Summary: J/C Chakotay and Janeway become sidetracked from their diplomatic mission when they journey into the bowels of an unstable moon in pursuit of an escape pod emitting a Starfleet signature. THIS STORY IS SET SOMEWHERE IN SEASON THREE.
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: These wonderful characters belong to the almighty Gods of Paramount, as do all things in the Star Trek universe. I'm more like Q, sticking my naughty little nose in and shaping their cosmos to fit my whims. If it's somewhat changed when I'm finished with it … well, you can't really blame me, can you? I just try to write what they didn't have to heart to write. And even though I don't get paid for it, I find it oddly fulfilling.
Authors Note: This story was inspired by the Deep Space 9 episode, Heart of Stone, in which Kira Nerys and Odo are faced with such a situation. It is a deeply touching episode, and as I watched it, I just kept thinking how wonderful Robert Beltran and Kate Mulgrew would've been if it had been one of Voyager's J/C episodes. We saw how well they can play off each other in Coda. I shamelessly admit that the plot belongs to DS9, though I didn't follow it exactly. If only I were half as creative …
Special thanks to my dear friend, Survak, for his graciousness, and his ever patient proof reading. You're one nice Romulan, even if you do love Dr. Pulaski.
Heart of Stone
By LadyChakotay
"Just what are you suggesting, Commander?" Janeway tried to glare at her co-pilot, but the corners of her lips turned up slightly in a suppressed grin.
Seated beside her in the shuttle, Chakotay's dark eyes twinkled with amusement. "I'm not suggesting anything, Captain," he grinned. "I'm saying it outright. You're a sore loser."
Janeway feigned indignation. "I most certainly am not. I'm a very gracious loser." She shot him a sideways glance. "Besides, it's a worthless discussion since I rarely lose."
He laughed softly and shook his head. "You definitely lost last night at the pool tournament. And don't tell me it was because we haven't had a tournament in a while and you were out of practice. Paris may have bought that excuse but it's my butt you routinely whip on our weekly late night games at Sandrine's. I know better."
She laughed and turned her best innocent face on him. "Last night wasn't my fault, Chakotay. I was … distracted."
He pretended to be shocked. "What? You can't be serious! The infamous Captain Kathryn Janeway, the woman who could stare down a Kazon Maj? Distracted? I don't believe it."
"Believe it," she said firmly, glancing up at him from her console. "Because it's the truth. I was distracted."
"By whom?"
She regarded him with a raised eyebrow. "It wasn't a whom; it was more of a what."
Chakotay chuckled softly. "Okay, then by what?"
An impish grin crept across her face. "That horrid wailing coming from the stage."
"You mean Ayala and me? That wasn't wailing," Chakotay argued, folding his arms indignantly. "It was singing!"
Janeway laughed aloud. "Trust me, Chakotay. That wasn't singing. In fact, I was being generous when I called it wailing."
He flashed her a dimpled grin. "That bad, huh?"
She nodded, amused. "That bad."
"Well," he shrugged, "I was never much of a singer. I only did it to shut them up. I didn't want to at first, but now that I find out it caused you to lose the last game of the tournament to Tom Paris, it was worth it."
She punched him playfully in the arm. "Watch it, Mister. You could end up licking my boots for the rest of the trip."
He eyed her suggestively. "What makes you think I'd be able to stop at your boots?"
She looked pointedly at him but her blue eyes showed her amusement. She opened her mouth to scold him, but was interrupted by an alarm on her console.
"Saved by the bell," Chakotay muttered.
All business once more, Janeway leaned over her console. "I don't believe it," she half whispered.
"What is it?"
"It's the proximity alarm. A small spacecraft just flew right over us." She worked her controls with purpose, ignoring a lock of her reddish hair that slipped into her face. "Why didn't the sensors pick it up sooner?"
Chakotay's brow furrowed as he, too, hunched over the console. "I don't know, but it's no bigger than an escape pod. I'm detecting one life sign." His dark eyes were serious as he looked at her. "It's a human, Captain. And he's injured."
A split second later the computer began relaying a jumbled audio message. The voice was definitely male but the words were difficult to make out through the static. Regardless of the interference, it was obvious that whoever this human was, he was in trouble.
"It's a distress call," Chakotay said.
"Yes," she said, looking up at him again. "And it has a Starfleet signature."
/\ /\ /\ /\
The atmospheric disturbances tossed the small shuttlecraft around like a giant cat batting at a ball of string. Not for the first time, Chakotay wondered if they'd bitten off more than they could chew when they followed the escape pod to this turbulent moon. It'd spiraled toward the surface, obviously out of control. There was no reason to believe the shuttle wouldn't do the same. And without Voyager orbiting nearby they had no one to call for assistance if things turned ugly. They were truly on their own.
"Where's the pod?" she snapped.
Chakotay pounded away at his controls. "I'm trying to track it, Captain." His dark eyes moved rapidly over the incoming data. "Looks like it went down over the northern continent."
Janeway's brow furrowed. "Did the pilot survive?"
"Wish I could say," he answered. "There's just too much interference. The sensors can't cut through it."
"Well, then," Janeway said, programming a new course into the shuttle's computer, "I guess there's only one way to find out."
Chakotay looked at her sharply. "We're going to land on this moon?"
"Unless you know of another way to get to the surface," she said with annoyance.
"Don't you think we should at least send a subspace message to Voyager? If something goes wrong they won't even know where to start looking for us. We're way off course."
She didn't even look up at him. "No time." The shuttle began to descend. "We'd have to go back into a high orbit to do that. By then he could be dead."
"He could be dead already," he argued. In his opinion, this was a reckless decision, one he didn't agree with. Even with his deep respect for life, every life, he knew they were in no condition to mount a rescue mission alone. "This moon is unstable. If the atmosphere is this violent, there's no telling what the surface is like. It's probably seismically active, and that could be the least of it."
"Then you better hang on, Chakotay," she said stubbornly, not shaken a bit by his objections. "Because I'm landing this shuttle."
Knowing Kathryn Janeway as he did, Chakotay knew that arguing would only serve to firm her resolve even more. So he did the only thing he could. He held on tight and prayed silently to the Sky Spirits that she wasn't about to end them both.
To her credit Janeway was a skilled pilot. Not as accomplished as Paris, of course, but still talented. Somehow she managed to land the shuttle in one piece, though not without slamming both of them into the consoles several times first and eventually knocking Chakotay to the floor.
As the shuttle's engines began to power down Chakotay pulled himself off the deck where he'd been resting in an undignified heap. The sharp pain in his right shoulder told him it was probably dislocated - again. Or at the least, badly bruised and strained. He glanced at Kathryn as he rummaged through a storage compartment for a med kit. She had a large, angry red welt across her cheek that was already starting to bruise, but other than that she appeared unharmed.
"You okay?" he grunted.
"I'm fine." She was already scanning the area, oblivious to his private agony. "You were right about the seismic activity. There's a live volcano about 30 kilometers over that ridge. There's a breathable atmosphere out there, not as oxygenated as we're used to but we'll just have to live with it."
"Somehow that's just what I thought you'd say," he panted.
Eager to find this human and learn exactly how he ended up in the Delta Quadrant in a Starfleet escape pod, Janeway holstered her phaser and tricorder and, pushing past Chakotay without so much as a glance, she palmed the hatch release on the wall. The heavy door opened slowly. Hot, smoke-tinged air gusted into the shuttle. Unaccustomed to such impurities, Janeway began to cough as the haze hit her lungs.
"So much for getting some fresh air, hmm?" When there was no response to her little joke, Janeway turned around to find Chakotay standing in the same spot she'd left him in, the scanning wand of a medical tricorder in his shaking hand.
Her brow furrowed with the realization that he was obviously injured. "Chakotay, you're hurt…"
"Just my shoulder," he grunted. "I'm fine." A quick scan told him his shoulder was still in its place within the socket but some of the ligaments were torn. He fumbled with his good arm to load an anti-inflammatory and pain reliever into a hypospray.
Janeway felt her cheeks redden as guilt washed over her. She'd been so intent on finding this human that she hadn't even noticed her closest friend was wounded. And to top it off, it was an injury she'd unintentionally caused.
"Let me help you," she said, taking the hypospray from his hand and offering him a guilt-ridden but warm smile. With a gentle hand she guided him to the co-pilot's seat and then pressed the hypo to his neck. His rigid posture seemed to relax almost the same instant she heard the familiar hiss.
He rubbed the spot on his neck with his large hand and then flashed her a grateful smile. "Thank you," he said softly. "That's much better already."
"Why didn't you tell me you were hurt and needed help?"
His smile disappeared and he averted his eyes. "You didn't ask, Kathryn."
Janeway fought the urge to retort. He was right, after all. She'd been so intent on following the human that she blew right past him like he wasn't even there. She knelt down before him and placed a gentle hand on his chest. "I'm sorry, Chakotay. I know I get tunnel vision sometimes, but that's no excuse." She smiled flirtatiously. "Forgive me?"
For a fraction of a second he entertained the notion of staying angry with her for her stubbornness. But he'd come to realize that that was just part of who she was. Trying to change it would be like trying to change the direction of a raging hurricane. And, as always, he couldn't resist her.
A grin tugged playfully at his lips. "Don't I always?" He covered her small hand with his and had to suppress the urge to bring it to his lips, to kiss her slender wrist and feel the pulse beneath her skin. Instead, he gave it an affectionate squeeze and then nodded toward the open hatch. "We'd better get moving. No telling when that volcano you found will erupt and I'd just as soon not be here when it happens."
"That makes two of us," she said, rising to her feet.
Chakotay grabbed the other med kit, feeling certain that the human was - at the very least - injured. They stepped out of the shuttle together and into the smoke-ridden air.
The moon was barren, to put it mildly. There was nothing but rust colored rock for as far as the eye could see. Chakotay noted instantly that there was no greenery, no growing things anywhere. In fact, as far as he could tell, there were no signs of life whatsoever. He speculated that they must've set down in a desert zone and there must be plant life somewhere on the surface of this moon. Otherwise, where had the oxygen come from?
He wished the escape pod had at least crashed into a lush, tropical area where the view was pleasing and the air smelled of exotic flora rather than in this dust bowl where it smelled like the smoke from a million campfires. He resisted the burning urge to cough, knowing that if he started hacking, he would only succeed in drawing the filth deeper into his lungs. One glance at his captain told him she was doing the same thing.
Tricorder in hand, Janeway squinted, the haze stinging her eyes. "The pod is this way," she said, cocking her head to the north.
Chakotay nodded, getting the same readings on his tricorder. "I'm not detecting any life signs. We may be too late."
Janeway continued to scan the area as they moved toward the downed escape pod. They were nearly there when she saw a tiny blip in the far corner of the data screen. A life sign! But it wasn't coming from the same direction as the pod. "Wait," she said, pausing to increase the sensitivity on her tricorder.
Chakotay peered curiously over her shoulder. "What is it?"
"I'm detecting a life sign. It's human - he's alive."
Relief washed over Chakotay. "I'm very glad to hear it."
"You and me both. But he's not in the escape pod." She gestured to the east. "There's a large cave system beneath us. Looks like the entrance is this way. He probably went in there seeking shelter."
"Or a hiding place," Chakotay added. "He seemed to be running from something."
"Maybe," she said, already leading the way to the caves. "But there's only one way to find out. Come on."
/\ /\ /\ /\
The caves, as it turned out, had a rather wicked sense of humor. It took Janeway and Chakotay nearly 15 minutes of running around quite literally in circles before they realized what was happening.
"We're picking up the same life sign in a dozen different places. That's just not possible," said Janeway. If the situation hadn't been so serious, she'd have laughed. "In fact, according to my tricorder, you and I are also in several different places at once. And as many times as I've wished I had that ability, I'm afraid I don't."
"There's something in the cave walls reflecting our scans," said Chakotay. "They're bouncing all over the place and then being reflected back at us somehow."
Janeway stopped walking and turned to face him. "Like mirrors in a fun house," she said, a touch of scientific appreciation in her voice. "You see so many reflections of the same image it's almost impossible to tell which one is real."
"Exactly," Chakotay nodded. "Our tricorders are useless down here."
Now Janeway did chuckle despite the urgency of the moment. "I'm glad we're the only ones who know that it took us 15 minutes of going around in circles to figure that out, Commander." She flashed him a smile as she returned her tricorder to its holster. "I guess we'll just have to do this the old fashioned way."
He smiled in return. "You mean use our own eyes? I think I can handle that."
Not for the first time, the ground shook beneath them. Janeway's eyes rose to the ceiling and she froze for a moment, half expecting it to come crashing down on them. "Those tremors seem to be getting closer together. We'd better hurry." She drew her phaser and verified that it was set on stun, just in case. "I think we should split up."
Chakotay's eyes widened. "I don't think that's a good idea, Captain. We have no idea who that man is or what his intentions might be. Not to mention what else might be lurking in these caves."
"I appreciate your caution, Chakotay, but we're running out of time." As if to confirm her statement, the ground shook again, causing a few small rocks to rain down on them from the ceiling. "The quicker we're out of here, the better. We can do this faster if we split up."
He hated to admit it, but she was right. Reluctantly, he nodded his agreement. "Just be careful, Kathryn. Please."
She flashed him a wry smile over her shoulder. "If I didn't know better, Commander, I'd say you think I'm a bit reckless."
"Never," he grinned. "Just trying to be a good officer. Protecting the captain is my job, remember?"
She chuckled as she walked away. "As if you'd ever allow me to forget."
/\ /\ /\ /\
As Chakotay wandered through the bowels of the small moon he took advantage of the time alone to contemplate their situation. Something wasn't right here; he could feel it in his bones. It all just seemed a little too ordered for comfort. A Starfleet escape pod carrying a single human just happening to whiz by right at the moment he and Janeway were in the area? The chaotic atmosphere causing sensor blindness, but calming just enough to let them land the shuttle in one piece? And then there were these caves, how handy it was that the pod happened to crash almost right on top of them and the human led them deep inside where their equipment was all but useless. It was all a bit too convenient, he thought. Like a bad holonovel.
Or a trap.
Suddenly, like a wild rabbit realizing it was about to be cornered by a wolf, Chakotay fought back a rush of panic and he had the overwhelming urge to get the hell out of there. Figuring the combadges were probably as useless as the tricorders he turned around and began backtracking, intending to find Kathryn and get her to safety … with or without her consent.
He made it less than 10 meters and then stopped cold in his tracks when Kathryn's near-panicked voice filtered through his communicator. It was nearly drown out by static and distortion, but he was able to make out a few words and they struck terror in his heart.
"Ch...otay … need yo … help. I'm trapped … "
He slapped his combadge with his right hand, wincing at the pain it caused in his shoulder, and broke into a dead run. He was near panic knowing that without the aid of his tricorder it would take a lot longer to track her position. "I'm coming, Kathryn. Keep calling out and making noise. I'll have to follow the sound of your voice." I just hope I get to you before someone … or something … else does, he thought.
Even in his frantic state, his mind catalogued the fact that her communicator had worked long enough to let him know she was in trouble, even with such extreme interference. Another oddly convenient factor in this game. He tried to tell himself that it was the Great Spirits looking out for them, or maybe his animal guide protecting them from their own bad decisions. But deep inside himself, way down in the darkest parts of his mind, he knew it wasn't so. He believed that whatever presence was hovering over them, manipulating their circumstances, it wasn't a benevolent one.
/\ /\ /\ /\
After what seemed like hours but was probably only minutes of following Janeway's cries for help, Chakotay finally stumbled into a large opening where several tunnels intersected. Kathryn stood in the middle of the cavity, a painfully embarrassed expression on her face.
"What is it?" he panted. "What's wrong?"
She gestured to her left foot which Chakotay now noticed was covered to the ankle in a shiny rock of some kind. It appeared to be composed mostly of a dark colored crystal. "It's stupid, really," Janeway said. "I stepped into a crevice or something and got my foot stuck."
Chakotay suppressed the urge to laugh but was unable to stifle a grin. "That took talent, Kathryn. I'm impressed."
She shot him a glare but her eyes danced with amusement. "Very funny. Now get me out of here before the ceiling caves in on my head and you have to get Voyager home all by yourself."
He bent down and began inspecting the situation. "Is that supposed to be a threat?" There was obvious humor in his voice. "If that happens, I get to be captain." He tugged at her foot but could not free it from the stone. It wouldn't budge an inch. Sensing Janeway's growing trepidation, he kept talking. "Of course, that would leave me with Tuvok as my command partner. He's a polite enough guy, I suppose. But the idea of dancing with him at the Christmas parties just doesn't appeal to me."
"Are you saying you'd miss me, Chakotay?"
"No," he teased. "I'm saying he doesn't look as good in the uniform as you do."
She laughed aloud. "My foot must really be stuck tightly if you're resorting to blatant flirtation." Her face grew serious. "I couldn't pull it free either. I tried for several minutes before I called you."
Chakotay stood up and scratched his head. "It's stubborn, but then so are you. We'll get you loose." The ground shook violently beneath them and Chakotay grabbed Janeway's arm to steady her. If she fell she'd easily snap her ankle. "But we'd better do it soon. Maybe we can slip your foot out of the boot."
She shook her head, wisps of her chestnut hair falling in her face. "I already tried that. It's wedged in too tight." Impatient, Janeway jerked the phaser from her belt. "Stand back," she said, taking aim on the rock at her feet.
Chakotay's brown eyes grew wide. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"No," she said. "But neither is standing here helplessly waiting for the ceiling to crash down on top of us. Besides, if I cut my foot off it'll just give the Doctor the opportunity to prove what a skilled hologram he is."
"You really think you'd survive long enough for him to get the chance?"
She gazed at him firmly. "I don't intend to find out. I'm a better aim than that, Chakotay."
He couldn't help but wince as she pressed the button and a bright light shot from the phaser. She wasn't kidding; she was a good aim and nailed the rock dead in the center. But to Chakotay's horror, instead of shattering like a crystal should it seemed to feed off the power and grew to over twice its original size. Like a giant mouth, it swallowed Kathryn's leg all the way to her knee. Unfortunately, it spread horizontally as well as vertically and now engulfed her right foot as well.
Shocked, she dropped the phaser to the ground. "Oh, my God," she gasped.
Chakotay was immediately at her side, scanning the - crystal? - with his tricorder. Of course, just as before, the readings were jumbled and difficult to decipher. "This isn't like any kind of stone I've ever seen. It doesn't appear to be alive, whatever it is. But it seemed to absorb the energy from the phaser blast."
For the first time since this began, Chakotay noticed that Janeway actually looked afraid. "Now what?" she asked evenly.
Chakotay tapped his combadge. "Chakotay to the Hawking, two to beam out." As he feared, nothing happened. He regarded Kathryn apologetically. "I can't raise the shuttle from inside. I'm going to have to go back to the landing site and beam you out from there."
"Understood."
Chakotay retrieved Janeway's dropped phaser and pressed it into her hand. "You'd better keep a hold of this. We have no idea what kind of creatures may think of these caves as home. They may not be happy if they discover they have visitors."
"Their hospitality certainly leaves something to be desired," she muttered, trying to ease the tension.
He laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'll hurry, Captain. I promise."
She offered him a brave smile. "I'll be waiting right here."
He chuckled and touched her cheek softly before leaving. "I'll see you soon."
/\ /\ /\ /\
Breathing hard and trying to ignore the burning pain in his shoulder, Chakotay tried again. "Computer, lock on to Captain Janeway's coordinates and transport her to the shuttle."
As with all his previous attempts, the computer refused to cooperate. "Unable to comply."
"Why?" he barked.
"Unable to establish transporter lock due to unidentifiable interference."
Unidentifiable interference? What the hell did that mean? It was pretty rare, even in the Delta Quadrant, that a Starfleet computer couldn't identify and classify planetary interference. If he could classify it he could probably find a way to compensate for it. How strangely convenient - again.
Desperate, he asked anyway. "Is there any way to compensate for the interference?"
"Negative."
"What about signal boosters? If I set up signal boosters at the captain's location would that level of enhancement make a transporter lock possible?"
"Negative. There is no known method of compensating for this type of interference."
Chakotay slammed his fist down on the console. "This doesn't make any sense!" he shouted. "None of this makes sense."
He rummaged through the storage compartments, searching for any and all tools that could possibly help him free Kathryn. He'd smash that damned crystal to pieces himself if he had to. As he worked, he continued to issue orders.
"Computer, send a message to Voyager. Notify Commander Tuvok of our current location and inform him that we require immediate assistance."
The computer whirred with activity for only a few seconds before bursting yet another of Chakotay's bubbles.
"Unable to establish communication … "
" … due to unidentifiable atmospheric interference." Chakotay interrupted. "I know." He paused his rummaging for a moment to think. "Then launch a distress beacon. Include our landing coordinates in the message."
"Working."
A few seconds later, Chakotay felt the shuttle shake at the same time he heard the boom.
"Distress beacon launched."
"Finally. Computer, under ideal circumstances, what's the soonest we could expect assistance from Voyager?"
"It will take approximately 26 hours for the signal to reach Voyager's last know location. Assuming the ship is still at those coordinates, it will take approximately 52 hours for assistance to arrive."
Chakotay sighed heavily. He should've expected that much. It would've been too strongly in his favor if they'd landed on a moon closer to Voyager's last location. Fatigue and frustration showing on his face, he recorded a continuous message to play inside the shuttle describing their location in the caves just in case, by some sheer miracle, Tuvok managed to arrive sooner than predicted. Not that he expected that, of course.
/\ /\ /\ /\
Tired and aching, Chakotay had to push himself to keep walking. He was almost there. Kathryn was just around the corner. In a moment he'd have to tell her that the transporter idea was hopeless. He wondered how she'd …
Before he could finish that thought two distinct blasts of weapons fire resonated through the caves. Energized by the sudden rush of adrenaline, he broke into a run. "Kathryn!"
He tore around the corner and stopped dead in his tracks as if he'd hit a brick wall. Janeway was holding the phaser at shoulder level, her eyes focused on the narrow opening of the tunnel opposite of the one Chakotay had just come through. But that wasn't what prompted Chakotay's screeching halt.
He froze in place, his eyes wide with alarm. The crystal now engulfed half of Kathryn's body. It covered her all the way to her waist. "Oh, God!" he cried.
Janeway turned her head to look at him, her pretty face looking worn and defeated. "It seems our rescue mission was unnecessary," she said, gesturing to the large, smoking hole in the wall behind her.
"Our human friend shot at you?" he asked incredulously.
"Apparently, the friendship is a bit one sided. He came through that tunnel over there. As soon as he saw me he drew his weapon. I tried to tell him my motives for being here were peaceful ones but he didn't want to listen." She grimaced slightly, her movements causing her pain. "He fired at me and missed. I fired back. I think I missed, too. He fled back into the tunnel and that's when you came in."
Chakotay examined the evidence on the cave wall. "He didn't miss by much."
She arched an eyebrow. "Since you've come back, I take it that transporting me out of this mess isn't an option."
He nodded remorsefully. "No, it's not." His eyes traveled over the surface of the stone, trying to deduce where its weakest points would be. "I brought some tools. We'll have to see if we can chip it away."
Janeway shook her head. "Don't. Right after you left I managed to bend until I could get hold of a rock on the ground. I tried using it to pound through the thinner parts of the crystal." She gestured with her arms as if she were showing off a new party gown. "This was my reward."
"It grew when you tried to chip it away?"
"It was growing before that," she said gravely. "It just sped up when I pounded it with the rock." She met his eyes, her expression one of grim resignation. "I've been doing some calculating during my free time, Chakotay. At the rate this thing is growing I'll be completely covered in about 12 hours."
He closed the distance between them and took her hand. "A lot can happen in 12 hours, Kathryn. I'll figure something out, I promise."
/\ /\ /\ /\
Six hours later, after Chakotay had tried everything he could think of and the crystal had moved several more inches up Kathryn's torso, he found himself struggling to subdue the panic that continually tried to rise within him. He worked hard to keep the hideous visions of what her death would be like at bay but they slipped in nonetheless. Already her breathing was labored as the unforgiving stone restricted the movement along her ribcage. He forced himself to take a deep, calming breath. He'd be no good to her if he fell apart and he knew he was her only hope.
Fumbling through the med kit, he loaded a hypospray with the triox compound the EMH used when one of his patients had lung damage, or when the air was particularly thin. It wasn't a cure, not by a long shot, but it might ease her work of breathing for a while. And at least he'd be doing something to help her.
Janeway's battle to hold her arms out of reach of the stone had long ago become too great and she'd been forced to relax her shoulders and rest her elbows against her sides. Consequently, her bent elbows were now firmly encased in the crystal, and her wrists rested awkwardly against her shoulders.
Chakotay held her hand, rubbing the back of it softly with his thumb. That's when I'll lose it, he thought. When her hands are covered and I can't hold on to her anymore. He moved their joined hands slightly and pressed the hypospray to her neck. "This is a triox compound, Captain. It should help you breathe easier."
"Thank you," she wheezed. "Chakotay, I've been thinking."
"I'll alert security," he teased, hoping to take her mind off the pain, even if only for a moment.
Not expecting the joke, Janeway found it all the more amusing. "Stop it," she groaned between chuckles. "If I laugh too hard in here I'll fracture a rib."
"Sorry," he grinned. "You don't usually find my jokes that funny."
"You mean I'm not usually such a captive audience?" she smirked.
He laughed aloud. "Now that you mention it … "
"I've always taken your humor for granted," she said, suddenly turning serious. "I've taken a great many things for granted. And now I'm going to die in this damn cave, aren't I, Chakotay?"
"No, you're not," he answered immediately. "And it's not like you to give up. We'll find a way, Kathryn. We've been in worse situations than this before."
"Really," she drawled. "Name one."
"Okay." He tugged on his ear and thought for a moment. "How about the time we crashed the Sacagawea and you were injured. That alien invaded your cerebral cortex and manipulated your thoughts. You kept reliving your own death." His eyes clouded, and he blinked hard. "I nearly lost you that day. I mean … we … nearly lost you."
"All right," she said casually, "name another one."
Chakotay's head snapped up and his eyes narrowed as he stared at her. That was such a traumatic event in both their lives and to this day Kathryn had great difficulty discussing it. The mere mention of it always brought a flood of unshed tears to her eyes. Her cool, almost disinterested tone both surprised and disturbed him.
"What?" Janeway asked in response to his sharp look. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"It's nothing," he replied, writing her odd behavior off to hypoxia and the stress of the situation. "That just wasn't the response I was expecting from you, that's all."
"Well, what response were you expecting?"
Distracted by her unusual behavior, Chakotay's mind had taken a moment to rest. As with most difficult puzzles he tried to solve, a solution came to him as soon as he focused on something else. Instead of answering her question he said, "Captain, did you read all of the Maquis intelligence reports Starfleet forwarded to you before you left Deep Space 9?"
Janeway raised a curious eyebrow. "I believe I read most of them. Why?"
"Even the ones that didn't concern the Liberty?"
"I don't recall. Are you on to something, Chakotay?"
"A couple of years before we got stuck out here, a group of Maquis led by a friend of mind called Sveta rescued a group of Bajoran prisoners. They were being held by some bounty hunters on Camaria Prime."
"Go on."
He began pacing as he spoke, his mind working furiously. "The cell they were detained in was made of some sort of crystalline webbing that was unique to the Camarians. They used an ultrasonic pulse generator to shatter the crystal and free the Bajorans."
Janeway nodded slightly, following his train of thought. "But if that type of crystal was unique to the Camarians, what makes you think something similar would work here on a moon in the Delta Quadrant?"
"Because," he enthused, the blood finally pumping, "almost all crystalline formations possess certain properties, certain characteristics." He glanced at her again, his eyes narrowed. "You're the scientist, Kathryn. You should know that."
Ignoring his last comment entirely, she said, "You plan to rig a makeshift ultrasonic pulse generator from parts of the shuttle and bring it here?"
"Yes," he said.
"Okay. But Chakotay, if this doesn't work … "
"It'll work," he interjected. "It has to work." He gave her hand another squeeze as he prepared to leave again. "I'll be back as quickly as I can, okay?"
She laughed softly, her breath ragged in her throat. "What's the matter? Afraid I'm going to run off somewhere?" She fixed her blue eyes on him firmly. "Go, Commander. I'll be fine."
As he ran through the caves Chakotay tried to ignore the dark voice nagging in the back of his mind, telling him that something wasn't right about this whole situation. He kept feeling like he was reading a bad novel, one where the events and circumstances fell too conveniently in place to be even remotely believable.
/\ /\ /\ /\
It took Chakotay longer than he'd anticipated to assemble a makeshift generator and haul it from the shuttle to Janeway's location in the caves. By the time he returned the crystal had swallowed everything but her head, neck, and fingertips. He felt his heart constrict inside his chest but he forced a smile onto his face.
He began setting up the generator a few meters in front of her. "With any luck," he panted, "I'll have you out of there in a few minutes."
Unable to move anything but her head, Janeway lifted her chin slightly and looked at him. Her voice was barely above a whisper as she spoke. "Luck hasn't exactly been on our side today, has it, Chakotay?"
"No, I guess it hasn't." He looked up from the generator and met her eyes. "But you don't believe in luck anyway. You're the pragmatist, remember?"
She attempted a sarcastic chuckle, which came out as more of a wheeze. "That was before I found myself being buried alive in an alien crystal. I'll take luck if it comes our way. Hell, I'd sing to the Blue Fairy if I thought it'd get me out of the sarcophagus."
"Speaking of singing, too bad Ayala isn't with me," he said with a wink. "We could sing to you while you wait."
"That would definitely shatter this crystal," she teased. "Along with my eardrums."
He was silent for a few minutes, concentrating on activating the generator and beginning the ultrasonic pulses. As he worked he again found himself pondering the sheer absurdness of their situation. He wondered if it was his panicked mind's desperate attempt to order his thoughts under his state of duress. Could that be why he had such a burning need to make sense of it all? He didn't believe so.
It was all so opportune, everything stacking up against them in perfect order. So far they hadn't had one thing occur in their favor. It's as if something … or someone … was watching over them, manipulating every moment to prevent him from freeing her. And strangest of it all, he thought, was that none of this seemed to occur to Janeway.
He knew she was afraid, probably certain that she was about to suffer a brutal death that she was helpless to prevent. That was enough to keep anyone from thinking straight. But Chakotay had seen Kathryn in situations that appeared absolutely hopeless before. And he'd seen her severely injured and near death before, too. And in every case her mind was always sharp, her analytical brain dissecting every part of a situation and examining it
piece by piece. Her apparent oblivion to the tidiness of this moment was just one more thing that didn't feel right to Chakotay.
"Captain," he said, looking at her thoughtfully. "Have you noticed how this whole thing just fell into place, almost like it was pre-planed or something?"
She struggled to look at him. "What are you saying?"
"The escape pod just happening to cross our flight path, the interference blocking communication from the shuttle and transporters, but allowing you to use your combadge, this strange crystal that just happened to be lying right where you stepped? Doesn't it all seem … a little too convenient to you?"
Panting from the exertion of trying to speak, she said, "You wouldn't say that if you were the one in here having the air squeezed from your lungs. Trust me, this is anything but convenient."
"That's not what I mean."
"Then what do you mean?" she whispered weakly. Her tired blue eyes tried to hold his gaze. "What are you suggesting, Chakotay?"
"I'm not suggesting anything. I'm just saying that this doesn't feel right." As he spoke, her eyes lost the battle to stay open and her head slumped forward. For a horrifying moment, Chakotay thought she was dead.
He rushed forward and cradled her head in his hands, lifting it so he could see her face. "Kathryn! Come on, stay with me. Wake up, damn it. Kathryn!"
Her eyes fluttered open a crack and she slowly looked up at him. "I'm so tired." A solitary tear ran down her pale cheek. "Tired."
"I know," he said, his voice cracking with anguish. Gently, he wiped the tear away with his thumb. "But I need you to stay with me, Kathryn. You have to hang on."
Suddenly the ground shook violently beneath them and he was sure he heard a huge cave-in somewhere in one of the distant tunnels. Chakotay leaned over her, covering her head with his own in an effort to protect her from the falling rocks. Debris rained down on him, slamming into his shoulders, neck and head but he ignored it. The stinging pain it caused was nothing compared to how he'd feel if one of them hit Janeway in her weakened state.
Just as the strain on his injured right shoulder was becoming unbearable the quaking stopped. He stepped back and shook the debris from his body. "Captain?"
"I'm okay," she whispered. "Are you hurt?"
He shook his head. "No." He cupped her face in his hands to examine her, assuring himself that nothing had struck her. His eyes clouded with tears as he saw her ashen face and blue-tinged lips. A sign of severe hypoxia - it was starting. She was fading.
He moved quickly now, with determination. If he had any chance of saving her he had to do it now. It was obvious that she didn't have much time left. She could barely breath now and Chakotay wasn't sure he could live out the rest of his days with the memory of watching the woman he loved more than anything suffocate to death while he stood by helplessly. He had to get her out, for both their sakes.
Uncertain how the crystal would respond to his newest plan, Chakotay began slowly. He started the pulses at the lowest strength possible and watched with what he hoped was a calm expression on his face. He knew they were both thinking the same thing. Everything they'd attempted to do to free her thus far had caused the crystal to grow. If it grew this time it would certainly kill her.
He released the first round of ultrasonic pulses and literally nothing happened. The crystal didn't shatter but it didn't grow either. It was both frustrating and a relief all at the same time. Slowly he inched the intensity
forward, increasing the strength and frequency of the pulses. His brow furrowed with concentration and small beads of sweat broke out across his forehead.
"Talk to me," Janeway wheezed.
He glanced up at her, his hands still manipulating the controls. "All right. What shall we talk about?"
"Anything," she said. "Tell me … tell me about your mother."
His eyes registered surprise. That was the last thing he expected her to say. "My mother?"
She nodded slightly, a small dip of the chin. Her ragged breathing could be heard throughout the cave. "You talk … about your father … but never … your mother."
He continued to increase the strength of the ultrasonic pulses as he spoke. "You'd have liked my mother, Kathryn. She was a very gentle woman."
"Gentle," she smiled softly, "like you."
He grinned in return, touched that she saw him that way. "I appreciate the comparison but she was much gentler than I am. She had dark eyes, a lot like mine in fact, and long, flowing hair - black as the raven. When I was a little boy I used to rub locks of it against my cheeks. I loved the way it felt against my skin, soft and light as a feather." He was smiling to himself as he spoke, the memories washing over him. "She always smelled of jasmine. And she loved to tell me stories.
"She was very kind to me, always willing to listen when I needed to talk. The tribe brought out my contrary side but not my mother. She was a calming influence on me. She had a quiet way about her, quiet - but very, very strong." His dark eyes grew sad. "I missed her terribly once she was gone."
He looked up at Janeway, who was listening intently, and gave her a little smile. "In fact, she's the one who named me Chakotay."
Weak and fatigued, Janeway smiled in return. "It's a … very … striking name. What … does it mean?"
Another odd question coming from her, he thought. "Actually, it means peaceful valley. My tribe had great respect for the land. To avoid exhausting its resources, they moved around a lot. One year they had to travel far - to the other side of the great plane. I was born during that journey. My father found a meadow filled with wildflowers in the valley. He brought her there to give birth because she took great comfort in the beauty of the land."
His handsome face blushed slightly as he realized he was carrying on so freely. "That's why she named me Chakotay."
"That's … a beautiful … story."
Chakotay knew that the sound of his voice was giving her at least a little comfort, distracting her from her labored breathing and from the pain. So as he worked with the generator, he continued to speak. He talked to her about his childhood, his choice to join the Academy, even his painful decision to join the Maquis. Kathryn was in and out of consciousness, probably only hearing bits and pieces of each story. But he continued to speak anyway, as if talking alone could save her.
More than an hour, a few tremors, and several stories later, he wiped the sweat from his brow and looked down at the ultrasonic generator. The pulses were now at maximum output. It was the most the little machine could offer. And it didn't take a tricorder to determine that it was having little or no affect on the crystal.
Janeway must've read the defeat in his expression, because she began to cry softly. "It isn't … going … to work, … is it?"
Chakotay immediately went to her side, a solemn look on his worn face. "No, it's not." With trembling hands, he brushed her hair out of her eyes.
Her blue lips quivered. "I don't suppose …you have … any other suggestions."
Chakotay had to fight back his own tears as he watched Kathryn's roll down her ashen cheeks. "No. I'm sorry."
"Neither … do I."
Anguish and rage swelled up within Chakotay and for a moment he thought maybe his anger alone would give him the strength to tear the crystal from her body with his bare hands. "This isn't right," he raged, tearing at the stone until his fingers began to bleed. "I can't stand here and let this happen."
"Cha … kotay," she rasped, "You have … to go."
He froze in place, his hands still pressed against the hated crystal. "What?"
"Go."
Unable to wrap his mind around even the idea of walking away from her, he stared at her with incredulity. "I won't leave you here to face this alone, Kathryn."
She made a weak attempt to shake her head. "I don't want … you … to watch … me die. Not … like this.
"I'm not leaving you!" he insisted.
She began to sob, struggling to get enough air for what she felt she needed to say. "As … your friend … I'm asking you … to leave. Leave me alone … please."
He cupped her face in his large palms, needing to connect with her somehow. "I won't. I can't!"
"Then … as your captain … I'm ordering you." Her breath rattled in her throat. "Go."
He wiped the tears from her face. "No."
The ground shook again beneath them. "If you stay," she rasped, "you'll … die too."
"Then I die - right here with you."
"No!" she cried.
Chakotay's vision blurred with unshed tears and a lump the size of a baseball rose in his throat. "Please don't ask me to do that, Kathryn. I can't. Do you hear me? I CAN'T!"
"Why?" As weak and strained as her voice was it had a frantic intonation. "WHY?"
The tears finally broke free and rolled silently down his soot stained cheeks. "Because I'm in love with you." He stroked her face tenderly. "I love you, Kathryn." Then, like a deflated balloon, Chakotay sunk to the ground and propped himself up against a large rock, half hoping it would swallow him up, too.
He dropped his head and ran his hands through his hair. "Now you know. Now you know the truth. So don't ask me to turn my back and walk away from you, leave you here to face death alone. I can't."
"I'm … in love … with you, too," she whispered.
Chakotay's head snapped up and he stared at her in disbelief. He climbed to his feet. "What did you say?"
"I said … I love you … too, Chakotay."
As many times as he'd fantasized and dreamed about this moment, a part of him had always known that it would never happen. Even if she felt the way he did she would never allow herself to say it aloud. It didn't ring true, no matter how badly he wanted to believe it.
Shocked and confused, he walked slowly backward, moving away from her. Something wasn't right here. He needed to put some distance between them, clear his head. He stopped when he felt the cave wall at his shoulder, and realized he was standing in the very spot where Kathryn claimed the ever-elusive human had been standing when he fired on her.
From this position he could clearly see that the trajectory was all wrong and, on a hunch, drew his phaser. Casually he pointed it at Janeway. "Is this where the human was standing when he shot at you?"
Confused, her brow furrowed. "What?"
"The escape pod pilot," he demanded, "is this where he was standing?"
"Yes."
"How tall was he? About my height?"
Janeway pursed her lips together and struggled to slow her breathing. "I guess so … maybe … a little … shorter."
Chakotay bent his knees and hunched down slightly. "Like this?"
"I … guess. Why?"
His tears long forgotten, Chakotay charged toward her, the phaser still in his hand. "Because I just realized something. There's no way he could've fired from that position and hit that spot on the cave wall without also hitting you. It's impossible."
She began to sob again. "Chakotay, I …"
"You're lying to me, Kathryn. Why?"
"You're … just upset … confused."
"No," he shook his head. "Just the opposite. It's all starting to make sense now. This isn't real, is it? None of this is real."
"What?!"
"The strange interference, the human suddenly appearing just long enough to draw us here! Odd that I haven't seen a single sign of him since, don't you think?" He wiped a tear from her face with his finger. "And this. Most people would cry in a situation like this, but not you. Not you, Captain. I've rarely seen you cry, and on the few occasions I have, it's always been tears shed for someone else. Never yourself."
"Chakotay …"
He raised his phaser, aiming it right between her eyes. "Who are you?"
"You've lost your mind!" she shouted.
"Have I? Five minutes ago you couldn't take a deep enough breath to finish a sentence and now you're yelling?" He moved the phaser closer until it was almost touching her head. "Who are you? And where's Captain Janeway?" When she hesitated he became enraged. "Tell me, or I WILL kill you!"
Suddenly, Janeway's face began to melt into the crystal. Stunned, Chakotay staggered back but kept his phaser trained firmly on the morphing form. Her body seemed to melt away followed by the large stone that had encased her. It became a pool of thick, shimmering liquid swirling at Chakotay's feet. And then it began to congeal, glistening and sparkling as it took shape. In seconds it had formed itself into a featureless humanoid.
"I am Vala," said a disembodied voice, as the gelatinous humanoid had no visible mouth. It was a lyrical voice, distinctly female. "You won't need your weapon. I don't want to harm you."
Chakotay was surprised at how calm his voice sounded after what he'd just witnessed. "Then what do you want?"
"I want to learn. I saw you traveling with the female. Your people exist in pairs?"
"Sometimes," he answered cautiously. "Yours don't?"
"No," said Vala. "We lead a solitary existence, always alone. The days do not pass quickly. When I saw you, you were laughing. This female … Janeway…she makes you happy, does she not?"
Chakotay couldn't help but smile at that. Instinctively, he lowered the phaser to his side. "Much of the time, yes. Where is she? I need to know that she's safe."
Vala nodded. "She means much to you, I see."
"Yes," he said. "She's my friend."
"She is unharmed. She's merely … sleeping." She pointed to the narrow tunnel. "Down that corridor. I meant no harm, Chakotay. I only wanted to observe, to study this behavior, this friendship."
"But … how?" This whole thing was more than a little difficult for Chakotay to grasp. "You had to have known a lot about us to create this elaborate deception."
"I was waiting here, hoping you would separate. When your friend came into this room I saw her thoughts, learned some of her memories."
Chakotay was impressed despite himself. "You're telepathic."
"Yes."
"You took Captain Janeway's form. And the escape pod with the human life sign, that was you, too?"
"That's correct."
"Fortunately for me, you made a few mistakes," he said.
"I cannot learn all there is to know about her in such a short time. I had to … improvise. What error did I make that led you to doubt Janeway's identity?"
"There were several things that made me suspicious. But it was the confession of love that made me certain." His eyes darkened with sorrow. "You see, I've known Kathryn Janeway for more than three years now. And in those three years I've watched her. I'm always watching her. I know her probably better than she knows herself. I know she likes a sonic shower in the morning and a hot water bath before she goes to bed. I know she secretly loves chocolate but hates Neelix's angla bosch. I know she gets a rush every time we encounter a new phenomenon and she cries privately for days when we lose a member of our crew. And while I know she cares deeply for me, probably much more than she wants to, I know she would never say it aloud."
"But she does love you, Chakotay. Her thoughts told me so. What makes you think she wouldn't say it if she were dying, to comfort you in the days to come?"
"Because even though you and I know how she feels, Kathryn doesn't realize it. She's either afraid or unwilling to face her feelings. It's easier for her to be my captain if she doesn't allow herself to fall in love with me." He ran his hands through his short hair, frustrated knowing he probably wasn't making any sense and wondering why the hell he was explaining all this to some stranger who had tricked them in the first place anyway. "It's difficult to explain but sometimes people have a hard time owning up to their feelings."
"I do not understand," said Vala.
"Love is almost never simple. Kathryn has convinced herself that she's not in love with me and, on some level at least, she really believes it. Sometimes I even believe it. She doesn't believe she feels that way about me and she values our friendship too much to ever lie to me. There may come a day when she faces her feelings and can say those words aloud. But not yet."
"Such conflicting ideas and feelings! Now you see why I found the pair of you so intriguing, why I was unable to resist."
"Forgive me, Vala, but you have the power to manipulate matter and change form, to manipulate space and planetary conditions, and on top of all that you're a telepath," he said evenly. "What could you possibly hope to gain from us? We have none of those abilities."
She made a sound that Chakotay thought was a chuckle - at least he hoped it was a chuckle. It was hard to tell with no facial features. "It's more simple than you think, Commander. For all my wondrous powers, I cannot really love another. I am the last of my people. Alone in the universe. And while I am fascinated with the bond you call friendship, I am incapable of actually having one myself. I would trade all of my abilities to be able to know friendship, to know love."
Chakotay felt great compassion for this being, facing a life of solitude. "But why this scenario? You may not be able to understand but an experience like that one can be very painful for a human. Other beings may not be so understanding if you cause them pain like you've caused me today."
Vala's shimmering head dropped slightly in shame, a remarkably human gesture. "For that I am sorry. When I looked inside your friend's mind I found such wondrous memories and dreams. She has had many experiences, many friendships. I wanted to keep her here, convince her to share them with me. To make my last days colorful, do you understand?"
Chakotay nodded once. "I think I do. You knew I wouldn't leave here unless I believed she was dead."
"Yes," she said. "And I thought I could learn more about friendship by observing your reaction. Never having a companion, I cannot fully understand how painful it must be to lose one. I am sorry for causing you pain, Chakotay. I only wanted to understand."
"I believe you," Chakotay said with sincerity. "I must go to her now, Vala. We need to return to our ship, to our people."
"I know," she replied softly. "You are free to go. You always have been."
Chakotay smiled kindly at her and then turned to go. He stopped just before slipping into the narrow tunnel, and turned to look at her. "There's another option. You don't have to stay here alone."
"What do you mean?"
"You can come with us," he said. "Spend your remaining time on our ship surrounded by the crew. We have many different species living harmoniously. You'd be welcome there. In fact, you'd have more friends than you'd know what to do with."
Vala was silent for a moment. When she finally spoke her voice echoed with sadness. "I cannot. My actions today are proof of that."
"But you didn't understand," he argued.
"Correct. And in my own desire to gain knowledge and understanding I caused you pain. Terrible pain. I won't risk doing the same to another. Just as you cannot fully help me understand the emotion you call love, I cannot make you understand the nature of my solitary existence. Trust me when I tell you that I must remain here, and you must go to your friend's side. That is where you belong, Chakotay."
Before he had a chance to object, Vala's form morphed again. This time into a breathtakingly beautiful winged creature. In the fraction of a second she was gone and, despite all the agony she'd put him through, Chakotay knew that a small piece of him left with her.
/\ /\ /\ /\
Chakotay didn't stop running until he had Kathryn's sleeping form in his sight. She was lying on her back, one arm at her side and the other bent at the elbow, her hand resting beside her face. She looked peaceful, like she was dreaming of something that brought her great comfort. And he found himself thinking, as he had many times before, that she was the most beautiful and captivating woman he had ever seen. He bent down beside her, Vala's words echoing inside his head.
But she does love you. I saw it in her thoughts.
"Maybe one day you'll realize it," he whispered, stroking the hair from her face. But even if she didn't, at least he had her friendship, her presence in his life. He was reminded today just how very precious that was. It was almost like being reborn himself, like he'd been given a second chance at life because she wasn't really dying. Awash with grateful relief and unable to resist, Chakotay pressed a tender kiss to her flushed cheek.
"Kathryn," he said, shaking her gently. "Wake up sleepy head. It's time to go."
Her eyelids fluttered, too heavy with sleep to open all the way. "Chakotay …"
"It's me," he said, scooping her into his arms and holding her protectively against his chest. "I'm taking you home."
/\ /\ /\ /\
Captain Janeway gave Chakotay's shoulder a friendly squeeze as they left sickbay and headed down the corridor. "You carried me all the way to the shuttle with torn ligaments in your shoulder?"
He nodded.
She raised a flirtatious eyebrow. "That's rather heroic, Commander. And they say chivalry is dead."
Chakotay laughed softly. "Not when the damsel in distress is sound asleep."
She chucked, amused. "Seriously though, you handled this incident very well. I plan on putting a commendation in your file." She bit on her lower lip as if she were thinking. "There must be some kind of metal of bravery for rescuing your sleeping captain."
He flashed her a dimpled smile. "Especially the way you wake up. I could've been injured."
She laughed and punched him playfully on the arm. "There's still one thing I don't understand though."
"What's that?"
"This Vala person, how did you know she wasn't me?"
He glanced down at her as they stepped into the turbo lift. "She made a mistake," he said evenly. "She said something I know you would never have said."
"Oh?" Janeway said, stepping in beside him. "What was that?"
He gazed down at her, trying to push his personal feelings to the back of his mind. "It was nothing important," he said, and then the turbo lift door closed.
/\ /\ /\ /\