Debt (3)

Kathryn appeared home in Bloomington, Indiana. She walked alone to her home. The clouds were dark, a sure sign that rain would soon fall. Her memories took her back to her youth, when she lost a tennis match and walked home in a rainstorm. When she came inside the door her mom was their to comfort her with a cup of coffee and some homemade chocolate chip cookies. But that was the past, and her mother was dead.

As she made her way up the driveway, the raindrops began. In a few seconds the clouds opened up and the rain gushed out of them. Kathryn ran to the porch, and was already soaked when she got there.

She knocked on the door, and waited.

The door opened. "Kathryn?"

"Phoebe!" The two sisters hugged on the porch while the rain continued to fall. After a few minutes of tears and one long hug, Phoebe realized that her sister was completely soaked.

"Good grief I am all wet! Come in Kathryn I wasn't expecting you till tomorrow."

Kathryn grabbed a towel from the bathroom and sat down in the kitchen.

"Let's just say I didn't have anything to stick around for Phoebe."

"What do you mean Kathryn?"

Kathryn put the wet towel on the table. "I resigned my commission. I'm no longer a Starfleet officer."

Chakotay had wanted to go after Kathryn. But he had a meeting with some of the senior officials and the administration of Starfleet. As he entered the board meeting his mind continued to revisit what Kathryn had said.

"Please just call me Kathryn."

Something about the way that she had said it plagued his mind. Maybe it was the way that she said it to him. He knew that she was no longer his captain, or captain of Voyager. But something just wasn't right about the situation. She hadn't asked him to call her Kathryn for a long time. He pushed the memories aside and tried to listen to what the administration was talking about.

One of the members of the staff turned to him.

"Chakotay we would like you to begin your next assignment, tomorrow."

Chakotay looked confused. "Sir, with all due respect I have just arrived here back on Earth and I am anxious to have some time off, maybe visit some of my family. I have been gone for 7 years."

"The board understands this Chakotay. However we here at Starfleet have been working overtime as well. And frankly your JOYRIDE through the Delta Quadrant seems to be enough of a vacation to us. As far as we are considered you have been on vacation for 7 years."

Chakotay stiffened a little. "May I think about it?"

"Certainly not. You can make your decision now. And let me just tell you, if you do not agree to our terms you will not be receiving any repayment packages or any favors from Starfleet."

Chakotay stood up and took off his Starfleet jacket. He put in on the table.

"You can go to hell!" And Chakotay left. The board members simply took his jacket and placed it on the uniform recycler.

Chakotay went back to his quarters and packed a few of his items up and headed for the transport station. He needed to go see some of his cousin in Ohio, and try to get a job. He hadn't been out of work for years, and the prospect of starting over scared him a little.

But what had really made him angry was Starfleet. He never thought that Kathryn would be a member of an organization that would simply cast people off. He thought that he knew her better than that. Heck, he thought that they had been friends. Obviously, he had been mistaken. After all friends don't treat friends like enemies.

Phoebe wasn't shock to hear about what happened to her sister. Starfleet had changed. She knew that months ago. What surprised her was that Kathryn was no longer a part of it. Her whole life had been involved somehow with Starfleet.

"Don't worry Kathryn. Tomorrow we can both go out and try to find a job for you."

Kathryn had to laugh. She hadn't been unemployed since she quit at the coffee house at 14. She remembered the reason she left and the tears came tumbling out of her eyes.

"What is it Kathryn?"

"I realized something Phoebe. Remember when I used to work up at the coffee house?"

"Yeah, you were like 14."

"I just remembered why I quit."

Phoebe sat next to her sister on the couch. "Why did you quit?"

Kathryn started to laugh again. "I never could make any money I would spend my whole check on my coffee habit!"

Both of them began to laugh as the rain continued to fall outside. TBC