Cascade

Disclaimer: Star Trek Voyager is not mine, I'm just borrowing the ship and the characters for a short while.

A/N This story is set at the end of season 7, about the same time Endgame would have happened. I didn't like how the finale left things, so I'm going to find another way to bring them home. I should warn readers who hate C7 that I have left the relationship in, but only because it makes an interesting hurdle for the Janeway-Chakotay saga to overcome. Future chapters will probably contain infrequent bad language and adult topics are touched on from the very start, so readers of a sensitive nature have been warned.

Please read review for every chapter, encouragement will only make me write faster, and I'm happy to take onboard any suggestions that you have. Enjoy :)

Chapter 1

Lips cascaded down her throat to her neck but she remained in control and restrained until he began focussing his attentions on a highly sensitive area behind her ear, at which point a soft moan escaped her mouth. He seemed to take satisfaction in breaking her reserve as he continued his manipulation of her soft sumptuous flesh, one hand gently roaming her back, the other on her thigh and slowly moving upwards.

Kathryn pulled back, and when he tried to kiss her mouth she moved completely out of his grasp. Knowing better than to push her, he sank back onto the mattress with a muffled thud and let out a frustrated sigh. "What's wrong?" he asked, annoyance evident in his voice.

"I'm not sure," she refused to meet his gaze.

"You're not sure, or you don't want to tell me?" There was something about his accent that softened the tone of anything he said, but she knew better than to underestimate his patience.

"It's work," she replied.

He ran a hand through his dark hair and muttered something under his breath that she wasn't quite able to catch, "I suppose whatever this work is, you can't tell me because it would break one of your directives…" she didn't answer, "why are you here Kathryn?"

"What do you mean?" her head shot round.

"You only come here when you want something from me… and only twice have you ever stayed the whole night," he explained.

To her own credit she blushed and looked a little awkward, "you know why I can never stay…"

"I know what you tell me," he cut her short.

"Michael…" but the look on his face forced her not to go on, she could already see that any excuse she gave now would fall on deaf ears. "I'm sorry," she was genuine in her apology, he was right to feel used and she had little defence for it. She tried to catch his eye, but he had turned away from her, and knowing a lost cause when she saw one she reached down to the floor for her top and pulled it over her head.

"You're going?" he sounded surprised as he watched her slip her jacket back on.

"I wouldn't have been able to stay much longer anyway," she replied, omitting the reason why was due to the fact she had only booked enough time on the holodeck for another hour.

"We should talk about this."

"Not tonight," she argued weakly, "I'm tired… we would only end up arguing."

"Surely that's better than never confronting this!" he raised his voice angrily.

Kathryn resisted the urge to look back at him as she walked from his bedroom, tapping her comm. badge the moment she had closed the door behind her to end the programme. The plastered walls of the early 20th century building shimmered around her, before vanishing from existence, leaving her standing alone in the empty holodeck. She allowed herself the smallest of moments to dwell on thoughts of the Irish barman who had been her lover for well over a year now, but before she could become consumed by the disappointment and regrets that had built between them over that time she skilfully cleared her mind and strolled confidently and purposefully from the deck.

V

Chakotay sat in an almost deserted mess hall, gazing at the woman across from him with a look of complete absorption in her every word on his face, but whilst she spoke, he couldn't help his mind drift off elsewhere. This was his ninth date with the former drone, and he was still surprised at the idea they were dating at all.

He had deeply mistrusted Seven when she had first come aboard Voyager, and objected openly to her continued presence aboard the ship for many months. He had grown to resent her disruptive attitude and the attentions she had received from Kathryn; it had taken him a lot longer than many others to accept her as part of the crew. Even when he had come to see her as any other crew member, he had still kept his distance from her, feeling no need to reach out to her when she already had the doctor and captain for support. However, when she had approached him with a proposal for them to date, although surprised at the unexpectedness of her offer, he also felt flattered and now excitement at the prospect of this new relationship.

Although unable to deny a certain attraction to Seven, he had never before considered pursuing a romantic relationship with her, but when he thought about it, he realised that the many women he had ended up with in his life, he had initially resisted all attraction towards.

At the academy, his first real love had been his history lecturer; it had been the subject he had most been looking forward to, and when a beautiful woman in her early thirties had stood in front of them on that first day he had thought he would enjoy the subject all the more with her teaching it. It didn't take long for him to realise that their views clashed on almost every point, and it was with great surprise that their long debates after lectures had lead them to a brief affair.

The pattern had repeated over the years, and each time he never saw it coming until it happened and he realised he was again infatuated with the women who only months, days or hours before had infuriated him. Each affair ended in a similar manner, the passion would fade, as would the initial attraction, and Chakotay would start to see great flaws in the perfect image he had made them out to be. He would find himself arguing constantly and becoming irritated by the very habits he had previously found charming. His mind skimmed over the various women he had known, steered well clear of Seska before stopping at the only one for which the attraction and passion and love for who had never faded.

When he had first clashed gazes with Kathryn Janeway over a view screen he had been determined to dislike her, even as he had stood on her bridge for the first time and she revealed Tuvok as a spy he was convinced that he would never find common ground with her. But there was something about her that caused him to do a very fast u-turn, something which had quickly grown into a fondness, a caring, and a love stronger than any other he had known. But she refused him, not in words, rarely in actions, but in the way she looked at him whenever they came too close; a pleading look that that begged for him not to go further, for they both knew how easily she would give into him, and they also knew the damage they would do if they did. So through his love and his respect for her he maintained the barriers that they had long ago established.

It took him a while to accept that she may never be able to accept him completely into her heart, but it was a lot longer before he felt ready to move on and started to look elsewhere for the long term commitment to another that he now craved so deeply.

Seven stopped talking and he looked up sharply to meet her gaze, seeing an expectant look on her face he realised that she was waiting for a response from him. Chakotay, never one to be caught out not listening replied with a neutral shrug, "I'm not sure," he said, hoping that it would be an adequate response.

"Well, if you see lieutenant Torres can you have a word with her about it?"

Confusion flickered across Chakotay's face, but he was quick to cover it with a smile, "of course," he blindly promised.

She seemed satisfied with his response, and he was silently thankful when she changed the topic of discussion, one that this time he paid much more attention.

V

Day 2

Harry was both surprised and delighted when he stepped into the turbo lift to see that Tom Paris was already there. The pilot however, barely seemed to acknowledge him.

"You look dreadful," Harry noted Tom's tired face.

"Thank you," Tom suppressed a yawn, "B'Elanna woke me up at three o'clock this morning asking me to make her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich."

"Oh," Harry placed a sympathetic hand on his friend's shoulder. B'Elanna was now in her third trimester of pregnancy and due any time in the next couple of weeks, and although Tom was looking forward to becoming a father, and up until recently had been enjoying his wife's pregnancy, for the past few days he had been up most of the night helping to satisfy his wife's food cravings. "She's still wanting the sandwiches?"

"Yes," he sighed, "I tried making her a batch before bed last night, but apparently they have to be made freshly."

"Couldn't she make it herself?"

Tom rolled his eyes, "apparently no one can make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches like I do," his face lifted slightly at that thought, before again it fell to be replaced by a tired and worn out look. "After she woke me up at three this morning it took me a couple of hours to get back to sleep, so now I'm knackered."

Harry felt sorry for his friend, but before he could offer him some words of sympathy the turbo lift doors opened and they both stepped out onto the bridge.

"Ten minutes early this morning Mr Paris," Chakotay smiled knowingly, B'Elanna had become quite difficult to be around for the past few days, he guessed that maybe Tom was wanting to get some time apart from her. "This must be a new record."

Tom took the comment in good humour, and grinned back as he sat at his station, "you know me commander, always up for a new challenge."

"Well how about this one: the Tunaki have limited the speed of ships in their space to warp two, think you can manage to cut our speed before we arrive?"

Tom let out an annoyed groan: he hated flying at low warp, "I just might be able to manage that."

"Good," Chakotay relaxed in his seat, "Harry, how long until we are within hailing range of the prime planet?"

"At least another eleven hours."

Just then the captain stepped out onto the bridge, "status," she called out.

"We should be within the Tunaki system in twelve hours, they have sent us a docking permit for their lead trading station," Chakotay reported, watching as she stepped down into the centre of the bridge.

"Have they given approval for crew shore leave?" she wavered by her seat, but did not sit down.

"The crew will be free to roam the trading station, but planet visits will require twelve hours quarantine before going down," he responded, glancing through the notes on his console to make sure.

"Is that on the doctor's request, or theirs?" she frowned, unsure she was happy for the crew to go through such a procedure.

"Theirs," he replied, "but the doctor has approved it, he says it wouldn't be too bad for the crew to do the same thing after every away mission; apparently he's fed up of the away teams contaminating the rest of the crew when they return," Chakotay added so that only she could hear.

Her blank expression cleared for a moment to crack grin at his comment, but all too soon her face clouded over, "I'll be in by office," she informed him, before making her way from the bridge.

Chakotay felt unable to explain her mood over the past couple of weeks. She was spending more time than usual in her office, and even when she was on the bridge she refused to join in with the friendly banter and conversation. She had started to address him in a much more formal manner, and had turned down his last three offers for dinner. Chakotay had mentioned his observations to B'Elanna and Tuvok, but they both denied noticing any change in the captain.

At first he had assumed that it was just because he was closer to her that he saw mild changes that others weren't able to see, now he was starting to get the impression that it was only him she was reacting differently to, but why he couldn't be sure. He would have thought it was his involvement with Seven that had sparked it, but he had dismissed that idea early on as he and Seven had been so careful to conceal their new relationship. So his only other assumption was that he had done or said something to upset her, and he knew that only with time would she reveal to him what that had been.

After an uneventful hour or so had passed on the bridge the peace was disrupted when Chakotay's comm. badge chirped into action. "Seven to the bridge."

"Chakotay here."

"Long range sensors are picking up a distress signal… it appears to be of Starfleet origin."

There was a stunned silence on the bridge, "location?" he requested.

"Two light years from our current position, I am sending through co-ordinates now."

"Captain to the bridge," he tapped his comm. badge the moment Seven had finished and quickly explained the situation.

"…avoiding Tanaki space we could get there in eleven hours at warp eight," Kathryn heard the end of Tom Paris's sentence as she stepped onto the bridge.

Chakotay caught her eye and she nodded consent, "set a course, maximum warp," he ordered as she sat down beside him, pulling up her console to catch up on the last couple minutes of action.

"Captain, the distress signal has stopped transmitting," Harry announced from his station.

"Do we have it's last known location?" Kathryn looked up to see the ensign nod, "then we'll head for that," she turned to her first officer, "ask Seven to see if long range scanners can get a lock onto the vessel itself."

"Captain, may I advice caution, Starfleet has no knowledge of any other federation ships other than our own in this vicinity of space," Tuvok warned.

Kathryn nodded, she had learnt all too many times in the past to be wary of anything that sounded too good to be true. "It's still a distress signal Tuvok, we have an obligation to respond." The Vulcan raised an eyebrow, but made no further comment. "Harry, contact the Tunaki and let them know we will be delayed," she instructed.

Chakotay had just finished another brief word with Seven over the comm. when he looked across at his captain, "Seven says she will try to get a lock, but preliminary scans show no sign of a warp trail, and she will be unable to detect any power signatures until we are within half a light year of the vessel."

Voyager's captain nodded, and sitting back she resided herself to wait.

The time passed all too quickly, one moment they were heading towards the ghost of the vessel's last coordinates, the next it felt like they were searching for a needle in a haystack as they attempted to track down any clue as to where the ship had moved on to. Knowing that the ship had not gone to warp narrowed down the search area considerably, and as an hour passed with no sensor readings picking up anything remotely like what they were looking for, it started to feel as if either the Starfleet distress signal they had picked up had been nothing more than a sensor glitch.

"Seven to Janeway," the former Borg's voice suddenly filled the tense silence on the bridge, "captain, I am picking up faint power readings from a small ship one thousand kilometres from our current position."

Kathryn sat up a little straighter in her chair, "can you determine the ship's origin?"

"I believe that it was the source of the distress signal," she answered, "but from this distance I cannot make an identification."

Kathryn stood from her seat, "Tom, take us in closer, maximum impulse."

The pilot did as instructed, the ship lurching through space, whilst the inertial dampeners removed all sensation of the sudden acceleration.

"I am not picking up any life signs," Harry announced after only a few minutes, "our sensors seem unable to penetrate through the ship."

"Are we within hailing range?" he nodded, "try hailing."

They waited. "No response captain, I am expanding hailing frequencies."

"Captain, the ship appears to be of Starfleet design, but I do not recognise the cereal number as any ship currently in service," Tuvok informed her.

"On screen." The star filled void that had previously been displayed on the view screen disappeared and was replaced by a close up of the small ship they had been searching for. It looked no larger than a shuttle, but with its black panelling and sleek design it did not look like anything they had seen before in Starfleet.

Tom whistled at seeing the ship for the first time, "if that's how they're making them these days, I want one."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves Mr Paris," Kathryn warned, but felt her own heart leap a little at the thought that maybe Starfleet had managed to send a ship to the delta quadrant. "Why are they not responding?" she didn't wait for an answer as she turned back to Tuvok, "is there any evidence of damage to the ship?"

Slowly he nodded, "I am detecting minor fractures to the outer hull, but there could be internal damage we are unable to detect."

"Captain, we are receiving a response, audio only."

"Open a channel," Kathryn suppressed the excitement that rose from her belly to her throat.

"Unknown vessel, please identify yourself," came the authorative voice of a woman.

"I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the USS Voyager. Who am I speaking to?"

"Voyager?" The woman on the other ship sounded surprised, "then we are in the delta quadrant?"

"Yes," Kathryn replied patiently.

There was a long pause, "my sensors are currently offline… can I ask how you managed to locate this ship?"

"We followed the source of your distress signal," Kathryn explained, "we were surprised that it was transmitted with Starfleet codes, we were not aware of any other federation vessels in this area of space."

"This ship is a transwarp prototype, we only arrived from the alpha quadrant thirteen hours ago," the woman explained, "my name is Artuso, I am a Starfleet test pilot for the USS Falcon. Our ship obtained damage from the test flight and my co-pilot requires medical attention, would it be possible to come aboard Voyager?"

"Of course, however our sensors are unable to penetrate your shields, if you lower them we will transport both you and your co-pilot aboard and tractor your ship into our shuttle bay," Kathryn suggested calmly, trying to ignore the excitement of the bridge crew around her.

"It is not the ship's shields you are unable to penetrate," the pilot informed her, "it is the ship itself which is reflecting your sensor's attempts… may I transport my co-pilot directly to your sickbay and then fly into the shuttle bay myself?"

Kathryn paused taking her time to glance across at her first officer and then her security chief. Chakotay nodded, the grin on his face telling her that his judgement had been clouded by the news of a Starfleet vessel capable of reaching them in the delta quadrant, so she turned to Tuvok, who raised his eyebrow as if to say that although he did not trust this unknown vessel, he could think of no reason not to accommodate them.

"I will tell the doctor to expect a new patient," she agreed.

Once the doctor had informed her of the successful transport of an unconscious but stable human male into his sickbay, and Tuvok and Tom had both confirmed the procedures for the landing of the USS Falcon, Kathryn turned to Chakotay, "I suppose we should go to the shuttle bay to great our new guest," finally she allowed a small smile to consume her face.

Chakotay grinned back as he stood from his chair, but before he could say anything Tom spoke up, "Captain, maybe I should come with you… it may help to have a fellow pilot greet our new visitor."

Kathryn exchanged a glance with her first officer; they both realised that Tom was just wanting a first look-in at the new ship, and both grinned amusedly at how little he did to hide it. "I think your presence would be better suited in sick bay," Kathryn said evenly, feeling like she was stealing sweets from a small child as she said it.

His expression fell, "I'll be on stand by if the doctor should call me."

She looked back at Chakotay as if to ask if she was being a little too harsh, in the same way that two parents would seek assurances from each other that what they were doing was in the best interest of their child. To her vague annoyance he shrugged neutrally and she felt instantly guilty. "Perhaps it would be prudent though to have a medical officer at hand should the pilot have any injuries that she has not disclosed."

Tom leapt from his seat before she had even finished her sentence, and was at the turbo lift doors almost before Kathryn and Chakotay. "It's decisions like this that make you such a great Captain," he grinned cheekily.

Kathryn rolled her eyes, "Tuvok, you have the bridge," she instructed as the three of them stepped into the lift.

V

From a small control room that overlooked the large shuttle bay they watched through the observation windows as the elegant black shuttle glided through the invisible force field and landed gracefully on the deck, its landing struts barely making a sound as it came down swiftly and softly. Voyager's two COs and helmsman were just making their way down the steps into the main shuttle bay as the large back panel of the shuttle came away and bent at its hinges to make a ramp.

A figure stepped from the vessel and turned to where they were walking towards her. She was slim, but not tall, although the heels of her boots gave the illusion of some height. She wore a close fitting grey and black uniform, although not unlike the new uniforms Starfleet had issued, this variation of the design had been made with pilots in mind, the thin and lightweight material ideal to allow a pilot maximum manoeuvrability during flight, whilst still maintaining a very unfashionable and neutral tone.

Her blond hair was pulled tightly against the back of her head and her blue eyes glanced over them as they approached. Chakotay frowned as he stopped only feet away from her, sure that he recognised the woman from somewhere, for a moment he considered that Kathryn was thinking the same thing as he noticed she wore a similar expression on her own face.

"Welcome aboard," Kathryn pulled a welcoming smile, "I'm captain Janeway. This is my first officer Chakotay and my helmsman lieutenant Tom Paris," Kathryn pointed out each man, who in turn nodded courteously.

The young woman hesitated a moment before shaking hands with Voyager's captain, "cadet Artuso," she confirmed, as up until this point they had only made audio contact, both women felt it was necessary to make formal introductions, "my co-pilot in sickbay is lieutenant James Ashton..."

"You're a cadet?" Tom blurted out with surprise before either of his COs had a chance.

She raised an eyebrow, "I believe that is what I said."

Tom looked flabbergasted, "they're allowing cadets to test fly shuttles these days?"

Artuso looked annoyed at his disbelief, "I will graduate next year as an ensign," she said defensively, "but a lot has changed since the war…"

"So how long has Starfleet been experimenting with transwarp technology?" Chakotay quickly changed the subject.

The cadet turned to him, suddenly looking uncertain, "a while. Much of the project is classified, so I am reluctant to go into details without my co-pilot here."

"Could this technology be used on Voyager's systems?" Kathryn asked hopefully.

"Possibly," she hesitated, "how much longer will it be until Voyager establishes its daily DataStream with Earth?"

"Nineteen hours," Kathryn replied with a frown.

"If my co-pilot has not regained consciousness before then I would appreciate sending a message to Starfleet to request further instructions… our test flight has not exactly gone to plan."

"I think we can make some arrangements for you."

"Until then it is probably best that I do not go into details of my mission."

"I understand," Kathryn said, although rather reluctantly with so many questions swimming around in her head. She gestured towards the shuttle bay doors, "maybe for now you would like to report to our sickbay to have the doctor check you over and to see in on your co-pilot?"

"I will do so later, however I have other priorities at this moment… my ship requires immediate repairs to prevent any further damage and degradation to systems."

"Of course," she turned to Tom, "lieutenant, will see to it that the cadet has everything she needs to get repairs underway?"

"Sure," Tom smiled and turned towards the small ship, almost in personal disbelief that he was going to be able to look inside of it.

Artuso smiled gratefully, but did not say anything, instead her eyes again drifted and focussed on Kathryn, as if scrutinising her carefully, "you recognise me, don't you?"

Kathryn paused, and Chakotay could tell she was thinking carefully about how to reply, "I do, but I'm not sure how."

"My first name is Xanthia… I believe you knew my father, Daniel Artuso."

Both men looked across at Kathryn, who suddenly looked like she had seen a ghost, "Mr Paris, commander, do you mind stepping from the shuttle bay for a moment?" her voice was so low that if there had have been even the smallest level of noise in the shuttle bay they would have missed her words completely.

Chakotay stared at his captain in astonishment at her instruction, but she refused to meet his gaze, and when he saw Tom step away he made the quick decision to follow.

"I hope you will not object to a DNA test to confirm that?" Kathryn waited until the doors had closed behind them.

"You recognise me, that should be proof enough for you."

"It will not take long for you to give a DNA sample," Kathryn insisted, uncomfortable with this complete stranger making such a claim.

The young woman's face hardened, "I only informed you of the distant connection that we share out of courtesy. Whether or not you chose to believe me is none of my concern…"

"You shouldn't have told me if you didn't expect to have to prove it," Kathryn interrupted angrily.

"Your crew doesn't know anything about me do they?" Artuso probed, "otherwise you wouldn't have sent those two officers out when I told you who I was."

"It was a long time ago," she replied defensively.

For a while Artuso simply stared across at her, "fine," she said eventually, "I will submit to a DNA test after I have finished my initial repairs… do you think you can wait a couple of hours?"

Kathryn was torn between reprimanding the cadet for her insubordination and asking her to get off the ship. With great force of will she decided to let it go, "I will post a security detail with you until both the doctor and Starfleet have confirmed your identity."

"Thank you," Artuso pulled a sarcastic smile.

Voyager's captain hesitated a moment before making her way from the shuttle bay. Tom and Chakotay were stood close by the doors, their conversation immediately stopping the moment she appeared. "Tom please ensure that cadet Artuso has the resources she needs to start her repairs, I will be assigning her a security detail and would appreciate if you do not let her out of your sight until then."

Tom nodded, and when she said nothing else and offered no form of explanation for what had just happened he realised that she was waiting for him to leave. Sensing that she was not in the mood for any of his wise-ass comments, he made his way quickly back into the shuttle bay.

"Kathryn?" Chakotay asked carefully.

"I would like you to contact the Tunaki, apologise for our delay and set a course for their system," she instructed, "I will join you on the bridge shortly, but first I'm going to sickbay to check on our other new arrival."

Before he could quiz her on what exactly was going on, she was walking away from him and soon had disappeared round the corner and out of sight. Chakotay considered going after her, but he knew better than to push her for information when she made it so obvious she wasn't in the mood for talking. Hoping that she would fill him in later he reluctantly made his way back towards the bridge.

To be continued.