Disclaimer: see part I

The Changing of Minds

Part II

"The time is 0715 hours. The time is 0715 hours."

Captain Janeway, previously dead to the world, was awakened by the computer's alarm. She whined in her head at the injustice of the alarm waking her up fifteen minutes later than she'd actually set it for. Didn't the computer know that it takes a captain, especially a female captain, at least an hour to get ready for work? She paused to reflect on her state of mind; she understood she was being a tad irrational, but she was hardly appreciative that it was morning. Her bad mood apparently hadn't dissipated during the night. How wonderful for the crew, she mused, smirking.

Her emotional health must've been having a serious effect on her physical health; her head felt dizzy and her limbs felt heavier. And she still hadn't lifted her eyelids; they felt too weighty. She let out a long, exasperated groan. Wait, what was that? Did she have a cold? Her groan sounded very deep for some reason. It was probably just pre- sonic shower sleepiness, she determined.

'Alright, Kathryn. Get your lazy behind out of bed. You have to get ready to meet Chakotay,' she ordered herself mentally.

Janeway pulled the covers off her body.

"Oh my God," she toned softly, eyes widened in disbelief. "What the hell is going on?!"

***********

"The time is 0700 hours. The time is 0700 hours."

The computer slowly toned Chakotay into a state of consciousness. It wasn't easy. Waking up fifteen minutes earlier than he'd expected to made him extremely angry with the computer. His head felt like it was going to explode… There, another problem! Just one more peachy day for the first officer of the Starship Voyager, he mused sarcastically.

Although his burdens weighed down his mind, Chakotay's body felt lighter than usual. Maybe he'd had too many drinks last night and as a result couldn't remember having any at all—or maybe he was coming down with some sort of flu. Chakotay didn't know. All he knew was that he had to go meet Kathryn for breakfast at 0800. At least there'd be one bright spot in his day. Maybe he'd get there early and prepare a special coffee blend for her. Yes, she would definitely appreciate that.

Forcing himself to open his eyes as a first step towards getting up, Chakotay stared at the ceiling. He then looked down and to the side. Hold on, where was he? This wasn't his bedroom. It was… Kathryn's? Yes this was definitely Kathryn's room. He could see her four pips lying on the night table. But the captain herself wasn't there. What was he doing in her bed? How had he gotten there? Determined to find out what was going on, Chakotay threw off the sheets and jumped to his feet.

"What the…." Chakotay trailed off, unable to complete his sentence. He couldn't find words to express his bewilderment at what he thought he was seeing.

***********

Kathryn swept her eyes up and down her boxer-clad body in shock. She just couldn't believe what she was seeing was actually real. To prove to herself that she wasn't going crazy, she stalked over to the mirror in the slightly familiar bathroom. Yes, that confirmed it. She wasn't seeing things (unless the mirror was playing tricks on her). She knew she was Kathryn Janeway, but saw Commander Chakotay reflecting back at her. How in the galaxy had this happened? What was she going to do?

"Snap out of it, Captain!" she yelled at herself in Chakotay's deep voice. "Just call… wait, who can I call? Who will believe me when I say I'm Kathryn Janeway, apparently "stuck" in Chakotay's body? It sounds ludicrous even to me, and I'm the one going through it! Argh! I would call Chakotay, but--" Then realization dawned on her. "If I'm stuck in Chakotay's body, then where is Chakotay? He's either gone, or in… my body."

As the reality of her situation struck her, Janeway sunk down onto the edge of Chakotay's bed, breathing hard. She couldn't grasp the enormity of what had occurred; how it had happened, or why it'd happened were unimportant at the present time. All she could think about was that it had indeed occurred, and that she had to find Chakotay, wherever he was. She decided that before she was able to locate him, she could tell no one of what had transpired. It was just too risky at the moment; she could be thrown in the brig for fear she would endanger others with her insane notions. She would simply have to pretend to be Chakotay, if only for a little while. That wasn't going to be easy; looking in the mirror and seeing Chakotay and hearing his voice as she spoke would be good reminders, though.

"Stop planning and start acting," Kathryn chided herself. Well, here goes nothing.

She picked up Chakotay's combadge from the dresser, and activated it. "Chakotay to Janeway," she called uncertainly in her first officer's voice.

***********

Chakotay paced around the captain's bedroom, unable to come to any conclusion about what was going on. He saw that his appearance was akin to that of Captain Janeway; hell, he was Kathryn! But he wasn't at the same time. His movements, voice, facial expressions, all mirrored Kathryn but were all directed by him, Chakotay. Was he actually Kathryn? Was he stuck in her body? How could that possibly be?

"Computer," he called out in her commanding tone. "How many people are in this room?"

"One—Captain Kathryn Janeway," the computer replied emotionlessly.

"And who am I?" Chakotay asked uncertainly.

"Captain Kathryn Janeway."

"Thanks a lot," he muttered. "Just what I wanted to hear."

Suddenly he heard the captain's combadge beep. A male voice sounded in the room. It was his voice. It hailed, "Chakotay to Janeway."

He was quickly overcome with anxiety. 'How can I be calling myself?' he thought anxiously. He paced the floor a couple more times, unsure of how to respond.

The address sounded again. "Chakotay to Janeway."

Chakotay made his decision. He tapped the combadge.

"Janeway here," he said in Kathryn's voice.

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To be continued soon… (I will be away on holiday for a couple of days, however, and won't be able to update the story until then. I apologize to all those waiting for the next part!)