Die Chakotay, Die

by Em.

Kathryn sat up in bed, her head ached and her tongue was welded to the roof of her mouth. She peered through squinting eyes to see if there was any water left in the glass at the side of the bed. There wasn't, and she sighed heavily. As Kathryn slid out of the bed Seven awoke. "Katie?" She asked, reaching out one hand.

Kathryn turned to look at her. "I need to get something to drink, you need anything?" She asked, marveling anew at how lucky she was to have Seven as a lover.

Seven mumbled into the pillow and Kathryn took her answer as yes. She went into the dimly lit main room and demanded a pitcher of cold water from the replicator. Carrying the glass pitcher and two glasses back to the bedroom she looked around her quickly. The room was a mess, she and Seven had been playing strip kodis kot the night before, and there were clothes scattered everywhere. She sighed as her toe stubbed against a bottle in the doorway of the bedroom. "We have to be more careful where we throw things." She said as she went back into the bedroom.

Seven didn't move, and Kathryn sat on the side of the bed. She poured a glass of water and drank it thirstily. "Are you sure you don't need a drink honey?" She asked, peering over her shoulder as she spoke.

Seven waved one hand at her and groaned. Kathryn smiled and poured a second glass of water that she downed as quickly as she had the first. "Here you go." She said, filling the other glass and carefully placing it in Seven's hand.

Seven raised her head. It hurt. It felt like there was someone inside pounding on her skull trying to get out again. "Why does my head hurt?" She asked, rolling over so that she could drink the water.

"Alcohol will do that to you, and we drank a whole bottle of Tendorian Nectar last night." Kathryn replied, swallowing another glassful of water.

"Oh god." Seven said, placing one hand on the top of her head and pushing down.

Kathryn smiled, and reached into the cabinet at the side of her bed. "Here take one of these." She said, passing a small white pill to the younger woman.

"What is it?" Seven asked suspiciously.

"Pain relief." Kathryn said, swallowing a small pill herself.

Seven groaned again and swallowed the pill quickly, grimacing as it left a bitter taste on her tongue. "Although I do know a better cure for a head ache." Kathryn finished, her voice a low sensuous growl.

"Chakotay to the Captain?" A voice called over the comm.

Kathryn closed her eyes and sighed. "Janeway here." She replied.

"Captain I am sorry to disturb you but I am not able to locate Seven of Nine." He said.

Seven suppressed a grin and lay back down again. She pushed the sheet away from her, exposing her naked body to Kathryn's appreciative gaze. "Maybe she just overslept." Kathryn said, putting her water glass down and leaning across the bed.

"No Captain, I am in cargo bay 2 now, there is no evidence of her." Chakotay said, and Seven giggled as Kathryn pulled a face.

"Well maybe she has already gone on duty Chakotay." Kathryn said, playfully nipping at one of Seven's exposed nipples.

Seven inhaled, and sat up pushing Kathryn back against the bed and moved so that she was on top of the older woman. She writhed against Kathryn rubbing their naked bodies together, and then bent her head to gently kiss Kathryn's neck. "No one has seen her this morning." Chakotay said, he clearly wasn't going to go away.

Kathryn sighed again, and then squeaked with surprise as Seven nipped at her erect nipple. "I am sorry Captain? Did you say something?" Chakotay asked.

Kathryn pushed at Seven's head. "No I was about to sneeze." She said, as Seven continued to suckle at her breast.

"I have tried to raise her on the comm. but she isn't responding, and the computer is unable to locate her." Chakotay continued unaware that the Captain did not share his concern.

"Well I still wouldn't worry about her." Kathryn said, trying to control her breathing as Seven caused pulses of electricity to shoot through her body and pool in her groin.

"Captain, I know that it is early, but I would like to initiate a ship-wide scan for her biosigns." Kathryn could barely concentrate on his words.

"Chakotay you will do no such thing. There is still an hour before her duty roster begins." She clenched her teeth as Seven's probing fingers slid between her thighs.

"But Captain."

"There is no emergency that deems a ship-wide search necessary, Seven is probably relaxing somewhere and doesn't want to be disturbed." Kathryn said, her voice sounded slightly strained as she fought against the urge to groan with pleasure.

Seven pushed against the smooth skin of Kathryn's thighs, encouraging her to part her legs. As Kathryn complied Seven moved her body so that she could better access Kathryn's willing flesh. Kathryn inhaled deeply and turned her head to gaze at Seven. The younger women grinned mischievously as she nipped at Kathryn's nipple, gripping the engorged flesh with her teeth and tugging playfully on it. Kathryn stuffed her fist in her mouth stifling a groan. "As you wish Captain." Chakotay said, and Seven slipped her hand further between Kathryn's thighs, rubbing the tips of her fingers over the sensitive nub of flesh that she knew was the center of Kathryn's pleasure.

"Seven." Kathryn whispered.

"Captain?" Chakotay replied.

"Janeway out." Kathryn said, ending the transmission with her First Officer.

Seven grinned and pushed her fingers into Kathryn's pulsating core, moving her head down to replace her fingers with her tongue as she continued to stimulate Kathryn's clitoris in ways that she had learned would cause the older woman the most pleasure. "Oh you bitch." Kathryn hissed as Seven moved her tongue and fingers in time with each other, slowly and gently, then fast and hard, just the way she knew would be the most tantalizing.

Kathryn reached down to grip Seven's head with one hand, pulling at Seven's hair gently. "Come on, move round." She hissed, her muscles were already clenching in response to Seven's ministrations.

Seven groaned and took her mouth off Kathryn's heat momentarily so that she could move her body, positioning herself within reach of Kathryn's salivating mouth. "Now that is better." Kathryn said as she raised her head and hungrily feasted on Seven's throbbing flesh.

The two women knew each other's bodies so well, knew exactly what would stimulate, and what would please, and exactly what would tantalize, and they continued to play each other's bodies like well tuned instruments until Kathryn could resist no longer. Her muscles began to contract, Seven could feel her fingers being gripped by the waves of contraction, and she changed the pace of her licking to match.

She allowed her body to relax, as her orgasm began to take over. As Kathryn reached the peak of her climax she cried out, her hips bucking and her body shuddering, Seven released her own guttural cry as her muscles contracted and she was lost in wave after wave of pleasure. "Chakotay to the Captain."

"He has to die." Kathryn said, her body still riding waves of pleasure created by her lover, and she tried to focus her thoughts.

"Chakotay to the Captain." Chakotay repeated.

Kathryn was breathing heavily, and lay back on the bed, eyes closed, wondering when her First Officer had become such a pain in the butt. "Captain please respond." He said, his voice sounding urgent.

Seven rolled off her and Kathryn wiped her face with one hand. Seven's pleasure had left her sticky and sweaty, but more than satisfied, and she looked over to the younger woman and smiled. "Chakotay to the Captain? Please respond." Chakotay repeated.

Kathryn sighed. "Janeway here, what is it Chakotay?" She said, her voice was harsh and she knew that she sounded angry.

"I have asked around and no one has seen Seven of Nine, I think she may have left the ship." He said.

Kathryn closed her eyes, and then turned to face Seven as she snuggled up against her. "Chakotay I will be on the Bridge in time for my duty shift, please do not disturb me again before you see me physically." Kathryn said, ending the transmission.

"Can't we put the comm. on silent mode?" Seven asked, looking up at the older woman.

Kathryn shook her head. "What if there was an emergency?" She said, bending her head slightly to kiss the top of Seven's head.

"What like one of the crew going missing?" Seven asked, and giggled.

Kathryn smiled. "I love it when you laugh. You don't laugh often enough." She said, reaching down to kiss Seven's full lips.

***********************

30 minutes later, a showered and dressed Captain Janeway strode onto the bridge. "Chakotay my ready room now." She barked as she crossed the room

Harry and Tom exchanged looks as their First Officer followed the Captain into her ready room. As the door swooshed closed behind them she swung around to face him. "Chakotay I will *not* have you disturbing me with such trivial matters again." She stated simply.

He looked at her in surprise. "But Captain." He began.

She raised one hand to silence him. "I don't want to hear it Chakotay. You have developed some kind of obsession with Seven and it isn't healthy. You follow her around, you give her presents, none of which she wants, you pester her with requests for dinner, lunch, holodeck dates, you leave lovesick notes on her console and flowers in her cargo bay. It has to stop, it is harassment." She said, her voice was raised and she knew that she should regain control of her anger.

"Captain, I am in love with Seven, and it is my belief that she will come to love me." Chakotay said, wondering why the Captain was responding in the way she was.

"It will never happen Chakotay, now get over it. Get over her." She said, glaring at him with one of her patented force ten glares.

Chakotay stepped back. "You don't know that." He mumbled.

Kathryn opened her eyes wide. She couldn't believe he was pushing his luck so far. "Yes Chakotay I do. Now get out." She barked.

Chakotay had hoped that he might be able to get the Captain to talk to Seven of Nine on his behalf, but now he realized that she would never support his attempts at wooing the former Borg. "I am sorry." He said, backing out of the room.

Kathryn sat down and inhaled deeply. Then she stood up again and crossed to the replicator. "Coffee, black." She demanded, grabbing the mug as soon as it appeared.

Seven stood staring down at the poem that had been left on her console in Astrometrics. It was pathetic. She punched a key on the padd and deleted the file. Then, as she was about to put the padd down and begin her scans of the sector, the padd bleeped at her. She glanced down at it and saw that there was a second message waiting for her to read. She pressed another key on the padd and three words appeared. "I love you." Seven cleared the padd and dropped it on the console in disgust.

She glanced up at the screen in front of her. Icheb had informed her of an M Class planet that had appeared on long-range sensors overnight, and she wanted to complete the scans before presenting her report to the Captain. At the thought of the Captain, Seven felt a flood of heat in her groin and she shifted uncomfortably. She was alone in Astrometrics, but she knew that she wouldn't be for much longer. As she had predicted the doors swooshed open and Chakotay walked in. "Seven." He said, as the doors closed behind him.

"Commander." She replied without looking at him.

Chakotay moved to stand close behind her. She could feel the heat emanating from his body and a slight shudder rippled through her body. "You smell wonderful this morning." He said quietly, placing his hands on her shoulders and leaning into her.

Seven could feel his body pressed against her back and she pushed against him, forcing him to step backwards. She swung around to face him. "Please do not touch me again." She said, her voice was low and threatening.

"Oh come on Seven, I know you want me. I can tell you are aroused by my presence." He purred, stepping forward again and pressing his body firmly against hers so that she was trapped between him and the console.

"Commander I must request that you stand back." She said, moving her face away from his advancing lips.

"Did you get my poem?" He asked, his breath brushed her lips and Seven's lip curled in disgust.

"I did, but it was not welcome, now please stand back." She said, placing one hand on his shoulder and pushing him away from her.

Chakotay resisted her push, and his superior strength won the battle. He pressed harder against Seven and to her horror she realized that he had an erection. "Commander let me go or I will be forced to call for help." She said, moving her head to avoid his kiss.

Chakotay moved slightly, shifting his feet to gain better balance and Seven took her chance. She swiftly adjusted her weight and forcefully brought her knee up between his legs. Chakotay uttered a loud groan as his breath was forced from his lungs. He crumpled and slipped to the floor, gripping his groin with both hands. "Seven?" He grunted as he hit the floor.

Seven of Nine stood over him, watching him writhe in agony on the floor. After several moments of watching him she tapped her comm. badge. "Seven of Nine to sickbay, medical emergency in Astrometrics." She stated, and then turned back to her console.

The Doctor materialized in seconds. "What is it?" He asked, looking at her in concern.

Seven didn't speak, simply nodded down to where Chakotay lay. The Doctor moved around the console and dropped to his knees. "Commander?" He said, quickly grabbing his medical tricorder and scanning the prone man.

"She…. kneed…. me." Chakotay grunted, his face was white and tears dampened his cheeks.

"Seven? Is this true?" The Doctor asked as he interpreted his scans.

Seven nodded. "It is." She stated simply, concentrating on her scans.

"What happened?" The Captain demanded as she entered the lab.

Tuvok closely followed her. "It seems that Seven of Nine kneed Mr. Chakotay." The Doctor stated, as he injected a painkiller into Chakotay's neck.

"EMH to transporter room 2, please beam Mr. Chakotay to the sick bay." He said as he stood up.

Chakotay disappeared in a sparkling beam of light. "Will he be alright?" Tuvok asked, and Kathryn turned to look at him.

"Yes I am sure he will, he will need to relax for a while, and I will monitor him, fortunately Seven called me in time to save him." The Doctor said, before transferring himself back to sickbay.

"Seven?" Kathryn asked, stepping up the console.

Tuvok stepped to one side, and they both stood and waited for Seven to explain her actions. "He touched me, I asked him not to, he pressed against me, I asked him not to, he tried to kiss me, I pushed him away. He pushed me harder, so I kneed him." Seven stated simply.

"He kissed you?" Kathryn demanded.

She was shocked. She was angry. She was jealous! She tried to control her raging emotions. "He touched you?" She asked when Seven didn't respond.

Seven nodded. Tuvok looked from Seven to the Captain and back again. If he didn't know better he would say that the Captain was jealous. "Tuvok, I want you to find out exactly what happened here and we will take appropriate action." The Captain said, turning away from Seven.

She realized that she was probably over reacting and she couldn't afford to raise Tuvok's suspicions. Tuvok nodded. "I will expect a full report." He stated to Seven of Nine, and she nodded her compliance to him.

Kathryn stepped into her ready room. She couldn't believe that Chakotay had overstepped the mark so thoroughly. To actually try to kiss Seven after she had expressly told him that he was to forget about the younger woman amazed Kathryn. Another surge of jealousy raged through her and she inhaled sharply. "Doctor to the Captain." A voice called.

"Janeway here." Kathryn said, crossing the room to sit on the long sofa beside the window.

"Captain Mr. Chakotay will be fine, but I have instructed him to rest for the rest of the day, and to come and see me again in the morning. I will assess his suitability for duty at that time. Seven was rather forceful with her knee, but I don't think that he will suffer any permanent damage." The EMH stated.

Kathryn nodded her head. "Thank you Doctor." She said, ending the transmission at that point because she didn't want to discuss it with him any further.

The door bleeped. "Enter." Kathryn said, composing her face.

"Captain." Tuvok stated as he entered the room.

"Sit down." Kathryn said, getting up and crossing to the replicator.

"Coffee black, can I get you anything Tuvok?" She asked, as her mug of coffee materialized.

"No. Thank you." Tuvok stated, sitting on a chair opposite the sofa.

Kathryn moved back to sit down in her favorite corner and sipped her coffee. "So what did Seven have to say for herself?" She asked.

"It seems that Mr. Chakotay has been making advances towards Seven of Nine for several weeks now. And although Seven has told him on numerous occasions that she isn't interested in him, his attentions have steadily become more aggressive, culminating in today's unfortunate incidence." Tuvok stated.

Kathryn suppressed a smile. "How do you propose we deal with this?" She asked.

Tuvok raised one eyebrow. "Well Captain, I rather thought you might have some ideas on that." He said, staring her in the eye.

Kathryn looked away. "No Tuvok, this is your domain." She said, knowing that she wanted nothing more than to be rid of the annoying lump of a man.

Tuvok didn't speak for several moments. "It is my belief that the Commander has become obsessed with Seven of Nine, and I do not believe that he will accept that she is not interested in him. I am prepared to talk to him, to teach him some Vulcan meditations to help him deal with his emotions." He stated.

Kathryn closed her eyes. Tuvok and his damned meditations would be the death of her. "Do you think he would be willing?" She asked, turning to face him again.

Tuvok didn't respond, simply looked at her. "Then give it a go, if it doesn’t work we will try something else." She said, dismissing Tuvok with a nod of her head.

*********************************

Seven stretched out in the bed, her feet coming into contact with the smooth skin of Kathryn's thigh. The sheets were twisted around them, and they both lay, sated with each other, and oblivious to the rest of the ship around them. "Katie?" Seven purred, moving her head so that she could kiss and touch her lover.

"Hmm?" Kathryn murmured.

She opened her eyes to look up into Seven's beautiful blue eyes. "I love you." Seven said quietly.

Kathryn smiled and nodded her head. "I love you too." She said quietly, fighting sleep.

"I want to be with you always." Seven said, stroking Kathryn's hair with one hand.

Kathryn opened her eyes again and rolled over. "And I want to be with you always too darling." She said, pulling the sheet from beneath her body.

It had been three days since Chakotay had attacked Seven, and he had been confined to his quarters without communication privileges during that time. Kathryn and Seven had enjoyed the peace and quiet that had resulted from his isolation. Knowing that they wouldn't be disturbed had added a whole new level of relaxation to their lovemaking. Seven slid herself up the bed, and Kathryn moved so that they lay beside each other, touching and feeling, and being together. "Do you think we will ever get back to the Alpha Quadrant?" Seven asked, running her fingertips gently across Kathryn's exposed skin.

"I have no idea, do we have to talk about that now." Kathryn asked, little ripples of excitement running through her and she wondered how her body could be ready for Seven's touch again so quickly.

"I don't ever want to be without you." Seven said, and raised her head to kiss the older woman.

As their tongues met in a gentle caress, Kathryn reached one hand up to grip Seven's neck. She pulled them closer together, and Seven wrapped her arms around Kathryn's body. They deepened their kiss and Seven's body began to respond again. "Oh god." She groaned as Kathryn's lips left hers and burned a trail across her cheek to her ear and then down her neck.

Seven trailed her hand down Kathryn's back, gently stroking and tickling the soft skin. She lowered her head to nip at Kathryn's collarbone and moved so that she was lying on top of the other woman. She looked down into Kathryn's blue eyes. They gazed at each for a while and then smiled, and Seven dipped her head to kiss Kathryn's willing lips.

"Chakotay to the Captain." A voice called out into the darkness.

"I don't believe this!" Kathryn stated dropping her arms to the bed.

Seven rolled off her and Kathryn sat up. "Chakotay what are you doing with a comm. badge?" She demanded.

"Tuvok decided that my time of isolation should end. I will return to duty for the next shift." He stated.

Kathryn dropped her body back onto the bed and covered her eyes with one hand. "Whatever." She said quietly.

"Captain I was wondering if you knew where Seven was?" He asked, and Kathryn opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling.

"Chakotay I strongly recommend that you forget about Seven." She said.

"I need to talk to her and she isn't regenerating. Do you know where she is?" He persisted.

"Chakotay leave it until the morning, I expect Seven doesn't want to talk to you just now." Kathryn said, turning her head to look at Seven.

The younger woman lay on her back staring up at the ceiling, she couldn’t believe that the First Officer was chasing after her again. She shook her head. "Chakotay, go to bed. Janeway out." Kathryn said, ending the transmission.

Seven turned her head to look at her. "I will never be free of his attentions will I?" She asked sadly.

Kathryn wished that she could say yes, but it was a small ship, and it was difficult to avoid people. "I am sorry Seven. I can instruct him to stay away from you, but there will always be times when that can't be avoided." She said, reaching over to comfort Seven.

Seven looked at her. "If he died I would be free of him." She stated simply.

"Seven." Kathryn said, shocked that Seven would say such a thing.

"You said it yourself, he has to die. That is the only way." Seven said and turned her head to stare up at the ceiling again.

Kathryn lay on her back staring at the ceiling. "We can't kill him Seven." She said after a long silence.

Seven didn't reply and Kathryn wondered if she had gone to sleep. She turned her head and saw that Seven was awake. "Love?" She said quietly.

"I know." Seven said, and she rolled over.

Kathryn didn't stop her as she quickly dressed and then left the room. A wave of loneliness washed over the Captain as she lay on the rumpled bed. She was getting cold, and felt sticky and grimy from their lovemaking. Deciding to shower quickly and then grab a few hours sleep before her duty shift, Kathryn slid out of the bed and went into the bathroom.

***********************

Kathryn strode onto the bridge. "Captain, we will be at the Class M planet in approximately 31 minutes." Tom Paris said as he realized that she had returned.

"Thank you Mr. Paris." She said, and sat in her chair.

She didn't take her eyes off the screen when Chakotay appeared beside her. He stood for several awkward moments, and then finally sat down in his chair. "Mr. Kim, any life signs? She asked.

The atmosphere on the bridge was electric. Everyone knew that something was going on, but no one knew what. The crew had been informed that Chakotay had been unwell to explain his absence from duty, and no one had asked any more probing questions. Kathryn couldn't bring herself to look at him, his mere presence was sufficient to annoy her, and she felt her temper rising.

She had been edgy all during her shift, preferring to spend most of her time in her ready room or elsewhere, in Astrometrics or stellar cartography. There were only two hours of the shift left and she knew that she had reports to catch up on, and shift changes to be organized. Now they were closing in on the M Class planet that they had diverted from their course to explore, and Kathryn couldn't help but feel excited about the possibility of discovering new life forms there.

"There are lifesigns, but they do not have warp technology." Harry stated, staring down at his console.

"There is evidence of dilithium on the surface of one of the continents." Tuvok stated from his station.

Kathryn turned to look at him. "Is there any chance that we could mine some of it do you think?" She asked, dilithium was a rare resource and any opportunity to replenish their stocks had to be taken.

"Yes, I believe we could." Tuvok stated without looking up.

"Mr. Kim is there any chance that we could transport the dilithium aboard?" Kathryn asked, standing up and crossing to his console.

"No Captain, it is far too unstable to transport." Harry confirmed her suspicion.

"Damn, then we will have to send down an away team to mine some and bring it back in a shuttle." She said, staring at the view screen.

"Tuvok, form a mining party. Mr. Kim locate a safe place for the team to land that is away from any settlements. Mr. Paris, let me know when we have arrived, I will be in Astrometrics." She said, and left the bridge.

An hour later the away team was ready to go, they had gathered mining equipment and stocked the Delta Flyer for a two-day mission. "Captain, I would like to go along on the away mission." Chakotay said quietly.

Kathryn turned to look at him. He had been extremely quiet all day and she was beginning to wonder if Tuvok's meditation techniques were working for him. She nodded her agreement, and Chakotay turned away from her. He headed towards the Flyer to join the mining party.

"Stay in close contact Tuvok." Kathryn said, as the away team readied for departure.

The shuttle left the ship and headed down to the surface of the planet. Kathryn heaved a sigh of relief and headed for her quarters. She knew that tonight she would sleep alone as Seven would need to regenerate, and she considered the irony of the situation. They finally could have a completely uninterrupted night together, but Seven had to regenerate.

She had changed the sheets on the bed that morning, and the sweet smell of clean satin greeted her as she went into her bedroom. She quickly removed her uniform and stepped into the bathroom to shower off the grime of the working day. Once she was clean, Kathryn went back into her bedroom and slid between the cool sheets. She relished the feel of the silky material against her naked skin and her nipples hardened as the sheet brushed over them. She lay on her back for a while, and then reached down to touch the skin of her breasts. Her body longed for Seven and she remembered the luxury of their lovemaking that morning. They had woken early and had taken their time. Enjoying each other more and more as time went by, they were becoming so in tune that Kathryn couldn't remember a time when they weren't lovers.

Her hand smoothed over her stomach and slid down to the soft hair that covered her mound. She sighed, wondering if Seven was regenerating already, or whether she was still awake. She contemplated calling her young lover, and then decided that it was unfair to expect Seven to go another night without regeneration. She let her mind wander to remember the first time they had made love. Seven had been so shy and tentative. Her body had been so responsive. Kathryn had never made love to another woman before, and of course Seven had never made love before. It had been a learning experience for them both, and the memory of the sweetness of it all was very special to Kathryn.

She smiled as she remembered the look on Seven's face the first time she had climaxed. The sheer wonder of her expression, her exclamation that she had never known what pleasure could be like, and the way she had giggled with delight when she had brought Kathryn to a climax was another very special memory. Kathryn realized that she had become very aroused by her memories, and pressed one finger into her moist flesh, rubbing and teasing herself to a quick climax. She fell asleep with a picture of Seven's smile on her mind.

"Bridge to Captain Janeway." A loud voice broke through Kathryn's dream.

She groaned and rolled over. "Janeway here." She grunted as the room lights came on.

"Captain, Lieutenant Tuvok has just been in touch, there has been an accident." Ensign Parsons said.

He sounded very nervous and Kathryn knew that his nerves were a direct result of the captain's bad mood that day. "I will be right there Ensign." She said, sliding out of bed and staggering across the room to retrieve clean clothes from her closet.

Kathryn grabbed a coffee from the replicator and left her quarters still buttoning her uniform jacket. She smoothed one hand over her hair as she entered the turbo lift. "Bridge." She stated, and swallowed another mouthful of coffee as the lift swooshed her off to her destination.

"Report." She barked as she entered the bridge.

"The away team had located the dilithium and were drilling when they were attacked. It seems that a tribe of natives didn't take kindly to the invasion of their territory." Ensign Parsons said, vacating Chakotay's chair.

Kathryn sat down. "Residents? I thought Mr. Kim had ensured that there were no settlements where the shuttle landed." She asked.

The bridge doors swooshed open and Harry Kim appeared buttoning his jacket. "Captain." He said, as he took his station.

"Mr. Kim I instructed you to find a location away from settlements." Kathryn said, standing up and crossing the room to his station.

"I thought I did Captain." Harry said, staring down at his console.

"Tuvok to Voyager."

"Janeway here."

"Captain, we have a medical emergency, we need the Doctor."

"I will arrange for him to beam down." Kathryn left the bridge.

In the turbo lift she tapped her comm. badge. "Doctor meet me in transporter room 2 immediately."

"Yes Captain."

"B'Elanna meet us there, we may need you too." Kathryn said, as the lift stopped to pick up another passenger.

Seven stepped into the small lift. "Captain." She stated.

Kathryn nodded. "I will come with you." Seven said, resting one hand on Kathryn's arm.

"That isn't necessary." Kathryn said, her arm burned where Seven's hand rested.

Seven smiled. The lift door swooshed open and they stepped out into a brightly lit corridor that was alive with people. Kathryn strode along towards the transporter room. "Captain?" The EMH said, as he stood on the transporter pad.

"Beam us down to the surface, keep a lock on us in case we need an emergency beam out." Kathryn said, her gaze caught Seven's and they looked at each other for a long second.

B'Elanna, The Doctor and the Captain disappeared in a blaze of light, and rematerialized on the surface of the planet.

Tuvok appeared from the trees. "Captain, Doctor, this way." He stated.

His uniform was torn at the shoulder and he looked as if he had been dragged through the dirt. "What happened?" Kathryn asked, as they made their way through the trees.

"We were mining in a cave, we had gathered a large quantity of dilithium when we were attacked. A small group of men appeared in the cave entrance and began throwing rocks at us, and then one of them shouted something and they left. Then there was a loud explosion and the roof of the cave began to fall in." Tuvok explained as they approached a small clearing.

Three uniformed ensigns were crouched around Chakotay, who lay on his back in the dirt. The Doctor rushed to his side, and immediately began scanning him. "He has suffered significant injuries. He has internal bleeding, a ruptured spleen, a punctured lung, 7 broken ribs, a broken humerus and ulna, a broken femur and tibia, his pelvis is smashed and he has numerous contusions and cuts to his body. We must get him to sickbay immediately." The Doctor stated.

Chakotay gazed up at the Captain, the pain he was suffering had distorted his features, and his eyes were clouded. "Captain?" He managed to breath.

Blood frothed at the edge of his mouth, and his breathing was labored, air whistled and bubbled in his throat and he coughed slightly, bringing up some blood. "Captain, we really can't afford to wait if we are to save his life." The Doctor urged.

Kathryn snapped to her senses. "Of course, Voyager, emergency beam out, Mr. Chakotay to sickbay." She commanded into her comm. badge.

Chakotay disappeared in a shimmer of sparkles and Kathryn looked down at where he had rested. The imprint of his broken body remained in the dust, and where he had bled, the ground was stained red. "Doctor to Voyager, can you beam me up too please?" The Doctor asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

He disappeared and Kathryn turned to face Ensign Vorik. "Do we have enough dilithium?" She asked.

Vorik looked at her blandly. "Yes Captain." He stated.

"Good, bring it up in the shuttle. Tuvok we will beam back, B'Elanna take your pick, transporter or shuttle." Kathryn said, and strode away from the small group standing by the cave.

"I am sure she is in shock." B'Elanna said as she and Tuvok hurried after the Captain.

"Indeed." Tuvok stated simply.

They beamed back to the ship and immediately headed for sickbay. Kathryn crossed the room to the biobed where Chakotay lay. The Doctor was busy operating on his broken body, and Tom was monitoring his vital signs. "How is he?" Kathryn asked gently as she stood looking down at her First Officer.

"Not good." The Doctor stated. "There is also significant cranial damage, the left styloid process is fractured, his mandible is shattered and his occipital and parietal bones have hairline fractures, in addition his saggital suture is partially separated, there is undoubtedly some brain injury, his anterior cerebral artery was ruptured, and although I managed to repair it, there was considerable bleeding into his brain."

"Doctor, in layman's terms, will he be ok?" Kathryn asked, raising her hand to stop the interminable list of medical terminology that meant as much to her as a Bolean shopping list.

"He suffered considerable injuries, in addition to all the broken bones, and internal injuries he has significant soft tissue damage throughout his body. Frankly I am surprised he didn't pass out from the pain." The Doctor finished.

"Captain?" Tom said quietly, attracting her attention from the Doctor's activity.

"Yes Tom?"

"I found this in his pocket." Tom said, handing a padd to the Captain.

She looked down at it in confusion. "What is it?" She asked.

"I think you should read it. I didn't read past the first two lines." He said, and turned back to the biobed controls.

Kathryn stepped away from the activity and clicked open the padd. It was a document that Chakotay had been working on. She read the first paragraph quickly, and then walked further away from the biobed. Chakotay had clearly not benefited from Tuvok's meditation lessons, her temper rose as she read on. Chakotay had been following Seven of Nine around the ship for several months, and he had documented every time she had been seen in conversation with someone. Everything that she had eaten in the Mess Hall, each time she had accessed the holodeck, or socialized with other crew members. But what incensed the Captain the most was that Chakotay had made a note of each time that Seven had entered the Captain's quarters.

He had accessed Seven's private logs, taken segments of her writing out of context and copied parts of them into the document, an act that infuriated Kathryn more than his stalking the younger woman, and he had even taken holoimages of the two women talking together in the Mess Hall and corridors. He had watched and documented, and then he had drawn conclusions. At the end of his list of Seven's activities there was a report that he clearly intended to forward to Star Fleet command in the next data stream. In it he stated that Seven and she were having a relationship, and that this relationship had resulted in errors of judgment, and lapses in concentration that had resulted in the whole ship being in jeopardy. The report was designed to discredit the Captain's ability to run the ship, and was a litany of accusations and falsehoods, some of which were based in fact, but most were complete fabrication.

Kathryn finished reading the report and looked up from the padd. Her cold gaze landed on the broken body of her First Officer. She knew that he was driven by jealousy, and she knew now that he would never give up in his quest to get rid of her as Captain and claim Seven as his own. She hit the delete button on the padd and watched as the screen cleared. She dropped it onto the console and walked slowly across the room to where Chakotay lay.

The Doctor looked up at her. "It is touch and go still Captain." He said, and she nodded.

"Do your best Doctor." She said quietly and watched as Chakotay fought for his life.

"I have stabilized him for now. He needs to recover for a while before I can work on his broken bones."

"Can you wake him? I would like to talk to him." The Captain said as she looked across the biobed at the EMH.

"He is heavily sedated, the biobed is programmed to adjust his pain medication accordingly. I have it set at the highest level possible to keep him unconscious, as I am sure that his pain is intense. He will not be awake for several days Captain. Now, I should attend to the Mr. Tuvok's injuries so that he can get some rest, Tom can you give me a hand?" The EMH asked and Tom nodded.

They walked away from Chakotay and Kathryn waited for them to get a safe distance away from her before she stepped up to the bed. She leaned down so that her face was as close to Chakotay as she could get. "Chakotay?" She whispered in his ear.

"Can you hear me?" She whispered again.

Chakotay's eyelids fluttered briefly. "It is Kathryn Chakotay. Your old friend Kathryn. Can you hear me?" She whispered, pressing her face closer to his ear.

He didn't move, and Kathryn looked across the room. The Doctor was busy scanning Tuvok, and Kathryn reached for the biobed pain control. She turned it down several notches, and the bed hummed slightly. "Chakotay, can you hear me?" She whispered again.

Chakotay's eyes fluttered open and Kathryn smiled down at him. "Chakotay." She said, placing one hand on his jaw, resting her fingers on the tattoo that he wore so proudly.

"Captain?" He croaked.

Kathryn smiled down at him. "Chakotay, I want you to know something. Not only do I know what you were up to with that report, but I have deleted it, and I will ensure that it never sees the light of day again, no matter how many copies of it you made." She said quietly.

Chakotay didn't blink as he looked up at her, but she could see the fear in his eyes. "In addition Chakotay, the reason that you couldn't ever find Seven of Nine, is that she was always in my bed. Yes Chakotay we are lovers. We have been lovers for quite some time now. So you see, no matter how much you had pestered her, she would never have given in to your pressure. She loves me Chakotay, me. And we are a couple. Forever." She hissed.

Chakotay was sweating profusely and he grimaced as a wave of pain coursed through his broken body. "Pain." He grunted, he was pale and shaky and Kathryn could tell that he was hurting badly.

She squeezed his chin with her hand, her mouth set in a thin line. "Die Chakotay, die." She hissed, glaring down at him.

Kathryn released her grip and walked away. She didn't look back as she left the sickbay, her stomach was churning and she felt desperately lonely. She knew that he would have sent his report in to Star Fleet but hadn't realized that his jealousy had driven him to become so vindictive. He had wanted to destroy her, and for that she could never forgive him.

*************************

Kathryn woke up and stretched, she turned her head and realized that someone was sitting on the side of her bed. She looked up into Seven's eyes and instantly knew that something was troubling the younger woman. "Seven?" She said, struggling to sit up.

"Captain." Seven said quietly.

"Captain?" Kathryn said, smiling slightly and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Chakotay has died." Seven stated simply.

Kathryn didn't reply just looked at her, and then swung her legs out of the bed and walked out of the room. Her mind was whirling, a confusion of random thoughts flooding her brain. "Coffee, black." She stated, grabbing the mug as it appeared.

Seven appeared behind her. "The Doctor said that his brain injuries were more than he could survive, he had a massive blood clot on his brain. The Doctor said that is what caused his death." She said quietly.

Kathryn turned to face her. "What else could he have died of other than his injuries?" She asked, sipping her coffee.

"I do not know how to feel." Seven said, and Kathryn could see that she was struggling with her emotions.

She stepped forward and put one hand on Seven's arm. "Oh Seven." She said, as the younger woman leaned into her embrace.

"Tuvok to the Captain." A voice called over the comm.

"Janeway here."

"Captain, I have some bad news."

"I heard Tuvok, thank you."

"Very well Captain, what would you like me to do?" Tuvok asked, he was not concerned as to how she had heard the information.

"Can you assemble all the senior officers in the briefing room in 30 minutes. We need to decide how to proceed." She said, one hand resting on Seven's head.

Tuvok signed off without further comment, and Kathryn rested her chin on Seven's shoulder. "Come on love, it will be ok." She said.

"But should I be sad? I am not sad, I don't feel anything." Seven whispered, gripping the Captain's small body to her own.

"You are probably feeling numb, I am feeling numb myself. It is difficult to accept that he has gone." Kathryn said, wishing she knew what to say to comfort the younger woman.

Thirty minutes later they were sitting in the briefing room. The atmosphere was very somber, and B'Elanna was crying quietly, Tom had his arm around her trying to comfort her. Tuvok sat passively at one end of the table and Kathryn stood behind him. "This is a terrible tragedy. Probably the greatest tragedy that has happened to this ship since we were pulled into the Delta Quadrant." She began, wondering what she was going to say.

"It is my belief that Commander Chakotay, had he known that he was to die, would have wanted to die performing his duty. Helping the crew." She continued, reaching for the words.

"He should never have been on a mining expedition." Harry stated simply.

Kathryn stopped and turned to face him. "I am sorry?"

"He was a liability Captain. I am sorry, but there it is." Harry finished, his face was flaming and he started down at the table.

Tom nodded. "It is true, he was well known for being accident prone." He said.

B'Elanna lifted her head. "I can't believe you are saying that! He is dead for god's sake! He died mining dilithium for the ship." She cried.

Tom smiled gently. "But that is the whole point, if he hadn't been on that mission, he would still be here." He said.

"No one would have been injured if it hadn't been for Chakotay." Harry blurted out.

"Explain?" Kathryn demanded.

"Well Captain." Harry began, looking around the table.

"It is true what Mr. Kim says." Tuvok stated, looking up at the Captain.

"I am listening." She said, as she slid into an empty seat.

"Harry and Vorik were setting the phaser drill up in a new area of the cave. We had mined a considerable amount of dilithium already, and wanted to obtain just a few more crystals when scans detected a vein of tricobalt in the rock. Due to the explosive combination of phaser and tricobalt we had decided to move the drills to another area of the cave and mine there. When the natives appeared in the cave entrance and began to throw rocks at us, we all moved behind an outcrop of rock beside the area we were mining. Mr. Chakotay was isolated on the other side of the cave where we had previously been mining, near to the entrance. He fired his phaser at the wall of the cave where the natives stood in an attempt at scaring them away. His phaser fire ricocheted off the wall of the cave and hit a rock which contained tricobalt crystals and it exploded with great force, and caused a chain reaction of tricobalt explosions in the rock walls which in turn brought down part of the roof of the cave. Chakotay was standing beneath one of the explosions which is why he was hit by the full force of it."

Kathryn rested her hand on Tuvok's arm. "It was an accident Tuvok." She said gently.

"I know Captain. We had all discussed why we couldn't mine with phaser drills near the tricobalt, he knew the danger. When I saw him with his phaser and I called out to warn him, but he ignored me. Commander Chakotay brought about his own death." Tuvok stated simply.

"I am as much to blame, I let him go on the mission." Kathryn said quietly.

"I should have made more effort to stop him." Tuvok said.

B'Elanna stared at him, her mouth open. "You are more interested in appeasing your own guilt than you are in the fact that he is dead!" She said and Tom rested his hand on her arm.

"B'Elanna, let's not go around throwing accusations at each other. We need to bond at this time of tragedy." Kathryn said gently.

B'Elanna turned to glare at her Captain. "It isn't the first time that Chakotay has jeopardized an away mission." Harry stated.

"This is not the time Harry." Kathryn said quietly, she realized that the death of her First Officer was not as devastating a blow to some of her crew as she had thought it might be.

B'Elanna stood up. "I don't want to listen to any more. I will be in engineering Captain." She said, and left the room.

Tom frowned and then stood up to follow her. "Captain?" He said, and she nodded her approval of his leaving.

Kathryn sat back in her chair and sighed heavily. "We should organize a memorial service. Tuvok, how do you propose that we should continue?" She asked, brushing one hand through her hair.

"I believe that the Maquis crew would like to be involved in the organization Captain." Tuvok stated and she turned to face him.

"Good idea, perhaps B'Elanna too? She seemed to be deeply upset by his death." Kathryn said, pushing herself up out of her chair.

Seven had remained silent throughout the exchange. "Captain, what will we do with his body?" She asked.

Kathryn turned to face her. "Star Fleet protocol usually recommends burial in space, but we will leave that decision up to B'Elanna I think." She said, and then turned to leave the room.

The door chimed and Kathryn looked up from her padd. "Enter." She called.

The door swooshed open and Tom and B'Elanna walked in. "Yes what can I do for you two?" She asked, dropping the padd on her desk and standing up.

"B'Elanna and I have been asking around the ship for ideas on how to give Chakotay a good send off." Tom started to say, but B'Elanna put her hand on his arm to stop him.

"Captain, it seems that none of the Maquis crew are willing to help organize a memorial service for Chakotay." B'Elanna said, as Kathryn waved them to a seat.

"Oh?" Kathryn said, crossing the room to sit on the sofa.

"Yes, and I have been asking around the ship for other volunteers. And well, no one is interesting in helping out." She finished, looking from Tom to the Captain and back again.

Janeway raised her eyebrows. "I see. So what are you suggesting?" She asked quietly.

Tom leaned forward. "Well we thought that Chakotay would really prefer that we celebrate his life. He was always talking about how those who died had to be remembered as being alive. So we thought, in keeping with his ancestry, we would hold a wake." He said, clenching his hands together as he spoke.

"A wake?" Kathryn said, thoroughly confused.

"A wake." Tom repeated.

"You see Captain, I looked in the data base to see what a traditional Native American funeral would be like. And well there isn't very much information. It seems that the bodies are cast out onto the water in a burning canoe while the family watched from the beach. Or something like that. It was rather sketchy." B'Elanna said lamely.

Kathryn suppressed a grin. "Cast out on the water in a burning canoe?" She asked, struggling to hold a giggle.

"Yes, but as Chakotay had no family as such on board, and the burning canoe thing was well, we don't know which tribe he was from, and we can't be sure that we are following their traditions correctly, and a wake is so much more fun." Tom interrupted.

Janeway focused on him and swallowed her laughter. "Yes of course. Well if you think it would be appropriate, then organize it. We should organize this as soon as possible too." She said, sitting forward.

"Captain another thing." B'Elanna said, stopping Janeway from standing up.

"Yes?" Kathryn asked looking up.

"We would like to bury Chakotay on the planet. You know, have a permanent memorial there to him, rather than shooting him out into oblivion in a torpedo pod." She finished.

"Well I think that is a lovely idea. We can have the wake down on the surface too. It will much more, in keeping." Kathryn said desperately.

Tom and B'Elanna stood up. "Thank you Captain." They said as they left the room.

Kathryn sat back on the sofa and placed one hand on her mouth. 'A wake?' She thought, and began to laugh.

The door chimed and opened before she could respond. Tuvok walked in. "Captain?" He said as he saw that she was laughing.

"I am sorry Tuvok, what can I do for you?" She asked, sitting up again.

"I understand that Lieutenant's Paris and Torres will be organizing the memorial service." He stated.

Janeway looked up at him. "Yes they have something planned. A wake I think Tom called it." She said.

"A wake?" Tuvok said, raising one eyebrow.

"Yes Tuvok. Apparently it is something that his ancestors would have organized." She said.

"Captain. A wake is a traditional Irish funeral. It is not a Native American tradition."

"I know Tuvok, but I am not in charge of this, and they thought it would be appropriate." Kathryn said, as she started to laugh again.

"I see no humor in the situation." Tuvok stated seriously.

"No of course not Tuvok." Kathryn said, trying to swallow her laughter again.

"Perhaps I should volunteer to assist." He stated.

"Yes you do that Tuvok." Janeway said, dismissing him from her ready room.

***********************

The next morning the entire crew of Voyager was assembled in the recreation hall. Captain Janeway stood on the gantry looking down on them all. "As you will all have heard by now, Commander Chakotay lost his life in a tragic accident yesterday. B'Elanna and Tom have organized a memorial service in the style that they believe Chakotay would have wished. Everyone on the ship is encouraged to join in without exception. I would encourage you all to think about something that you might like to say about Commander Chakotay, a memory, or perhaps some advice that he gave you during his time on Voyager. And we will have a small service on the planet surface after his body has been interred in accordance with the arrangements." She finished lamely.

She was looking down on her crew and the few people who were looking back up at her were clearly upset. Many of the rest of the crew looked bored, and some looked as though they had no interest in what she was saying at all. The indifference towards the death of one of their comrades was quite distressing to the Captain. "We are a family on board this ship, and when we lose one of our family we must ensure that they receive the respect that we would expect for ourselves. I realize that some of you have been on duty for the last 8 hours, but I would encourage you all to join in the celebration of Chakotay's life. He has touched each and every one of us in one way or another." She implored.

Seven watched her from the back of the room. She could feel the hostility that was emanating from some of the crew who were standing at the back of the room, and she felt defensive towards her Captain. She wasn't sure whether it was Katie that she wanted to defend, or Captain Janeway, but either way she was on alert for signs of trouble. "Tom will tell you more about what to expect when we get to the surface. Tom." Kathryn said, standing aside to let Tom step up to the rail.

"Thank you Captain." He said, and rested his hands on the railing. "Chakotay more than anyone else I know, loved a good party." He said.

Kathryn looked at him in surprised. 'He did?' She thought.

"He would have wanted us to celebrate his passing not to mourn him. He would have wanted us to remember the fun times, to remember the laughter and joy that followed him around wherever he went." Tom continued.

Kathryn was thoroughly confused now, as were several other crewmembers. She looked out across the crowd and saw Seven standing with her arms crossed, at the back of the room. Seven caught her eye and raised her ocular implant. Kathryn shook her head slightly, and Seven smiled faintly. "So we have organized a real celebration, Mr. Neelix has prepared food, there will be drink and music, a real party to celebrate the life of one of our family." Tom ended, trying to rouse some interest in the crowd.

"All those who wish to join in the celebration please gather in the shuttle bay in 15 minutes." Kathryn called, as some of the crew began to leave the room.

She stood in the doorway of the shuttlecraft. There were 17 people on board and Janeway looked around desperately. She looked down at her timepiece, it was nearly 25 minutes since they had dismissed everyone from the recreation room and she couldn't believe that only 17 of the 142 people on board wanted to remember Chakotay. She sighed. "Captain?" Tuvok asked, as he approached her from behind.

"I think this is it Tuvok." She said, turning to face him.

Tuvok raised one eyebrow in reply. The shuttle door closed, and Kathryn took her seat at the co-pilots station. "Take us out Mr. Paris." She said, and he nodded.

"Aye Captain." He said as the shuttle lifted from the floor of the bay and headed for the space doors.

They landed on the planet surface easily, and stepped off the craft. Neelix immediately began recruiting people to help him carry the cases of food and drink off the shuttle. B'Elanna organized a crew to dig a grave for Chakotay, and Kathryn stood watching the activity with a sinking heart. She felt a hand on her shoulder. "Captain?" Seven asked.

"Seven." Kathryn said, leaning back into the taller woman.

"Are you ok? You look sad." Seven said, and her breath caused a tingle to run down Kathryn's spine.

"Yes I am fine. I am a little disappointed at the turn out." She said.

Tom appeared behind them. "Captain, Seven." He said, as he bustled past, pretending that he didn't see the intimacy of their position.

"Tom? Why do you think there are so few people here?" Kathryn asked, following him across the lush grass.

"Probably because most people didn't care for him. He wasn't exactly the life and soul of the party." Tom said.

"But you said…" She began.

"Yes well, what was I supposed to say, I know you all hate him but let's have a party anyway?" Tom said as they joined Harry and Neelix.

"He caused a lot of problems for a lot of people Captain." Harry said, as he set up a folding table.

"Why wasn't I made aware of this?" She asked.

"Who was going to say anything? You saw his reports from away missions, and incidents on the ship, they always differed from the other reports. We thought that you knew how incompetent he was." Tom said.

Harry looked at him in surprise. "He made a few clangs in his time." Kathryn admitted.

She wasn't ready to dismiss her former First Officer so readily. "Clangs?" Harry said, and he started to laugh.

"Remember that one away mission where we found him wandering around the planet stark naked?" Tom said, and he began to laugh as well.

"Oh yeah!" Harry said, pointing at his friend. "He said that he was trying to get in touch with the sky spirits!" Harry said, and he and Tom laughed loudly.

Kathryn suppressed a grin. She remembered the incident well, and had been unable to get Chakotay to reveal exactly what had happened to him on that planet. The Doctor had examined Chakotay and reported that he had received a slight concussion when a tree had knocked him down. It was Kathryn's opinion that Chakotay had hallucinated the whole encounter with the people of that planet. But she had never told him that. She had filed his report along with the others, and it was now a matter of record. "Gentlemen please, this is supposed to be a solemn occasion." Neelix cautioned, and Tom and Harry stopped laughing and apologized.

The internment was solemn and Kathryn read a poem over Chakotay's coffin as it was lowered into the ground. Ensign Kenneth Dalby shifted the pile of earth at the side of the grave, pushing it into the hole to cover the simple wooden coffin that held Chakotay's body. "Thank you Ken." Kathryn said, placing one hand on his arm.

He looked up at her and smiled. "He was an idiot, but he meant well." Dalby said and Kathryn choked back her shock.

She walked away from the grave as Dalby continued to fill in the hole. "Katie are you ok?" Seven asked quietly coming up behind her.

"I just can't believe how many people didn't like Chakotay." Kathryn said looking back at the small group that remained at the graveside.

"It seems that Chakotay didn't endear himself to people." Seven said, and Kathryn stopped.

She turned to face the younger woman. "What worries me is that if these people disliked him this much, and I didn't know about it, what else is going on that I don't know about?" She whispered, looking around her as she spoke.

Seven looked down at her. "Captain, everyone loves you." She said quietly.

"I doubt that Seven." Kathryn said, and with one last look at the burial party she turned away.

Neelix was busy setting out plates of food and glasses filled with different liquids. "Come along, eat, drink and be merry." He called, seeing Kathryn and Seven walking towards him.

"Neelix how many people were you expecting?" Kathryn asked as she looked around her at the spread.

"Well more than have come along, but that is ok, we can take what ever is left over back." He said, passing a glass of greenish liquid to the Captain.

She sipped it and coughed. "What is this?" She asked.

"Tendorian Nectar." Neelix replied.

"It doesn't taste like it." Kathryn said, wiping her mouth.

"It is green?" Seven asked.

"Well it comes in several different colors, depending on the grade. This is not the best, that is orange and much sweeter than this, which is rather dry, but this one has a higher alcohol content." Neelix said, passing a glass across to Seven.

"Alcohol? Not synthehol? " Kathryn said, looking up at him suspiciously.

"Yes Captain, you are at a wake now, only real alcohol is allowed." Tom said from beside her as he reached for a glass of blue frothing liquid.

"What is that?" Seven asked as he drank it down.

"Mylorian Ale." Tom said, wiping the froth from his lip.

"Try some?" Neelix asked her, but Seven waved him away.

"I will stick with the Nectar." She said, and walked off.

Kathryn looked across the grass towards a small group of Maquis. They all had glasses of something, and were laughing and chatting amiably. She wondered if she should join them, and was about to cross the grass when Tuvok appeared at her shoulder. "I think that a wake is more for the living than the dead." He stated.

Tom laughed. "Of course it is Tuvok. Have a glass of Mylorian Ale and chill out. Hey B'Elanna what about the music?" He called, as he turned away from them.

Tuvok raised one eyebrow questioningly and Kathryn dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "Tuvok, either join in or go meditate." She said, slurring her words slightly.

She realized that the alcohol in the green Tendorian Nectar was stronger than she was used to, and she tried to smile, but her mouth felt lopsided. "Captain." Tuvok stated and then turned and walked away.

A few hours later the party was still swinging, Neelix was dancing on the grass with the Captain and Tom and B'Elanna were holding each other up as they swayed around to the music. Several other crewmembers were dancing along to the strange music that was playing. Tuvok stood just inside the ring of trees watching the festivities. He did not try to understand what was going on, and decided to check that the shuttle would be ready for take off when the Captain decided that the party was over. Seven stepped up to Neelix and tapped him on the shoulder. "I think I would like to dance." She said, her chin was tucked in and her head wobbled alarmingly.

"Seven? Are you drunk?" Neelix teased as he bopped around in front of her.

"Neelix please stand still." She said, her words were somewhat slurred and she staggered slightly.

"Seven are you ok?" Kathryn asked, she could tell that Seven was extremely drunk and from past experience knew that when drunk, Seven's behavior became reckless and erratic.

"Yesh Captain." Seven said, and turned to face the older woman.

"Come over here." Kathryn said quietly and drew her to one side.

"Shall we dance?" Seven said, draping her arms over Kathryn's shoulders as she had seen Tom do with B'Elanna.

"Seven." Kathryn said, staggering under Seven's weight as she tipped forward.

Seven hiccupped, and moved her feet. "Dance with me." She said, pouting as she spoke.

Kathryn grinned. "Ok, just one dance." She said, gripping Seven's waist with her hands so that she could direct the drunk woman.

"Captain." Tuvok stated from behind them.

"Tuvok?" Kathryn said, turning her head to see her Security Officer standing to one side of her.

"You are dancing on Chakotay's grave." Tuvok stated simply.

Kathryn looked down and saw the recently dug ground beneath her feet. Seven looked down as well, and then lost her balance and fell forwards. Kathryn was unable to hold her weight and they both fell to the ground.

An hour later the shuttlecraft was filled with people, and the party had been cleared away. Janeway took one last look out of the door at the small makeshift gravestone that Dalby had erected over Chakotay's grave. "Well goodbye Chakotay, I guess you won't be bothering me in the early hours of the morning again. Jerk." She muttered, and pressed a button to close the shuttle door.

The End.