "We'll find her Commander, don't worry." 

"There's so much blood, how could she survive being hurt so badly?" came 
Chakotay's choked reply. 

Just then, one of the other away team members called them over to where he 
was. When the two officers arrived, the Ensign showed them a patch of snow 
that showed signs of many personnel going through. There were traces of 
blood visible in the tracks. Quickly scanning with his tricorder, Chakotay 
announced, "It's Kathryn's blood, the rebels must have found her and taken 
her with them. We have to find this group." 

Attempting to follow the trail in the snow proved impossible as the tracks 
led into the forest and the trees had prevented almost all of the snow from 
falling to the forest floor. Returning to the shuttle, Tom scanned for 
Captain Janeway's comm-badge. To his relief, the scan returned a faint, but 
definite reading. Quickly noting the coordinates, the rest of the away 
team boarded the shuttle and they took off in search. 

The signal came from almost ten miles from the meadow, as soon as they 
reached the area, Chakotay and Tom beamed down the location as there 
was no-where for the shuttle to land. Tracking the signal, Chakotay soon 
froze in dread. The signal lead to a patch of freshly turned dirt. Almost 
overcome with anguish, he collapsed to his knees with a choked cry and 
began to dig into the loose earth. 

Frozen, Tom could only stand by and watch as his superior officer dug 
through the earth. *Oh please, don't let her be dead.* he thought, his 
heart filling with grief. 

Suddenly, Chakotay called to Tom, his voice tight "Tom, come here!" 

Slowly, Tom walked over to where Chakotay still crouched on the ground. To 
his surprise, he saw that what Chakotay had found was the Captains' 
uniform, torn and dirty, with her comm-badge still attached to the front. 

Looking at the Commander, Tom was about to speak when the expression in 
Chakotay's eyes stopped him. 

Looking around the clearing, it was obvious to the searchers that while the 
rebel camp had been here, they had packed up and left in a hurry. 
Chakotay looked up at Tom with undisguised agony in his face. His feelings 
for the Captain were there for anyone to see, and it was obvious that he 

had fully expected to find her body beneath the soil, not what appeared to 
be a hiding place for the tossed off, un-necessary items that the rebels 
had left behind. 

Tom crouched down beside the Commander and putting one hand on Chakotay's 
shoulder he said, "They must have camped here for the night. It looks like 
someone was trying to treat the Captains injuries. She must be okay, or 
they would not have taken her with them when the left here." 

In a voice raw with emotion, Chakotay answered, "I hope you're right Lt., I 
hope you're right." 

Standing up, he carefully folded the remains of the Captain's uniform and 
signaled for the shuttle to beam them up. 

After returning to the shuttle, they spent the next 10 hours trying to find 
some trace of the rebel band, but were forced to give up and return to 
Voyager to get better equipment and more supplies. 

****** 

Go to Part 5 

Part 5: 

Back at the Mykoia rebel camp... 

Late that night, Denais was awoke by one of his aides. 
"I'm sorry to disturb you sir," he said. "But you asked to be notified if 
there was any change in the womans' condition." 

Fully alert now, Denais responded, "Yes, what has happened?" 

With some concern he listened to the mans' next words, "When I went in to 
check her vitals, her body temperature had risen from 99.1 degrees to 
almost 105 degrees. She is semi-conscious and is trying to get up, we had 
to restrain her to keep her from doing further harm to herself." 

Putting his coat and boots on, Denais quickly left his tent to go check on 
her. 

Entering the med tent, his first impression of his patient was how terribly 
pale she was. There was an unnatural flush to her skin as well, indicating 
the high temperature. 

Picking up a scanner, Denais took her vital signs himself. He found that 
her wounds were infected, despite his best efforts to prevent just that 
occurrence. Turning back to the waiting aide, Denais asked "Please bring me 
25 granules of micodroson, we have to get an antibiotic into her to fight 
the infection." 

His aide quickly returned with an injector full of the drug and gave it to 
Denais, who turned back to his patient and injected it into her neck. 

Handing the empty injector back, he then ordered the aide to bring a 
container of cold water and a clean cloth so that they could try to cool 
her some. 

As they began to run the cool, wet cloths over her body, she started to 
toss and try to push them away. Raising her head, she looked directly at 
him and said, "Don't...leave me alone!" 

As gently as he could, Denais pulled her hands from him and told her "Don't 
be frightened, we won't hurt you, but we have to try and get your 
temperature down. Just try to relax..." 

She suddenly became agaited, "Who are you? What do you want with me? 

Where is Chakotay....please, let me see him...." a sudden spasm of pain 
crossed her features and she cried out, collapsing back on the bed. 

"I think she just fainted, we need to control this high body temp soon, or 
her condition will get even worse." said Denais. "Continue using the 
cloths and I will be back." 

With one last look at her face, he left to find Riess. 

***** 

"Reiss, we have to get her back to her own people. There's not much I can 
do for her here, I don't even know what internal injuries she has! I can't 
even begin to say whether or not I can keep her alive long enough to last 
the day, much less save her life!!" Denais said. "It's one thing for us 
to strike at the Imperial forces, it's another to cause the death of an 
innocent, the woman is not even one of us, I can't stand by and allow her 
to die!" 

Coldly, Reiss looked Denais in the eye. With a total lack of emotion, he 
spoke. "Then I suggest that you get back in there and do your best to keep 
her alive. I just spoke to one of our spies in the Capital City. That 
isn't just any human crewman we have there, I've just found out that that 
woman in there is the Captain of that ship! We have an unparalleled 
opportunity here to get better weapons from them. With just a few of their 
guns, we will not have any problems over throwing The Hakai Dictator. You 
had better make certain that the woman lives long enough for us to arrange 
a trade!" 

Denais was shocked to hear this, "How can you say that? More likely, all 
that will happen is her people will come and destroy us for attacking and 
injuring her to begin with! Now more than ever, we have to get her out of 
here before they come to get her." 

However, Reiss was unmoved by Denais' plea. "You have your orders, follow 
them or I'll find someone who will." With that, he walked away, leaving 
Denais to return to the med tent to try to save the Captains' life. 


***** 

go to part 6 

Part 6: 

Pain. Horrible, unrelenting waves of pain. Her every breath, a raging 
battle to complete. 

Kathryn slowly became semi-aware of her surroundings. She did not know 
where she was, or how she got there. As her awareness increased, the pain 
became unbearable, and a low agonized sound escaped her lips. 

Hearing her moan, Denais quickly came to her side. She turned her face to 
him, and stared at him without seeing him. He went to begin changing the 
dressings on her wounds, and was startled when she spoke. 

"Chakotay,..." her voice was raspy with pain. "...please, I can't." 

Trying to calm her, Denais said "Please Captain, you must try to relax, 
you've been badly injured." 

Interrupting him, she called out, louder this time, "Chakotay...where are 
you?" in a pleading of voice. 

"Please, you must save your strength." 

Gently, Denais continued his care, noting with concern that the infection 
was unchanged, and that angry red lines were beginning to spread out from 
her wounds. He was uncertain just what that signified, but he was certain 
that without proper help, she would not survive for much longer. The 
micodrosin was not helping her at all, there was no improvement in her 
condition. Denais decided to give her another dose of the drug, he could 
do no more. Injecting her with it, he was unprepared for the results. 

She suddenly gasped in shock, arching her back and gave a hoarse scream as 
a series of convulsions racked her small frame. Denais was unable to help 
her at all, only holding her body down until the spasms past. When she was 
still once more, she lay staring up at him, unseeing. 

Stunned by her reaction to the drug, he could only watch in horror as the 
drug took effect. She began to gasp for breath, the convulsions making it 
harder than ever for her to draw a breath. After a short struggle against 
the pain, her eyes rolled back in her face and she lost consciousness. 
The convulsions continued for several minutes before subsiding. 
The spasms had torn open her wounds and she was loosing blood again. 

Quickly, Denais re-stitched the wounds shut again, after cleaning them 

thoroughly. 

Looking at her, Denais came to a decision. *I can't stand by and watch her 

die like this.* Quickly, he went into his office and returned with an 

imager. He gently turned her to face him, and made an image of her, then, 

he drew a crude map showing the location of the base camp and made another 

image of it also. With one last look at his patient, he left and headed 

towards the comm tent. 

****** 

On board Voyager: 

Alone in the Captains quarters, Commander Chakotay sat at her desk, his 

head in his hands. *She can't be dead*, he thought to himself over and 

over. He was exhausted from searching the mountains for the small rebel 

band. Despite having 5 teams searching around the clock, no trace had been 

found of them. 

He had returned to Voyager only after the Doctor had threatened to relieve 

him of duty and have him returned to the ship by force. Unable to sleep, 

Chakotay had come to her quarters, to try to meditate and contact his 

spirit quide. He had been unable to concentrate and reach the help of his 

guide and now Chakotay sat at her desk, grief and despair nearly 

overwhelming him. 

Everywhere he looked, he saw her. Her presence filled the ship, from the 

bridge to Engineering, he felt her absence. *How can I go on without her?* 

In his heart, he had begun to fear that he would find her dead, almost 

three days had gone by since the attack, and there had been no sign of her. 

*CHIRP* "Commander Chakotay to the bridge." came Tuvok's' voice. 

Tapping his comm badge he asked, "What is it Tuvok?" 

"We have received an audio only message from an unidentified source on the 

planet about the Captain." came the response. 

"Send it to the Captain's quarters, NOW!" he ordered. 

Moving to the console on her desk, Chakotay listened to the message from 

the rebel leader, asking for weapons in exchange for the Captains life. As 

he heard the message, Chakotay became enraged. 

"Track that signal Mr. Tuvok!" he ordered. 

We are attempting to do so, but the interference from the surface is 

making it difficult to lock down the source." 

Chakotay turned to head for the bridge when he was stopped by another call 

from Tuvok. 

"Commander, we have received another message from the surface." 

"Send it in here." Chakotay ordered. 

Turning again to the console, Chakotay was unprepared for what he saw. The 

signal was an image of the Captain, lying on a small cot. She looked 

terrible, her face was horribly pale, and there were blood-stained bandages 

visible above the blanket covering her. 

The sight of her like that sent him to his knees before the console. A 

choked cry coming from his soul. As he watched, the image of Kathryn was 

replaced by that of a crudely drawn map, leading into the mountain range. 

Seeing the map, his grief changed to something else, a cold, determined 

decision. Getting to his feet, Chakotay called to the bridge. "Did you 

get that map!?" 

"Affirmative Commander," Tuvok replied. "It matches an area of the 

mountain range we searched earlier this evening. The map indicates there 

is a hidden valley unseen from the air." 

Chakotay coldly crushed his emotions as he ordered Tuvok to send his team 

to meet him in the shuttlebay. 

****** 

see part 7 

Part 7: 

At the Mykoia rebel camp: 

As night fell, Denais found himself hoping that his message had been 

received by the Federation Starship. The last time he had checked on 

Captain Janeway, her condition had gotten worse. Her temperature had 

reached 104.8 degrees, and while he did not know what normal was for her, 

he knew that this high a temperature could not be a good sign. 

She drifted in and out of awareness, talking to someone only she could see. 

>From what he could tell, she seemed to be speaking to someone cared greatly 

for. Listening to her bothered Denais greatly, he could not stomach what 

Reiss wanted to do with her. Holding her hostage to force her people to 

trade weapons for her went against all the beliefs that had brought Denais 

to his decision to join the rebel forces in the first place. Treating her 

this way was the kind of thing that the Imperial Government did, not them. 

Exhausted, he fell into a troubled sleep. 

Late into the night, Denais woke up with a start. Even though it was near 

the middle of the night, a brilliant light filled the camp. An explosion 

shuddered the ground, followed by a high-pitched whine of energy. Running 

outside, he was stunned by what he saw. 

As Denais ran out of his tent, the first thing he saw was that the 

ammunition storage area had exploded and set the surrounding tents on fire. 

Men staggered out of their tents, looking around in confusion. The sound 

of engines drew his gaze to the sky. An unfamiliar shuttlecraft roared in 

low over the encampment, a brilliant blue beam of energy shot from it, 

destroying whatever it touched. The ship circled around and landed, almost 

before it came to a complete stop, the hatch opened up and armed humans 

stormed out. Swiftly, the Federation team took over the rebel camp, as 

Denais stood in shock looking on, a tall man left the ship and began 

giving orders. 

His voice was strong, tightly controlled, "First team - check those 

structures over on the left! Second Team - take the ones on the right! 

Remember, I want their leader alive if possible." 

These must be the Federation people, thought Denais, no one else has such 

technology. That man, could he be the one she calls for? 

Turning, the Federation officer began to scan the camp with a strange 

device. Suddenly, the man seemed to jerk in shock, and then he looked 

directly at Denais and began to head towards where he stood next to the med 

tent. 

Reaching Denais in a matter of seconds, the Officer grabbed him by the 

front of his uniform. The expression in his eyes was terrible to see. 

When he spoke, his voice shook with barely controlled rage, "Where is 

Captain Janeway?", he demanded. 

Shaken by the murderous expression in his eyes, Denais could only point 

into the med tent. The tall Officer released him and pushed Denais out of 

his way, and then he rushed into the tent calling out, "Kathryn, answer 

me!" his voice seemed almost a plea. 

Other Federation Officers quickly followed him into the tent. Making his 

decision, Denais turned and entered also. 

When he reached the area where the Captain lay, he watched as the tall 

Officer dropped to his knees beside her bed. His grief and concern for her 

plain to see on his face. Gently, the man reached out and brushed a stray 

lock of hair from her face. Leaning over he spoke, almost in a whisper, 

"Kathryn, can you hear me? I'm here, you're going to be all right, we just 

have to get you back to Voyager." 

Turning to one of the other officers' with him, he said "Tom, get the 

Doctor in here and have him help you get her back to the shuttle, HURRY!" 

"Yes Sir Commander!", was Tom's response. Quickly, they began to prepare 

to move Captain Janeway to the waiting shuttle. 

***** 

Turning to look at Denais, the Commander stared at him with a cold 

expression in his eyes, he was about to speak when he was interrupted by 

another Federation Officer. 

"Chakotay!", she said. "We've captured the leader!" 

Denais forgotten, Chakotay turned to her swiftly. "Where is he B'Ellana?" 

"Over by the shuttle, I have 3 security guards on him." she relied. 

Commander Chakotay's' face became terrible to see as he stormed from the 

tent. 

Following, Denais wondered what would happen. It did not take long for him 

to find out. Commander Chakotay silently walked up to Reiss, who was held 

securely by two burly security men. Chakotay looked at him for a moment, 

and then without a word he suddenly lashed out and hit Reiss square in the 

face. The force of his blow was incredible, it drove Reiss' head back with 

a violent, audible snap and Reiss sagged to the ground. Without looking 

back, Chakotay returned to the shuttle and ordered the rest of the 

Federation strike teams to return to the shuttle. As soon as all were 

aboard, the shuttle took off with a roar of its engines and disappeared. 

Denais walked slowly over to where Reiss lay crumpled on the ground. He 

was not surprised to find that the blow from Commander Chakotay had broken 

Reiss' neck. 

Looking up into the dark, night sky, Denais hoped that the Captain would 

survive, that her people had come in time. 

******** 

go to Part 8! 

Part 8: 

As the shuttle streaked up through the atmosphere, inside, a desperate 

battle for life was taking place. 

The Doctor quickly scanned the Captains' limp form and began to assess her 

injuries. Speaking aloud to Tom, who as the Doctors' new assistant, he 

said, "She appears to have been shot twice, once in the chest as you said, 

and again in the side. Both wounds are infected and there are signs of 

blood poisoning. Her temperature is 104.6 degrees, heart rate is irregular 

and labored. One lung is in danger of collapsing, and she is suffering 

from lack of oxygen. The Captain is bleeding internally as well, I am 

picking up what seems to be a metal projectile lodged in-between her heart 

and lung, as soon as we reach Voyager, we must get her into surgery and 

stop the bleeding as well as remove the bullet." 

Never once taking his eyes from her face, Chakotay listened in dread as the 

Doctor spoke. 

*Just alittle longer, Kathryn. Fight alittle longer!* he thought. 

Speaking aloud, he said "She's going to be fine, she's tougher than she 

looks." Even to his own ears, his voice sounded strange. 

**** 

Arriving at Voyager, as soon as the shuttlebay was secured, Chakotay and 

Tom carried the stretcher with Captain Janeway to sickbay, where the Doctor 

wasted no time getting her into surgury. 

Chakotay watched, stricken, as the Doctor and Tom worked frantically to 

save her. 

The first thing that the Doctor did was to attempt to give her an 

antibiotic to fight the infection. Almost immediately, her heart rate 

dropped alarmingly, her breathing became even more labored and, startled, 

the Doctor ran another scan. "There is an unknown substance in her blood 

stream that is reacting with the antibiotic..it appears to be some form of 

drug also, but it is incompatible with human physiology." 

As they continued, it soon became apparent that the unknown drug made it 

impossible to them to use most of their equipment, everytime the Doctor 

tried to work on her, the substance caused a reaction which only weakened 

her further. 

Tuning to Tom, the Doctor said, "Lt. Paris, we're going to have to do this 

the old fashioned way. Prepare the equipment." 

Then, he looked over at where Chakotay still stood. "I'm sorry Commander, 

but you are going to have to leave now, I can't have unessential personnel 

in the operating room." 

Despite his protests, Chakotay found himself standing in the corridor 

outside of sickbay, staring at the door. 

****** 

Several hours later... 

"Sickbay to Commander Chakotay" 

Immediately, Chakotay responded, "How is she?" 

"I'd rather tell you in person, please meet me in my office." came the 

EMH's reply. 



Arriving in sickbay, Chakotay wasted no time finding the EMH. "Where is 

she?" he demanded. 

"Right now, Captain Janeway is in a private area. Before I allow you to 

see her, there is something I must warn you." the Doctor told him. 

Sitting down, Chakotay struggled to control the wave of despair that 

crashed over him. 

"The drug that was given to the Captain by the rebel forces made it 

impossible for us to use conventional medical procedures to repair the 

internal damage. I was forced to use invasive techniques to remove the 

bullet and stop the bleeding. Unfortunately, this caused her to weaken 

even more. We can't use a tissue regenerator to heal the injuries as 

another result of the drug. The Captain is going to have to heal 

naturally." 

Pausing, the Doctor waited for Chakotay's response. "What are you saying?" 

he said. 

"What I'm saying is that I have done all that I can for her. The rest is a 

matter of time now. If she has the strength to fight off the infection, 

she may survive. But if we can not get the infection under control in the 

next 48 hours...." the EMH trailed off. 

The Doctor's words stunned Commander Chakotay, leaving him speechless. 

Wordlessly, he followed the EMH into a small, private section of sickbay. 

His first sight of Kathryn wrenched a gasp of shock from him. 

She lay on a bio-bed, an oxygen mask covering her nose and mouth. From 

where he stood by the door, Chakotay could hear her slow, labored 

breathing. Slowly, he walked over to sit beside her. 

Gently, he reached out and picked up her hand. He was shocked by the heat 

coming from her body. Looking at her, a sick sensation settled into the 

pit of his stomach. *She's so pale, the fever is burning her up.* he 

thought. He was so lost in her, he did not notice when the EMH left the 

room, leaving them alone. 

He did not know how long he sat there silently, holding her hand. At 

first, Chakotay did not even hear the door open, as Tom stepped inside. 

Tom's first words made him jump. "Commander, I need to check the bandages." 

Chakotay stepped back from her bedside and waited as Tom quickly changed 

the bandages and cleaned her wounds. Tom made certain that she was settled 

as best he could before leaving once more. 

"Why is that mask on her?" Chakotay asked Tom. 

"Because the damage to her right lung is severe. Even though the Doctor 

has corrected the worst of the damaged tissue, because he could not use a 

regenerator, her lung is still not able to process oxygen into her blood 

stream. We had to place her on oxygen to help ease the stress to her 

body." was Tom's reply. 

Chakotay did not respond to this, his attention once more focused on the 

Captain. The strain of the last few days was showing on his face. He 

looked exhausted, the pain he felt at seeing Captain Janeway so badly 

injured displayed for all to see. Looking at the Commander, Tom was 

concerned. "Commander, maybe you should try to get some rest. If anything 

changes in the Captains' condition, I'll contact you at once." 

Savagely, Chakotay whirled about to glare at Tom, "Don't even think of 

making me leave! I'm staying right here with her until she wakes up." 

The depth of emotions in Chakotay's face shocked Tom. *He's in love with 

her.* Tom thought. *I knew that they were close..* Understanding, Tom 

replied "All right, but at least try to rest, you know that she would not 

want you to make yourself sick staying here." 

Without answering, Chakotay turned his back o Tom, once more taking up his 

silent vigil by Kathryn's side. 

Returning to the main area of sickbay, Tom walked over to where the Doctor 

was working. 

"I'm worried about Commander Chakotay." he said. "He looks terrible, the 

past few days have really had a bad effect on him. I'm worried about how 

what he will do if she does not recover." 

Nodding his head, the Doctor agreed with Tom, adding "I have also noticed 

the Commander's distress. I am monitoring him from here as well, should I 

perceive a threat to his health, I will intervene." 

Still worried, Tom left sickbay in search of B'Ellana and Harry to tell 

them of the Captains situation. 

****** 

go to Part 9 

























































Sitting alone in the quiet of sickbay, the only sounds that of the monitor 

which softly beeped in time to Kathryn's heartbeat, Chakotay began to feel 

the edges of panic seeping into his heart. In an effort to distract 

himself, he decided that he would read to her in hopes that she could hear 

him. 

Going to the Doctor's office, he picked up a PADD, and then pulled up a 

list of the historical novels that he knew Kathryn enjoyed so much from the 

main computer library. Looking over the list, he selected a classic from 

the early 20th century, the sequel to "Gone With The Wind", entitled 

"Scarlet". Returning to Kathryn's bedside, he spoke to her "Kathryn, I 

don't know if you can hear me or not, but I thought that just in case you 

can, I would read to you. I know how much you just finished reading "Gone 

With The Wind", so I thought maybe you would enjoy hearing the sequel, 

"Scarlet". Although I have to admit, I don't see how you can read this 

stuff..." 

Settling into the chair, he began to read. "This will be over soon, and 

then I can go home to Tara. Scarlet O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler stood 

alone, a few steps away from the other mourners at Melanie Wilkes' burial." 

He continued to read to her throughout the night. 

As he read to her, he glanced at her face every so often, hoping to see 

some sign that she heard him. After several long hours, he paused to rest 

his eyes, the strain of the past few days was taking a heavy toll on him. 

Setting the PADD down, Chakotay picked up Kathryn's hand. Struggling to 

control the overwhelming tide of emotions within him, he began to talk to 

her, not really knowing what he was saying. "Kathryn, please, please open 

your eyes.", his voice broke as hot, burning tears began to flow unheeded 

down his cheeks. "Look at me. I can't bear to see you like this. I should 

have gone down there with you..if I had been there, maybe none of this 

would have happened. It's my job to protect you...". Unable to continue 

for a moment, Chakotay buried his face in his hands. Gaining some control, 

he spoke again. "You can't die, I won't let you leave me. I need you so 

much, I love you. I love you and I can't face life without you." 

His emotions overwhelming him, Chakotay laid his head down in the bed beside 

her, her hand pressed to his heart. Exhausted, he soon fell asleep. 

****** 

Gradually, Kathryn became aware of someone speaking to her. She could not 

make out what was being said at first, but the sound of the voice was 

familiar to her. She struggled to focus on the words and slowly, she 

realized that the speaker was Commander Chakotay. Listening more intently, 

she recognized that he was reading to her. His voice was a soothing 

counterpart to the waves of pain and confusion that came and went. Dispite 

her best efforts, she could not manage to open her eyes and look at him. 

*What is wrong with his voice?* she wondered hazily. *He's crying. Why 

is he crying?" as she listened to him pour out his heart to her, Kathryn 

found herself hurting for him, wanting to comfort him, but she did not have 

the strength to do so and she drifted off into a deep, healing sleep. 

Some time later, Kathryn awoke. It took a moment for her recognize where 

she was. A low, anguished moan drew her attention to the side of her bed, 

where she saw Chakotay, his face streaked with dried tears, asleep beside 

her. His head rested on the bed next to her hip. Looking at him, she 

realized that he was dreaming. He cried out again, his voice full of 

heartbreak, "no...". The unhidden anguish she heard in that single word 

touched a chord of emotion in her heart, with a great effort, Kathryn 

gently touched his face. 

Her touch awoke him instantly. The expression on his face brought an 

unfamiliar pang to her heart. 

"You look terrible." she said to him. She was shocked at how weak and 

hoarse her voice was. 

Chakotay choked back a sob at her words, tears filling his eyes once more 

he said "You're one to talk." He took her hand in his, and bringing it to 

his lips began to kiss her over and over. 

Kathryn tried to speak to him again, to ask him how she had gotten to 

Voyager, when a spasm of pain struck her and she began to gasp, unable to 

breath. 

Frightened, Chakotay called for the Doctor to come. The Doctor 

materialized instantly and quickly administer a mild pain reliever, as the 

drug took effect, Kathryn was began to breath easier. However, it was 

apparent that she was still in a great deal of pain. As he read the 

results of his scan, the Doctor's face broke into a smile. 

"Well Captain, it's good to see you again. Welcome back." he said. 

"Is she all right?" asked Chakotay nervously. "Isn't there something more 

you can do for the pain, she's in agony!" 

"I'm sorry Commander, but the Mykoai drug is still present in her blood 

stream. I can not risk giving her anything stronger." the Doctor told him. 

"However, my scan shows that the fever has broken, and the infection is 

almost gone. I believe that Captain Janeway will make a full recovery 

given the time to continue to heal and regain her strength. Another fine 

job on my part, as usual." the Doctor said, somewhat smugly. "Now 

Commander, I suggest that you return to your quarters and get some rest 

before you end up in here yourself." 

Before he could protest, the Doctor told him that Kathryn needed to sleep, 

and that he would notify Chakotay as soon as she woke. 

Before he left, Chakotay leaned over and whispered to her, "I'll be back 

soon." Then he gently kissed her forehead, and with one final look into 

her eyes, he left. 

Kathryn closed her eyes, her last thoughts where of the intense emotions 

she saw in Chakotay's eyes as he left. 



****** 

Go to Part 10 

Several Weeks Later..... 

"Damn it, I am tired of sitting around all day! Let me return to duty!" 

Captain Janeway exploded at the Doctor. 

Unmoved by her glare, he responded "Not until I decide that you have fully 

recovered from your injuries! You very nearly died, and I will not allow 

you to return to duty until I am certain that you have fully recovered." 

Frustrated, Kathryn snapped at him, "If you don't let me return to duty, so 

help me...I'll have your program deleted!" 

With a slight smirk, the Doctor informed her "I doubt that, I have taken 

the liberty of canceling your command authorizations until such time as I 

certify you for duty. Until then, you will just have to do as I say and 

behave yourself." 

Kathryn was stopped from responding to his comment by the arrival of 

Commander Chakotay. Looking nervously at the murderous expression on her 

face, he turned to the Doctor. 

"What seems to be the problem Doctor?" he asked. 

Before the EMH had a chance to answer, Kathryn snapped "This self satisfied 

piece of computer chips is refusing to allow me to return to duty! I'm 

quite able to go back to work, and I'm going nuts sitting around all day 

with nothing to do!" 

Chuckling to himself, Chakotay said to the Doctor, "Don't worry Doc, I'll 

take care of this." 

Turning back to her, his voice gentle, he said, "Kathryn, I agree with the 

Doc, you almost died. You have to give your body time to recover from 

that. I know you feel better, but you have to give yourself a break before 

you make yourself sick." 

Her voice conveyed all of her frustrations to him as she said, "I am going 

to go nuts if I have to spend anymore time sitting around bored out of my 

mind!" 

Thoughtfully, Chakotay asked "I have an idea, since you are so bored, why 

don't you come to the holodeck with me? I'm off duty now, we could call up 

that tropical forest that Tom likes so much and go swimming in the lake 

there. It would give you something to do and be a chance for you to get 

some exercise so the Doctor here will certify you for duty sooner." 

Still irritated with the EMH, Kathryn smiled at Chakotay's offer. "That 

sounds like fun, how about I meet you there in one hour?" 

With an answering grin of his own, Chakotay agreed. 

With one last, withering glare at the EMH, she left to change before going 

to the holodeck. 

******** 

One hour later.... 

Arriving at the holodeck, Kathryn looked at the computer grid and saw that 

Chakotay was already inside waiting for her. With a smile, she stepped 

inside. The scene she saw before her was incredible. A tropical rain 

forest, with a crystal clear lake, and a shimmering waterfall at the far 

end of the lake. 

Looking around, she spotted Chakotay down by the water's edge. He was 

wearing a pair of dark blue swim trunks and a white cotton t-shirt. With a 

smile of anticipation, she began to walk down the trail towards where he 

waited. 

Chakotay watched as Kathryn came towards him. *She looks incredible.* he 

thought to himself. He could not take his eyes off of her. She was 

wearing a white cotton wrap that was tied at the waist with a soft cord. 

As she reached him, he could just make out the outline of her swim suit 

beneath the garment. 

She looked up at him, a mischievous grin on her face and said "So, is it 

just me, or is it hot in here?" 

Her words brought an answering grin to his lips. "Well, what did you expect 

in a rainforest? Snow?" 

Kathryn laughed aloud, the sound of her laughter was music to him. He 

could not take his eyes from her. He was almost overwhelmed by a sudden 

desire to pull her into his arms, he just barely managed to retain control 

of his emotions. 

He suddenly realized that she was speaking to him. .."Chakotay...hello..are 

you in there?" teasingly. 

"What? I'm sorry, I was thinking of something for a second." he said. 

"So, are we going swimming, or do I have to melt from the heat in here 

first?" she asked with a amused grin. 

"By all means, lets go swimming!" he replied. 

Kathryn quickly untied the belt of her cover-up and removed it, revealing a 

low-cut, pearl white sim suit that left her back bare. She turned around 

to lay the cover-up on a tree limb, and as she did, his eyes were drawn to 

a angry, red scar on her back. The sight of the scar was like a blow to 

the stomach for Chakotay. Instantly, he was reminded of how she had looked 

back on the planet, so terribly hurt. A stab of anguish pierced his heart, 

and before he had realized it, he was standing directly behind her. 

Unable to help himself, he reached out and touched the mark on her skin 

with his fingertips, feeling the texture of the scar tissue. Without 

thinking, he pulled her close to his chest, his arms going around her 

waist. He nuzzled the side of her neck, gently leaving a trail of kisses 

across her skin. 

When Chakotay touched her, Kathryn felt a sudden, electric jolt go through 

her. Standing still, the sensations his fingers aroused in her as he 

gently traced the scar set her heart pounding. She began to tremble when 

he pulled her roughly back against his chest, his arms circling around her 

and his hands splayed out across her stomach. 

She leaned back against him, enjoying the feel of him and as she did so, he 

started to brush featherlike kisses across her neck. 

He whispered, so softly she almost could not hear, "You almost died." his 

voice broke as he said it. 

Hearing the pain in his words, she twisted in his arms to look into his 

face. The moment she looked into his eyes, she saw such pain and hurt 

there that she was left at a loss for words. Wanting to comfort him, she 

caressed his cheek, saying "But, I didn't. I'm here, alive and well." 

At her touch, an explosion of emotions crossed his face, too fast for her 

to identify. He shivered slightly, and then getting control of himself, he 

said, "You have no idea how thankful I am for that. Come on, last one in 

the water has to eat Neelix's Leola Root stew for a week!" 

With a laugh, Kathryn shoved him back and raced to the water, Chakotay 

right behind her. 

******** 

go to Part 11 

Part 11: 

******* 

Four Hours Later: 

They had swam and played together for a while, and then getting hungry, had 

decided to stop and eat the light dinner that Chakotay had brought along. 

He led her over to a quiet, sheltered area where he had prepared a light 

meal for them. Chakotay pulled out her chair and seated her before 

beginning to fix her a plate. 

He poured a glass of champagne for her, then he set a plate with cheese, 

fresh fruit and other light snack foods before her. At her questioning 

look, he said "Well, I thought you might prefer a light snack to a heavy 

meal." 

She smiled at him, her eyes alight with mischief. She placed her hand on 

top of his briefly. "It's perfect!" she told him. As they ate, they 

talked about nothing in general. Kathryn could not help but notice the way 

Chakotay looked at her from time to time. His eyes full of some hidden 

emotion she couldn't name. 

"Chakotay, " Kathryn said. "I read Tom's report on the mission at Hakai. I 

know that you killed Reiss when you hit him." 

"You were reading reports?" Chakotay asked. "I thought the doctor told you 

not to work. What were you doing reading reports?" The hidden emotions 

was replaced with a slow burning fury. 

"I only read ONE report!" Kathryn retorted, exasperated that she had even 

brought it up. Something inside of her told her to keep digging. "I know 

that you haven't told me everything that happened while I was gone." She 

paused, a hint of Captain Janeway was in her voice. "I needed to know what 

you were trying to hide." In a softer tone of voice, she added "I know you 

too well Chakotay, don't hide it from me." 

At her words, Chakotay got up and turned away from her. She was not about 

to let him get away from her, she got up and went to stand behind him, her 

hand on his shoulder. 

"Chakotay, talk to me. What is it you don't want me to know?" she asked. 

At Kathryn's touch, Chakotay flinched as if burned. She waited for him to 

speak. Slowly, the words almost forced from his throat, he began to speak. 

"When To first called the ship, and told us that you had been 

injured, all I could think was to get to you. All the way down in the 

shuttle, all I could think about was you. I could not stand the thought of 

you left there, hurt and alone. When we arrived at the site of the attack, 

and you weren't there.." his voice broke, in contrast to his stoic face. 

"There was so much blood. I was so afraid that we would not find you in 

time." 

Chakotay pulled Kathryn close to him, his arms holding her tightly against 

his chest. He buried his face in her hair. He kissed the top of her head, 

but his eyes remained focused on something in the distance. It was almost 

as if he was reliving the experience. 

"We followed the signal from your comm badge. It lead us to an abandoned 

camp sight." he stopped. While Chakotay's words choked with emotion, his 

face betrayed none of it. Kathryn became even more concerned, his emotions 

usually clearly written across his face. This was highly unlike him. 

"I know what happened there." Kathryn told him. "Tom told me about how my 

uniform had been buried. He told me what happened there." 

As Kathryn spoke, Chakotay's body began to shake. He pulled her even 

closer into his arms, as if he needed to reassure himself that she was 

there with him. That she was alive. His hands slipped beneath the 

cover-up she wore, and he traced the scar on her back gently. The skin 

there was still quite sensitive, and at his touch, a warm, tingling 

sensation began deep within her stomach. 

Kathryn looked up into his face and was astonished to realize that he was 

crying softly, tears flowing unheeded down his cheeks. Chakotay began to 

speak again, his voice pulled an answering pain from her heart, that he had 

been so deeply afraid for her. 

"When we found that cache, I thought that you had died. That I would find 

you buried there, alone and cold in that hole. Then all I found was your 

uniform.." Chakotay stopped, unable to continue. 

Kathryn was unprepared for the raw agony in his voice. Wanting to comfort 

him, she gently wrapped her arms around his neck. Her voice gentle, she 

said "Chakotay, it's alright, I'm here. I'm alive. It's over. You did 

your job, you got me out of there." 

"I should have been there to protect you. I never should have allowed you 

to go down there alone!" Chakotay's voice was full of guilt and self 

reproach. 

Chakotay's voice was so low, she almost could not make out the next few 

words. "I almost lost you." 

Kathryn could not stand to hear such pain in his voice. She lifted his 

face up to look at her. Looking into his eyes she said, "You could never 

loose me..." She took a step forward, and placed a hand directly over his 

heart. "I am right here Chakotay." She took his hand and placed it on her 

chest in response. She sought his eyes. "You are right here." 

Chakotay's eyes widened in wonder. Could she really be saying what he 

thought she was saying? He had waited for so long, and then the incident 

in the turbo lift. 

Kathryn hesitated but an instant. It was a time of action, and not a time 

for words. She reached up and pulled his head towards hers. Her lips 

brushed across his. The power of this kiss broke the hold that Chakotay 

held over his turbulent emotions. A soft groan escaped through his lips, 

telling Kathryn all she needed to know. She gently ran her fingers through 

the hair at the back of his neck, as she claimed his lips yet again. 

"It's okay Chakotay," Kathryn whispered huskily. "I know. We have 

repressed it so long, it's hard to give into it. It's so much a part of us 

now, that to ignore it would only cause us more problems in the long run." 

The ache inside of Chakotay became unbearable. It was beyond mere lust, 

the feeling took over his body, mind, and soul. He raised his finger tip 

to play across her full lower lip, stopping the words as they exited her 

mouth. Her tongue snaked out, the tip of it licking the rough pad of his 

finger. The sound of air being quickly expelled from his lips, left 

Kathryn weak in the knees. She bent closer into him for support. 

The firm pressure of Kathryn's curves was Chakotay's undoing. He backed her 

up against a nearby tree, his lips hungrily nipping at her. They left her 

lips and traveled down the curve of her neck. Each nip of his teeth was 

soothed by the soft wetness of his tongue. Kathryn moaned, the sensation 

driving all thoughts but what he was doing to her from consciousness. 

Chakotay paused for a brief moment, as if something important must be said 

before he could take the next step. "Without you, I am nothing but an 

empty shell of a man." 

He looked deep into her eyes, as if he was trying to see into her soul. 

His voice almost a caress in itself, he whispered into her ear "I love you." 

Kathryn shuddered from the sensations he caused, the warmth of his breath 

delicious on her skin. She turned her face into his neck and pressed her 

body against his hard muscular length. Her lips brushing his neck she 

replied "I love you too." 

Her softly spoken words sent a tidal wave of emotions through his body, he 

had dreamed of hearing her say those words to him for so long. Chakotay 

gathered her against him and slowly lowered them to the ground. 

His mouth burned a fiery trail across her skin, kissing and nipping his way 

down her neck and chest. As he slowly slid across her body, he pulled her 

swim suit from her body, baring her breasts to his eyes. The passion she 

saw in his gaze as he looked at her sent a thrill of heat through her. 

Chakotay was unable to look away from her, his eyes drawn to the scar on 

her chest, a visible reminder of how close she came to death. He was drawn 

to it, his mouth pressed against her. Tears in his eyes, he kissed the 

mark on her skin. Kathryn gently pulled his face up to look at her, 

"Don't.." she whispered. 

He claimed her lips with an almost savage intensity, she moaned aloud in 

response to him. He slid one hand slowly up her body, cupping one breast 

firmly. Gently, he teased her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, 

watching as it pebbled under his touch. With a groan he lowered his head 

and took her in his mouth. Gently, he sucked on her nipple, tasting her. 

The warmth of his mouth against her flesh drove her insane. Kathryn 

pressed herself up to him, her hands pulling his head tightly to her. She 

ran her fingers through his short hair, enjoying the soft, silken feel of 

it against her hands. 

Without stopping his attention to her nipples, Chakotay gently ran his hand 

slowly, sensuously down her torso to caress her center. She was hot, moist 

with desire for him. He shifted his position, lower and gently spread her 

legs farther apart, to allow him to look at her. "God your beautiful.." he 

choked out, his voice thick with passion. 

Her entire body one giant ache for him, she nearly screamed as he brought 

her to his mouth, his tongue finding her tiny pearl of pleasure as he 

slowly slid two fingers inside her. Thrusting into her, he sucked gently 

on her, alternately blowing softly upon her and gently nipping at her 

burning flesh. 

"Chakotay..." she gasped, begging for more. 

"Not yet.." he answered. Chakotay slid his tongue across her soft folds, 

tasting her intimately. He groaned with need, unwilling to give in to his 

own passion, wanting to explore and taste every inch of her. 

Brushing his thumb firmly across her hard nub, he thrust his tongue inside 

her while thrusting his fingers deeply inside. 

The combined sensations pushed her over the edge and she arched up against 

him as wave after wave of indescribable pleasure washed over her. She cried 

out his name over and over as her first climax claimed her. 

Her response destroyed the last of his control and with a muffled cry, he 

lifted himself over her and entered her hot, slick passage with one fierce 

thrust. She was tight and the sensations filling him flooded his mind. 

Unable to control his emotions, he thrust slowly into her, grinding his 

hips against hers. 

The feel of him deep within her was exquisite. She could feel the hard, 

hot length moving inside her. Kathryn was beyond anything other than the 

feelings he aroused in her. She moved in tandem with him, matching his 

every thrust. 

Chakotay gasped her name, over and over as he neared his own climax. The 

combination of feelings and emotions drove her towards another peak, she 

raked her nail across his back, a hoarse cry escaping her lips. She threw 

back her head as the intense sensations overwhelmed her once more. 

Watching her face as her climax rocked her once more, feeling her shudder 

around him, Chakotay thrust powerfully into her as his own climax tore an 

answering cry from his throat. He collapsed against her, pulling her 

tightly to him, and held her that way as they both struggled to regain 

their breath. 

It was sometime before either of them could move. Chakotay held her curled 

against his chest, listening to his heart. He gently stroked her back, 

running his fingers through her hair. 

Half asleep, Kathryn purred with pleasure, snuggling closer to his warmth. 

Softly, she whispered to him "I love you." 

Not answering, Chakotay pulled her against him kissing her gently. "I 

don't ever want to be away from you again." he told her. "I can't imagine 

life without you beside me." 

Sleepily, she smiled up at him. "So, whose quarters do we move, yours or 

mine?" 

Grinning wickedly, he replied "Yours definitely, much bigger." 

Laughing together, they curled up together and drifted to sleep. 



The end.....