CHAPTER 34
Over on the Maquis ship Chakotay was in a mild state of shock. In a daze he turned away from the viewscreen, walking over to a wall disposal unit near the turbolift.
After ridding himself of the soiled cloth, he then turned toward his tactical station. "Seska, you have the bridge. I'll be over on the Starfleet ship. Chakotay to Evans, what is the situation with the sensor arrays?"
Evans replied from somewhere deep within the ship. "Slow, we'll be lucky to have them back on-line within forty-eight hours."
The Maquis leader, not at all happy, shook his head in frustration. "Damn! Meet me in the transporter room, I'm heading there now. Chakotay out."
"Acknowledged," responded Evans.
As he turned toward the turbolift Chakotay was stopped by Seska. "You don't think that this is a trick of some kind? Don't forget Janeway was successful before in lying a trap."
"How can I forget," Chakotay pointed out, "remember I spent four months in prison. No, this is no trick. Even in the Alpha Quadrant Janeway fights fair. Besides, unless she has suddenly discovered a way home, what would be the sense of trickery. As strange as this might seem to you, I do trust her."
When Chakotay walked into the transporter room he found Evans waiting for him.
The second-in-command looked closely at his commander. "Chakotay, what's up? Is something wrong, you have a strange expression on your face."
"Who do you have working on the replicators?" Questioned the Maquis leader.
"Ayala and Javis." Replied Evans as he studied his friend. Something had shaken Chakotay's normal composure.
Chakotay started to speak, then gave his head a couple of small shakes. "Forget the replicators for now. Concentrate on the sensors. You are not going to believe this, in a couple of minutes Janeway will be sending over food for the whole crew. Arrange to have it distributed. I don't know how much will be arriving, if there is extra store it in the cargo bay."
Relieved that noting disastrous had transpired, Evans gave a small laugh. "After last night I'm not sure that I am surprised. If the situation was reversed you would do the same thing."
Chakotay looked at his friend. "If that does not surprise you, this will. Check on the progress of the repair crews, leave any necessary instructions with Seska. Eat right away then transport over to Janeway's ship."
Chakotay ran his hand through his hair. "She wants to borrow you for the ops station."
Evans stared at his leader. After a moment or two he finally found his voice. "Um….did you say she wants me to work on her ship, a Starfleet ship in the ops position?"
Chakotay grinned at the astonished look on the face of his second-in-command. "That's correct. Any objections?"
"No, definitely not," Evans replied. "You were right, Janeway is certainly not your everyday Starfleet captain. During the night she maintained a comm link, sending over the results of all sensor sweeps. Without that we would be completely blind. Now this."
Still disconcerted over Janeway's actions, Chakotay rubbed the palm of his hand. "Evans, I must admit, I have never met anyone like her. I now know what drives men to drink. If she continues to pull such surprises, in order to deal with her, I'm definitely going to require something stronger than coffee."
Evans laughed, then he became thoughtful. "I hate saying this, do you think that she has a hidden motive?"
Placing his hands on his hips the Maquis leader stared down at the floor. "Seska voiced the same fear."
For a moment Chakotay stood there, thinking over the conversations, the meetings. Raising his head he replied with firm conviction. "No! Janeway is a Starfleet captain, in every sense of the word. But she is more than that, she has a strong code of moral ethics. Knowing when rules, regulations and personal feelings must be put aside. She has no hidden agenda, and neither do we."
"Understood, I'm glad you agree. I was thinking the same thing. Just wanted to be certain since you know her better." Evans replied with a grin, it would be very interesting to see how things developed between these two.
"Of that, I'm not so certain." Slapping Evans on the shoulder Chakotay stepped onto the transporter pad.
Grinning the Maquis leader looked at Evans. "I'm just wondering how she will explain all this to Starfleet Command."
His face lost it's grin as the lines around his mouth tightened. "Be careful of Cavit and Fitzgerald. Stay out of the way of the first officer. He could be trouble. I'm sure that he did not enjoy his reprimands. I don't know what transpired yesterday in her ready room. I do know, if I was in Janeway's position, what I would have done. From the look on Cavit's face afterwards, well….If anything arises contact either myself or Janeway."
Evans walked over to the transporter control. "See you later."
He knew, as did Chakotay, staying out of Cavit's way would be easier said than done.