Chapter Text
On transit back to Earth
Kathryn had resisted looking at her messages the entire time they were on Trebus, and most of their visit to Risa before. However the Starfleet insignia attached to a recent message was difficult to ignore when she checked in as their shuttle departed:
"Request denied."
Her heart sank.
Her glum mood must have been showing as she joined Chakotay in their tiny cabin, and he immediately asked what was wrong.
"I've been refused my transfer request, to join you aboard the Gage," she calmly explained.
An unusual look crossed her husband's face, but he quickly masked it. His reply when it came was neutral. "I'm sorry," he reached out his arms for her, and she joined him in the armchair, settling comfortably on his lap. "Did they explain why?"
"Something about being over qualified…" she complained, as if it was completely unreasonable. When Chakotay didn't immediately back her up, she twisted in position and looked down at him. "You agree, don't you?"
"They're not wrong," he said carefully.
"It's my choice to make," she insisted.
"I know." He reached up and cupped one side of her face with his palm, fingers slipping into her hair. "You're an incredible first officer though, I can see why they want to keep you on the bridge."
"Do you think I should accept the decision?"
"No," he said firmly. "I think we should push back and insist they find us something together. A posting where neither of us will need to compromise."
Leaning forward she brushed her lips against his. "No compromise," she repeated softly, "I like the sound of that."
"It would be a very Janeway solution," he teased.
She smiled against his lips, "I think I might be rubbing off on you," she responded in kind.
"I like the way you rub off on me," he breathed, the double-entendre clear by the way he fiercely grabbed one of her hips, and pulled her closer to his bulging erection.
It was the easiest decision to take him to bed. Momentarily put pause to the conversation, and focus on one of the things which made them so compatible. Remind themselves of the reason they were determined to find a posting together.
Even as she rode him between her strong thighs, her mind was already working overtime on a solution. Perhaps she could make a call to Paris, or petition Nechayev for joint assignments on a larger galaxy class vessel…
The distraction of her thoughts meant that the orgasm caught her by surprise, as she found herself crashing around him without warning. Before her pace could ebb, she found herself being rolled over, as Chakotay chased his own completion. The hot spurts of his seed inside her causing a second wave of satisfaction to shudder through her body.
As they collapsed together into a sweaty mass of limbs and tangled sheet, Kathryn reflected that this was most certainly something worth fighting for.
****
The transport vessel had returned to Earth several hours ago, and while Kathryn had already made her way to their apartment, Chakotay found himself lingering in the dimly lit cabin.
The surveillance device sat on the table before him. He'd tried to crack it several times already to view the data, but the encryption was complex and sophisticated. It would take him days to crack, if not weeks. So, he waited.
It didn't take long for Sloan's shadowy figure to come through the doors. He wore a red command uniform this time, with the rank insignia of a commander, but Chakotay suspected he had security clearance well above that rank.
If the man was surprised to find him there, he didn't show it. "Commander Chakotay," he greeted formally.
"I looked you up," Chakotay replied without preamble, "According to official records you're on a deep space assignment."
It had been surprisingly easy to dig into the visitor logs from the Risa transport station, track down a Luther Sloan, and trace him to a crew manifest. Beneath the facade of an unremarkable career, Chakotay got the sense of a man who wanted to remain inconspicuous.
"I get the sense you're not officially part of Starfleet intelligence," Chakotay stated bluntly.
"Ah," Sloan's face twisted into a bemused grin, "You caught me."
Chakotay glared across the room. "Who the hell are you, really?"
Sloan moved confidently to the table, taking a seat opposite Chakotay. "It doesn't matter who I am," he said cryptically, "but what I represent. I work for a part of Starfleet which doesn't exist: Section 31."
Chakotay had heard of section 31. Through whispers and rumours. Nothing exact or tangible. A secretive intelligence branch of Starfleet that had never been acknowledged or recognised. Many assumed they were nothing more than folklore; a fabrication of conspiracy theorists.
"Why should I trust you?" he asked, then lifting the device between his fingers, "With this information? With my family's future?"
Sloan held his gaze steady. "Because I represent a part of Starfleet which has even less faith in Cardassian intentions than you do. You feel that the Federation is ignoring the concerns of Trebus and the outer colonies; that they turn a blind eye to the raids as the Cardassians quietly expand their territory. All in the name of peace. But you and I both know that there can never be peace with the Cardassians, not whilst they remain under military rule."
Chakotay refused to comment on the boiling pot of tensions. Trebus only had a small Cardassian mining operation, but he'd heard other worlds were suffering worse atrocities. It made him undeniably nervous for his own home planet. Was this a chance to help?
"My wife's request for reassignment was rejected," he intentionally changed the topic. "I want to know if that was your doing?"
Sloan pursed his lips, "Not my doing, no," he confirmed, "Events were already in motion beyond my influence in that regard. You have to admit though; it would have been a waste of her talent."
Chakotay clenched a fist under the table, unwilling to allow anyone to make that judgement but Kathryn herself. Still, it was difficult to disagree. He'd seen a glimpse of her potential, almost two years ago. A foresight into the future which had faded, but the echo of her brilliance in command remained. It was a difficult fate to ignore.
The temporal prime directive prohibited him from sharing what he knew, or allow it to influence their decisions. But something about the confidence in Sloan's statement made him wonder if he was the only one who knew Kathryn's promise with such certainty.
No . He told himself. He was better off not knowing.
Sloan continued unperturbed. "There are blockers I can remove in the future," he said cryptically, "In exchange for your cooperation, as and when needed."
Chakotay narrowed his eyes. "If I give you this, I want nothing more to do with section 31. I don't want any favours or threats. You leave us the hell alone."
Sloan made an agreeable gesture, "If that's what you want," he responded easily. Much too easily for Chakotay's liking.
As Sloan held out a hand for the device, Chakotay hesitated one last time. It felt incredibly wrong to hand over the data without knowing what it contained or what it would be used for. "I need one final promise," he said slowly. "If my family and friends are in any danger based on this information, I want you to tell me."
"That would constitute a favour," Sloan said carefully.
Chakotay stood from the table dragging back his chair as he did so. "Then I suppose that would make us even."
Sloan pursed his lips, but gave an agreeable nod.
Believing that they had an agreement, Chakotay threw him the device. "I do hope I never see you again," he said, passing by Sloan and heading for the door.
-
Earth
When Chakotay returned home, he found the apartment deserted. Kathryn left him a note to say she'd been called into Starfleet command for an urgent meeting. He wondered if it had anything to do with her next assignment, or an explanation for her rejection from the Gage.
Without any way of knowing, he busied himself with unpacking, trying not to think about Sloan, about the troubles on Trebus, or the uncertainty of this first phase of their marriage.
When Kathryn returned home a few hours later with a triumphant grin, he instantly knew it was good news.
"What is it?" He asked, wiping his hands on a cloth as he finished up making dinner.
"Gage's first officer has just been given a captaincy…" she grinned.
Chakotay paused, before quickly joining the dots. "They've offered you the opening on Gage?"
Kathryn hesitated for the briefest of moments. "If that's okay with you? I said we'd discuss it first before I accepted."
He opened up his arms. "Of course that's okay with me," he insisted, unable to suppress his joy, "This is wonderful news, Kathryn!"
He swept her up into a tight embrace.
"Are you sure?" She pushed back slightly, "It doesn't bother you that I'll outrank you on your own ship?"
He held her face delicately in his hands. "Would you have married me if I was that type of a man?" He asked earnestly.
She didn't look completely convinced.
"Kathryn, this isn't going to be the first time I've been involved with a superior officer," he explained flippantly, only realising his mistake when he saw her raise a curious eyebrow, willing him to explain further.
"When was this?"
Chakotay released her from his hold, and took a small step back, silently assessing how much to reveal. Now he'd started, he realised nothing would satisfy except the truth. "A while before we met; aboard the Heritage, I became involved with the ship's first officer: Commander Marissa Grant. We were together for almost a year. She even made a note of the relationship in her official logs," he muttered that last part.
Kathryn's eyes danced with humour, wondering how she might have missed the reference. The truth was that she'd never studied her husband's Starfleet file in great detail. Maybe she should have…
"Are there others?" she playfully narrowed her eyes.
Chakotay just smiled. "Are we really sharing relationship histories? Because I might have a few questions for you…"
Kathryn looked like she was about to call him on his bluff, until she relented and glanced away. "Maybe we don't need to tell each other everything ."
Chakotay released a breath he hadn't realised he was holding. He always tried to be open with Kathryn, but there were some parts of his past he'd rather not share.
"All I was trying to say, is that I know how to handle a relationship with a rank differential," he said carefully. "I'm confident that we'll be able to keep our personal lives separate from our professional duties."
His words had the effect of softening her demeanour, but she still held back with a small amount of caution. "It's not a thing for you?" She asked cautiously. "Dating women in senior roles."
He let out a short laugh at the notion, but sobered when he saw she was serious. "No, it's not a 'thing'. But I've always been attracted to strong, beautiful, intelligent women; you should know that?"
"I should?"
He reached out to her. "Kathryn, when I first saw you, you were commanding a group of strangers at an art exhibit, where your portraits were the focus of the show. Then the fates aligned and we happened to be on command training together, and I found myself attracted to the smartest, most overachieving student on the course. And you seem surprised by my 'type'?"
Kathryn offered him a lopsided grin. "When you put it like that; it seems fairly obvious." She came back into his hold, looping arms around his neck. "What would you say my type is?"
Chakotay indulged her with a kiss. "Ruggedly handsome," he teased, pecking her lips once more. "Great sense of humour," he moved to nuzzle her neck. "Fantastic in bed."
"You got two out of three," her breath brushed against his ear as she brought her cheek to his.
"Which two?" He played along.
She brought her lips to his. "For the sake of your ego; I'll never tell."
Chakotay lifted her up into his arms, her legs wrapping around his waist as he took her weight. "I have ways of making you come," he declared, carrying her quickly to the bedroom to celebrate her new position and what that would mean for the next phase of their relationship.