Diplomatic Dancing
By Rebecca
Disclaimer: All together now, "Paramount owns Star Trek." The Trell belong to me. I have added their biological and technological distinctiveness to my own. Existence as they know it is- Sorry! Wrong story...
This was originally part of a longer story that suffered the fate of most of my stories and died. I liked this bit though, and couldn't let it go to waste...
"The Trell's ambassador to alien species has invited as many of the senior staff as can attend to a welcoming dinner tonight."
Dinner... that sounded good. Ambassadors... that sounded bad.
"We'd better leave Tuvok in command. I think it would be better all round if B'Elanna didn't attend. We can take Kim and The Doctor, and leave Paris here in case of medical 'emergencies'." I paused a moment, then asked Chakotay in a sly tone, "You said 'ambassadors', right?"
Chakotay nodded. "Yes. Apparently, they're getting together some of the planet's top officials."
"Add Neelix to the group. If anyone can keep talking, he can," I smiled.
"Perhaps to ought to take Carey, to represent Engineering," Chakotay pointed out.
"Okay, add him, but then that will do. Exactly what time is this little function?"
"As I said, tonight. Unfortunately, although it'll be early evening on the planet, it will be 0100 hours, Voyager time."
"Wonderful. The middle of the graveyard shift. My favourite time for dealing with alien dignitaries," I joked as I stretched my arms above my head to relieve the dull ache in my muscles. "I suppose we'd better make it dress uniforms. Had B'Elanna modified the Doctor's program to produce one yet?"
"Yes... well, someone has. Whether it was B'Elanna or not..."
"Inform all those who are scheduled to attend. And, if anyone asks, there is no getting out of it!"
"I'll pick you up at half twelve. Does that sound alright?"
"I suppose so. See you then."
I'd finally located my dress uniform. If someone had told me that it was going to take an hour, I would have started looking sooner. "Computer, time?"
"The time is 0020," the computer informed me blithely.
Fine. I had ten minutes to make myself remotely presentable. At least I had my uniform now. Pulling it on, I realised I had no idea where I'd put my pips... they weren't on the table where they usually were. And where was my hairbrush?
Cursing, I dashed back into the bedroom, wondering if maybe my pips had slipped down behind something.
BEEP.
"Come in," I instructed, dashing out into the main area and looking down behind the dresser.
"Problem, Kathryn?" Chakotay asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.
"Take that bemused expression off your face and help me find my pips, would you?!"
"Certainly," he said graciously. "Did you get up late?"
"No, I just didn't anticipate it taking an hour to find my dress uniform!"
"Got them!" Chakotay exclaimed.
"The pips? Thanks," I said hurriedly, finally spotting my hairbrush out of the corner of my eye.
"We have another twenty minutes before we actually have to be there," Chakotay reminded me with a smile as he fixed the pips onto my uniform.
I started to run the hairbrush through my hair. "We might actually make it on time then," I sighed in relief. Damn. Where did I put that hairclip...?
We finally arrived in the transporter room with only moments to spare. Everyone else had already gathered there, and they were waiting for us.
"Right then, none of you need me to point out that we're guests here, and our supply situation relies on everything going smoothly. That said, we need to get a move on, or else we'll be late."
That, for all we know, could be the ultimate faux pas on Trell.
We materialised in the main hall of a building, coated in gold and silver. I was taken aback at the sheer magnificence of it.
"Commander Chakotay, I am gratified to meet you in person at last."
"I also, Ambassador. This is our captain, Captain Kathryn Janeway."
"Captain Janeway, I am ambassador K'Chi," he said, shaking my hand. His was scaly, almost like a snake's and dry to the touch.
"I'm pleased to meet you, Ambassador," I said, and Chakotay continued the introductions like a born diplomat. When he had finished, the Ambassador led us into the hall where we would be eating. The ambassador was very, very chatty, and I was glad that I'd thought to bring Neelix along. If anyone could keep talking, he could!
"Reporters," Chakotay murmured incredulously, and my heart sank. The last time I'd dealt with reporters, just before Voyager had left spacedock for DS9, I'd remembered for annoying they were - endless questions, inane questions, and seemingly pointless questions. Surprise, surprise, they'd never met anyone from the other side of the Galaxy before. We were big news, it seemed.
The meal passed reasonably uneventfully. Neelix, sitting quite near us, seemed to keep up an almost monologue as well as eating. I think that maybe some of the politicians were regretting coming, but Neelix was in his element, regaling them with stories of our time on Voyager, the meals he'd cooked and his time as a swimsuit model on Rinax.
Chakotay and I were also kept busy answering questions - all sorts of things. Between us, we must have told the story of the caretaker about five times. We got a bit of a shocked reaction when we explained that originally we had been enemies.
Somebody had failed to inform me that after the meal there was a reception in one of the other halls. A reception that included dancing, more people and more reporters. Not exactly my recipe for a good time, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Or even, diplomatic times call for diplomatic measures. So we went.
After I'd told the story of the caretaker for the tenth time, things seemed to calm down a bit. I could hear the Doctor enthusing about medical advances somewhere near me, and Neelix was discussing recipes somewhere behind me. I hadn't seen or heard from Kim or Carey for quite a while.
There was music played by a live orchestra floating throughout the room, and quite a few couples were dancing to it. Eventually Chakotay and I found somewhere to sit, on the edge of the room, and I gratefully relaxed. A gentle breeze from the open doors meant that the area was cool, but not uncomfortably so. The scents of flowering plants drifted in on the breeze.
"I can't believe how many people they've fitted in here," Chakotay admitted. "It must be close to five hundred."
"It's wonderful here," I sighed. "The music's lovely." It was lively and gentle at the same time, I don't know how, but there was no other way to describe it.
Then the first alien came across to talk to us. I suppose it was inevitable. From then on, a constant stream of people wanting to speak with 'the aliens' bombarded us. I suppose there's not much use going to a party with aliens and then telling your friends that you didn't actually meet them.
"Captain, Commander, I take it you are enjoying yourselves?"
"Thank you, Ambassador K'Chi, we're having a nice time. The music is lovely; the musicians are to be congratulated," Chakotay said politely.
"They're all graduates of the most prestigious musical academy on the planet," the Ambassador explained proudly. "It's rare for so many of them to be performing together at anything other than an Academy function."
"We're honoured," I said, diplomatic smile in place.
"As we are to have you here," the ambassador said smoothly. He shifted slightly, as if he was embarrassed or nervous. "Captain, may I ask a personal question...?"
"I'll come back in a moment if you want," Chakotay volunteered.
"No, I think that's all right. Go ahead, Ambassador." I tried to feign nonchalance, but inside I was dying of curiosity.
"Are you and Commander Chakotay... romantically attached?" he asked, seeming relieved to have finally asked the question.
If I hadn't been trying to be polite, I might have laughed aloud. Instead, I said, "Excuse me?"
"In our culture, it is not polite to ask a female who has already taken a mate to dance..."
"Well, in response to the question, I suppose the answer is not exactly..."
"An intriguing answer," the Ambassador smiled. "However, private lives are private, and I will not question further. May I have the pleasure of this dance?"
Cute. "I suppose so," I smiled, "But let me warn you though: I'm a bad dancer."
Birdsong added to the music from the dance hall as Chakotay and I stood outside in the patio garden. The cool breeze rustled the leaves, making it seem as if fairies were whispering around us. I turned my head upwards, staring at the stars peppering the velvet sky above.
"Stars from the ground always seem much better than those from space," Chakotay remarked, following my gaze.
"They're more regal on a planet's surface... more remote. Have you seen Voyager yet?" I asked. When I'm on a planet at night, the first thing I look for is Voyager.
"Not at the moment, but you can see the planet's orbiting station. One of the female scientists pointed it out to me whilst you were dancing with the Ambassador."
"You... didn't mind, did you?" I queried, tearing my eyes from the stars and looking at Chakotay instead.
"Not at all. As you said to the ambassador, we're 'not exactly', after all." He paused for a moment, putting his arm around my waist and pulling me slightly closer to him, then whispered softly in my ear, "But I wouldn't mind being 'exactly'."
I just smiled to myself as I turned my face up to the stars again, rejoicing in the feel of his arm around me, and the knowledge that he was there... for me.
END