Title: In The Beginning
Author: Medie
Feedback: medison@thezone.net for private feedback.
Category: Alternate Universe
Spoilers: Caretaker
Disclaimer: Don't own any of 'em 'cept Kaia and she's a handful.
Summary: After Caretaker, the crew must move on and make a new life.
Note: Not beta'd in the least. *G* I haven't found a Voyager beta-reader
yet.
"In The Beginning"
by Medie
-------
Sitting at her desk, Kathryn Janeway spread out the PADDs before her - her
mind mulling over the situation she now found herself, and her crew, in.
Trapped in the Delta Quadrant, a seventy year trip away from Earth and the
Federation. Two crews, ordinarily enemies, trying to coexist on one ship.
Maquis and Starfleet forced to exist side by side.
A heavy sigh escaped her and she rubbed her forehead before reaching for her
coffee. "Well, I can't say we're going to be bored." She informed the picture
of Mark and Bear that sat on her desk.
Picking up two of the PADDs, the captain surveyed them speculatively before
continuing to speak. "I do believe this just might work."
After a moment's thought she returned the PADDs to the desk and sat back
while tapping her commbadge. "Janeway to Doran."
-*-*-*-*-*-*-
After Janeway's call, Kaia Doran finished up the work she was doing in the
science lab and made her way to the bridge. With a nod and a few smiles at
the faces she recognized, the Betazoid crossed the bridge to the ready room's
door.
Hitting the chime, the tall blonde stepped back to wait for the door to open.
When it did she found herself looking at Kathryn Janeway, her old friend,
and Voyager's new First Officer, Commander Chakotay.
"Come in Commander." Janeway greeted with a smile as she stood up.
With a reserved smile in return, Kaia stepped forward tentatively while
resisting the urge to take a peek at Kate's thoughts and find out what was
going on. Having known the older woman for most of her Starfleet career, she
was quite comfortable in her presence and vice versa. Kaia's mind had touched
Kathryn's before and, in all likelihood, would again.
Walking over to the chair, the slim woman rested her hands on the back of the
nearest chair and waited patiently.
Turning to her executive officer, the captain's expression shifted slightly
into the one she used when commanding. "We'll continue this discussion later
Commander, thank you."
Chakotay nodded in return offered a reserved smile before returning to the
bridge.
The door had barely slid shut before Janeway was moving toward the replicator.
"The usual, Kai?"
"Naturally." Kaia returned with a grin, dropping into the chair she'd been
standing behind.
When the replicator had produced their drinks, one Earth-style coffee and
one Raktajino, Kathryn sat down on the other chair and passed the Klingon
coffee to her friend.
Relaxing into a comfortable silence born of a long friendship, the two women
savoured the hot liquids in their respective mugs.
After a few moments Kaia set her drink on the desk and looked over at her
old friend. "All, right, I"ll bite. Why'd you call me up here?"
Janeway chuckled at the exasperated look in the Betazoid's eyes, holding her
own mug loosely in her hands, then surveyed her friend speculatively. Not
quite ready to give up the game. "How are your quarters? Comfortable?"
Accepting Kate was in the mood to be her usual difficult self, the younger
woman sighed. "Very comfortable. Better than the ones I have on the Raleigh
though, I am curious as to why I'm still in the VIP quarters. If we're stuck
out here you're going to need the room sooner or later."
"We are strapped for space." Voyager's captain admitted with a nod. "But you're
not going anywhere. I've designated the VIP quarters for officers."
"Ah," Kaia nodded to herself. "I thought as much, you want me to head up
Sciences?"
"That too." Janeway allowed, setting her coffee aside before getting up and
walking to the large view ports. "Kaia, I need a Counselor. A ship's counselor
for Voyager. Commander Chakotay and I are facing the very difficult task of
merging a Maquis crew into a Starfleet one. Given the natural animosity
between the two groups not to mention the fact we were sent *after* them,
it's shaping up to be an almost insurmountable task. We'd need a counselor
anyway, given the amount of time our trip is supposed to take but with the
difficulties that lie ahead...I need a counselor. I've gone over the crew's
personnel records and talked with Commander Chakotay about his crew. No one
fits the bill of a ship's counselor, except for one Betazoid who happens to
have a doctorate in xeno-psychology."
Sighing, the Betazoid in question looked down into her Raktajino. "Are you
sure?" she asked finally. "That there's no one else I mean."
"Quite. The EMT has the book knowledge and the programming but he lacks the
natural intuition and rapport with people that a real person does. Counseling
involves a great deal of going on instinct and I'm not sure that a medical
hologram has that. Especially not one designed for short term use." Turning
away from the unfamiliar stars before her, Janeway looked over at her friend.
"I know it's a lot to ask of you Kaia. You're not even supposed to be here."
"I know, I've got damn lousy timing. The one time I take leave to visit you,
your ship ends up 75 thousand light years from home." Kaia shook her head
and chuckled.
"Believe it or not, that fact is another reason you're the perfect one for
the job. You're an outsider to Voyager's crew as well and that makes you
more approachable in the Maquis crew's eyes."
"I'm still Starfleet." Kaia reminded as she sipped her drink again.
"Yes, but you weren't a member of this crew. You weren't here to help track
down the Maquis. You're a friend of mine who happened to come along with the
intent of running a few tests on the Badlands. You're trapped on this ship
just like they are." Leaning on the railing that separated the upper level
of the ready room from the lower, Janeway's intense gaze locked with her old
friend's. "You're an approachable and a likable person anyway Kaia. You always
have been. Whether you take the job or not, I wouldn't be surprised if you
ended up gravitating to that role anyway." Her voice softened then, and the
Captain took a backseat to the woman who was making an appeal to her old
friend. "Will you at least consider it?"
Dropping her gaze to the mug in her hands, the blonde Betazoid thought for a
moment before looking up to answer.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Sitting in the First officer's chair, Chakotay found his gaze - and his
attention - kept straying to the door of the Ready Room.
Years in Starfleet and the Maquis had taught him to be a patient man but
he also knew he was a man in possession of a curious nature. And that nature
was now demanding to know what was going on behind those doors. What was Lt.
Commander Doran's response to the proposition Captain Janeway was presenting
her with and, more to the point, if she said yes, what type of person was
the Commander. Who would he be dealing with?
The First Officer almost always dealt more closely with the Ship's Counselor
than the Captain did. Granted, in this case, the Captain had known their
potential counselor for most of her Starfleet career which was bound to lend
itself to a close working relationship but, in the long run, he'd still be
dealing with Kaia Doran a great deal on a day-to-day basis. It was the nature
of the job and he wanted to know what type of woman he'd be dealing with. He
hadn't seen much of her during the experience with the Caretaker. While
Janeway had been with him, trying to find B'Elanna and Ensign Kim, Kaia had
been left with what was left of Voyager's crew to try and put things back
together. The fact that Janeway trusted her with her ship told him a great
deal about the woman in question but it still left a lot unsaid.
Logically, the use of that word brought a wry smile, Tuvok was the one to
ask. From what he'd seen of the Betazoid woman's Starfleet record, Kaia Doran
had started her Starfleet career in a department under Kathryn Janeway's
supervision and had risen up through the ranks with the elder woman. Only
recently, with Janeway's promotion to Voyager, had they parted company. And
even then they kept in close contact. Kaia's presence as a guest on the ship
in the first few days was testament to that. Tuvok had known both women for
years and he was one of the Captain's closest friends. If anyone knew Lt.
Commander Doran's character it was him. Aside from Captain Janeway herself,
there was no one else on Voyager he could ask.
Unfortunate since, at the moment, Tuvok was the last person on Voyager
Chakotay wanted to ask anything of. The fact the Vulcan had so expertly
deceived him still stung and the Commander was not to the point yet where he
could push by it. Not just to find out facts about a woman he'd get to know
anyway.
He was curious but not *that* curious.
Voyager's new first officer's musings were disrupted by Commander Doran's
emergence from the Ready Room.
Under Chakotay's watchful gaze, the blonde woman moved leisurely around the
bridge, pausing to speak with Harry Kim then Tuvok before departing into the
turbolift. After a moment, Janeway walked out of the Ready Room and crossed
the bridge to take the center seat.
Unable to resist, Chakotay looked over at her with a curious expression. "How
did it go?"
Looking back at him, the captain smiled and nodded. "She'll do it."
"Good." the tall man grinned wryly. "We can use all the help we can get with
this."
"We could indeed." Janeway agreed. "And Kaia's as close as we can get to an
impartial third party on this ship."
"Psychology background won't hurt either." her executive officer added. "We
don't know how long we're going to be out here and we're inevitably going to
need the help of a professional."
"That's what I told her." Switching tracks, Janeway continued. "Kaia will be
speaking with you about duty shifts but I expect the easiest way to handle
it will be to split her duty shifts."
"Half the shift spent on Sciences and the other as Counselor?"
"Exactly. Kaia plans on changing uniforms so the crew can distinguish. I'm
sure occasions will require some overlapping but overall, I think it will
work."
"It will work." Chakotay assured. "I'll see to it that it does."
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
It was a few days later before Chakotay had his first real encounter with
Voyager's new counselor.
He'd been reluctant to begin using the executive officer's office, it seemed
wrong to just move in almost immediately after the other man's death - like
he'd never been there. To do so was, in Chakotay's eyes, the epitome of
disrespect. However, he could put it off no longer. He was beginning his
duties and the first one on his list was to put together the new crew's duty
roster and that meant he needed a quiet place to interview both his Maquis
crew and the existing Voyager one, thus he needed the office. But he still
wasn't looking forward to cleaning out Cavit's personal effects.
However, when the office door slid open, Chakotay discovered his hesitations
were unwarranted as he found himself looking at Kaia Doran, dressed in the
light blue dress of a Counselor, moving about the room.
The blonde Betazoid was in the midst of putting Cavit's personal effects
into a box. Looking startled, she paused in her work to offer a respectful
smile. "Good morning, I'm almost done here, Sir, then I'll get out of your
way. I'm sure you've a ton of work to do."
"So I do." He agreed but held up a hand to forestall anymore comments.
"First off, Counselor, we're going to be spending an awful lot of time
working together over this voyage and I'd prefer not to spend that time with
you calling me sir. My name is Chakotay. Feel free to use it." he set down
the small crate he'd tucked under one arm and moved to the replicator. "One
thing I've never liked about Starfleet is the protocol."
"Me either." Kaia agreed with a grin. "Only I have a bad habit of forgetting
it at the worse possible time. I can't tell you how many times I've slipped
up and called Captain Janeway, Kate, when I was supposed to be calling her
Captain. A few times were in front of Admirals...very embarrassing."
"Don't suppose you'd care to relate a few?" Chakotay questioned with a laugh.
"Replicate a cup of Raktajino for me and I'll consider it." The slim blonde
countered without hesitation. "And if I have to call you Chakotay then you
have to call me Kaia. Counselor is not an accurate title."
Replicating a cup of coffee for himself and the Raktajino for her, he turned
to face her. "How's that? You're doing the job and you do have the training
for it."
"Not because I wanted it." Kaia replied honestly. "I got my xeno-psychology
doctorate to appease my mother then went into Sciences when I went to Starfleet
Academy. Deal was I got the doctorate I could go to the Academy and they wouldn't
argue my choices when I got there."
"Your parents didn't want you to go to Starfleet Academy?" Chakotay held out the
raktajino while he took a sip of his coffee.
"Gods no," the Betazoid laughed, taking the drink with one hand while continuing
to put things away with the other. "My parents want to be grandparents and they
think that if I'm off flitting 'round the galaxy in Starfleet I'm never going to
get around to having a family." She shrugged then sipped the raktajino
cautiously, hissing slightly when it burned her tongue. "They're probably
right."
"No family."
"Not even the prospect of one." Kaia nodded. "Call me a romantic but I'm not
going to marry just anyone and start a family. When I do, he'll be Imazdi
and that's that." After the statement was out of her mouth, the blonde
flushed slightly. "Well, a fine counselor I'm turning out to be. We're
supposed to be talking about *you*."
"Came here for our first counselling session did you?" Chakotay prompted
with a chuckle.
"Not exactly. I thought I'd get Cavit's things out of here before you tried
to settle in." She looked down at the box before her. "It's never easy to
take over for another officer but when it's someone that's just been killed..."
"You feel like you're trespassing on sacred ground." the big Native American
finished for her. "You're right, I wasn't looking forward to coming in here
with everything untouched. As if he were about to walk through the door."
Closing the box, Kaia moved it from his desk. "Especially considering the
circumstances right?"
The question hit the mark and he looked down at the coffee cup he held.
"Kaia, you're better at counselling than you think. Yes, it does bother me
that, up until a few days ago, I was considered an enemy of the Federation
and now I'm First Officer of the very ship that was sent to arrest me."
"Yes, you would be." The Counselor said with blunt honesty. "This isn't
going to be easy Chakotay. Not by any stretch of the imagination. We're
trying to integrate two crews that's hard enough on it's own but, given the
fact that both crews are on the opposite sides of a very thorny issue, this
is going to be incredibly difficult. I hope you like a challenge Commander
because this one's a doozy."
"Not one to beat around the bush are you?" Chakotay chuckled as she grinned
back unrepentantly.
"No, we Betazoids are an honest lot, particularly when dealing with humans."
Kaia's dark eyes danced with mischief. "We try to set a good example for you."
"Are you implying humans are dishonest?" The first officer countered, a mirthful
look on his face.
"Well, you are experts at self-deception." Finishing her raktajino, the Betazoid
put the mug back into the replicator and picking up the box. "And my race wasn't
the one who invented poker." She grinned cheerfully. "Now, if you'll excuse me,
I've got an office of my own to set up."
Moving aside, Chakotay nodded. "We'll have to get together for a meeting with
the Captain soon. Discuss who's going to be performing what duties amongst the
junior crew."
"Not to mention who's bunking with who." She agreed, stopping at the door.
"I'm sure that's going to be a problem."
"No doubt." the First Officer walked around to stand at his desk. "Counselor
...Kaia..."
The blonde looked over her shoulder at him. "Yes?"
"Thank you."
TBC
Author: Medie
Feedback: medison@thezone.net for private feedback.
Category: Alternate Universe
Spoilers: Caretaker
Disclaimer: Don't own any of 'em 'cept Kaia and she's a handful.
Summary: After Caretaker, the crew must move on and make a new life.
Note: Not beta'd in the least. *G* I haven't found a Voyager beta-reader
yet.
"In The Beginning"
by Medie
-------
Sitting at her desk, Kathryn Janeway spread out the PADDs before her - her
mind mulling over the situation she now found herself, and her crew, in.
Trapped in the Delta Quadrant, a seventy year trip away from Earth and the
Federation. Two crews, ordinarily enemies, trying to coexist on one ship.
Maquis and Starfleet forced to exist side by side.
A heavy sigh escaped her and she rubbed her forehead before reaching for her
coffee. "Well, I can't say we're going to be bored." She informed the picture
of Mark and Bear that sat on her desk.
Picking up two of the PADDs, the captain surveyed them speculatively before
continuing to speak. "I do believe this just might work."
After a moment's thought she returned the PADDs to the desk and sat back
while tapping her commbadge. "Janeway to Doran."
-*-*-*-*-*-*-
After Janeway's call, Kaia Doran finished up the work she was doing in the
science lab and made her way to the bridge. With a nod and a few smiles at
the faces she recognized, the Betazoid crossed the bridge to the ready room's
door.
Hitting the chime, the tall blonde stepped back to wait for the door to open.
When it did she found herself looking at Kathryn Janeway, her old friend,
and Voyager's new First Officer, Commander Chakotay.
"Come in Commander." Janeway greeted with a smile as she stood up.
With a reserved smile in return, Kaia stepped forward tentatively while
resisting the urge to take a peek at Kate's thoughts and find out what was
going on. Having known the older woman for most of her Starfleet career, she
was quite comfortable in her presence and vice versa. Kaia's mind had touched
Kathryn's before and, in all likelihood, would again.
Walking over to the chair, the slim woman rested her hands on the back of the
nearest chair and waited patiently.
Turning to her executive officer, the captain's expression shifted slightly
into the one she used when commanding. "We'll continue this discussion later
Commander, thank you."
Chakotay nodded in return offered a reserved smile before returning to the
bridge.
The door had barely slid shut before Janeway was moving toward the replicator.
"The usual, Kai?"
"Naturally." Kaia returned with a grin, dropping into the chair she'd been
standing behind.
When the replicator had produced their drinks, one Earth-style coffee and
one Raktajino, Kathryn sat down on the other chair and passed the Klingon
coffee to her friend.
Relaxing into a comfortable silence born of a long friendship, the two women
savoured the hot liquids in their respective mugs.
After a few moments Kaia set her drink on the desk and looked over at her
old friend. "All, right, I"ll bite. Why'd you call me up here?"
Janeway chuckled at the exasperated look in the Betazoid's eyes, holding her
own mug loosely in her hands, then surveyed her friend speculatively. Not
quite ready to give up the game. "How are your quarters? Comfortable?"
Accepting Kate was in the mood to be her usual difficult self, the younger
woman sighed. "Very comfortable. Better than the ones I have on the Raleigh
though, I am curious as to why I'm still in the VIP quarters. If we're stuck
out here you're going to need the room sooner or later."
"We are strapped for space." Voyager's captain admitted with a nod. "But you're
not going anywhere. I've designated the VIP quarters for officers."
"Ah," Kaia nodded to herself. "I thought as much, you want me to head up
Sciences?"
"That too." Janeway allowed, setting her coffee aside before getting up and
walking to the large view ports. "Kaia, I need a Counselor. A ship's counselor
for Voyager. Commander Chakotay and I are facing the very difficult task of
merging a Maquis crew into a Starfleet one. Given the natural animosity
between the two groups not to mention the fact we were sent *after* them,
it's shaping up to be an almost insurmountable task. We'd need a counselor
anyway, given the amount of time our trip is supposed to take but with the
difficulties that lie ahead...I need a counselor. I've gone over the crew's
personnel records and talked with Commander Chakotay about his crew. No one
fits the bill of a ship's counselor, except for one Betazoid who happens to
have a doctorate in xeno-psychology."
Sighing, the Betazoid in question looked down into her Raktajino. "Are you
sure?" she asked finally. "That there's no one else I mean."
"Quite. The EMT has the book knowledge and the programming but he lacks the
natural intuition and rapport with people that a real person does. Counseling
involves a great deal of going on instinct and I'm not sure that a medical
hologram has that. Especially not one designed for short term use." Turning
away from the unfamiliar stars before her, Janeway looked over at her friend.
"I know it's a lot to ask of you Kaia. You're not even supposed to be here."
"I know, I've got damn lousy timing. The one time I take leave to visit you,
your ship ends up 75 thousand light years from home." Kaia shook her head
and chuckled.
"Believe it or not, that fact is another reason you're the perfect one for
the job. You're an outsider to Voyager's crew as well and that makes you
more approachable in the Maquis crew's eyes."
"I'm still Starfleet." Kaia reminded as she sipped her drink again.
"Yes, but you weren't a member of this crew. You weren't here to help track
down the Maquis. You're a friend of mine who happened to come along with the
intent of running a few tests on the Badlands. You're trapped on this ship
just like they are." Leaning on the railing that separated the upper level
of the ready room from the lower, Janeway's intense gaze locked with her old
friend's. "You're an approachable and a likable person anyway Kaia. You always
have been. Whether you take the job or not, I wouldn't be surprised if you
ended up gravitating to that role anyway." Her voice softened then, and the
Captain took a backseat to the woman who was making an appeal to her old
friend. "Will you at least consider it?"
Dropping her gaze to the mug in her hands, the blonde Betazoid thought for a
moment before looking up to answer.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Sitting in the First officer's chair, Chakotay found his gaze - and his
attention - kept straying to the door of the Ready Room.
Years in Starfleet and the Maquis had taught him to be a patient man but
he also knew he was a man in possession of a curious nature. And that nature
was now demanding to know what was going on behind those doors. What was Lt.
Commander Doran's response to the proposition Captain Janeway was presenting
her with and, more to the point, if she said yes, what type of person was
the Commander. Who would he be dealing with?
The First Officer almost always dealt more closely with the Ship's Counselor
than the Captain did. Granted, in this case, the Captain had known their
potential counselor for most of her Starfleet career which was bound to lend
itself to a close working relationship but, in the long run, he'd still be
dealing with Kaia Doran a great deal on a day-to-day basis. It was the nature
of the job and he wanted to know what type of woman he'd be dealing with. He
hadn't seen much of her during the experience with the Caretaker. While
Janeway had been with him, trying to find B'Elanna and Ensign Kim, Kaia had
been left with what was left of Voyager's crew to try and put things back
together. The fact that Janeway trusted her with her ship told him a great
deal about the woman in question but it still left a lot unsaid.
Logically, the use of that word brought a wry smile, Tuvok was the one to
ask. From what he'd seen of the Betazoid woman's Starfleet record, Kaia Doran
had started her Starfleet career in a department under Kathryn Janeway's
supervision and had risen up through the ranks with the elder woman. Only
recently, with Janeway's promotion to Voyager, had they parted company. And
even then they kept in close contact. Kaia's presence as a guest on the ship
in the first few days was testament to that. Tuvok had known both women for
years and he was one of the Captain's closest friends. If anyone knew Lt.
Commander Doran's character it was him. Aside from Captain Janeway herself,
there was no one else on Voyager he could ask.
Unfortunate since, at the moment, Tuvok was the last person on Voyager
Chakotay wanted to ask anything of. The fact the Vulcan had so expertly
deceived him still stung and the Commander was not to the point yet where he
could push by it. Not just to find out facts about a woman he'd get to know
anyway.
He was curious but not *that* curious.
Voyager's new first officer's musings were disrupted by Commander Doran's
emergence from the Ready Room.
Under Chakotay's watchful gaze, the blonde woman moved leisurely around the
bridge, pausing to speak with Harry Kim then Tuvok before departing into the
turbolift. After a moment, Janeway walked out of the Ready Room and crossed
the bridge to take the center seat.
Unable to resist, Chakotay looked over at her with a curious expression. "How
did it go?"
Looking back at him, the captain smiled and nodded. "She'll do it."
"Good." the tall man grinned wryly. "We can use all the help we can get with
this."
"We could indeed." Janeway agreed. "And Kaia's as close as we can get to an
impartial third party on this ship."
"Psychology background won't hurt either." her executive officer added. "We
don't know how long we're going to be out here and we're inevitably going to
need the help of a professional."
"That's what I told her." Switching tracks, Janeway continued. "Kaia will be
speaking with you about duty shifts but I expect the easiest way to handle
it will be to split her duty shifts."
"Half the shift spent on Sciences and the other as Counselor?"
"Exactly. Kaia plans on changing uniforms so the crew can distinguish. I'm
sure occasions will require some overlapping but overall, I think it will
work."
"It will work." Chakotay assured. "I'll see to it that it does."
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
It was a few days later before Chakotay had his first real encounter with
Voyager's new counselor.
He'd been reluctant to begin using the executive officer's office, it seemed
wrong to just move in almost immediately after the other man's death - like
he'd never been there. To do so was, in Chakotay's eyes, the epitome of
disrespect. However, he could put it off no longer. He was beginning his
duties and the first one on his list was to put together the new crew's duty
roster and that meant he needed a quiet place to interview both his Maquis
crew and the existing Voyager one, thus he needed the office. But he still
wasn't looking forward to cleaning out Cavit's personal effects.
However, when the office door slid open, Chakotay discovered his hesitations
were unwarranted as he found himself looking at Kaia Doran, dressed in the
light blue dress of a Counselor, moving about the room.
The blonde Betazoid was in the midst of putting Cavit's personal effects
into a box. Looking startled, she paused in her work to offer a respectful
smile. "Good morning, I'm almost done here, Sir, then I'll get out of your
way. I'm sure you've a ton of work to do."
"So I do." He agreed but held up a hand to forestall anymore comments.
"First off, Counselor, we're going to be spending an awful lot of time
working together over this voyage and I'd prefer not to spend that time with
you calling me sir. My name is Chakotay. Feel free to use it." he set down
the small crate he'd tucked under one arm and moved to the replicator. "One
thing I've never liked about Starfleet is the protocol."
"Me either." Kaia agreed with a grin. "Only I have a bad habit of forgetting
it at the worse possible time. I can't tell you how many times I've slipped
up and called Captain Janeway, Kate, when I was supposed to be calling her
Captain. A few times were in front of Admirals...very embarrassing."
"Don't suppose you'd care to relate a few?" Chakotay questioned with a laugh.
"Replicate a cup of Raktajino for me and I'll consider it." The slim blonde
countered without hesitation. "And if I have to call you Chakotay then you
have to call me Kaia. Counselor is not an accurate title."
Replicating a cup of coffee for himself and the Raktajino for her, he turned
to face her. "How's that? You're doing the job and you do have the training
for it."
"Not because I wanted it." Kaia replied honestly. "I got my xeno-psychology
doctorate to appease my mother then went into Sciences when I went to Starfleet
Academy. Deal was I got the doctorate I could go to the Academy and they wouldn't
argue my choices when I got there."
"Your parents didn't want you to go to Starfleet Academy?" Chakotay held out the
raktajino while he took a sip of his coffee.
"Gods no," the Betazoid laughed, taking the drink with one hand while continuing
to put things away with the other. "My parents want to be grandparents and they
think that if I'm off flitting 'round the galaxy in Starfleet I'm never going to
get around to having a family." She shrugged then sipped the raktajino
cautiously, hissing slightly when it burned her tongue. "They're probably
right."
"No family."
"Not even the prospect of one." Kaia nodded. "Call me a romantic but I'm not
going to marry just anyone and start a family. When I do, he'll be Imazdi
and that's that." After the statement was out of her mouth, the blonde
flushed slightly. "Well, a fine counselor I'm turning out to be. We're
supposed to be talking about *you*."
"Came here for our first counselling session did you?" Chakotay prompted
with a chuckle.
"Not exactly. I thought I'd get Cavit's things out of here before you tried
to settle in." She looked down at the box before her. "It's never easy to
take over for another officer but when it's someone that's just been killed..."
"You feel like you're trespassing on sacred ground." the big Native American
finished for her. "You're right, I wasn't looking forward to coming in here
with everything untouched. As if he were about to walk through the door."
Closing the box, Kaia moved it from his desk. "Especially considering the
circumstances right?"
The question hit the mark and he looked down at the coffee cup he held.
"Kaia, you're better at counselling than you think. Yes, it does bother me
that, up until a few days ago, I was considered an enemy of the Federation
and now I'm First Officer of the very ship that was sent to arrest me."
"Yes, you would be." The Counselor said with blunt honesty. "This isn't
going to be easy Chakotay. Not by any stretch of the imagination. We're
trying to integrate two crews that's hard enough on it's own but, given the
fact that both crews are on the opposite sides of a very thorny issue, this
is going to be incredibly difficult. I hope you like a challenge Commander
because this one's a doozy."
"Not one to beat around the bush are you?" Chakotay chuckled as she grinned
back unrepentantly.
"No, we Betazoids are an honest lot, particularly when dealing with humans."
Kaia's dark eyes danced with mischief. "We try to set a good example for you."
"Are you implying humans are dishonest?" The first officer countered, a mirthful
look on his face.
"Well, you are experts at self-deception." Finishing her raktajino, the Betazoid
put the mug back into the replicator and picking up the box. "And my race wasn't
the one who invented poker." She grinned cheerfully. "Now, if you'll excuse me,
I've got an office of my own to set up."
Moving aside, Chakotay nodded. "We'll have to get together for a meeting with
the Captain soon. Discuss who's going to be performing what duties amongst the
junior crew."
"Not to mention who's bunking with who." She agreed, stopping at the door.
"I'm sure that's going to be a problem."
"No doubt." the First Officer walked around to stand at his desk. "Counselor
...Kaia..."
The blonde looked over her shoulder at him. "Yes?"
"Thank you."
TBC
