COURAGE
Summary: After having some well-deserved relaxation on a hospitable planet, the crew are stunned when a set of explosions traps the captain and commander on the planet in danger, unable to help them as they too are under attack. Will they be able to fight off the attack and save the Captain and Commander?
CHAPTER 1
The Neechs home planet was one of closest to earth that the voyager crew had come across in the Delta quadrant. It had deep blue oceans, vast deserts, snow capped mountains and lush green forests. If you ignored the pale pink sun and the two planets that could be seen in the sky you could almost believe that you were standing on earth.
Voyager had been welcomed on this planet due to them helping a stranded ship that had one of the council members daughters on it. The doctor had helped to deliver the baby that made an unexpected early appearance. The people on the planet were so grateful that they had offered the hospitality of their planet for as long as the crew needed.
Janeway could see on her crew faces that they were so desperate to explore the planet that she agreed to a three-week shore leave.
"Chancellor, I can not thank you enough for your kindness, your people are very generous"
"Think nothing of it captain"
"Kathryn please, I am on holiday after all," she said with a warm smile. Kathryn had come to like these people and grown quiet fond of the little plump chancellor. He reminded her of an uncle that she had.
Chakotay had been following Kathryn round since the shore leave began a week ago; he'd never seen her so relaxed.
"In that case you must call me Argus" he said and smiled back at her.
"So Argus, where might you suggest that we visit today, your planet is so breathtaking" Chakotay took in her appearance, her normal dark uniform had been replaced by an off the shoulder thin white shirt and she had a red flared skirt that came to just below the knee, her normal black boots were replaced with some soft white sandals and her short hair was pulled up in a clip with a white flower on it. She looked so relaxed and beautiful.
They had spent most of the week together, first trekking up mountains, and then swimming in the ocean off small sandy islands; it had been the best week of his life.
"May I suggest the Garden of Renita, it is a couple of hours on foot but if you take a shuttle you should be there in a few minutes, I will give you the coordinates"
"No, no flying I think that Chakotay will agree with me that we would like to walk" Chakotay nodded to Argus.
"As you wish, here are the direction you will need, enjoy" he said and handed Kathryn a pad with the details on it.
"Your very kind, thank you" The plump man left them in the beautiful stone courtyard. Most of the city was built out of a beautiful stone that was abundant in the planet. It was white with a shimmer in it, it almost looked like marble. The city was so light and spacious.
"How about I go and prepare a picnic to take with us" he said
"That sounds like a wonderful idea" she smiled at him
"I will just bean up to Voyager and sort it out and be back in 10 minutes, you just wait here my lady" he said and kissed her hand gently.
"Your too kind sir" she said bowing to him. Chakotay tapped his badge and headed up to the ship.
Kathryn felt like a schoolgirl on a date. This past week had been just what she needed. The planet was so beautiful and her and Chakotay just seemed to have grown even closer. At first she had not wanted to go to the surface and insisted on staying on the ship to sort out repairs to keep her busy, but Chakotay had been so insistent that she should do it for her crew, that she relented and she was so glad that she had.
"Hello Captain" Harry said as he came up the stairs.
"Harry, what you been up to today?"
"On the beach mostly, the ocean is so nice to swim in, I'm actually off to meet Tuvok and Seven for lunch, would you care to join us" Kathryn smiled at the sweet young man in front of her. At the start he was an ensign rookie, so green, but now he was one of the most valuable members of her crew.
"Normally I would love to but I have a picnic planned at the Gardens of Renita"
"Okay, well enjoy yourself and I hope that we can catch up for dinner later" she smiled at him as he walked off towards the restaurant. Kathryn sat letting the cool breeze blow over her.
Chakotay beamed in and saw her with her eyes closed and head raised enjoying the breeze.
"Ready"
"Lets go" she said and took his arm.
They walked and talked and laughed on the way to the gardens, at some point they had started to hold hands and were still holding them when they reached the gardens.
"Oh my god, this place is beautiful" Kathryn walked around admiring all the different colours of flowers there were in the large gardens. She let go of his hand to touch the flowers. She watched him as he walked around looking at the flowers too. She knew that she had feelings for Chakotay, that time that they were left behind on that planet together was when she realised how much she had come to appreciate him, now it was love, she loved him deeply. She no longer cared about rules and regulations; she just wanted to make this man happy.
"How about over here" he said and spread the blanket on the ground. He pulled out the food and a bottle of wine from his backpack and placed it on the blanket. She noticed that it was all of her favourite foods.
"Where did you get this?" she said holding up the bottle of wine.
"I've had it since the start, just looking for a good time to open it, I think that now is as good a time as any"
They sat down and began to eat. After a while Chakotay lay on his back with his hands under his head and to his surprise Kathryn lay down beside him and placed her hand on his chest. They both watched the pale pink clouds pass over the pale pink sky. Chakotay turned on his side and rested his head on his hand.
"This past week has been the best I've ever had" her sparkling eyes and huge smile told him that it was time to tell her.
"Kathryn, I'm in love with you" Kathryn's heartbeat tripled.
"Please don't tell me that because of Starfleet regulations" she stopped him talking by putting her finger on his lips. Then she leaned up to him and kissed him gently on the lips. The electricity between them was incredible. He leaned over more towards her until she was lying down on her back; he gently placed his hand on her face.
When they pulled away for air her cheeks were flushed.
"I love you too"
The rest of the three weeks were spent exploring the planet and each other. Finally the time had come for them to leave. All the crew were back on board the ship. Chakotay and Kathryn were the only ones left on the planet. They were saying farewell to their friends.
"Argus my friend, what can I say, you have been the most generous and kind people we have met in this quadrant, your planet will be held in high respect by my people when we get home, Thank you very much. I will miss you" she gave him a hug.
"I hope that you do make it home, but I hope even more one day that you can return to visit us again even settle on our planet"
Chakotay stepped forward and shook his hand.
"Thank you my friend"
They walked away and stood ready for beam out. Kathryn was about to tap her badge when she heard the first explosion.
"What the hell" she said as the room shook, they all looked at each other confused, then the rest of the explosions went off. Fire, glass and smoke surrounded them. Kathryn saw a huge column about to fall on Argus and reacted without thinking. Before Chakotay could stop her she ran over to Argus and pushed him out of the way. One more explosion hit them and Chakotay caught Kathryn's scared eyes as the room collapsed on top of them.