Chapter Text
The journey continues
Voyager was en route to the Alpha Quadrant.
Just a month earlier, five members of the crew had nearly been stranded on a planet after their DNA was altered by a microbe, making it impossible for them to survive anywhere else. Fortunately, Naomi had missed her father so desperately that she overrode security protocols and beamed down to the surface. It almost killed her as her human DNA was vulnerable to the microbe, but her Ktarian DNA offered unexpected resistance. Her body suffered terribly, but it was her unique genetic makeup that ultimately saved the stranded crew. Thanks to Naomi, the Doctor was able to develop a cure for everyone.
Now, routine life aboard Voyager had resumed, albeit with a few meaningful changes.
Lieutenant Ayala and Naomi had grown even closer as father and daughter. Naomi had kissed Icheb, and the two were well on their way to becoming a real couple. As for Kathryn and Chakotay… well, that was still a secret. After confessing their true feelings to each other, believing at the time that they’d never see one another again, Kathryn found she couldn’t simply go back to how things were, not after Chakotay had miraculously recovered and returned to the ship.
That evening, she finally let go of protocol and made a decision: she would continue their journey with Chakotay not only as her first officer but also as the only man she had ever truly loved. The look on Chakotay’s face had told her everything - he was overjoyed. He spent the night in her quarters.
Still, they had agreed to maintain professional boundaries while on duty, although Chakotay suspected it wouldn’t be long (probably sooner rather than later) before the crew noticed the change between them.
What also lifted Chakotay’s spirits was Ayala’s transformation.
He had been devastated, believing that Naomi no longer needed him. His emotional state had been so poor that Chakotay was genuinely concerned for him. But everything changed when Naomi appeared on the planet, her face streaked with tears as she told Tarik that she simply couldn’t go on without him.
What truly healed him, though, was when Naomi called him "Dad" for the very first time.
From that moment, Tarik returned to his old self—though with one important shift: he realized Naomi didn’t need him as a protector or advisor anymore. She needed him simply as her father. Naomi had grown into an independent young woman. Though she now spent more time on her training and with Icheb, the bond between father and daughter had only deepened.
So one month later Janeway and Chakotay were on the bridge and everything went well. Seven had for once left astrometrics and stood at her station on the bridge, working here.
“Captain, long range sensors have picked up a system with lots of planets, more than usual.”
Janeway turned her head to Seven. “Sounds interesting, why don’t we have a look? We might meet new civilizations.”
“The detour would take us about one week,” Seven informed her.
Janeway looked at Chakotay. “What do you say, Commander?”
Chakotay smiled. “We are still explorers, aren’t we? Why not take a look. If there’s nothing we continue, but we might be lucky and find something useful. Or someone.”
“I see it your way, Chakotay. Tom, change our course. Let’s have a look.”
“Aye, Captain,” the Lieutenant said.
While Voyager headed towards the system there was not much to do on Board, so Janeway decided that the routine ship-wide inspection wasn’t a bad thing to do now, while they had some days to go. When she announced it, Chakotay gave her a look that told her that she probably would regret this idea in the evening. However, the job had to be done and if not now, then when?
Ayala wasn’t happy as well, but he just sighed and got to work too.
After the night shift had taken over and Kathryn was back in her quarters, reviewing reports, Chakotay was still tied up finishing the task. Two hours after their shift had officially ended, her door chimed.
“Come in,” she called and, as she’d predicted, Chakotay entered.
“Chakotay, it’s about time. Where have you been all day?” she teased, unable to resist. The look he gave her made it perfectly clear: she’d be paying for that later.
Once the doors had slid shut behind him, he said dryly, “You know, in some cultures, forcing someone to perform surprise inspections is considered a declaration of war.”
Kathryn couldn’t help laughing, and truth be told, she did feel a little guilty. He looked exhausted. She stood up quickly, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled him into a kiss. Chakotay closed his eyes, smiling as he slid his arms around her waist and kissed her back with quiet affection.
When they finally broke apart, he gave her a look that said this was only a down payment and that she was still very much in his debt.
“I’ll take that as the beginning of an apology,” he murmured. “Remind me again why I didn’t mutiny? Oh right, because I’m in love with my commanding officer. Slight conflict of interest.”
This time, he kissed her. And as the kiss deepened, he gently guided her toward the couch, never breaking contact, easing her down until she was lying beneath him, still locked in the warmth of his embrace.
But Chakotay wasn’t finished.
Making him crawl through a Jefferies tube and climb through a plasma vent definitely called for compensation - and he knew exactly how to make her pay.
Eventually, he pulled away, leaving her cold in the absence of his body heat, and stood up.
“Chakotay?” Kathryn asked, brows lifting as he retreated.
He smiled down at her with a gleam that could only mean trouble.
“Actually, Captain,” he said, straightening with far too much satisfaction, “I believe you still owe me.”
Kathryn narrowed her eyes, amused. “You’re seriously making me pay?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t?” he asked with mock innocence.
She sighed. “Fine. I deserve that. I know.” Rising to her feet, she stepped closer and let her fingers trail over the front of his uniform. “So, what would you have me do to… repay my debt?”
Instead of leaning into her touch, Chakotay stepped back and plucked a cup from her table.
“I want tea. Served by you.”
She blinked. “You’re not serious. Tea? Now?”
He nodded with perfect seriousness, not a flicker of a smile breaking through his deadpan expression.
Kathryn groaned, clearly regretting her earlier decision to schedule that surprise inspection. She took the cup, brushing her fingers lightly over his as they exchanged the cup.
With a shake of her head she said, “Fine. You’ll get your tea. But you’re impossible when you think you’ve won.”
Chakotay folded his arms. “It’ll help you reflect on the horrors of surprise inspections.”
“Oh, I’m reflecting,” she replied dryly. She returned with the tea and handed it over, holding his gaze. “And when I’ve finished serving your tea… you’ll be repaying me. Thoroughly.”
Chakotay raised a brow. “What makes you think tea would be enough to compensate for what I endured?”
She let out a theatrical sigh but smirked. “I could order you to forgive me.”
“No duty. No ranks. No uniforms,” he reminded her smoothly, sipping his tea.
She laughed. “You planned this down to every last detail.”
“No,” he said with a glint in his eye. “But I do believe in consequences.”
Kathryn caught the shift in his tone, and in his expression. Her gaze narrowed slightly. “So… this is your version of vengeance? Cold tea and distance?”
“No,” Chakotay murmured, stepping forward, just close enough for her to feel his presence but never touching. He placed the cup down and lowered his voice, smooth as silk. “This is.”
He leaned in, his breath was warm against her ear, he didn’t touch her, he didn’t kiss her. He was just there. Too close for her to remain calm, tantalizing. “Do you have any idea how hard it was to keep my hands off you all day?”
Kathryn swallowed. “Probably as hard as it is for me right now.”
He smiled slowly, knowingly, and brushed past her deliberately, his fingers grazing her hip… and then he was gone.
She turned, breath catching. “Chakotay…” Her voice was just a whisper now, her pulse racing. He was making her wait. And it was working.
He paused by the couch, one hand resting casually on its back. His voice remained calm, but laced with undeniable heat. “I’m just giving you time to reflect, Captain.”
The use of her title made her inhale sharply. Kathryn stepped forward, slowly, deliberately. “And what if I don’t want time to reflect?”
He turned to face her, still keeping that infuriating distance. “Then you’ll have to convince me.”
She stepped up, their bodies a breath apart. But still, he didn’t move.
“You’re enjoying this,” she whispered.
“Immensely.”
“You’re evil.”
He finally let his fingers skim down her arm in the lightest touch. “And you’re beautiful when you’re flustered.”
Their eyes locked. Her lips parted. The tension crackled. And then, finally, he closed the distance.
One hand slid to the small of her back, the other cupped her jaw, and his mouth found hers - deep, claiming, and hot enough to steal the ground out from under her feet.
He pulled back just slightly, lips still brushing hers. “Consider your debt… almost paid.”
Kathryn’s voice dropped, sultry and low. “I think I might have some ideas on how to finish repaying you…”
She gave him a gentle push onto the couch, straddled him with practiced grace, her knees framing his hips as her hands slid beneath his jacket. She tugged his undershirt up just far enough to touch warm skin.
Chakotay exhaled, his eyes fluttering closed. “I might consider this… acceptable repayment.”
“I know,” she whispered, a smile tugging at her lips.
She pulled off her combadge and gently removed his as well, tossing both aside with finality.
“No interruptions tonight,” she said, leaning down to kiss him again - deeper, hungrier, filled with everything they'd been holding back.
Distress call
Voyager dropped out of warp at the edge of the planetary system.
“Dropping to full impulse,” Tom said.
“On screen,” Janeway ordered.
The bridge crew stared at the viewscreen. Broken satellites drifted through empty space like the remnants of a forgotten war. Suddenly, a soft beep-beep sounded from Tactical.
Tarik quickly tapped his console, frowning. “Captain, I’m picking up a signal… but it’s fragmented. It’s not broadcasting in any known Federation format. “It’s literally bouncing between local debris and old satellites. Looks like it’s running in a relay loop.”
Janeway stood and walked over to his station. “Source?”
“Unknown. The signal’s piggybacking through decaying subspace relays. Half of them are inactive. It’s like the message is stitching itself together from the remains of a dead network.”
“I’m detecting microbursts on Theta-band frequencies,” said Ensign Lang from OPS. “Subspace tightbeam. Whatever this is, it was never meant to leave this system.”
Ayala’s fingers moved swiftly over the console, his eyes narrowing as he focused on the readout. “There’s encryption on every bounce. Multi-layered. It re-encrypts itself with every hop. I’m trying to strip the filters, hold on…”
He muttered something under his breath, barely audible, as his fingers flew across the console with practiced speed and growing urgency. “...reverse the harmonics... purge the phase echo... there.” He straightened slowly, a flicker of satisfaction crossing his face as he studied the results on the console.
“The signal’s stabilized. But the carrier wave is full of subspace scatter, like it’s been caught in a storm for centuries. I’m isolating the clean fragments now. Patching through to audio.”
“Let’s hear it,” Janeway said.
A moment of static crackled through the speakers. Then, a distorted but audible voice emerged, trembling with age and desperation.
“...to any vessel receiving this… we… Vekar… need medical aid… injured survivors… emergency rations and… help! We are under attack… colony collapsed… raider siege…”
Silence fell over the bridge. Even the constant hum of the warp core seemed to hush as the message faded into static.
Eventually, Chakotay’s voice broke the silence, low and steady. “Sounds like it’s been echoing for years.”
Janeway’s eyes remained fixed on the comm panel. “Long enough for any real help to be a distant memory.”
“I’ve got a probable origin point,” Ayala said, scanning his console. “Moon designated Thari-Vek. The signal’s anchored to an orbital relay near the equator. No known settlements, but there’s trace evidence of artificial structures in the subsoil. Might’ve been a colony once.”
“Atmospheric readings show heavy ionic interference,” added Ensign Lang from Ops. “Subspace is unstable. Long-range sensors are practically blind below the cloud layer.”
Just then, the turbolift doors slid open and Seven emerged, a PADD in hand.
“I’ve analyzed the signal patterns,” she said. "The encryption is highly advanced and adaptive. This was not a standard distress signal. It was deliberately concealed - meant to remain undetected unless someone knew exactly what to look for."
Janeway glanced at her. “Hidden from whom?”
“Possibly from regional powers. Possibly from us. It mimics Federation subspace beacon harmonics… but those were discontinued nearly a decade ago. Whoever sent this knew how to make it look authentic.”
Tom tilted his head. “Which makes you wonder… if it was real, then why all the misdirection?”
“Or maybe it was real… and they were hiding from someone,” Chakotay offered.
Janeway was silent for a beat, weighing the risks.
“We’ve seen colonies vanish before,” she said at last. “Entire civilizations swallowed up because no one answered in time.”
“There is a high probability that the ‘Vekar’ are either extinct… or a cover identity,” Seven added. “This region borders Velatrii space. We still know very little about their internal politics.”
Ayala nodded. "The Velatrii are a fragmented people, divided into dozens of clans with no central government to unite them. If this signal came from one of their own, possibly even from defectors, they would have every reason to conceal their identity."
“Either way,” Janeway said firmly, “we’re not ignoring a call for help.”
She turned to Chakotay, her gaze holding his for a moment, saying more than words ever could. This situation went beyond tactics or protocol. For her, it was personal.
"Mr. Chakotay, prepare a standard shuttle for launch. I want us to get a closer look at this situation, and we will do it quietly. Just the two of us."
Chakotay gave a thoughtful nod. “We keep it quiet. No security presence, no show of force. Just a simple conversation, if anyone is still out there to have one.”
“I’ll run an orbital loop to mask your descent,” Paris offered.
Janeway nodded once.
Seven consulted her PADD again. “I’ll continue decrypting the signal’s sidebands. If there’s more hidden in that message, I’ll find it.” She turned and left for Astrometrics.
“Captain,” Ayala said, stepping forward. “If this is Velatrii business, you could be walking into a powder keg. Let me come with you.”
Janeway gave him a small smile. “If it is, we’ll walk carefully. I promise. You’re needed here, Mr. Ayala - I’m leaving you in command.”
Ayala sighed. “Aye, Captain.”
As Janeway and Chakotay turned and exited the bridge, Ayala slowly took the center seat.
Inside the shuttle, the ambient lighting cast soft shadows across the sleek controls. Janeway and Chakotay completed their final pre-descent checks. The hum of the engines vibrated through the cabin like a held breath.
Chakotay adjusted the navigation. “Dense foliage, acidic storms, erratic gravity shifts… who builds a colony here?”
“People with nowhere else to go,” Janeway replied quietly.
The shuttle lifted off smoothly, cleared the shuttle bay, and began its ascent toward the stars.
As Voyager receded behind them, growing smaller with distance, the mottled green moon of Thari-Vek gradually filled the viewport. It loomed ahead—alien in its beauty, brooding in its silence, and utterly unfamiliar.
“I get the feeling this mission is going to cost me,” Chakotay said, dry as ever.
Janeway smirked. “Just remember, Commander - you volunteered.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
The shuttle pierced the atmosphere and disappeared into the clouds - unaware of the trap waiting below.