A/n: I owe a huge thank you to my beta for this story, xXBrightsideBumblebeeXx, for taking the time out of her extremely hectic schedule to look over this chapter and give me ideas for the next one! This particular chapter was difficult for me, which is why it took me so long, but hopefully the next one should be easier. Please tell me what you think everyone! :)
Chakotay stepped out of the turbolift onto the Bridge a second or so before Seven followed. She watched as his skin paled, his body jerking slightly as if he'd been struck when his eyes focused on the viewscreen directly in front of them. "What the hell…" He breathed, his lips barely moving as shock continued to paralyse him.
These words pulled Seven's attention away from her companion to see what exactly had transfixed him so powerfully, and she saw it instantly. Staring out from the viewscreen at the Bridge crew was a human man, wearing a uniform that, although altered cosmetically in several small aspects, was still recognisable as one worn by a Starfleet Captain. However that wasn't the truly shocking part of his appearance. Despite the changes time inevitably wrought on every face, extra lines and creases, hair losing its distinctive tint, everyone on that Bridge knew him, it was Chakotay, the man they knew, who he himself knew, as their First Officer. This realisation, although seemingly impossible was compounded when he addressed Captain Janeway, his voice sharp with urgency, "Captain, you need to close that temporal rift behind me now! Don't wait!"
A collective gasp seemed to echo around the Bridge as that familiar voice, eerily unchanged, confirmed their shared, as yet unspoken, conclusion. Seven felt the younger, no, the real, Chakotay stiffen beside her and instinctively took his hand, finding his skin cold and clammy with shock. It took the Captain's reply, anger hiding her fear and confusion, before he lightly squeezed her hand gratefully in return as reality sunk perilously in. "What? Who are you?" The Captain asked, inhaling sharply as she tried to absorb what was happening, "I don't just take orders from…"
The older Chakotay's eyes narrowed in exasperation, his tattoo drawing down his forehead as he frowned, its distinctive blue ink even more striking when contrasted against hair turned snowy white by time. "You know who I am Kathryn!" He told her impatiently, barely focusing on her as he looked down distractedly at his console, "If you don't close that rift, angry Klingons might just follow me through…"
"Klingons?" The Captain echoed weakly, staring up at the man on the viewscreen as she fought to understand, "Chakotay, I…"
"He's right Captain!" Harry Kim suddenly exclaimed from Ops, "I'm reading the signatures of several Klingon warbirds on the other side of the rift, as well as that of a Starfleet vessel…"
His voice was so filled with disbelieving awe that the Captain had to believe him, although she was still reluctant to put her crew's safety in the hands of this strange Chakotay doppelganger. "Keep scanning the rift, I want a clear idea of what's really happening here!" She ordered in agitation.
The Chakotay on the viewscreen frowned down at her determinedly, "Captain, as the fellow Captain I am now, I respectfully request…" The harsh irritation that was growing in his tone seemed to falsify the courtesy, "…that you close that rift before it causes more problems than either of us can deal with. Use a high-frequency phaser burst."
"I suggest that we follow…Captain Chakotay's recommendation Captain." Tuvok advised levelly from Tactical, his tone characteristically reflecting little of the strangeness of the situation, "The Klingons will reach the rift's event horizon and enter normal space within 15 seconds."
The Captain pursed her lips, frustration sparking within her as the feeling of being trapped in a situation entirely out with her control twisted itself around her. "Do as he says." She commanded briskly.
Chakotay felt the tension in his chest ease for a moment as he watched Voyager's concentrated blast of phaser fire collide with the rift, it's implosion a few seconds later was mesmerising, like a rainbow collapsing inward, and then the space was back to normal, the wound he'd created in it for himself healed to perfection. Soon enough though, his gaze fell back on the comm. link to Voyager, his own past. The crew had been struck silent momentarily just as he had by the rift's closure, but now he could see the Captain pacing around, trying not to look at him. It was a different matter for his younger self however, he couldn't look away. It was like staring into a warped reflection, seeing a memory gazing back at him, Seven standing loyally by his younger self's side. He remembered that night; right now they should have been in his quarters, on a date, sharing their third, forth or maybe even fifth kisses. She'd stopped him after those, he could still remember her shy reminder, even as her eyes twinkled at him joyfully, that "The dinner he'd prepared for them would be ruined if delayed for longer." His reply to that had been to steal another, not so quick kiss, before he'd led her to the table with her giggles ringing pleasantly in his ears. It hurt to realise that he'd stolen that memory, one he'd cherished and kept locked in his heart for years, it would never happen now. His past and this present were no longer one… Captain Janeway's voice interrupted his painful musings, "I've done as you asked Captain." She said, her voice stilted with unease and disapproval, "Now do you mind explaining why I had to do it?"
He swallowed back the regrets that had overwhelmed him as memories he was fighting to banish flashed through his mind. He took a deep breath as he tried to form an answer, something he wasn't even sure he had for himself. "It's simple Captain." He finally said quietly, "I'm here to get my family home safely."
"There's absolutely no doubt about it Captain." The Doctor said in a hushed, certain, whisper and waving around the tricorder he'd used to conduct the scans for emphasis, "That man on the biobed is our Commander Chakotay."
The Captain looked at the hologram searchingly, "Are you sure Doctor?"
The hologram nodded rigorously, slightly perturbed that the Captain didn't immediately believe him, but he supposed that was reasonable given the circumstances. "100% positive. Apart from a twenty six year age difference, Commander and…Captain Chakotay are the same man."
"Twenty six years?" The Captain echoed incredulously, turning to her First Officer in astounded disbelief, "Then he really has travelled through time…"
"I still don't believe it Captain." Chakotay interrupted resolutely, "I'd never contemplate time travel, it goes against everything I believe in!" He declared passionately, shooting his older counterpart a brief, suspicious, glare. Even with such unnerving evidence right in front of him, a man who looked like his grandfather, father and himself all combined into one, he still refused to believe that he could ever risk the timeline in such a way. He'd always believed that, however painful, events had their reasons, that fate came and went, and the idea that he would decide to selfishly try to interfere with that sickened him and seemed to disrespect every loss he'd had to learn to cope with without dreaming of time travel. "It can't be Captain, there has to be something behind this…"
The Captain put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry Chakotay, I have no intention of letting my guard down with him, but we all need to deal with this rationally and figure out what's really happening."
A dry, bitter laugh echoed over from the biobed. "What's really happening Captain, is that I'm telling you the truth." The older Chakotay remarked tightly, a small, knowing frown settling on his features as he looked at his younger self. "You know I wouldn't be doing this if there wasn't any other choice." He murmured to him, his voice thick with what Chakotay recognised with a shiver as regret and steely determination.
"Time travel isn't generally considered a choice." The Captain said thoughtfully, eyebrows raised.
"Well, your future self thought differently Captain." The older Chakotay informed her with a wry quirk of his lips that didn't reach his hollow eyes. "And a greedy Klingon helpfully procured a time machine from somewhere."
The Captain's mouth dropped open, "Wait, I had something to do with…"
"At first." Chakotay answered, then shrugged as he was met with three questioning sets of eyes. "I suppose I have the most to lose in this." He admitted with a heavy sigh.
Before Janeway or Commander Chakotay could respond to that, the Doctor quickly ran his tricorder over him again. "Has that got anything to do with the abnormally high levels of cell degradation I'm reading? Only some forms of radiation would…"
The older Chakotay's expression darkened further, his eyes becoming unreadable. "I was exposed over two decades ago, it doesn't matter now Doctor." He said tersely, the subject obviously hitting a nerve before his tone lightened again, "As for whatever else is wrong with me, I'm just getting old."
"Even time travel can't postpone that indefinitely, but I'd still like an explanation…" The Captain began, but Chakotay wasn't listening, his still keen gaze had caught Seven hovering by Sickbay's door. His breath caught traitorously in his throat, it was still a shock, a wonderful shock but still a shock none the less, to be able to see, rather than only imagine, her living, breathing form. He was painfully aware that she was avoiding him, he knew her well enough to be able to tell when she was nervous even when skilfully hiding it. That hurt even more than realising his memory hadn't done her justice, she really was beautiful, and resembled their daughter even more than he'd previously believed.
"It's okay Seven, come in." The gentle words were out of his mouth before he realised what he was doing, although he noticed the protective flinch that passed over his younger self's face as Seven obligingly approached, gaze stubbornly averted.
"Thank you Captain Chakotay." She said politely, fighting a blush as she stumbled over the new rank and felt irrationally aware of his eyes on her. Quickly she handed the PADD she was holding to Captain Janeway, "I've completed my analysis of the future Delta Flyer." She reported perfunctorily, "It has a number of new forms of technology, a neural interface system for pilots, enhanced warp engines, multi-phasic torpedoes, isometric shields and tritanium armour plating."
"Can any of it be adapted for Voyager?" The Captain asked with interest. Seven didn't answer immediately, distracted by the older Chakotay's intense gaze directed only at her. He was the same man she knew, she knew that with a certainty that unsettled her, but he was also a shadow of his younger self. The muscle that filled out his tall frame had faded, his uniform was hanging loose to the point where he looked underweight, and although his facial structure was as strikingly handsome as ever despite age, it also looked strained, weariness evident in every expression. It was the look in his eyes however, that made anxiety enter her heart unwillingly, when she's first entered the room she was sure she'd seen tears form for an instant in his dark eyes before being stubbornly blinked away… "Seven?" The Captain prompted again.
Seven jerked her gaze guiltily away from the temporal traveller to focus on the Captain again. "The neural interface and warp enhancements are incompatible with Voyager's systems, but I believe the tritanium plating can be adapted as well as the torpedo technology."
"Get started on it then, we've still got the Borg to worry about." The Captain instructed her.
With a short nod and a furtive glance at the younger Chakotay Seven quickly left Sickbay and Janeway couldn't help but notice that their guest's unreadable gaze remained fixed on where the ex-Borg had stood long after she'd left.
A/n: PLEASE REVIEW! :D