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Chakotay should not have been surprised that his life was going to end by shuttle craft crash, but he was too focused on bringing the shuttle under control to think about that. Here he was, hurtling to his death, all because of his love life. While frantically trying to save himself, part of his brain thought back on some of the events that led to this fateful moment.
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2 hours ago…
Chakotay put the shuttle on autopilot, retrieved his medicine bundle, and went to the open area of the shuttle in order to prepare for his vision quest. He’d been alone for the four hours it had taken him to reach the outer edge of the asteroid field. Voyager was currently orbiting an uninhabited planet in the same system as they restocked supplies and the crew got a little shore leave. Chakotay hadn’t realized how tightly wound he was until little by little he relaxed as his shuttle flew farther and farther from Voyager . He really needed this time to himself. In the next few hours he would be making a decision that would determine the course of his life from this point forward.
“A-koo-chee-moy-a. We are far from the sacred places of our grandfathers. We are far from the bones of our people. But perhaps there is one powerful being who will embrace this man and guide him in choosing what path to follow....”
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8 hours ago…
“Captain, I’d like to request a shuttle and take my shore leave off the ship so I can perform a vision quest.”
Kathryn looked up from the padd containing the list of supplies the away team had procured from the M-class planet below, “You can’t perform a vision quest here on the ship?”
“No, Captain.”
“Don’t tell me you’re having trouble with your roommate, Chakotay,” Kathryn challenged snarkily.
“Of course not, Captain,” Chakotay blandly replied as he returned her gaze.
The silence stretched on between them for what seemed like forever, but was really probably only a couple of seconds. Finally, Kathryn broke the stalemate, “Fine. Permission granted. Do bring it back in one piece, won’t you?”
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96 hours ago…
“I’m sorry, what?”
Seven repeated her request as she placed their dinner on the table, “Now that we have be romantically involved for almost two years and cohabitating for four months, I wanted to discuss a more formalized declaration of our bond.”
“You want to get married?” Chakotay asked incredulously.
“Yes. That is the next logical step in our relationship. According to my research, most couples - particularly when one of the parties is more than five years older than the other - have formalized their relationship within two years of when they originally became romantically involved,” Seven stated as she began to serve the vegetable stew.
Leave it to Seven to find yet another way to call me old , Chakotay thought to himself.
It wasn’t that Chakotay didn’t like being with Seven - he did. Chakotay enjoyed having someone to come home to at the end of the day. She did have had a tendency to over analyse and plan everything, and he missed the spontaneity of being with someone who had more life experience. Seven was actually very sweet when she let herself relax a little bit, and surprisingly, even though she was someone with little practical experience, their sex life was impressively imaginative. He’d finally found a productive use for some of the knowledge she had assimilated from all those species as a Borg. However, he felt no need to legally formalize his relationship with her.
“Would you not want to get married?” Seven’s question snapped him out of his musings.
“No, I’ve always thought I’d get married someday,” Chakotay offered cautiously, “I was just taken off guard. It’s not something we have discussed before.”
“Good. I do not require an answer immediately. I would just like for us to continue discussing it. I know there would be some logistics to work out. And it might be difficult to find an officiant other than the captain.”
Damned near impossible, Chakotay thought as he cringed inwardly at having to ask Kathryn to officiate his wedding. “We’ll work it out if the time comes. This is really good stew, Seven,” Chakotay said, hoping to change the subject.
“Thank you. So, you will give the matter some thought?” Seven asked hopefully.
“Of course,” Chakotay replied as he reached over to take her hand.
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4 months ago…
“I think that’s the last of it,” Chakotay said has he put down the last box of Seven’s belongings that he carried from the cargo bay.
As he watched Seven begin to unpack, Chakotay tried to not think of the last time he shared living quarters with a woman, on a lush, green planet light years behind them. Moving in with Seven was nothing like that, it was a voluntary choice, she wanted to be living with him.
“I will still have to return to the cargo bay several times a week to regenerate,” Seven said somewhat dejectedly.
“Yes, but B’Elanna thinks she and Icheb are close to a break through on the portable regeneration unit. Then you could regenerate here,” said Chakotay as he pulled Seven into a light embrace. “I know it’s still not ideal yet, but we’ll have to adapt,” he finished with a smile and a quick kiss.
“According to my research, when a couple begins to cohabitate together, they celebrate by christening their new dwelling,” Seven coyly stated.
“That sounds like an excellent idea,” Chakotay replied as he took her hand and led her to their bedroom.
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6 months ago…
“Good evening, Kathryn.”
“Chakotay.”
“Enjoying the festivities?” Chakotay asked as he leaned against the bar next to her. Tom had resurrected his Sandrine's program for this month’s birthday celebrations.
“Yes, you know I always enjoy seeing the crew relaxed and happy.”
“You came with Mike again I noticed,” Chakotay tried to probe casually.
Once Chakotay’s relationship with Seven had become public and he stopped being Kathryn’s escort to ship’s functions, the men of Voyager had put together a kind of informal rotation for who would escort the Captain to ensure she put in an appearance. Harry, Dalby, even Noah Lessing escorted her once. But the last few outings, she had been accompanied by Mike Ayala.
“Something you wanted to ask me, Chakotay?” Kathryn questioned coldly.
“Not at all, just an observation,” Chakotay returned, equally dispassionate.
“I can assure you there’s nothing to be concerned about. Enjoy the rest of the party.”
Chakotay watched her walk away and fought to ignore the pit in his stomach that formed as Kathryn took the pool cue from Tom and laughed as Mike lightly put his hand on her back and whispered something in her ear.
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1 year ago…
“Commander, this can’t go on. This is the seventh complaint in the past six months that has come directly to my desk from someone about Seven’s emotional outbursts. I can’t be fielding this many personnel problems.”
Chakotay watched Kathryn pace on the upper level of her ready room, padd in hand. “If it happens again, just tell them to come and talk to me,” he said a little wearily.
“They aren’t comfortable coming to you because she’s your girlfriend!” Kathryn nearly shouted.
“Look, we’re still working with the Doctor to regulate all of Seven’s human and Borg systems now that the fail-safe device has been removed. She’s still adjusting to experiencing the full range of human emotions,” Chakotay tried to explain calmly. “She could use a friend to talk to.”
“No,” Kathryn stated emphatically as she stepped behind her desk and began glancing at the next report.
“Seven doesn’t have any other women on this ship to talk to about being in a relationship, why can’t you just talk to her?”
“No,” Kathryn declared again as she turned her angry gaze up toward him.
“Why not Kathryn, too much of a conflict of interest? Just because you aren’t getting any sex on this ship doesn’t mean the rest of us shouldn’t,” Chakotay shot back and immediately regretted it when he saw the flash of hurt in Kathryn’s eyes before she put her command mask back firmly in place.
“I expect you to do your job as first officer of this ship and see that the working relationships amongst this crew are not compromised by anyone’s personal associations. Do I make myself clear?” Kathryn ordered with barely contained fury.
“Crystal clear, Captain.”
“Good, dismissed.”
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A year and a half ago…
Chakotay walked into the astrometrics lab and strode over to the console where Seven was working.
“If you're here for my daily report, it's not complete.”
“Actually, I'm here in an unofficial capacity,” Chakotay said. “I was wondering if you'd like to get together again.”
“To do what?”
“Well, that all depends on your research,” Chakotay teased. “Would a quiet dinner be an appropriate fourth date?”
Seven smiled shyly, “I believe it would be a more suitable fifth date.”
“I'm willing to skip ahead if you are.”
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Present…
As the rocky terrain of a larger asteroid drew ever closer, Chakotay’s last thought was at least this way he won’t have to lie to Seven and tell her he really wanted to marry her, or put the final nail in the coffin to his relationship with Kathryn by asking her to officiate his wedding.
Chapter 2: Mood Board
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