In the Trenches
By the vvs7.5 Writing Staff
Compiled and edited by CyberMum and Penny

"What do you mean?" Chakotay said tightly. "Are you implying that I have misled her in the past?"

"Perhaps not intentionally."

Chakotay tried to keep his temper under control. "But you're saying I did so anyway."

::Torres to Chakotay::

The sudden interruption made Chakotay jump involuntarily. "What is it, B'Elanna?" he snapped.

::According to my readings, you and Tuvok have been in a stalled turbolift between decks 7 and 8 for the last 10 minutes. Is there a problem?::

"No, there's no problem," he said. "Chakotay out." He took a deep breath. "Computer, resume lift." He looked at the Vulcan once more. "Tuvok, we need to finish this."

"Agreed." The 'lift came to a halt; the doors opened. "Where did you have in mind?"

Chakotay passed his hand wearily over his face, considering just where indeed. The problem was finding an out of the way spot on the ship, where they could be safe from interruption. Personal quarters were out of the question, as were their respective offices. This needed to be done where neither would be at an unfair disadvantage, as well as outside the trappings of rank. He considered for a moment and then came to a decision. "Deck 15," he said. Tuvok nodded.

As he'd known it would be, Deck 15, in the bowels of the ship, was practically deserted. Never one of the more populated areas, it had become especially lonely since Mortimer Harren had been killed in one of their battles with the Borg more than a year earlier. Chakotay had often come here, late at night, when he had trouble sleeping, or had a problem he needed to work out. He suspected the captain did so as well. It was strangely comforting standing here, the rough metallic flooring with an unfinished look to it compared to the rest of the ship, the throbbing and pulsing of the engines more clearly discernible than they were anywhere else.

He led the way to a small adjunct chamber. The rumbling of the warp core was even louder here. Tuvok stopped near the doorway. 'Not going to let yourself get backed up against the wall, are you?' Chakotay thought in bitter amusement. He leaned against a console, and defiantly crossed his arms over his chest. "You were talking about my 'bad advice' to the captain. As first officer, it's my job to present her with alternative courses of action."

"Correct. And not simply disagree with her planned courses of action."

Chakotay's jaw tightened. "Meaning?"

"There have been times when you have simply disagreed with her, objected to her proposals but offered nothing further. For example, when we encountered the Borg for the very first time. You disagreed with the captain's plan, yet had no alternative one to present yourself."

"We could have turned around and waited out the war between the Borg and species 8472," pointed out Chakotay, more calmly than he felt. After all this time, that incident still had the power to upset him. "There was no need to put our lives in danger."

"That was not an alternative the captain was willing to accept."

No, it wasn't. Kathryn strongly resisted anything that smacked of surrendering her dream to get them all home, no matter what the cost. Unwillingly, he thought of an even more painful instance when they had clashed. The words slipped out of their own volition. "What about the Equinox?"

"You did stop her from making a dangerous and foolish mistake," Tuvok conceded.

Chakotay leaned against the wall for support; he closed his eyes to shut out the nightmare images, of the look on Noah Lessing's face-and of Captain Janeway. When he was able, he turned back toward Tuvok. "You knuckled under to her yourself when you were temporarily elevated to first officer," he said. His eyes widening in realization, he added, "Is *that* what this is about? From the first, you've resented that she chose me instead of you."

The impassive face didn't change. "I am a Vulcan. I do not exhibit jealousy."

"But you feel it, don't you?" said Chakotay accusingly. "Even if you don't show it. You feel you should have been named first officer."

"As the ranking member of Starfleet on board, yes, that would have been the logical choice."

"But Janeway offered it to me instead," Chakotay said. He advanced toward Tuvok. "Do you know why?"

"She informed me that it was in the best interest of blending the two crews."

He stopped short, his face only inches from Tuvok's. "But *you* didn't think I was qualified."

"Commander, I assure you that in recent years-"

"I'm not talking about now, I'm talking about back then," Chakotay interrupted. "When this whole thing just began, after the Caretaker's Array was destroyed. She told you what she intended, but you didn't agree with her, did you?"

"No," Tuvok said, almost reluctantly.

"Why not?" Chakotay challenged.

Once more, Tuvok met his eyes unswervingly. "I agreed that we needed to merge the two crews in order to increase our odds of survival. It would have been a waste of resources to place the Maquis in the brig for the next 70 years-both in terms of the skills your people brought with them, as well as the tremendous limitations it would place upon us as your jailers." He paused for a moment. "Placing terrorists in sensitive positions, such as engineering, was one thing, but a rebel commander in a position of authority, with access to key ship systems-you would have been in an ideal position to lead a mutiny."

Chakotay began to laugh. "Yes, that's why you came up with your little training program-'Insurrection Alpha', wasn't it? Tell me something, Tuvok, were you disappointed you didn't get a chance to actually put your little countermeasures into play?"

"It was a necessary precaution," Tuvok maintained. "There was no guarantee that you would not have tried to seize the ship."

Chakotay shook his head. "Of course there was-I gave the captain my word, and swore to serve under her. But you didn't think I could be trusted!" He slammed his fist into the wall and then winced.

Tuvok tentatively reached over to him. "Are you all right, Commander?"

"I'm fine, damn it!" Chakotay spun away and cradled his injured hand.

"I cannot base the course of my actions on a feeling. Your actions prior to that date had not been very encouraging. After all, it was your prominence as a Maquis leader which made Starfleet order your arrest in the first place."

Chakotay slumped to the floor. "Pretty ironic to hear you talk about trust and betrayal, Tuvok-have you forgotten your little spy mission for Starfleet? When you infiltrated my cell?"

"I assure you I have not forgotten," Tuvok said quietly.

"You wormed your way into my trust, and all the while you were planning to betray me to the Federation!" Chakotay took a deep breath. "And you can stand there now and talk about trust!"

"I was under orders; there was nothing personal in my planned 'betrayal', Commander." Tuvok hesitated, as if expecting a comment in return. When nothing was forthcoming, he continued, "During the course of my two months service as a member of your cell, you cannot say that I did not follow your orders without question, nor did I compromise any of your missions in any way."

Chakotay waved his words away. "You were just waiting for the opportunity to hand us over to the authorities!"

"But I did not do so."

"Lack of opportunity," Chakotay said dismissively. "If we hadn't ended up in the Delta Quadrant-"

"And what of Captain Janeway?" asked Tuvok suddenly. "She would have arrested you if circumstances had been otherwise. If the Caretaker had not died, if the Kazon had not attacked, we would have returned to the Alpha Quadrant. Do you think that the captain would not have carried out her orders and turned you over to the Federation authorities?"

"That's not the same thing-" Chakotay began, and then stopped short.

"You see the point," said Tuvok.

Chakotay was quiet for a long while, listening to the throbbing of the engines. For the first time, it occurred to him to wonder why he was getting so worked up over the past. "That was a very long time ago," he said finally. "A lot has changed since then."

"Agreed," Tuvok said, coming to sit next to him. "None of us are quite the same people we were eight years ago. Therefore, it is illogical to dwell on those earlier events. Rather we should concentrate our efforts on the here and now, and the task at hand."

Chakotay's lips twisted in a humorless smile. "You could be me, saying that...You're right, of course. The task at hand-which is getting home."

Tuvok looked at him carefully. "Am I correct in surmising that you view our imminent return home with some degree of misgivings, Commander?"

"You could put it that way, yes. We have no way of knowing what will happen." He fell silent, thinking once more of the Maquis.

"We also are not assured of a negative outcome."

"No, I suppose not," Chakotay conceded. "I know that the captain will do everything in her power..." His voice trailed away as Tuvok stood once more.

"As will I, Commander." He held out his hand. Chakotay took it and allowed Tuvok to pull him to his feet. The Vulcan's grip was firm and oddly comforting. "As will I."

(Day Two - On The Third Planet)

The foliage was dense, and Sam Wildman pushed several leafy fronds away from her face as she followed her crewmates. She knew that rain forests like this one contained far more edible fruits, berries, nuts and other foodstuffs than any temperate forest did, but she didn't have to like walking through the warm, humid jungle. She was perspiring despite the thermal material of her uniform, and she could feel the loosened strands of her hair clinging damply against her cheeks. She brushed ineffectively at her hair as a small furry animal scurried quickly across her path. No doubt her daughter would be intrigued by this particular mission. Naomi definitely had an adventurous spirit.

Sam suddenly missed her daughter's presence. They rarely got to spend any duty hours together on Voyager, and Naomi had rebuffed her mother's suggestion that she join Neelix's foraging party. Naomi had preferred to join Tom's survey team on the Delta Flyer, partly because Icheb would be there, but also because Joe Carey had promised she could act as the team's assistant engineer.

Sam sighed. Naomi was getting more excited the closer Voyager got to Earth, not just because she wanted to see her father, but because she was looking forward to continuing her coursework at Starfleet Academy. Her experience helping brainstorm solutions to the slipstream problem that had landed Voyager out of time had convinced Naomi that engineering was her career path. Sam couldn't help but be proud of her daughter, even while she wondered how it could have gone by so fast. In only a blink her daughter had grown up-

"Hey, I think I got something!"

Sam pushed past some hanging vines and joined Tal Celes, who was pointing her scanner at some low bushes with bright yellow berries growing on them. Gerron knelt beside her and pulled a handful of the berries free, sniffing them cautiously.

Sam ran her bio-scanner over the fruit. She was representing the medical department, since the doctor was always on the lookout for plants with potential drug applications-she'd already found several promising samples-but she also had taken on the duty of verifying the safety of potential edibles, as well as their compatibility with humanoid digestive systems.

"Non-toxic and easily digested," Sam said as she looked at the scanner readout. "Fructose-based, high in vitamin C and potassium, and strongly acidic." Which meant they were probably very sour.

Assured of its safety, Neelix plucked one of the berries from Gerron's open palm and plopped it into his mouth. "Umm..."-he swallowed-"just a bit tart."

Sam caught Michael Ayala's smirk as he and Marla Gilmore exchanged glances. Everyone on Voyager knew Neelix's Talaxian sense of taste rarely harmonized with the tastes of the rest of the crew. Gerron offered Sam the berries, while managing to keep his face expressionless, not an easy task for the emotive Bajoran.

It was her turn to be the taster, and Sam bowed to the inevitable as she quickly put one of the berries in her mouth. She couldn't help a grimace as she chewed. Her eyes closed involuntarily for a second and she swallowed quickly. It tasted like grapefruit, except more bitter. "These are pretty sour to our taste buds, Neelix."

Neelix nodded amiably. Disparity between his taste buds and those of the crew was a frequent occurrence. He felt sorry that they had such a limited sense of taste, but he'd learned to defer to his customers' preferences. That was his job, and very soon now he might be dealing with a much larger and more varied clientele. "I can always add sweetener," he suggested. "We haven't found anything else with this level of vitamin C yet."

"You're right," Sam agreed. "We'd better put these on the list. Gerron?"

Gerron was in charge of updating the location list for future transport activity. He brushed a large blue insect off the screen of his data PADD, and began entering coordinates. Tal shuddered as the many-legged creature landed on the mossy ground and scurried away. The insect repellent they'd all lathered on kept them from getting any unwanted bites, but she still wasn't comfortable with so many insects. Every leaf or stick she looked at seemed to have something moving on it. She'd brushed away several that had crawled up her boots and onto her clothes.

"Where's Telfer?"

Ayala's question got everyone's attention. He wasn't along as an official security escort, since the away missions had all been designated as non-hazardous, but he couldn't help his natural instinct. He was aware there had been some disagreement about that non-hazardous designation, and Commander Tuvok had subsequently put out an internal department request for volunteers on every away team. The foraging team had seemed an interesting enough assignment. The pre-landing surveys had verified that the larger carnivorous animals on the planet were confined to the temperate areas. There were a number of snakes in the rain forest, some venomous, but so far they'd seen few of them. Sam Wildman had a medical kit with her in case of any bites or injuries, though any serious injury could be immediately transported to Sickbay.

The only real difficulty so far was the annoying insect population, and Ayala shooed a two-centimeter long iridescent green flying one away from his face, wishing he had an economy size insecticide atomizer on him, even though it was against regulations to harm the local fauna. And right now there was a potentially missing person...

"Billy was just here a minute ago," Tal said, as everyone looked at the surrounding forest. He couldn't be too far away. Ayala tapped his commbadge. "Ayala to Telfer."

::Telfer here.::

The reply was immediate, and everyone breathed a quick sigh of relief as Ayala said, "You're supposed to keep in sight of someone else at all times."

::Sorry. I didn't noticed I'd wandered so far.::

Ayala consulted the directional finder on his PADD. "I have your location, Telfer. You're just a few dozen meters from our position. Stay where you are and we'll catch up."

::Will do. Ahh...::

"What?" Ayala demanded at Telfer's sharp intake of breath.

::Nothing. I just stepped in some mud. Yuck, it's all over my shoes. Geez, it's really sticky...I can't...::

There was a momentary pause, and they heard Telfer grunting. "Billy?" Tal asked with alarm.

::I'm stuck! I can't get out of it!:: Billy's voice became shrill with panic. ::I think it's quicksand!::

"Calm down, Telfer," Ayala said as he began to jog. The rest of the team followed at the same pace. They could hear Billy grunting louder.

::It's sucking me in!::

"Stop moving!" Ayala shouted. "If it is quicksand, struggling against it is what makes you sink. Just stay still!"

It took a less than a minute to reach Billy's location. Sam kept her medical scanner focused on his biosignal. Though his pulse and heartbeat were rapid, and his breathing labored, nothing in her readings indicated a critical situation. Ayala pointed his scanner forward and slapped his commbadge as he stopped abruptly, those behind him nearly running into each other. In front of them Billy Telfer was thigh-deep in a large irregular circle of brown ooze.

"Hurry!" Billy shouted. "Get me out of here!"

"Voyager, prepare to lock onto Crewman Telfer's signal..." Ayala paused, staring at the scanner in his hand. "Belay that, Voyager." He closed the link and raised his eyes to the panic-stricken Telfer.

"What are you waiting for?" Billy cried. "I'm sinking! In a minute there won't be anything left of me!"

Ayala rolled his eyes. "Telfer, you're not sinking, at least not anymore. The total depth of the mud you're stuck in is point eight two meters. Beneath that is a bed of limestone."

"Limestone?" Billy repeated weakly.

"Yeah. Given the height of the mud in relation to your legs, I'd say you're standing right on it."

Billy shifted cautiously, then gave Ayala a sheepish look. Ayala heard a guffaw behind him-Gerron-and a softer snicker. He saw Marla Gilmore press a hand to her mouth.

"Here, Billy," Neelix said cheerfully. He waved a long stick over the mudhole in Billy's direction. "Grab on and we'll pull you out."

"Quicksand, Telfer?" Gerron asked derisively. "It's just a little mud puddle."

Billy grabbed the stick. "This is a *lot*of mud! And it *was* sucking me in." As Ayala and Neelix pulled him out, there was a long slurping sound, as if to punctuate his words.

Tal giggled and Billy glared at her. "Sorry, Billy," she said quickly. "You must have been remembering that movie we watched a few weeks ago in Tom's movie theater program." It was the first thing she'd thought of when Billy had said he was sinking in quicksand. For a few moments her heart had beat wildly, recalling the grisly scene, though she knew Voyager's transporter could pull Billy out in a second.

"You mean 'King Solomon's Mines'?" Neelix asked as Billy reached solid ground, with Marla and Ayala's added effort. "A rousing tale, and that wasquite an unpleasant death."

"Exactly," Billy grumbled.

"That was a movie, Telfer," Gerron said with a smirk. "It wasn't real."