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| Savior |
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| Author: Tiggy |
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| Disclaimer: See part 1 |
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| Rating: PG 13 |
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Author's notes: Wow, who would have thought that I'd ever write another part of this thing. Thanks to Marisa for not giving up on
me. Thanks to Heike for supporting me and finally- thanks to Robert Beltran for hugging me. Can't think of anything else, so I'll shut up. Enjoy! � |
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| VI |
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Chakotay was on his way back to his quarters to talk to Kathryn. He had told the team leaders to discuss the matter with their staff and report back to him tonight after dinner. That should give them all enough time to think everything through. He thought there was a high chance that his crew might actually agree to the rescue mission. After all, they had made it their job to fight against Cardassian oppression. The team leaders' reactions had, for the most part, been promising- except for Seska's constant nagging of course.
Despite his optimism, however, he would have to be careful in what he'd say to Kathryn. He didn't want to get her hopes up prematurely. |
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-�- |
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| When he entered his quarters, Kathryn was nowhere to be seen. He listened carefully for a moment and thought he could hear movement from behind the bathroom door. A few seconds later it opened and she came out into the living area looking refreshed and relaxed. She didn?t see him at once so he cleared his throat, not wanting to startle her. |
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| Kathryn jumped slightly when she heard the sound but seemed to relax immediately when she saw who had joined her. |
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| Chakotay smiled. "Did you get some rest?" |
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| "Yes, I hope you don't mind that I used your bathtub, I just couldn't resist." |
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| "Not at all," he replied, trying to supress the images her words conjured up in his mind. For a moment, there was an awkward pause as neither of them knew what to say. Finally, Chakotay broke the silence. |
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| "Well, are you hungry? I was about to have lunch and if you'd like to join me, I could tell you about the meeting I just held." |
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She only hesitated for a moment. "I'd like that..." |
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| "Something wrong?" he asked. |
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"No...No, not at all. It's just...Could we have lunch here, in your quarters? I know it's silly but I don't think I'm ready to spend time in a
room full of strangers." |
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| At Chakotay's puzzled look, she explained. "Your galley- I suppose at this time many of your crew will be there.. |
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He nodded in understanding. "Alright, why don't you have a seat while I go and get something from the kitchen?" |
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| -�- |
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| �"So, do you think your crew will want to help me?" |
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| They had moved to the couch after finishing lunch. Chakotay sighed. |
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| �"Look, I don't want you to get your hopes up. When I told them your story, their reaction was, for the most part, better than I expected. But they still have to ask the rest of the crew, so all I can say for the moment is that there is a good chance they'll be willing to support you. But as to how far that support will go... I just don't know." |
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| Kathryn smiled. "Well, that's more than I could have hoped for." |
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| Chakotay returned her smile and for a moment, they were both lost in their thoughts. Then Kathryn� remembered something. |
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| "Tell me about the Maquis. What kind of organisation is that?" |
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| Chakotay tensed. Well, time for the truth. |
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| "We're... Our primary aim is to defend our homes and our families against a common enemy- the Cardassian Empire. |
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| Some time ago, the Federation made a deal with the Cardassians. The negotiations took long �time, and several times it looked as if war was inevitable. |
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| In the end, the Federation decided that it would be best to... make concessions to the Cardassians. The Empire was eager to expand its territory into the Neutral Zone, so the Federation signed a treaty in which the Cardassians would be allowed to claim several of the former independant colonies along the border. |
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| The colonists repeatedly asked and later pleaded with the Federation Council to protect them against the Cardassians... but the Federation believed that if they only sacrificed those few 'minor clonies', peace would be restored. |
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| They abandoned the colonists and left them at the mercy of the Cardassians who, of course, exploited their lands and terrorized the people. |
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| We stopped expecting help from the Federation a long time ago. Now we've taken matters into our own hands. Too many have suffered already. We won't allow this to continue, I won't allow this to continue." |
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| During his speach, Chakotay had become increasingly agitated and was pacing the room, fists clenched at his sides and breathing hard. He had his back turned to the room and he stared out of the view port, attempting to regain his control. |
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| He knew that he should have held back a little. No matter how much time had passed, Kathryn probably still thought of herself as a Star Fleet Officer. |
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| However, before he got any chance of turning around and attempting to talk her down he suddenly felt Kathryn's hand ao her shoulder. |
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| The contact was so unexpected that he jumped a little. |
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| He turned around and stared directly into her deep blue eyes which, to his surprise, were not filled with anger, but with compassion. |
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| She had not removed her hand from his shoulder and now was moving it slowly up his neck, across his cheek and on to his forehead, fingers lightly tracing the lines of his tattoo. |
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| The touch was filled with such intimacy that Chakotay had to remind himself to breathe. |
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| "That certainly explains a lot," she said silently. |
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| Chakotay frowned. |
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| "What do you mean?" |
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| "Ever since we first met, I could sense this... air of grief, of a profound sadness around you. You lost somebody, too, didn't you? Someone you loved very much." |
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| She held his gaze for another moment, then let her hand drop to her side and nervously glanced around the room, then back to him. |
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| "I'm sorry. It's none fo my business." |
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| Chakotay was so startled by her actions that it took a moment before he could respond. |
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| "It's alright. What happened to me is no secret. In fact, I think everybody should be told what happened to those colonists. If more people knew about it, the Federation would have to take action. |
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| However, I have a feeling that you don't need to be told. You've had your own share of experiences with our 'friends'." |
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| She nodded. |
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"You're right. Still, I'd like to hear about it. After all, I'm the daughter of an Admiral. When all this is over and if it's all worked out, I
might be able to tell your stories to people who have influence. I won't allow them to ignore your situation any longer." |
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| He sighed. "Oh believe me, the Federation doesn't ignore us. Instead, they are helping the Cardassians in their fight against us. I know that many of them believe that's the only way to preserve peace. |
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| What they don't realise is that there simply is no way to do that. The Cardassians don't want peace. They're constantly overstepping the rules trying to provoke the Federation into starting a war. |
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| And what does the Federation do? They just let those bastards to flex their muscles and tell themselves that everything will be alright if they just ignore the whole thing. It's amazing how much they can delude themselves." |
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| Kathryn stared at him and shook her head. |
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| "I can't belive the Federation would do something like that." |
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| Chakotay took her arm and led her back to the couch where they said down facing each other. |
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| "I understand that it's hard to believe. You know, I once was a Star Fleet Officer myself. I made it all the way up to Commander before resigned. Fifteen years ago, I thought Star Fleet was where I wanted to spend the rest of my life. I couldn't imagine ever wanting to do something else... |
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| But so much has changed since then, Kathryn. One of its most important principles was to protect those who are too weak to defend themselves, Well, look what they're doing now, abandoning those on need just so they can save themselves." |
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| Kathryn leaned forward and took one of his hands in her own. |
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| When she spoke, her voice was trembling. "One day, this injustice will end. You have to believe that. The moment will come when the Federation won't have any other choice left but to admit that the Maquis were right all along. The Cardassians will be stopped." |
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Chakotay stared at her for a long moment, then he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into his arms, and they both held on to the other for a long time. |
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-�- |
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| After dinner, Chakotay asked Kathryn if she wanted to be there when Chakotay learned about the crew's decision. She felt that she had to meet the people who had helped her so much up to now, so they went to the meeting room together. |
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| They were the first to arrive so they sat down and waited for the others to join them. Chakotay could see her trepidation, so he took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. |
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| Right then, Seska and Ayala entered the room. |
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Kathryn self- consciously pulled her hand back. Chakotay could see Seska's eyes narrowing and Ayala's lips twitching as if he was
trying to suppress a smirk. Neither of them said anything. |
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When the rest of the group had arrived, Chakotay began the introductions. Kathryn was a bit surprised when she realized that they all
acted very friendly towards her- with the exception of the Bajoran woman whom Chakotay introduced as Seska. |
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| Although she didn't seem to say or do anything different from all the others, Kathryn could immediately sense the woman?s hostility towards her. |
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| When Chakotay had introduced them all, he finally asked, "So, I take it all of you have come to a conclusion concerning the opinion of the crew. |
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| B'Elanna, why don't you start?" |
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| The young Klingon gave him a nod and said, "It took a while to explain the entire situation and I had to answer a lot of questions but in the end, everybody in my department decided that we should go for it. Most of them think it's as good an oportunity as any to kick some Cardassian ass." |
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| She threw a furtive glance at Kathryn and gave her an encouraging smile which Kathryn returned gratefully. |
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| "Alright," Chakotay said, "who's next? Ayala?" |
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| One after the other, everyone around the table gave their report. All of them went in favor of the mission. |
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| Kathryn was surprised- and, even though she couldn't identify the reason, a little disturbed- when even Seska reported that no one opposed the decision, including herself. |
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| She glanced at Chakotay in time to see that he was also startled by Seska's uncharacteristic show of support. However, he took the news with apparent relief. |
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| And that's what you should do aswell, she reminded herself. Those people were willing to risk their lives for a total stranger. She had no right to be even slightly ungrateful. |
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| Still, something about Seska just wasn't right. |
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| Her entire demeanor reminded Kathryn of... of what? |
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| She was startled out of her thoughts when Chakotay spoke up once again. |
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"Well then, I think it's safe to say that our decision is clear. Now, it's too late to start working on our plan in earnest tonight, but I want
you all to spend some time searching for background information. Talk to contacts, B'Elanna, why don't you have another look at the Federation data base, see what they know about this Gul Camet." |
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| They all nodded and began to get up from their seats. |
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| "Wait!" |
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| All eyes turned to Kathryn. She felt extremely uncomfortable but she felt obliged to say something. |
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| "I... I just wanted you all to know how grateful I am. I would have understood if youhad decided against helping me, in fact, that's what I expected. You are such amazing people in that you're willing to risk your lives for somebody you've known for only a few hours." |
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| They were all silent for a few moments and Kathryn worried that she'd said something wrong when Ayala spoke up. |
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"You know, it's obvious that you've spent too much time among Cardies. Otherwise you'd know that it's only natural to help those
who are in need." |
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Kathryn smiled, but shook her head. "No, I don't think you realise just how rare that is. And I will never forget what you're doing for me
here, ever." |
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| They all smiled back at her, a bit uncomfortable about her praise. |
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Finally, B'Elanna said, "Well, if you want to pay us back in some way, why don't you come down to engineering tomorrow morning. I
know it's been a few years since you had anything to do with that stuff, but I'm sure it'll come back and I could always use an extra hand." |
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| Kathryn smiled and nodded. "Of course. I hope I can help you in some way."��� |
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| "You can join B'Elanna right after the meetig tomorrow morning if you like," Chakotay said. |
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| After that had been settled, they all filed out of the room until only Chakotay and Kathryn were left. |
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"You know," Kathryn said, "since it looks like I'm going to stay aboard your ship for some time, you'll need to find me some place to
stay. After all, I can't ask you to sleep on the couch for the next few weeks." |
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| Chakotay nodded. |
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"You're right. The problem is that we don't have any free space at the moment. We're prette cramped as it is, so it'll be close to
impossible to find you a place of your own. I'm the only person aboard who doesn't have a roommate yet, so maybe it would be best if you... did stay with me after all."� |
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| He seemed to be a bit uncomfortable with that so she said, "Alright. But then I'll take the couch. You need your rest more than I do." |
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Chakotay shook his head. "I'm sure we'll find some other way. Maybe we can find a spare bunk and put it in my bedroom. It would be a
tight fit but it'll be better than the couch." |
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| Kathryn could sense how the tension between them slowly became unbearable. She had to do something to break it. |
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| "I just hope you don't snore, or else you'll have to face my dark side." |
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| Tha joke wasn't good but it was enough. Chakotay chuckled and replied, "Spirits, I fear for my life alread. What kind of monster have I brought back to haunt my ship?" |
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| With that, he lead her out of the briefing room and back to his quarters. |
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To be continued... |
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Back to my archive |
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Send me feedback |
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