Disclaimer: I do not own the Star Trek Universe, or any of the characters from it. It all belongs to Gene Rodenberry as far as I'm concerned, then whoever owns the copyright rights. I'm merely an amateur playing in it for my own amusement because there was another story that I wish had been written. I also don't own the title – it is from Alfred Tennyson's "To Victor Hugo."

Author's Note: Think of this as a preview. I highly suggest reading Ulysses first, although it's not a requirement to understand this story. Please note, for the purposes of this story none of the Star Trek novels are canon and please review so I know where this stands.

Desiring that Diviner Day
Admiral Byzantium

"Quoi qu'il arrive, la flame de la résistance
française ne doit pas s'éteindre et ne s'éteindra pas."
-Charles de Gaulle, June 18, 1940

Prologue

It had been six weeks since Voyager returned to the Alpha Quadrant after her seven-year trek on the other side of the galaxy. The crew had been making great progress in readjusting to their new surroundings, each of them trying to make their way.

Captain Janeway was now Admiral Janeway, although she had no official assignment or post. Her ship lay wrecked in the middle of South Dakota and her current unofficial occupation was to assist Federation research crews who were working to reverse-engineer components that she had brought back from the future, especially the Transwarp drive. Much of her time was spent at Utopia Planitia aboard the ship that Starfleet had slated to test the equipment – the ship that most of it had been designed for in the first place, Captain Robert DeSoto's USS Hood. After that assignment was finished, the Admiralty assured her they had an opening at Starfleet Academy – a post she had fully intended to accept.

Janeway's attention, however, had been spent mostly on the plight of the Maquis members of her crew. Starfleet Command had never felt entirely comfortable with the fact that Voyager's crew had been almost a third Maquis. More than five years prior the Jem'Hadar and the Cardassians had destroyed the Maquis. Those who had survived to be incarcerated had reached the end of their prison sentences and been released for the most part, but they were still a major point of contention between different branches of Starfleet and civilian aspects of the Federation.

Starfleet Command had insisted on holding a court martial for the Maquis members of Voyager's crew. Janeway had argued vehemently that they had already served any sentence that might be placed upon them with their service on Voyager, but the Judge Advocate General's office was not swayed.

Janeway had spent much of the last three weeks in communication with various Starfleet officers, including Captain Picard – a friend of Captain Louvois, the JAG scheduled to be judge for the pending hearing, and her own former commanding officer, Admiral Owen Paris. Owen, who was quite taken with his granddaughter, Miral Kathryn, and his former-Maquis daughter-in-law, spent his own time working to convince anyone who would listen to be lenient on the Maquis.

Owen wasn't aware, but Janeway already knew what the verdict would be.

The room began to fill up. It was a relatively large, open room, with two large, raised seating areas on either side of a wide, flat floor. A podium was at one end, behind it two large banners. One had the blue and white symbol of the United Federation of Planets and the other had the Starfleet emblem emblazoned on it. Phillipa Louvois, wearing her grey and black Starfleet uniform – not unlike the one that was worn by the majority of the room, including Janeway herself – stood behind the podium.

Janeway stood in the back of the room, watching silently. The seats on the right of the room filled up with friends, family, and the media – Janeway picked out Jake Sisko sitting with Harry Kim and Tom Paris. Across from them were the Starfleet officials – Admirals Nechayev and Paris were both in attendance. Admiral Hayes would undoubtedly be coming shortly.

The crowd was growing increasingly restless. This chamber was one that was used only for formal hearings that required considerable seating coverage – Janeway knew it had been used once before to judge then-Admiral Kirk and his crew. She wasn't on trial, however – and that she thought unfair. They were her crew, no matter what their past records stated, and she intended to defend each and every one of them.

Janeway hadn't told anyone outside of her command staff about her relationship with Chakotay yet. Maybe you should do something about that regret before fate decides to collect on what you owe, she thought with a smile. Q had said those words to her as Voyager slammed into Earth. They had waited long enough and she needed him at her side – as she felt he had always been. Still, no one in this room knew for sure they were together, although her crew certainly suspected.

Discretion had been called for, especially with the pending hearing. Janeway hadn't been called to testify – they had simply gone through her logs – but she had to appear impartial. Nonetheless, her staying at his small apartment on the Starfleet Academy campus while she was on Earth – the same one he had occupied while teaching the Advanced Tactics course – had been a risk they were both willing to take.

Phillipa Louvois finally looked up to see the room had filled after the noise level had gone up to a dull roar. She tapped the table with her mic and the room went silent. "Will the representatives for the crew of the Maquis raider Val Jean please enter," she said. From the side of the room, Chakotay strode in wearing his own Starfleet uniform, provisional rank pips pinned to his collar. B'Elanna followed, wearing a grey-and-black uniform with a yellow shirt that signified her status as an engineer, then Mike Ayala wearing his own command-red Lieutenant's uniform. Finally, Ken Dalby entered. Janeway smiled a little at the scowl on his face – he really looked out of place without a phaser rifle.

Louvois looked down the line at the four members of Janeway's crew. As she looked at each, Janeway added her own appraisal. Ken Dalby was a soldier, a man who had lost and who, on Voyager, had found a life worth living again. Mike Ayala was a father, a leader, and a quiet, competent man who just wanted to get home. B'Elanna Torres was a magician with anything that had circuits, a woman who could turn a rock into a replicator or a toaster oven into a warp drive. She instilled confidence, even when she glared, and she always found a way to get it done. Now she was a mother, too, with a husband and a family that she shouldn't have to lose. And Janeway would see to it that she wouldn't. Finally, Chakotay was her guide, her strength, and her conscience. He was a man of peace who had known too much war, a man who only wanted to teach, to learn, and to love.

"The charges are as follows," Louvois pronounced slowly, articulating each word clearly. "One count of theft of a Federation spacecraft. Multiple counts of theft of Federation property. Three counts of assault on a Starfleet facility. Five counts of destruction of Starfleet property, including the runabout Siene. Multiple counts of engaging in open combat against forces both a part of and allied to the Federation, including the destruction of the Cardassian warship Vetar. Multiple counts of engaging in acts that resulted in the deaths of Federation allies, namely members of the crew of the Cardassian warship Vetar, among other ships. And one count of defection to an enemy in a time of war."

The room was quiet; the only sounds a soft rustle as people glanced from side to side. Admiral Paris looked grim while Admiral Nechaeyev leaned back in her chair, a satisfied look on her face. The members of Voyager's crew sitting in the stands all waited with bated breath. Janeway's face contorted into a slight grimace. Here it comes.

"Due to the circumstances of this proceeding and the service performed by the Maquis crew of the Val Jean aboard the USS Voyager during her time in the Delta Quadrant, and the service that was done by that same ship in preventing the Borg invasion of the Alpha Quadrant, all charges but one have been dropped. That charge, defection to an enemy in a time of war, is directly solely to Lieutenant Commander Chakotay. The other defendants may step back."

B'Elanna, Mike, and Dalby didn't move. They were facing away from Janeway, so she couldn't see their expressions, but she knew that Dalby's scowl had just doubled in size and B'Elanna had flashed her Klingon fangs. Ayala probably looked as stoic as ever, but she bet his face too had hardened.

"Lieutenant Commander Chakotay, for your service as the first officer of Voyager during the last seven years, seven years of the mandatory ten year sentence have been removed. This court hereby sentences you to three years in the New Zealand Penal Settlement, after which time your commission will be reinstated, should you wish to return to Starfleet. All other defendants will be permitted to retain their rank and position as members of the crew of the Federation starship Voyager, should they wish to remain in Starfleet." Louvois banged the gavel on the podium once. "This hearing is adjourned."

Captain Louvois moved to step down from the platform, but Janeway walked forward into the center of the room. She walked up to stand next to Chakotay, raising her hand to the crowd for silence. Admiral Paris had a flabbergasted look on his face, one that was mimicked by most of the crowd. B'Elanna and Dalby looked furious, and Janeway took a second to touch both of them in an attempt to settle them down.

Then she turned to Chakotay and reached up, kissing him softly on the cheek. She whispered one word in his ear before turning back to face the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen," Janeway started. "I understand and respect the decisions of this court, but I must disagree with them." She looked at Dalby and B'Elanna and spoke slowly, enunciating every word as Louvois had done earlier. "I know many of the members of my crew are watching this proceeding. To them I say do not act rashly. It is very important that you wait before deciding to resign your commissions. You must wait until I have had a chance to speak with each of you. Please."

"To Starfleet, the organization I have called my home since I first stepped foot on the Academy grounds – I say to you, I do not take the following actions in opposition to Starfleet, but I do take them in protest against a decision which I see as unfair and invalid. Chakotay has more than served the penance for his mistakes and putting him in prison for those crimes is itself a crime. I will not stand by and allow this gross miscarriage of justice happen."

She looked at B'Elanna. "I do this because it has to be done, and because there is more at stake here than anyone realizes. Do not make your judgments now." Finally, she turned back to Chakotay and reached up once more, kissing him so that no one in the courtroom could possibly mistake their relationship.

Janeway returned her heels to the ground, returning to her proper height. She reached up and tapped her combadge. "Janeway to Ro. Initiate transport Maquis-Alpha-One-Zero." The crowd stood quickly to their feet as Chakotay wrapped his arms protectively around Janeway and both of them dematerialized from the floor.

There was pandemonium in the courtroom.

Tom Paris and Harry Kim, waving their hands wildly, managed to get the attention of the Voyager crew. The Maquis slipped out the back and the members of the crew that were in attendance stood in a semicircle, surrounding their senior officers. Harry's look was one of complete disbelief. "They sentenced him to jail time and the Captain staged a jailbreak from the floor of the courtroom?"

Tom glanced at B'Elanna. "She was trying to tell me something," B'Elanna said loud enough for the rest of the crew to hear. "She said emphatically that we should withhold our judgments. She also said that we should not resign our commissions."

"The hell we shouldn't!" exclaimed Dalby. "They were going to throw Chakotay in jail for chrissake!" He punched his fist outwards. "There is no way I am going to stand for this!"

"No," Tom said. Since Tuvok was on Vulcan, he was the senior officer amongst the crew on Earth. Despite his checkered past, they trusted him, and he trusted Janeway. "No, we have to follow her instructions. I trust her and you all do too. There is something else going on here. None of this makes any sense." Tom looked up at the sky. "I just wish to hell that she'd told us about this little stunt beforehand. This is the kind of thing I would pull, not Captain Janeway."

Janeway and Chakotay materialized on a small transporter pad. "Is everything in order?" Janeway asked as she stepped down, slipping out of Chakotay's arms.

At the panel in front of them, a Bajoran with dark brown hair smirked. "You put on a hell of a show. That'll really leave the Admirals shaking their heads." She gestured them forwards into the cockpit and they slipped into the second chamber, the familiar surroundings of the Delta Flyer welcoming them.

"Sounds like you had fun. The media channels are going completely crazy," said a warm voice from the helm. "Wish I could've been there." Janeway scowled down at him, but softened at his teasing grin. The man at the operations station turned to look them over, while the final crewman didn't look up from his station at tactical, his hands flying impossibly fast over the controls.

"You know, I haven't done something this incredibly stupid since I lost my heart," Jean-Luc Picard said wryly, his command voice still present despite his lack of a uniform. "Now, let's get out of here before they send the fleet after us." Picard turned back towards the helm. "Time to go, Number One."

"Aye sir." Will Riker tapped the helm console. "Moving out of Earth orbit at full impulse until we're clear of the sensor perimeter. Course is set for the demilitarized zone. We have a starship in pursuit – it's the Hood."

Ro took a seat behind Picard. "As expected. They won't be able to catch us," she said. "Now you're all Maquis." Ro laughed. "Imagine that."