Chapter 13

Chakotay stood in front of the viewport in his ready room. Voyager had reached the rendezvous spot within half an hour of receiving the order from Titan. There had been no other communication from the Fleet's flagship. Cerberus and Odyssey had arrived soon after and the three ships held position while they waited. Hours passed, and in that time, his mind was left to wander.

There was only one reason for Riker to take command of the fleet. Chakotay had realized that even before confirmation was sent that the Admiral was wounded in the attack on Romulus. There had been no other news since then. Their ships had gone to com-silence while they waited for the rest of the fleet to arrive. During the hours that followed, Gryphon and Jamestown had joined them, and only a short while before he finally closed himself up in the ready room, Hamilton had dropped out of warp near their position.

Beyond the viewport in front of him there was only darkness. It matched the turn his thoughts had taken. Was this it? Was this the end? Had Kathryn finally walked so close to the line that there was no coming back for her? He questioned why she had chosen Titan to take her and the diplomatic delegation to Romulus, and now he was left to consider if the outcome would have been any different if it had been Voyager instead. He didn't know if that was arrogance or habit.

He knew Kathryn. He knew the risks she was willing to take for the sake of completing her mission. Is that what had happened on Romulus?

Would they never have the chance to have the conversation that was eluding them?

He thought back over the last year and all of the rescheduled meetings and missed opportunities. How often had he been on Earth in that time, how many times had Voyager returned to sector 001 without him ever bothering to reach out to her? It wasn't as if he hadn't known where to find her. It was only when he was faced with direct interaction that he decided to close the distance that had grown between them.

Why had he hesitated when it seemed like she was so close?

The sound of the door chime interrupted his thoughts. Chakotay sighed tiredly. "Come in."

Hugh Cambridge said a silent prayer as he crossed the threshold into the Captain's inner sanctum. During the months he was assigned to Voyager as ship's counselor his relationship with the Captain had been… strained, at best. The Captain didn't always want his input, and had resisted his attempts at counsel beyond what was good for the ship, or the crew, or the mission at hand. Cambridge had chalked it up to all the years that Voyager had been without a counselor.

"Captain." Cambridge moved further into the room and folded his hands behind his back. "I thought I might offer my services while we wait." He had already spoken to a few of the others, members of the crew that were with the ship during its original mission. Aside from the thick tension that had befallen the ship with the turn their mission had taken, their present circumstances were difficult. There was still a great deal of respect and affection or their former Captain. The crews' worry was understandable and if anything he had heard during his months aboard was true, the Captain would be more affected than the rest of them.

Chakotay glanced at the other man and felt himself go immediately on edge. "Thank you, Counselor, but that won't be necessary. Titan and Aegeus will be arriving soon, I'm sure." The last thing he needed was someone who couldn't hope to understand the complicated nature of his relationship with Kathryn trying to unravel all the many knots and layers of their friendship, or whatever it was they had now.

"You are probably correct," the Counselor replied, "but I have to disagree with you. We're in an area of space that is volatile at best, hostile at worst, and the last information we received included orders to regroup with the rest of our fleet because of an attack that left one of our Federation Ambassadors dead and the Admiral that brought us here incapacitated. The same Admiral that you spent seven years sitting beside on that bridge," he jerked his head toward the door behind him, but did not remove his gaze from the Captain's reflection in the dark viewport. "You may not want to speak to me, sir, but I think you need to."

"I suppose if I don't, you'll put in your report that I was uncooperative and uncommunicative." Chakotay shook his head. This was the last thing that he needed right now. "What is it you want to know, Counselor?"

Hugh wondered how it was that the Captain always made his title sound like a curse. "Actually," he said, and walked toward the raised seating area along the room's outer bulkheads, "I won't. That isn't why I'm here. It isn't my purpose on this ship." He stepped up onto the dais and took a position against the railing. Hugh leaned back against it, arms crossed over his chest. "Unless your actions, or inactions, do something to put this ship and its crew in danger, there's no reason for me to report on your activities. I'm here to provide assistance, but I can't do that if you aren't willing to talk."

Silence settled over the room. Chakotay pondered what the Counselor would do if he just stood there, not speaking, until the other ships arrived. His teeth ground together. He had a feeling Cambridge was just stubborn enough to do it. "Is there anything about this particular situation that you think I am especially in need of discussing?"

"You tell me." Cambridge continued to watch him. "You've been locked in here for over an hour. Are you hiding from the situation or your feelings about the situation?"

Chakotay opened his mouth to respond, but the biting remark would not come. There were no words that he could find to discount that summation when it was exactly what he was doing. He turned slowly and met the Counselor's gaze. "That's what she used to do," he said, surprised at just how familiar the situation really was. "If something happened that she couldn't accept, or didn't want to accept, Kathryn would separate herself from it. She would lock herself in here until she felt like she was in control again, and then she would go on as if it never happened."

"You can't do that," Cambridge pointed out. "This isn't something you can just will away by ignoring it. The Admiral is either seriously injured or worse. Nothing you can do will change that fact. It's sincerely doubtful that you could have effected any change on present circumstances by being anywhere other than where you were assigned. Your attachment to your former commanding officer is both understandable and commendable, but I think it's more than that."

The Captain snorted. "You've been listening to ship's gossip. Don't believe everything you hear on the lower decks." He lowered himself to the couch and leaned forward, elbows braced against his knees. "Kathryn and I were friends."

"Were?" Cambridge moved around the end of the coffee table and sat on the adjacent chair. He turned toward the Captain and crossed his legs comfortably. "Are you speaking in the past tense because you're trying to prepare yourself for the worst possible outcome, or did something happen to change the nature of your friendship with the Admiral?"

Chakotay stared at the carpeted deck beneath his feet. "After Voyager got home, it seemed like everything was going to work out for everyone. It wasn't easy at first; there were a couple of situations we had to resolve, but then everything settled down. I took command of Voyager and Kathryn settled into her new job. All of us had lives to get back to. The crew, most of them, scattered across the quadrant, and we were no different. We…" He sighed. "We stopped talking, aside from the occasional letter. Before I was assigned to the taskforce I hadn't seen Kathryn in several months. Afterward, we kept intending to get together, talk, but it never panned out."

"Why do you think that is?" Cambridge read regret in the Captain's expression, and most of it was directed inward at himself.

"Part of me didn't want to hear what she had to say," he said quietly. "Another part of me was worried that I would push her too far. She can be pretty stubborn."

The Counselor didn't think she was alone in that. It felt like they were finally getting somewhere, though. He wondered if there was more to that lower decks gossip than the Captain wanted to admit. "What were you afraid that she would say?"

"I could never figure that out." Chakotay stood up again and turned his gaze back to the stars. "There are parts of our relationship that are deeply personal. While we were both on Voyager it never moved beyond an acknowledgement of that. There were boundaries that we didn't cross, that Kathryn wouldn't cross. Once we were home I wondered if it was finally time to revisit that, but I wasn't sure if I wanted her to agree or…" He stopped talking and shook his head.

Cambridge thought he understood now. It was a heady, frightening feeling to be faced with attaining something that had always seemed impossible. "You lived with the idea of something for a long time. When the opportunity to make it a reality existed, you hesitated. You didn't know if the reality would match the idea. If it didn't, would the friendship be lost, and if it did, would it burn out too soon? Having nothing was a condition that you were familiar with. It was easier to continue with that than to risk losing the dream." Hugh unfolded his legs and leaned forward, arms draped across his knees. "That feeling is more common than you think." He refrained from mentioning that the Captain might have been able to resolve all of this if he had continued his post-return counseling. It wasn't a requirement of his return to duty, and so after those initial evaluations, he stopped.

"That might be true but it doesn't do me a hell of a lot of good now." Chakotay glanced at him from over his shoulder. "She's either dead or dying, and if she's not, she's moved on."

"If she's not," Cambridge said carefully, "you're still avoiding making the choice that would provide resolution, whatever that resolution is. There's an open question there, and the only way you're ever going to be able to put it to rest is to open the door and walk through it. You may not like the outcome but that doesn't make the action any less necessary. Captain, we don't achieve mental or emotional health by avoiding conflict, whether it's personal or professional. Our wellbeing is built on the foundations of how we resolve those conflicts. Otherwise we find ourselves in situations like this one."

Chakotay's sigh rumbled in his chest. "I knew that somehow you were going to find a way to toss an I told you so in there somewhere."

"I didn't want to disappoint you," Hugh stood. "I can't force you to make the decision, but I think it would be in your best interests to have that conversation with the Admiral, if the possibility is still there."

"And if it's not?" Chakotay didn't want to think about that either. That path was dark and abysmal. He shied from it and the feelings of despair that reached for him like long black tendrils ready to wrap him in a cocoon of nothing.

"We'll talk again," Cambridge promised. "Either way my door is open, Captain."

"Thank you, Counselor." Chakotay turned and clasped his hands together in front of him. "Your assistance has been… depressing, but helpful."

"Just doing my part, Captain. We should talk about making it a—"

"Paris to Chakotay," the first officer's voice filled the interior of the ready room before the Counselor could finish that statement.

"Go ahead, Tom." The fist that had been clutching at his heart for the last three hours gave a tight squeeze while his stomach clenched in anticipation.

"Titan and Aegeus just dropped out of warp, Captain. We're receiving instructions for the Fleet Captains to beam aboard the Titan for a mission briefing."

"I guess that's me." Chakotay straightened. "Thank you Commander, signal the Titan that we've received their instructions and I'll be beaming over shortly. Was there anything else in that transmission, Tom?"

"No, Captain," he said somberly. "That was all that was transmitted."

"Understood. The ship is yours until I get back, Commander."

"Copy that. Paris out."

"What do you think that means?" Cambridge asked.

"I guess I'm about to find out." Chakotay strode toward the ready room's secondary exit.

Cambridge watched him go. "Good luck," he said quietly, the words spoken in an empty room that he suspected were filled with more ghosts than sanctuary.

KJKJKJ

She woke up in sickbay with a splitting headache and a body that felt like she had unwisely climbed into a shuttle with Chakotay. The feeling was so wholly familiar that for several moments Kathryn was sure that she was waking up in Voyager's sickbay. For that space of time it was as though the past months had all been a dream, another hallucination while their trip across the Delta Quadrant remained the reality.

Kathryn pinched the bridge of her nose and winced against the stabbing pain that shot through her head when she tried to open her eyes. "Doctor, report." She tried to sit up but her body didn't want to cooperate. Her left side felt stiff and heavy, while her voice was thick, rasping with disuse.

"Slowly, Admiral, you've been unconscious for more than two hours."

A voice lilted nearby, and while she recognized it, she thought surely it was impossible. A hypospray hissed coolly against her neck and she felt the sudden chill of medication entering her blood stream. Almost at once the ache behind her eyes began to recede. Kathryn drew a slow breath and allowed her eyes to blink open again. The arrangement of the lights overhead presented her first indication that she was not actually aboard Voyager. Her head turned in the direction the voice had sounded and she found two officers standing beside her biobed.

She had become accustomed to Commander Troi's presence over the past few weeks, and while she had met Dr. Ree on more than one occasion, waking up to find the tall Pahkwa-thanh looming over her with his reptilian-like features was an experience unlike anything she had ever encountered before. It was neither alarming nor disconcerting but it was definitely… new. She blinked again before she allowed her attention to focus on the Commander. "What happened?"

This time when she tried to sit up, Dr. Ree assisted her. Deanna rested her hands on the edge of the biobed while the Admiral reoriented herself. "There was an attack on Romulus while David Sullivan was giving testimony in front of Praetor Tal'Aura and the Romulan delegation; you and a few others were injured."

Kathryn nodded slowly. Her mind was continuing to clear. She recalled being on the planet, presenting Sullivan to the Romulans, and then the commotion that had ensued after he was assassinated. "There was disruptor fire," she recalled, "and at least one explosion."

"Yes," Troi nodded. "There were two small detonations before we were beamed back to the ship. You were injured, along with at least three of the Romulans at the meeting. We know that Delegate Denel and Commander Suran were killed, along with the two attackers. We don't yet know the status of the injured." She drew her hands back and clasped them in front of her. "Unfortunately, Ambassador Karal was also severely wounded. He and Ambassador T'Kara were beamed aboard Aegeus during the emergency extraction. I regret to inform you that the Ambassador died shortly after."

Her jaw clenched. Kathryn gripped the edge of the bed beneath her and lowered her gaze to the floor while she allowed that news to sink in. "Someone went to great lengths to make sure that Mr. Sullivan could not reveal his benefactor. To what end? I assume the others are still in the brig aboard Aegeus?"

"They are," Troi confirmed. "We have not informed the other detainees that Sullivan was killed or why we have left Romulus."

"While your injuries were easily treatable," Dr. Ree interjected, "they were serious. A large chunk of debris struck your left shoulder. The joint was severely damaged and required partial reconstructive surgery to fully repair the injury. You may experience soreness for several days and it will be stiff until your body becomes accustomed to the new tissues. In addition, I have treated burns from a disruptor beam that grazed your left leg. The regenerated skin will feel tight and sensitive to touch for the next seventy-two hours."

"I see," Kathryn nodded. "Thank you, Doctor. Your efforts are not unappreciated, but," she glanced down at the blue loose fitting tunic and trousers she had been clothed in at some point, "I think I would like to leave now. If there's nothing else?"

"Of course," The Doctor took a step back to permit her to leave. "I recommend that you rest and avoid any strenuous activity for at least twenty-four hours, but I understand that present circumstances may prevent that. I will instead caution you to let me know if you begin to feel ill, or if the headache I treated returns."

She expected a fight, or at the very least a lecture. Kathryn's brows lifted in mild surprise but she slipped off the biobed before he could change his mind. Her legs felt initially weak, but she gained her equilibrium quickly. "I may take you up on the strenuous activity suggestion," she said wryly. "It occurs to me that I'm not as young as I used to be."

"Really?" The doctor's head tilted in surprise. His reptilian eyes blinked at her. "You have not yet even reached middle age by human standards. While I did find your medical history incredibly interesting, I saw nothing in it or my examination that would indicate you should feel other than you are, which is a suitably healthy human female of moderate age."

"Remind me to get that in writing for an EMH that I know." Kathryn stepped away from the biobed and turned her attention entirely on the Commander. "What have I missed in the last few hours?"

"Following the attack, the Captain ordered the fleet to regroup at the Romulan border," Deanna reported, falling in step with her as they left sickbay. "We received word a short while ago that more than half the fleet has arrived and are holding position. The Hamilton was rerouted to Starbase 73 to pick up a group of officers from Starfleet Intelligence. We've been notified that Admiral Paris is with them. The Intelligence team that was deployed to the area several weeks ago have failed to complete their last two check-ins. There is concern that the team has either been intercepted or forced off the grid. We will be discussing options for an emergency extraction once the Admiral and his staff arrive." The pair stepped into a turbolift at the end of the corridor. "The Federation Council has suspended diplomatic talks following the loss of Ambassador Karal, but we have been authorized to salvage as much of the situation as we can."

"How long do we have?" Kathryn was mentally taking notes and already thinking of contingency plans. There might still be a way to complete their mission, but she would need more information.

"We are half an hour from the border," Troi told her. "We've not identified who was responsible for the attack yet, but we have our suspicions."

Kathryn's brows rose. "Go on."

"Commander Donatra contacted us an hour after we left orbit. She has ordered her fleet to fall back, deeper into Romulan space, but she is bringing the Valdore and two other ships to the border for a meeting. The Commander insists that, although the two attackers were members of the Imperial Fleet, she was not responsible for what occurred on Romulus. Given the activity that we've picked up on long range sensors, the Captain is inclined to believe her."

"What do you think?" Kathryn preferred to rely on facts, but she had found no reason to not trust the Commander's intuition or empathic abilities. Her mind was still a little fuzzy from the medication and the surgery, but she couldn't think of any one reason why they should suspect that Donatra was truly behind the attack. In the absence of evidence, the Admiral's own intuition was telling her that it was more likely that another faction was trying to discredit the Romulan Commander.

"I believe her." Deanna shrugged. "The Commander's sincerity was real. She wants to protect her people, and she believes an alliance with the Federation is the best way to accomplish that now. She understands that her government is weakened by the current upheaval. Praetor Tal'Aura's grasp is tenuous, and she knows that. In addition, our sensors detected several Warbirds moving into position around Romulus. The Reman fleet has been forced back to Remus, and we have lost contact with the Starfleet Intelligence operatives. The timing is not coincidental."

"I agree." Kathryn folded her arms across her chest and grimaced when her shoulder pulled. It was as stiff as the doctor had warned her it would be. She would give anything for a long soak in a hot bath, but she knew that she would be lucky to have enough time to grab a sonic shower and a clean uniform. The turbolift came to a stop on deck 4 and she stepped out, that singular goal in mind now. "I would like a meeting with the fleet Captains as soon as we have reached the border, and I want to see the report regarding ship movements throughout the area."

"Already arranged," Troi replied, "and your aide…" She trailed off when Decan appeared, striding toward them from the other end of the corridor. "Should already have that report ready for you."

"Thank you, Commander." She was not surprised when Troi remained in the turbolift and turned her attention to the Lieutenant once the doors had closed again. "Decan." She smiled at him. "I hope you realize I'll never be able to allow you to transfer. You're just too damned efficient." She held out a hand for the padd he was carrying.

"Admiral. I am pleased that you are well." He placed the report in her hand. "I agree that seeking another assignment at this juncture would be a mistake. There is no other posting that I would find that would more thoroughly test my patience or logical control."

It was, she knew, as close to an admonishment as she would ever receive from a Vulcan for having worried him. Kathryn smirked at him. "I would miss you too, Decan." The tilt of his head was a sign of exasperation that she recognized all too well from her many years of serving with Tuvok. "I've been told that Admiral Paris is en route aboard the Hamilton. Contact his staff; I want to look at his intelligence report before he arrives."

"The encrypted report has already been loaded to the terminal in your quarters," the Lieutenant informed her. "I anticipated the request and contacted the Admiral's staff when Dr. Ree informed us that he would be reversing the sedative you were given prior to your surgery."

"Thank you, Lieutenant." Kathryn almost smiled again, but would not give him the satisfaction while he was feeling so pleased with himself. "That will be all for now." She continued the few meters to her assigned quarters and walked through the door. The instant she was inside the cool darkness of her quarters, Kathryn's shoulders slumped and her head bowed. "Dammit!" The situation had escalated entirely too quickly. What had they missed? She tossed the data padd onto her desk and pinched the bridge her nose again. She intended to pour over every scrap of data they had until she figured it out, but first she wanted a shower, a cup of coffee, and she had a briefing to prepare for.

Forty-five minutes later she stepped out of the turbolift on deck one feeling more grounded, but no less at ease about their present situation. She made her way down the short corridor at a quick pace, but when she rounded the bend that would take her to the conference room her pace slowed.

Jake felt her presence before he saw Commander Troi's attention shift to some point behind him. He was told when he arrived that she was out of sickbay, but there wasn't time for a detour before their meeting would begin. As it was, most of the Captains had already arrived. They were only waiting for Captain Grant to join them with the Admiral and his staff. None of that seemed to curb his reaction at seeing her. He stared openly, and though he reminded himself it was probably just his perception, Jake thought she looked pale. "Admiral."

The intensity of his gaze almost caused her steps to falter. "Captain." She closed the short distance between herself and the two officers. Kathryn made a mental note to apologize later for not calling him when she was released from sickbay. She was already occupied with the downturn the mission had taken and the thought had not occurred to her.

Troi looked between the pair of them. She had already sensed the Captain's concern, as well as his underlying fury at the events that had brought them to this moment. She wasn't certain she could put a name on what she was sensing now, from either of them. The tangle of their emotions was too raw. The Commander blinked a few times. "I'll see you both inside," she decided, and although Deanna knew the bulkhead would provide little in the way of a suitable barrier between her and those emotions, she decided to remove herself for the sake of providing the appearance of privacy.

Jake hardly registered her leaving. He took a step forward and stopped, inches away, but well inside her personal space. He let his eyes sweep over her form, assuring himself that the reports of her condition were accurate. "Okay?"

"I'm fine." She felt his fingers curl loosely around hers and exhaled a quiet breath. "Barely a flesh wound," she promised quietly.

He sighed. "You worried us." Jake bent close, until their foreheads were almost touching. It was the most he could allow at the moment, given where they were and what was happening. "I just kept thinking about Decan and how lost he would be if he didn't have you to boss around. It was terrible."

"I'm sure it was." She continued to hold his gaze. "Jake, I'm not stupid enough to think I'm indestructible, but a few Romulans aren't going to accomplish what a Borg Queen couldn't. You don't have to worry about Decan."

His thumb stroked the length of her index finger. "Good."

It was the sound of a throat being cleared that finally separated them. The pair stepped apart quickly and turned toward the sound. Kathryn felt herself straightening and her hands moving behind her back. "Sir."

"Admiral." From the corner of his eye, Jake noticed Kathryn standing at attention beside him. He leaned toward her. "You're still one of them," he muttered.

"But we are not." Grant clapped him on the shoulder. "We should join the others."

The corners of Owen's eyes were crinkled with amusement. His mouth was twisted into a stern expression, but the twinkle in his blue eyes gave him away. "Admiral, would you care to explain why I had to find out from Captain Riker that you had regained consciousness, and furthermore, why you felt it prudent to have your aide inform my staff that you were being released from sickbay?"

She had heard that tone before, but where it would have had her quaking in her boots as an ensign, this time her head tilted in defiance. "My apologies, Admiral, but I was occupied with determining how to salvage this mission, while simultaneously trying to understand why you would send Tuvok undercover into Romulan space without telling me." Her brows lifted. "Naturally there isn't time to have that conversation now, but once we've finished with this briefing, I think I'm due an explanation." She paused for just a moment before adding, "Admiral."

A small smile lifted the corners of his mouth. "I think you've finally grown into that rank bar, Kathryn." He gestured toward the conference room. "Shall we?"

She walked into the room ahead of him, and then strode the length of the conference room until she reached the head of the table. "You'll excuse me if we skip the pleasantries this time. Lieutenant Decan, if you would."

The Lieutenant turned toward the display embedded in the wall near the head of the table. He keyed a command into the control panel beside it before transferring the data from the padd in his hand. "Admiral."

"Twenty minutes ago Commander Donatra of the Romulan warbird Valdore confirmed data collected by Titan's long range sensors," Kathryn began, "a fleet of ships that we believe to be loyal to Proconsul Tomalak converged around Romulus and created a blockade between the Romulan home world and Remus. The ship carrying the Reman elders was destroyed as it attempted to return them to their planet. Captain," she nodded to Will and slid into the chair at the head of the table.

The Captain rose and moved to stand near the display. "Before she lost contact with them, Commander Donatra's informants on Romulus relayed information that Imperial Security forces had taken control of the capital city. A curfew was initiated and the citizens were informed that anyone found outside approved, designated locations after that curfew would be taken into custody."

"Additionally," Kathryn stated, "the Commander was able to tell us that Admiral Malek was promoted to his position within Imperial Security by the Proconsul."

"Given what happened, can we trust her?" The question had come from Captain Chakotay, whose gaze had not left the Admiral since she appeared. He was relieved to see that she was okay, but irritated that information was not disseminated sooner. Had she really not considered there were people that might want to know?

"I believe so," Riker answered. "Commander Donatra has no reason to lie to us. Proconsul Tomalak on the other hand…" Will shook his head. "I wouldn't be surprised if all this was a poorly disguised attempt to take control of the government for himself. The Valdore will arrive in about an hour, along with two other warbirds. I'd like the fleet to remain at yellow alert, but the Commander is coming to talk."

"We've also learned that Starfleet Intelligence has lost contact with the team that was deployed to this region before we arrived. Lieutenant Commander Tuvok and Lieutenant Weiss were on their way to Beloren, a small colony near the center of Romulan Space, when they last checked in with the Intel control officer that was stationed at Starbase 73. Their handler hasn't heard from them since." Kathryn's gaze moved to the opposite end of the table. "Admiral Paris."

"According to the last report we received," Owen told them, "Tuvok and Weiss were attempting to confirm information they uncovered that the attacks along the border had originated at Beloren. That was the staging location, and the transport ship that was carrying the Peregrine-class fighters was launched from the colony. It was believed they might find additional craft and the proof as to who was behind the attacks."

"The Peregrine-class fighters our ships picked up were caught crossing the border from the Federation side," Kathryn pointed out. "I think that raises the question of how the transport ship that was carrying them managed to get into Federation space undetected."

"We'd need to pull the sensor logs," Riker pointed out, "but I'd bet that sensor crossing registered as noise. We haven't found any evidence that there are any operatives operating out of Starbase 39-Sierra, so we can only assume Sullivan was telling the truth about how they were able to cross the net. The Cardassians haven't been forthcoming with us yet, but Starfleet Security and Intelligence might have better luck."

"More than likely," Kathryn agreed with a nod. "We won't know for certain until we track down our officers, or the information they were attempting to uncover. I'd prefer to find both."

"If someone in the Empire has figured out a way to circumvent our sensor net, that's a pretty good reason to make sure no one left the colony with that information," Jake pointed out. He met Kathryn's gaze at the other end of the table. He knew what that would mean to her. He could practically hear the gears in her mind turning, but he knew there was only one course of action she would be able to live with. "So… which ship are you taking to Beloren to find them?"

-TBC-

A/N: One of the things that I really enjoyed about the relaunch novels was the inclusion of a counselor. I especially liked that Chakotay and Cambridge butted heads in the beginning, and wanted to recapture a bit of that here. It struck me as odd, reading the books, that Chakotay basically went right back to work within a short time after getting home, breaking up with Seven, and being reunited with what was left of his family. After being lost in the DQ for 7 years, to come home and find the cause he was fighting against had resulted in more devastation than he could imagine, and that war concluded without him - I would have thought he'd need more time, and certainly a lot more counseling than it appears he got.

Thank you all for your responses so far. It means a lot. :)