This story is cowritten by my wonderful friend SarahWritesThings. Check her more recent works out on AO3 and if you feel so inclined, you can follow her on Tumblr (all platforms are under the same username) she's amazing. We hope you enjoy this story!
The two of them boarded the Sacajawea and began their short journey towards the sand colored planet. The brown swirls to the right of the equator reminding him of the swirls in a dessert he and Kathryn tried on shoreleave a few weeks before.
He stood up and walked over to the panel on the wall behind Kathryn's seat. She remained, her leg drawn up to her chest and a smile resting comfortably over her features. She looked beautiful, relaxed even, something he was happy she could be in his presence.
She swiveled slightly in her chair, bringing back to mind the previous night. Watching her twirl around on stage, it was the most magnificent thing he had seen since being in the delta quadrant. Her dancing skills hadn't been anything to write home about, her legs however were another story. But all of it paled in comparison to seeing her so happy, finally connecting with her crew, their crew. For a few simple minutes he had seen the woman behind the mask of captain, the woman he had met on New Earth. He missed her, and last night he realized just how much.
A hint of a smile played on his lips as he thought of a way to bring up her performance.
"Harry's clarinet solo was okay. I could have done without Tuvok's reading of Vulcan poetry," he spoke up, his heart beating faster at the sound of her laugh. He wanted to hear it again.
"But the highlight of the evening was definitely Kathryn Janeway portraying the Dying Swan," he said, making his way back to his seat.
She laughed again, this time louder. He noticed her eyes following him as he sat.
"I learned that dance when I was six years old. I assure you, it was the hit of the Beginning Ballet class," she said, waving her hands around dramatically.
"I don't doubt it. If Neelix has another talent night I hope you reprise it," he said with a smirk.
She chuckled and shook her head.
"Oh, no. Not until certain other people take their turn. The ship's First Officer for instance," she said, pointing towards him.
"Me? Get up in front of people and perform? I don't think so,"
"Come on, Chakotay, there must be some talent you have that people would enjoy. Maybe I could stand with an apple on my head and you could phaser it off," she suggested jokingly.
He laughed, trying hard to focus on the console in front of him.
"Sounds great. If I miss I get to be Captain."
Her laughter was cut short as a bolt of lightning struck across their viewport. The console beeped to send a warning and immediately Janeway sat straight checking what was wrong, that carefree woman from just seconds ago was once again tucked away.
"Atmospheric turbulence. We might be in for a rough landing," he said.
"Funny, a minute ago there wasn't any indication of rough weather," she replied.
"I'm reading even more severe storms near the surface,"
Lightning struck again, this time closer to the shuttle, causing it to shake. The console beeped once more and Janeway analyzed the reading.
"Ion lightning. Maybe we'd better try the fifth planet instead and come back here when things have cleared up" she suggested, but he knew it was too late to change course. He was simply hoping for a soft landing.
Lightning struck a third time, hitting the shuttle and causing a console on the back wall to blow, sending a few sparks and a bit of smoke into the air.
"I think we took a lightning hit. Attitude control is out," he said, frantically trying to maintain control.
"I'm switching to manual," she said.
They were hit again, this time the sparks were so bright it nearly blinded them, and the smoke billowed out thicker, only adding to his impaired vision.
"The navigational system's out," he shouted.
"Reverse engines. Full thrusters," she commanded.
"Warning. Hydrazene gas leak" The computer said.
"Altitude twelve kilometers. Hull temperature four thousand degrees. We have to reduce speed," she said, the concern weighing in her voice.
"I'll try the emergency anti-grav thrusters," he said, praying it would work.
They began a descent through thick grey clouds which looked about as grim as their situation at hand.
He felt himself losing control of the shuttle, the bottom grazed one of the tall black rocks that seemed to rise from the clouds themselves. The consoles began screeching at him as he felt the ship rock violently. They were crashing and he couldn't stop it, all he could do was have faith that they would survive.
His ears began to ring as the noises of metal being crushed, scraped, and beaten flooded his ears. He felt his body being flung against the back of the shuttle and then tossed forward again, and his world went dark.
Kathryn came to first. Her body lying flat over the console and her head slumped over. She opened her eyes and looked around only to realize that Chakotay was no longer next to her.
"Chakotay?" She heard no response.
Gingerly, she turned around and with a stifled gasp, she ran to his side on the floor of the shuttle.
"Chakotay?...Chakotay!" She checked for a pulse, it was weak and growing weaker by the second.
She quickly got out a medical tricorder, scanning over his body and hoping for the best, but when it gave her the readings she saw that his injuries were severe. He needed immediate medical attention if he was going to live.
" Warning. Hydrazene gas levels at one hundred twelve parts per million. Begin evacuation procedures," the computer stated coldly.
"Damn it!" Grabbing the medical kit, she slung it under her shoulder.
She put her arms under his shoulders, hoping desperately that the adrenaline pumping through her veins would provide her with enough strength to pull him out of the shuttle.
His body remained limp like a rag doll as she dragged him onto the dirt ground just outside the shuttle. She felt sick to her stomach seeing him so helpless.
She shook her head, thinking back to her emergency medical training, it had been a while since she had put what little skills she had to any use.
Cordrazine. Give him cordrazine to keep his heart going. Cordrazine and CPR. She thought to herself.
Her hands shook as she loaded the hypospray.
She injected it into the side of his neck, waiting patiently for something to happen, for any sign that he would be ok.
"C'mon Chakotay."
"Don't you dare die on me," she pleaded, as the tears began to sting in her eyes.
She placed the heel of her hand on the center of his chest, then interlocked the fingers from the other hand and began chest compressions. She tried to keep a steady pace, stopping every 30 compressions to give two rescue breaths, watching his chest rise and fall but not of his own volition.
He still wasn't breathing, and his pulse had ceased. Two tears fell down her cheeks simultaneously with a burning fear. She couldn't lose him, not now and not ever.
"Please, Chakotay don't leave me….please," she cried out. "Breathe dammit!"
She grabbed the hypospray and loaded again, saying a silent prayer to whoever or whatever might have been listening in that moment that it would work.
The second the hypo was released into his neck he gasped and began to cough. She released a breath and sighed with relief.
She took his hand in her own and looked into his eyes with a teary smile.
"Kathryn?" he croaked.
"Don't ever do that to me again," she said shaking her head.
"Thanks," he replied with a tired smile.
She dug through the medical kit, then began to run a device over his head.
"This should help with cranial swelling, although I'm afraid you'll have a hell of a headache for a while."
"I'll be fine," he said trying to sit up.
"Hey, take it easy. You rest while I go grab the blankets and rations from the shuttle. Here, set up the homing signal while I'm gone," she said handing him her comm badge and then standing up and walking back towards the wreckage.
He began fiddling with the commbadge to set up the signal, but then his eyes drifted towards her. Curiously, he watched her scan the burn marks on the side of the shuttle and then run back to him with the blankets and rations in her arms.
"What were you looking at?"
"There are phaser burns on the hull, I don't think it was the storm that caused the crash. We were shot down," she replied.
"By whom?"
"I'm not sure, but I'll go get a closer look, see if I can't get an energy signal from the burns,"
"I should probably disconnect the homing signal until we know more, we don't want to give our exact location to whoever may have shot us down, " he suggested.
She nodded and made her way back toward the hull, rescanning the burn marks.
Chakotay grabbed onto the large boulder he had been leaning on and used it as support while he tried to stand. His vision still blurry, he waited a moment before attempting to walk over to where Kathryn was standing.
"Anything?" he asked.
"The signatures are Vidiian," she says, the concern lurking in her voice.
"It thought we had moved past their space," he replied.
"If they were the ones to shoot us down we shouldn't remain near the crash sight. Let's find somewhere to lay low for a while, gather our thoughts or formulate a plan," she suggested.
"Lead the way,"
She began walking, but stopped when her tricorder started beeping rapidly.
"What is it?"
"Life forms, they're fifty meters away and getting closer, let's go!" she said.
They walked a few steps to the right but the beeping started up again.
"There's more coming from this direction, they have us surrounded. Looks like we'll have to fight," she said.
The two ran in the direction of the nearest cave, his hand instinctively grabbing onto his phaser, preparing for the worst.
They entered the dimly lit cave with their guards up and their weapons drawn. It seemed as if the coast was clear until they walked further into the cave and heard the soft footsteps.
Five Vidiians came out from the shadows, their weapons aimed and ready to fire. Chakotay's breath hitched and the dreadful feeling of terror settled in his gut.
"Back off now! We'll fire if we have to," Kathryn warned, but they continued to step closer.
"Back off!" she yelled, but it was too late.
One of the Vidiians fired a shot directly to her chest, sending her to the ground instantly.
"Kathryn!" he shouted as his heart dropped.
He tried to run over to her, but another Vidiian jumped down and grabbed him by the collar. He felt pain wash over him as the alien tossed his body against the hard rocky wall. Before he could regain his footing, he felt hands grip around his throat, squeezing with all their might. He tried desperately to break free, but it was no use.
His vision began to blur and the world around him began to spin. His last dying breath was spent trying desperately to call out her name, his last thought was of her smile, and then it all faded away.