A/N: Sorry for any technical errors, battle scenes are not my strong point, but it will come with time and practice. Sorry for the wait, and for that I made it extra long. The rest of the story will come a lot faster.
As Chakotay gave his order, a visual instantly appeared on the viewscreen and before him a pale grey skinned alien with a long face and wide piercing green eyes. Chakotay's own eyes narrowed in suspicion to this new species, that unlike the Sintarik's, but before the alien could speak Chakotay pressed his curiousity forward, he was in no mood for another enemy today.
But just as quickly as the alien appeared, the Sintarik vessel retreated back to their planet.
"I'm Commander Chakotay of the Federation Starship Voyager, who are you?"
"I am Sashener, Head of Defense of Trailas Prime. We've come to help you."
Chakotay frowned, stealing a look with Tuvok who but simply raised his right eyebrow a fraction.
"Help us?"
The new alien looked at Chakotay with an understanding eye, "Our planet is on the border of Sintarik Prime and too often have we stood back and allowed the Sintarik's to bridge war against female leaders...we have on occasion lost many to them, and for too long have we stood back and watched while innocent females across the Quadrant are killed for their beliefs."
"I'm listening," Chakotay crossed his arms over his chest, urging the alien to continue.
"Our planet is close but ion storms and atmospherics conditions that we have adapted to control to separate our territories and protect our planet from the Sintarik's make it a difficult path to cross, which is why most would avoid our homeworld, but we have ways around that."
"How do I know that this isn't some trap, set to lure us into your sector of space, what's to say that your species are less hostile than they are?"
"You are smart to consider this so Commander Chakotay, but then again, I thought I was smart once too...until I lost my wife to the Sintarik's, that was six months ago..." his eyes averted his own for a brief second whilst he collected himself.
"I won't let that happen to any of my people again, nor yours if I can help it. We have heard of Voyager from across the galaxy...of Captain Janeway...she sounds very much like my wife," his tone of voice trailed off to one of sadness, "That's where we come in. If we can offer assistance in any way that we can, then we are here to help."
Voyager had met one too many unfriendly species in the Delta Quadrant, and it would not be the first time that they had been deceived, but in this circumsatance if there was a chance to be helped, then this was as good of a time as any.
"Captain Janeway's life is our main priority at this time,"Chakotay simply answered.
"Of course," the alien nodded, "And we have several ships on standby upon your request,the Sintarik's are aware of that now, which is why the vessel retreated. Despite all occurrences Commander, we have no intention of starting a war unprovoked."
"We are not looking to start a war, we're on a peaceful mission just trying to get home."
"I understand, but they will not give up. The Sintarik's are very...persistant. Trust me Commander, this is the only way, your ship and your people may not be willing to get involved but by your presence alone in their sector of space, you already are. We like yourself are not a hostile species, provoked to battle only in the act of utter necessity or in this case civil aid, but lately...even that has been a hard act to comply with."
Chakotay nodded, he knew what it was like, the want to fight back to seek some form of revenge and comfort in the sufferings from the one's who had conflicted him a pain that no other could understand.
"Let us get your ship and Captain to saftey, and leave all the small talk to later. The Sintarik's won't be gone for long, they will come back and with more ships and greater power, my people are prepared to fight the Sintarik's. My wife was..much loved on our planet. We have been waiting for this moment, and I think it would benefit us both, greatly. "
Chakotay couldn't give the aliens proposal a proper consideration because as soon as it was said, a Sintarik vessel dropped out of warp and opened fire upon Voyager.
"Red Alert," Chakotay announced, looking to Tuvok for a status.
"Shields are holding."
"They know we are making an alliance, we must act fast," The Trailas alien stated.
"Commander," Tuvok inquired, waiting for an order that was not coming, meanwhile the Sintarik Vessel continued to fire upon Voyager, but Chakotay had neither made a decision nor issued any Commands to defend themselves against them.
"Commander-" Sashener urged him.
"Send me the coordinates."
The Defense Officer smiled at the agreement,"I must warn you, It'll be a tricky course."
"Well it's good that we have our best Pilot," Chakotay walked over and placed a hand on the Pilot's shoulder, " Right, Tom?"
Tom cocked an eyebrow and titled his head up, proud and ready to take on the challenge.
"Just give me directions," he answered.
While Chakotay and the Trailas defense team rounded up their plan, more Sintarik vessels began to approach, and it was time to put everything in action.
"Have you got the coordinates, Tom?"
A Bleeping noise from the conn confirmed the delivery.
"Got it."
"Good work, plot a course."
"Aye Commander."
...
Kathryn's prewarning had been correct, she had been feeling sharp contractions for an hour now, and just as she feared the most, they were starting to get closer and closer a part. It was now apparent to her that this was no false labor the Doctor had warned her of as she began nearing the end of her trimester.
She was a week shy of her due date, and if this baby was anything like she was, then it had a mind of its own.
She rubbed her lower back trying to ease the pressure that was stabbing into her and closed her eyes, "Come on Chakotay..." she silently whispered.
...
"How's it going, Tom?" Chakotay called from his Command chair, the bridge Officers all working to full capacity.
Tom looked studiously at his controls, working hard to steer Voyager through this difficult maze, his face full of concentration showing just that.
"When the Trailas said it was a tough course, they sure weren't kidding."
"Too tough for you to handle, Tom?" Chakotay issued a cheeky quip at him.
There was a time a few years before when the thought of being civil to Tom Paris had utterly disgusted him. He hated him. To Chakotay, Tom was an arogant, cocky young pilot who didn't care about anyone but himself. Though the cockiness many not have left him entirely, Chakotay, came to admire Tom's personality and quirky sense of humor. That was just the way he was, and the person he was destined to be, without it, he wouldn't be the Tom Paris, people knew and loved.
Chakotay thought to himself for a brief moment and realized that he neither considered Tom Paris his enemy or just another crew member anymore, but rather he had started to consider Tom as a friend.
Tom smirked at Chakotay's comment, and continued on his ways. Though he would never say it aloud, Tom thought the same thing about Chakotay.
"Never."
...
The battle continued slow and steady due to the difficult course the Trailas had set to enter their homeworld.
"What's the status of the ships?"
"Two more Sintarik vessels have been destroyed, there are three remaining."
Chakotay nodded, "How many Trailas vessels?"
"Four."
Chakotay bowed his head, two Trailas vessels had gone down. They risked their lives for them and for Captain Janeway, and for that he would be eternally grateful. Voyager was but one ship, without their help, like the Trailas had to him, they would not have been able to fight off an entire fleet of Sintarik vessels.
...
Kathryn kept a calm vigil as she waited out the contractions as best as she could, but all that was about to change...
She felt a warm wet liquid begin to surround her, her fingers instantly shifted to graze the liquid between her legs, evidence that bigger problems than the Sintarik's was well on its way.
"No..." she groaned, "Please not now..." but she already knew that at this point there was no stopping anything. Kathryn leant back further against the jefferies tube and allowed herself a few seconds to panic before she forced herself to gain control. No amount of Starfleet training had prepared her for this. Right now she was just a woman, scared, alone and pregnant.
...
The Trailas were fighting up front by the Sintarik homeword, whilst some Sintarik's had deployed ships on the outskirts of their planet away from the central fighting, trying to find a way around the Trailas defenses.
Tuvok looked up from his console, "Shields are weakening, Commander."
"Fire torpedos," Chakotay ordered and was instantly awarded when the blast penetrated the Sintarik's shields, the damage visibly seen from the viewscreen as the bridge Officers watched the Sintarik vessel retreat.
"Another Sintarik vessel is approaching," Harry announced.
Chakotay hung his head briefly, the Sintariks still refused to leave them alone despite the casualties to their own ships and people.
"We're approaching the border," Tom stated behind the conn.
Chakotay looked hopeful, "How long until we clear the area?"
"40 seconds."
"They can't follow us into their space, it'll be a death sentence."
"But they might just," Chakotay replied.
Just then the Sintarik vessel fired at Voyager.
"Shields at 17 percent."
Another hit targeted their shields.
"9 percent."
"Evasive maneuvers, Tom," Chakotay called.
"I'm trying," he gritted working hard at the conn trying to navigate through the narrow passage of undisturbed space that the Trialas had left unguarded.
A jolt rocked Voyager suddenly, signifying the trouble they were in.
"Shield are down, direct hit, hull breech on deck 9," Tuvok said aloud.
Chakotay tapped his combadge,"B'Elanna-"
"-I can't give you any more power to the shields, Commander,"she quickly responded. Everyone in Engineering, like the Bridge Officers working to full extent.
"20 seconds," Harry counted down.
Chakotay clenched his fist tightly, they only needed a few more seconds, he watched and waited for what seemed like a lifetime for them to clear the area. Their shields were down and in such situation they were exposed, one hit and they could risk major damage to the ship and their people.
"10 seconds."
"Ease us in ,Tom."
"We're approaching perimiter."
"The Sintarik vessel is refusing to withdraw." Tom gritted, knowing that their enemy was still of their tail.
Just as the Sintarik vessel was charging their weapons to attack again, two Trailas vessels suddenly shot past Voyager and opened fire, destroying the last remaining Sintarik vessel and with that victory Voyager entered the Trailas border feeling the ease of the ship as the atmospheric conditions surrounding them began to dissipate. One thing was clear, they were free and before them a row ships on dock waiting for their arrival.
"All stop, open a channel," Chakotay ordered.
"Commander Chakotay," a Trailas dignitary greeted him, "It's good to see that you're out of the woods. We have finally made a mark on the Sintarik's and given our people the closure that we have long seeked. I doubt we will be bothered by them for a while."
"Thank you for your assistance. We're truly grateful, but if you wouldn't mind Commander Tuvok, will handle all other communications from now on, because there is someone I need to check on."
The dignitary bowed his head in comprehension.
"Tuvok, you have the bridge."
"Aye Commander," he answered immediately, coming from behind his tactical station and traded places with Chakotay. When handing the bridge over to the Vulcan, Chakotay could almost sense that he was giving him a look, a look of support. Tuvok was a dear friend of Kathryn's, he cared about her as much as a Vulcan could.
The look on the faces of the Officers on the bridge were unbelievable. They cared about her more than she knew. He knew that Kathryn in the past few months had not been the Captain that she had wanted to be for them, but looking at their expressions now he saw that no matter what, it was was clear that they would literally follow her to the ends of the universe.
Chakotay entered the Turbolift and in one swift movement after the doors had slid shut, he leant against the wall, rubbing a hand down his face then called for Kathryn's Combadge to be activated again, he couldn't wait the 6 decks down. He had to hear her voice, now.
…
Clutching her stomach Kathryn didn't matter whatever it was was that was happening outside, the baby was coming now whether she liked it or not. Kathryn had just managed to climb out of the jefferies tube when another contraction hit her, she sank to the ground and breathed through the pain.
Her comm badge was still deactivated, and in this circumstance she wouldn't risk calling chakotay in case he was tied up with the Sintarik's because at present she had no idea what the situation was.
Suddenly her combadge chirped with life again and a gentle voice called through it, "Chakotay to Janeway."
"I'm here," she replied almost instantly and out of breath.
"It's over. You're safe."
Kathryn breathed heavily against the wall thankful that Chakotay and Voyager had once again pulled through.
"Then you'd better get down here", she paused for a contraction, "Now!"
"Kathryn?"
"Now!"
"I'm on my way," he could tell she was in distress, the erratic tone, the heavy breathing, it could only lead to one thing and he shouldn't have been surprised, after all, he had left her alone in a jefferies tube almost fully to term.
"Chakotay to Sickbay."
"Yes, Commander."
"Meet me on Deck 6, it's the Captain, I think she may be in labor."
"Right away," the Doctor responded quickly, grabbing his mobile emitter and med kit and was on his way out of sickbay promptly.
…
Exiting the turbolift on Deck 6 Chakotay made quick work of getting to the jefferies tube as soon as possible, but he hadn't expected to see Kathryn slumped against the wall bracing herself with one hand and the other firmly planted on her distended abdomen.
Chakotay rushed towards her.
"Kathryn!"
As he knelt down to her she gripped him hard digging her fingernails sharply in his arm as she felt another contraction rip through her. Kathryn gritted through it and allowed an audible groan to escape from her as it happened.
"We have to get you to sickbay," Chakotay said quickly as he studied her. She looked like a mess, her hair was tousled and her face was red and sweaty, in all honest opinions she looked as though she had been fighting to keep the labor going for as long as possible, but to Kathryn's dislike, this was one thing in her life that even she couldn't control.
"What happened? The ship, the crew?"she managed to say in between breaths.
Chakotay shook his head as he knelt beside her, "For goodness sakes Kathryn you're about to have a baby, I don't think now's the right time to explain," he sighed, then softened his voice when he remembered just what it was that she is, the Captain, "But yes, everything will be fine. We're all okay."
The Doctor at this point made his entrance rushing over to her, his eyebrows furrowed to see her in such a state, and slumped against a wall bellow a jefferies tube.
"Captain," he stated, pulling his tricorder out and running it over her abdomen. A few moments later he had collected all the data that he needed and shut it quickly then stood to kneel on her other side. There was no doubt about it, she was having this baby now and even Chakotay understood that look on the Doctor's face.
"Chakotay to Kim, what's the status on the transporters."
"Offine sir,"
"When will they be operational?"
"20 minutes, that's the best I can give you."
The Doctor looked at Chakotay, "She might not have that long Commander."
"Doctor..." he warned.
"Well maybe if I was informed of the situation she wouldn't be here."
"Trust me Doctor, the less who knew the better, now in your professional opinion, can we get her to sickbay?"
"No," running the tricorder over her again, "She's too far along, we're just going to have to do this here."
Kathryn who had remained silent up until that point, conserving the energy that she would soon need decided that it was time to set them straight, gripping the Doctors arm firmly, if he had Nociceptor's he'd certainly be sore by the sheer grip that she was enforcing upon his arm.
"I'm not having this baby in a corridor!" she grunted in her low raspy voice, still gripping a hold of the Doctor's arm with a brute force.
"But Captain-"
"No 'buts', take me anywhere, anywhere but here!
"Captain-"
She threw her head back trying to breath normally whilst fighting to remain as calm and Captain like as she could.
"That's an order!"
"The holodeck," the Doctor and Chakotay suddenly said in unison.
...
9 months ago...
Whilst Chakotay and Kathryn were on an away mission they found a peaceful planet called Brilarix, that was rich in the many minerals and supplies that Voyager was in need of. Given the warm welcoming that they were given upon their arrival and a promise for negotiations of bountiful supplies, Kathryn and Chakotay decided to send Voyager in to complete the negotiations whilst giving their hard working crew some much needed shoreleave.
At this opportunity Kathryn and Chakotay as the Commanding Officers of Voyager had accepted an invitation from the Ambassador to dine with them, whilst Tuvok retained Command for the time being, neither plussed about shoreleave, but unlike Tuvok, Kathryn and chakotay were keen to stretch their legs.
It was vital to remain cordial to the Brilarix, since they were the first peaceful species they had met in a while. They had to maintain everything to a professional standard and kindness to oversee their negotiations and trade and to learn more about this new species, which as explorers they were overwhelmed by.
Later that evening,
As Chakotay and Kathryn dined with the Ambassador and his family, they found that they were more than forward about asking about their journey and travel to their homeland, Earth. It seemed like that was all they wanted to talk about. The Brilarix's were very interested in other races and their homeworlds, being so distant from one another, it was understandable that they wanted to hear stories.
Though they were used to telling new species they had encountered about their journey and homeword, Kathryn and the crew were careful not to indulge to heavily in conversation about it. It was still a delicate topic and around Kathryn it was one that had to be talked about lightly and goodspirited, for underneath those four pips lay a woman who at the end of the day could not stop being the Captain of Voyager at the end of her duty shift. No, it was Captain Janeway 24/7 a woman who despite Starfleet appearances had a heart and feelings, and each time she would have to explain about Earth, a little piece of Kathryn left along with it.
But her training had done her so well that the only person who could see her carefully concealed sadness was Chakotay, who at present sat opposite her with the Ambassador at the head of the table either side of them.
He could see she was uncomfortable with the questions, she would shift or avert her eyes across the room or would look down when the Ambassador would question her, questions that although innocent in nature, stirred up painful memories that she could not escape. Chakotay had known Kathryn long enough to notice when she felt uncomfortable, was stressed, tired and more commonly had worked herself too hard. He knew Kathryn, inside and out. That much he kept to himself.
So he watched from the other side of the table at the woman who tired to maintain her Command facade despite the pain that her position had caused her.
...
Later on that night,
The Command team were invited to stay in a luxurious palace, which to their surprise was much too generous, their rooms fit enough for a Royal and adjoined to each others by a simple door and sharing a large balcony overlooking the city of Brilarix.
It was late that night that found Kathryn and Chakotay in a sleepless state.
Chakotay came out to the balcony to find Kathryn perched on the swing chair looking ponderously out into the stars. She was wearing a crème satin nightgown, that the Brilarix had most likely left for her. It was the type of nightgown that defied the very nature a Starfleet Captain.
"Kathryn?"
She looked to her side to see the dashing image before her. He was handsome, his sleep touseld hair and casual nightwear attire, far from the Commander she sat next to on the bridge, day in and day out. Ordinarily this would be an uncomfortable situation, the Captain and First Officer having a late night chat in their nightwear, but their time on New Earth had made it comfortable for them to be with each other in that capacity.
"Couldn't sleep either?" she responded casually.
"No..not really, I kept thinking of..." he sat down beside her, then decided against his words as quickly as he had said them, but she didn't miss it for a second, and hung her head low.
"It's alright, you can say it," she said looking up to Chakotay, "Earth..."
He took note of her saddened features.
"We'll get home. Someday, somehow. You'll find a way to get us back."
She shook her head and whispered, "Why is it that you always seem to have such faith in me?"
"Because, I just do," he admitted.
She sighed looking at the night sky and the stars above her that for this moment she had the pleasure of viewing from outside amidst the cool air, unconsciously she slowly leant into Chakotay in comfort, Chakotay warmed into it and wrapped an arm around her shoulder and held her closer to him, close enough so that Kathryn could smell his sweet musky scent.
"How do you know me so well Chakotay? When sometimes, I don't even know myself..."her question was truthfully etched with the pain of her situation.
Chakotay thought for a moment and after moment of silence had passed as he collected his thoughts, it brought him to the most honest answer he could give her.
"Because I see you Kathryn," he looked down at her on his shoulder, meeting his dark eyes with hers, "Not for the Starfleet Captain who you've been more than forced to become, but the woman that you are, the woman sitting right beside me. That's who I see."
Kathryns eyes never deviated from his own, and hers were sparking with tears unshed, he had touched her emotionally and in this moment she couldn't help but think how lucky she was. To be trapped in the Delta Quadrant flung 70,000 light years away from home at the beginning seemed like a death sentence, but with every passing day and with Chakotay by her side, she could feel his promise to her work, her burden lighten and her feelings towards Chakotay becoming even stronger. This was a man who had for years stood by her side, rescued her from a bout of depression when she felt like she could no longer go on and at the end of the day remained her one true friend, something that she felt like she sometimes didn't deserve. She was blessed to have Chakotay, as a colleague and as a friend but since New Earth which was now well behind them, she wondered briefly if she could ever have more...
"Chakotay..." she whispered, bringing her hand to cup his cheek, while Chakotay brought his other hand to rest atop of hers, feeling the warmth of her hand radiate on his face.
Their eyes never parted each others, their faces still only inches a part, they slowly pulled closer to each other like they were two magnets, scientifically attracted to one another, until eventually they touched, the magnets aligned and they felt a spark for a longing they had both desired.
Soft, gentle kisses soon began to hasten as they began to taste each others lips, their tongues coming into the mix, they knew where this was leading to and neither had the power to object, the passion they felt for each was like no other so for the time being they enjoyed the moment, because little did they know, all good things must come to an end.
...
The next morning,
Rays of sunlight filled the spacious rooms will an orange iridescent glow signifying the start of the day. But what was different this time was that the Command team were in Kathryn's room, more importantly...they were in bed together, her bed.
Kathryn's head was delicately pressed to Chakotay's golden chest and a dainty arm draped around his side, whilst one of Chakotay's large hands was planted firmly on her bare back. The thin white sheet covering only their lower half.
Chakotay was the first to wake, feeling the warmth of a woman against him and the trickle of her hair fanned on top of his chest. But this time, it wasn't just any woman. It was Kathryn, and this very realization made him warm inside, memories of their night together still lingered in his mind and the feelings still ravished his body. It was the first time he had truly connected with a woman and he realized with his body and soul that he loved her beyond anything he thought was ever imaginable. He loved Kathryn Janeway with all that he was.
Kissing her head still perched on his chest, his free hand pulled the strands of hair covering her face away so he could see her beautiful face, and the beautiful woman beneath her auburn tresses.
Kathryn woke suddenly, and instantly she knew she was not alone, the warm body beneath her saying otherwise. She felt soft fingertips brush against her face as a path was made clear for her to see, as Chakotay drew back a few strands of hair blocking her vision. That was when she remembered, what had happened those few hours before, their night together and the unbreakable barriers Kathryn had placed before herself, so undeniably crossed.
"Morning," Chakotay greeted her, stroking her hair and looking down at her, as she stared up at him with dazling blue eyes.
"Hi," was all she could manage. She couldn't quite believe what had happened between them. It felt so wrong but yet so unequivocally right.
...
Later that day,
Chakotay and Kathryn continued on as normal, working like any Commanding pair would and continued with the negotiations, but this time the looks that they gave each other were different, it felt natural, like they had always shared this connection but given what transpired between them that previous night, they knew that it was no coincidence and there was doubt about it, Kathryn and Chakotay now shared a more deeper understanding of each other than ever before. She could sense his presence as he could sense hers and their thoughts were as though they were one. This was love, and as Kathryn shook her head wondering how it could be that an Ensign could be so right and she could so wrong, love was like a disease.
The Command team were walking back in a comfortable silence to the Palace after a long day of trades with the Ambassador, when Kathryn suddenly rolled her ankle on a rock, she almost fell down but Chakotays reflexes were so quick that he quickly caught her under her arms and helped her to straighten herself, she grimaced as she felt a shooting pain in her ankle, she'd have to get the doctor to fix that when she got back to Voyager.
Kathryn tried to brush it off like it was nothing, but Chakotay knew better, she would lie and say it was fine but he knew that was just her Captain's reflex.
"Are you alright?" Chakotay asked her.
"I'm fine."
Chakotay smiled to himself internally, but then looked back to Kathryn as she in her attempts to carry on walking normally began to limp, knowing it was hurting her Chakotay daringly wrapped an arm around her waist drawing her to him, urging her to put her weight on him so that he could help ease the discomfort until they could get back to Voyager. For a moment Kathryn struggled to let herself be aided, but with all that happened between them that previous night, she knew that Chakotay genuinely cared for her, more than she would ever know.
"You can lean on me, Kathryn."
"I know," she whispered slowly wrapping her own arm around his waist, which he instantly responded to, weaving his fingers through hers bringing them together in a way that could only be described as innocent intimacy.
As she leant into Chakotay, Kathryn looked up at him, her soft smile matching his own. Maybe things were possible for them, maybe a reality did exist for them aboard Voyager, a reality in which Kathryn would not have to choose between duty and love.
To be continued...