Title: Lost Planet I
Author: DancingStar
Pairing: Janeway/ Chakotay
Raing: 12
Category: AU, Romance
What happens: Mysterious things happen on Carea.
Notes: Take one of the best series in the world, a pinch of Star Wars (for this reason the Royal Palace of Carea looks just like Amidala's Palace), mix both well and cook it for several weeks. In the end, you refine the story and present it to other fans for reading.

Lost Planet I

The Voyager glided through space, heading for a planet in the outer space of the Juhanah system. Chakotay left the ready room. "Tom, did Neelix already report?", he asked and sat down in the command chair.
"Yes, he is ready for picking up and can´t wait to get home again," he confirmed. And to be honest, he also couldn´t wait to get back to Carea, too. His wife B'Elanna and his child were waiting there.
"I hope his trade mission has been successful." Chakotay thought Kathryn had sent Neelix to Juhanah because the inhabitants were apparently distant relatives of the Talaxians.
"Captain, we're in the orbit of Juhanah II, now", Harry Kim told and immediately a bright blue planet appeared on the screen. It reminded Chakotay a little of Carea, who was also a blue and green ball in space.
"Excellent, ensign. Take Mister Neelix on board."
"Aye, sir." Harry's fingers scurried over the console. "Transporter Room One reports, Mister Neelix is now on board." An alarming sound then attracted his attention.
"What's going on?", Chakotay asked, standing in front of Harry's station.
"This is a message from the Royal Palace of Carea..."
"Video or audio?"
"Neither," Harry stopped and became pale, "They report, the queen is dead..."
"What?", Tom, who was standing next to the control station, sounded shocked. The bridge crew had interrupted their work and many pairs of eyes were directed at Harry. "...They write, we should return to Carea immediately."
"Set a course, Ensign," Tom said and Samantha Wildman nodded. Tom saw in the corner of his eye how Chakotay returned to his commanding chair. He could still see the horror and shock in the face of his friend trying to keep his emotions under control.

Chakotay hated that the return journey to Carea lasted almost fifteen hours at top speed. He and a lot of the crew had only been away for two days to pick up Neelix and he wondered what happened on Carea. He had talked to his wife last night and had sworn to her he wouldn´t be long. He couldn´t believe she was dead. It felt so unreal. He felt sick every time he thought of it and a strange feeling lay around his heart.
There was not much to read from the news they had received. When the Voyager reached the hangar next to the Royal Palace on Carea, only a few technicians were in bright excitement. "Strange," Tom remarked, recognizing the men in blue uniforms, "At the terrible news, I expected B'Elanna to be waiting for us."
"I expected them to fly the flags of the palace at half-mast," Samantha Wildman confirmed.
Chakotay had no patience to wait until the ship had landed and he left the bridge already. As soon as the Voyager was docked and the entrance hatches opened, he left the space ship.
Outside, he hurriedly ran through the hangar. "General...!", Cierra led a group of court ladies. The young women stood aside. A red-haired woman in a long red dress appeared, she put down the dark haired girl she had carried on her arm and hurriedly ran towards him. They hugged each other. "Kathryn," he held her tightly and kissed her temple, "I thought you were dead. We received a message hours ago..."
"I know," she muttered, still holding her arms tightly around his neck.
"The idea that I could never see you again made me almost mad." He was very relieved. Then he recalled her words and brought a little distance between her and himself, but he didn´t let her go. "You know about it?"
"A Carean freighter told us about the horrible news fourteen hours ago. The captain of the freighter was as excitedly as you did. He was crying horribly and when the technicians were able to soothe him, he showed them the news. The Intelligence Service then found the message and stopped it. Nevertheless, it had already been published on some news channels. "
"And are you OK?"
"Yes, of course I am fine." And she guessed what his next question would be, "We don´t know who has spread this news. B'Elanna is already talking to the Intelligence Service. She tries to find the author of the message... I'm relieved you're back with me."
"Me too." They hugged each other. Then he took Aeria on his arm
Hand in hand they went back to the palace. "I'm glad you're fine," Chakotay said, "but I'd be even better to find the author of this news."

At night, a dark shadow fell over the bed of Kathryn and Chakotay. Both of them were sleeping peacefully as a small figure came to his side and woke him up.
"Daddy," Aeria whispered, "Wake up. We have to pick up Janey."
Chakotay squinted tiredly at the digital clock display next to his bed. It was exactly 4:23 a.m., and his daughter was standing next to his bed. "Aeria, do you know what time it is?", he asked, but he didn´t really expected an answer. Instead, he tried to figure out in how many hours they would pick up Janey.
"Go back to bed...", he finally muttered, turned to Kathryn, wrapped his arms around her and Aeria decided to ask her mother. She ran quickly to the other side of the bed.
"Mommy," she began, shaking her mother's shoulder until she opened her eyes, "Cierra and I want to pick up Janey. Daddy doesn´t want to come."
Kathryn raised her head without orientation. Her eyes burned as she realized it was still dark outside. "It's still almost night...", Kathryn's eyes now fell on the time display next to her bed. She rolled her eyes a little when she saw the clock. It took almost four hours to pick up Janey.
Aria was disappointed. "Can I sleep here?", she asked then and Kathryn nodded. She tried to turn around, but she pushed a warm, sleeping obstacle in the shape of her husband. She clung to him.
Aeria rejoiced and climbed onto the bed and over her parents. On the other side of the bed she crawled under the blanket and finally fell asleep.

Hours later a sunbeam shone directly into Chakotay's face. He turned on his back and when he opened his eyes for a second, he noticed that Kathryn was still sleeping in his arms. He smiled. But there was something else. There was a little dark-haired girl on the right side of him, sleeping on his empty side of the bed, curling up under the covers.
When Chakotay had become accustomed to the light, he tried to wake up Kathryn. "Let's get up," he murmured softly.
"No, not now," Kathryn yawned and put one of her hands on her eyes to protect herself against the bright light.
"We have to. We promised Aeria we would pick up Janey today. She can´t wait to see her again." Apparently Aeria had missed the court lady of her mother and friend of the family. And Chakotay guessed she missed her so much that she had forced Cierra to help her at four o'clock in the morning dressing her in a bright blue tulle dress.
"Yes I know…. I can remember she was standing in front of our bed last night. "
"Have you allowed her to sleep here in out bed?"
"Yes," Kathryn didn´t try to get up. They had won the fight against the Borg only three weeks ago and allowed themselves a time-out. Janey had traveled home to her family on the other side of the main continent, while Kathryn, Chakotay, their family and the crew of the Voyager stayed in Berra. They just participated in the wedding of the senator of Sembra Prime. After they had saved a few million planets from the Borg, they deserved this trip, Chakotay thought. Kathryn remembered the pink tulle dress Cierra chose for her. Aeria thought, her mother looked like a ballet dancer in her dress and Chakotay whispered to her not to listen to her daughter. Before she started arranging her long, red hair in a hairdo be pulled her closer. "Don´t", he said, "I like your hair like this." She was a bit perplexed when he decided to use this situation to kiss her.

Kathryn noticed how Chakotay climbed out of bed over her, and when he knelt over her, he kissed her forehead. Then he left the bedroom. In the living room next door, he was talking to a person, but Kathryn couldn´t tell what they were talking about. Then Chakotay returned to her.
"You have another hour, my queen," he said to her. "If we want to pick up Janey, we have to be at the train station at 8 a.m."

"Did you know Janey's mother is a healer?", Kathryn wanted to know from Chakotay while they were on the way to the platform of the station. They went with Aeria to the shuttle station of Berra. A digital ad advised them that the Shuttle from the Lakeland had just landed. The small vessel had arrived on schedule and some of the passengers were already leaving.
"I didn´t know," Chakotay admitted. Aeria was excited and Kathryn reached out for her daughter.
"From her came the clue to take you to the healing springs of Carea when you were shot at the time by a phaser of the Preem. You owe her life, so to speak."
"Thank god. It´s a good life", he said and saw her smiling. The last passengers left the small transporter and finally the pilot switched off the energy core. But Janey was nowhere to be seen. "Mommy, where is Janey?", Aeria asked, her arms reaching for her mother because she wanted to be lifted.
"I don´t know...", Kathryn admitted.
"Wait for me," Chakotay said to them, "I'll ask the pilot."
They watched as he ran quickly over the platform to talk to the pilot. Kathryn could see how the flight attendant even checked the passenger list and finally shook her head. Chakotay thanked them, crossed the platform again and returned to his wife. "Janey was not on board...", he told her.
Kathryn was worried, because this didn´t look like Janey at all.
"She maybe just missed her ride," Chakotay tried to calm her.
"When does the next shuttle arrive?"
"In twenty minutes. Would you like to wait?"

But Janey didn´t arrive with the next transport shuttle. Finally, Kathryn and Chakotay decided to return to the palace with Aeria, because they had left Riehsa with Cierra.
They waited for Janey until late at night, trying not to let Aeria know their worries.
When the sun went down, Chakotay decided he was going to ask Harry to talk to the secret service. Harry's fiance worked there. She was a local woman. One month ago Harry was promoted as a Lieutenant.
"It's late," Chakotay said to Aeria, when it was already dark outside, "You have to go to bed, Princess."
"Do you tell me a story?", Aeria asked as her father when he lifted her on his arm and carried her to her room, "I want to hear the story of the Starfleet captain who falls in love with a queen."
"Alright," he replied, placing the girl in her bed and covered her with a blanket. Then he sat next to her and began to tell her about a beautiful queen who lived in a distant galaxy a long time ago. Aeria listened intently and she didn´t notice her mother stood on the doorstep to her room and also listened.
"Majesty," a soft voice behind Kathryn exclaimed, "I've put Princess Riehsa to bed." It was Cierra.
"Thank you. You can go home if you want. "
Cierra tilted her head and then went to the door. When she went, Tom and B'Elanna entered. Kathryn came to meet them.
"Is there any news yet?", Tom asked, "Did Harry already report?"
"No," Kathryn shook her head. "The intelligence service is still busy trying to find the sender of the news that proclaimed my death."
"We should look for Janey," Tom suggested.
"But we don´t know where to begin. She could be anywhere." Kathryn decided to search the palace as soon as possible.
Tom and B'Elanna sat with their baby on the opposite sofa. Miral wept. Every time B'Elanna was with her, the baby seemed to be very wary, and B'Elanna complained she didn´t even rest at night.
Kathryn got up. "B'Elanna, come with me. I have an idea, "she said. They went with the baby to Riehsa's room. "What are you up to?", B´Elanna asked, when the room lit slightly. "Put Miral next to Riehsa for a while," Kathryn suggested.
"Are you sure? I don´t want Miral to wake your daughter. "
"Riehsa is a relaxed baby. She'll be able to handle it."
"Envious," commented B'Elanna and finally put her baby next to Riehsa and covered them both. It took a while, but Miral seemed to calm down. B'Elanna breathed out relieved. "Thank you," she said, "Sometimes I think, I´m a horrible mother."

"Oh, believe me. I also have this moments where my children drive me crazy."

"Hard to believe… How did you know Miral would calm down?"
"Intuition," Kathryn answered. And she had an intuition about Janey's puzzling disappearance.
"B'Elanna, can you and Tom stay here for a while and take care of the kids? Chakotay and I won´t be long."

Chakotay responded with surprise when Kathryn asked him to accompany her through the palace at this late hour. He wasn't able to figure out what was wrong when she stopped outside Janey's room. Kathryn shook at the door. "Locked," she said disappointedly, but then she had an idea.
"What are you up to?", Chakotay asked as Kathryn pulled a hairpin out of her hair. The elegant hairstyle instantly collapsed and her hair fell over her shoulders like a waterfall.
"Can you open the door for me?" It didn´t sound like a question, but rather like a command.
"As you wish, my queen," and he added: "In fact, nothing has changed." She gave him orders when she was the captain and now she was queen and nothing changed.

Chakotay took the hairpin, put it in the lock of the door and pushed the needle to the right. It took a while, but finally the lock opened. "We're lucky this part of the castle wasn´t destroyed during the attack of the Preem," Chakotay said to Kathryn while he opened the door for her. There was no reason to change the lock on this door. She was well aware it wasn´t that easy to break in the royal family's home.
Janey's room lit up when they entered and Kathryn looked around. "Can you see something unusual?", she asked.
"This, for example?," Chakotay noticed a suitcase and put it on the empty bed.
"Janey's luggage is still here."
"And it's pretty easy..."
"Janey told me she always travels with an almost empty piece of luggage. She can go shopping with her family, "Kathryn replied. "Is the suitcase locked?"
"Yes, but we have the same."
The lock on the case was a starfleet standard lock, which required the input of four digits. At first he tried Janey's birthday. The input was wrong, so the four numbers on the lock glowed red. "Try my birthday," Kathryn suggested and when her husband had entered the numbers, they lit up again.
They looked at each other. "Aeria's birthday", they decided at the same time and when Chakotay entered the digits, which was for January the fifth, the lock shone green. The suitcase was open and they opened the shell. In fact, there were hardly any clothes but some food for Janey's family in it.
"It's quite strange that Janey's suitcase is still here..."
"Yes, it's almost as if she had never been away," Kathryn remarked, "I have a very bad feeling..."

The next day, Kathryn decided to visit Janey's mother on the other side of the main continent. "Your Majesty, you should leave the Royal Highnesses in the palace," Cierra sounded gravely.
"Don´t worry, I wasn´t going to take the princesses with me."
"Who will accompany you?"
"I," Chakotay interrupted, "I've said this to Janey and I tell you, too: I swear I'll protect the Queen with my life."
"All right, General." Cierra gave in.
Kathryn and Chakotay set out early in the morning and they borrowed one of the Voyager shuttles. It was strange to see only one Voyager in the hangar: Although the crew of the second Voyager had only been on Carea for two weeks, they had become accustomed to the sight of two spaceships. Kathryn remembered how she had sent one of her court ladies out of curiosity to her vacation home on the moon Caro, where she had been quartering Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay "accidentally" at the same time, but Millah did not want to talk.
Kathryn and Chakotay left the hangar with the shuttle on time and reached the house where Janey's family lived, after a half-hour flight.
After the shuttle had landed, Kathryn saw a young woman running into the house. She knew it was Janey's younger sister.
"The people here don´t get a visit from their queen very often," Chakotay suspected, while Kathryn sank into the copilot's seat.
"Looks like that," she agreed, "You know, I always wonder if I could have said or done something what annoyed Janey and so she left."

"I don´t think it's your fault," Chakotay told her, "Janey wouldn´t have gone away without saying goodbye."

He also reminded her of the suitcase, which was still in her quarters in the palace.
They left the shuttle and walked over the cobblestone surface in front of the house. The people in this area lived modestly and almost without technology. Janey was quite different from the residents of this house. Her curiosity was also a reason why she had entered the service of the Queen.
As Kathryn and Chakotay approached the little house, an old woman stepped out.
"This is Janey's mother," she said, and finally turned to the woman, "My name is..."
"I know who you are, Your Majesty," Janey's mother replied, "And I know who you are, General." She took a step to the side. "Please come in. But my house is plain. It is quite different from what you are accustomed to from the palace. "
"I think that's all right."
They sat down in a room which had to be the living room and Janey's mother offered them a tea. Because there was no electricity in the house, they would have to wait a while before the tea was ready.
"I´m very relieved you are doing well, Your Majesty," Janey's mother said. The shocking news of the Queen's death had also been spread among the Carean population and Kathryn still wondered who was capable of such a horrifying act. Apparently, many people had burst into tears, confirming that she obviously had to be a good queen.
"What brings you to me, Your Majesty?", Janey's mother asked.
"Your daughter. We thought Janey was with you, and when she didn´t come back from her trip yesterday, we searched the quarters of the palace, "Kathryn told her," Maya, your daughter's suitcase was still there. It looked like as if she had never set out for this journey. "
"Do you have an idea where Janey could be?", Chakotay asked.
"No." Maya shook her head, "We didn´t even know Janey wanted to come."
This statement alerted Kathryn. "Do you think she didn´t want to visit her family?", she asked her husband.
"But where else would she be?", Maya asked. "We have no relatives." She sighed. "I've always told Janey to stay here and stop searching for adventures. At that time I couldn´t prevent her from leaving. Sometimes I regret that when she tells me of your excursions. "
"But…"
"No," Janey's mother got up and wiped tears from her face, "Majesty, it's better you leave now."

"Kathryn, wait!", Chakotay shouted after her when she hurriedly ran into a group of people at home in the garden of the palace. The group consisted of Tom, B'Elanna, Neelix, Cierra and the
Children. Princess Aeria was just playing with Naomi Wildman and they all enjoyed the weather.
On Carea, the weather was warm and sunny throughout the year, but it was overwhelmingly hot in the summer months. This was because Carea was the second planet in an eight-planet system and only the second and third planet, Sacala, were inhabited.
When Kathryn had reached them, she took the baby from Cierra. Kathryn walked away with tears in her eyes and Riehsa in her arms.
"Is everything all right, Your Majesty?", Cierra called after her, but Kathryn didn´t answer.

"Obviously not," Tom said. They turned to Chakotay, who also reached them.
"No, it didn´t work out very well." He told them the details of the visit to Janey's mother. Then, he decided, he had to follow his wife. She had reached the staircase to the terrace and entered her quarters with Riehsa.
"Wait for me!", he called after her and finally caught up with her.
"She's right," Kathryn said furiously, "It's my fault Janey has disappeared."
"She didn´t say that," Chakotay told her.
"Indirectly she did! And it is my fault, "she said, "I lost Janey, "she looked at him and held Riehsa close. "If someone would to lose my daughter...", Kathryn swallowed her tears," I would kill those."

When she said this, Aeria entered the living room in Cierra's escort. The princess looked very good-humored. "Wait a second," Chakotay said to Kathryn, taking her baby off. Riehsa clung to him.
"Cierra?"
"Yes, General?"
"Would you take care of the princesses for a while?"
"Of course," Cierra replied, Chakotay handed over the baby to her.
"Excellent."
Kathryn couldn´t interpret his facial expression exactly before he led her out of her quarters and then walked with her hand in hand through the palace.
"What are you doing?", She asked skeptically.
"We take a walk," he told her, "So you can calm down a little."
They didn´t speak a word until they reached the garden. "Can you remember the simulation of the battle against Krall?", Chakotay wanted to know.
"Of course." Kathryn was still remembering the simulation they were doing on the Holodeck because Chakotay ordered Neelix to choose a challenging combat situation for the crew. Kathryn was four month pregnant with Riehsa, but she wanted to participate in the training. The simulation was similar to a fight of the Enterprise under the command of Captain Kirk and also the Voyager was attacked by a bee-like species, which eventually separated Voyager into all its parts. They failed in the fight and the ship crashed into the planet. The crew left the holodeck with dirty and partly torn uniforms. Besides, they were frustrated.
"Then you can definitely remember that our ship crashed in the simulation..."
"Yes. It was horrible."
"There is something else I remember," he saw her puzzled look, so he decided to release her, "There was a holographic Aeria in the simulation. I remember the panic in your eyes when we realized the ship would crash. And although you knew it was just a holo-program and the crew would survive, you protected the holographic Aeria with your life. You think you have to reproach yourself, but you don´t have to", he knew exactly what she wanted to say next, but he didn´t let her, "And I'm not just saying that. You are my wife, my partner, my best friend and the mother of my children. And... ", he stopped," And the love of my life. The news of your death almost killed me."
She was touched by this confession. "I know," she replied, leaning against him. At that moment, a sound above their heads caught their attention and they looked up.

A small space ship headed for a hangar and pulled a tail of dark smoke behind it. "I know this space ship," Kathryn stated, "it belongs to the Senator of Sembra Prime."

They immediately set out for the hangar next to the Royal Palace and after the small ship had landed, some mechanics gathered at its bow. The men tried to simmer the source of the smoke.
"Looks pretty worn," Tom commented, joining Kathryn and Chakotay on the way to the hangar. The ship's source of energy was apparently at the bow, and it seemed to be hit by a weapon.
"What could have happened?", Kathryn asked. In her and the Sembra planetary system peace prevailed and she couldn´t imagine that someone would attack the senator.
An entrance hatch at the ship opened and a woman in a lilac suit got out. "Your Majesty," she bowed her head before Kathryn, "I am relieved to see you. The news of your death was terrible. Her Royal Highness Princess Aeria of Carea is much too young to become a queen. "
"Yes, I know," Kathryn swallowed heavily when she grabbed the senator's hands, "We are still looking for the author of this news." She looked at the severely damaged space ship of the Senator. "What happened?"
Suddenly the young woman looked very worried. "Sembra Prime dies. And I'll die with it."

"Do you need medical help?", Chakotay asked and the young woman shook her head.
"Thank you, that is very kind."
"Who attacked you, senator?", Kathryn wanted to know. They accompanied her through the hangar.
"I don´t know. No matter who attacked me, it came out of nowhere. I'm sure it's related to the strange events on Sembra Prime. "
They reached a corridor leading to the palace gardens.
"What do you think?", Kathryn hung up at Chakotay.
"Some things have changed on Sembra. The weather, for example. It's completely different... The core of the planet has changed... "
Because Kathryn and Chakotay obviously didn´t know what she was talking about, she suggested an explanation. "The core of the planet is an artefact, which has chosen the ruler of Sembra generations ago, according to a legend. It represents more or less the state of the planet. A few weeks ago, the artifact changed - it's usually a red hot energy source - its color to blue. Since then there are only problems. And if these develop as much as before, then Sembra dies. I will then die with my planet because the artifact and the ruler are connected. After my death, the artifact could then seek a new ruler if... If Sembra were still there." The young senator shook her head. "I should have listened to Janey when she warned me."
When she mentioned this name, Kathryn gave her husband a frightened look. "Janey?"
"Yes. She appeared on the scene a few weeks ago and told me Sembra is in danger."
"What did she look like?"

"She has about my height but ashy blond hair and fair skin. I think she had blue eyes, and when she first met me, she was wearing an orange suit, which reminds me of your court ladies."
"By chance, we're looking for a person who matches your description," Chakotay said. "What do you think about when we accompany you to Sembra?" He could feel Kathryn's gratitude for his suggestion.
"To be honest, I was hoping you'd say that."

They immediately flew to Sembra and landed the Voyager a little outside the capital. Chakotay took Kathryn off in their quarters, before they wanted to set out with the senator to look for the core of the planet.

"This is terrible," Kathryn said, looking out of the window. The sight of the snowy landscape made her shiver. The surface of Sembra Prime was buried under a thick snow cover.
"What?", Chakotay stepped beside her, "I don´t see anything."
"That's exactly the problem," she shook her head.
"You're used to the heat, darling," Chakotay said, "Carea is a very warm planet."
"I didn´t know the situation on Sembra Prime is so serious." Normally, Sembra Prime was also a very warm planet. That it was snowing wasn´t a good sign.
"I´m sure we can save Sembra."
"Really?", she looked at him questioningly, "Why?"
"Aeria. Our adult daughter. She said Riehsa couldn´t come in our time because she was visiting the Senator's daughter on Sembra Prime. That means the planet will still exist in 20 years. "
"But Aeria also said the future is constantly changing."
"Paris to the Captain," Tom suddenly interrupted them via Com, "We're ready to go and wait for you in the transporter room two."
"Thank you, Tom. We'll come immediately."

Almost silently, the shuttle hovered through the empty streets of the capital. The houses were also buried under a thick snow cover. Not a single creature was outside and the city seemed to be extinct. It was spooky.
Chakotay saw the worries in Kathryn's face. "They're all safe for sure," he tried to calm her.
"I wouldn´t bet on it," the senator corrected him, "Two days ago the electricity has failed and it is only a matter of time before the water supply collapses."
At the end of a long, wide street they saw the government building and Samantha Wildman steered the shuttle to it. She landed and everyone got out.
"It's terribly cold," Kathryn noted when they all walked up the long staircase to the building. She had expected a better situation inside, but the carpet in the hall leading to the main hall was covered with snow, too. The roof had collapsed underneath the snow-burrows.
"Follow me, please," the senator led them down the corridor to the room where the artifact was kept.

"Maybe Janey is a ghost", Chakotay suddelny said.

"Ghosts do not exist", Tom answered.

"I wouldn´t be so sure about that."

"What?"

"There was a reason why nobody was allowed to enter the west- Tower of the palace…"

Tom thought about Chakotays words. "The West- Tower? It was destroyed in the attack of the Preem."

"Yes, and before it was destroyed, nobody was allowed to enter. An old story says that the ghost of a woman called Mary was kept there."

"Is this story true?"

"Nobody was allowed to enter the tower."

They reached the massive door which hid the artefact. "When I hold the Core of the Planet in my hands, I have at least the possibility to found a colony that...", she didn´t finish her sentence because the room in which the artifact was to be found, was empty. "Someone must have stolen it..."

They searched the entire government building for the Core of the Planet, but they didn´t find it. At the same time, three other teams searched the city for Janey and they couldn´t report positive results either.
In the evening Kathryn was still froze and when she returned to her quarters on the Voyager and the children slept, she took a hot bath. As she dived slowly into the water, she felt as if she had just thawed. Tiredly, she leaned back and enjoyed the warmth as long as it was possible. A few minutes later she heard a voice in the bedroom next door: "Aeria, do you know where Mommy is?"
It was Chakotay. And Kathryn had actually thought Aeria would sleep but instead she heard Aeria answer. The next moment the door to the bathroom opened hissingly and Chakotay stepped in.

"I almost thought you were here," he said to her as he sat on the edge of the bathtub, "How do you feel?"
"My feet are like ice cubes," Kathryn replied, "And I'm sure they still look like that." She lifted her feet out of the warm water. "After the bath, I´ll lie down in my warm, cuddly bed and sleep for 100 years." She noticed the padd in his hand, "What is that?"
"A vision of the light in a difficult time: Harry gave me a letter from my twin sister half an hour ago." When she learned about his sister, he told her Sekaya was fifteen minutes older than him and there were lots of twins in his family. Kathryn immediately understood he only wanted to annoy her a bit and tell her they could possibly have twins, too.
"What was in the letter?"
"She wrote, she and her mother are doing well. And they are glad I have such a charming family." He told her his sister wrote in her letter that her mother had already framed the attached picture, which he had sent. It was a family photo taken the day after Riehsa's birth, just before they introduced the newborn princess to the public. In addition he should tell his wife how grateful his mother was that he found someone who was meant for him and made him happy.
"My mother calls you the red queen because of your hair...", Chakotay said and Kathryn nodded knowingly, "... and now she tells all her friends that her grandchildren are the princesses of the planet Carea."
Kathryn smiled about this remark. Then she noticed a few other PADDs in his hand. "And what is this?"

"News from Starfleet", he replied. Their doubles from another parallel word had showed them how to get in touch with Earth and of course Chakotay had to inform the Starfleet about their situation. Unfortunately this included he had to answer a few unpleasant questions. "I also have a letter from your mother Gretchen", he added and gave her the PADD, "You should read it."

He almost saw her hesitation.
"Will you come to the shuttle bay to say good-bye to me?", he suddenly asked, "Neelix has reported and he has found someone on Boonta who knows more about the falsity of your death." And he could hardly wait to get this person in his hands.
"I thought we had agreed we would never separate again..."
"I didn´t forget that." He leaned over to kiss her. Then he left the bathroom.
Kathryn left the bathtub, slipped into her bathrobe and then stepped out into the living room. Next door, Aeria sat in her bed and played with a lilac plush horse. Kathryn stroked her daughter's black hair as she passed her. Her gaze fell on the packed travel bag, which was already in front of the bed.
"How long will you stay on Boonta?"
"Up to Boonta it's a one-day trip... I guess I'll be with you again in three days."

"Believe me, I don´t like the fact we were sent back to Carea as much as you," Tom told Kathryn when he accompanied her to the bridge. They just came from the shuttle bay where Kathryn had said goodbye to Chakotay. Tom had received some orders and one of them was to return with the ship to Carea.
"I'm not satisfied with the outcome of this mission: We either haven´t found the artifact nor Janey."
The Trubolift stopped and they got out.
"Commander, the Captain's shuttle is ready to go," Harry Kim said. They watched on the main screen how the shuttle flew off to Boonta.
Tom took a seat on the captain's chair. "Alright. I don´t like it but command is command: Samantha, set a course to Carea."
"Aye Sir."

Three days passed and Kathryn stood at the window and looked out anxiously. Quick steps came closer. "Your Majesty," a female voice said, "You wanted to talk to us."
Kathryn turned and saw Cierra and Millah standing in front of her desk.
"Yes," she replied, "I think we have to expect Janey won´t come back. Wherever she is at the moment..." She saw how Millah and Cierra looked at each other worried. "Cierra, I know that we don´t always agree and you have to know everything better... But I need your help more than ever. Do you both think you can handle this task?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Millah bowed her head. She was worried because the queen was walking around her and the desk.
Cierra nodded, "I'll try to become cool... As Commander Paris and Ensign Kim would say."
They heard the heavy door open at the other end of the room. Tom Paris entered the throne room. "You should look at that," he said to Kathryn, activating a holographic projector in her desk. They saw the figure of a Marian newsreader who reported about a shuttle crash on Boonta. "The General is on Boonta", Kathryn said to Tom and he crossed his arms in front of the chest.
"The media on Mariana and Boonta are showing these images of the crash in a loop," Tom reported, stopping the image when it seemed to show some kind of warp gondola. "Your Majesty, that's our shuttle," he said, "It's the general's shuttle. It has crashed."

Fin