Chapter Five
It was just a slight peck. Her lips only brushed his for a split second before she pulled back and stared down in embarrassment. Still, it left him tingling inside and he couldn't leave it at that. He put a finger to lift her chin to his level then kissed her back. He didn't exactly know what to do but she took over by pressing back against him.
Chakotay was just starting to enjoy the feel of her lips when he was startled with a loud beep.
"Daddy to Goldenbird," came the disembodied warm voice of a man.
The girl pulled back immediately. She stood up from the couch and began searching frantically on the floor.
"Goldenbird… come in," the voice said more urgently.
Chakotay stood as well. When he did, she dived for the combadge that had fallen near where he was sitting. She pressed on it quickly.
"H-here Daddy," she said.
"Where are you?" the man at the other end asked with a note of worry. "I'm at a restaurant and I just met with the O'Connells. I thought you said you were going to be with them. Your friend Mary said you never even joined them this afternoon."
"I'm just in our quarters Daddy," she replied. "I never left. I was just reading."
Chakotay marveled at the way this girl could lie so easily on her whereabouts. But when he thought about how he deceived his own father for months about Captain Sulu, he felt a certain affinity for her.
"Alright, I'll be there in five minutes. How about a late snack together?"
Her face registered complete panic as she stared at Chakotay. Chakotay felt his own heart hammer. He felt as if the clothes he was wearing were suddenly constricting even though they sagged around him.
"Sweetheart?" the man's voice called again.
"I-I'm here Daddy. Okay, I'll see you later," she said rather hurriedly then terminated the line. "You've got to get out of here," she told him frantically. She picked up her father's fallen jacket and thrust it at him. "Here!"
Chakotay shook his head at the jacket. He was already wearing her father's underwear. He wasn't going to put on anything more that belonged to her father when that man was about to walk in on them and find out he was kissing his daughter.
"Put it on now!" she ordered in that commanding tone she used earlier on the Farian. "You'll look suspicious without it when you walk through the corridors."
Chakotay thought the sight of a teenage boy wearing a sagging Admiral's uniform was suspicious enough but he didn't dare argue with her tone. He put it on as ordered. But when it came to buttoning them down his clumsy fingers couldn't find the right holes. Suddenly she slapped his hands away, grabbed both ends of the jacket and began fastening them herself. He realized it would be faster if she let him do it so he stood as still as possible and let her hands do the buttons down his chest. It felt odd being dressed this way by this girl but he couldn't help but feel a tingle of pleasure at the idea.
Finally, she finished by affixing her combadge to the right side of his chest. She paused to look at him and he noticed her eyes seem to linger all over his chest as if she enjoyed seeing him in that uniform. But then she pulled away and went to the door. He followed after. The door barely opened when she pushed him back hard against the wall. Her hand stayed firmly on his chest effectively preventing him from moving another step.
"Oh, good evening Admiral," she said to someone outside.
"Good evening, my dear. I just saw your Daddy coming up."
"Yes, he's taking me out for some ice cream," she replied quickly. "Turning in sir?" she asked.
"Yes, well—"
"Oh goodnight then." She pulled back and pushed the panel on the wall to shut the door quickly.
"Drat!" she whispered to him. "I hope he goes in soon."
They were silent for what seemed like a long time. Chakotay's heart felt like it was set at warp speed. He knew from the girl's trembling hand that still held his chest, that she felt the same.
"Computer," she whispered to the room after what seemed like an eternity. "Is Admiral Finnegan still in the corridor?"
"Affirmative," the computer replied.
Chakotay held his breath. What if that admiral didn't leave before her father returned?
"Emergency hatch," she whispered to him. Before he could react, she was dragging him by the arm to one of the bedrooms. On one side hidden by the large wardrobe was a small panel. She hit a few buttons and a hidden door opened to reveal what appeared to be a tunnel similar to the Jeffries' tubes inside the Mandela. Chakotay realized that the high-ranking officers' quarters were equipped with a way to escape during emergency situations.
"It leads towards the fire escape on the south wing. Avoid the lobby, go down to the basement then take the route through the maintenance offices on the left," she told him.
"Thank you," he told her as he got in. He realized he didn't even know her name and he definitely wanted to see her again. "What's your—"
He never got to finish the question. He heard a swish of the door opening and he knew her father had just come in. She almost shoved him through the tunnel and shut the door. There was nothing more to do but to crawl forward into the dimly lit tunnel. It wasn't long before it ended just as she said into a fire escape. He went down the stairwell until he reached the basement. He took the left that led to the maintenance offices where thankfully the corridors were empty. He wondered if she had used this similar route to get out of her father's quarters.
He found a door that opened out directly to a deserted alley where the exhaust machines for the building were. He knew at once he was home free from there but he spent several minutes lingering at the side of the building. He wished he had more time to spend with her. She was by far the most interesting girl he had ever met. He touched his fingers to his lips and remembered the feel of her kiss. He hoped to find some way of seeing her again.
He remembered it was late and he had not reported back to the Mandela as the captain had told him. He should get back before anyone worried about him.
The ops building was only a short distance away but unfortunately he realized he had to pass by the conference center to get there. Captain Sulu was attending the convention there. Chakotay prayed to whatever gods his father worshipped that she would still be in conference when he passed by.
Unfortunately, when he got there, he found no such luck. A large crowd was outside the center with the delegates on break milling outside. There were reporters scattered all around shouting questions to some of the delegates while tourists and other onlookers were everywhere craning their necks to see what the commotion was about. He spotted Captain Sulu in one corner but she was too busy with reporters to notice him. He quickly ducked out of sight and found himself next to a large rather noisy crowd. They were shouting and holding up signs that said: "No to Relocation!" or "We will not give up our homes!"
"Hey you!" one placard-holding man tapped him on the shoulder. "You're a Starfleet officer, aren't you?"
Chakotay said nothing but the man barged on:
"Why don't you tell those policy makers of ours to listen to us for once? We don't care about those cozy little planets they're offering. We just want to live where we are. Your job is to make sure those Cardassians leave us alone."
Chakotay realized what this was all about. He had heard about the relocation plans for the colony planets near the Cardassian border. His people were among those that Starfleet was trying to convince to relocate as well. He knew his tribe refused to agree to relocating. They had lived for generations on Dorvan V and they weren't about to abandon the planet they found so compatible with their spirituality just because of some rumor about the Cardassians amassing a military force. Personally, Chakotay didn't mind relocating. There were so many planets in Federation space, he was sure there had to be at least one that conformed to his tribe's spiritual compatibility requirement. And it wouldn't hurt if it wasn't so far away from Earth where the base of Starfleet was. But he couldn't really say that to this protesting man and he didn't want to draw attention to himself. So he quickly excused himself instead in what he thought would be the best way possible:
"Don't worry we'll try to work out something," he reassured the man then made a hasty retreat away from the dissident crowd.
He realized that if he wanted to go to ops the shortest route was to pass by as close as possible to door of the conference center—right next to where Captain Sulu was. He realized he would have a lot of explaining to do if she saw him in an Admiral's dress uniform. So instead he skirted away from the crowd of delegates and protesters by taking the longer route pass the main entrance gate of the complex. As he did, he was startled when he felt someone suddenly grab him by the shoulder.
"It's you!" he heard a female voice say to him.
He froze and his heart sank. Someone recognized him and he would have to explain why exactly he was wearing an unauthorized uniform. But when he turned to look he found himself looking at the familiar face of the alien woman he met at the bar. Her eyes look harrowed and there were smudges of dirt on the thin revealing costume she was wearing. People were starring at her oddly no doubt due to her attire.
"Please help me," she begged him. "I've run away and it's only a matter of time before they find me. I have no place to go. I can't go back to that bar or to Bajor. You don't know what it's like back home."
Chakotay didn't know, but he had a clue from her frightened expression. He remembered the Farian mentioned that she wasn't a Federation citizen but a refugee. But Chakotay also knew that the Federation charter had a provision that offers asylum to persecuted individuals, even if they weren't Federation citizens. But he had no clue how to help her get that sanctuary. He stood beside her helplessly for a long time.
"Chakotay?" a familiar voice came from behind and he saw Sommers. "You're late. I was about to come out and look for you. We lost your sig—" he stopped as he saw and recognized the girl. Sommers gave Chakotay a look that showed he was clearly impressed. "Whoa! How much exactly did you win at pool?" He paused again as he took in Chakotay's uniform. "What did you do? Beat an Admiral so badly he gave you his uniform?"
Chakotay felt his cheeks go warm. "It's sort of a long story."
"Well I definitely want to hear it," said Sommers.
Chakotay decided he would have to be honest with Sommers if he wanted his help. "Alright I'll tell you, but first you have to help me help her." He quickly explained the alien woman's situation to his friend.
"Alright, I'll take her to social services," Sommers said. "You go back to the Mandela and wait for me. But when I get back, you owe me a story on how you got that uniform."
Chakotay winced slightly at that but agreed. He knew he could count on Sommers to keep his secret. Although it would be rather embarrassing to tell him how he ended up naked in the exclusive officers' quarters with a strange girl.
"And just to make sure you do get there without arousing suspicion…" Sommers continued. He pressed his combadge. "Sommers to Mandela."
"Mandela here," came the disembodied voice of the operations officer.
"I found our new recruit. Lock on to my transport signal and beam him directly to his quarters."
"Did he get into trouble?" the operations officer asked in a rather condescending voice that made Chakotay wince.
"That's what I'm going to find out," Sommers said as he grinned cheekily at Chakotay. "Make sure he stays in quarters until I get back. I need to take care of something first. Sommers out."
Sommers gave him another grin. "Don't worry, I promise not to tell anyone but you have to tell me everything."
Chakotay nodded before he felt the tingle of the transporter beam.
He reappeared directly into his quarters. He quickly undressed and tossed the uniform into the recycler before anyone found out and questioned him how he acquired them. However, he couldn't bear to recycle the Admiral's insigne. He kept it, in case he met the redheaded girl again. He also kept the combadge to replace the one he lost.
Sommers appeared half an hour later and reported that the Bajoran girl whose name was Jom Anjal filed for asylum and was accepted by Federation social services as a refugee. Chakotay was relieved that she was at least safe and free. He then told Sommers everything about the bar fight and how they got out through transporter. He however left out his embarrassing predicament with the transporter and made it appear that the redhead only lent him her father's uniform so he wouldn't raise suspicion when he walked in the corridors of the officer's quarters.
"So what's her name?" Sommers asked when he finished the tale.
Chakotay shook his head. "I don't know, I forgot to ask."
Sommers shook his head. "Well we still have two days, we can ask around—"
They were interrupted by a general announcement through the comm system by the captain.
"All officers to their stations. Chakotay to the ready room please."
They both went their separate ways. Chakotay made his way to the turbolifts with his heart hammering. Did Captain Sulu see him near the conference center? Was she calling him in now for questioning? The insigne weighed heavily in his pocket. He decided if worst comes to worst, he would tell her the truth and give that insigne back to who it belonged.
By the time the doors of the ready room opened Chakotay was ready with a rehearsed explanation that he was almost startled with Captain Sulu's warm greeting.
"Ah, Chakotay. How was your day? I hope you got to see a lot of the sights."
There was no disapproval in her voice. No indication that she was angry or disappointed. In fact she sounded just as pleased as she was as usual with him. He realized she knew nothing. Even the fact that he reported late to the Mandela did not reach her.
"Oh yes Captain, it was very enjoyable. I had quite an experience," he said evenly though he knew it was the biggest understatement he ever made.
"I'm glad. I'm afraid though that we have to cut your little tour short. We had an urgent development occurring near the Cardassian border and the Mandela needs to be there. We'll stop by earth for a quick briefing and to drop you off at the Academy."
Chakotay's heart sank as he remembered the redheaded girl. "What time do we leave, Captain?"
"Half an hour from now. I'm sorry Chakotay but you will have plenty of time to explore Mars in the future as a cadet. You will be stationed there several times I assure you."
Chakotay nodded. "I understand. Thank you, Captain."
"You're welcome. Dismissed cadet."
There was nothing to do but step out of the room. As he did he felt extremely disappointed that he missed the chance to find out the redheaded girl's name.