Finally another chapter to celebrate being back at my university. Enjoy!
"You know, Chakotay is out there looking like he is about to scalp someone." Tom was back in her office bothering her as she tried to wrap up business matters.
"Oh?" Kathryn looked distracted, "I'd forgotten about him." She stood up from behind her expansive desk. "Shall we go take care of the scum mucking up my bar?"
Paris huffed out a laugh and stood as well, "Actually I think its Tuvok's bar now, but I would be happy to have the chance to mess with Chakotay of the Maquis." He offered a crooked arm to the redhead and escorted her out the door and down the hall.
"So Chakotay thinks I'm his?" she mused as they walked. Tom gave a noncommittal grunt, irritated at the feeling of jealousy coiled deep in his gut. Before they could enter the bar Kathryn pulled him back. "I want you to pretend to be my lover. If that doesn't throw Chakotay off his stride, I don't know what will." Kathryn flashed him a grin and made to stride into the bar but Tom wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back to him. Kathryn landed against his chest and looked up at him confused. Before she could say a word, he brought his lips down upon hers in a bruising kiss. Kathryn felt a flare of heat move through her body as she began to return the possessive kiss. Only when the need to breath became an issue did he pull away.
"What was that for?" she demanded somewhat breathlessly.
Tom gave her an unreadable look and replied in his usual flippant manner, "Just getting in the mood. Come on." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and escorted her into the bar.
He noticed Chakotay immediately. Seated at the central table with his cronies crowding around, the big man stood out not only from his defining tattoo on his brow but also for his obvious commanding presence. Some said that he was the only reason Starfleet hadn't totally annihilated the Maquis yet. Tom didn't believe that, he saw Chakotay as just another rebel who thought he had a better idea of how Starfleet should be run.
'Better to stay out of the conflict altogether,' Tom thought ruefully to himself, 'Especially if Starfleet has a bounty on your head.' He seated himself at the bar and pulled Kathryn to stand between his legs. She stiffened for a moment and then relaxed against him. Leaning over her small form, he pressed a small kiss just in front of her ear before whispering, "Ten credits say Chakotay notices us in the next few minutes. He's been constantly scanning the bar for you."
She chuckled, the sound somehow sounding more sultry than usual. "Save your money," she whispered back, "He is going to notice in three…two…one."
Sure enough the sound of a chair clattering back and heavy footsteps coming closer as the chatter of the bar died off marked the big Indian's approach.
The pair kept their heads together, feigning obliviousness in everything except each other. "He's going to hit me," Tom whispered, ghosting a kiss across her lips. She nodded. "The things I do for you woman," he said with a resigned sigh, lifting his face up as Chakotay's fist came crashing down. He used the momentum of the punch to carry him off the bar stool and away from Kathryn. Falling to the floor he braced himself on his arms, ready to spring up and fight back at her signal.
He didn't need it. Kathryn was more then capable of taking care of herself. Tom picked himself off the ground and leaned against the bar watching the small woman stop the big freedom fighter with a hand to his chest.
Glaring up at him she said in a dangerous tone, "You know I don't tolerate violence in my bar Chakotay. What do you think you're doing?"
"I don't like other people touching what is mine."
Kathryn's countenance darkened from mild annoyance to anger. "I belong to no one," she said as she decked him, sending him stumbling back into his crowd of cronies. They rallied around their leader, steadying him as he held his already swelling jaw.
Tom stepped up next to Kathryn, causally twirling a phaser in his hand and saw Tuvok flank her other side, the quiet Vulcan needing no weapons to look intimidating.
"I think its time you and your boys leave," Janeway said, calmly shaking out her right hand.
Chakotay took a menacing step forward and Tom quickly trained his phaser on him while the Maquis group raised their fists.
Starfleet chose that moment to burst through the door.
Tom swung around and fired, sending the first officer to the ground stunned. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kathryn had pulled out a phaser as well and was aptly defending herself.
It was every man for him self now. None of the bar patrons wished to be caught by Starfleet authorities. Tom ducked a phaser blast that was no doubt not set to stun and rolled behind a fallen table, using it as protection while he caught his breath. A presence next to him startled him and he only just stopped himself from shooting Tuvok in the face.
"You must find the Captain and get out of here," the dark Vulcan told him seriously while dispatching an officer trying to sneak up on him from behind.
"Thanks buddy. Where did she go?" He had lost the petite redhead in the brawl minutes before.
"I believe Chakotay is still giving her trouble. They went that way." Tuvok said nodding towards the back of the bar. "We will be fine. You must take the Captain and get out of here. If Starfleet were to get their hands on her…" Tuvok didn't need to finish, Tom knew the implications.
"I'll take care of her."
"Yes. I know."
With a nod goodbye, Paris took off running knowing Tuvok would cover his retreat. He skidded down the hall leading towards Kathryn's office and the hidden shuttle bay, the sound of voices up ahead driving him on faster. The voices soon became the distinct sounds of Kathryn and Chakotay locked in an argument. He slowed his stepped and peered cautiously around the edge of the open shuttle bay doors. What he saw made his blood boil.
Kathryn was on her knees in front of the Maquis leader head held back at a straining angle from his tight fist in her long hair.
"Give me the access codes!" he shouted at her. Tom took pleasure in knowing he was having trouble talking with that swollen jaw
The mulish angry look on her face made her answer to his question clear.
Tom wanted to rush in there and choke the bastard but he held himself in check knowing other Maquis members were in there no doubt trying to break the lock on Tom's – formerly Harry's- new ship sitting in the center of the small docking area. He quickly slinked into the shadows that played on the rough cave walls and worked his way around the room trying to catch Kathryn's eye without drawing attention to himself.
When she did catch sight of him, the only way he knew was the widening of her already big eyes and a slight head tilt towards the gleaming ship.
He nodded affirmative and held up three fingers before bringing them down one by one. As the third one came down, Kathryn surged up head butting Chakotay in the stomach and bringing him to the ground, pushing the air out of him in a rush. She jumped to her feet and ran to the ship, typing in the codes while Paris finished picking off the last of the Maquis scattered about the room while running to her side. The ship's door slid open.
"Kathryn!" Both outlaws turned back to look. Chakotay staggered towards them, his arm outstretched. Tom raised his phaser and fired then pushed Kathryn through the open door as she stood staring open mouthed at the fallen man.
He quickly keyed the door closed and dragged the shocked woman up to the bridge and shoved her in the co-pilot's chair.
"Snap out of it Kate. Starfleet is going to be on our ass any minute and no doubt they have a ship up there waiting for us." Tom stopped for a moment in the middle of gearing the ship up to go and looked her straight in the eye. "I can't do this without you. I would rather rot in Starfleet prison than face the universe without you at my side."
She gave him a small smile, "Yes. It will be just like old times."
"That's the spirit!" Tom laughed out loud, more in relief then anything, before returning to the controls. "Now let's blow this popsicle stand."
Kathryn turned her attention towards her consol, muttering under her breath about his strange 20th century sayings.
They broke through the acidic atmosphere of Delta Four to practically run head first into a Starfleet convoy.
"I didn't expect the full armada to come greet us," Paris quipped as he maneuvered away from a tractor beam racing towards them.
"What did you expect? We are the galaxy's most wanted after all," Kathryn said with a grin as she sent a proton torpedo in the direction of a trailing Starfleet ship.
"I suppose I should feel honored then. It only took them eleven years to find us."
"Yeah but they've hated us for the past seven years even when they didn't know who we were."
"True. I guess since we were criminals of the Federation before we were criminals of the Federation it means they need to bring out the big guns."
Kathryn chuckled at this when suddenly a missile exploded into the side of their ship and silenced the easy banter. "Get us out of here Tom."
X-X-X-X-X
It was three hours of frantic struggling to break through the barrier of Starfleet ships and get away, picking off the pursuing ones one by one. They were down to one ship following them now and Kathryn had an itchy feeling it was none other then Jean-Luc Picard who was captaining it.
"They're right on our tail! For all that bragging about being the best pilot in this quadrant you sure aren't showing it now."
Tom growled at her and he concentrated on keeping the small craft steady. "I'm going into that nebula, see if we can't shake them in there when their sensors start going screwy."
"Well hurry up," she barked back, "Another shot and we'll be sitting ducks."
Tom threw the ship into a loop, pulling back hard on the joystick before rolling it to the left as the first tendrils of the nebula surrounded them.
"See if you can launch a probe emitting the same ion particles our engine does. We'll power down and float through this nebula for a bit. Hopefully they'll follow the probeand give us a head start."
Her fingers flew over the consol setting and launching the probe.
They drifted awhile, leaving only life support and sensors on before cautiously edging out of the nebula hours later and setting a course at high warp far away from there. After setting the small ship on autopilot for the time being, Tom moved into the back compartment and found Kathryn curled up in a chair just staring at her steaming mug of coffee.
"You okay?"
She shrugged, gripping her coffee mug just a little bit tighter, "Yeah, I'm fine."
"I only stunned him you know."
"It doesn't matter."
"Yes it does. He was your friend once."
She snorted, "Once. Before Starfleet made us who we are."
Tom couldn't help but agree.