Series: VOY
Codes: C/Tvk
Rating: NC17
Categories: Humour, First Time.

Disclaimer: These characters are the property of Paramount-Viacom. I just borrowed them and am not writing for profit.

Summary: The crew of Voyager find it impossible to mind their own business.

Warnings: This is NC17 rated so graphic descriptions of m/m sex.

Author's Note: This story was originally completed in May 2001 and I was really excited when it won 1st place for Voyager Misc M/M slash in the Star Trek GO Awards!


Command Logic - Chapter 7


By the mid shift meal, the Captain had recovered enough to return to the bridge, shooting an apologetic look at Tuvok as she passed his station. The Vulcan's expression was placid as he returned her glance, revealing nothing of what thoughts might be running through his mind.

Captain Janeway felt heartily ashamed of herself. It was not often, in fact she could not really remember the last time, that Tuvok asked for assistance in a private matter, and she had failed him utterly. She still did not know what had possessed her to crumble into such undignified hysteria; it could only be the strangeness of the situation that she had found herself in. But, dammit, I'm a Starfleet Captain, she thought irritably. I'm supposed to be able to deal with strange situations.

She sighed as she sneaked a glance beside her to her First Officer. Chakotay was staring impassively at the viewscreen and she was alarmed to feel the faint swellings of amusement when she remembered the challenge he had apparently delivered to Tuvok. Then she glanced at him again, noticed the faint lines of tension around his eyes, and immediately felt ashamed again. Chakotay was in a difficult position on her ship. He was the bridge between herself and the crew, as well as the original Starfleet crew and the new Maquis members. He had handled all this with great insight and tact, while also performing the First Officer's functional duties. But with all that, she knew he was lonely.

We're all lonely, she reflected bitterly. But if he can be happy with Tuvok… She shook her head slightly as she realised the maudlin direction her thoughts were taking. Well, she would do what she could to help, but first things first, she obviously needed to make Tuvok an apology, and as soon as possible.

As alpha shift left the bridge to go to the mess hall, she remembered that Tuvok was performing a manual check of security systems throughout the ship after the mid shift meal. Time for some hands on work, the Captain decided, and the perfect opportunity to talk to Tuvok.


"What's our first stop, Tuvok?"

Tuvok halted his progress down the corridor and turned to face his Captain. "Our first stop, Captain?"

Captain Janeway beamed at him. "Yes, I thought I'd join you for the security check."

Oh dear, Tuvok thought, recognising the determined set of the Captain's chin. He was not sure if he could cope with what he knew was coming. Chakotay had determinedly ignored him all through the meal, and he was still regretting his earlier decision to confide in the Captain. He gazed at her for a moment and then raised one eyebrow slightly. "Of course, Captain. I've decided to perform the jeffries tube checks, covering the five decks around engineering."

Captain Janeway's smile took on a slightly forced quality. "Jeffries tube checks. Right. Well, lead on then."

As Tuvok turned to continue along the corridor to engineering, Captain Janeway eyed him suspiciously. Her suspicion grew when she found herself having to walk faster than normal in order to keep up with Tuvok's long strides.


By the time they had covered three decks of jeffries tubes, Captain Janeway had still not found the opportunity to talk to Tuvok. He had led her through the tubes at an exhausting pace, and had decided on each deck that they could perform the checks more quickly by separating and doing half each. The Captain's temper was deteriorating rapidly.

When they reached the third junction on the fourth deck they were checking, she determinedly called a halt.

"Captain, if you wish to stop, I can finish the checks alone. I was not expecting assistance anyway."

"Lieutenant Tuvok, this is not a test in efficiency or fitness. We will stop here for a rest, and then we will continue. That's an order."

Tuvok's eyebrow rose, and God she hated it when he did that. "Very well, Captain." And she hated it when he did that calm, patronising thing too.

Recognising that she was not in the best mood to make an apology, the Captain took a deep breath and willed herself to calm down.

"Tuvok, I owe you an apology." There, she'd said it.

"Captain, it is not necessary, I assure you."

"I think it is."

"Very well, I accept your apology, Captain. Thank you."

"I haven't actually made it yet, and I have a feeling that you'd rather avoid it. Or am I mistaken?" She could raise one eyebrow too.

There was a brief moment of silence.

"I did not mean to give you that impression, Captain." Captain Janeway could have sworn he sounded peeved, and she gave a slight smile of victory.

"Now, I'm very sorry about my appalling behaviour earlier. It was extremely tactless and inconsiderate of me. I can't really explain why it happened, but it was unforgivable."

"Please do not concern yourself, Captain. I have not taken offence, I assure you. If that is all, then perhaps…"

"Tuvok," the Captain interrupted sternly. "I think we should continue the discussion we were having earlier."

Tuvok's face became even more impassive than usual, if that were possible. "May I be frank, Captain?"

"Of course, Tuvok," the Captain smiled. "This is a discussion between friends."

Tuvok's eyebrow rose yet again, but he refrained from mentioning that friends did not customarily order their friends to listen to apologies, or participate in conversations that they were obviously reluctant to have. "Very well. I feel that I should have kept the matter private, Captain."

"No Tuvok," the Captain quickly interrupted. "You should go to your friends for help when you feel you need it. It's my fault for…" she grimaced. "Well, I assure you I'm ashamed of myself for my reaction. It was just so unexpected. I hadn't realized that you and Commander Chakotay were interested in each other."

"I am not certain that Commander Chakotay retains that interest."

"I think you'll find he does, Tuvok. From what you told me before, I have a feeling that his reaction is so extreme because he feels quite strongly about the relationship."

Tuvok gazed at her thoughtfully. "I believe you may be right, Captain. However, if that is so, then I have offended him deeply."

"Give him time to calm down," the Captain advised.

"I did that last night, and this morning he would not accept my apology. At the moment he is ignoring me completely, unless he has to talk to me about ship's business."

The Captain thought for a moment. Now that she had finally got him talking, she was surprised at how open Tuvok was being. For an unemotional Vulcan, he seemed to feel very strongly about the situation. She shook her head at the contradiction and then gazed at Tuvok.

"Why do you want this relationship, Tuvok? I mean you are bonded with T'Pel after all."

Tuvok was taken aback by this sudden probing into his own motivations. "Captain, I…" he paused for a moment, while the Captain stared at him steadily. "My bond with T'Pel is almost broken. With the loss of contact we have not been able to sustain it." He forced the sentences out, uncomfortable with revealing such personal information.

"And Chakotay?" The Captain insisted. "Why Chakotay?"

Tuvok frowned at her. "I am attracted to the Commander. He is attracted to me. Why not?"

Captain Janeway was shocked at this almost angry speech, but she did not let it show. "Do you consider him your mate?"

"Yes," Tuvok answered simply, and his face cleared to its usual serene countenance.

"Well," the Captain took a deep breath, surprised at this easy confession. "Then I'm afraid the only advice I can give you, is to persist. I'm sure he'll come round eventually, he just needs time. Don't give up."

"I believe I shall not do so, Captain. Perhaps we should now continue with the security checks?"

Captain Janeway nodded her agreement, and as they continued along the jeffries tube she reflected that Tuvok seemed to have regained his usual self-possession.

She could not say the same for herself.


Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres gazed at the jeffries tube wall opposite her in complete astonishment. A litany of babble, mainly consisting of the words, 'Chakotay', 'Tuvok' and 'mate', ran chaotically through her mind. Suddenly she took a deep, gasping breath and banged her head back on the wall behind her. The babble ceased.

"By Kahless' balls," she said out loud, for effect. "I don't believe it."

When she had first heard the Captain's and Tuvok's voices in the junction below her, she had made the decision to be as quiet as possible. She wanted to finish the repair she was working on before the end of shift and she just didn't feel like wasting any time. After a moment, she had heard the word 'apology' and realized that something remarkable was happening. Captain Janeway was admitting she had made an error. Grinning gleefully, B'Elanna abandoned work, and any scruples she might have, and began to eavesdrop shamelessly. What she heard next blew her brains away, and when the Captain and Tuvok finally left, they still hadn't returned.

Frowning to herself, she banged her head against the wall once more for good measure.

"Paris to Torres."

Automatically she hit her combadge. "Torres here."

"What are you doing, B'Elanna? You were supposed to meet us ten minutes ago."

"What?"

"Skiing in the holodeck, remember?"

"Oh yeah, sorry."

"Well, are you coming or not? Harry and I are waiting."

"Uh… sure. I'll be there shortly. Torres out."

Forcing herself to concentrate she finished the repair, and then in a daze collected her gear and made her way back to engineering.


"Lieutenant Torres, are you telling me that you broke your leg by deliberately skiing into a tree?"

The Doctor's voice was incredulous and B'Elanna grimaced in frustration.

"It was not deliberate," she stated firmly, glaring at Harry and Tom who were both trying to smother snorts of amusement. "I was avoiding a squirrel."

Harry and Tom gave up the fight and roared with laughter, clutching at each other in an effort to stay upright.

"A squirrel," repeated the Doctor in his best flat voice.

"Yes," said B'Elanna angrily. "And I don't know who in their right mind programs squirrels into skiing holos. It's obviously very dangerous."

B'Elanna directed a glare at Harry that should have made him burst into flames. He returned the stare for a moment, hiccuped, and then fell back onto Tom in another fit of laughter.

"I don't understand," said the Doctor. "Why didn't you just ski over it?"

"What?" gasped B'Elanna. "That would have killed it!"

The Doctor's raised eyebrow was almost as impressive as Tuvok's.

"Lieutenant Torres, you are the chief engineer on this ship. I would have thought that I would not need to point out to you that a holographic squirrel is not actually alive, and therefore cannot be killed."

B'Elanna flushed a deep fiery red and for a moment struggled to find her voice.

"It's an instinct thing," she finally blurted out.

"Obviously not an instinct from your Klingon side," replied the Doctor, snidely.

A fresh outburst of laughter from Tom and Harry echoed through the sickbay and B'Elanna clenched her hands tightly to her sides.

"Doctor, I think it would be safer if you didn't refer to my Klingon side at the moment."

"Ah, I remind you that I'm a hologram," replied the Doctor. "You do seem to have difficulty understanding the nature of that."

"Oh really?" asked B'Elanna sweetly. "Perhaps I should remind you that I have access to your program. Now if you're quite finished?"

B'Elanna sailed out of the sickbay, head held high, ignoring the fresh outburst of laughter that followed her into the hallway.


By the time she got back to her quarters the edge had gone from her fury and she was merely seething. The whole thing was Chakotay and Tuvok's fault. If her mind hadn't still been whirling around the idea of them together she would have noticed that squirrel before she had no choice but to slam into a tree.

That whole scene in the sickbay had been embarrassing and infuriating. She'd have to find a way to get back at them as soon as possible, and the Doctor would definitely have to be first. Klingon warrior instinct indeed! She'd show him just what instinct could do.

An evil smirk crossed B'Elanna's face as she collapsed onto her bed. Perhaps the Doctor would have more understanding of instinct, if every time he touched a regenerator he was overcome with the urge to talk about squirrels.

The smirk faded as she stared at the ceiling. She was still slightly dazed. Chakotay and Tuvok. Tuvok considered Chakotay as his mate. B'Elanna understood the implications of that term, perhaps better than anyone not a Vulcan, on the ship. If there was one way in which Vulcans and Klingons could be similar, it was in their understanding of taking a mate. It was a serious matter.

It was easier to imagine Chakotay and Tuvok as mates now that the shock had worn off. In a way, she had to admit that Chakotay could do worse. Tuvok annoyed the hell out of her, but she respected him, and Chakotay deserved a mate worthy of respect. She would expect nothing less for one she considered family.

Yes, she decided. I definitely approve. Then, she frowned as she remembered the conversation she had overheard. It seemed that the relationship was not going very well. Tuvok had obviously screwed it up, and Chakotay's problem had always been that he was a stubborn bastard. Sometimes you had to force him to give in, for his own sake. She wondered if Tuvok had what it would take.

She found herself hoping for Chakotay's sake that he would. Chakotay was lonely, hell they were all lonely, but she loved Chakotay. She knew him well enough to know that, given the chance, he could have something good with Tuvok. Tuvok wouldn't place the emotional demands on Chakotay that she knew Seska had. The problem was that he was just such a stubborn bastard that he could throw the opportunity away.

It was obviously her duty to stop him from doing that. She was the closest person to family that he had on the ship, and it was a matter of honour to assist with a mating.

B'Elanna chewed on her bottom lip as she reviewed all the ideas she could think of to achieve the goal she had decided on. None of them would work, the situation had to be handled delicately. Then mischief sparkled in her eyes as she realized that Tuvok himself had given her the clue.