Release
8/21/03

J/C
Rated G

Their souls never did belong to Paramount, but all the profit does.
No infringement intended.

Just a scene, really. 
Contact me: [email protected]

*****

The bridge was empty. As she came through the turbolift doors, the strangeness of the 
scene washed over her. Her chair was empty. Lights flickered at stations all around the 
room. Though she hesitated for a moment, she couldn�t resist the pull of the past�she 
had to say her last goodbye. 

She approached the center of the bridge slowly, luxuriously, took her time to note the 
feel of the floor beneath her boots, the angles of shadow and light, the sounds of her 
own movement. She made a slow half-turn, her eyes lingering on each station, on the 
plaque that was still hanging, on the door to her now-empty readyroom. When she finally 
faced the viewscreen, the blue-green planet before her startled her. 

Seven years of waking from happy dreams into harsh reality had jaded her subconscious. 
She might never again look at Earth without a flutter of shock running down her spine. 

She blinked her eyes once, opening them slowly as she sat down. And she felt herself 
exhale. In this moment, in this place, she felt at home. She eased back into her chair, 
crossed her legs, and smiled. It was a real smile�not one for her crew, not one for the 
host of admirals she had been entertaining for the past week. And without warning, tears 
came to her eyes. 

Here she sat, Captain Kathryn Janeway, last crewman aboard the Starship Voyager upon its 
return to Earth.

Though the crew had begun to disembark days ago, she had stayed. She had, of course, 
spoken to her family. She had plans to see them later in the afternoon. But she couldn�t 
bring herself to leave her ship until the last of her officers had gone. Even the Doctor 
had left to enlighten Starfleet Medical with his vast store of Delta Quadrant knowledge. 
Now she was here to say goodbye to one final friend. 

Though she might return here, she would never again see her Voyager as she saw it now. 
For one last time, this was her domain. Though her crew would never have known it, the 
thought had crossed her mind that she might not have such a leisurely farewell to her 
ship. 

Now, she sat watching the proof of her success, of her job well done, of her skill, and 
her luck, floating on the viewscreen. She smiled even bigger at that thought, and one of 
those tears finally overflowed, adding its warm wetness to her catalogue of sensations in 
this memory. 

�Computer, play selection Janeway Alpha One � play the whole folder.�  

Ode to Joy filled the room. She kicked her legs up over one arm of her chair, leaned back, 
and closed her eyes. 

�Computer, double the volume.�

The only thing she was missing was a crisp French champagne.

�Taking advantage of the empty ship, I see. Or rather, hear.�

Her lids twitched, but when she heard whose voice it was, she decided not to open her eyes. 
Correction, perhaps something else had been missing after all. She stayed put�draped 
comfortably, commanding the room.

�I thought you had left two days ago. What are you doing here, crashing my going-away 
party?� She had just enough playful sarcasm in her voice to let Chakotay know she was glad 
to share her bridge with him. �Computer, decrease volume by one-half.�

�I did leave. Went with Seven to see her family.� 

Yes, Seven. Seven, her student and prot�g�. Somehow it seemed only fitting that she had 
continued her education in life following her teacher�s example. What attracted one had 
apparently attracted the other. It wasn�t Seven toward whom the negative feelings still 
simmering in Kathryn�s subconscious were directed. It was toward the man making his way 
onto her bridge. 

He was tracing her earlier slow path down to the command level. She followed his footfalls 
with her ears until she knew he was right in front of her, then she opened her eyes. She 
didn�t bother to wipe away the remnants of her earlier tears as she smiled up at him.

He stood looking at her with an intensity she had not seen in a long time--not directed 
toward her--not directed toward anyone.

�What brought you back?� she asked softly. 

Chakotay moved to sit in his chair, facing her. 

�I spent the day with Seven and her aunt. The whole time, I kept having this feeling that 
I�d left something behind�that lingering sense that you�ve left your toothbrush at home, 
or forgotten to log out of your computer console. It just wouldn�t let me go.�

�I think after all this time, just being off the ship will probably make us all 
uncomfortable for a while. I haven�t even managed to leave yet. I�m sure you�ll be fine 
once you and Seven settle in.� She cringed mentally even as she said the words. 

But it would do her no good to begrudge him the intimacy he had found with Seven. Kathryn 
was the one who had turned away from Chakotay in that ultimate type of intimacy. She had 
forced herself, and Chakotay, to be content with remaining the most intimate of friends. 
After so many years, she shouldn�t be surprised that he would move on. What she couldn�t 
understand was why he had chosen to pursue a relationship with Seven, in particular. 

At one time, Kathryn had believed that Chakotay was so in tune with her thoughts and 
feelings that he would have seen the obvious problems created by a relationship with 
Seven. Now she just thought she no longer understood the man before her. 

�That�s just it�over the past two days it was as though Seven wasn�t even there. I couldn�t 
concentrate on what she was saying. I tuned her and her family out almost entirely. It 
didn�t particularly bother me, or her, for that matter, that I hadn�t said a word to her 
all day. I ended up telling her that I needed to spend some time thinking. She said to 
take my time, and that she would get in touch with me in a few weeks.�

�Well, that seems a little abrupt. But Seven doesn�t tend to beat around the bush.�

�I think she could sense I wasn�t really there.�

�From what you�ve said, that wouldn�t be a huge deductive leap.�

�I knew it was horrible of me, but something else was pulling at my subconscious.�

�So have you solved the mystery yet?�

�I thought it might have been the ship. Being away from familiar surroundings. I beamed 
on board a while ago and went to my quarters. Didn�t feel any different�no toothbrush by 
the sink, logged out of the computer. 

�I tried the holodeck, and loaded a vision quest program. I couldn�t settle my mind enough 
to find my animal guide. Something told me I should come check on the bridge, though. It 
was a vague sensation at first, but the closer I got, the more right it seemed.�

�It�s perfectly natural. I came up here to relive a little glory, too. We won�t be 
commanding a starship when we go down to the surface�that takes away some of our identity, 
definitely our feeling of authority.�

�Those things are all true, but I don�t think they were behind my feelings. It was when 
those turbolift doors opened and I heard you telling the computer to crank up the volume 
on the Beethoven that I felt centered again.�

In that moment, he looked at her so earnestly, so openly that she felt an old, familiar 
feeling creep into her chest. A warmth, a reassurance. 

She was careful not to let it reach her face. She tamped it down, remembering how long it 
had been since he had given her a reason to let it reach her eyes. Rather than dwell on 
such might-have-beens, she took it upon herself to re-direct him to safer ground. 

�Chakotay, you have been my dearest friend throughout the past seven years. I�m not sure 
that this ship would be here, or anywhere, right now if it wasn�t for you.� 

She saw his eyes narrow, his face fall, almost imperceptibly. He looked down at his clasped 
hands as he began to speak again.

�Kathryn, you know very well you would have gotten this crew home whether I had been there 
or not, but that wasn�t my point.�

He looked up at her then, pinning her with the intensity of his eyes. 

�I�m talking about something more than friendship. I�m talking about a promise I made to 
you a long time ago. I don�t think fate is going to let me break that promise. It�s pulled 
me back here, so that I can keep it.� 

*****
 

Just a scene. Would anyone like more? Drop me a line. [email protected]