Disclaimer: Paramount owns all things Trek, 'tis a pity.
A/N: Okay, although this Chapter answers some questions, it raises more doesn't it… well you'll find out soon… let me know if you think anything specific needs answering. I know it's kind of short… but bear with me, we are going somewhere (hopefully, it's where no one else has gone before)
Believe in Me
...Hidden Truth….
The padd dropped from Kathryn's hands and landed with a loud clatter on the table. Miral, who sat watching her usually calm Aunty, jolted and turned to burry her face in her mother's hair. As B'Elanna carefully stroked Miral's dark hair she watched a series of emotions flicker across Kathryn's face… disbelief, anger, hatred… Personally, B'Elanna couldn't imagine what Chakotay had done which was so horrid, but she knew Kathryn would tell her in her own time. Either that, or B'Elanna would snatch that fallen Padd from the table and read it herself.
1… 2…. She counted in her mind, giving Kathryn 5 seconds to spill the beans …4… 4 ¼ … 4 ½ … 4 ¾….5. B'Elanna grabbed the padd of the desk. Most of it was the basic Starfleet preliminary warning of what the charges were, court dates and that sort of thing, the evidence would be on the other Padds, but she knew from experience with Maquis rebels who had been caught that the last sentence would hold the key information.
She held the scroll key down until it stopped at the bottom on the Padd…
LET IT HEREBY BE STATED IN SUMMARY FOR THE COURT, THAT CAPTAIN CHAKOTAY, FORMERLY OF THE UNITED FEDERATION HAS HEREBY BEEN CHARGED WITH MURDER OF THE FORMER BORG DRONE, ANNIKA HANSEN alias SEVEN OF NINE.
Without a word, B'Elanna handed the Padd to Tom, before lifting Miral and moving to sit next to Kathryn. The Admiral's hands were shaking; she stared into a distance as though lost in some far off thought. Slowly, B'Elanna snaked her arms around the former Captain… Miral sensing her aunt's sadness mimicked her Mum's actions. That was all it took to wrench a loud sob from Kathryn.
"You don't believe it, do you Captain?" Unconsciously, B'Elanna had reverted to using her mentor's rank. Although she didn't know it, Kathryn drew her strength from the title.
Her shoulder's straightened, arms squared, "You know I don't!" She snapped. "It's just – her – again."
B'Elanna raised her eyebrow, six months ago, she might have been upset over the death of the borg drone, but today she felt nothing.
"We don't even know if it's true – I mean what happened – for all we know she could be in hiding somewhere. We should look at the rest of the evidence."
"Yes… we should," Kathryn moved to the next Padd in the stack.
B'Elanna's hand reached out to stop her, "When I said we, I meant me and Tom… you go back to bed now – you've had enough of a shock."
"Oh no," Kathryn was quick no protest, "I can't go back to sleep now."
"Does Chakotay know?"
Kathryn shook her head, "He had to go, I didn't have time to let him know… he couldn't know." But a little voice spoke when she knew they were all thinking, not unless he actually did it.
...xxx...
Chakotay knew he had committed many crimes in his lifetime. He had murdered evil Cardassians, stole from the rich to give to the poor, but each time he had done it out of necessity.
He hadn't had time to find out what he was charged with, but he knew somewhere, right now, Tom, B'Elanna and Kathryn were looking over the data… wondering if he really had done what Starfleet and Mrs. Hansen had accused him of doing… oh yes, he didn't need the evidence back to tell him what he had done.
It had happened quickly, out of necessity, he often reminded himself… but no, he had done it out of anger, he knew.
Seven's claims that night she had stumbled upon Kathryn and Chakotay were not unfounded… well… Chakotay reminded himself, he had been telling the truth when he'd told Kathryn he hadn't cheated on her, but if Kathryn had asked if Chakotay had seen the borg drone in the months prior to their wedding, Chakotay knew he would have lied – anything to erase the doubt from Kathryn's mind.
He knew that an outsider, wouldn't understand the complex position he was in, even Kathryn wouldn't… he decided it would be best to start explaining from the beginning… he decided it would be best to prepare the explanation Kathryn would be waiting for at Kelly Frasier's next briefing – this time, he would tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth… Chakotay may have watched Annika Hansen die, of that he had been guilty, but he definitely wasn't a murderer.
"It started that night… on the balcony when I ran after Seven, oh I didn't find her… but it started the day you admitted you loved me… it burnt something in Seven… I don't know, anger, jealousy? Probably betrayal, I told you loyalty was important to her, she did learn it from you… and I guess she wanted revenge. She's watched us exact revenge on the Borg, so I suppose she thought it was only natural."
"Anyway, I hadn't heard from her, pretty much until our engagement. You know that I heard that she called off the engagement through the Doctor. Anyway… a few weeks later she met me outside Starfleet HQ and said we needed to sort things out. I agreed willingly, we were both worried about her and I thought she'd have time to be calm over this."
"She led me to a quiet alleyway, claiming there was a quaint little café further along… I… I… foolishly agreed to go along… and it was there that she… she… assaulted me. Said how you could never give me what I hoped for and wouldn't I like one last night of romance…"
Chakotay paused imagining Kathryn's reaction…
"I know, it wasn't like her Kathryn, but she was hurt – she was just coming to terms with her humanity… I… NO, of course I didn't sleep with her. I told you that Kathryn, I told you that on our wedding night, after we went on that vision quest… and she came into our bedroom… I'd never lie to you Kathryn… what she said was a lie, I never slept with her… but I did follow her, I didn't want to tell you because I knew you wouldn't believe me."
That still doesn't explain why it says you murdered her Chakotay… Already, he could imagine her cold, hard steely voice. When Chakotay saw her next, she wouldn't reveal the tiredness she rarely revealed to anyone… and that was what Chakotay was afraid of. He would have admitted it all to her… admitted everything, except he knew from experience that one small move would send her scurrying away – the slightest mistake… the slightest hint that he would do everything to jepordize the relationship she had forced herself to go against her nature and place so much trust in.
He took a deep breath and continued, "I didn't see her again until much later… after we were married… before Taya was born. Again she came to my office at HQ, but this time… I was aware, I turned her down. It was fine… I walked off… I thought it would be okay… but once I was safely out of HQ, I felt that familiar tingle of the transporters… I found myself in an abandoned room… Seven of Nine…" Chakotay shook his head, "Annika in front of me… she said that she regretting being severed from the collective… regretted joining our crew… regretted falling in love with me…. I was wrong Kathryn, she never loved any other men… she wanted me… and I let her down," Chakotay hung his head. "But I wanted you."
Get to the point, Chakotay.
"She committed suicide Kathryn, in front of my eyes. I watched as she ripped the cortical node from her forehead," Chakotay looked away, memories of the day flooding his mind… the mess, the blood… the body… Spirits, had their love caused so much pain?
"As she was dying, she looked up at me… repeating her mantra, resistance is futile." Chakotay didn't know how he was managed coherent sentences, but he knew if he stopped he would break down. "But then… she… she," He took a deep breath, "She began to panic, she didn't want to die Kathryn… she was only a young thing… she asked me to get help… she said she'd release me if I got help."
"I told her to deactivate the force-field and she did… she let me go… and I looked at her lying there and thought… I don't know what I thought, I thought, well, what the heck, lets let her die – she'd leave us alone forever… and then, I thought better of it – I called the Doctor…. But it was too late. He was shocked, accused me of murdering her… I thought it was best to erase his memory files… that were it, I came home… I didn't say anything couldn't live with it… but things grew back to normal, I forgot about it….
xxx
… I wanted to get on with my life, so I could love you… love Taya. You know I wouldn't kill anyone… Kathryn?... Kathryn, you believe me, don't you?"
Kathryn looked up from where her eyes had been focused on the hard floor. She brushed her blonde hair behind a ear. When she finally spoke, her voice was a hard and cold as steel, but it was nothing like the Captain's voice either, it was stronger, more powerful, more sinister, somehow.
"I don't know Chakotay; it all seems a little far-fetched to me."
Tbc….