Buried Treasure

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By Jadie47

© February 2007

Rating: K
Series: Star Trek: Voyager

In the beginning of the episode Unforgettable, Chakotay didn't believe the stories Kellin told him. What if he was correct in not trusting her?

I don't own Star Trek: Voyager or the characters. I just wanted to fix the mess the original writers made.

Something wasn't right. Commander Chakotay thought to himself as he strode through the corridors, trying to figure out what it was that didn't sit well with him. He'd spent most of the day with an alien female who called herself Kellin. Voyager's crew rescued her when her ship was badly damaged in a firefight with another. Both vessels were cloaked.

The Ramuran woman had asked Captain Janeway for asylum. Kellin seemed to know a great deal about Voyager and the crew, especially Chakotay. In sickbay, she told him that she came back because she'd fallen in love with him that last time she was on board.

Kellin told him that she was a tracer — a kind of bounty hunter — who found members of her race who tried to escape and took them back to their planet.

Chakotay had briefed the senior staff with the information. The meeting had been pretty normal until the rest left the room.

Captain Janeway approached Chakotay. "I agree we should take precautions but you seem very suspicious of her."

"I just want to make sure we're not being manipulated." He walked to the portal. "She's told me things I find preposterous." Dull ache throbbed in his temple. That's what I get for skipping my morning coffee.

"I agree. If we grant her asylum, we'll be in the position of having to protect her. If we commit to that we should certainly find out if she's telling the truth. I'd appreciate your thoughts on that." She rubbed the back of her neck.

Chakotay thought he could remember a time when he given her a shoulder massage, but when he tried to grasp the details, the memory slipped away and his head hurt more.

Kathryn tilted her head as she looked at him. A soft smile flitted across her face before she turned away. "You're dismissed."

"Aye, Captain."

Later, over a meal, Kellin once more tried to convince him that the two of them had met before and that he had loved her, too. While they were still in the mess hall, they'd been attacked by two heavily armed vessels. With her help, they disabled weapons on the other ships. The Ramurans left, but not before Voyager sustained damage to the propulsion system.

Kellin seemed worried that her people would be back again to try to capture her, so she offered to help make permanent modifications that would make sure Voyager's sensors could detect the tracers the next time they came. Since the work on the Astrometric equipment needed command code authorization, Chakotay volunteered to help.

Janeway agreed, but there was something in the look Kathryn gave him that made him uneasy. It couldn't be jealousy he insisted to himself as he'd followed Kellin off the bridge. Protocol had always prevented them from pursuing any relationship other than friendship, hadn't they? As he pondered this, his head began to ache.

During the time, they worked together to make the changes, Kellin flirted and told him bits about the time they spent with one another before. She promised to tell him about their last night together. However, no matter how warm and inviting her voice was, he felt not a tug of desire but a vague sense of dread and a dull ache in his temples.

Chakotay tugged on his ear as he made his way to the bridge. This Kellin was a beautiful woman — there was no doubt about that. However, the more he thought about the possibility, the more difficult it became to believe her, especially after hearing her story about her xenophobic race of people.

On the other hand, the more Chakotay tried to understand the reason he didn't trust her, the more his head began to throb. He shook his head as if he could dislodge the pain. Maybe he should see the Doctor. Later, he thought, because now I have to see to the captain. I need to be with her. Like lightning, in a quick bolt of a recall, he was sitting on his sofa with his arm around Kathryn's shoulder. I must be remembering a dream. It was the only explanation.

A sharp, stabbing pain in his head knocked him into the bulkhead. Chakotay pushed against the metal with one hand, trying to stand upright as he pressed the fingers of the other to his temple.

A crewman grabbed the commander's arm to steady him. "Are you all right, Commander?"

Grinding his teeth, Chakotay forced out, "I need to see the Doctor. Help me get there."

The young man helped Chakotay lean on his shoulders as they headed to the sickbay.