Chapter 5

Chakotay sighed. It had been one day since they had last seen Kathryn, and he was exhausted. A lot had happened since then, and it had been one heck of a ride.

As soon as Kathryn had left, he stood in front of the officers assembled.

"I have a few things to say before we leave," he said. The officers tried to focus on their new captain and not on the events of just moments ago. He paced the ground in front of them as he tried to find the words to say what he wanted.

"Firstly, Kathryn did not have the authority to promote me to Captain since she was only a civilian at the time. I'd prefer that you continue to address me as Commander." They nodded warily, what was he thinking?

"She also," he continued, "did not have the authority to order me not to rescue her." Everyone perked up a little at this, and B'Elanna's countenance formed a wry smile. "I don't want to assume that everyone would be willing to put themselves in danger for her, so I want you to talk about it. Bring it up, say that I'm considering it, and see what the rest of the crew says. By tomorrow, I want to know if you and the majority of the crew are willing to try to get her back. Dismissed."

They walked out briskly, whispering amongst each other. He could see that a lot of them had already made up their minds, but he hoped that the less important members of this ship would also be allowed a say in their final decision.

Throughout the day he heard everyone talking in the corridors. The officers had done their job well; everyone knew what he was planning. Chakotay ended up spending most of his off duty time in his quarters: he didn't want people to make their decisions based on whether or not he was listening. Waiting until the morning was pure torture, but he would give everyone the time they needed. When he went to bed, his mind whirled through the steps of his barely conceived plan.

"We've decided," said B'Elanna, her special presence on the bridge warranted by the special occasion.

"…And?" Chakotay inquired after a few seconds of silence.

"You have to understand, sir, the senior officers were with you unanimously…"

Chakotay tensed and his heart sank. He felt a "but" coming.

"…but the lower ranks aren't as willing. But they agreed," she pressed on, and Chakotay perked up with the double negative, "As long as you have a plan."

He smiled. "I do." He called a senior staff meeting and in no time they were assembled, waiting to hear what he would say.

He began, "After she told us what had happened, I knew exactly who I had to talk to…"

~*~

"Neelix!" Chakotay called into the kitchen.

A Talaxian face appeared from behind the counter. "Oh Commander! I—I'm sorry, I mean… Captain, of course. I heard what happened! Is the capta—I mean, is she alright?"

"I think she just needs to be alone right now, Neelix. I actually needed to ask you something: What do you know about the Thayn?"

"Is that who did this?!?" He became even more horrified. "Oh no, I'm sorry, I should have warned you about them, but I never thought they would attack a starship! As far as I knew, they only raided the planets—"

"What will they do to her?"

"Nobody knows. They used to show up on Rinax once and a while, demanding anything we had, taking prisoners, that sort of thing."

"And there was nothing you could do?"

"Well, no. You saw them, they're practically invincible."

Chakotay's shoulders sagged. He couldn't give up, but it didn't seem like there was anything he could do.

"I'm so sorry," Neelix continued. "I just never even dreamed that they would attack a starship!"

Chakotay perked up at this. "Why not?"

"Well, because their sensors are a load of nonsense. As long as your shields are up, you're invisible."

~*~

"So, once we get near them, all we have to do is find a way to get her off: they'll never be able to find us."

The officers were quiet, trying to decide what the crew would want them to do.

"I think it will work," said B'Elanna. "I mean, as long as we can trust Neelix."

"He hasn't been wrong yet," put in Tom. "I agree with B'Elanna."

"But how are we going to get on the ship?" asked Harry.

"We'll cross that bridge when it comes," Chakotay said with much authority. Truthfully, he hadn't thought of that yet. "First, we have to find them. Neelix showed me how to track their ion trail: they're currently heading towards a planet not too much out of our way. Neelix estimated that they would be there for about a week, plus the two days spent getting there, so if we stay at warp 5, we should make it in plenty of time. That is, if you agree."

The crew glanced around at each other, and B'Elanna stepped up to be the spokesperson. "Your plan may not be perfect Chakotay, but we have a considerable advantage with our shields. We trust you, so let's do it."

He finally relaxed; hopefully, the hardest part was over. Now all they needed to do was rescue the captain.

~*~

"You're very beautiful Ms. Janeway."

She still stood in her red dress, his hand under her chin forcing her to look him in the eye. She tried to mask her fear with anger, but her heartbeat would easily give her away.

"I have to leave for my shift. There's a change of clothes for you in the dresser." He kissed her cheek, then whispered in her ear. "I'll see you when I get back."

She bowed her head in defeat. "Yes Kartok."

A/N: Okay, so I do actually have a plan, I just wanted to know what you guys thought it would be. Leave a comment or something, and you'll figure out how close you were in one or two chapters!

The next one... is giving me some trouble. I'll do my best to get it out by Friday, but if it isn't up then, don't expect it until Sunday. Sorry =[

But hey, did you notice? This one is longer!!

And I just wanted to make it clear: Kathryn has not been wearing the red dress for three days. That part doesn't correspond with the rest.