It is not in space that I must seek my human dignity, but in the ordering of my thought.
At 0900 hours, the shuttle bay was a flurry of activity as everyone worked to ensure everything was in place. Teams swarmed the Flyer and the other ship's shuttle craft making final preparations for launch.
The senior staff, plus Lieutenant Ayala, had met at 0730 to review final details of their plan to infiltrate the other ship. The first hurdle, it seemed, would be substituting Captain Janeway for her counterpart, as the other three, Chakotay, Kim, and Ayala, already had their counterparts secured elsewhere.
The plan was for Janeway to beam from the shuttle to her counterpart's quarters just as they were docking. They were betting on the other Janeway being occupied with her away teams return and thus out of her quarters.
After disembarking, Kim and Ayala were to move as soon as possible to an out-of-the-way Jeffries tube junction that would offer them direct access to the computer core – which would make sabotage much easier. Chakotay would get Kathryn's double to her quarters where she would then be heavily sedated and hidden away. Kim and Ayala would do all they could to gather information and covertly sabotage systems while waiting for the captain and commander to unlock the core and give them access to the classified data specs they'd need the most.
After the briefing, the away team had gone to their respective quarters to get into their new 'uniforms' before meeting again for the shuttle launch. They would also each stop by sickbay so the doctor could inject emergency transport and communications chips into them. Standard commbagdes were not part of the uniform.
Kathryn took a little longer getting dressed and so she was the last to report to sickbay. The three men had already gone on to the shuttle bay so she sat quietly collecting her thoughts while the doctor injected the microchip into the soft skin on the underside of her left forearm. He also took some time to accelerate the growth of her fingernails so she made it to the shuttle bay just before 0900.
As the doors slid open and she entered the bay, there was a considerable drop in the noise level. Those who hadn't been on the bridge and gotten a first look at her counterpart's uniform, were impressed. Even those who knew what to expect, couldn't hide their astonishment. Put simply, their captain was a babe.
In full command mode, Kathryn chose to ignore the reaction but did make note of the gleam in Chakotay's eyes. I've still got it, she thought to herself, carefully concealing her own admiration of his new look. The tattoo was definitely attractive but she was certain that had it been on anyone else, she would've simply thought it tacky.
"Report," she barked, sensing Tom Paris might be about to comment and effectively cutting him off.
"We'll be ready to leave in about 15 minutes, Captain," Harry Kim was the first to speak, and she was pleased to see that he hadn't reverted back to the shy young ensign she first knew. 'Shy' would not be a prevalent attitude where they were going.
"Just triple checking that the new shielding is fully functional on the Delta Flyer," Paris piped up. "We don't want any surprises." He gestured toward the Flyer and they all watched as it shimmered slightly before disappearing completely.
Refractive shielding had an effect similar to a cloaking device but operated on different principles. Sensors on opposite sides sent images across to each other so that no matter where you were, you seemed to look right through the shielded object. With Seven of Nine's Borg knowledge, they were able to make it impervious to sensors but to be on the safe side, the Flyer would operate in gray mode to keep power output low. Janeway was impressed.
Paris tapped his combadge, "Looks good out here, Seven." Paris and Seven would be on the Flyer, shadowing the other ship and receiving the data chips the away team would transport in small batches after filling. There would also be a small security team on board, in charge of the other ships captured away team. The team would be kept unconscious and when the time came to leave, they would be returned to their ship after their masquerading counterparts were pulled out.
Just as the Flyer waved back into existence, the doors slid open again, admitting the Doctor followed by the security contingent that was directing the hover stretchers holding the sedated counterparts. Janeway nodded her approval as they moved toward the Flyer and then turned to face her team, hands on her hips. Contacting bare skin was odd but she shook off the sensation.
"Alright, everyone knows what we have to do. Once we're on board, keep contact with their crew to a minimum. I know in some cases that may not be easy, especially for the commander and me," she nodded briefly in his direction, "but we must try to stay as low as possible. You've all been studying your counterparts from the probe's video feeds…we know the kind of people we are over there. Violence is commonplace and while I won't endorse it, I will recommend you avoid it."
She eyed them carefully to make sure they all understood. The situation was definitely unique and if it came down to it, she'd prefer they use whatever force necessary to save their own lives.
The three men standing in front of her nodded and she knew they understood her meaning quite clearly. She also knew that she couldn't have asked for a better away team. Apparently she and her counterpart thought a lot alike.
"Let's finish up and launch as soon as we can."
"Aye, Captain," Kim and Ayala replied simultaneously before turning back to complete a final check on the shuttle and the equipment they were taking with them.
Kathryn caught Chakotay's eye and together they made their way over to a corner of the bay, occupied only by a few storage pods.
"Any thoughts, Commander?" They stopped facing each other and she crossed her arms, chin lifted to meet his eyes.
"Only that you look amazing in that uniform," his dimples flashed and she ducked her head slightly, allowing a small smile before things got serious again. "Besides that though…" he took a deep breath and looked back towards the crew preparing the Flyer and the shuttle. "The team we have to take with us is excellent and Tuvok will take good care of the ship until we get back. Our plan is solid. Together we can get through this."
He brought his eyes back to hers and she nodded. His double meaning was not lost and she found herself remembering the kiss they'd shared last night. If anything, she was glad they'd gotten that out of the way when they did. She knew the nature of their counterparts' relationship would require them to be closer than they'd ever been but she didn't want the first kiss between them to simply be a product of circumstance.
If she were honest with herself, she'd known it would happen eventually and even now if their actions were circumstantial, their feelings for each other were real. The Captain had never allowed Kathryn to go beyond the occasional chaste kiss on the cheek, and even that was rare. The Captain would now have to be the one making further advances and as difficult as it was, Janeway would make those two sides of her personality meet.
Janeway smiled up at Chakotay and allowed her fingers to brush up his arm again, vaguely tracing the tattoo and mirroring her actions from the early morning, eventually resting her palm in the middle of his chest. His heartbeat was steady and until she felt it she hadn't been aware of just how much reassurance she needed.
"Captain, Commander," Ensign Kim appeared a few steps away from them. "We're ready to go."
/\
"They've cleared us to dock in their shuttle bay," Kim reported from the front of the shuttle.
Chakotay, sitting next to him in the pilot's seat, glanced back at Janeway and Ayala. Janeway stood, holding a small kit containing isolinear chips and hyposprays, and moved to the middle of the cabin while Ayala moved to a side computer console.
"Ready?" Chakotay asked.
"As I'll ever be," Janeway replied, pulling her phaser out of the holster and giving a curt nod.
"See you soon," Chakotay smiled slightly and then nodded to Ayala. "Energize." She was gone is a shimmer of blue. "Load in the fake sensor logs and erase everything back to when the other away team first boarded our Voyager."
"Aye sir," Kim and Ayala again responded at once and moved to quickly replace the data. Chakotay maneuvered the shuttle towards the bay doors.
Within minutes the shuttle touched the floor and the door was lowering. The three men stood to disembark, unsure of who to expect but putting on the demeanors of their counterparts like masks.
Chakotay exited the shuttle first, followed by Ayala and then Kim – who gave Ayala a shove for cutting him off and after the two exchanged dirty looks, they each moved to stand on either side of the commander. Captain Janeway was approaching with Tuvok close behind. The Vulcan looked quite formidable and anger seemed to radiate from him in visible waves. Chakotay set his face hard and moved to meet them.
"Well…" Janeway purred, in lieu of any other greeting. She stopped directly in front of Chakotay, the seductive tilt of her hips and suggestive look in her eyes was much more than his Captain ever would've shown in such a public area.
"Here it is, all the vital data we could get," Chakotay handed her a PADD that she barely glanced at before handing it back over her shoulder to Tuvok. "Their weapons systems are no match for ours. Overpowering them should be an easy task. However, we weren't able to access all of their data without the Captain's voice authorization."
"Oh?" Janeway placed her palm at the center of his chest and began to slowly move down toward the waistband of his shorts. "And you weren't able to…charm the authorization out of her?" She slipped the tips of her fingers just inside the band and ran the back of her hand across his abdomen. She turned and with a slight tug pulled her hand away. Chakotay took that as his cue to follow her and moved away from the group to exit the shuttle bay.
Kim and Ayala exchanged a look and waited while Tuvok reviewed the PADD data. Sensing their eyes on him, Tuvok looked up briefly and after curling his lip in a sneer, turned and walked out of the bay.
"Well, I see how we rate around here," Kim snorted and Ayala laughed. "Let's get to work."
/\
Kathryn materialized in a dark corner of the living room. She quickly surveyed the rooms but she was alone so she slid the phaser back into place at her hip.
If she hadn't known better, she might've thought she was back on her own ship - these quarters were so familiar. There was the phonograph on the small table, the same paintings on the walls, the furniture arranged in the same way – the replicator even showed signs of the battle she'd had with it the morning it decided to give her orange juice instead of coffee. And glancing over at the bookshelf behind the desk, she saw that it appeared to be identical to her collection.
Moving around behind the desk, she stooped to place the kit beneath it, then stood and turned to the books again. Curiosity got the best of her and she pulled out the copy of Dante's Vita Nuova.
The cover was worn in the same familiar places. Resting the thin spine in the palm of her hand, she let it fall open and was not surprised to see her favorite passage across the page. She had read it so many times before; it was mostly committed to memory. Here she read it again:
'Love says of her: "How can a mortal body
achieve such beauty with such prurience?"
He looks again and swears it must be true:
God does have something new in mind for earth.
Her color is the pallor of the pearl,
a paleness perfect for an abominable lady;
she is the evil that Nature can achieve
and by her mold all beauty tests itself;
her eyes, wherever she may choose to look,
send forth their spirits radiant with antipathy
to strike the eyes of anyone they meet,
and penetrate until they find the heart.
You will see Hate depicted on her face,
there where no one dares hold his gaze too long.'
She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Her hands were trembling slightly. The words were mostly the same but those that were noticeably different – prurience, abominable, evil antipathy, Hate – changed the meaning drastically. She remembered from the Enterprise reports that Picard had been similarly shocked by the literature in his counterpart's quarters. Kathryn found herself wondering, same as he had, where humanity had taken the turn down this dark and furious path.
She looked down again at the page and there in the margin, in Chakotay's neat and even hand, were written the words 'This part reminds me of you,' just as she had known it would be there.
Kathryn took a deep breath and snapped the book shut. But then she slid it carefully back into place on the shelf.
Turning, she bent again to pull a sedative hypospray out of the kit. She had a job to do and needed to be ready for it.
/\
"So?"
"What?" Chakotay wasn't sure anymore what they had been talking about. After following Janeway out of the shuttle bay, he'd had to use considerable effort to remind himself that even though she looked for all the world like his Kathryn, she wasn't. The rest of his effort went to controlling his physical reaction to her seduction so when she glanced back at him, eyebrows raised in question, he was completely lost.
He mentally berated himself for this. Now was definitely not the time or place to be so lost in one's thoughts.
"Your charm? Why weren't you able to get her authorization?" They were walking quite close together and occasionally her arm would swing back and lightly brush against his groin. Chakotay had known from the probe's video feed that their relationship here was no secret but he still wasn't prepared for the blatant displays in front of the crew.
"It seems that our counterparts have quite a different relationship than we do. I had very…limited interaction with her."
"Poor baby," she let out a snort of laughter as they entered the turbolift. "She must be some kind of ice queen to resist you." Janeway purred and backed him up against the bulkhead. "Deck three," the lift slid into action. "Your quarters or mine?"
Chakotay seemed to consider for a moment before replying. "Yours," and he hoped his Kathryn would be ready when they arrived. He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take.
There wasn't much time to think about it because she began placing open-mouthed kisses up his chest and across his neck and jaw-line. Her hips were pushing against his with urgency and he allowed his hands to move up her sides and across her back, stroking slowly down her spine.
Janeway let out a breathy moan and moved her mouth away from him long enough to call the turbolift to a halt.
Chakotay's eyes flew open and he realized that he didn't know when he had closed them. Janeway's hand snaked around to the back of his head and pulled him down into an intense kiss. His mind flashed back to a time that seemed so long ago now but was really only a few hours in the past. She tasted like his Kathryn, coffee and her own unique but odd sweetness. She felt like his Kathryn, the curve of her sides and her back, her lips soft but insistent. Even the sounds she made were the same, and all of this combined was making his body react in a way that was increasingly difficult to control. But something was missing, he just couldn't quite decide what.
She's not your Kathryn, his mind was saying, faintly at first, as a last clinging bit of rational thought, but it became enough for him to break their kiss and call for the 'lift to resume.
Janeway looked at him questioningly, and he couldn't be sure but there almost seemed to be a hint of anger in her eyes. She probably wasn't used to being refused.
"Your quarters," Chakotay said, ducking his head to give her a sharp nip on the neck, just below her ear. It had the desired effect and she gave him a little growl followed by a grin, just before the 'lift stopped and they exited onto deck three.
They made it down the corridor and through the door before she was on him again, swiftly pulling off his vest and pushing him up against the wall. He was surprised by her strength but allowed himself to be pinned as she resumed kissing him. His arms came up as he saw movement out of the darkness behind her. His initial urge to protect her subsided quickly and instead he simply held her body to his.
Janeway pulled her head back to look at him, perhaps sensing he was distracted. Their eyes locked just as the hypospray hissed into her neck. She looked momentarily surprised before her eyes fluttered shut and she collapsed in his arms. Chakotay looked up and met the open eyes of his Kathryn. Even if he hadn't known what to expect, he would've known she was his.
The silent connection they had, the meaning exchanged with a subtle look – that was what had been missing. He didn't share that connection with this other Janeway.
"Let's hide her away and make sure she's comfortable," Kathryn said, moving to the closet in the bedroom where she had arranged a few pillows and a blanket. "The doctor said the sedative should keep her out for at least four hours."
If she was disturbed by seeing her mirror universe self, she didn't show it. It occurred to Chakotay that she was the only one to actually meet her counterpart face to face, as he, Kim, and Ayala had been carefully kept away from theirs. It probably wasn't the same as watching them on the probe's video feed. He didn't want to think about the psychological effects all of this would have for them.
He scooped up the sedated Janeway in his arms and carried her limp form to the closet, depositing her gently on the pillows. Once she looked comfortable, Chakotay backed away and Kathryn pressed a button on the control panel, closing the closet door.
Together, they walked back into the living area and while Chakotay stopped to retrieve his vest from the floor, Kathryn moved to sit at the computer console at the desk. She pulled out the kit she had beamed over with and opened it, producing a handful of isolinear chips. After inspecting them carefully, she selected one and slid it into the console.
"Computer – access the isolinear chip and begin search program," she commanded softly. Chakotay had slipped his vest back on and moved to stand behind her, looking over her shoulder at the data that scrolled across the screen. "It'll take about 15 minutes for the program to run completely. We should check in with Harry to see how they are progressing."
They had each taken a different isolinear chip pre-programmed with a specific set of search parameters. This would speed up the process and hopefully allow them to gather twice as much information in half the amount of time.
Harry and Ayala had a chip searching for current mission logs and technical information. If they could find data on how this ship had opened up the rift between their universes, they would be able to devise a way to close the rift after chasing these people back to where they came from. They had also included searches for weapons and defense systems. Everyone knew this would eventually come to blows and Kathryn wanted to know exactly what they were up against. This would be valuable information for Tuvok to use in formulating security measures for when they emerged from the nebula to confront this other Voyager.
They also carried a second chip with a virus program Harry had devised to attack key ships systems – shields, weapons, and sensors specifically.
Kathryn and Chakotay had a chip searching for historical records, crew information, and past mission logs. They were doing this mostly out of scientific curiosity combined with a strange desire to see just how this crew paralleled their own. It was also true that this information, combined with what the Enterprise had gathered in their encounter, would be invaluable to the Federation when they returned to the Alpha Quadrant.
"Janeway to Kim," she tapped the spot on her left forearm where the microchip rested just under the skin.
"Kim here," came his reply. She was almost startled, the reply directly in her ear made it sound like he was right at her shoulder, but the chip made the communications more private than standard commbadges. Only Kathryn could hear his reply.
"How's it going, Harry?" She leaned back slightly in her chair and Chakotay turned to inspect the bookshelves while waiting for her to tell him what kind of headway the other team was making.
He had the time to notice now just how similar these quarters were to Kathryn's own. Even the collection of books seemed to be exactly the same. Scanning the titles he recognized them all from the times he had browsed through, searching for something to borrow.
He pulled out Dante's Vita Nuova and flipped through it idly. It was one of Kathryn's favorites and when Chakotay had read it himself, he remembered thinking several times that the poet's thoughts about his lost love very closely mirrored his own feelings about Kathryn.
A small bit of writing in one of the margins caught his eye and he stopped to read the well worn page. He remembered writing the words but when he read the verse they were in reference to, he could never imagine attributing those ideas of antipathy and abomination to his Kathryn.
Chakotay looked up from the page to find her eyes on him and realized her conversation with Harry was over. The look on her face told him that she knew what he had read and she nodded slowly as he closed and replaced the book on the shelf.
"How are they doing?" he asked softly.
"They made it to the Jeffries tube junction with no problems. The search program is running and they've already started filling isolinear chips with tactical data," she glanced at the computer monitor to see how their own search was going before continuing. "The first batch of chips should be ready to transport soon. Harry has been in contact with the Flyer and they report back fine"
"We should unlock the core soon so they can access the critical data."
"Agreed," Janeway turned back to the monitor as it beeped. "The search has found some matches. I'll start filling the other chips." She picked up another isolinear chip and slid it into a different slot.
Next she pulled up the main computer access program and left the search-and-copy to run in the background.
"Computer, recognize voice print and command authorization, Janeway Phi Alpha Three."
"Voice print and command authorization recognized, Janeway, Captain Kathryn," the computer replied immediately and Kathryn allowed herself a sigh of relief. She noticed too that even the computer's voice sounded colder.
"That was easy," she commented, raising her eyebrows at Chakotay. "I guess my counterpart and I really are a lot alike."
"You could never be like her, Kathryn," Chakotay let a serious edge enter his voice. "Don't you ever forget that."
She met his eyes and nodded solemnly before turning back to the computer.
"Computer, unlock the main core and transfer access to Deck 12, Section A4-C18," she knew this would require more than just her authorization and waited for the computer to ask for it.
"That requires authorization from both commanding officers on this ship," the computer calmly informed them and Kathryn turned to Chakotay.
"Computer, recognize voice print and command authorization, Chakotay Pakra Beta One," he waited with bated breath.
"Voice print recognized, Chakotay, Commander. Command authorization incorrect, access denied."
"Damn," Chakotay cursed under his breath.
"Are there any other command codes you regularly use?" Kathryn asked. "Do you rotate through several different ones?"
"Yes," he sighed. "There are two others that I use but if we try too many different codes, we may attract unwanted attention."
"That's true," she agreed and then started when she heard Ayala's voice in her ear. Tapping her forearm again she said, "Janeway here. What is it lieutenant?"
"It's Ensign Kim, ma'am. I think he may be in trouble…"
Kathryn's heart tightened and her eyes widened slightly as she listened to Ayala. Chakotay could tell something was wrong but was forced to wait again for her to relay the information aloud.
"Stay where you are, lieutenant, and keep working on that search. Chakotay is going to try to get the core unlocked and he'll let you know when you've got access. I'll take care of Ensign Kim. Janeway out," she closed the link. Chakotay was looking at her expectantly. "Ayala had gone further down one of the Jeffries tubes to access a different panel. He was out of sight and heard Lieutenant Tuvok come in and question Harry about what he was doing there. Apparently Harry didn't answer him in the manner he liked and Tuvok knocked him out. Ayala saw him drag Harry out, saying something about how a trip to the 'agony booth' would help with his attitude problem…"
Kathryn sighed. She knew from the Enterprise logs that the agony booth was probably even more unpleasant than it already sounded.
"You stay here and try your other authorization codes on the core. Keep filling chips from the search program and when it's finished, beam them over to the Flyer. I'm going to help Harry," she stood to move around him but he blocked her way, grabbing her arms.
"Captain, I know you want to help Harry but are you sure it's wise, going out there alone?" His eyes held genuine concern and with good reason but he knew she was going, whether he liked it or not.
"I can't leave him to Tuvok, Chakotay," she said, raising her hands to his chest and pushing him away gently. He didn't resist and dropped his hands from her arms to allow her to step around him. "And someone has to stay here and work on getting full computer access. We already know I've got the right codes," she smiled at him bitterly, "now it's up to you."
And with that she was out the door, leaving Chakotay with only the computer to talk to. He sat down in the desk chair she had just vacated and it was small comfort to find it still held some of her warmth.