Beth6787

15th December 2017

Be Careful What You Wish For...

Q visits Chakotay and gives him a taste of an alternative life. His dreams have come true and he has married Kathryn BUT there is a price to pay. He has had to relinquish the First Officer's post to Tuvok. Is it a price worth paying?...

Three weeks have passed since they left Quarra behind. Since Kathryn left Jaffen behind. She had reassured Chakotay on the Bridge, just as they broke orbit, that she did not regret his coming for her and giving her her memories and old life back. She had seemed genuine at the time and had been almost overly full of bonhomie during their first couple of weekly 'Command team dinners'. Sadly he was not fooled. He had known Kathryn for too long now. Although she had not been fully herself, having had several memories altered, her basic personality had remained intact and she had chosen Jaffen. To the extent of betraying him when the rogue Quarran authorities were attempting to track him down. She had told him that she would not want the burdens of command. Perhaps that was true now. After seven years with the weight of 150 lives in her hands day after day, the strain was taking it's toll. Oh, on the surface she was her usual pleasant self with him but it was all a facade. She no longer told him her troubles nor really took him into her confidence. He felt as though he could be anyone on Voyager, even a lower decks crewman that she may only say a handful of words to all year. Not her First Officer and supposed best friend. He tossed and turned in bed, trying to get to sleep but his thoughts would not leave him in peace. He looked at the bedside clock, 1.35am. Great! He would be exhausted come the start of his shift at 0700.

Just then he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. Standing at the end of his bed, grinning at him was none other than Q ! Could things get any worse!

"Well Commander, are you not going to get up and offer me a drink? You really are a dreadful host, no wonder Kathryn prefers me."

"What do you want Q. It's 1.35am and I'm exhausted. I'm really not in the mood for one of your games and I'm sure, neither is the Captain or anyone else aboard ship. Unless the universe is about to come to an end, please leave." Chakotay turned over and deliberately pulled the covers over his head.

"My, my, we are in a grouchy mood aren't we. Mind you, I suppose seven years of unrequited love can do that to a man. Not that I would know of course, I have always been instantly irresistible to the opposite sex. However I digress. I am your fairy godfather. I have come to grant your greatest wish. You shall win the hand of the fair Kathryn." Q did a little skip around the room and clapped his hands. By this time Chakotay had sprung up and grabbed his dressing gown. He wrapped it tightly around himself then, without a word to Q headed for the replicator and made himself a coffee. Normally he preferred tea but something stronger was no doubt needed tonight.

Chakotay sighed "what on Earth are you talking about Q?"

"I have a proposition for you. A dare if you like, or maybe a wager. Yes, a wager. I want to see whether you are man enough to fulfil your dreams or whether you will chicken out. Oh you shall have the fair Kathryn but there is a price to pay. After all she is an honourable Starfleet Captain, one of their finest, and it would not do to break protocol. The Captain and First Officer cannot 'fraternise' to the extent of pursuing a romantic liaison. In order to win Kathryn's hand you will have to relinquish your job to Commander Tuvok. He will make the joint command decisions with her in the Ready Room. You will take over a Second Officer and head of Tactical. What do you say?"

Chakotay looked at him. "Are you serious?" Q smiled. "Completely. If you accept my wager you will wake up next door in the Captain's quarters which will have become your married quarters. You will stay in that reality for ten days, if you can stand it. You can quit at any time before then, but if you do, you will return to this reality forever. You will never be more than platonic friends. If you manage the whole ten days in that reality we will meet back here at the end of the test and I will transport you all back to sector 001. In other words, you will have won passage home for your entire crew. Do we have a wager or not? decide now!"

Chakotay only had to think about it for a few seconds. How hard could it be to play second fiddle to Tuvok for only ten days? They would all be home and in the meantime all his romantic dreams with Kathryn would come true. It was a no lose situation. "Alright Q, you're on!" Chakotay stretched out his hand and they shook on the deal. Q smirked, then clicked his fingers and vanished.

The next thing Chakotay knew he was waking up for his morning shift. He turned over in bed to see the crumpled sheet where Kathryn must have lain. He looked around, he was in Kathryn's quarters alright but the wardrobe was bigger and he could see both their uniforms hanging up. There were a few photos of them with family and crew and one of their wedding. Very recently judging by their Kathryn's hairdo. Perhaps they were still on honeymoon he hoped. Chakotay got up and wandered through to the living area, there was Kathryn bent over a PADD with a steaming cup of coffee in her hand. Her third this morning judging by the contents of the table next to her. "Good morning" he smiled as he approached her. He bent to kiss her on the lips but she deflected it to a peck on the cheek. "Not now Chakotay. I have a breakfast meeting with Tuvok in half an hour and I need to get up to speed on the night's developments. The situation looks dire and we will need to make a final decision on our course of action."

When Q had materialised last night there was nothing of note going on outside his quarters. Damn Q he thought, he must have placed me in another timeline as well as an alternate reality. Better try and find out as much as possible from Kathryn before we head to the Bridge.

"Perhaps I could toss a few ideas around with you. We work together pretty well as a problem solving duo."

Kathryn did not look amused. "Chakotay, we discussed all this at length before we married four months ago. My personal and professional lives have to be kept apart. You agreed to only being informed of decisions, along with the other section heads, at senior staff meetings. Tuvok would be solely privy to discussions within the Ready Room from the day we married. He is our First Officer now. You will hear of our decision along with the senior staff at tomorrow's meeting. Please excuse me, I need to get ready for my breakfast session with Tuvok before our Bridge shift starts at 0700." With that she headed for the sonic shower.

Perhaps this was going to be a little more challenging than he originally thought. Never mind he would attend the senior staff meeting, glean as much information as he could, then after a romantic dinner cuddle up in bed with Kathryn and get all the details he wanted. He was sure he could soon break down that protocol barrier now he had overcome the ultimate barrier of the last seven years. Obviously HE hadn't yet, the alternate Chakotay had had that privilege for the last four months, he was sure that he could do far better. How he was going to keep his mind on the job until the end of their shift this evening he did not know. Only another twelve hours or so and he would be getting into bed with Kathryn - his wife no less ! - at last!

Kathryn left for her meeting with Tuvok in the Ready Room and Chakotay supposed he had better get into character if he was going to play his part for ten days without getting busted. Apart from having some (long overdue) fun with Kathryn he needed to make a success of this and win his wager with Q. The futures of every member of the crew depended on his winning. In eleven days time they could be in Earth orbit for real. He was now the Tactical Officer and third in command. He had better gem up on the last few days reports. Chakotay went over to the console and scrolled through the last week or so of the Tactical logs. He grimaced. Tuvok's job was just so tedious most of the time. Endless security drills and training sessions for his team. Most of the Tactical simulations and drills were on getting up to speed with enhancements that Engineering had done to their systems. He would have to have a word with Belanna about keeping these to a minimum! It appeared that they were having trade negotiations with a race called the Tolar. Theirs was a binary system with two habitable planets on opposite sides of their sun, sharing an orbit. The other race, the Somar, were in conflict with them and Voyager's top team were trying to police a temporary truce whilst the Captain and First Officer completed a deal. The Tactical Officer's log ran through the manpower distribution, policing strategy etc. but there was no information at all on the negotiations themselves. It would seem Kathryn and Tuvok were keeping their deliberations strictly to themselves for now. Just as he had done when he was First Officer. Thank goodness he only had to play second fiddle to Tuvok for another none and a half days.

Chakotay headed to the Bridge and went to sit next to the Captain. She looked at him quizzically as he approached and he remembered just it time. He nodded at her as though he had just announced his arrival and went to stand behind the Tactical console. Tuvok walked out of the Ready Room and came to sit next to Kathryn. Chakotay bit his lip and focussed on the tactical display read outs.

Just then Harry Kim announced that a transmission was coming through from the Tolar. Apparently the Somar had agreed to preliminary talks, thanks to the suggestions made by Voyager's Command team and they were ready to start formal talks at the Captain's convenience. Captain Janeway accepted and said she and her First Officer would be beaming down within the hour. She turned to Chakotay "Commander, you have the Bridge whilst we are planet side. Please arrange a security detail to accompany myself and Commander Tuvok. I will be in my Ready Room. Commander Tuvok, please join me."

With that Kathryn and Tuvok disappeared into the Ready Room to discuss their plans for the talks. Chakotay was left to arrange a security detail, run a diagnostic on the phaser array and unarmed combat training for eight crewmen on holodeck 2 later this afternoon. He was beginning to see just how high a price Q was exacting to make his romantic dreams come true. Better get on with it Chakotay he admonished himself.

Meanwhile Kathryn and Tuvok had brainstormed their strategy in five minutes and were relaxing over a late breakfast. She smiled at Tuvok "Tuvok, I have to admit I had my reservations about you and Chakotay swapping jobs when we married, but I was wrong. We both have such logical, scientific minds that it is so easy to reach a consensus. We hardly ever differ in opinion, and when we do, we defer to logic and everything is resolved within minutes. Professionally we are the ideal team. Chakotay was always more emotional, spiritual even, which is far better suited to my off duty time. He and I can have fun, safe in the knowledge that any command decisions can be left to you and I here in the Ready Room."

"I agree entirely Captain. This arrangement is indeed the logical course of action. I am sure the rest of our voyage home will be far less eventful than the last seven years. We will limit ourselves to essential first contacts only and reduce the amount of recreational time for the crew. This is a Starfleet crew and I concur that we need to be working at peak efficiency. I will inform Commander Chakotay of the new tactical strategy as soon as our away mission is complete. I am sure he will be delighted to double the tactical training hours and instigate the new security protocols that we have discussed."

Kathryn smiled and nodded as Tuvok headed out to take over on the Bridge. Life was so much better now. Why had she held Chakotay at arms length for so long?...

That evening Chakotay arrived home at their quarters before Kathryn. He was livid. Only platitudes and a confirmation of the trade deal in the senior staff meeting. Then Kathryn's announcement that she and her new First Officer had decided to double his workload. He had then had a meeting with Tuvok who had given him a load of superfluous tasks that he had no choice but to comply with. Tuvok was the First Officer so outranked him. That may be so but he intended to sort a few things out with Kathryn tonight ! Calm down Chakotay, he thought. Prepare Kathryn's favourite dish and replicate a nice bottle of red wine. We will relax over dinner then I will use my charm to persuade her to be a little more forthcoming to me. After all, she must be missing our close working relationship too. It must be challenging to have command discussions in depth with Tuvok to say the least !

At that his mood lifted and he started to prepare dinner. Kathryn arrived almost an hour later. She seemed in a happy mood and was more affectionate to him than this morning. She came over and hugged him "Smells delicious honey. Just give me ten minutes to shower and change then I will be with you."

Chakotay smiled to himself. All was going to plan. When Kathryn returned from the bedroom she was wearing a beautiful lime green silk nightie and dressing gown that left little to the imagination. The night was looking more promising by the minute. Perhaps they should just put dinner on hold...

Chakotay swept her up in his arms and kissed her passionately. "Perhaps dinner could wait for a few minutes? " he said hopefully. Kathryn had a playful glint in her eyes. "Only a few minutes my love?" With that Chakotay carried her into the bedroom and laid her on the bed. He was just about to join her when the Comm interrupted them. It was Tuvok ! "Captain to the Bridge. We are under threat of attack." Kathryn jumped up and grabbed her uniform "on my way Commander" she replied. She dived into the bathroom and emerged about thirty seconds later in full uniform looking immaculate.

"Chakotay , you had better get a security team together and wait for further instructions in Transporter Room 1. It may be necessary for myself or Commander Tuvok to beam down again." With that she rushed out heading for the Bridge.

Great ! He still had no idea what was going on and now he was about to be sidelined again. Just as he was about to head to the Transporter Room to rendezvous with Ayala and Fraser as ordered Q appeared in front of him. "Day 1 almost up. How's it going so far Chakotay" he taunted. Don't rise to the bait, Chakotay told himself. he glanced casually at Q and said "as I expected. It's early days and I'm just settling into the tactical role. Kathryn and I are very happy on a personal level and I will soon be taken back into her confidence."

Q smirked again. "It doesn't look like that from where I'm standing but, who knows, perhaps I have made the scenario a little too easy for you. Time to Spice Things Up !". With that Q clicked his fingers and was gone again.

Chakotay never made it to the Transporter Room before the barrage began. Voyager had several hull breaches and he staggered towards the turbolift to get to the Bridge. On;y the turbolifts were down. He would have to do things the hard way and head through the Jeffries tubes. He beckoned Ayala and Fraser to follow. It took far longer than usual to reach the Bridge. They had had to make several diversions due to the hull damage and sealed sections so it was forty minutes after the first torpedo was fired that they arrived. Tuvok was sitting in the Captain's chair. He turned on seeing Chakotay and his security detail. "Commander Chakotay, man Tactical. Assess the armaments and trajectories of those ships and disable as many as you can. Ensign Kim return to your post." Harry glanced sadly at Chakotay before returning to his post. Chakotay swing into action and used all his Maquis ingenuity to outsmart their attackers. They were outnumbered and outgunned but managed to disable all four attacking ships and limp away Warp 1.

He wondered where the Captain was. Probably in Engineering helping Belanna to stabilise their essential systems like life support and shields. He would normally have handed the Bridge to Tuvok and gone to lend a hand but realised he would need to be used now their roles were reversed. "Permission to assist with the urgent repairs in Engineering, Sir?" .

"Negative Commander, I need you to stay at Tactical. Mr. Kim, please report to Engineering. Commander Chakotay, Perhaps you would so good as to co-supervise Ops?" This was ridiculous, thought Chakotay. The battle is over for now so there is no need for me to man Tactical or Ops. Ayala could take my post and Seven was more than capable of covering for Harry. He tried again "with all due respect sir, Ayala could do that. I would be of more use right now in Engineering."

It was to no avail. Tuvok was following protocol (totally inappropriately in his opinion) but could not be swayed. He was relieved six hours later and headed home. It was 2240 hours. Kathryn had probably been back for ages and wondered what had kept him. And why he had not appeared in Engineering to lend them a much needed hand. Once they had had a good night's sleep he would speak to her urgently about Tuvok in the morning. When he walked through the door it was obvious that Kathryn was still out. He decided to contact Engineering and see how things were coming along. "Torres here" came the response. "Belanna it's Chakotay . I was just wondering how things are progressing and when you were planning on letting my wife come home?"

"It's still pretty manic down here. We have life support and shields back up but the starboard nacelle is badly damaged. We are still leaking warp plasma, we have lost thirty one percent of our gel packs and I haven't seen the Captain all day. When you track her down, tell her I could really do with her expertise down here right now and another pair of hands. Torres out."

Chakotay was starting to feel alarmed. Where was Kathryn and what had she been doing all day. "Computer, What is the current location of Captain Janeway." Unknown came the response. He tried again "please show Captain Janeway's bio-signature" . Perhaps the internal sensors were still fried but the medical ones should be fine. Torres had said the life support systems were back on line. "Captain Janeway is no longer aboard Voyager" the computer informed him with its impersonal drone.

"When did Captain Janeway leave the ship and where did she go?" He asked again. "Captain Janeway beamed out at 0945 hours. Destination unknown. No contact since."

Chakotay shot out to confront Tuvok. Unbelievable ! Tuvok had been aware of the Captain's disappearance all along. Apparently She had been transported to the lead attacking Talor ship straight after the first torpedo strike which had taken out their shields. Tuvok had tried, unsuccessfully, to get a lock on her then assessed the situation as too dangerous to mount a rescue attempt and withdrawn. He had actually quoted that old Vulcan logic chestnut of the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few, or of the one. He had rationalised that the logical thing to do was assume the Captain dead or unrecoverable, assume command and carry on towards the AQ !

Chakotay immediately volunteered to go over all the battle logs, come up with a rescue plan then take his crack Tactical Team, along with the Doctor and Seven on a rescue mission. Tuvok would not even consider it. "Sorry Commander, I sympathise for the loss of your wife, but it would not be logical to risk the lives of several of our senior crew, and potential loss of the Delta Flyer to attempt a rescue of a single crew member. Even if it happens to be Captain Janeway. Permission denied. We will, of course, arrange an appropriate memorial service as soon as it is practical to do so. Dismissed."

Chakotay did not trust himself to say another word. He would never have mounted a mutiny against Kathryn but Tuvok and his Vulcan logic were an entirely different matter! He rushed back to their quarters to assess all the data and come up with the best plan he could. Three hours later he had ascertained which ship the Captain had been beamed to, it's last known trajectory and who was most likely holding her. He did not like the look of things. The Talor were a heavily patriarchal society and the males about 20% larger than the average human. Any dissent from their females and they tended to use physical force to keep them in line. The Talor reminded him of the Kazon and their leader was a dead ringer for Maj Cullah . He couldn't imagine Kathryn sitting around meekly waiting to be rescued. Especially as she would realise Tuvok would be reluctant to do so. She would imagine herself on her own and she would fight to survive. He had little time. "Seven, Ayala, Doctor" he contacted them on a four way secure channel "I need your help. I am going to mount a rescue operation for the Captain. meet me on the Delta Flyer in five minutes. Do not log a flight plan or notify the Bridge. this is a covert Tactical Mission. Chakotay out." He was confident they would all comply without Tuvok being any the wiser. He was wrong. He arrived at the Delta Flyer to find no sign of his away team but Tuvok had arranged for three of Chakotay's own security detail to take him into custody. He was unceremoniously dumped in the Brig and a maximum security force field erected. He pleaded with the guard to be allowed to speak to acting Captain Tuvok but was informed that it was now night shift and he would be dealt with in the morning. Meanwhile anything could be, and probably was, happening to Kathryn !

He paced for what seemed hours and eventually collapsed, exhausted, on his bunk. Q suddenly reappeared "Day 2 over. Oh dear, what have we here. In the Brig already? And where is your darling wife? I do hope you are keeping her safe and sound?" With that Chakotay lunged at Q to take a punch. Unfortunately Q had made himself transparent and Chakotay cracked his knuckles hard on the cell wall. "Now, now, we don't want to alert the guards do we? You need to get out of here and rescue the fair Kathryn. She is not having a pleasant stay with the Talor . In fact her life is in peril and you have less than two hours to mount a rescue before it will be too late."

Chakotay made his decision. "All right. You win Q. Put me back into my original timeline. I give up all romantic claim to Kathryn. The only thing that matters is keeping her safe. Making the right decisions for us and our crew. I can be far more use to her as her First Officer and trusted friend than I can be as her husband."

"A wise decision my friend" said Q and with that he snaps his fingers and all went black.

Chakotay woke up in a sweat. Where was he? Where was Kathryn? He was in his quarters and it was 0312 hours. had he been dreaming. "Computer where is Captain Janeway?" He barked in a panic. The computer informed him that the Captain was asleep in her quarters. Chakotay checked the date and time and crew listings to ascertain his rank. All was at it had been the evening before Q had arrived in his bedroom. It must have been a dream he thought and was just about to try and get back to sleep when he saw Q's face in the distance amongst the stars. "No dream" Q whispered "just a lesson it how to avoid a nightmare". And with that he vanished amongst the stars.

The End/

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