Chapter Two

Every officer on the bridge turned to stare at the temporal communicator held in Captain Janeway's slender hands. It appeared to be no more than a simple metallic cuboid with two circular buttons protruding from one face; they were green and red, and labelled 'Call' and 'End' respectively.

'Are we sure that thing's gonna work, Captain?' Tom Paris asked skeptically as he frowned at the device. 'It looks more like it belongs in my Captain Proton simulation than in the 29th Century.'

From the operations station, Ensign Kim stifled a chuckle, earning a disapproving glance from Tuvok. 'Lieutenant Paris. I suggest that we simply wait, rather than make futile comments regarding the aesthetic qualities of the device. I, for one, do not believe that Captain Ducane would have provided us with something that did not work.'

'Me neither, Tuvok, but why haven't they responded yet?' persisted Tom, turning his gaze from the metal box to Tuvok and Janeway.

'Maybe they're busy,' suggested Harry. Paris paused, and when his forehead wrinkled as he struggled with a train of thought, the other officers prepared themselves for the helmsman's unique take on temporal mechanics.

'But - they can't be 'busy', can they? I mean, of course they are sometimes, but that's exactly it - some times. They communicate through time, right?'

Janeway nodded, beginning to understand what she thought Paris was trying to say.

'So they can contact us at any time, see? They could contact us right now, or five minutes ago, or last week. And,' Tom continued, getting more animated as he worked out his theory, 'since we'd only contact the Relativity if it were important, why wouldn't they call us, you know, before we called them?'

Captain Janeway shook her head, laughing. 'You have a point, Mr. Paris, however I think on this occasion we just need a little patience. It's-'

The temporal communicator emitted a low hum, interrupting Janeway mid-sentence, and Captain Ducane's familiar voice emanated from within.

'This is Captain Ducane of the Federation Time Ship Relativity. Is this Voyager?'

Janeway heard the tension in the man's voice and hurried to put him at ease. 'Yes, Captain, this is Janeway speaking. We are in no danger, however we have somewhat of a mystery aboard which I'm hoping you can shed some light on.'

The reply a few seconds later was disappointing, but not entirely unexpected. 'I'm sorry, Captain Janeway, but I cannot meet you in person at this time -'

Paris snorted loudly at Ducane's words, causing Janeway to shoot out one of her icy glares, and he turned quickly back to his console as the time ship captain continued.

'However, if you tell me what is troubling you, I can try to advise you now.'

It was better than nothing, and Captain Janeway explained concisely about the disappearance of Chakotay and the presence of chroniton particles in the quarters where he was confined. When she finished, there was a long silence. Just as Janeway was about to speak again, the reply came through the communicator.

'Captain Janeway, this is somewhat troubling, especially considering Voyager's, ah, important position in space-time, shall we say. It is possible that you and I may be working on connected events, however I cannot say more about this at present, as to do so would violate the -'

'Temporal Prime Directive!' chorused Paris and Kim along with Ducane.

'Captain,' Kim interrupted, shooting a look at the communicator, 'If Chakotay is in danger, if he's been kidnapped by time-travellers or whatever -'

'Ensign.' The single word from Janeway froze the young officer, and the captain spoke again to Ducane. 'Captain, can you tell me if Chakotay is likely to be in any danger at present?'

The soft chuckle from the time ship officer made Janeway realised that 'at present' was a poor choice of words when dealing with issues of a temporal nature, and she corrected herself with a smile. 'I mean, will he come to any harm?'

'No, I don't believe so,' Ducane replied quickly - too quickly, thought Tom Paris, and it seemed that Janeway shared his view.

'How can you be sure?' she demanded. Despite his recent fall from grace, Chakotay remained a friend and had proved to be an exemplary first officer, and after a suitable length of time Janeway intended that he would be once again.

This time, Ducane hesitated. 'We can never be one hundred percent sure in cases like this, Captain, but if Chakotay is where - and when - I think he is, he is amongst people who are unlikely to do him harm. Unless, of course, the commander does something to...go against their plans.'

The bridge officers tensed, for they correctly recognised the signs in their captain that she was about to use her deadly tone, one which could likely make the fiercest Hirogen hunter run for the hills. 'And what plans would they be, Captain Ducane? We are talking about my first officer - my former first officer,' Janeway quickly corrected her slip as so many of the crew had done, 'and I demand to know who has taken him.' Though her icy tones may have worked in person, the time ship captain was far enough removed to be unaffected, and his voice was pleasant and calm.

'Again, I apologise, but the Prime Directive is clear. I cannot give you information which may affect your own future or jeopardize my own mission. Please continue on your journey, Captain Janeway, and I will contact you again if needed. Ducane out.'

Janeway whirled around to face Tuvok, who had regained his original position as Voyager's first officer. He regarded her coolly as she exploded. 'Like hell are we just going to carry on like nothing has happened! I want B'Elanna to go through every particle reading on external sensors until we find where those chronitons came from. Janeway to Seven,' the furious captain continued, slapping her comm badge so hard that it stung her chest.

'Seven-of-Nine here.'

'Seven, did you hear the communication from the Relativity?'

'Affirmative.'

Janeway didn't bother to question how, nor did she notice that her partner, the ex-Borg astrometrics officer, was even more parsimonious with her words than usual, such was the urgency she felt. 'I want you to dismantle this temporal communicator, see what makes it tick. I want to be able to contact whoever the hell I want, whenever I want, then maybe we'll get some answers.'

'May I point out -'

'That's an order, Seven. I'll have Mr. Kim bring it down to engineering. Meet him there and work on it together. Janeway out.'

Harry Kim sprang enthusiastically from his seat, almost rubbing his hands with excitement. It was the opportunity of a lifetime, the chance to get his hands on a temporal communicator from the future, and his boyish expression lit up his entire face.

Moving the device away from the approaching Ensign, Janeway held up a cautionary hand. 'Not so fast, Mr. Kim. I'm putting Seven in charge of the project,' she watched as Kim's face crumpled a little, 'because she has more knowledge of temporal engineering than anyone else aboard Voyager, including you. Still, I think you'll have a lot to offer, Harry. Now get this to engineering. I want hourly reports.' She handed the metal box over and the young officer took it reverently, mollified by Janeway's words.

Without fuss or fanfare, the time ship Horizon materialised in the alpha quadrant, three centuries after Chakotay had been born. As he watched through the viewscreen, a planet came into view, heavily populated. The commander's nostrils flared slightly as he glanced at the display on the operations console.

'Recognise it, Commander?' Daryn asked.

Chakotay shook his head. 'A Cardassian settlement, judging by the lifesigns.'

'Look closer.'

The large man bent closer to his console, rumpling his uniform jacket in the process. He flushed a deep red and suddenly struggled to breathe. It couldn't be. He refused to believe it. 'What trickery is this?' he demanded, whirling about to face Captain Daryn who had moved to stand at his side.

Daryn shook his head slowly. 'No trick, Chakotay. This was your colony, the one you were born in, the one you saved from the Cardassians when you first joined the Maquis.'

'But - how? When?'

The shock on the commander's face was starkly obvious, thought Daryn, pleased that his actions seemed to be having their intended effect. 'The colony was taken by the Cardassians in the early 25th century. Starfleet sent a ship, but it was too late by the time it arrived. The fleet was too stretched to counter the constant attacks.' Captain Daryn pressed a sequence of buttons, bringing up a map of the quadrant. 'This shows the Cardassian-controlled sectors in Voyager's time frame. This,' he pressed another button, 'is their territory when we are now, in the mid-27th century.'

The Cardassian empire's space had almost tripled in those three hundred years, now encompassing many systems which were previously part of the United Federation of Planets. Chakotay's mind was in turmoil as he inspected the map, stunned by what he saw.

'How did the Federation let this happen?' he asked softly. He didn't really need an answer, but Daryn responded anyway.

'It was the Borg. They started attacking through a newly-formed wormhole, and Starfleet couldn't send ships fast enough. Eventually, technology advanced enough to make the Borg less of a threat, but whilst Starfleet were fighting them, the Cardassians snuck in through the back door. In a single week, they conquered fifty colonies and a dozen major Federation worlds, and there was nothing the fleet could do. Given a choice between losing to the Borg and losing to the Cardassians, they had to focus their efforts on the Borg.' Daryn lifted his head and Chakotay saw the Captain's sombre expression, sensing a very personal pain behind the man's crisp appearance. Noticing Chakotay's realisation, the smaller man's expression grew even more serious and he smiled grimly. 'Yes, Chakotay. They took my world, too. They took Bajor back, and the Federation did nothing.'

Hardly daring to ask, Chakotay spoke in a whisper. 'And what about in your time frame? What does the alpha quadrant look like in the 29th century?'

Daryn didn't reply, but silently stabbed a bony finger at the console buttons once more, which told Chakotay everything he needed to know.

'Hey, Harry, Seven. How's the project going?' Tom Paris strolled nonchalantly into engineering and hopped up onto a console, swinging his legs. 'Want any help?'

Seven-of-Nine glanced up briefly, her blonde hair appearing somewhat dishevelled. 'We do not require assistance at this time, Tom,' she replied curtly, and Paris grinned.

'Just asking, Seven. You know me - always happy to lend a hand.'

Kim blew out a sigh of frustration. 'You could help by leaving us to it,' he said tetchily, and his friend leaned back, raising both hands into the air.

'Whoa there, Harry! What's eating you?'

Putting down a small tool none-too-gently, Kim turned to the helmsman with a frustrated expression. 'Sorry, Tom. It's just that we've been working on this thing for ten hours straight, and we've got nowhere.'

'That is not precisely correct, Ensign,' Seven stated. 'We have determined that the device has a failsafe mechanism designed to prevent tampering.'

'Yeah. We discovered that,' he informed Tom, 'when we set it off and half the circuits instantly fried. And as if that's not bad enough, I reckon the non-fried part sent a communication telling Ducane what we're up to, since the thing started lighting up the second we got in. Just to top it all off, I'm also hungry, thirsty and tired, since I haven't been to bed since, oh, about two days ago.'

Paris clapped the younger officer on the shoulder and grinned at the ex-Borg who was studying a tiny piece of what looked like blue foil. 'I'm sure the Captain wouldn't mind if you both grabbed a couple of hours sleep. What do you reckon, Seven?'

'Mr. Kim, you may return to your quarters for the rest of the night. Please report back at 05:00 hours.'

Harry didn't need to be told twice, departing with a hasty thank you. Paris studied the tall woman, who had returned to her work and seemed distant somehow. 'Hey, Seven? Seven?' he repeated, reaching out and placing a friendly hand on his friend's arm. 'Aren't you going to take a break too? I'm sure the Captain would be pleased to see you.'

'The Captain is busy, and so am I.'

Sensing that he was not wanted, the boyish lieutenant shrugged. 'Your decision, Seven. I'm off to try to persuade B'Elanna to eat something in between analysing sensor data and running yet more scans. See you later.'

There was no answer from the ex-Borg, and now Tom knew that something was bothering her.

In his tiny quarters on board the Horizon, barely large enough for a single bed, shower and computer station, Chakotay paced up and down the only narrow strip of floor available. It was simply unthinkable, so unexpected that it seemed like some bizarre nightmare, visited upon him in the early hours of a cold, storm-ravaged night. Yet the facts were there. The Federation he knew would be - had been, he amended - ripped apart by that ultimate race of bullies, the Cardassians.

A communications beep intruded. 'Commander, we are approaching the rendezvous point. Please return to the bridge.'

On the wide viewscreen, a shuttlecraft came into view. Despite this being the 29th century, it appeared remarkably similar to the Delta Flyer, Voyager's pioneering warp-capable shuttle.

'Open hailing frequency.' The order came from Daryn, seated in the Captain's chair, and Chakotay complied. 'Horizon to the shuttlecraft Apollo. Come in, Lieutenant.'

When a face appeared on the screen, Chakotay gasped, his heart skipping a beat, for he recognised the fair-haired woman immediately. 'Kathryn Paris,' he blurted, and the attractive lieutenant grinned broadly. She was younger than when they had first met, in unusual and difficult circumstances for Voyager.

'That's me,' she replied drolly, adding 'Sir' when she realised that Chakotay was wearing a Starfleet commander's uniform. 'Good to meet you, Commander. I know that you encountered an alternate Kathryn Paris during your time on Voyager, and had to be rescued from her by the Relativity, but I assure you we're on the same side this time around.'

Chakotay smiled back. 'I certainly hope so, Lieutenant Paris.'

'I'll introduce you to the others when they come aboard,' said Daryn, shutting off the communication after ordering the shuttle to dock in the Horizon's small shuttle bay. 'Marcus - Ensign Hobart - I've already mentioned, and the last member of our party is another Ensign, Harper Rose. You'll like her - everyone does. She's our engineer, medic and general fix-it officer, plus she also cooks a mean chilli.' Both men laughed.

Chakotay, regaining his seriousness, asked the question that had been on his lips since Daryn had introduced him to the political and territorial catastrophes of the future. 'What then, Captain? What's our mission?'

'Then, Commander, we are going to take back what the Federation has lost.' Daryn's voice was emotionless and deadly calm. After a long minute which dragged out painfully for the time ship captain, waiting to hear Chakotay's reply, the big bear of a man answered so softly that Daryn had to strain to hear.

'Sounds good to me.'

From his command chair, the small man permitted himself a smile. He had Chakotay right where he wanted him - on his side, on his ship and away from Voyager where he could not spoil their plans for a second time.

Janeway made her way through the dim corridors to Voyager's engineering department, automatically greeting the crew members she passed along the way. It would be her last stop before retiring to her quarters for a quick meal and bed, both of which she sorely needed. Ever since the Chakotay incident, as she has come to think of it, she had endured an unpleasant, nagging feeling of - something. Responsibility? Guilt perhaps? She was having trouble sleeping and in fact doing anything, she admitted privately, except replay over and over in her mind the time leading up to her friend's breakdown. The signs had been there, Janeway knew, yet she had been too busy with her relationship to spend time with her first officer and dear friend as she once had, before Seven-of-Nine joined the crew. Now that Chakotay had disappeared, she found herself missing his steadfast calm and unerring loyalty more than ever.