Agents of Delta Quadrant Chapter 1: When We Stand Together, a StarTrek: Voyager + Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Crossover fanfic

Agents of the Delta Quadrant

Disclaimer:
As always, I own nothing.

Rating:
T

Genre:
Romance/Angst

Pairings:
Coulsye(?)
JC (Janeway/Chakotay)

Lyrics Used:
Nickelback "When We Stand Together"
Hayden Panettiere "Disappear"

When We Stand Together

The knock on the door, scarcely registered in the Director's mind as he absently replied "Enter." He didn't care to turn to see where who was entering his office. He hadn't been able to think about much other than Skye since the almost-war with the Inhumans. Though, he guessed he couldn't blame her for wanting to stay in Afterlife. From what he'd told her of it, it sounded wonderful. And, strategically speaking, it was a good idea for them to send an ambassador of sorts to Afterlife to try to make peace with the Inhumans – to show them they meant no harm and only indexed them to protect them. He just wished it didn't have to be her. Though, logically, he knew she was the only choice.

"Director Coulson." Gordon greeted, carefully. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents weren't the only ones that had noticed their Director's melancholy state ever since Skye had left for Afterlife to straighten things out with the Inhumans. He suspected he knew why the Director had been feeling that way. And, he was here to put that theory to the test. Though, he couldn't deny his anxiety. He hadn't teleported since he'd been injured in the battle and – while he knew his physical injuries had healed – he wasn't as sure about his teleportation abilities. This was his first test of them and he prayed to whatever deity had been listening that they had healed as well.

"Gordon." Coulson finally turned to face his visitor – his greeting laced with surprise. "I would have thought you would have returned to Afterlife after you'd healed." He added, curious as to why the teleporter was still here. Though, he was even more curious as to why he was in his office.

"I wanted to see you before I left." Gordon replied, carefully. "I've noticed how melancholy you've been since Skye left …" He added, listening intently for any indication that he might be overstepping his bound and upsetting the Director. "I was wondering if you'd like to join me when I return to Afterlife."

That intrigued the Director. "Why would you invite me to go with you?" He inquired, curiously.

"Based on what I've gathered, you and Skye share a very close relationship." Gordon offered, by way of explanation. "She speaks very highly of you. And, she misses you while in Afterlife. I'm sure she would appreciate seeing you." He elaborated, further.

Phil had to admit … The idea of seeing Skye again was nearly irresistible. But, he also recalled how unwelcome S.H.I.E.L.D. had been made to feel the last time they were there. "Are you sure the other Inhumans would be as welcoming?" He questioned, curiously.

"With Jiaying out of the picture, the Inhumans are searching for a new leader." Gordon replied. "I doubt anyone they choose will want to follow in any leadership precedents she set." He added. "Why don't you join me and find out for yourself?"

His sentimental side won out – much as he knew it would – as the need to see Skye again overpowered his better judgment. "All right." He replied, finally, crossing the room to stand at Gordon's side.

Curling himself around the Director, Gordon said a silent prayer that this would work as he attempted to teleport them to Afterlife. Coulson braced himself as the energy surrounded them, racing them through space and time until they finally came to a landing. Once the energy surrounding them had died away, Coulson and Gordon righted themselves as they took in their surroundings. "Shit." Gordon breathed, to himself, realizing that his teleportation powers had malfunctioned.

Looking around them, Phil recognized their surroundings as a S.H.I.E.L.D. base. Though, it wasn't his own. This one looked far more technologically advanced. It appeared to be centuries ahead of his own base. "Uh … Gordon … I hate to question the teleportation expert … But, this doesn't look like Afterlife. … Where the hell are we?"

"This … can sometimes happen." Gordon replied, carefully, surveying the area. "Sometimes, after a battle, injuries can affect my ability. It would appear that we've been transported into the future."

"Goody!" Coulson replied, sarcastically. Before another word could be uttered, however, a middle-aged man in a strange suit approached them.

"State your names and your business here." The man ordered, briskly.

"My name is Phil Coulson, Director of the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division. S.H.I.E.L.D. for short."

"Impossible." The strange man barked. "My name is Carlisle Walker. And, I am the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D." He added, crisply.

"Perhaps I can explain." Gordon interjected. "My name is Gordon and my friend and I were accidentally teleported here when previous injuries caused my teleportation abilities to fail. Mr. Coulson is the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the twenty-first century." He offered, by way of explanation.

"Phil Coulson." Director Walker repeated, processing what he was hearing. He'd heard of a Phillip Coulson. "I've heard of you." He added. "Your death caused the Avengers to win the war against Loki and the Chitauri back in the twenty-first century." He continued, his voice awestruck. "You were brought back using an earlier version of the T.A.H.I.T.I. protocol." Dropping his head momentarily, Director Walker returned his gaze to the previous S.H.I.E.L.D. director. "I'm terribly sorry for what you were put through."

"Thanks. For that." Phil replied.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?" Director Carlisle offered before his comm link on his chest buzzed to life.

"Base to Director Walker." The comm link blared. Tapping the comm link on his chest, Director Walker replied. "Go ahead." He replied, crisply.

"We're picking up a distress signal from one of the shuttles on the Federation's starship Voyager." The comm link replied. "The shuttle appears to have been caught in a magnetic storm and crashed."

"Are there any injuries?" Carlisle asked.

"Captain Janeway was unconscious. We lost contact after that." The comm link replied. "We can't get any lifesigns and our transporter bays are offline." The comm link added.

"Thank you. Director Walker out." Carlisle replied, tapping the comm link off. "Damn it." Carlisle cursed, quietly, before returning his attention to the two men before him. "As I'm sure you're unaware, S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Federation have created an alliance, in this century, to help them get their starship, Voyager, back home. They're currently trapped in the Delta Quadrant."

"'Delta Quadrant'?" Coulson repeated, curiously.

"In our time, the universe has been broken down into quadrants." Walker offered, attempting to provide some form of explanation. "We are currently in the Alpha Quadrant." He added. "Voyager is trapped in another, distant, part of space known as Delta Quadrant. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been working to develop a plan of action to help them return, here, to Earth."

"In that case, why don't you allow us to help you." Coulson offered, before gesturing to Gordon. "Gordon's a teleporter. Maybe he can help us get to the crashed ship and help the crew members."

"Is that true?" Director Walker questioned, focusing on Gordon. "Can you teleport us to the ship's crash site?"

"I can try." Gordon offered, weakly. "But, my people and I have just finished a war – a war with S.H.I.E.L.D. – where I was injured." Taking in the look on Walker's face, he added. "Don't worry! S.H.I.E.L.D. and my people have now become unlikely allies. But, the battle left me wounded and those wounds appear to be affecting my teleportation abilities. "I was trying to take Director Coulson, here, to my own home in my own time when we were stranded here." He elaborated. "I can try to get us to your ship, but, my teleportation seems to be completely randomized."

Carlisle appeared to be considering what Gordon was telling him. "I understand your concerns, Mr. Gordon." He offered, gently. "But, I have a responsibility to those crew members and I intend to honor that responsibility." He added, his voice notably firmer. "And, I need your help to do that."

"I'll do what I can." Gordon affirmed. "Are you ready?" He asked.

"Ready whenever you are." Director Walker confirmed, as Gordon gathered him and Coulson close to him. Within a second, blue energy surrounded them as they disappeared.

Once they'd landed, Phil took a look around – shielding his eyes from the raging storm around them – before shouting out, over the storm. "Gordon, I think you may have actually succeeded, this time!" He shouted, pointing toward a foreign-looking spaceship.

"Your friend appears to be right!" Director Walker called out as they all hurried off toward the ship. As they approached, they soon saw the severity of the damage inflicted upon the smaller vessel. "The storm didn't do this." Carlisle concluded, as he ran his hands over the burn patterns.

"How can you tell?" Coulson inquired, curiously.

"These burns aren't from the lightning." Carlisle elaborated. "They're phaser burns."

Before Phil could question that assessment, faint screams could be heard coming from a nearby cave. Exchanging a brief glance, the three men all took off at a dead run, charging toward the direction the scream were coming from. When they arrived, Phil saw what appeared to be a tall man of native american descent with a broad, muscled stature cradling the lifeless form of a woman in his arms – clutching her tightly to his chest. Even among the storm, he could see the tears streaming down the man's face.

"Breathe! Damn it, breathe!" Chakotay panted as he thrust against Kathryn's chest – praying to whatever deity was listening that her heart would start beating, again. "Don't you die on me, Kathryn! Come on!" He growled. "BREATHE!" He cried out as he continued the chest compressions before leaning forward, trying to breathe life into her.

As they approached the scene, Phil mind snapped back to when he'd found Skye, slumped against a wall in a pool of her own blood. His heart went out to the man he saw attempting to revive the woman before him. And, it clench, tightly, in his chest as he listened to his desperate pleas.

"Listen to me, Kathryn!" Chakotay panted, resuming his chest compressions. "You've got to BREATHE!" He insisted, his heart clenching painfully in his chest as his attempts to save the owner of his heart appeared to be in pain. "Breathe! BREATHE!" He insisted, tears burning his eyes and flowing, freely, down his cheeks as he continued his compressions. "Come on! COME ON!" He growled. "Start breathing, damn it! Breathe!" He insisted, his hope and resolve waning. "Don't do this to me, Kathryn!" He pleaded, his voice thick with emotion and watery with the tears streaming down his face. "Come on, breathe!" He begged, desperately.

Watching the scene unfold before him Director Walker's heart clenched as he realized they'd been too late. As he watched the First Officer desperately tying to resuscitate his Captain, he knew in his gut that the Captain was already gone. The First Officer's attempts were all in vain.

"Don't die on me." Chakotay begged, helplessly, watching Kathryn's body jerking lifelessly with the force of his compressions. "Kathryn, listen to me. You have to breathe." He pleaded. "Start BREATHING!" He cried. "COME ON! COME ON!" He cried, collapsing helplessly to her side, breathing one last helpless breath into her lungs as he was forced to realize that the woman he loved above all else in the universe was dead as he gathered her into his arms – crying out all of his pain and anguish as he was consumed by the feeling of being completely and utterly lost without her presence in his life. "No, KATHRYN!" He sobbed, helplessly, cradling her against his chest. "You can't die." He sobbed, helplessly. "I need you. … Please … I love you."

As they approached the grief-stricken man, Phil knew the pain the man was going through. He'd nearly lost Skye once. Having looked the death of the woman he loved in the face, before, he could only imagine how much worse it had to have been for the strange man before him who was actually living the reality of losing the woman he loved.

Chakotay knew he should have been alarmed by the sudden feeling of a hand gripping his shoulder, gently. But, in that moment, he was actually hoping it was whoever had attacked the shuttle coming to kill him, so that he might join Kathryn in the afterlife. "I'm so sorry." He heard a gentle, supportive voice coming from his right side as he slowly looked up to see an average-looking middle-aged man in an out-dated suit looking at him with a softened facial expression. Chakotay didn't know the man, but, he could tell he sympathized with his loss. Looking in the man's piercing blue eyes – So much like Kathryn's, he thought – he could see that the man had experienced grave losses of his own. "I can't imagine what you must be going through." The stranger offered before Director Walker spoke up.

"Commander Chakotay." Carlisle interjected. "I'm terribly sorry that we couldn't save Captain Janeway." He offered, gently. "But, we can bring her back." He offered, attempting to bring comfort to the distraught first officer.

"No!" The strange man on his right, countered, sharply. Surprisingly so, he thought, off-handedly. Looking between the two men, Chakotay could see them sharing an intense gaze. "You can't possibly be considering T.A.H.I.T.I. protocol." He added, in disbelief.

"There's no other way-" Carlisle countered, only to be cut off by the former director.

"It's INHUMANE!" Phil growled.

"Will somebody please tell me what the hell is going on, here?!" Chakotay growled, demandingly.

Turning his gaze toward Chakotay, Phil's features softened notably as he replied "Director Walker is talking about submitting Captain Janeway-Kathryn-" He corrected, before continuing on. "Submitting Kathryn to a series of procedures known, collectively, as T.A.H.I.T.I. protocol. I, myself, once endured this protocol-"

"So, it works?!" Chakotay interrupted, hopefully. "It can bring Kathryn back!"

"Yes." Phil conceded, holding up a hand to prevent any further interruptions. "However, the final procedure in T.A.H.I.T.I. protocol is a robotic assisted neuro-microsurgery which replaces Kathryn's memories of the protocol with false memories implanted surgically." He added, warningly, as he pulled a small tablet out of his jacket as he pulled up a video. "This is what the procedure looks like." He offered, holding out the tablet for Chakotay to see.

Looking at the proffered tablet, Chakotay watched in horror as the man holding the tablet out for him lay on an operating table screaming at the top of his lungs and pleading with the surgeons. "Let me die! Please! I'm begging you, just let me die! PLEASE! LET ME DIE!" The video closed out as the screams died away. Looking down into Kathryn's lifeless features, deep within his heart, Chakotay knew he could never subject Kathryn to such torturous lengths just to keep her in his life. The humane thing to do would be to just let her rest in peace.

"You're right, Mr. …" Chakotay replied, trailing off as he realized he didn't know this strange man's name.

"My name is Phil Coulson." Phil replied, pocketing the tablet, before looking back to Chakotay. "I'm a Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. from the twenty-first century." He offered, by way of explanation. "My friend, Gordon and I were stranded in the twenty-fouth century when his attempts to teleport us failed.

"They have teleportation in the twenty-first century?" Chakotay questioned, curiously. He wasn't aware that the twenty-first century was advanced far enough to have developed teleportation technology.

"In a way." Gordon replied, cryptically.

"Commander, please." Carlisle interjected, getting the conversation back on track. "Yes, Director Coulson was subjected to a more primitive and much harsher and unperfected outdated version of the T.A.H.I.T.I. protocol. And, while I regret that he was treated with such torment, newer procedures have been developed to make the protocol pain-free for the patients. It's been tested and proven to be medically sound." He assured the first officer as he pulled out a table of his own. Extending the tablet for the commander to see, he played a video of his own.

Watching the video, Chakotay watched a young woman resting peacefully on the operating table while robots worked on her. After the surgery, the footage cut to her room in the sickbay where she continued to make a full recovery. Well … This new version of the protocol certainly seems to be much more plausible. … Perhaps I could bring her back. Chakotay thought to himself. Looking up to Carlisle, he asked "So, what do we do?"

"Gordon." Carlisle spoke, commanding the attention of the teleporter. "Do you think you could get us back to Earth so that Captain Janeway might receive the treatments she needs?" He asked, hopefully.

"Again, I can try." Gordon offered, lamely. He didn't want to get the grief-stricken man's hopes up. "But, my abilities are still randomized. I can't guarantee I'll get us there on the first try. I can't promise how many tries it will take. And, I've never even tried to teleport this many people at once."

Looking at the men around him, Chakotay had made up his mind. "That's a chance I'm willing to take." He replied, determined.

"Well, then …" Gordon, offered, shrugging as he gestured for everyone to gather around him. Carlisle, Phil and Gordon all surrounded Chakotay who refused to relinquish his hold on Kathryn. "Here goes nothing." He added, as the ever-familiar blue energy engulfed the team.

Author's Note:
This is my first attempt at any of Star Trek fanfiction. So, please, be kind. And this is sort of alternative take on Season 3, Episode 15, "Coda" which supposes that Kathryn actually did die in the crash and S.H.I.E.L.D. brings her back using a new and improved – more humane – version of the T.A.H.I.T.I. protocol. I hope you enjoy this.

~Skye Coulson