Author's Note: I wanted to make it up to you guys for having made you wait for a second chapter, so here's a third! I hope you like it! Sorry if this gets kind of confusing at the story part.


Chakotay's fists were so tight, his knuckles had long been ghostly white. His face was as expressionless as usual, but his eyes screamed 'murder'. Elsa and Kolopak were off of the floor in a flash, facing their intruder.

"Computer, end music and lift lights to full," Kolopak smoothly requested. The lights lifted and the song ended abruptly. Finally, Elsa saw just how alike Kolopak and his father really were. Apart from having the same tattoo, their hair and face were almost completely identical. If Elsa had not known better, she would have sworn that Kolopak was the clone of Chakotay.

"Get her out of my house," he said, uncharacteristically calm from the way that he looked. Elsa had never noticed how much Chakotay and Kolopak even sounded alike until now. Kolopak slid in front of Elsa protectively and confronted his father. He opened his mouth to protest, but Chakotay continued, "Get her out now!" His voice now shook with anger, revealing his true emotions.

"But father!" Kolopak finally interrupted. "She means no harm!" Kolopak stood his ground before his father, taller and more confident than Elsa had ever seen.

"Do you know who she is?" Chakotay shot back, now raising his left arm to point at Elsa. His entire arm shook with rage, and his face now showed just how angry he was. Kolopak pushed Elsa even further behind himself to ensure her safety.

"She's Elsa Janeway. A very sweet girl whom I happen to like very much!" Kolopak now shook with anger in response to his father's rage. Elsa slowly crept away from the two men as they continued their quarrel.

"That thing," Chakotay emphasized, "is the very daughter of a-a-a traitor!" As much as he meant the words he spoke, Elsa knew that he did not wish to say them. His anger faltered for a second, just enough for Elsa to realize that he had been hurt deeply by something her mother had done, before he regained his previous stance.

"She isn't a thing at all! She is Elsa! Why are you angry with her? She's not Kathryn Janeway!" Chakotay stopped shaking. The very sound of Kathryn's name made him stop. He eased his tightness and stepped away from the door.

"Go. Get her stuff and get her out of my house. I never want to see her here again," Chakotay said, resuming his deep, calm voice. By now, Elsa was in the kitchen looking for her second shoe. She had already put on her jacket and grabbed her purse without the two men noticing. Kolopak turned and found her other shoe underneath the bar. She slid it on her foot and hurried out the door, Kolopak close behind. Elsa threw herself into Kolopak's ground car and shut the door, tears collecting in her eyes. Kolopak sat silently in the driver's seat and shut his door. In silence they remained for several minutes until the beginnings of a rain shower forced them to put the windows up.

"What do we do now?" Elsa peeped, barely audible. Kolopak turned to her and lifted her face with his hand. His eyes were deeply set with sadness. She could tell that he had absolutely no idea what to do, and she felt tears roll down her face. His thumb caught some of them, and he pulled her face close to his own and kissed her forehead. He put the car into reverse as thunder sounded off in the distance and the rain started falling faster. Their entire trip back to her home was in complete silence.


He knows.

The message appeared on Kathryn's tellecommunicator at about 2100 hours. She sighed and sat alone on the couch, listening to the rain fall outside. She had often feared that Elsa would find out what had happened between her and her greatest friend, Chakotay, but she had never wanted it to be this way. Moments later, she heard a car splash along the drive and the engine stopped running. Janeway rushed to the window to see Kolopak open an umbrella and help Elsa out of the ground car. She held fast to his arm and walked in unison with her date up to the front door.

Kathryn walked to the door and opened it before Elsa had the chance to push in the code. She opened her arms wide to comfort her daughter. As much as she did not want to, she invited Kolopak into the house. He shook his head and ducked out of the doorway without a word. Elsa's sobs grew inaudible, but she shook harder in her mother's arms. Kathryn watched out the window as Kolopak crept back to his car and drove away. The mother and daughter made their way up the stairs, where Kathryn made Elsa change into something more comfortable. Eventually they met again downstairs. She put her arm around her daughter and drew her close, letting her cry until there were no more tears.


Kolopak rushed into the house and shut the front door, hard, letting his father know of his presence and his anger. Chakotay sat on the loveseat, stroking the arm of the wooden rocker just as Elsa had done earlier. Kolopak stopped in his tracks and wandered slowly to his father, suddenly ashamed for being so angry. He stood awkwardly for a time until Chakotay's sad eyes met with Kolopak's. Kolopak sank into the seat next to his father, ready to be punished for his actions. Chakotay instead began with a story.

"Once when you were just a boy, a large Kazon vessel somehow found a wormhole and came too close to our outposts. So, your mother was asked on one last adventure as a Starfleet crew member."


"She was a very special woman," Elsa's mother continued, letting her sadness show through. "I thought of her as my own daughter. I was asked to run this mission as the ship's captain one last time. I did not force her to come, but she insisted that she go. Of course, I asked Chakotay's permission, and he was very hesitant."


"At the time, we were great friends. Kathryn and I talked to each other about everything. Of course I asked Kathryn to convince your mother to not go on this mission, but try as she might, she could not get her to listen. So you and I went to the docking station with your mother and waved goodbye to her."

"I remember that. I was six, right?" Kolopak inquired. Chakotay nodded and continued.

"I declined going, much to my regret now, as I could not find anyone to take care of you on such short notice. There was no way I would have let you go on a ship to stay with my sister, and she was unable to come get you. So I remained here with you."

"What about Elsa? Where did she go?" Chakotay froze at the sound of her name, but answered his son anyway.

"Kathryn's mother Gretchen was in town when we received the message, so she was sent with her grandmother."


"You know, I think I remember staying and grandma's house now. Except, I thought you were going on vacation." Elsa chuckled at her own innocence and let her mother continue.

"As I'm sure you've guessed, Chakotay kept tabs on our mission the entire time we were gone. Since Kolopak's mother and I knew a lot about the Kazon, and Tuvok was deep in subspace on a difference mission, we were elected. The mission was going fine, and we confronted the Kazon on the eleventh day. They had not quite met the border, but their position posed a threat to us. We hailed their vessel and an old familiar face appeared on the view screen."


"Jal Culluh," Chakotay continued, rage filling his eyes once again. "But a new, adolescent-aged Kazon stood by his side. One that all of the Voyager crew had seen, but none of the crew recognized right away. At least, not until he asked where I was." Chakotay bit his lip. "In the report I was later sent, Kathryn Janeway demanded his identity. He said he was Jal Sekden, but before his ascension into adulthood, he was better known as Sek, named after his late mother, Seska." Chakotay's eyes narrowed before he continued, "I have told you about Seska before, haven't I?" Kolopak nodded. He remembered very well how this woman had tricked Chakotay into believing that she had stolen his DNA and impregnated herself.

"Well he was now older and had been drilled with lies by his father. He was told that I had personally destroyed his mother out of rage."


"Jal Sekden chuckled, admitting that he was sorry that Chakotay could not be there when he got his revenge. From the beginning I should have known that he was going to do something big. Unfortunately, we had no idea that the Kazon had cooked up some new technology either. We had passed them off as an insignificant threat." Kathryn sighed. Elsa reached over and touched her mother's hand. Kathryn looked up into her daughter's eyes and smiled slightly before continuing.

"Well, after a hard battle, we realized that our shields were much too low and our damage was much too high. We had lost power in many places on the Enterprise Mark VIII. Voyager had long been made as a museum. 'The ship that could see no end', they called her."


"But anyway, your mother eventually suggested that an away team would be the optimal choice in this situation. She suggested a distraction. Unfortunately, she also suggested herself as the best candidate for the mission. Janeway insisted on tagging along and placed Commander Ayala in charge of the Enterprise Mark VIII while they were away. Everyone had their orders and away they went. Kathryn and your mother steered the tiny war vessel to the docking location on the Kazon ship.

"The Kazons thought that the Enterprise Mark VIII had sent out an away team to land and board the vessel, just as your mother and Janeway had wanted. The Enterprise Mark VIII had their targets set and fired when the Kazons had diverted their torpedoes to the war vessel. The Kazon ship was horribly damaged, but one of their torpedoes had been released and hit right on target-the tail end of the war ship your mother and Kathryn were running."


"She was bleeding profusely from her head. She had slammed into the console and fell to the ground, nearly unconscious. I contacted Enterprise Mark VIII, and stated that she needed medical attention immediately. I used a medic kit to do what I could, but our ship was damaged and descending. So I had to leave her and try to salvage the war vessel. I was alerted by Ayala that the transporter systems had been disconnected in the earlier crossfire. I had no choice but to dock the ship, which meant I had to leave my crew member dying on the ground. I had betrayed my promise to Chakotay. He had asked me to keep Seve-," she paused, faltering slightly, "-Annika safe. But I failed him.

"By the time I got around the damaged Kazon ship and back toward the Enterprise, she was almost gone. Ayala told me that repairs were being made to the transporter as quickly as possible, but it was not fast enough. I tried to tend to Annika again, but she died in my arms."


"When Janeway had made it back to the ship, your mother was dead." Chakotay sat rigidly in silence.

"That's what you're mad at Janeway about? She didn't kill mother. It was the Kazon!" Kolopak scanned his father's face, but Chakotay turned his head away and shook it.

"That's not why I'm angry with her," he said flatly.


"I was back on the bridge in less than an hour, with nothing but a broken arm. The Emergency Medical Hologram had set the break, and encouraged me to rest. Being who I am, I ignored his orders and resumed my position. I had too many things that needed to be settled. The damage to the Kazon ship was high and they were largely disabled, except for their thrusters. Our weapons had made sure that their torpedoes remained offline, but they still had a way of escape. I hailed the Kazon vessel, but they did not respond. We had almost all of our systems back online within the next hour, before we finally received a hail from the Kazons. It was Jal Sekden. He reported that much of his crew was dead, including his father, Jal Culluh.

"He did inquire about why the life signs on the away vessel fell from two to one. He had been hoping that I was dead, but seemed pleased that he had ended the life of at least one crew member. Unfortunately for us, the member he killed was the ultimate way for him to get the revenge he had wanted. I can still see his face disappear. Lt. Wildman informed me that the Kazon ship was powering thrusters, and asked if we should open fire. I didn't want to risk anymore lives, so I let them take the wormhole back to the delta quadrant."


"I'm angry because she let him go." Chakotay stood from the loveseat and walked to the window, staring out at the rain. Kolopak remained frozen on the chair.

"You're mad because she gave mercy to a cold-blooded brute who took the life of my mother." It was a statement more than a question. Chakotay remained motionless at the window, tears matching the flow of the pouring rain. Kolopak continued, "It was a long time ago. Can't you forgive her? It sounds like she did the best she could for her crew. More people could have died if the Kazon ship had exploded."

"So now you're siding with her?" Chakotay kept his voice smooth, even with tears racing down his face.

"Being angry with Janeway won't bring mom back!" Kolopak shot back, now standing in the living room.

"You wouldn't understand," Chakotay said calmly and quietly. Kolopak's heart froze.

"I understand," Kolopak replied. "I understand that you want revenge just as much as that cold-blooded murderer! In a way, you're just like him." Kolopak turned and ran out of the house into the pouring rain, grabbing his umbrella and rain coat on the way out.

End Chapter 3.