Path: newsspool2.news.atl.earthlink.net!stamper.news.atl.earthlink.net!stamper.news.pas.earthlink.net!elnk-nf2-pas!newsfeed.earthlink.net!newshub.sdsu.edu!newshosting.com!nx01.iad01.newshosting.com!yellow.newsread.com!news-toy.newsread.com!netaxs.com!newsread.com!POSTED.newshog.newsread.com!not-for-mail Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated Approved: ascem@earthlink.net Organization: Better Living Thru TrekSmut Sender: ascem@earthlink.net Message-ID: From: "Layla V." MIME-Version: 1.0 Mailing-List: list ASCEML@yahoogroups.com; contact ASCEML-owner@yahoogroups.com Subject: NEW VOY "Absolute Power" Chap 9a 19/21 (C/P, J, AU) [NC-17] Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Lines: 601 Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 12:55:48 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 209.198.142.218 X-Complaints-To: Abuse Role , We Care X-Trace: newshog.newsread.com 1092142548 209.198.142.218 (Tue, 10 Aug 2004 08:55:48 EDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 08:55:48 EDT Xref: news.earthlink.net alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated:82619 X-Received-Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 05:55:53 PDT (newsspool2.news.atl.earthlink.net) TITLE: "Absolute Power" Chapter 9a (July 2004) AUTHOR: Layla V CONTACT: v_layla@hotmail.com WEBSITE: http://www.geocities.com/laylatrek ARCHIVING: Personal website, CPSG, Cha_Club, ASCEML SERIES: Star Trek Voyager RATING: NC-17 for violence, sex and language PART: 19 of 21 CODES: C/P, J/m, P/T implied, All Voyager characters, AU, Angst, H/c, OCC SUMMARY: Voyager's encounter with an intergalactic STORY NOTES: Evil!Janeway alert. See Part 1 of 21 for the details. DISCLAIMER: All characters, other than the original ones created by me, are owned by Paramount. I am merely playing. No copyright infringement is intended. NOTES: Thank you, Britta, for your clearheaded suggestions CHAPTER 9a "Full circle" Wearing the captain's rankbar filled Chakotay with twisted, conflicted emotions. In the Maquis, during battle, they'd never worn any pips or bars to differentiate between various ranks. The leather uniforms they wore and the individual command presence they held was all that told their tales of experience. It had, of course, been a tactical decision. In case someone was lost in combat, no trace of his or her rank was to be left behind. After all, the Maquis were a covert fighting force, struggling against the injustice they'd suffered at the hands of a larger bureaucracy. Rankbars and pips were the legacy of the Starfleet. However, after almost six years in the Delta Quadrant, the time had now come for Chakotay to take charge, and don the captain's uniform. The announcement had been made quietly and without fanfare, after the conclusion of the memorial service they'd held for their lost comrades. Greg Ayala, Joe Carey, Kenneth Dalby, Geron Tem. Kendrick, Tabor, Lang, Larson, among others. All good men and women--Maquis and Starfleet alike--who'd served Voyager with all their hearts and gotten killed for no good reason. There was as little reaction to the announcement of his taking command of the ship as there was to the decision of making Tuvok the First Officer and to promoting a handful of command crewmembers to higher ranks. Tom Paris was once again a Lieutenant. As was Harry Kim, who--Chakotay thought--had genuinely earned this rank after all these years. These were vital, unavoidable command decisions. The crew of Voyager had suffered a betrayal unlike any Starfleet crew--or *any* crew for that matter--could endure in a sane universe. They'd been robbed by the one whom they'd put their faith in so many years ago. There was anger, disbelief, agony in their suffering eyes, and it made Chakotay's heart ache in ways he couldn't describe. When he looked back in his life, he couldn't compare this madness to anything he'd ever experienced--not even to the desperate Maquis days, when day in and day out he'd led his cell into battle against the vicious Cardassians in the midst of what had then seemed like unconquerable odds. In so many ways, this betrayal, this wound was worse than anything an outside enemy could inflict. Chakotay's walk through the ship after the announcement was made was greeted by subdued acknowledgement of his new role as the captain. He could sense a little uneasiness, a little hesitancy amongst those who had been most loyal to Janeway. But they were far and few between. The rest of them just seemed overwhelmed by the fact that he was actually willing to talk to them, to visit them in person, to apologize to them, and to take their hands in his own and pledge his allegiance to their pain and to the promise of their safety. For some reason, he couldn't keep himself still. Everything this crew had been through was constantly on his mind, eating away at his conscience. He kept thinking that perhaps if he'd been more alert, if he'd paid more attention to what Janeway had said to him, if he hadn't been so out of his mind with anger and shock at her accusations that he hadn't been able to even think straight, perhaps then all this could have been prevented. Janeway. He had visited her in the brig but the Doctor had her sedated. He had told Chakotay that she had gone through a few violent episodes and it was for her own safety that he had sedated her. Chakotay realized he was no closer to finding out why she had acted the way she had. Perhaps the answer lay in the datalogs Tom and Harry had found traces of in their hunt, and which Seven had eventually decrypted. In the afternoon, when he'd briefly returned to his old office to gather a few things, he'd found the replicator beeping and the computer announcing that his lunch was ready to be served. A bowl of piping hot tomato soup and a generous helping of vegetable crème spaghetti, Chakotay didn't have to check the computer logs to know it had come courtesy of Tom Paris. Tom. Spirits, he wanted to talk to Tom so badly but he knew the younger man had been busy in the Navigation Array on Deck 12 for the past sixteen hours and he simply hadn't had the chance to talk to him. Chakotay knew there were a lot of repairs still needed there. B'Elanna had finally come to talk to him the previous night. He couldn't believe she had actually apologized for acting weird with him. He didn't know where she'd gotten that idea. She had done nothing wrong. He didn't know why she thought he would be upset with her. He knew it was irrational of him to expect her to feel easy talking about Tom to him but he was grateful she'd come over to clear up all the fuzzy details, and get everything out in the open. Now he just had to fix everything with Tom. Soon. Chakotay sighed. He'd do it soon. He rode the turbolift down to Deck 6 and walked into Transporter Room 1. Tuvok commed to let him know his guest was waiting to be beamed onboard and he acknowledged as he nodded to the officer manning the controls. Within seconds, Resh'lon of Du'kazinon IV shimmered onto the transporter platform. "Great Overseer." Chakotay stepped forward. "Thank you for allowing me to see you." "Commander, it is my pleasure." Resh'lon stepped down from the platform and the two men shook hands. "Or should I call you Captain?" "I have taken command of Voyager," Chakotay nodded, "but I'd prefer Chakotay for now." The Zokaa'rian tilted his head. "Then I insist on Resh'lon." Chakotay led his visitor out into the corridor and they quietly made their way to the turbolift. He answered the Zokaa'rian's discreet queries about Voyager's status as the turbolift took them to Deck 1. Their brief sojourn onto the Bridge allowed him to introduce Resh'lon to the skeleton crew that was manning the Bridge under Tuvok's command, and then the two of them walked into the Ready Room. He led the Great Overseer to the sofa in front of the large viewport and as they both sat down, Chakotay turned to the Zokaa'rian. "Resh'lon," he began, his voice earnest, "I don't know where to begin, how to apologize for all the chaos that has ensued within your territory on our behalf." There was surprise on the Zokaa'rian's face. "Chakotay, there is no reason for you to apologize. It is I who am mortified for slacking in our task to take the proper security protocols and for letting you fall into enemy hands. None of this would've happened if we had prevented that." Chakotay took a deep breath and shook his head. "I find it impossible to believe that. The woman I called my captain and loyally served under for the last six years did NOT maliciously cause the deaths of fifteen members of our crew because we were abducted by your enemies." The Zokaa'rian's green eyes were thoughtful. "I see that you grieve." "They were all people I cared for," Chakotay replied. "Every single one of them I knew personally, and not one of them could be replaced or their loss compensated by anything anyone can do." "And we are to share blame for that too." Resh'lon frowned. "What happened to you happened because instability existed in our political system." "And what about your own loss?" Chakotay asked him. "Those thousands of innocents slain on your homeworld through Kel'kar'vheel's deception. He took advantage of the diversion her actions caused by making a much deadlier attack on you. How can I even think about or grieve my loss in front of you when I know you've suffered so much more." Resh'lon shook his head as he sighed. "We both grieve, Chakotay. You do it because your loss is that much more personal and closer to your heart. I do it because I failed to save my homeworld from the enemy's disingenuousness. But I also know that even though we've suffered a greater loss in terms of numbers, we now have a clearer picture of who is behind the disruption we've faced in the last many years. We now know the culprits and we won't stop until we've pursued and punished every last one of them." "I don't know what to say, Resh'lon." Chakotay settled back on the sofa. "I don't have the words that could possibly measure up to your well-spoken and thoughtful observations." He stared at the Zokaa'rian. "Do you know how Kel'kar'vheel was able to evade the authorities? When Tuvok went to Deb'rar sector with the evidence, Kel'kar'vheel had disappeared." "It appears he had informants at all levels of the Sovereignty's hierarchy." There was bitterness in Resh'lon's voice. "He'd apparently known that he'd been found out the moment your Borg crewmember presented the decrypted signature code to the Observer on Voyager." "And he disappeared." "We'll find him." Resh'lon's face was tight. "We know the people he used, the people he worked with, the alliances he made outside our domain. Like those Xaolns and the contemptible third parties he corresponded with in the slave trade of exotic species. All that is being exposed as we speak." But there was so much more going on. Chakotay stared into the Zokaa'rian's eyes. "What will happen to Kel'nohr?" "Changes at the highest governmental levels are already taking place," Resh'lon replied. "Believe me, Chakotay, the Kel'zians are a remarkable people. They're open-minded, hardworking, honest. They will thrive now that Kel'kar'vheel is gone." "I hope it all works out for them and that they aren't targeted for what he did." Resh'lon shook his head. "Nothing of the sort will happen. However, it's the fate of the High Council I am most worried about." "How do you mean?" Chakotay asked. Resh'lon sighed. "They're not the clean, untainted lot I used to cherish them to be, Chakotay. They've been used to Kel'kar'vheel's duplicity and bribery for so long now they're finding it impossible to adjust to his so obvious degeneracy." "I am sorry," Chakotay said simply. "As am I." The green eyes brightened suddenly. "But it's for the better I suppose. All those people who had been saving Kel'kar'vheel's despicable acts for so long are now being exposed for their own corruptions. I wouldn't be shocked if these corruptions go all the way up to the System King. To think if it hadn't been for the evidence your crew recovered, they would've allowed Kel'kar'vheel to implicate you and your crew in a crime you hadn't committed." "It was a tough situation." Resh'lon's gaze was enigmatic as he looked into his eyes. "You're too diplomatic, Chakotay. You still don't want to hurt my feelings so you're sparing me from what you really think of this despicable state of affairs." Chakotay shrugged. "I feel it's not my place to pass judgement on your government, Resh'lon. We've met many good people here. How can we forget them?" "And how can I cast aside the way Kel'kar'vheel played all of us?" Resh'lon sighed. "He was waiting for you to be executed, and for your crew to be destroyed or thrown into Zokaa'rian prisons to languish for the rest of their lives." Chakotay nodded. "He had seen the situation from every angle, and he had the reach to implement his plans in the highest levels of the bureaucracy." "And they almost let him." Chakotay felt a frown form on his forehead. "But if Kathryn Janeway hadn't played into his hands and caused the destruction she did, none of that would've happened." The Zokaa'rian observed Chakotay quietly for a moment and then he asked. "How's your crew reacting to this situation?" Chakotay sighed. "They're in shock. They've been betrayed by the one they relied upon the most. But they're resilient. They will survive." "I am sure with you at the helm, they'll thrive too." The Zokaa'rian shifted forward in his seat. "Chakotay, please tell me how else I can assist your crew in the ship's repairs?" Chakotay looked at him. "You have been more than generous to provide the shipyard facilities as you have." "About the Zokaa'rian personnel whom we had provided before, I've gotten clearance from the authorities and they want them to return to Voyager to assist your crew again." "That won't be necessary." Chakotay shook his head, keeping his face and voice calm. "I've discussed the repair situation with all the department heads and we've come to the realization that your repair facilities are more than adequate help. We would like to keep the personnel in-house at the moment." The truth was, he and Tuvok had discussed the situation at length and decided it would be best if they kept the locals off Voyager until all necessary repairs had been made. Too much had happened in this domain for them to take any more risks. Now all he wanted was for them to get out of this territory as soon as possible. "I see." Resh'lon looked at him, and it seemed he could read his mind, for his knowing eyes were filled with regret. "I don't blame you for your hesitancy, Chakotay. You've been let down by the Sovereignty as well." Chakotay sighed and leaned forward in his seat, hoping his voice was as earnest as he felt inside. "Resh'lon, you've been a great support for us in the toughest of times. I don't know how I can ever pay you back." For a moment, the Zokaa'rian Great Overseer stared at him. And then a mysterious glint came in his eyes. "There is one way you can," he said. "By bringing your government and mine together in an alliance as soon as you reach home." "Of course," Chakotay replied and then shrugged. "But that won't be for at least several years, give or take a few anomalies here and there." That mysterious glint was still in the green eyes as Resh'lon slowly smiled. "Speaking of anomalies..." There was a pause during which the strangest feeling came over Chakotay. The feeling that told him something important was about to happen. "Resh'lon?" he asked. "Chakotay," the Zokaa'rian looked into his eyes, "that subspace travel technology the Pro Councilor was talking about was not just a grandiose claim on his part." Chakotay stared at him, his heart suddenly beating very fast. "What are you saying?" Resh'lon smiled. "We have in fact a very advanced subspace technology that makes use of a unique spatial anomaly in the Wil'raken sector, only fifteen light years away from here." "Go on," Chakotay urged, breathing very, very slowly. Resh'lon of Du'kazinon IV reached out and clasped Chakotay's hand in a warm grip. "I have appealed to the High Council in the light of all that you and your crew have suffered," the Zokaa'rian explained. "As soon as the repair work to your vessel is finished, they've granted Voyager the exclusive use of the technology in order to get you to the Alpha Quadrant." # # "It was a prototype vessel, designed to be used in the Federation's war against the Cardassians." Tuvok observed Chakotay lift his eyes from the datapadd in his hand and look at him. "But the accident occurred on its first ever test run." "That is correct," he replied. "An unknown malfunction occurred in mid-flight and the shuttle crashed over the polar caps of Tau Ceti Prime." A frown formed between the captain's brows. "I remember hearing about it when I was in the Academy. It was big news in those days. Admiral Janeway was a renowned scientist, his contributions in astrophysics were phenomenal." Tuvok nodded. "That is correct as well. However, the cause of the crash was never ascertained and the bodies never recovered." For a moment, Tuvok saw a small hint of compassion appear in Chakotay's eyes--that inherent sensitivity very much part of his personality. And then he dropped his eyes to the padd again, his facial features becoming smooth once more--as if he'd remembered whom they were actually talking about. "Seven did a good job of recovering this file," Chakotay said. "But I still can't make heads or tails out of this message." "The file is corrupted," Tuvok said. "The segments that are recovered are still incomplete and in all probability are irretrievable because of the damage done to the relays during the attack." "But the segments that were recovered do mention the Tau Ceti Prime incident." Chakotay looked at him. "Could that be what caused her breakdown?" Tuvok considered the facts at his disposal. "It is possible. Kathryn Janeway was only a cadet at the time and from what I know of her relationship with her family, the experience of surviving the shuttle crash which killed her father and fiancé was devastating to her." Chakotay pressed his lips together and this time, Tuvok could not read his eyes. "She saw them die in front of her eyes." "She was thrown clear from the craft before the crash occurred," Tuvok replied. "It is believed Admiral Janeway and Justin Tigue also survived the crash but could not escape the shuttle in time and were subsequently drowned in the lake." "And in the last datastream..." Chakotay's eyes were once more on the padd as he leaned forward in his seat. "For some reason, Admiral Houston sent her a missive mentioning the Tau Ceti Prime crash, immediately after which she systematically disrupted all command systems on board Voyager, booby-trapped the entire ship so that no one could stop her without having half the systems blowing up in their faces, stole the Delta Flyer, and attacked fifteen Zokaa'rian vessels." Tuvok looked at him. "Admiral Houston was the officer in charge of the investigation for the Tau Ceti Prime incident." His eyes still on the padd, Chakotay shook his head. "I can't believe it was just a coincidence." Tuvok raised a brow. "Logic would imply that it was not." Chakotay looked up at him. "I won't argue with logic in this instance, Tuvok." However, there was much more than logic at work here, Tuvok thought. If one were to connect the dots of this convoluted puzzle, then one could also construe the link between Kathryn Janeway's ill-fated collapse and the fact that she had taken extreme offense to Captain Chakotay's interaction with Lieutenant Paris in the Xaoln prison. Chakotay had not said a word to him about it, or to anyone else for that matter. But Seven of Nine *had* come to make her report to Tuvok after Chakotay was finally vindicated of any wrongdoing. She had told Tuvok how Kathryn Janeway had physically assaulted Chakotay and threatened him with harm for his supposed betrayal. And yet, Kathryn Janeway had also made the recording of the videofeed, which had gotten Chakotay in trouble in the first place, long before the issue of his involvement with Lieutenant Paris had become known to her. Therefore, it was equally logical to conclude that the instruments of her disintegration had already been there, they had simply been waiting to be instigated. The chaotic events of the last few days had merely provided the spark that had given life to the blaze that had eventually enveloped her. "The technology seems sound," Chakotay had partially turned the screen of the computer terminal on his desk towards Tuvok and was studying the data visible on it so Tuvok too attempted to bring his focus to the subject at hand. "It seems somewhat similar to the slipstream technology we experimented with sometime back." "As well as to the Borg transwarp technology," Tuvok added. "However, unlike the slipstream and the Borg transwarp conduits, the subspace compression anomaly this technology uses is naturally occurring, not artificial." A frown appeared between Chakotay's brows. "It is indigenous to this particular sector." "That is what the data infers," Tuvok said. "The new High Minister from the Academy of Sciences has been most accommodating with sharing of the details of this technology." "The Great Overseer assured me of that," Chakotay said. "His position in the Council is much stronger now than it was ever before." "I believe his improved standing bodes well for the future of the Sovereignty and especially for the Zokaa'rian worlds in this sector." "Let's hope you're right, Tuvok." Chakotay looked at him before he lowered his eyes to the screen again. "It's the same technology they used to bring us inside the subspace fold, and to help us receive the datastream from Starfleet." "Yes." Tuvok nodded. "However, they used the technology to merely open a rift in subspace to bring Voyager in and to retrieve the datastream. Getting Voyager to the Alpha Quadrant would require the opening of a much longer sustained conduit." Chakotay's eyes were on the screen as his fingers moved on the console. "According to these calculations, Voyager will travel more than thirty thousand light years in just eighty-nine point seven hours." "It is a fast and efficient way of traveling indeed." "What effect would the conduit's gravimetric forces have on our structural integrity?" "The Zokaa'rian scientists have provided us with enhanced shield modification matrices which should help Voyager endure the gravimetric pressure. Since we've limited the manpower to only Voyager crewmembers, the repair work has been somewhat slower. It will take another week to get all the repairs and modifications done and have the warp engines back online." "This changes everything, doesn't it?" There was marvel in the captain's eyes as he looked at Tuvok. "We always thought we'd reach the Alpha Quadrant one day, but in space, thousands of light years away from home, nothing was certain. Yet, here, within the last few weeks, this crew has been through so much. We've lost people who were our friends, our comrades; we've gone through radical changes overnight, and now we're going home. How will the crew adapt to these changes?" "This crew is already adapting, Captain." Tuvok looked at Chakotay. "With the exception of a rare few, each and every one of them stayed together at the time of adversity when you had been apprehended, and they're now united under your command. Surely, there are uncertainties in their minds because of the adversities they've faced in the last few days, however, there is no doubt in my mind--they are ready to go home." Still, there was uncertainty in Chakotay's eyes, a strange hint of anxiety lingering after the predicaments of the last few days. Suddenly Tuvok had the most unreasonable urge to relay the details of his vision to the captain. The vision that he had seen approximately three weeks before in a meditation session and which had held an uncanny resemblance to events he had been a witness to through his mindmeld with the Xaoln prisoner. He did not know what the status of Chakotay's relationship with Lieutenant Paris was now but he knew it would be unwise to ignore the significance of a vision that had so astoundingly come true under the most perplexing circumstances. His quandary thus resolved, Tuvok laid the padd in his hand on top of Chakotay's desk, looked into Chakotay's eyes, and began to speak. # # Continued in Chap 9b _________________________________________________________________ Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ASCEM messages are copied to a mailing list. Most recent messages can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCEML. NewMessage: