CHAPTER TEN
Meant to Be

Chakotay and the Captain followed Ireekal silently through the halls of the prison. He could feel his heart pounding, threatening to explode out of his chest; he could almost hear Kirk's heart doing the same. The glow of the flame didn't cast much light on their surroundings, and they kept going deeper and deeper into the prison. Ireekal had led them down several flights of stairs and now they had arrived at a series of dirt tunnels. The air was getting hotter and damper with each step. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were being followed, and he continuously looked over his shoulder at the empty tunnels behind them. They hadn't any options other than to trust the strange woman, but Chakotay wasn't sure if they were being rescued or led to their deaths.

Finally, they stopped at a wooden door, almost invisible against the dirt walls of the tunnel, save for the thin black outline. Ireekal pressed her hand against the dirt and the door opened. Their eyes rested first upon Spock, standing stoically with his hands behind his back, surrounded by a group of aliens. They were all the same species as Ireekal, with thin stripes on their skins and thick, curly hair growing out the base of their skulls. Captain Kirk's body loosened slightly next to him; Spock didn't seem to be a captive of the group standing around him. There were seven of them – eight, including Ireekal, who moved to stand behind them.

"Spock!" Captain Kirk exclaimed as the door closed behind them. "You're alive!"

"Obviously," Spock said. "Captain, Commander," he greeted them, slightly bowing his head.

"Mr. Spock," Kirk responded, returning the professionalism. The Captain had lost his personable demeanor from the cell and the weight of command was back on his shoulders. He looked wearily at the group before them and Chakotay sensed he was gearing up for a fight.

Spock motioned to the eldest of the eight. "Captain, this is Leerig. He is their leader; he is the leader of the Bilstreecan Resistance. I successfully infiltrated the building undetected as the guards focused their attention on Chakotay, however when I arrived at the generator, Leerig stopped me. Captain, it seems the Kazon took you as bait to lure Captain Janeway back to this planet. Leerig and the Resistance have been protecting us. They made sure our arrival on this planet went undetected. They took care not to harm Lieutenant Paris, and they, not I, manufactured the generator blow-out that freed you from your cell."

Kirk extended his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Leerig," he said graciously. "I'm Captain James Kirk of the Federation Starship Enterprise, and this is Commander Chakotay of the Federation Starship Voyager. Thank you very much for keeping my First Officer safe and for all you have done for us today. We are in your debt." Leerig, no emotion registering on his face, took Kirk's hand in his tenderly.

"We know who you are, Captain James Kirk, Commander Chakotay. Our research has informed us of all necessary knowledge," Leerig responded in the same monotone voice Ireekal spoke with in the prison. "We have been waiting for you, citizens of the Federation, for years. You are our last and only hope."


Kathryn and Dr. McCoy had gone to the mess hall to have a cup of coffee, but Kathryn had invited the doctor to share it with her in her quarters, so they could talk privately.

McCoy had allowed her to speak with total candor for the first time in almost a decade, and now she craved it like a drug. It had been so long. He was a still a Starfleet officer, but with absolutely no ties to her world, and he was a Southern gentlemen casting no judgments.

And, oddly, he seemed to genuinely care about her.

Even more oddly, the more he spoke the more she was convinced that she had met him before.

They sat at her table with their coffees and discussed everything from their experiences at the Academy to Klingon cuisine. McCoy told Kathryn about the time the Enterprise had been overtaken by the tribbles, and Kathryn told McCoy about the time Voyager had been overtaken by the macrovirus. The giant germs had wreaked havoc on her crew. An interesting story for a doctor, she figured. Significantly less entertaining than the tribble catastrophe, however.

He, of course, masterfully turned the conversation back to Chakotay. This time she didn't resist. She welcomed the release.

"I had never, in my entire life, imagined I could be happy on land," Kathryn explained. "From the time I could walk, my head was in the stars. There wasn't another option for me. I was engaged when our mission first began, you know. And I loved Mark deeply. But too much time on Earth and I was ready to get back into space. I craved it more than food. More than coffee. But… after some time alone with Chakotay in our private paradise, there was nowhere else I wanted to be but with my feet on the ground, right next to him. I couldn't imagine going back to Voyager or Starfleet or anywhere that wasn't just the two of us. We truly became one while we were on New Earth, in every sense. I had always loved him, of course. How could I not? He had me from hello. Well, perhaps not from hello... I was sent to capture him, after all. But I remember thinking as I was reading our intelligence file on him, 'How did such a cute man cause so much trouble?'," she smirked."His passion consumed me from the beginning. I am so amazed at how far we've both come over the course of our voyage…" she trailed off into thought.

"You guys are very lucky," Bones said.

Kathryn scoffed. "I suppose..."

"Of course you are! People travel across galaxies and never find the person who completes them. And think of all the things that had to come together to arrange your meeting. All the little, meaningless decisions along the way that paved your road to intercept his. You were always supposed to end up here," McCoy said authoritatively. "After all, if you weren't exactly where you were a few days ago, all that would have been left of the Enterprise would have been a bucket of bolts! We weren't going to make it out of that wormhole alive! That damn green-blooded Vulcan had no answers and Jim was sweating like he only does when we're all about to be blown to hell! I mean, I realize I am being more than a tad self-involved here, but if that doesn't prove that this was all meant to be… I don't know what else to tell you!"

Kathryn smiled and yawned.

"All right, Captain. Get some shut-eye. Doctor's orders!" he demanded as he rose out of his chair and headed for the door. "Do not emerge from these quarters until you hear the rooster crowing."

"You win, Doctor," Kathryn said throwing up her arms in defeat. She could barely keep her eyes open. It had been almost forty-eight hours since she had slept. And almost two weeks since she had had a full night's rest; she was ready.

"Sleep snug as a bug in a rug," McCoy said, rising to his feet and offering a hand to help her up.

Kathryn smiled. "Don't let the bed bugs bite."

"Holy space termites! Don't toy with me now, Captain. I have had my fill of freaky space insects, so I'm throwing in the towel on this one. Now I got to go sleep on the Enterprise..." McCoy said, continuing to mutter as he left her quarters.

She grinned after him and turned to go to bed.


Chakotay, Kirk, and Spock sat patiently and listened to the story of the Resistance; and their plead for help.

The Bilstreecans had been visited a millennia ago by a "god" who came to Bilstreeca, their home planet, and shared with them technology thousands of years ahead of their development. It allowed them to travel at speeds still unimaginable to the most advanced within the Federation: they could go beyond transwarp. But as a result, the Bilstreecans never developed on their own. They were like children; curious, innocent, and easily influenced, still waiting for their god to return to the planet.

About six years ago, a group of Bilstreecan explorers had used the technology to travel a great distance and they had stumbled upon the Kazons. The small group had been fascinated by their desire for violence and struggles for power; problems which had never arisen on Bilstreeca before. Bilstreeca had never seen civil war, and being the only inhabitable planet in their galaxy, they had never had to defend their planet against invasions of any kind. The idea of taking what did not belong to them was a foreign concept… before the overly curious Bilstreecans sat and listened to the Kazons tell their story.

Four of the Kazons requested to accompany the group back to their planet, and the Bilstreecans naïvely agreed. Since their arrival, the Kazons have been corrupting their government at every level. By the time enough Bilstreecans had organized and decided to do something about it, the Kazons had formed an army of followers, and demanded the Bilstreecans build a military base on the barren planet they were on now.

Even as they spoke, the Kazons were shipping weapons and soldiers back to Bilstreeca on small cargo shuttles. They were headed back to Bilstreeca for a final military take-over.

The Kazons had also used the technology to track Janeway. They were obsessed with revenge. They demanded the military base be built on a planet directly in the path Janeway was on, so when she arrived, the Kazons could finally use the advanced technology and defeat her. That was the sole reason they chose this desert planet. Most of Bilstreeca was terrified of Captain Janeway and the crew of the infamous Voyager, since the Kazons had built them up to be monsters and had been telling tall tales for years.

However, a long time ago the leaders of the Resistance decided that an enemy of one's enemy is one's friend. And since they were no longer the most powerful faction on Bilstreeca, or never had been the most powerful faction – they needed Voyager's help. Bilstreeca had been overpowered easily by the Kazons – listening and hanging onto every word and every lie the Kazons spread. The Resistance prepared themselves for the day Janeway's path to the Alpha Quadrant would finally lead her here; she would defeat the Kazons and allow the Bilstreecans their peaceful planet back.

Kirk had given Leerig his full attention, politely nodding along, and offering condolences at the causalities the Resistance had suffered and the great loss his people had already endured. Five leaders of the Resistance who were posing as officials of the Kazons' army, who had been decoding information and sending it to the Resistance, had been discovered and executed but two days before their arrival.

Chakotay, however, sat back silently, thinking about the events that Captain Kirk knew nothing about. To Kirk, this was a simple matter of the Prime Directive. Here was an alien species requesting their help in a war. It was black and white. Of course they couldn't get involved. But, for Chakotay, it was fifty shades of gray. It was Voyager's interference and violation of the Prime Directive to save the Ocampa in the first place that had sent the Kazons on this rampage.

"Leerig, I sympathize with your predicament," Captain Kirk started, about to gently deny Leerig's request for help. "But, unfortunately, we –"

"We need to return to Voyager and discuss this with Captain Janeway," Chakotay interrupted. "We don't have the authority to make the decision one way or the other."

Kirk glanced over at Chakotay but remained silent; he recognized that this struggle with the Kazons was Voyager's story. Not the Enterprise's.

Leerig nodded. "We understand. We have no intention of holding you captive here at Beelik or on this planet. Your decision to assist our efforts is wholly up to you – otherwise we would be no superior to the Kazons we are endeavoring to defeat."

"In twenty minutes, another generator is going to explode at the main plant," Ireekal informed them. "The dampening field will be disrupted and you will be able to summon Voyager. The Kazons are awaiting another battle ship to arrive from Bilstreeca, but right now, they are trapped with nothing but cargo shuttles. They will fire back at Voyager, but they will be unable to pursue in anything other than cargo shuttles. If you choose not to assist us, we recommend you put as much distance as possible between yourselves and this planet. We have downloaded everything you need to know about the specifications of our ships and our weaponry here," she said, handing a small silver disk over to Chakotay. "If you make the modifications we have listed here, and attach this disk to your deflector shields, the Kazon will be unable to follow you. You will be safe."

Turning to look at Captain Kirk she whispered, "Good luck, Captain James Kirk." Her voice cracked again when she said his name.


She was was standing in the transporter room, waiting for him to return. Any moment his voice would come over the intercom, requesting to be beamed up. Any moment. She tried to hide her giddiness from the ensign assigned to transporter room two. Her insides were vibrating with excitement.

Finally, they heard his voice and within seconds she watched every molecule of him, every beautiful molecule, materialize before her. Like she had rubbed a lamp and a genie had granted her wish. He stepped off the transporter pad and moved towards her, not acknowledging the ensign at the console. He put his hands on her cheeks and pulled her in for a kiss and her whole body melted. He reached down and lifted her up. She locked her legs around his torso and he carried her out of the transporter room, leaving the ensign behind and bewildered.

Tonight she didn't wake up in a panic as the dream got to steamy part. Instead a smile crept across her face as she curled up and hugged her pillow amorously. This time she allowed the dream to wash over her and consume her.

It was, rather, Harry's voice who interrupted her sleep. "Bridge to the Captain. We're being hailed," Harry said. "It's the Away Team!"

Janeway jolted up in her bed.

"Patch him through, Ensign," she said excitedly as she got out of bed and stood to her feet, heading to change into her uniform. "On the intercom."

"Chakotay to Voyager," Chakotay called over a crackly connection. "Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Commander," Janeway replied anxiously.

"We have Captain Kirk. Not a scratch on him. We're heading back to the rendezvous point now, ready for transport."

"We're on our way, Chakotay." Janeway paused. "Good work down there." It felt as if a thousand pounds had been lifted from her chest.

"Thank you, Captain," Chakotay replied before the comm-signal crackled and ended.

Janeway pulled on her black boots in a hurry. "Tom, get back to the Delta Flyer," she ordered through the intercom. "You will have a better chance at maneuvering away from the inevitable phaser fire than Voyager will with the Enterprise still in tow. We can't risk damaging the Enterprise any further."

"Aye-aye, Captain."

"And take Harry with you this time."

"Aye-aye, Captain," Tom replied.

"I'll be right there," Janeway said, rushing hurriedly out the door, almost giddy to see Chakotay again.

Leerig and Ireekal had led the Starfleet officers to a small alcove just a few meters from where Spock and Chakotay had originally beamed down – in the middle of nowhere. Now they were hidden from view. Kirk scanned the area: completely barren except for a few dry desert bushes. The skyline of the metropolis looked almost majestic from this far away.

The Bilstreecans had returned the phasers, tricorders, and communicators that had been confiscated at the Beelik prison, and had promised to wait until their ship was in transport range before leaving them, just in case.

Kirk opened his mouth to offer thanks, again, to the strangers who were responsible for their rescue, but he was cut off by an explosion just a few meters away from the desert alcove.

"The army has detected us," Ireekal said, straightening and pulling out her phaser. Spock pulled out his tricorder.

"They're approaching from the east," Spock said, pointing to the distance. "Approximately two hundred meters away." Another explosion; this one shattering a boulder just above them. The army was firing blindly into the air, but they were getting dangerously close. The five of them pressed themselves against the wall of the alcove to avoid the falling rock debris.

Leerig and Ireekal prepared for the attack, kneeling behind the rocks with their phasers armed and pointed at the east.

"Return to your lair," Chakotay demanded them. "You are indispensable to the Resistance. Our ship will be arriving any minute; we can hold them off until then."

"Their weapons are more sophisticated than yours," Leerig responded, not moving from his post. "We will stay and fight."

"Go! Now!" Chakotay said, pulling Leerig to his feet.

Kirk followed suit. He bent down and whispered in Ireekal's ear, assuring her they'd be all right, and then he took her arm and led her back to the entrance of the tunnel.

"As soon as you are through, we will blast the rock and cover the entrance," Chakotay told them. "Go. Now. We have no intention of becoming martyrs. We will be fine. Go!" He pushed Leerig through. Kirk could hear the army's cries ever-so-faintly from the distance, but growing. They were coming on foot. The two Bilstreecans conceded uncertainly and rushed through the tunnel until they had put enough distance between themselves and the opening so they would be clear of the falling rock.

Captain Kirk gave Ireekal a small wave and he smiled assuredly. Then Chakotay blasted the rock and they were gone. The attention of the Away Team turned to the approaching army.

They were almost within range.

"Phasers set to stun," Kirk ordered. "Spread shot. Take down the front line."

The three stood behind the rocks, steeling themselves to take on the army. As soon as the soldiers came into range the Away Team fired – and the first line of Kazon-led Bilstreecans fell to the ground. They struggled to get back up their feet. Their phasers on spread-shot didn't offer much force.

"Chakotay to The Delta Flyer," Chakotay said anxiously, tapping his comm-badge, continuing to fire on the troops. "We're ready whenever you are, Lieutenant Paris." Kirk smiled at the Commander's strained levity.

"We're almost within range," Tom replied.

The army was growing closer and Kirk felt his muscles tighten. "Adjust your phasers; start taking them down one-by-one."

They were fully in visual range now. There were over a hundred soldiers. All armed with weapons. There was no way they would be able to hold them off, but they had to try. Any minute would be great, Voyager... Kirk thought.

Another explosion hit – this time directly upon them. Kirk's whole body cringed as he heard a scream of pain and his eyes closed as the blast sent him flying back against the stone wall, knocking the wind out of him. He continued firing blindly at the army.

The dust cleared and he strained his eyes to find the source of the scream. Spock remained in position but Chakotay was on the ground, his chest torn open and bleeding, still firing his weapon with one hand at the oncoming Bilstreecans.

"Commander!" Kirk yelled, rushing to his side.

Blood had already soaked through his uniform and his open and scorched flesh was exposed. Kirk instinctively pressed down all of his weight on the wound to try and keep Chakotay from bleeding out. Chakotay tried to speak but his mouth filled with blood and Kirk felt himself losing composure and slipping into panic, one hand on the wound and the other firing his phaser. The army was now one hundred meters away.

"Commander, keep firing!" Kirk shouted over the blasts. He set his phaser down and pulled out his communicator and tried to hail the Delta Flyer to no avail. Just static. "Dammit," he said through clenched teeth, placing his communicator on Chakotay's body and ripping the comm-badge from Chakotay's uniform. "Kirk to The Delta Flyer," he shouted at the sky. "We need… to transport… NOW!"

"We're en route, Captain," Tom repeated.

"NOW!" Kirk shouted back, tossing the comm-badge and picking up his weapon again. Chakotay was still silently firing but he couldn't hold up his arm anymore and Kirk saw him fading away. "Hold on, Tattoo," he demanded, pressing his weight against the wound. "Your captain needs you, remember? Hold on."

"Captain… please tell Kathryn… that… that…" he trailed off and his head rolled to the side.

Kirk looked up at Spock, worried. The space between them and the army was diminishing by the second. They were firing frantically. Chakotay dropped his weapon and his eyes closed.

"No, Chakotay! Open your eyes," Kirk yelled, shaking his body, but keeping his eyes glued on the stampede of bodies. Suddenly his phaser stopped firing. He grabbed for Chakotay's phaser. Nothing. "Spock?! What's happening?!"

Spock had already replaced his phaser with his tricorder. "It would appear the Bilstreecans were able to deactivate our weapons," he said with the evenness only a Vulcan could muster.

"Can you use one of our phasers to create a scrambling field?"

"Negative, Captain. Their sphere of control is too expansive."

The army was less than thirty meters away.

Captain Kirk, once again, grabbed the comm-badge in a final effort to convey the urgency of their situation to the crew on the Delta Flyer.

"Now, Lieutenant Paris! Beam… us… up! Bea-" and in a swirl of blue lights they were gone.


Tom and Harry looked over their shoulders as the Away Team materialized aboard. Spock was holding his tricorder, hunched up, shielding his head with his hand. Kirk was straddling an unconscious Chakotay, one hand on Chakotay's chest and the other cupping the small comm-badge. He was still yelling into it, demanding Tom beam them up. They were all covered in dirt and Kirk's golden uniform was red with Chakotay's blood.

Tom instantly jumped up from the helm and ran to grab the Flyer's medical supplies. "Harry, take the helm!" he shouted and Harry slid over. The Delta Flyer had already taken heavy damage on their way in and was rattling.

Tom grabbed everything he could carry and ran back to Chakotay. Kirk had stopped shouting at the comm-badge, but hadn't moved his hand from Chakotay's chest.

"It's okay, Captain," Tom assured, "I can handle this."

Kirk, shaken, rose to his feet and gave Tom room to work. The Delta Flyer rocked as the planet continued firing at them. They were almost out of their space – Harry just had to keep the ship steady a little longer.

A violent blast hit the Flyer and they fell against the wall. The security console started smoking. Spock instinctively moved towards it, but he had no way of knowing how to repair the 24th century technology. Kirk moved towards the helm but he was equally helpless on this futuristic, foreign ship.

Janeway had given Tom explicit orders not to, under any circumstances, allow the Enterprise's crew access to the Flyer's technology. But as the ship's shields were fading quicker than the ship was moving and the phaser blasts were becoming more and more fierce against the hull, Tom didn't see much of a choice. He couldn't act as medic and fly the ship at the same time.

Kirk looked like a volcano about to erupt, completely powerless to save his team. Spock was trying to make sense of the readings, "Shields are at 35%," he reported gravely.

"Tom, the planet has released eleven cargo shuttles. They are in pursuit," Harry yelled, trying to keep the Flyer steady. "They are in pursuit, and they are loading weapons."

"Don't destroy them," Kirk ordered. "Disable them. Do not destroy them."

Nothing like adding challenge to a challenge. If Tom didn't organize them, they weren't going to make it back to Voyager at all. A wave of calm rushed over Tom and he straightened, inhaling deeply, ready to take command. Chakotay's pulse had grown faint and he was losing blood and he was losing time.

"Commander Spock," Tom demanded. "Take this dermal regenerator. Hold it over the burns like this," he demonstrated, "until there is no evidence of a wound. Then give him two shots of this hydrodexotrin. We'll try to wake him up."

Spock dutifully complied and took the regenerator.

Tom moved from Chakotay to the weapons console. "Captain Kirk, this button fires our phasers. Here is the Delta Flyer," he said, pointing to the monitor, "here are the shuttles. Don't worry about anything other than the phasers. We have limited weapons and there are eleven shuttles, so only fire if you have a clear shot." He turned around to Harry. "Back into the co-pilot's seat. I'm getting us home."

He confidently sat back down, ready to captain his ship. He didn't remember a time when his mind was so clear.


"The Delta Flyer is coming into range, followed by eleven small cargo shuttles," Tuvok informed Janeway. "They are interchanging phaser fire."

"Are they in the range of our phasers?" Janeway asked.

"Negative, however they are approaching us rapidly. They will be within range in 4.57 minutes. Captain, the Delta Flyer seems to be taking great care to only disable the cargo shuttles; not destroy them," Tuvok added.

Strange, Janeway thought. Perhaps the persons aboard the shuttles were part of the "Eight" secretly protecting the Away Team. From the looks of the Flyer, however, they weren't doing a great job.

Voyager was moving away from the planet at warp three, with the Enterprise in tow, expecting to rendezvous with the Delta Flyer on the same course so Voyager could jump to maximum warp as soon as the Flyer was on board.

"Should we reverse course, Captain?" Tuvok asked.

"No," Janeway said, hesitantly. "Keep our present trajectory, just reduce speed."

Come on, Tom, hurry up, she pleaded.

"The moment they come into range, shoot down the shuttles. Disable them, don't destroy them," she demanded, adhering to the actions of the Away Team.

"Firing phasers now," Tuvok informed.

With ease, perhaps with too much ease, Voyager and the Delta Flyer disabled the enemy shuttles. Within minutes, all but one of the vessels were dead in the water, still in tact.

The last one was skillfully dodging the phaser fire from both Voyager and the Delta Flyer, quickly gaining speed. It soon flew past the Flyer. It seemed to be on a collision course with, not Voyager, but the Enterprise. Janeway watched perplexed. The Enterprise had repaired all damage to the shields. The tiny cargo shuttle colliding with the massive ship wouldn't even send a tremor through it.

The Enterprise must have noticed the kamikaze shuttle because it opened fire as well. Three ships were firing at the small cargo shuttle and it seemed to instinctively move before each shot was fired. How is it doing that? Janeway thought.

It was almost to the hull of the Enterprise when it exploded. Janeway was bewildered.

"Did we hit it?"

"Negative, Captain," Tuvok answered. "It must have been the Enterprise or the Delta Flyer." It didn't really matter, one way or the other. They were in the clear.

"Hail the Delta Flyer," Janeway demanded.

"Paris to Voyager," Tom yelled through the static-y connection. "Paris to Voyager."

"We read you, Tom," Janeway said, finally able to breathe; she almost had her First Officer back.

"Prepare for an immediate site-to-site transport," Tom shouted frantically over the intercom. "Chakotay is badly injured. He's not breathing and he doesn't have a pulse. We need to get him to Sick Bay."

Janeway's breath caught in her throat and her heart crashed to the floor. She looked at McCoy, who headed straight for the Turbolift on his way to Sick Bay. McCoy being contaminated with 24th century technology no longer seemed as dire a problem as it did before.

"We're ready to receive you, Tom," she replied evenly.

"I can't land the Flyer, I'm losing control," Tom shouted. "You need to tractor us in."

"Understood, Lieutenant. Paris," Janeway said. "Prepare to be tractored." She wasn't sure she could move without throwing up so she called to the helm from where she was, "The moment the bay doors close, jump to maximum warp on the trajectory we already plotted."

"Yes, Captain," the ensign replied, bracing herself to immediately jump to warp.

The Bridge crew felt a slight tremor as Voyager latched onto the damaged Flyer and the bay doors shut. The ensign jumped to maximum warp and everyone held on to something to keep from stumbling.

"Tuvok, you have the Bridge," Janeway said, turning to him. She took a breath and gathered herself to move towards the Turbolift. "I am going to go meet the Away Team."

"Yes, Captain," Tuvok said, moving from behind his console to the captain's chair.

As soon as the Turbolift doors shut and she was out of sight, Kathryn doubled over. She grabbed onto the railing with one hand and her stomach with the other.

Please, Chakotay, please, she silently begged. I can't do this without you. Please don't leave me here alone.

The Turbolift doors opened and she regained composure, straightened her uniform, and walked briskly to Sick Bay.

By the time she made it there, all of the Away Team were already gathered. Captain Kirk was physically holding Dr. McCoy back, telling him not to get in the way, assuring him that Voyager's doctor knew what he was doing. Spock stood in the back with Harry, their eyes glued to the commander's lifeless body. Kirk, Spock, and Tom were all covered in blood. She didn't know if it was theirs or Chakotay's. The Doctor had given Chakotay another hypo-spray and Tom charged the cortical stimulator again.

Chakotay was gone.

They were trying to revive him, but he was gone. Kathryn rested a hand on one of the tables and fought back her tears. Suddenly Chakotay, her strong and larger-than-life First Officer, looked so small and fragile. His body convulsed violently, but the monitor still read no pulse. The Doctor looked up and made eye contact with Kathryn, and then again with Tom. "One more time, Lieutenant Paris," the Doctor ordered.

Chakotay's body convulsed again, but the monitor still read no pulse. Kathryn felt her knees crumble and she put all her weight against the table.

The Doctor took a step back and set down the hypo-spray.

"No!" Kathryn shouted. "NO!" Her eyes welled up with tears. "Do it again, Doctor."

The Doctor just stood there and looked at her with sad, sympathetic eyes. Too much time had elapsed.

"That's an order! Do it again! Now!" Janeway demanded.

The Doctor complied. "One more time, Lieutenant Paris," he repeated softly as he gave Chakotay another hypo-spray.

"Stand back," Tom said quietly, somberly.

Chakotay's body convulsed again, and every body in the room stopped breathing.

Then they heard the faint "beep, beep" of a pulse on the monitor. The green lines jolted and Kathryn stumbled. McCoy rushed to her side and took her arm to steady her, squeezing her hand. The Doctor ran his tricorder over Chakotay and his saddened demeanor didn't lighten. Not a muscle in the room moved.

"What's the matter, Doctor?" McCoy asked.

"Chakotay's heart is beating but there is no brain activity," the EMH stated. "I do not know if he is going to wake up."


Kathryn had watched in horror as the Doctor had hooked Chakotay up to the stabilizer and left him there to treat the rest of the Away Team's minor burns and lacerations. She moved to him and slid her hands around his and silently begged him, again, to get up. Wake up, Chakotay. Wake up. Get out of this bed. Now. She begged over and over and over again, but the readings on the monitor remained stagnant. She wanted to stay in Sick Bay with him and coax him back to life – if he did die here, tonight, she didn't want him to die alone. But she needed to return to the Bridge and do her job. There were bigger problems than her and Chakotay.

Chakotay, I have to go. I have to make sure we get out of here all right, so you and I can have the rest of our lives together. I have to go. Don't go anywhere, okay? Please don't go anywhere. I'll be back for you. I promised you once I would never leave you, and I never will. So please don't leave me now. Her eyes welled.

"Captain?" McCoy asked softly, snapping her back into reality. She turned her clouded eyes from Chakotay and looked at the doctor. He moved towards Chakotay and took his other hand. "It's all right, I'll stay with him."

"You will?"

"I won't leave his side," McCoy assured. "I'm not going anywhere. He won't be alone."

Kathryn nodded gravely and focused every ounce of strength she had in her to move away from her First Officer and head back towards the door.

As the Sick Bay doors whooshed shut behind her she steeled herself for battle.


"It is not our place to make that decision, Captain," Spock reminded Kirk.

"Well, dammit Spock, I don't know what to do here," Kirk shot back in a violent whisper. They were alone in the Conference Room on the Bridge, waiting to meet with the crew of Voyager. Spock was sitting down, soberly watching his captain pace back and forth angrily.

He brought his hands together in front of him. "We must inform Captain Janeway what happened on the planet; that is what we must do."

"Why? They asked us to get involved in their war? I don't know Janeway all that well," Kirk admitted. What he did know, he had learned from Chakotay. And he knew how deep her commitment to Starfleet was. After all, she was willing to martyr herself to save to crew. "She would never violate the Prime Directive so directly, Spock. So why even bring it to her attention?"

"Because it is not our decision to make," Spock replied calmly.

"You're just being emotional," Kirk snapped. Spock swiveled his chair to meet Kirk's eyes and raised an eyebrow. "You're sympathetic to them. You're acting human!"

Spock was unstirred by the captain's low-blow accusations of emotion. "I hardly believe insults are in your prerogative as my commanding officer. It is not our decision to make," he repeated flatly. "It is not our battle. If she decides to ignore the request of the Bilstreecans, she has the right to do so."

"I just don't see why we need to add it to her plate right now," Kirk said, defeated. His heart ached for Janeway because he fully understood how hers was aching for Chakotay, who had died – was injured – on a mission to retrieve him.

Kirk suddenly understood the captain's rationale; if the relationship between Voyager's commanding officers was affecting his judgment... how could it not affect theirs?

Spock remained silent. Captain Kirk, of course, knew his First Officer was right. As always, Kirk thought. He needed to tell Janeway about the plead for assistance they received and the part Voyager, apparently, played in the Kazons' takeover. It was Janeway who had to make the decision.

In the meantime, they had only six days to make it back to the wormhole in time to return the Enterprise.

The doors beeped and the worn-out senior staff, led by a disheveled captain, stepped through the doors and took their places around the conference table. They were ready to be briefed about what the Away Team had discovered on the mysterious planet.

Captain Kirk cleared his throat and began.