Chapter 3

Janeway smothered a chuckle when Chakotay banged his head against the low cave entrance. Once they entered the cave, the chamber expanded so they could stand comfortably, and they encountered cooler air which felt refreshing after baking in the sun.

If she'd thought the desert scenery was monotonous, only rock walls and occasionally large boulders populated the dimly lit cave.

At least it was cooler in here.

She checked the glowing display of her watch. They'd been at this for over three hours. How long was this going to take? Given the amount of water they'd been provided, she worried this might become a full-day event.

They continued to hike in silence, the dark path alternating between ascending and descending, with no forks in the road. Thankfully, they hadn't run into any animal life. She'd never been a big fan of bats or related creatures.

She sighed. At one point in her life, she would've considered hiking with Chakotay to be a pleasant excursion. She'd enjoyed his company. She briefly recalled them sharing many meals in her quarters, talking effortless for hours, and even the two of them sailing on Lake George using her holodeck program.

She tried to ignore the oppressive, heavy feeling that permeated her chest, making it harder to breathe. She didn't examine it too closely, knowing she was more than partially to blame for the changes in their relationship.

Besides, she justified, she didn't have time for such nonsense. She needed to get this crew home. Priorities. That's what was most important. That's what really mattered.

Chakotay paused. "Do you see that?"

It appeared as if something further ahead was glowing. She stepped up her pace, curious to investigate.

Half a mile later, she paused, reaching the source. The cavern was filled with a glowing pool of a clear, churning liquid. The intense light seemed to emanate from beneath the pool, and it was brighter than the light provided by their flashlights.

"Great. How are we going to cross this?"

Hands on her hips, Janeway surveyed the area, assessing the precariously thin, rocky ledge that was several feet above the pool, on one side of the cavern. It didn't look safe to traverse. She tossed a small rock into the pool, to attempt to gauge the depth and concluded that it was most likely too deep for them to wade through.

Was there a light source within pool? What was causing the liquid to churn in such a soothing rhythmic pattern? Was the liquid a living organism? Or could the light be a result of photobacteria in the liquid that was undergoing bioluminescence?

She reached into her backpack for her tricorder to probe the liquid, to determine if it was toxic to humans.

Examining the reading, she said, "At least it has properties similar to water."

She frowned when she turned to Chakotay. He was seated, cross legged on the ground before the pool, simply staring into the glowing light. A peaceful expression on his face

"You've got to be kidding me. C'mon, we've got to figure out how to get past this obstacle or we're never going to complete this task."

XXXX

The moment he saw the glowing light, Chakotay immediately recognized that this was the oracle. This was where the moment of enlightenment would take place. He sat on the ground before the pool, staring into the churning glowing liquid. He tried to clear his mind so he could be open to the leading of whatever entity or spirit was here.

Yet he still heard Kathryn's complaints in the background.

It pained him that she was so resistant. Rather than feeling annoyed with her, he felt pity. Kathryn was clearly letting her demons devour her, despite his best efforts to keep her afloat over the years.

He also suspected that she might be afraid of the contents of a spiritual message.

He continued to focus on the bright, swirling liquid until his vision turned foggy and began to glaze over. Moments later, Chakotay found himself with his hand on the door of a wooden cabin.

After a quick inspection of the construction, he concluded that he could've designed and built this himself. From the porch where he was standing, he had an impressive view of a valley, lined with towering trees with silver leaves. Several similar wooden cabins sat nearby. A large, flourishing vegetable garden that included plump tomatoes, green and red peppers, and oversized zucchinis and cucumbers, was on the side of the house.

He wasn't sure if it was the quality of the sunlight that seemed more intense or the fact that the color of the sky appeared nearly lilac rather than azure blue that led him to believe that this might be a planet other than Earth. Wherever he was, it was not familiar to him.

His palms were rough and calloused, with dirt wedged beneath his nails. He'd clearly been performing more physical labor than he currently did. A simple brown band on his ring finger intrigued him. Rather than wearing his Starfleet uniform, he was clad in tan pants and a loose button-down shirt with a brown vest.

Stepping into the cabin, he was greeted by Tom and B'Elanna, who were seated on a couch in the living area. Evidently some time had passed, Tom's face was a little rounder and B'Elanna was pregnant. A young toddler with Klingon brow ridges energetically ran about the room. Another couple sat on chairs opposite them. He didn't recognize them, they were clearly aliens, yet he sensed this slightly older version of himself had fond feelings towards them.

The aliens' features resembled humans with the exception of the plum crests on the tops of their hands and foreheads. Their dark purple hair seemed to shimmer and their nearly alabaster skin with a touch of lavender shone. Their eyes were slightly wider than humans, with amethyst irises.

"Chakotay! Better hurry! Your wife is in the kitchen." Tom smirked.

As he walked towards the room that he hoped was the kitchen, he felt apprehensive. He worried that, feeling desperate and lonely, he'd decided to marry Seven. Even though that was the path he'd just mentally committed himself to, facing it felt very different. Bile rose in his throat as he considered actually confronting that reality.

What had he been thinking?

Taking a breath, he pushed open the kitchen door. It was an old-fashioned kitchen with a low-tech sink, stove, and refrigerator. No replicator. Every surface was covered with dishes or food.

He smiled broadly when he caught sight of his wife, bent over the oven, cautiously removing a large serving dish. This wasn't Seven. With that red hair and diminutive height, it had to be Kathryn.

Turning about with the hot dish in her hands, Kathryn said, "Don't just stand there. Where can I put this?"

He dutifully made space on the top of the stove.

"Where have you been? You're late! You know I'm not any good in the kitchen."

Kathryn stood before him. Her red hair was slightly longer, pulled back in a loose French braid. She looked gorgeous, wearing a blue dress that complimented the color of her eyes. But what struck him most was that she was obviously pregnant. Compared to her petite frame, her baby bulge was huge. Along with her breasts. It was an eye-catching silhouette.

He closed his eyes momentarily to thank the spirits.

Despite her annoyance, she grabbed him and kissed him deeply. This is what he'd dreamed about, what he'd longed for, for so long. Kathryn as his wife, with a child on the way. His dream had come true. He blinked back tears that came to his eyes.

"Let's get moving. People are hungry. What took you so long? Can you make the salad?"

He grinned. "Of course. Did you set the table?"

"I'll get that started." She riffled through cupboards, selecting plates.

"Matching plates are nice, if possible." He reminded her, observing her random choices.

She discretely switched a few plates as he searched the refrigerator for salad ingredients. Even though he'd never seen this kitchen before, things were laid out in a manner that made sense, so it was easy for him to step in. He also was able to sense some of the thoughts and emotions of his older self.

Seated about the large wooden dining table, bowls of food were passed around while the conversation flowed. It was apparent that the three couples knew each other well and were heavily involved in community projects.

The male alien, named T'Zal, gently teased Kathryn. "Going to lead the counsel again?"

Although the others about him laughed good naturedly, Chakotay sensed the emotions of his older self. This was a sore topic. While she was no longer the captain of a starship, he could imagine it would be difficult to convince Kathryn to slow down, even when she was having a child.

"Of course." She enthusiastically responded. "We've got lots to do. We need to update the water filtration system. That bout of listeria should never have happened. And with the Denuae nearby, we need to be on our guard. If they get too close and negotiations don't work, we'll need to beef up our defenses. A couple of shuttle crafts aren't gonna cut it."

Chakotay grinned, imagining her barking out orders to a group of workers, with a baby in her arms. That sounded like Kathryn.

"Won't you have your hands full?" he teased.

"It'll be like everything else we've done. Teamwork." She clasped his hand and smiled warmly towards him.

B'Elanna and Tom exchanged significant glances.

"You do realize that children change your life," B'Elanna said as Tom attempted to get their toddler to sit still and take a few bites of food.

"Of course," Kathryn replied.

"You may be surprised to find that captaining a starship in some ways might be easier," Tom said. "Toddlers don't take well to orders." His little girl took off, so he sprang to his feet to keep an eye on her.

Kathryn laughed, not taking him seriously.

T'Jal, the alien woman said, "Yet you're still going to lead the council. And teach quantum mechanics at the school. And work on a defense grid."

"If you're getting overloaded, we could hold back on teaching advanced subjects." T'Zal suggested. "That's lower on the priority list anyway. Aren't projects that directly impact our survival the most important?"

While Chakotay could understand his point, instinctively he knew that Kathryn would object.

Her blue eyes flashed with determination. "Absolutely not. The next generation must understand technology and the principles of space flight. We should've started this even earlier to give our young people a firm foundation. This is their future that we're talking about."

Chakotay shivered as she ran a hand along his thigh beneath the table.

Then they discussed a potential flight to another planet to initiate trade negotiations.

As they spoke, Chakotay sensed many of these issues weren't new struggles. That, in fact, they'd dealt with much worse in the past. Yet the overall mood in the room was optimistic.

He was confused as the topic of conversation turned to trade missions or defending themselves against other aliens. Why hadn't they mentioned Voyager? Wouldn't that be the best vehicle and have the most effective weapons for defense?

It appeared that they'd chosen to settle on this world, though he didn't understand why. Yet they were happy with their choice.

Even Kathryn seemed content.

Were the rest of the crew living here as well?

He fervently hoped that was the case.

He didn't want to consider alternative possibilities.