Chapter 11

It turned out that B'Elanna, Tom, Harry and Commander Nobrega were already in the mess hall when Kathryn and Chakotay got there to get breakfast, so they went to sit with them. The four officers welcomed them happily. They had already started discussing the various problems that finding and catching Jem would present, so Kathryn and Chakotay easily jumped in as they ate breakfast.

All the while, Kathryn watched her officers with pride – or was that former officers? Would they get reassigned now that Voyager was gone? She didn't want to think about this now, so she pushed the disturbing thought aside. But no matter where they all ended up, she would always be proud of them; to see them rally like this and jump on a problem that went beyond the call of duty was truly inspiring. Her eyes met Chakotay's across the table, and she knew, from the gratefulness and pride reflected there, that his thoughts paralleled hers.

But then memories from the night before flooded her mind unbidden – the passion, the love, the pleasure – and her cheeks and neck warmed. Chakotay, perceptive as he was, noticed. His eyes suddenly danced with a satisfied twinkle mixed with a promise for later. Kathryn hid her smile behind her cup of coffee, but her eyes held a similar pledge.

When the whole team eventually reconvened in the briefing room, with Captain Asani and Admiral Mendez also present this time, they picked up the conversation where they had left off. It quickly became obvious to Kathryn's scientific mind that their plan would need to answer four basic questions in order to succeed:

Question 1: Where did or would Jem go?

Question 2: What were her motivations in going there?

Question 3: How would they find her, given her shapeshifting abilities?

Question 4: How would they catch her, if phasers were ineffective?

So Kathryn led the team's brainstorming in those directions as they worked off each other. Each question came with its own sets of difficulties and challenges. For the first two questions, they had to rely on Chakotay's knowledge of Jem, both psychological and anthropological. So Chakotay related some of the conversations he'd had with her, as well as what Katan had told him. He told them about what he knew about her – about her personality, her insistence that no one get hurt when on heists, her shapeshifting abilities.

The Doctor took over then, relating his findings about the Kigyun. "Unfortunately, the Federation has very little knowledge about them. Shapeshifting species, as you know are quite rare, but several have been documented. Some are corporeal and can alter their appearance at the somatic cellular level – indicating that any shapeshifting would not affect their DNA. Others are non-corporeal – such as liquid or energy life forms, like the Q – they can choose to assume any form they wish. Now, based on Mr. Chakotay's description, I hypothesize that Jem and the Kigyun in general, would belong to the first category. Further, since Jem's clothes didn't morph when she metamorphosed, her shapeshifting must happen at the cellular level. This would mean that she is much more likely to change into a form that has a similar quantity of cells in their bodies."

"So she's more likely to choose a humanoid form," B'Elanna bottom-lined.

"Precisely. At least, that's my theory. But keep in mind that I have very little to draw from."

"Thank you, Doctor," Kathryn said. There was a series of nods around the table as the attendees made a mental note of this.

Chakotay stood to his feet, rubbing his chin distractedly. "I've been thinking about where she might go," he told them as he brought up the map of the sector on one of the monitors. "If she's really from the Doldrums, the planet where she transported to, here," he said as he pointed to a small dot on the map, "then there's a chance that she might still be there. But as much as she wants to belong with her people, I'm not so sure she would stay there. Not after losing her foothold at the compound. I got a sense that she was not fully accepted by her people. In addition, for as long as I've known her, Jem stayed closer to Mona Prime, here. The commercial hub of Neathina in particular is a great spot for any legitimate and illegitimate business, so my guess is that she's been running her thieving and trafficking ring from there, and delegating to others the chore of keeping the compound running at the Doldrums. But the question is, would she go back to Neathina now that her operation has been compromised?"

It was a rhetorical question, but Tuvok proposed an answer anyway. "It is possible that she would – if she still had associates there, or some advantage that might help her get started over on her venture," he said.

Kathryn sprang to her feet, latching onto that idea. "That's a good point. Let's think this through. What would she need to get started again?" She prompted to the room as she paced.

"Capital," Tom suggested.

"Right," Chakotay replied, his eyes still riveted to the map, hands on his hips. "But we raided the hideout and seized everything of value from Neathina, so I doubt she would bother going back there."

"She was after Voyager's ablative generators that we got from Admiral Janeway, right?" Harry asked. "Those are probably worth a lot of credits or platinum on the black market. Maybe she's still looking for them."

Chakotay nodded. "I told the Wraiths that the Scavengers had taken them from the wreckage in order to lure them to the compound, but in truth I just assumed they had been destroyed in the explosion," Chakotay replied.

All eyes turned to B'Elanna. She frowned. "It's unlikely that they would have survived, but I suppose it is possible. If the generators had not yet been removed from their casing at the time of the explosion."

Chakotay looked at Captain Asani. "You didn't recover shield generators from your raid on the Scavenger compound, did you?"

She shook her head. "No. I'll check with the Cousteau right away, in case they recovered them from the wreckage. I know they were focusing their efforts on the bridge and Engineering."

Chakotay nodded his thanks.

As those ideas floated around the table, Kathryn's mind reeled with the germ of an idea of her own. She started pacing again, frowning in concentration, then waved her index finger. She was vaguely aware that the gesture made Chakotay smile, as if he'd seen her do that a thousand times before. He probably had. "I say we take a page out of her book for a change." She turned to lean her arms on the back of her chair to face the rest of the officers.

"Explain," Seven said, brows furrowed curiously.

"She created rumors about the Borg to lure us in. What if we used the same tactic?"

"What do you have in mind?" Chakotay asked, curious now.

"Well, if she wants those shield generators as much as we think she does, either to sell, or to use for her own purposes, we could spread a rumor that we recovered them. That we have them on board here, on Aspire, or on the Cousteau. Otherwise, we'll always be a step behind – we'll only ever be able to follow her but never get ahead to intercept her. This way, we'll be able to control the location, make her come to us. That way we determine the answers to our first two questions: where would she go and why. And we take advantage of the fact that she must be getting desperate."

Heads nodded around the table as they considered this.

"Okay, so let's say we do this," Commander Nobrega chimed in – a rare occurrence in Kathryn's experience. "That brings us to the question of how we can identify her once the trap is set? Given her shape-shifting abilities."

"I've been thinking about this one," B'Elanna replied, leaning forward. "If we build on what the Doctor has told us, and assume that she can't actually alter her Kigyun DNA, if we could get a scan of her life signs, we could adjust our sensors to detect for that specific molecular signature. That way we'd be able to tell her apart from other humanoid life forms."

Kathryn followed B'Elanna's gaze to Chakotay, but he shook his head as he considered it. "I never scanned her with the Klingon raider, but…" his eyes shot to Admiral Mendez. "Punjan's computer. Punjan used his computer to monitor his team's progress during heists. He'll have formatted his sensors to pick her up as well. It was retrieved from the Klingon raider, right?"

She gave a terse nod. "It's with the rest of the evidence. I'll have it brought to you, Lieutenant Torres."

Chakotay turned back to B'Elanna, smiling. "Ask and you shall receive."

B'Elanna smirked at Chakotay. "Maybe there's hope for you yet."

Kathryn nodded. "So that leaves the final question."

"How to apprehend her," Seven stated.

"A phaser set to stun didn't even slow her down," Kathryn supplied, remembering that moment when she had shot Jem with her phaser, moments before she'd transported down.

"And she is remarkably strong and fast," Chakotay added. "No matter what form she takes. I've fought her twice now, and I've never been able to get the upper hand." Kathryn could remember all too well how Jem's fists and feet had been beating down on him with the supple grace of a feline.

"Then we must devise a different tactic," Tuvok said, the tips of his fingers from both hands touching. "One that does not rely on brute strength."

"She did stop her attack when I threatened her with the phaser," Kathryn added with a look at Chakotay. His eyes met her own briefly, as if he too remembered that moment. She had probably saved his life, and they both knew it. "So maybe they do have an effect at a higher setting."

Chakotay nodded slowly, but it was Admiral Mendez who spoke.

"We'll consider using phaser fire as a last resort only. We need her alive, if possible. Katan told us that she ran the compound, but for all we know, there might be even bigger fish involved. We'll want to find out what we can about them."

There was a moment of silence as everyone took this in.

"Would it be completely inappropriate for me to make a fishing joke in an otherwise quite serious conversation?" Tom said in jest, relieving some of the heaviness from the room, drawing smiles and snorts. "Just lightening the mood," he explained Admiral Mendez, who did not look amused.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," B'Elanna interjected, with an expression that Kathryn had seen countless times.

Tom chuckled. "I was only joking about the bigger fish-"

B'Elanna waved him off and he felt silent, their interaction making Kathryn smile. "I know, but it gave me an idea. We could use a kind of fishing net. Or a similar principle anyway."

"A forcefield could prove useful," Seven said.

"Exactly!"

"How would we cast this force field to contain an individual?"

"Maybe we can use the transporters…"

As Kathryn watched the two women start getting drawn into this problem, she exchanged a look with both Admiral Mendez and Captain Asani. Kathryn had almost – almost – forgotten that this wasn't Voyager, and that she wasn't the captain of this ship. Both officers nodded, so she raised a hand to put an end to B'Elanna's and Seven's brainstorming for now. "Alright, you two get working on this. Lieutenant Kim, Commander Nobrega, can you look into ways of reconfiguring Aspire's sensors to pick up Kigyun life signs based on the intel in Punjan's computer?" She turned to Chakotay. "Do you think Punjan might be convinced to help if we need him?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. If we offer him something. And if we let him know that his brother has already cooperated with us."

Kathryn nodded back at the duo. "Good. Once you have figured out her signal, please work with Captain Asani's Engineering crew – their input will be invaluable in implementing the changes to the sensors." Captain Asani nodded in agreement. "Chakotay, Tuvok, I'll leave it to you to devise various scenarios about how exactly we'll trap Jem when we find her. Let's come up with a variety of plans, some including B'Elanna's net, and some without."

"What will you do?" Chakotay asked curiously.

Kathryn gave a crooked smile. "Something I abhor. Rumor-mongering."

~~o~~

Jem needed off the planet.

She had been hiding in the sand dunes for hours and she was getting hungry and anxious to get away. After she'd escaped the Klingon raider and transported to the surface of her home planet, she'd had to lay low away from the compound; it had been crawling with Starfleet and other law enforcement officers. She'd had nowhere else to go – the clans still didn't accept her fully, and she doubted that they would welcome her now that the Federation had uncovered her operation – and brought their attention to them. It had taken the whole night before the officers left at last and it was safe to return to the compound to assess the damage.

As she walked through the deserted stands and hidden rooms, it became clear that the Federation and law enforcement agents had seized almost everything, claiming that the contents of the compound went against several interplanetary agreements against the illegal trafficking of life forms and Starfleet property. They had taken the captives, as well as the guards and other potential witnesses. Most of the inhabitants of the Circle – the shanty town around the compound – had run away when the ships had first appeared in the atmosphere, so the town was strangely deserted as Jem meandered back into the midday heat. In search of… something. Someone. Anything or anyone to help her get out of this mess.

She still couldn't believe that Chakotay had played her so well. She prided herself on being a good judge of character, and she had been so certain to have him pegged. But she had underestimated him. She had underestimated his attachment to his captain and his former crew, despite the fact that he had told her about it out right. But maybe she hadn't quite believed him then. Maybe she had been too jaded to believe in those sorts of fairy-tale stories her human parents had delighted in telling her when she was a child. But apparently he'd told the truth about his real motives for doing what he did – or something mighty close to it. In fact, she was fairly certain now that he'd probably never actually lied out right. About anything. Katan himself had noticed, when he'd said Chakotay had a strange habit of being honest in the worst moments. Even stupid, brutish Katan had seen through him better than she had. Chakotay had walked in with half-truths on his tongue, only to let them fill in the blanks with assumptions, and then blaming it on them not asking when they assumed wrong. They did say that half-truths made for great lies, and Chakotay had illustrated this all too well – at her own expense. And Jem had to admit, despite her anger, a part of her admired him for that, for his savvy manipulation of the truth. If he had actually been on her side, he would have made an incredible asset.

Admittedly, before he had turned on them, she had liked having him on the team. He had made for a refreshing addition; Katan was cruel and crude; Punjan was a puppy – with puppy emotions, and puppy desires to please his master, or in this case, his brother. And Sébas, well actually she'd liked Sébas too, up to the moment when he'd betrayed her, too. But the point was, it had been refreshing to have someone who wasn't afraid of or worshipped Katan, and who didn't ogle her female human body like so many males tended to do – which, she admitted, she had used to her own advantage many, many times. But she'd known right away that this technique would not work with him. He was above all of this. Morally and emotionally. And that had been compelling. She had told him so herself – he had the ability to make people want to trust him. And she had fallen into the trap, even after he'd cautioned her not to. Even when her instincts told her he was too good of an asset to be true.

But she hadn't listened, and he'd used that to his advantage. It had become clear to her that he had probably been Starfleet all along. When she had vetted him early on, after his name had caught Katan's attention, she hadn't been able to find anything too specific about his Starfleet career, only that he'd left it once to join the Maquis cause. His more recent records had been blotchy; he had all but disappeared from any public records around 2360, but that had fitted with the life of a man on the run. A man laying low to survive while most of his Maquis comrades had either perished or found themselves in prison. But now that she knew that he had been part of the Voyager crew, the pieces now fit perfectly together: he hadn't been in hiding at all – he'd been stuck in the Delta Quadrant along with the rest of the Voyager crew, and his dear captain, up until very recently.

And if her suspicion was correct about him being Starfleet, it would make sense to assume that he'd been the one to contact the Nebula-class starship to the Doldrums too. It had been a great move on his part; one, it had drawn the Federation's attention to the Kigyun's illegal activities, and two, he'd used the ship's presence as a distraction for the Wraiths. A play to make them hurry and not have time to second guess their actions or his allegiance. Jem herself had unwittingly played right into his hand, going as far as showing him how to destroy her compound's shields. At the time she had figured that this might be her best bet for getting Voyager's technology, which he had pretended had been recovered by the Scavengers. And because she had told the Second Clan to never contact her under any circumstances, she had believed him. She had deemed it possible that the Second Clan had retrieved the generators from the ship's wreckage. So she had decided to play along, especially since she'd known it was only a matter of time before the Federation starship confiscated everything the Second Clan had salvaged on her behalf.

She let out a long sigh as she grabbed some fruits from an abandoned booth and bit into them. Maybe she should have let Katan kill him.

But despite what most people would think, she didn't enjoy ruling by fear or having to rely on threats and violence to get what she wanted. She was no Katan, who took pleasure from the pain of others. And yet, the fear she naturally instilled in others, and her capacity to charm (depending on what form she took) had become crucial tools for her survival. Eventually, she had used those abilities not only to survive, but to thrive, and to make a place of her own with her people. But even as "The Boss" she had always prided herself on the fact that she ran a clean operation – casualties were rare under her orders. She had even insisted that if the Second Clan wanted to use her compound for their despicable humanoid trafficking, that they at least ensured that the prisoners were well treated.

Oh the Second Clan would be pissed at her. She really needed off this planet. There was nothing to keep her here. Not with the location of her operation discovered. She knew it was only a matter of time before more Federation ships arrived to investigate the other compounds, the ones under the other clans' jurisdiction. And of course they would blame her as well, for unwittingly bringing Starfleet to their doorsteps. And she had made such good progress with them too… She had managed to rise through the ranks over the last few years – one of the youngest Kigyun to ever run her own compound, despite the fact that the Third Clan – to which she belonged by proof of DNA – had refused to acknowledge her. In addition to her natural skills, her agreement with the Second Clan had also brought her status higher, by the same token increasing her chances of being adopted back into the clans. But now… She stood very little chance of finding her way back into that status. Not when her people believed her a traitor – or too stupid to avoid drawing Federation attention to them.

As Jem continued wandering through the streets of the Circle, some of the inhabitants who had managed to get away the day before started to return. So it didn't take very long before the sounds of bustling activity started to echo once again along the makeshift streets. Most of the inhabitants were people from all over the quadrant; the Kigyun themselves tended to live much deeper in the desert, away from the rest of the world, and the rest of the galaxy.

As the Circle inhabitants went back to their business, Jem started asking around for a pilot, someone she could pay to get her off the planet. Just as she was approaching a stand, she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks – feeling her human hair on the back of her neck stand on end. That scent. She knew it.

She whipped around with a snarl, ready to defend herself. Loxeron, the heir/ess to the Second Clan stood a few feet behind her, in the shape of tall and beautiful Romulan. It seemed fitting, somehow. Next to them was their personal guard, also shifted as a Romulan. While some Kigyun chose a gender to live their life (as Jem had done), many Kigyun remained gender-neutral and rather shifted back and forth between the various genders that populated the galaxy. Loxeron was among the latter category. So even though they had taken the form of a male Romulan, there was no telling what gender Loxeron actually identified with.

"Jemariya-Lan," Loxeron drawled.

Jem hated her full Kigyun name – it mean "foundling." It had been given to her when she had first showed up back at the Doldrums, three years before, when she'd been nothing but a teenager looking for answers. The name belittled her and undermined everything she was trying to achieve, but she had decided to keep the shortened version 'Jem.' It was better than her human name anyway. "Loxeron," she greeted in kind, muscles tense, ready to defend herself, her eyes fixed on their dark grey ones.

"I have been hearing rumors," they said in the lilting language of their people. "That you are responsible for our losses," they said with a tilt of the head toward the compound walls that stretched up above them.

"I was betrayed. But I will find a way to return. You know I always do," Jem wasn't completely fluent, but she had improved a lot over the last year. Partly because of Loxeron's help.

They smiled, the expression strangely genuine for a Romulan impersonator. "Indeed, you do. And for that reason I have decided to offer my help. I have some new information that might be of interest to you."

"Tell me."

"I will need something in return, of course."

"The price is to be established upon hearing the information. As you well know."

They stepped closer, but Jem didn't relax her stance. "Intelligence from the Federation's investigation of their ship's destruction suggests that we may have missed some vital pieces of technology when we scavenged the wreckage. Various ship parts that had been hybridized with Borg technology. The Federation has, of course, been eager to retrieve these items, to keep them from enemy hands, so they have two ships working on the retrieval." They tilted their head curiously. "Did you know that Voyager has – or had – a former Borg drone on their crew? We even had her in our midst until the Federation came. Her knowledge must be incommensurable."

Jem angled her head, her eyes studying them. She understood the point perfectly. "I do not trade in humanoids. If you want this drone, you will have to get her back yourself."

Their smile broadened, then they chuckled, apparently amused by her fierce reaction. "It was worth a try."

"How reliable is this information?" Jem asked, jerking her chin so it would be held higher.

"Our assessors mark it as 65% reliable."

Jem nodded as she considered this. Those weren't great odds. But she was desperate. Did she dare try again? The Federation wouldn't expect anyone to do something so bold, so she would have the element of surprise. But she would need a plan. If only Punjan and Sébas hadn't been captured… Punjan might be a puppy, but he was also a genius, and Sébas always came up with the best, most precise plans.

She sighed, relaxing at last. "Fine. But I'll need some help."

Loxeron gave a slow nod. "The Second Clan will provide it."

Jem snorted. "Still trying to dethrone the First, I see." But then she returned the slow nod. "Name your price."

oooOooo

Chakotay tossed the ball overhead, as far as he could throw. Calypso chased after it, and while she ran there and back, Chakotay resumed walking. Preparations were almost under wraps as the crew put on the finishing touches on the details. Chakotay had tried to help the various teams, but they were so efficient that he had felt in the way everywhere, be it in Engineering, in the briefing room or on the bridge. So he'd figured he might as well use this opportunity to clear his head before all hell broke loose. He'd considered going through his boxing routine, but, thinking that Calypso might enjoy a walk after being cooped up for so long, he'd opted for the holodeck instead. The Aspire crew had created a stunning Scandinavian fjord program, which allowed for a number of outdoors activity, from hiking to kayaking to ziplining. Chakotay had gone for a simple walk along the small, nestled beach of the fjord, enjoying the brisk, pine-scented air of the program.

He spotted a uniform-clad figure he knew well heading his way, looking around in awe. Chakotay grinned as he started walking to meet her. Calypso spotted Kathryn too, and immediately set off to greet her, the ball in her mouth. Kathryn smiled when she saw them approach, then bent over to pet Calypso.

"Nice," she commented with a head motion at the high, tree-covered walls of the fjord rising around them.

"Everything okay?" Chakotay asked as he neared her. When he'd left the briefing room a few minutes before, she'd still been in a briefing with Captain Asani and Admiral Mendez, busy briefing Starfleet Command and the captains of the Cousteau and the Einstein about the plan.

She nodded. "I came to get you, we're almost at the coordinates. I thought I'd join you for a bit. Unless you came here to be alone?"

Chakotay stopped walking when he reached her at last, hands going to his hips out of habit, and he smiled, shaking his head. "I've been on my own for weeks, I'd love some company, especially yours. I just needed to blow off some steam before the mission. Clear my head."

Her smile turned scandalously flirtatious as she started walking along the beach. "Oh really," she said as her eyes traveled over his face, down to his chest and neck, to his mouth, then back up to his eyes. "You should have come and found me. I might have been able to help."

Chakotay let out a surprised sound somewhere between a chuckle and a yelp and she laughed, a gleam in her eyes. When Calypso dropped the ball at her feet, she picked it up and tossed it, then wiped her hands together.

"I confess, the thought had crossed my mind," Chakotay replied with a sly sidelong look at her profile, his tone joking, though there was seriousness underlining his words. "But I didn't dare to assume…" He faltered, strangely tongue-tied. When she looked at him he went on, explaining. "It's been so easy to return to our Starfleet habits and personas, sometimes it feels like last night and this morning were a dream," he told her.

She smiled at that, a soft smile. "I know. It's strange isn't it… How this," she said with her hand gesturing between the two of them, "can feel so familiar, and yet so different at the same time."

Chakotay smiled. He knew exactly what she meant. "I'm still learning how to navigate that," he confessed.

"We both are." She stopped walking and turned to face him, tipping her head back to meet his eyes. "But just so we're clear," she said in her captain voice, yet the arch gleam in her eyes belied the tone. "I give you leave to assume."

Chakotay smiled, pleased, but then he narrowed his eyes playfully at her as he stepped a little closer. "I hope you realize, Captain Janeway, exactly what granting me that kind of permission would entail. It might get risky."

She raised an eyebrow but he could swear her breathing had gotten shallower when he'd stepped closer, encroaching into her personal space. "Oh?"

"Well," Chakotay started as he took another small step closer, shortening the distance between them down to just a few centimeters. He licked his lips and, heart suddenly pounding, lifted his fingers to graze her cheek, and then trail down her throat slowly, barely touching. Her skin turned to gooseflesh under his featherlight touch and she gasped. She tilted her head further back to meet his eyes, giving him even better access. Trusting. He felt her swallow against his fingers. "I might assume that when you look at me like that, it means you want me to kiss you, when in fact you're just trying to tell me I have reactor oil on my face."

Her lips twitched and she narrowed her eyes, but he'd seen how she closed her eyes at his touch. "Oh I'm fairly certain you'd be able to tell the difference."

He let out a low chuckle, pleased at how breathless she sounded all of a sudden. "Or," he went on playfully, enjoying the slow seduction as he slowly stepped around her. She turned her head to follow his movements. Once he was almost completely behind her, just past her shoulder, he moved his hand from her neck to touch the skin under her chin, gently turning and tilting her head back, making her eyes meet his again. He loved how she leaned ever so slightly back against him. "Next time you smile at me, I might assume that you're shamelessly flirting with me. You have no idea what kinds of crazy things I might assume. I have a very active imagination, you know."

"Apparently." She raised an eyebrow at that, but then she laughed, low and throaty. "I think, given the evidence presented to me, I'm willing to take the risk."

He nodded, struggling to keep a straight face. "At least it's an informed decision. You have been warned," he said, his mouth close to her ear. He leaned in slowly, watching her eyes go darker until they fluttered close and she fell against him, her lips brushing against his. Chakotay moved his hand to cup her cheek, his thumb caressing. They both sighed, the kind of happy sigh one blew when coming home after a long day. Chakotay had been longing to do this all day, and apparently so had she. She spun in his arms and her arms snaked around his neck, bringing his body flush against her own, as their lips met in earnest.

Chakotay's hand traveled lower down her back and-

They startled at Calypso's sudden bark, jumping apart at the sound. Calypso was staring at them expectantly, tail wagging. She nudged the ball she'd dropped at their feet with her muzzle, charming Kathryn, by the endeared expression on her face.

Chakotay was about to toss the ball as far as possible when the comm system intruded on the moment.

"Captain Janeway and Chakotay to the bridge. We have arrived at the rendezvous coordinates with the Cousteau and the Einstein." They exchanged a look, their expressions sobering instantly, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over them. Chakotay sighed as they disentangled themselves. He'd almost forgotten about everything else. But now it was time to focus again, and complete his damn mission. The sooner they caught Jem, the better.

"Are you ready for this?" He asked Kathryn as he bent to grab Calypso's ball. They moved toward the holodeck exit.

She knew, of course, what he was talking about: they were about to come face to face with the reality of Voyager's destruction, since they were meeting the other ships there. "Probably not," she said as she straightened her uniform and her hair, as if these little gestures were part of her ritual that transformed Kathryn into Captain Janeway.

Chakotay squeezed her shoulder, then let go when they stepped into the corridor. They made a quick stop to leave Calypso at his quarters before they went on toward the bridge. They were silent as they walked and Chakotay had to resist the urge to reach for her hand. Despite what she'd just told him, he wasn't actually sure that she would appreciate public displays, especially on a starship, and when she was wearing her captain's uniform. He knew her well enough to know she would need time to get used to this new reality. So he decided to just follow her lead in that regard, and so kept his hand at his side.

"You know I was watching you today," she started suddenly, "you really are good at this," her hand swept at the ship around them. "I think I'd forgotten that you're a leader in your own right. I… I think I took that for granted when we were on Voyager. But today, it made me realize that being a first officer…probably held you back. And I'm sorry for that, for not giving you more opportunities to lead."

Chakotay frowned, touched and disapproving at once. "What are you talking about? I was perfectly satisfied as your First Officer."

She smiled indulgently as they entered the turbolift and she voiced their command for the bridge. "Still. I know you said you don't know yet if you want to come back to Starfleet, but if you do, I think you should apply for a captaincy. You'd make a great Starfleet captain, Chakotay."

Chakotay smiled as he considered it. "Coming from you it's a great compliment. Thank you. I'll think about it."

She nodded. "Good."

The turbolift doors opened and they stepped onto the bridge, greeting Captain Asani and the rest of the Aspire bridge officers with a nod. When they turned their heads toward the viewscreen and saw what little remained of Voyager – bits and pieces floating in space – Kathryn's steps faltered. "Oh." Even Chakotay, who'd seen the ship explode, was once again struck numb by the utter destruction of it. The Cousteau and the Einstein were still there, and they could see a number of shuttles buzzing among the wreckage, using tractor beams to gather pieces of the ship.

The turbolift doors opened and the rest of the Voyager contingent – B'Elanna, Tom, Seven, Commander Nobrega, Commander Hale, Tuvok and Harry Kim – stepped next to them. Harry cursed under his breath at the sight.

Most of them, Kathryn and Chakotay included, stepped closer to the viewscreen, attracted to it like moths to a light source, stunned into silence at the sight that greeted them. That's when Chakotay felt Kathryn's hand seek his own. Chakotay glanced at her, but she was still staring straight ahead, looking utterly crestfallen. So he clasped her hand and she clang to his fingers, squeezing, tight.

"I don't think I actually believed it until now," she rasped.

Seven, who had stepped next to Kathryn, inhaled through her nose. "Neither did I."

Chakotay squeezed Kathryn's hand again, knowing there was nothing he could say that would make her feel better, and tugging on it gently, drew her attention back to him. He gave her a tight, encouraging smile.

She wiped at her cheek and nodded, squaring her shoulders, before she let go of his hand and looked back at Captain Asani. "The rest of the crew is still aboard the two ships?" Captain Asani nodded. "I'd like to speak to them."

When the communications officer gave her the green light, Kathryn started pacing slowly, just as Chakotay had seen her do dozens of time on the bridge of Voyager.

"This is Captain Janeway speaking, I would like to take this moment to say to all of you, but especially to my crew, how proud I am to be standing with you all today. And how relieved I am." Her voice cracked, and Chakotay's heart swelled when she inhaled and pushed on. "Words can't express just how relieved I am to learn that you are all safe. We will all have to come to terms with our loss, and what that means for our future. But not quite yet. Because we have one more mission to complete as a crew, one final test of our bonds and perseverance. You have been briefed about what the mission entails, so I ask that you follow the orders of the captains of the Cousteau, the Einstein and Aspire just as you would do mine – with pride, professionalism and bravery. I will see you all on the other side of this ordeal. Thank you."

When Kathryn faltered, Chakotay's lips curved into a small smile, and with one quick glance around the room, quickly noticed that most of those present shared it, often in a solemn kind of way.

"Very nice," Captain Asani, said with a small smile of her own.

Kathryn nodded, then nodded at her officers. "Alright. Let's do this."

oooOooo