Disclaimer: All things Star Trek belong to Voyager. No infringement intended.

Summary: Chakotay begins to understand his role in the war effort and meets some unexpected survivors.

Note: This story takes place immediately after Phoenix.

Aukized (a Belle Colony story)

by mizvoy

Sometime during the night, whether because of the subtly changed vibrations in the warp engines or the momentary delay in the reaction from inertial dampeners, Chakotay became aware of the fact that the Toroyan ship had increased speed and probably changed course. Ergonomic specialists would disagree, but a lifetime in space had taught him to pick up on the telltale signs of any significant changes to a ship’s primary systems. He lay in his bunk listening for any other changes that might signal an emergency, but when those didn’t come, he continued to stare into the darkness, waiting for morning, unable to sleep. Just after he’d finished dressing a few hours later, a similar change in speed occurred and was followed a hail from Captain Vitaris.

“Chakotay, this is Vitaris. Could you come to the bridge, please?”

“Right away,” he answered as he reached for his shoes. He looked around his tiny quarters with the certain knowledge that he wouldn’t be returning to them. Whatever was in store for him was about to be revealed, and he was ready for something, anything, to happen.

When he and his faithful security detail stepped off of the turbolift onto deck one, Chakotay looked around at the familiar control center of a starship with a sigh of relief. This was the milieu that he found most like home, and he found himself enjoying the view.

“Welcome to the bridge,” Vitaris greeted him. “Please join me on the command deck. There’s something I want you to see.”

Chakotay left the guards behind as he threaded his way through the bridge stations and took a seat on the bench to the right of the captain. A tiny dot grew steadily larger on the view screen, but was still much too far away to be identified. From its size and configuration, however, he knew it was a large installation, not a ship. “Is that our new destination?”

Vitaris gave him an appraising look. “You knew we changed course?”

“I was pretty sure-too many years in space, I guess. You said earlier that we were going to a set of coordinates in space, not a space station.”

“True. I received new orders about six hours ago. This is our primary shipyard, Tyee. It would be hidden behind passive shields if you were on a non-Toroyan vessel.”

“Interesting.” Chakotay wondered how much power it would take to cloak an entire shipyard, and realized that the amount was staggering. He glanced around the bridge and noticed that all of the readouts lacked the coordinates of their location, probably an automatic deletion made by the computer. “So the Union doesn’t even know about it? No wonder they claim that your people are technologically challenged. They can’t see your facilities.”

The captain grinned in agreement. “Absolutely. In fact, we’re prevented from coming any closer as long as we have an alien on board.” He turned and ordered the ship to a dead stop.

“Why are we here?” Chakotay had no illusions about his scientific research or engineering abilities. He was a pilot and a tactician with only enough knowledge about the ship to make him a qualified bridge officer.

“You’ll see shortly.” Vitaris nodded at the screen, and Chakotay noticed, for the first time, an even tinier dot approaching the ship. The captain issued another order. “Shuttle bay 2. Prepare to dock approaching vessel.”

Chakotay leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, and studied the small image. Suddenly, he sat up straight. “That’s my own ship!”

“Very good, Tyee.” The captain gave him a hearty slap on the back. “You identified the ship very quickly.”

Chakotay grinned. “When you’re in a ship like that one, Captain, finding out who’s approaching quickly is literally a matter of life and death.” The closer the ship came, the more perplexed he was. The cargo pods had been removed, leaving the power plant and command pod looking rather like a turtle without its shell. The outer hull gleamed as if someone had washed and waxed it, and the scars and dents from years of hard use and the damage from the subspace mine had completely disappeared. “Wow. It look as if that ship’s gotten a complete overhaul in a week!”

“Our shipyards can work miracles.”

“I believe it.”

“Why don’t we go down the shuttle bay so you can look at the ship for yourself?” Vitaris turned the bridge over to his first officer and dismissed the guard that prepared to accompany them below. “I think this has gone along for too long, Tyee. Soon, you’ll be returning to your people, and I want to part as friends.”

When they were alone on the lift, Chakotay asked, “What was this all about? First my ship is nearly destroyed by a subspace mine and I’m kidnapped. And then, I get my ship back in perfect condition and am released. Just like that?”

Vitaris sighed. “I’m not privy to all the reasons behind my orders. We were told to keep you safe until we received further instructions. When they came, they said simply to retrieve your vessel and let you go back to the Caritas.”

“From what I could see, those repairs were really extensive, and I don’t understand why they were done. They had to cost a fortune, and I can tell you right now that the Caritas can’t pay for them. Do your people expect us to pay for this?”

“No mention was made for payment, Tyee.”

“Then I can only assume that there will be a day in the future when you expect us to do something for you, something we probably would rather not do. If so, you can keep the ship and just drop me off at the border. The Caritas would rather not be indebted to you or anyone else like that.”

“I don’t blame you. But there has been no mention of a debt, either. I would suspect, Tyee, that payment for this has already been made.” A small smile appeared on the captain’s face. “I would guess that the person waiting for you on your ship might have some answers.”

Chakotay bit back his reply and struggled to rein in his temper. “You’ve been kind to me, Vitaris, and I appreciate that. While I resent being used like some kind of contraband, I don’t blame you for it. I consider you a friend.”

“Let’s shake on it, then, as is the custom with you humans,” he replied, extending his hand. “I wish you and the Caritas nothing but good luck.”

They arrived in the shuttle bay just moments after the smaller ship had docked and the outer door had been sealed. Close up, the restoration of the ship was even more impressive. Chakotay walked up to one of the nacelles and touched it. “This looks brand new.”

Vitaris walked up to the external port and keyed in an entry code. “Let’s see what the inside looks like.”

Chakotay climbed the ladder into the tiny living compartment and into the middle of three compartments, finding it completely unfamiliar. This section, which had served as the day room, had modern and updated equipment installed throughout. Two sleeping alcoves, which had been located in the smaller aft compartment, had taken over much of what had been the tiny diagnostic and first aid center. The galley and eating area had been similarly reduced in size.

“All this was done in a week?”

Vitaris shrugged. “It’s amazing how much can be accomplished when an entire shipyard focuses its efforts on one small vessel.”

Chakotay stepped into the aft compartment, which had once served as the crew’s quarters, and was amazed to find an impressive looking mini-sickbay, complete with biobed and lab. He turned to Vitaris in confusion. “I don’t understand why the crew needs to be crammed into the middle compartment like sardines just to have a sickbay like this back here. Why would we need something this elaborate? A single biobed hardly seems worth the trouble.”

“I have no idea, Tyee. It does seem a little overboard for such a small ship.”

Chakotay stepped past him and walked toward the bridge, which was in the forward compartment. “What’s up here?” he joked. “A holodeck?”

He stood in the open doorway, too stunned to move. Every console had been removed and replaced with the most current technology, and the whole bridge had been reorganized to conserve space and streamline the work area. Chakotay was reminded of the Delta Flyer and felt a stab of homesickness at the thought of Voyager’s updated shuttle. A Toroyan pilot stood up from the command console.

“Welcome aboard your ship, sir.”

“Thanks.” He stepped into the bridge so that Vitaris could follow him. “But I’m thinking there’s not much of my old ship left.”

“Big changes?” the captain asked, nodding briefly at the pilot. “It wasn’t like this before?”

“Are you kidding?” Chakotay laughed. “It’s all new.”

“My name is Ketulan, sir. I’ll be happy to show you the upgrades here and in the engine room below. I think you’ll find it pretty similar to piloting the ship before.”

“New engines, too.” Chakotay walked around the two-station bridge, running his fingers along the gleaming black consoles. “Unbelievable.”

Ketulan pulled open the hatch that let below. “Follow me?”

If the top deck had been a shock, the engineering section was a complete bombshell. Not only had the engines been replaced, they’d been upgraded and their efficiency doubled. Chakotay did a quick diagnostic and let out a low whistle. “You know, we had to limit the size of our cargo pods because the engines on this bucket couldn’t handle as much as they used to. But now . . . amazing.”

Vitaris, who had joined him in the small area, nodded in agreement. “This is quite impressive, all right. Some of these improvements haven’t even hit the fleet yet.”

“I don’t get it.” He turned to the captain, his temper flaring. “How can I accept this expensive overhaul without thinking there’s going to be a big demand made of us in the future? Is it going to be money or a dangerous mission or spying? You tell me, Vitaris. Wouldn’t you be skeptical?”

“Yes, I would be worried, too, Tyee. But, think about it. What can we do to force you to do something you don’t want to do? You’ll be out of reach, light years away from Toroyan territory. What leverage do we have?”

“Guilt? Gratitude?”

Vitaris shook his head. “To my knowledge, there should be no guilt. You didn’t ask for this, nor have you been asked to pay for it. Take it and go. Don’t look back.”

Chakotay sighed. “What choice do I have?”

The captain returned to the bridge while Chakotay and Ketulan went over the upgrades, new control systems, sensors, and everything else that had changed on the ship. Even though almost every panel was new, Chakotay discovered that the ship was much easier to handle than before, almost reminiscent of the Flyer. “Did you work on getting all this done, Ketulan?”

“I was the chief engineer for it, sir. I took the specifications and made them work.”

“Specifications?” Chakotay frowned. “You received specifications?”

“Yes, sir. Just after the war started, actually. We were told to expect a ship like this and what it was supposed to have on it once the retrofit was complete. Good thing, too, because the turnaround was so quick.”

“Who sent the specifications?”

“Good question, Tyee. I don’t know.”

“Can I see them?” He waited as the Toroyan accessed the computer files and then downloaded them into a PADD. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to read this with a cup of coffee.”

“Go ahead, sir. Captain Vitaris has been ordered to head for the borderlands. It will be awhile before you’ll be getting underway, so you might as well make yourself at home.”

Chakotay replicated a sandwich and coffee and sat down at the small table to look over the document. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for when he began, but soon, quite soon, he realized how familiar the specifications were. Some sections were almost verbatim copies of the capabilities of the newest shuttles he’d heard about, and others were in what could only be called a Starfleet format. Had the Toroyans allied themselves with the Federation as well? Was Section 31 playing both sides against the middle?

The next day, after a hasty farewell to Vitaris and his crew, Chakotay and Ketulan arrived at an outpost on the fringes of the Toroyan frontier. He could tell that he’d managed to impress the young Toroyan engineer with his piloting skills.
“You’re a quick study, Tyee. I was worried about leaving you on this ship with just a few hours of training, but I’m thinking you’ll do fine.”

Chakotay smiled. “When you’ve flown dozens of ships across more than half the galaxy, certain flight principles just become second nature to you.”

“More than half the galaxy?” Ketulan looked surprised.

Realizing that he didn’t want anyone to know of his Delta Quadrant days, Chakotay thought quickly of another explanation. “You’ve heard of the Bajoran wormhole, haven’t you? The Gamma Quadrant?”

“Ah, I see.” He turned to the comm unit where a new set of orders had arrived. “Apparently we’re supposed to pick up supplies here before moving on.”

“Supplies? For what?”

“Apparently they’ve restocked the cargo holds that were on the ship originally. They’ve sent us the manifest.”

He studied the document in disbelief. “Medicine, food, raw materials, spare parts, this list goes on and on. The holds must be bursting at the seams.” He looked up at his companion. “You’ve overhauled the ship and given us all this, too?”

“I guess so. I didn’t realize we’d be picking up the cargo holds until this message arrived.”

Later, once the cargo had been attached to the ship, Chakotay turned slowly, taking a mental account of the vast improvements to the ship and imagining the supplies that had been stacked in the holds. There was no way that the Toroyans would be so generous without receiving something big in return. “I’m going to be stopped at the border and accused of theft, right? Or payment will be demanded from us in the future, one way or another.”

Ketulan looked sympathetic. “If I knew the answer, Tyee, I swear I’d tell you.”

“I know that.” Chakotay rubbed his face with his hands. “I’m afraid I’ve learned to be paranoid in recent years.”

“For what it’s worth, Vitaris is one of our best and most revered captains. I don’t think he would participate in anything that is illegal or dishonest.”

Chakotay nodded. Their parting had been very cordial, and Vitaris had promised to provide any help necessary if he were ever in a position to do so. “So, what’s next?”

“I leave you here, sir, with instructions on the course to take in leaving our territory. You’re supposed to stop briefly at Aukized and then set course on a direct vector toward your home base.”

“Aukized? That sounds familiar.”

“It’s the planet where the whole war started again. The station that was destroyed in the first battle used to be in orbit around it.” He stood up and stretched. “It isn’t far. You should be there in a couple of hours.”

Chakotay thanked him for his help and took the seat. “How are you getting back?”

“There are transports, of course, but my family lives nearby. I might just take advantage of the chance to see my parents.” He made his way toward the small transporter and then stopped. “Oh, there was one small thing I failed to show you. Each of the last two messages had two words at the bottom that were left untranslated. I’m guessing you might be able to read them.”

Chakotay read the words aloud, recognizing the motto of the student wing of Starfleet Academy. “Veritas vencit.”

“Does it mean anything to you?”

“Yes,” he whispered, almost too shocked to speak. “It means ‘the truth conquers.'”

“Let’s hope so, sir. The protocols to use when approaching Aukized are there. I wouldn’t worry too much about an armed response. The only people still living on that planet are Auki clerics.”

Once Ketulan beamed off of the ship, Chakotay spent an hour going over the interior with a fine-toothed comb. He found a few oddities, such as a transponder to show his location to Toroyan space control and a cleverly concealed microphone in each compartment, but nothing that could be called dangerous or suspicious, such as a bomb with a timing device. He would have to be careful about what he said out loud until he could disable the listening devices, but, for now, he decided to leave everything as it was. His first priority was to get back to the Caritas in one piece.

After replicating a few phasers and hiding them in convenient locations for self-protection, he made the short and uneventful trip to Aukized, using the quiet time to think through the amazing events that had transpired since he’d last piloted the ship. He couldn’t help but smile as he anticipated the way Riker, Ro, and the others would react when he returned from his captivity with a “new” ship filled with supplies.

Once he was in orbit above the proper coordinates on Aukized, he opened a comm link to the frequency that was specified in his instructions. “Tyee to Aukized.”

“Stand by for transport,” came the immediate and terse reply.

Chakotay fingered the phaser in his pocket as he watched for someone to appear on the transporter pad, his heart pounding in anticipation. This could be the beginning of the end, he realized, anything from a hostile refugee to an angry cleric. “Think good thoughts,” he murmured as the familiar sparker of the beam appeared in the cubicle.

A single person in the robes of a clerical sect appeared before him as he leveled his phaser at the person’s head. “Who are you?” he demanded. “And what do you want from me?”

Pulling the hood off of her head, a human female stepped out toward him. For the briefest moment, he thought she might be someone he recognized, imagined that the reports of Kathryn’s death had been wrong, but his hopes were quickly dashed. He’d never seen this woman before.

“If you’ll agree to call me Annie,” she said, holding her empty hands toward him. “I’ll agree to call you Tyee.”

He blinked in surprise. A human who knew his real name? And living on the planet around which the Toroyan station had been in orbit? He realized with a shock of relief that this must be one of the Ambassador’s delegation, one who had survived the attack, and, if she’d survived, then others might have, as well. Maybe even Kathryn. He lowered the phaser. “All right, Annie. Call me Tyee.”

She stepped off of the platform peeling off the rest of the heavy robes. She looked around the cockpit with a practiced eye, and he saw there a training that had to be Starfleet in origin. “I’m guessing we’re not speaking freely, either?”

“A ship recently upgraded by aliens and, as yet, unsecured? It’s best to wait.”

She nodded, folding the last of the heavy clothing with a look of disgust. “At least the conditions here are warmer than an iceberg in the North Atlantic.” She gave him a smile. “There’s supposed to be a sickbay on this ship.”

“Right this way.” He led her through the middle compartment and watched as she did a thorough examination of the biobed. “This will work fine.”

“For what?” he wondered aloud.

“Our other passenger, of course.” She walked to a reflective wall panel and blew on it with her breath, writing letters on it before the steam evaporated and then pointing at herself. Marci Brooks.

His eyes widened, realizing that she had been Kathryn’s security chief. For some reason, the Toroyans had reported her as dead, perhaps to protect her from a further attack. If they were taking on a second passenger . . . could it be Kathryn? He swallowed his anxiety and said, “I see.”

“We need to get this bed ready for him.” Marci pointed at the biobed and traced another name on the panel. Kazuo Katsumata.

Chakotay’s face fell, but he quickly recovered his equilibrium. “We can beam him directly here, if you’d like.”

“Good idea.” She saw the disappointment on his face, but all she could do was give him a sympathetic pat on the arm. “I don’t know for sure about her, Tyee, but I’ll tell you what I do know later. Right now, I’ll go back to the cockpit and arrange to have them transport our patient directly to this sickbay. We call him Toshi, by the way.”

“All right. I’ll stay here to be sure he’s in good condition when he arrives.” As soon as he was alone, Chakotay leaned wearily against the wall. He’d seen the pity in Marci’s eyes. She knew that he had been hoping their other passenger would be the admiral, and he felt like an idiot for wearing his heart on his sleeve. What she’d told him was tantalizing in its uncertainty. She knew something about Kathryn, but not everything. He desperately wanted to believe that she was alive and well and hoped that whatever Marci told him would reassure him of that.

A few moments later, a young man who reminded him of Harry Kim at the beginning of Voyager’s exile materialized on the biobed. Chakotay hurried to his side and activated the biobed, noticing serious damage to the spinal cord. Schooling his features to hide his shock and dismay, Chakotay looked down and smiled at the patient. “Welcome aboard. I’m Tyee.”

Kazuo waited for the respirator to assist his breathing. “I’m Toshi.”

“There you are!” Marci said brightly as she stepped back into the room and went to the biobed to check his condition. “It won’t be long now, I promise.”

Kazuo nodded and closed his eyes, obviously exhausted by the excitement. “How long before we reach the Caritas base?”

“Less than a day, with these new engines,” Chakotay answered. “I’ll go set a course.”

Marci joined him on the bridge a few minutes later having made sure that Kazuo was comfortable. “We’re hoping that the Caritas’ doctors can do more for him than the Toroyan ones were able to. The injuries he suffered on the station were made worse when a dirty bomb went off in the engineering section.”

“A dirty bomb?”

“The Union planted a combination explosive and biological weapon in the Station. I think it was supposed to go off right after the first one, but something delayed it. Toshi was too close to it and hasn’t been able to recover. Yet.”

“I have to say that the better I get to know the Union, the less I like them.”

Marci laughed. “Since I’m going to meet the Caritas soon, why don’t you tell me something about them? They sound like they do a lot of good around these parts.”

“Oh, they’re great people.” He spent the next hour talking about the thirty or so members of the Caritas, describing how they hire out for periods of time and then donate their excess salaries to the purchase of equipment and supplies for the people who were in need. He talked about how they took turns delivering the supplies to the refugees and bystanders who were victims of the war, but not participants in it, and finished with a detailed account of the Sestwani camp that had caught his particular attention. “The Caritas saved my life,” he finished, “and they gave me something to live for when I thought I’d lost everything.”

“I can’t wait to meet them. The stories of their good deeds have reached even my home world.”

They spent the rest of the trip talking about everything but the one thing Chakotay most wanted to discuss.

The day after their arrival at the Caritas base, Marci and Chakotay found a secluded spot on a secure Caritas’ vessel where they could talk. They sat down across from each other and Chakotay wasted no time.
“Tell me everything,” he demanded, “every detail.”

She smiled indulgently. “I’ll start at the beginning. Tuvok hand-picked me to be the admiral’s security chief, and I was honored that he trusted me with his dearest friend. He told me that there would probably be an attempt on her life and that he wanted me to be vigilant.” She looked away. “Some vigilance, hm?”

Chakotay shrugged. “I’m sure you did everything you could think of to make sure the station was safe. No one would blame you for what happened, certainly not Tuvok. But I think it’s interesting that he knew she might be targeted.”

“He didn’t say why, he just said that he believed it could happen.”

“I’m guessing that her reassignment to Tydkt’s staff could definitely be seen as a sort of ‘disciplinary’ reaction to something she’d done.”

“Maybe so, but she seemed very happy to be out here. She threw herself into the work and made great strides in opening a conversation with the Toroyans, something the ambassador seemed unwilling to even attempt, although it seems that she must have pissed off the Utavi in the process. And . . . ,” she gave him a brief glance, “she did a little private research into the Caritas, as well.”

“I can’t say I’m surprised. So, she set up this initial meeting with the Toroyans.”

“Yes, although the ambassador took it over, of course, overruling her on the location, the number of ships, you name it. They quarreled quite vocally, and she told me that she fully expected to be relieved.”

“Now that surprises me.”

“You had to know Tydkt. The admiral actually had two items she wanted to pursue on the station. The first was the obviously the official meeting with the Toroyans and opening a dialogue with them. The other was personal.”

“Let me guess. Something about Belle Colony.”

She grinned. “I think so, although she never told me any specifics. This personal visit was why we survived the initial bomb in the conference room. We’d left the area for a ‘covert meeting’ with our secret contact, or we surely would’ve died with the ambassador.”

“Do you have any idea who this contact was?”

She shook her head. “The admiral had received a couple of vague messages from someone who called himself ‘Pegasus.’ She mentioned that the Pegasus was the name of a ship that had tested a phased cloak a few years ago. It wasn’t until after everything was over that I wondered about that. Maybe the guy was trying to warn us.”

“But he didn’t warn you?”

“We never actually met him. When we got to the specified location, we heard a struggle, but by the time we got through the door, the room was empty. And then Kazuo found us and insisted that we return to the conference.”

“So that’s how the three of you survived?”

“We were almost back to the room when the first explosion occurred. We were knocked backwards and disoriented for a few moments, and then, once we could see that there were no survivors in the room, we took off. Some of the Toroyan survivors were chasing us, and at that point, we thought they were responsible for the attack. We thought they wanted to kill us, too.”

“It was a fluid situation.”

“To say the least. We wanted to get off the deck, but my leg had been injured, so I volunteered to stay on the same deck and lure our pursuers away while Janeway and Kazuo used an access tube to go below and try to get to engineering. That was the last time I saw the admiral in person.”

“What happened to you?”

“The Toroyans caught me almost right away and beamed me to a nearby ship. I found out then that they thought we had caused the explosion and had known in advance about the cloaked ships.” She shook her head in amazement. “The admiral had suspected that the Union was undermining our reputation with them, and I found out she was right.”

“And Kathryn? Did they catch her, too?”

“Eventually. Kazuo doesn’t remember much, and the Toroyans weren’t terribly forthcoming, but I’ve managed to piece it together. Suffice it to say that they were both hurt when one of the Toroyan ships breeched near the station. Apparently, they were found by the team who’d been in engineering. Janeway was beamed onto a ship at once, but Kazuo had suffered a spinal injury. The Toroyans were trying to immobilize him to prevent permanent damage when the second bomb went off, the dirty bomb with the biological component. The Toroyans died quickly from the effects of the virus, but Kazuo, with his human physiology, has managed to stay alive so far. Barely.”

“That’s when you and Kazuo were reunited?”

“Yes, at the Auki enclave. But not the admiral. I haven’t seen or talked to her since we split up after the explosion.”

He swallowed hard. “She might be dead.”

“I think she must be alive, Tyee. I’m pretty sure she was alive when they found her, and she wasn’t on the station when the dirty bomb exploded.” She reached and touched his arm, lowering her voice. “Who else would have asked the Toroyans to capture you and upgrade the Caritas ship so that Kazuo could receive proper care en route?”

“She’s the one who asked for me?”

“Who else would? She obviously suspected who ‘Tyee’ really was, don’t you think?”

His thoughts returned to Draxxon. Had she heard Borland refer to him as Tyee? She’d been weak and in and out of consciousness so much that he hadn’t even thought about the possibility. “Did she meet Anorha right away, at the enclave?”

“Who’s Anorha?”

He quickly recounted the story of the Auki cleric who had helped turn the tide of the war by assisting Captain Maraqet in the hunt for the cloaked ships.

Marci shook her head. “An Auki cleric did that? I’d be surprised.”

“I read a report from the Toroyan captain who worked with her, Marci.”

“If you say so. I guess it’s possible, but let’s just say it would be extremely unusual. The clerics refuse to interact directly with anyone who isn’t an initiate into their sect. Kazuo and I were there for over a month, and I never met a fully initiated cleric in person.”

“This one had technical knowledge on phased cloaks that she wanted to use against the Utavi.”

“An Auki cleric, and a female, too? I know they do some fancy research there, but I only know that by reputation. They were very carefully insulated from us by their attendants. And you must know how Toroyans feel about taking females onto warships.”

“So you don’t know if she helped them deal with the phased cloaks.”

“I have no idea.”

He wanted to shake her, but he knew that the frustration he felt wasn’t her fault. It was just like Kathryn to take everything on her own shoulders, put herself at risk, while everyone else waited in the wings, safe and sound. “Kathryn would have made some demands of the Toroyans if she gave them a hand. She could have asked them to upgrade the ship, fill the holds with supplies, and then make sure the two of you were delivered to the Caritas safe and sound.”

“As repayment for her help?” Marci grew thoughtful. “You know, that may be what happened.”

Chakotay was sure of it. “So, the question is, where is she now?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, Tyee. I’m guessing she’s had to do some fast talking to get the Toroyans to listen to her, much less allow her to accompany them on a warship during a battle.”

“If anyone could do talk them into it, Kathryn could.” He was suddenly so exhausted that he wanted to lie down on the floor and sleep until this living nightmare was over. “I hope she remembered to negotiate her own safe return while she was at it.”

“I only worked with her for a short time, but I found the admiral to be quite thorough.”

He grinned at that comment. “Oh, she’s thorough all right. I’m just wondering if there’s something we might be doing at this end to help her.” His smile broadened. It helped, somehow, to think about Kathryn that way, the way he used to picture her when he was her first officer on Voyager. He was always trying to anticipate what she might need from him as a crisis developed, and looking at this as another one of those crises made her seem more alive to him, as if she might just beam without fanfare onto the bridge of one of their ships or arrive at Marilas’ farm as if returning from a routine away mission.

“We should just be ready for her to show up at any moment, I guess.” Marci was surprised at Chakotay’s sudden smile and found it impossible not to smile back.

“If I know her as well as I think I do,” he replied, his optimism growing stronger, “you’re probably right.”