Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There was tickle at the base of her stomach and a sensation of finger tracing circles around the skin. The tickle was then followed by a prod, which made the corners of her mouth turn up despite her best efforts.
“Stop.” Kathryn warned, still tapping the response to the memo she had just received.
“What?” The voice called back from behind the pad.
Kathryn let out a short sharp laugh.
“I know what you’re thinking.” She replied, trying to sound disapproving.
“I’m not thinking anything.” The voice said again, much less innocently now.
“We have one baby already,” Kathryn continued, “and she is more than enough to handle.”
When the voice didn’t respond, she lifted the pad.
“I mean it Q.”
Q was lying on his stomach, his chin in his hand. He had parted her dressing gown so he could lie the rest of his frame directly top of her bare legs, and was now closely studying the space where he had been drawing invisible circles, which was millimetres above the line of her underwear.
“But you’d make a very sexy pregnant Captain, don’t you think?.”
He then pressed his mouth against her skin as if to prove his point.
Kathryn snorted in amusement and wriggled her hips a little at the contact. She was still tingling from the way he had made her feel earlier and knew she had left herself dangerously exposed to further advances by remaining so underdressed. Q himself had followed her lead and had too only returned to his boxers which, if she moved her head slightly to the side, she could see framed the curves of his backside deliciously. She bit her bottom lip and let out a little sigh. It had been foolish to think she would get any work done with Q still in her bed.
“You keep leaving pecan pie on my desk and I can achieve that effect without the extra responsibility that comes afterwards.” She grinned and tapped him teasingly on the head with the back of the pad.
Q let out a dramatic huff and then rested his chin on her navel, casting his gaze up at her with sad puppy dog like eyes.
“Don’t you want to have another child with me?”
“Q,” she let out an exasperated laugh, “I don’t have time for this conversation, let enough for another child.” She turned her head and glanced at the clock set into the wall. “And neither do you, since you have to get yourself and some primal need to impregnate me off this ship before Continuum find you here. You’ve already stayed far too long and I do not need a show down while the Council while I’m in my underwear.”
Seeing he was imagining this vision with some delight, she raised an eyebrow pointedly.
Q grinned back at her and then lifted himself to a kneeling stance over her hips.
“I don’t just want to impregnate you. Although, i must admit the way you say that does something to me I hadn’t anticipated.” He scratched his chin roguishly. Appearing to notice she was staring back at him entirely unconvinced, he shifted his weight forward and dropped his hands to the mattress so he could position himself over her fully, “I just want to add to our family. Can you imagine? I can grow my own army.” He waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively as he took the pad from her hand and tossed it down onto the mattress.
“Q, you’re omnipotent,” Kathryn suppressed a giggle and tried to appear disapproving, although the proximity was making her feel quite the opposite, “you can make an army with a click of your fingers.”
“Yes but I like the way humans make babies so much better.” Q murmured, now fishing for her mouth with his own and letting out a sigh of pleasure once he finally made contact. Sensing what he was attempting to relax her into and how susceptible she was likely to be to it, she pulled away and gave him a suspicious look.
“Uhh.. how many children are we thinking here?”
“I dunno,” Q grinned mischievously, “As I said, the process is one of my favourite things to do… so a lot I guess.”
Kathryn rolled her eyes and pushed him gently off her, reaching back for the discarded pad.
“You’re an idiot.”
“So that’s a no then.”
“That’s a hard no.” She scoffed, waving him away.
Q’s hopeful expression faded, a notably more churlish one crossing his face. He swung his legs off her and over side of the bed, landing in a slumped seated position with his arms folded.
“Sulking won’t change my mind you know.” Kathryn called, returning back to her work. She tapped away for a few seconds and then realised he remained unmoved in his position.
“Q…”
Q’s shoulders bristled but he said nothing, his back remaining turned from her. Kathryn watched him for a moment and then rolled her eyes. Putting the pad down, she crawled over to him, threading her arms around his shoulders from behind.
“I know what you want,” she began laying a series of kisses into his neck appeasingly, “but you promised you wouldn’t rush me. Our life is complicated enough. I’m not saying no, I’m just saying we can talk about it when I get Voyager back to earth.”
She’d worked her way down to his shoulder and so she leaned the side of her cheek against it and waited for him to respond.
“You said that about marrying me too.” Q retorted finally, still looking away from her.
Kathryn let out a sigh. She knew he was still brooding about that.
“I didn’t realise we were keeping a list.” She began to prod at the corner of his mouth gently, trying to make him smile. Only a short while ago they had been arguing, which somewhere along the way, and Kathryn admittedly did not quite remember at what point, had quickly descended from furious shouting to furiously fucking each other instead. She had hoped they would not find their way back to the former so quickly.
Q turned his head so he could see her in his peripheral vision but not enough to actually look at her.
“I have to!” He crowed. “If you had your way, we’d stay exactly as we are.”
“And what’s wrong with that?” Kathryn replied, a little more edge in her voice. “I love you, and I love that it’s the three of us. Isn’t that enough?”
Q let out a noise that indicated disagreement.
“I’m a Q, when is the status quo ever enough.” He muttered petulantly.
Kathryn sat back, letting him go, and gave him a pointed look.
“You said you just wanted to be with me.”
Q swivelled around to face her finally.
“And you said you weren’t happy, that this wasn’t permanent enough?”
Kathryn pursed her lips together tightly.
“That’s not what I said.” She then said curtly. His habit of throwing her own words back at her out of context never failed to rile her. “I was referring to you disappearing for a month without getting in contact.”
“That wasn’t my fault.” Q cut back darkly and turned his face away again.
Kathryn closed her eyes for a moment, trying to get hold of her prickling temper. He really was so insanely insufferable sometimes. Her instinct was to continue to fire back at him but it wasn’t really how she wanted to spend their last few minutes together.
“I know Q,” she muttered, and with some effort to swallow her pride, she placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling him around so he had to look at her. “I know that wasn’t your fault. What I meant was that I worry all the time when you aren’t here. So if you knew or even suspected it was going to be a long time until you could come back to Voyager, I just hoped you would let me know so I could prepare for that. That doesn’t mean that I don’t want things to be more permanent Q. They just can’t be right now. I don’t want to give the Continuum any further reason to pay attention to us, we already get so little time together as it is and I don’t want to go through another month with no contact again.” She offered him a peacemaking smile. “I’m pretty sure they might notice a baby.”
Q held her gaze stonily before the crease in his forehead softened a little.
“Fine.” He grumbled, “Forgive me for wanting to make it clear how much I love you.”
“It’s overtly clear Q. Everyone knows, trust me. Whether they want to or not.” Kathryn said a grin, framing his face with her hands, “But proposing to me or us having another child isn’t going to change the fact that you are can’t be on this ship for more than an hour and I’m still lost in the delta quadrant. I just don’t think we should rush into anything while we have still have no control over our lives together. It’s confusing enough for Jade as it is, and this … only getting snippets of time together… is hard on all of us. Don’t you see?”
“Oh alright. You win.” Q declared with a huff, growing visibly bored of the argument. Without warning, he leaned forward and stole a kiss from her. It was long and slow and delicious. Kathryn let out an audible sigh at the contact, half in pleasure at the sensation and half lamenting with irritation on how easily he could sway her from a serious conversation by such a simple act.
“Hmm so we’re done fighting again then I take it.” She said, pursing her lips as he pulled away and trying to look like she hadn’t just enjoyed it as much as she had.
“Is it fighting or foreplay?” Q grinned and, before she could protest, leaned her backwards down onto the mattress again, draping as much of himself over her as suggestively as possible so she couldn’t escape. “It’s all semantics my dear Captain.”
“Q… No.”
Kathryn’s outstretched hands had managed to make some room between their bodies, and so Q quickly manoeuvred his hand down into the gap, sweeping slowly along the curve of her breasts and down her torso teasingly.
“Yes.” He grinned wolfishly at her, ignoring her protests.
“Q, you have to go..” She giggled, desperately willing the tingling of anticipation now spreading through her to dissipate. Q, however, was finished with debating for the day and had a very different type of activity in mind.
“You humans have this saying,” He said lightly, as he fingers continued to dance lower down her navel, “all roads…,” his hand reached the line of her underwear again and this time did not pause at the barrier between skin and lace, “….lead to Rome.”
Kathryn’s eyes closed and her teeth caught her bottom lip mid gasp. She felt Q playfully bite her neck in response, before his mouth began to move across her collar bone and then her chest, following the trail of tingling skin the hand had left behind.
“I hate you.” She whispered breathlessly, stifling what was almost an escaped moan. Her fingers dug into his shirt and his began to do their work between her legs. There was the sound of a deep rumbling chuckle somewhere next to her ribcage, one that sounded like it was enjoying being in control while also wildly turned on.
“I do hope so,” Q murmured into her skin, “it means I’m wearing you down.”
His mouth returned to hers again as her arms, no longer interested in holding him at bay, escaped from their enclave and stretched upwards above her head in blissful acknowledgement of the sensations reverberating across her body. Q caught her wrists with his free hand at the top and held them against the mattress while he continued to kiss her in the most tantalisingly seductive manner, holding her in place as he bent her so masterfully to his will. Kathryn’s breath was now in sync with the sweep of his fingers; he was a conductor keeping tempo for his favourite musician, and their music together was now speeding towards a crescendo.
“Q…” She moaned, the word dissolving into the air as it fell from her lips. Her back was arching against the weight of him. Her hands pulled free from his restraint and quickly clasped around his bare back, burying her face into his shoulder.
“Just.. like that.” She heard him whisper, urging her on. His free hand was in the curve of her neck now and he was gently manoeuvring her back from his shoulder to the pillow. He didn’t want her buried against him. He wanted to watch her expression, he wanted to see what he was doing to her. He wanted to hear her call his name.
“Q…”
“That’s it..”
“Ohhh…”
“Captain..”
“Ohhh… Q….”
Q’s fingers were drumming an unstoppable rhythmic beat that she knew only led to one destination. She could feel it within her rising and rising and rising until…

Ohhh…

**FIREWORKS**

Kathryn could feel light kisses being planted over her face, matching the tingling she felt across her body perfectly. Eyes still closed, she reciprocated the gesture breathlessly as the mouth reached her lips.
“Oh one day, madam Captain,” Q chuckled, brushing her hair back from her forehead, as he leaned his head on his other hand and watched her recover, “one day, I’m going to wife the hell out of you.”
Kathryn laughed and shook her head. Her heart was still hammering in her chest and she was too blissfully wiped out to argue, which perhaps had been Q’s plan all along. Finally, she opened her eyes and looked up at him.
“Perhaps.” She said with a satisfied smile. “But not today.”
“Hmm.. we’ll see.” Q grinned.
After taking a second to catch her breath, she threw her arms up and hung them around his neck lazily.
“You can’t use sex to get out of every difficult conversation, you know.” She used the weight from her arms to pull him in for a proper kiss.
Q lifted his head back up after she had finished and peered at her a little affronted.
“Only with you Kathy. I wouldn’t do this with anyone else. I’m a one woman man.”
Kathryn’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. He’d clearly missed the point of her statement.
“That’s not…” She began, but then started to laugh. There was no point, and to her own slight annoyance at herself, she found his horror that she’d thought he would have sex with anyone else for any reason, including conflict resolution, admittedly rather sweet.
“I’m glad to hear it.” She leaned up and kissed him again. “Now please, Q, you’ve been here way too long. You really need to go.”
“But Kathy…”
It did seem a little unfair, given what he had just done to her, to now kick him out of bed but they’d been almost at time when Q had began his second round of seduction. Kathryn knew if she didn’t regain some sort of control, they really would be facing down the Continuum Council in their underwear.
“Go!” With some effort, she angled her hands between them and pushed him upward. “Or I will revoke my declaration of love for you entirely.”
“You can’t!” Q cried, lifting himself up so he was on all fours over her. “Eternally binding, remember? No refunds. No exchanges.”
“There’s a pity.” She muttered, sitting up and using the momentum to usher him off the bed and up to standing.
“You wound me woman.” Q clasped his hands over his heart as if he had been shot in the chest and staggered back a few paces.
“It’ll be more than pride wounded if you don’t get out of here.” Kathryn said sternly, wrapping her open dressing gown back around herself again and tying the knot of the belt into place.
“Oh you’re worth it, my beautiful Captain!” Q sang back to her happily. “I know you love a rebel and…”
Before he could continue, a pillow sailed through the air and bounced off his chest.
“Alright alright, I’m going.” He said laughing, chucking the pillow playfully back at her and ignoring her deploring glare. He then clicked his fingers and his Captain’s uniform covered his body with a flash. He looked down at it silently for a few seconds, smoothing the fabric out with his palms before finally lifting his gaze back up to meet hers. The joy that had lit up his features only moments earlier visibly dimmed and Kathryn noted there was suddenly an unusual sense of awkwardness and uncertainty in his posture now that seemed far removed from the last hour they had shared together.
“I just love you,” he then said, and then scratched his head sheepishly. “More than I know what to do with sometimes. I… miss you all the time.”
Kathryn sighed and ran a hand through her hair, the other falling to her hip. Somehow Q was able to make her more infuriated and yet also feel more loved than any other being alive. She knew why he was stalling. This was the inevitable part of his visits, the part they always dreaded. Saying goodbye without any idea when the next hello might be. She knew this was why he sought to push for more permanent ties between them, sometimes it felt the thread that bound them together across the cosmos stretched so thin it would surely break.
“I miss you too.” She crossed the floor and then wrapped her arms around him, exhaling heavily as he immediately crushed her within his embrace. “Q?” She pulled away slightly and took his face in her hand. “Don’t think I don’t. That’s why this is so hard.” She stared at him for a moment, taking in how forlorn he looked and how much it hurt her heart to see it she realised. “Look, one day, we will get back to Voyager back to Earth and shake off the Continuum, and if we’re still together..”
“If!!” Q cried incredulously, his eyes widening.
“And…” she interrupted, “we haven’t driven each other completely insane, we’ll revisit your checklist. Maybe not an army, but something that we both want, okay?” She offered him a reassuring smile.
The alarm in Q’s expression subsided and was replaced by suspicion as he appraised his notoriously emotionally evasive partner.
“Is that a promise?”
Kathryn rolled her eyes at the pointed expression.
“Sure. Why not.”
Q’s face lit up.
“Does that mean we’re engaged?” He cried excitedly, grabbing both her arms and pinning her to his chest.
“No Q.” She put up her palm to both temper his eagerness and create to create some space between them for her lungs to expand fully. “It just means, we agree to take a rain check on the next steps and you will stop springing proposals on me.”
“Oh.” Q pouted disappointedly and then gave her a shrug. “Well what do I get out it?”
Kathryn held his gaze and raised an eyebrow provocatively.
“Oh.. right.” The pout quickly transitioned to a grin as he cottoned on to her meaning. “Well I promise nothing, but I’ll think about it.”
“You do that.”
Suddenly his gaze shot over to the other side as if something had pulled his attention away.
“Gotta go. Love you.” He hissed, grabbing her cheeks and planting a hasty kiss on her lips. Before Kathryn could react, there was a flash and he was gone. The Continuum Council must have turned their gaze towards the ship. Q had stayed too long, she knew it. Hopefully he had made it in time. Kathryn stared at the space he had vacated, her fingers lingering on her mouth, tracing the kiss Q had left behind.
“I love you too.”

Swish.
The doors to her bridge opened and, quickly dropping her fingers from her lips, Kathryn realised she’d been wallowing in the memory of Q’s last visit the whole journey of the turbo lift. That had been forty-nine days ago. She had counted every one. Nearly two months. Jade had arrived alone that visit, with only Junior in tow. He would protect her, he said, so she could spend some much needed time with her mother. Q had something mysterious that apparently demanded his attention and so Jade would stay with her for a few days. It had been their first attempt at an extended visit since Jade had left Voyager three months prior. Since her first departure, they’d managed an enjoyable habit of twice weekly hour long visits before the Continuum Council had finally caught up with them two months into the arrangement. Kathryn had needed to wait the whole third month in silence before Q had managed to make contact again and had not been happy when he had finally showed up. This planned extended visit, therefore, had been to make up for that absence and it would just be Jade and Kathryn, with Junior to act as guard. Without Q around, the hope was that the Continuum would be unlikely to pick up on Jade’s trail and she could stay a little longer and spend some quality time with the Captain. It was a huge risk though, and one that kept Kathryn on tenterhooks the whole time Jade was aboard, every moment expecting to see an unexpected flash and the Continuum to have snatched her away. When they weren’t together, she would continually check her daughter’s bio-signature being tracked around the ship by Voyager’s computer; Kathryn’s whole entire world reduced to a tiny dot on her ready room computer screen. What she would give for that now, she thought as she lingered in the turbo lift despite it reaching its destination, just to know Jade was only a few decks away, harassing her crew while they went about their duties or roaming through the bowels of the ship until Tuvok flushed her out of the Jeffries tubes. They’d managed to steal ten glorious days together during that last visit and the only flashes Kathryn had seen were Q popping in and out every few days when he thought the Continuum were distracted enough not to notice. She’d wondered if the quest he had been engaged in so secretly in his absence had been real, or if he was just trying to limit the amount of time they’d needed to rely on the Spark’s dampening shielding, which was required whenever he stepped aboard. Obi Wan could now amplify it to last about ninety minutes at the maximum in order to hide Q’s presence on Voyager before visible signs of wear became evident in their host. The last time they had used it, Jade’s nose had bled for an hour afterwards. Her welfare and her interaction with her powers had been the trigger for Kathryn and Q’s last argument, a fight that had been called to a draw by other more irresistible forces, but was by no means finished and would no doubt likely rear its head again in the not so distant future. Not so distant.. that would require knowing when she would see Jade and Q again. She’d been so cross at Q for taking a whole month to make contact but she had not known that it would be the last time she would see him for double that. Tomorrow would be fifty days since Q and she’d had those moments in bed together. Even fighting with Q was better than the silence of no-contact.

Kathryn took a deep breath in to rally herself. She’d managed for the last forty-eight days, so surely day forty-nine would be no different. She was the Captain, she had this under control. With that thought firmly front of mind, she walked onto her bridge, ready to start the new day.
“Good morning Mr Kim. Status report.” She called, as she passed Harry at his console.
“All quiet Captain. There’s not much to see out there today.”
Kathryn tried not to pull a face. More thinking time. Just what she didn’t need. She’d take a planet to explore, or even a little skirmish, just to give her something else to worry about.
“Alright, keep me posted if anything changes.”
“Aye Captain.”
She half debated heading straight to her ready room but she’d spent too much of her time cooped up there in the last week, and at least the comings and goings of the bridge provided some distraction. As she walked down the slope towards her Captain’s chair, she suddenly noticed there was something on the seat. It almost looked like a small and rectangular box, white in colour and with some kind of tie around it like string. She slowed to a halt and peered at it in surprise, half opening her mouth to alert Harry to the presence of the strange item but then curiosity got the better of her and she leaned over the rail to get a closer look. There was a black scribble across the top that looked like handwriting and she turned her head to try and make out the word. Her eyes widened with recognition. It wasn’t a box, it was a small stack of envelopes tied together. ‘Mom!’ was emblazoned messily across the front and the exclamation mark had been turned into a heart. A wide smile bloomed across Kathryn’s face and she felt a strong surge of excitement rush upward into her chest. She practically skipped the remainder of the walk to her chair and scooped up the parcel eagerly in her hand. She had been right, they were letters! She stole a look around the bridge. Everything appeared as normal and no one else seemed to have noticed anything was amiss, all around her was the gentle hum of her crew going about their work. Turning her attention back to her find, she stared in awe at the package for a few seconds and then slowly sank to her seat. Steadying her breath, she undid the binding and separated the top envelope from the pack, leaving the others on her lap. Carefully, she peeled back the envelope that was sealed with a sticker and pulled the first letter out.

‘Dear Mom,
Dad says bazillion is not a real number but that’s how much I miss yooouuu…’

Kathryn broke into a grin and her eyes immediately watered. Jade was writing to her! Q must have sent her the letters which meant that, wherever they were, they were okay. An overwhelming sense of relief settled over her, and she eased herself back more comfortably in her chair and continued reading.

‘I can’t believe it’s been two weeks since my last visit.’

Two weeks? Kathryn scanned the pile of letters and saw there was another four, which meant, assuming they were in order, Jade had been writing nearly once a week since Q and she had disappeared.

“It feels like it has gone so fast but also really not fast at all? Does that make sense? How is everyone there on Voyager? Did Tom find those rubber snakes in the Flyer? If he did, don’t tell him it was me. I wish I could have seen his face when he opened the maintenance panel! So sorry I couldn’t say goodbye before we left last time. The Council were so angry when they found dad on Voyager and he thought it was best if we just got out of there. Dad said he’ll try to find some way to get in contact when you guys get into more chill space.’

Kathryn snorted a little. More chill space. She’d have to remember that for her next log.

‘He says I should write to you though and let you know what is happening so you don’t worry. So this is me telling you don’t worry!!! We are doing okay and are staying on Edotine with Artuba and Mirin for now. Yesterday, Mirin let me go to town with Sammara and Teina. They are seventeen now so they can get into the older places now. We went to look at some dresses and then we went to the lake to go swimming. Sammara has a boyfriend but Mirin doesn’t know yet. Teina said she doesn’t rate him too much but he seemed alright to me. Don’t say anything to dad though! Sammara made me swear not to tell him but I think it’s fine if I tell you since you’re not here….”

Jade’s loopy messy handwriting continued for two pages and detailed her adventures at the lake, the people she had met including who she had liked and who was annoying, and then what she had eaten for dinner. She had signed off quickly and lazily, which Kathryn interpreted as her writing the letter before bed and being tired from a day spent in the sun. She’d still had time to add a whole line of kisses at the end and a rough sketch of a baguette type sandwich she had eaten which had apparently been a highlight of the lake trip.

‘LOVE YOU MOM. Miss you so much. Love, Jade. Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx’

Kathryn quickly scanned the contents a second time, desperate to savour every word and then held the letter to her chest as she closed her eyes. It was better than she had hoped. Even though Jade and Q were on the run, and there was clearly a reason they had not been able to make it back to Voyager for the last seven weeks, they were at least safe and Jade was happy. She grinned as she thought of her daughter splashing around in the afternoon sun, enjoying the company of other local children. Kathryn opened her eyes again as the image faded from her minds eye and then set to opening the second letter. The contents, she found, were initially much like the first, and judging by the star-date Jade had tried to calculate, it had been written a week after the first one and approximately five weeks prior to her reading it now. Kathryn noted happily that Jade was passing time at the same rate as she was, which meant that Q had kept his promise to continue to align their temporal calendars as much as possible. Wherever Q took Jade, five weeks for her would always been five weeks for the Captain. For a being that could bend the concept of time and travel through it with ease, anchoring Q to any temporal plane should have been a challenge, but he had lived at Jade’s pace for a long time now and seemed to understand and respect the need for her to measure her own passage of time away from her mother as close to her own as possible. They already had to miss so much time from one another, the idea that years could be stolen little by little without warning would be more than Kathryn could bear. Getting stuck into the second letter, Kathryn followed Jade’s narrative about a boat trip Q and she had taken on another planet named Uresbeth and how the mercenaries of one of the floating islands had developed ships that could move from water to space and back with ease, allowing them the element of surprise when engaging with the government scouting ships. Kathryn tried to ignore the references to ‘space pirates’ and instead found herself grinning at the description of a night around a fire on the beach with members of the crew who sang songs littered with inappropriate references and cooked what Jade had declared to be ‘delicious mysterious chunks of meat’ on the hot coals. As Kathryn turned over the page, her eyes automatically skipped ahead to the last paragraph without meaning to. The handwriting, while always messy, was more difficult to read than normal and the colour of the pen was different indicating the words had been added later than the bulk of the letter and in a hurry.

‘I really miss you today mom. Dad says I can’t visit yet. I know why he’s saying that but it just isn’t fair. I just hate this so much. I feel really alone. Are we ever going to be a family again?’

Oh honey...
Kathryn’s fingers brushed over what she hoped was simply smudged ink and not a tear stain. What she wouldn’t give to have Jade in her arms right now.

“Captain?”
Kathryn looked up, her eyes glassy. Chakotay had arrived for the start of his shift and had sat down in the Commander’s seat next to her. Wrapped up in the words of her daughter, Kathryn hadn’t noticed his arrival.
“Good morning..” He said, in a manner that indicated he was repeating the greeting.
“Oh sorry Chakotay, good morning.” She replied quickly, trying to pull herself back from the world of the letter and into her real life again.
“You were light years away,” Chakotay commented, appraising her with a note of concern, “everything okay?”
Kathryn hesitated for a second before gesturing to the letter in her hand.
“I heard from Jade.”
Chakotay’s face lit up.
“Oh great. You must be relieved. I know you’ve been worried.”
Kathryn tilted her head a little and gave him a questioning smile.
“I didn’t know I was that obvious.”
Chakotay grinned bashfully at her.
“Well.. you’ve been preoccupied of late and I made an assumption.” He replied. “Besides, you worry about her when she’s on Voyager, I can only imagine what not having oversight of her antics is doing to you.”
Kathryn let out a laugh and nodded.
“You’re not wrong.” She conceded.
“Is she okay though?” He gave a nod towards the pile of envelopes still to be opened.
“Yes… I think so.” Kathryn’s gaze drifted back toward the letter still in her hand and her smile faded. “I don’t know. She seems a little melancholy towards then end of this one, which is unlike her. There’s a few more though I haven’t read yet.”
The pressure of Chakotay’s hand oven her arm drew her attention back.
“Try not to worry. It’s been a while.” He said reassuringly. “She just misses you, that’s all.”
Kathryn felt the concern within her settle, as she appraised her Commander’s warm smile and earnest expression, one that always seemed to be able to draw her from her most despondent moods.
“I miss her so much.” She admitted, leaning in so she could drop her voice. “It’s been so long since she was here last. My quarters seems so quiet without her bouncing around in there.”
“Well,” Chakotay also moved himself forward, leaning on the arm of his chair to meet her. “Let’s have dinner tonight. I don’t think I can manage the level of energy Jade brings to your quarters but I can at least keep you fed and distracted.”
“Oh.. that would be nice.” Kathryn agreed brightly. It was nice to not have her own spiralling thoughts for company for once this evening. “You don’t have plans with Seven?”
There was a hesitation and a darkening in Chakotay’s expression that immediately told Kathryn she’d asked the wrong question.
“No. I don’t.” He said stiffly, evading her gaze.
“Everything… alright?” She asked cautiously, keen to not put her foot further into whatever she’d accidentally waded into but also slightly intrigued by what had dark thought had infiltrated his amiable mood.
“Sure.” He nodded and then cast her an appeasing smile. “I’ll.. uh.. tell you about it later. Go on.” He quickly added before she could pry further, nodding in the direction of her ready room, “go read your letters. I know you want to. I’ve got the bridge.”
Kathryn held his gaze for a second, the urge to make sure he was actually okay at odds with the need to follow up on Jade’s next few weeks.
“Okay.” She said finally. “So, dinner tonight?”
“Tonight.” He nodded. “Looking forward to it.”

Chapter Text

Kathryn stretched and wriggled her shoulders, leaning lazily back in her chair. The dinner she had just consumed was still sitting like lead in her stomach and the wine that accompanied it was making her limbs feel overly relaxed and heavy.
“Tired?” Chakotay asked, as he topped up her glass.
She shook her head.
“Content. Very full,” she rubbed her stomach uncomfortably and pulled a face, “but content.”
Her Commander beamed back at her.
“I did tell you that second slice of the cheesecake was asking for trouble.”
“Well you shouldn’t have tempted me with it.” She accepted the glass and took a sip before offering him a grin in return. “You know I can’t say no.”
“I do know,” he retorted teasingly, “that’s why I replicated enough for three, you always eat half of mine otherwise.”
“Sacrificing your dessert is your most important duty to your Captain, I’ll have you know.” Kathryn quipped, attempting with difficulty to look authoritative. “Didn’t they teach you that in StarFleet?”
“I must have missed that cardinal rule.” Chakotay laughed, as he attended to his own empty glass. “My life, of course, is yours, Captain. My dessert? Well we’ll have to see.”
Another large pour, she noted, as she watched him drain the last of the bottle. Somewhere across the evening, they’d drunk two bottles of wine, which wasn’t entirely unusual in the history of their dinners together, but it had been a while since they had enjoyed each other's company with such gusto. It was nice, she thought as she watched him behind the rim of her glass. She had missed this. She was about to tell him as such when he stopped what he was doing and tilted his head to look at her with a strange expression of curiosity and apprehension. Whatever he was about to say appeared to have needed some mental rallying.
“Do you ever think about New Earth? What's it like there now?”
Kathryn’s eyebrows raised and she nearly choked on the sip of wine she had just taken. New Earth had been the planet they had been stranded on together years ago, when they had both contracted an incurable disease that made their departure impossible. It had also been the place that they had first admitted their feelings for one another were more than what was usually appropriate for friends and comrades. That's not what she had been expecting.
“What made you think of that?” She asked, putting her glass down.
Chakotay grew bashful as if second guessing raising the topic, and he gave her a shrug.
“I don’t know. Maybe it was your cooking. The taste of burned pot roast never really leaves you.”
A grin crept across Kathryn’s face.
“Hey…” she pouted. “My replication skills are exemplary, I'll have you know.”
“So, do you?” Chakotay asked again. His expression was earnest, all traces of jesting had disappeared. Kathryn felt more than just the dinner settle into the lower base of her stomach. Was she reading too much into it? They often reminisced about old encounters, favourite away missions, but for what she always thought was an obvious reason, their time on New Earth had always remained undiscussed.
“Sometimes.” She said carefully, playing with the stem of the wine glass. She didn’t want to tell him that she had often thought about it since they had returned, especially at night when she had been feeling particularly lonely. She didn’t want to tell him that she had considered at length what life they could have had together had Voyager not come back to get them. Most importantly, she didn’t want to tell him that she had not thought about it at all since Q and Jade had come onto the scene.

***

“Perfect camping spot.” They were sitting on a fallen tree trunk, watching the fire that Chakotay had just lit begin to quietly crackle upwards into the rapidly fading light. They had found a clearing in the woods that was big enough for a small tent for their belongings and two sleeping bags to lie alongside the campfire. Kathryn eyed the set up dubiously. The idea of sleeping outside didn’t thrill her at all, but she had insisted on accompanying him so she couldn’t turn back now. She assessed the darkness looming out the tightly packed rows of trees and wondered what manner of woodland creature would come and pay them a visit in the evening.
“It’s a little chilly, don’t you think?”
Chakotay peered at her for a moment, and then let out a laugh.
“You’re hating this, aren’t you.”
“No…” she cried unconvincingly and then flashed him an apologetic grin when he raised an eyebrow. “Okay, well not all of it. The company is okay.” She added, bumping against his arm with her elbow.
He glanced down to where she had made contact for a moment and then met her gaze with a reassuring smile.
“You don’t need to come with me tomorrow, you know. You can stay back at home, I’ll only be gone a few days.”
The trip had been a last minute decision. Chakotay had wanted to build his boat near the northern head of the river, approximately five hours from their homestead, as the natural materials were better for the design he had in mind. He’d shown her the plans that afternoon, which of course were marvellously ambitious as they always tended to be, and had informed her he wanted to scout out a possible base camp from where he could work nearby without needing to make the long round trip nightly. He’d only be gone for the night, he told her, and then he’d come back, collect the rest of the supplies and head back to the river for three or four days to complete the project. He’d told her she didn’t need to come that time too, knowing she would take that as a challenge and hate being left behind. Kathryn suspected it was Chakotay’s way of trying to distract her from the loss of her sensor equipment a fortnight earlier, the last remaining hope she had of finding a cure to free them. If that had been his plan, he’d needn't have bothered, she’d been far too busy thinking about everything else that had happened between them since the storm.
“Of course I’m coming.” She picked up a stick and began to poke at the logs in the fire. “Besides, who else is going to help you navigate the perils of wilderness life? You need an expert in such matters.”
She heard him chuckle, before a hand closed around hers and guided her to a more slower and deliberate stoking action of the fire.
“Good. I’d be lost without you.” He murmured, and leaned against her as they watched the flames begin to climb again.
It had only been a few days since they’d had ‘the talk’; the two tribes, the angry warrior, the ancient legend that was actually so much more and would change everything between them forever. That was what had been dominating her thoughts, which would have been a welcome distraction from their predicament if it hadn’t been so confusing. Kathryn still remembered the feeling of his hands on her shoulders, and how her body had succumbed completely to their strength. She remembered how he’d interlaced his fingers around hers, as he sat before her and admitted his devotion to her. There had been no such overt gestures of affection since that night, he had left that progression in her court, but she had noticed his hands had continued to find new opportunities for contact in other more discrete ways throughout the day; a hand on her lower back or her waist as he moved past her, a touch of her arm during conversation, a gentle manoeuvring of her person as they walked through the bushland. She wondered if he was doing it deliberately, testing the boundaries of their blurring relationship, and if he too felt a spark of excitement and nervousness every time his skin brushed against hers.
The fire was climbing now, their joint stoking successful in building the necessary heat to sustain it, but Chakotay had yet to let go of her hand.
“Come on.” She nudged him with her arm again, and then stood up, pulling him up with her. “Let’s make dinner. Tell me you at least remembered to pack dessert.”

They ate, and chatted for a while, and then Kathryn helped him organise the supplies for the morning. Finally, it became too dark to work and it was time to go to bed. Kathryn changed in the sanctity of the tent, wondering as she stripped off her travelling clothes whether Chakotay could see her silhouette against the tent wall. Surely if he could, he would have averted his gaze, rather than watching his superior officer get unchanged. But then she wasn’t his superior officer, not any more, nor did he clearly see her as such. What they were to each other, what they would become, was yet to be defined. Feeling momentarily reckless, she lingered a little in her underwear by the lamp light as she let her hair fall down from the loose bun she had twisted it up into, shaking it down over her bare shoulders. There was the sound of a stumble and a quiet curse from outside the fabric wall. Apparently Chakotay was also feeling reckless. The realisation made her grin, and inside she felt a fluttering of nervous energy sweep uncontrollably within her. She dressed quickly into her pyjamas, and then returned to the outside ground where Chakotay had finished setting up the sensor perimeter. They both climbed into their sleeping bags and lay side by side, staring up at the spread of stars that had begun to twinkle through the darkness. Was it just in her head or had an invisible but weighty presence of anticipation settled over them, as if everything that had been building up until now had been leading to this moment? It felt almost like being a teenager finally left alone with a high school crush. Kathryn had never been so close to Chakotay in this way, the barrier of rank she had been so clear on standing between them had never been at its thinnest. What was she clinging to anyway? She wasn’t a Captain any more. She had no ship, no crew. No port to bear harbour. All she had now was this planet, and the man that lay besides her. The stars that watched down on her now were out of her reach forever.
“You look worried. What are you thinking about?”
Kathryn turned her head and saw he was watching her, his face pensive as if trying to decipher what had captured her attention.
She gave him a smile, appreciating his ability to always read her so well.
“Honestly?”
“Of course.”
She turned over and leaned her head on the crux of her arm, as Chakotay did the same. There were only inches between them and it wouldn’t take any effort at all to lean in and kiss him. It seemed Chakotay was thinking the same thing, as she could see, in the light from the flickering fire that lit up his face, his gaze had drifted to her mouth. Everything seemed to be pointing to her being in the right place, at the right time, with the right man. Was this her destiny? Not to bring her ship back to the Alpha Quadrant, but to somehow return to her pioneer roots and build a life here with Chakotay in this new land? He seemed to think so. She envied his comfort with their situation. He seemed so at ease to just shed their old life and begin again. Why did everything in her still hesitate, still cling to what they had lost as if there was still hope they might return to their former life? Chakotay watched her patiently as she collected her thoughts, perhaps nervous that if he spoke, he would dissuade her from revealing a fleeting moment of honesty about their situation.
“This…,” she laid her hand on the space between his shoulder and chest, feeling his heart pump quickly against her palm, “our friendship, is the last remnant of our old life, Chakotay. If we decide to move past it, we can never be as we were. You will never be my Commander, I will never be your Captain. I just…I don’t know… it feels so final. I need time...” The words fumbled and she felt her face grow warm from something other than the fire. Why was this so hard to articulate? Chakotay, registering her frustration, came to her rescue.
“Kathryn,” His hand came to rest on her cheek, silencing her, “I know you’ve had to give up a lot of late.” He said gently, and she assumed he was referring to her decision to finally let go of searching for a cure to free them. “I know how heavily that still weighs on you. I admit, I get carried away sometimes,” he let out a sigh, “I don’t mean to. Maybe it’s just a coping mechanism, but somehow all this feels strangely natural to me. I care about you, and… I don’t know.. building a new life here with you feels… right to me…” he moved the hand from her cheek to sweep some loose hair from her forehead, “but I don’t want you to ever think that you don’t have the choice of what we are to each other. We may not have much autonomy in this situation but you will always have that, I promise.”
Kathryn was quiet for a moment, her eyes glassy in the dark and her expression unreadable. She then sat up abruptly and unfastened her sleeping bag.
“What are you doing?” Chakotay asked in surprise, a look of concern on his face as if worried he had said the wrong thing.
Kathryn didn’t respond, and once free of her own bedding, she rolled over and unfastened his next. Without a word, she slipped into his sleeping bag, lining her body up closely to his with her back to him. It was too snug to fasten with both of them inside so she pulled the other bag over the gap and then laid back down. She then scooped her hair away from the pillow so it was out of his way and, reaching backwards, dragged his arm over her waist so he was spooning her.
“Good night Chakotay.” She then said, letting out a soft sigh as she snuggled backwards into him and closed her eyes.
There was a noise that resembled something between shock and bemusement from the man behind her, and after taking a moment to recover from the surprise, he tucked his arm under the covers so he could hold her properly. Closely enough to be more than friendly, not so intimate that it appeared to insinuate taking things further. Kathryn felt his mouth lay a gentle kiss into the curve of her neck, heard his sigh of relief into her skin and knew, as he laid his head back down to the pillow closely behind her, he had accepted her offering. I’m not ready for what you want yet, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want it too. Be patient with me.
“Good night Kathryn.”

Kathryn had woken the next morning, wrapped in Chakotay’s arms, and feeling the happiest she had felt since they had been stranded on New Earth. They had made their way back to the homestead, chatting excitedly about the plans for the boat and the trip they would eventually take up river. About an hour out, Chakotay had offered her a hand to help her climb over an embankment and had not let go of hers the whole rest of the way back. She hadn’t pulled away either. He had been right, she thought, it did feel strangely normal to bring their feelings out into the open. Who was here to judge them anyway? It was as they walked hand in hand through the forest, enjoying the warmth on their faces from the pockets of sunlight streaming through the forest canopy, that Kathryn decided she was going to let Chakotay kiss her. She would wait, she thought, until they returned to their makeshift campsite that night, or perhaps when they made it to the river. Whenever the moment arose, she wasn’t going to let her mental gymnastics get in the way. She wasn’t going to return to the homestead again without being kissed by him, that was her mission. Her new orders to herself. She always felt better when she was being put to a task, and this seemed as good as endeavour as any. Chakotay must have noticed her grinning to herself as they walked, as he looked at her questioningly.
“Nothing." She said mischievously. "I’ll tell you if we ever make it to the river.”
The smile he gave back to her was eager and intrigued but he didn’t push her for a response. It was a mystery to unravel and he seemed happy to play along and enjoy the anticipation.
“I guess we should make haste then.” He laughed, squeezing her hand.
There was, after all, plenty of time to find out, wasn’t there? Except there hadn’t been and Kathryn would soon wish she’d lingered longer in the forest with him. Their arrival back at the homestead would coincide with Voyager’s call to alert of their return with the medicine they needed. They were free and Kathryn’s woodland mission was to be sacrificed. All hopes of a life to be lived together would be cut short at that moment. Two people who had just begun to honestly articulate what they meant to one another would suddenly find rank thrust between them once again. One of them would remain hopeful for a while, even after their return, but he had known deep down as he had watched her listen to Tuvok’s news, his Captain would have to make a choice, and as always, she would choose Voyager.

***

“Kathryn?”
Kathryn flinched and wondered how long she had been silent for as Chakotay stared questioningly at her across her dining table.
“I will always have good memories of our time there Chakotay.” She added diplomatically, feeling that was the safest response.
Seemingly unaware of the emotional undercurrent of her response, Chakotay pressed on.
“It was what? Five years ago? I wonder what our lives would have looked like if we’d stayed. Would we have eventually found our way off the planet or would we have stayed and grown old there, built a life, gotten married. We could have had a couple of kids of our own by now.”
The comment was jovial in tone but also felt a little pointed. Was he testing her response or was the alcohol making her read too much into it. Kathryn blinked a couple of times as she tried to compose herself, and then decided humour was the best retort.
“There would have been no one to marry us Chakotay.” She said sardonically, and took another drink of her wine.
Chakotay’s eyebrows raised slightly, and then he grinned at her.
“Maybe the monkey?”
“The monkey?” Kathryn snorted in amusement, her cautiousness overridden momentarily by the amusement of the memory he had triggered. “I’d forgotten. My bath time intruder.”
“Hey, I got to see you in that towel.” Chakotay replied dryly. “That monkey was my best friend.”
They both laughed, and Kathryn felt her sense of unease begin to give in to the prickle of curiosity.
“Do.. you regret Voyager coming back for us?” She asked, before giving herself time to think if it was appropriate to do so.
Chakotay seemed surprised by the question and he considered it carefully for a moment before shaking his head.
“No.. of course not. But…” a rueful expression settled on his face, “I’ll admit.. on my return, I think I felt something of what you experienced when we were first stranded on New Earth, a mourning of sorts. And that was unsettling for me for a while, considering we were supposed to be back home and I was meant to be happy about that.” He ran his finger around his wine glass, thoughtful. “Yes, there was a little part of me that mourned the life we were building on New Earth. It’s one I’ve always wanted you know? Close to nature, land I can call my own, sharing it with someone I love,” his eyes raised to meet hers, “I knew once we returned to Voyager, it would be different between us; so yes, it was a little bittersweet, but of course I don’t regret Voyager coming back for us.”
They held each other’s gaze for a moment, Kathryn silently giving him space to feel the emotions that had accompanied the reflection of his experience.
“You were so sure we’d be happy on New Earth.” She said finally, giving him an affectionate smile, “I always envied that of you.”
“Of course, I was with you. I was happy.” He said in a teasingly pointed tone. “I know you weren’t though.”
Kathryn grinned at him appeasingly.
“I was coming around.”
“Slowly.” He chuckled, and then he tilted his head and appraised her warmly. “It did make us closer though, didn’t it? I mean, not in the way we were down on New Earth, but we were a closer team I think when we came back.”
Kathryn nodded in agreement.
"The best team. Chakotay,” she placed a hand on his wrist, “you’re one of the most important people in my life. I hope you know that.”
“I do.”
She sensed from his body language that the sentence was incomplete.
“But?”
Chakotay looked sheepish that his thoughts had betrayed him.
“There was a time when I thought I might be the most important person.”
“Well..” Kathryn removed her hand and considered this for a moment. “For a long time you were Chakotay.” By his expression, he seemed surprised that she answered honestly. “But..,” she then sat back and gave him a resolute smile. An image had popped into her head, one that cut through all the noise of her messy romantic entanglements and unresolved and requited feelings. The one pure, uncomplicated, and unquestionable love of her life. Jade. “I have a daughter now, and she is more important to me than anyone.” She let out a laugh at herself. “Do you know, It feels strange to say I have a daughter?” she said the statement again with extra gusto, “and yet it doesn’t,” she leaned forward again, her eyes sparkling, “I wonder what that means.”
“It means what I’ve always known,” Chakotay leaned forward to match her, his demeanour softening, “that you’d make an amazing mother. It really suits you by the way.”
“Yes,” Kathryn scoffed, albeit notably touched by the compliment, “as if I needed any more grey hairs and stress lines.”
“No,” Chakotay shook his head, “she makes you glow. As crazy as Jade drives me when she’s here, I never get tired of seeing how happy she makes you. I’m just sorry she can’t be here more often. I know it hurts you.”
Kathryn gave him an appreciative but non-committal expression.
“She’s with Q. It’s good for him not to be alone. I have all you all, so it makes it easier. So.. speaking of the crew.” She cleared her throat at the awkward segue. “How are you and Seven going? You seemed a little uncomfortable when I mentioned her this morning.”
In other words, you weren’t as eager to flaunt your happiness in my face as you usually are, her brain whispered to her before she could stop it. That was an old habit which was sometimes difficult to repress, as much as she berated herself for it when it slipped. When Q had been on board or actively visiting, she hadn’t given two hoots about Chakotay and Seven, Q’s love was all encompassing and it was easy to forget old betrayals and jealousy when wrapped up in it, but his prolonged absence had seen old wounds resurface despite Kathryn’s best efforts. It was easy for the Commander after all, he had seen no issue with taking up a relationship with someone he was responsible for, could issue an order to, could be around every day. He didn’t seem to see the same challenges Kathryn had fretted about when considering whether a relationship between them could work post their return from New Earth.
“It’s fine.” He said quickly, and took a large gulp of his wine, but the whiteness in his knuckles flared as he gripped his glass. Kathryn absorbed the subsequent silence and wondered if she should change the subject. Before she could act on that however, he spoke again.
“On reflection, it was perhaps unwise to rush into something with Seven. I find her… still working out who she is, and what she wants in her life. It’s easy to forget that she’s only been away from the collective for three years, and the human part of her is still…”
“Maturing?” Kathryn offered. She knew it was below the belt but she couldn’t help herself. She’d always viewed Seven as an adolescent in many ways, which was of course not entirely accurate, but being so instrumental in her formative years of reclaiming her humanity made it difficult for Kathryn to let go of her maternal inclinations towards her. While she would likely have found any relationship Chakotay had moved onto difficult, there was always something about it being Seven, the woman that had looked to her so closely for support and guidance in building her new life as one might a mother that had unsettled her. Of course, when she looked at Seven, she had never doubted what Chakotay would see in her. No, she paused and chastised herself, that's unfair. Seven is wonderful and she deserves to be happy. If Chakotay is the one to do that, I should be okay with it.
“Hmm…” Chakotay was staring at his glass, lost in thought. She noted a slight reddening in his pallour and wondered if the word she had used had made him uncomfortable.
“It’s tricky.” He continued, “She’s outside of our command structure and yet she still reports to me, although I think in her mind, she sees you as the only authority figure on this ship.”
“Right…” Kathryn drank more of her wine as he spoke to avoid revealing the hint of a smile. She shouldn't enjoy that but part of her did.
“And yet, some of the other crew I think… well there may have opinions of favouritism, which is of course completely untrue. Seven’s situation on this ship has always been unique as you know.”
“Of course.”
Chakotay shook his head and sighed.
“I don’t know. I think it’s best if we just let things cool for a while until we work out what we both want.”
“And what does Seven want?”
There was a pang of concern there for the woman that had inadvertently become Kathryn’s rival for a time. Once Seven had been a ward to the Captain, much like Jade had been, and despite attempts to create some emotional distance between them while she embarked on a journey Kathryn could not follow her on, she couldn’t help but feel distress at the idea of her being hurt.
Chakotay frowned.
“This is her first relationship, and you know Seven, she’s pretty rigid in her thinking. The last couple of weeks haven’t been easy.”
The only advice Kathryn had offered him during their very brief discussions on the matter when he had first told her about the progression of his and Seven’s relationship was to be careful. She hadn’t elaborated on what that meant, but based on the last few minutes, it very much sounded like he had not heeded her advice. Should she feel satisfied by that? Vindicated that he now understood the burden of balancing one’s command responsibilities with the wishes of one’s heart? Kathryn wasn’t sure if she did. Mainly she just felt sad for them both, and slightly concerned about the fallout should the relationship continue to turn sour. Whether Kathryn was with Chakotay or not, somehow affairs of his heart continued to need her attention.
“I’m sure it will all work out.” She settled on, and patted his forearm comfortingly.
Finally he looked up at her and gave her an appreciative smile.
“I know… you’re probably the last person I should be talking to about this, but thanks for listening.” He said, acknowledging for the first time how the topic may be uncomfortable for her.
Kathryn nodded, and dropped her shoulders in a resigned manner.
“I’m probably the only person you can talk to about it Chakotay, that’s the joy of command in the Delta Quadrant.”
Chakotay nodded, thoughtful in his expression.
“How…” It was now his turn to hesitate. He took a sip of his wine, perhaps contemplating whether to proceed with his question before continuing, “How has it been with the Continuum? There must be a reason Q hasn’t been able to make contact. Did Jade’s letters reveal anything?”
Ahh.. I’ve shown interest in your relationship, so you feel compelled to ask about mine. Kathryn almost laughed, appreciating the sincere attempt at civilly navigating the topic that had been so volatile for them previously. She hadn’t wanted to discuss Q however. Not with him at least. Their dinner had meant to distract her from the worries that had plagued her for the last forty-nine days. Perhaps, on reflection, she should talk about him though; somewhere along the course of the evening and two bottles of wine, she'd sensed she had gotten a little too distracted.
“The last one was dated a fortnight ago. Nothing out of the ordinary really. They were back on Edotine, which is a planet they stay on when they're not travelling. She didn’t really say very much, the last couple were short, lacking detail, which is not like Jade. Her writing is usually much more… verbose.” She said with a small laugh, but the smile that came with it faded as quickly as it had arrived. “I don’t know. I’m sure everything is fine, but I just can’t shake this feeling that something isn’t right.”
This time, it was Chakotay who took hold of her hand and gave it a squeeze.
“Try not to worry. She’s strong, like you. She’ll be okay.”
“She’s also reckless like her father too, and too spirited and curious for her own good sometimes… what?” She added when he made a coughing sound that insinuated disagreement.
“Not just like Q.”
Kathryn raised an eyebrow.
“What are you trying to say?”
“Captain, really?” Chakotay laughed. “Reckless? Spirited? Curious? I can’t think who she might possibly take after.”
A beaming smile erupted across Kathryn’s face and she tried to look affronted but couldn’t.
“Not a criticism.” He continued quickly, as if expecting her to protest. “Those attributes happen to be some of my favourite things about you.” He still had hold of her hand, his thumb stroking up and down against her skin, and suddenly her memory cast her back to feeling warmth on her face from a sunlit forest, a strong guiding hand in hers, the presence of a familiar comforting companion by her side. A sensation of happiness and hope for a future not yet realised.
She gave him a warm smile, a light blush ringing her cheeks.
“Only some, Commander?”

They returned to lighter topics while they finished their wine before both realised the lateness of the hour and decided to call it a night.
“It’s been fun, I’ve missed this.” Chakotay said warmly, as he headed towards the door. Kathryn followed at his side, his hand lightly placed on her lower back. “Is it funny though…”
“What?” They paused, turning to face one another by the entry.
“After all this time, it’s only now we’re being honest with each other?”
Kathryn let out a dry laugh and shrugged in response, hoping it would be a sufficient answer to the statement that she knew was not entirely accurate. The Captain and Commander of Voyager confided in each other on most things, but a shared understanding of how they felt about their various romantic prospects, including that of each other, was definitely not one of them and Kathryn didn’t see that had changed much this evening either. Sure there was more openness in their conversation, but just as much had also gone unsaid. Still, the energy between them felt much lighter and familiar than it had for a long time and she was pleased by that. For all the frustrations that had bubbled up between them in recent months, she had missed their friendship and their closeness terribly. Suddenly, she felt as if she needed to hug him and without really thinking about whether that was a good idea or not, she did. She heard him exhale heavily, as he wrapped his arms around her. The tightness of the embrace and the relief evident in the sigh made it clear he had needed it too. Whether it was relief for the repair of their relationship or solace for the destabilisation of his own with Seven, she did not know. Perhaps both. After all, deep down she knew it wasn't really just about their history and their future together that she sought comfort for, it was something much more basic and a lot more selfish. Kathryn was seeking the feeling of someone being wrapped around her. The need to belong physically to another. Until Q had come along, solitude had been Kathryn’s only constant personal companion in the Delta Quadrant and she had been stoic in its practice. Q’s obsessive need to be attached to her at all times was extremely annoying, but it was something she had become strangely used to and now, without it, somehow it was like stepping into the shade after basking in the glow of a warm sunny summer afternoon. Chakotay embracing her now felt like a battery recharge. This is what she had been missing, she realised, this is what had left her so out of sorts. She was lonely, and to be lonely now after Q had opened her heart to a life where that was impossible hurt her so much more tremendously. An unsettling ache rumbled dully in her heart and made her eyes sting. Chakotay’s arms were proving to be a great comfort. His ability to make her feel safe and supported, as he had done many times in the past, had lost none of its vigour. Still, it was the wrong man whose chest she now lay her head against, wasn’t it? Chakotay had always been her rock; he was strong, handsome, warm, caring, intelligent and brave… and most importantly, he was here. Chakotay was here and Q wasn’t.
She must have held on too long as she could feel Chakotay’s hands move along her back, one rising up her neck and into her hair.
Too far. Too indulgent, she thought. This needs to stop.
She withdrew herself from him and folded her arms over herself, taking a step backwards. It was a silent signal it was time for him to depart.
“Good night Chakotay.”
He stared at her for a moment, his face unreadable. Was he disappointed? Kathryn couldn’t tell. Did she want him to be? She wasn’t sure of that either. His gaze seemed to sweep down and up her body one last time, as if he was deciding whether he wanted to say more to her, and then he met her gaze and granted her a smile.
“Good night Kathryn.” He said softly. With a nod of the head, he turned and left her quarters.
Kathryn had held her breath until the doors closed behind him. She hit the panel on the lock quickly, turned and leaned backwards, letting out a long exhale as she slid down the back of the door until her backside hit the carpet. She lifted her knees and buried her face into her arms.
“Kathryn, what are you doing?” She chastised herself in the dark. It must be the wine, she thought. You drank too much. You said too much. It was a dangerous conversation she thought and she cursed herself silently for allowing Q’s prolonged absence to let her behave so recklessly. It worried Kathryn that Chakotay was able to fill the space Q had left behind so easily and that she had let him to some extent. Q and she had been in this relationship for six months, and much of it was formed by stolen moments under feats of peril. Chakotay, on the other hand, had been her constant companion for six years, had been by her side through thick and thin, had been the man she had carried a torch for secretly until he had decided he could no longer wait for her. One paper, when you looked at it logically, did Chakotay make more sense than Q? Did he see that too, when comparing her to Seven? Did know what he was doing now? Did she? In the darkness she had created, she pictured Q’s face and the memories of their time together played like a movie in her mind. She remembered the way he held her, spoke to her, reassured her, comforted her, the way he made her feel when they were together. This was the man she loved, she could feel it in her heart when she looked at him. She had promised him that she would be waiting for him, and she would continue to love him no matter how long it took. Chakotay’s face suddenly loomed into frame, tainting the images in her head, and she sat up quickly opening her eyes. Kathryn felt her eyes prickle, and her face grew hot. You’re being ridiculous, she cursed herself, wiping her eyes angrily and getting up off the floor. You’re just lonely. You just miss Q. Grow up and go to sleep.

Chapter Text

Day Fifty.
It had felt so monumental to her on its arrival, somehow becoming a milestone Kathryn was trying to reach without knowing why. She thought that part of her was anticipating that something was going to happen, something to shake up the status quo, although she didn’t have any reason to think so. Maybe Q and Jade would appear to tell her everything was okay and they were finally coming home to her? After the surprise mysterious appearance of the letters, she kept expecting to see a flash everywhere she went during her shift; even a tiny clue to their whereabouts and welfare would be enough. Day fifty proved to be as equally uneventful as the previous forty-nine however, and Kathryn carried the increasingly agitated mood she’d been in all afternoon, making her avoided by most of her bridge crew, back to her quarters later that evening. She’d deliberately worked late for that reason, keen to keep her mind occupied, but had returned home still feeling equally as restless and dissatisfied as she had on the bridge. Her first thought was to see if Chakotay was free for dinner again but she instinctively knew that was a bad idea. Wandering into her bedroom, she began to strip her uniform off and then stood in her tank top and underwear, chewing on her thumb nail absentmindedly, as she stared into her clothes drawer and tried to mentally assign an outfit with what she felt like doing. Mess hall for dinner? Too many people and too many questions. Maybe a work out on the Holodeck to burn off some energy? Too late. A holo novel perhaps? Not enough focus. Visit with Tuvok or the Doctor? Not enough patience. Nothing was appealing. Frustrated with herself and her situation, she began to aimlessly move clothes between her drawers, as if organising the piles would help her thoughts become more orderly in her mind. As she opened one of the smaller top compartments, her attention was caught by a flash of colour that she didn’t recognise and she hesitated, reaching for the odd item to see what it was. From the jumble of starfleet issued grey and black undergarments, she tugged a scandalously skimpy light pink lingerie set, holding it up so it dangled in front of her. Kathryn let out a snort of derision and bemusement at the finding, much as she had when Q had first presented the underwear to her as a gift a few months back. I am not wearing that, she had said, shaking her head incredulously and laughing at him. Not a chance in hell. Well… perhaps hell did have a chance after all, as ten minutes after it had resurfaced in her drawer, she found herself standing in front of her bedroom mirror analysing the fit on her body. It had taken all of those ten minutes to work out the clasp and straps, which crossed diagonally and low below her navel and carried beyond her hip down to her thigh, but now she could see the entire set in its full glory as Q had intended. The cut was perfect, his doing she knew, he knew her body well. She turned slightly in the mirror and admired how nicely the gently scalloped edges of the lace skimmed the curve of her backside. Kathryn felt a smile creep over her face. Despite earlier protests, she had to admit she liked how it looked on her. She was in her forties and she knew she was in fairly good nick for her age, Voyager kept her in shape by default after all, along with the Doctor’s continued nagging. She, of course, had areas she didn’t particularly enjoy as much, tell tale signs of a life lived under constant stress and more birthdays spent in the Delta Quadrant than she’d care to admit. It was strange though, she hadn’t picked herself apart for a while. Not since Q had come on board. She closed her eyes and imagined his eyes… his hands.. roaming her body. Pleased with his purchase, and yet eager to take it off her again. Regardless of how she felt about herself, she knew he adored every inch of her and the confidence that instilled could be a little intoxicating if she didn’t keep it in check. Noting that this was the best she had felt all day and the set wasn’t entirely uncomfortable, she decided to keep it on. This clothing choice definitely relegated her to her quarters, she thought, but that decision suddenly felt okay. An idea was forming in her mind of how she wanted to spend her evening. Could she be so indulgent? Sure, she thought, why the hell not. Who was here to judge her? Leaning over, she picked up her dressing gown that had been discarded on her dresser, noting with a smile the pink silky material matched the colour of Q’s gift, a deliberate choice on his part she was sure as she knew he had always liked when she wore it. She assumed it was because it reminded him of his first visit to her quarters. Slipping it over her shoulders, she left the gown hanging open and ran her hands through her hair, lazily detangling it from its bun until it hung long and tousled down her back. Not for the first time, she wondered whether she would cut it this year. She could feel it starting to thin out a little, a sign of her age, and it was getting more cumbersome these days. Perhaps she would seek Q’s opinion next time he visited. That’s if he ever came back… Kathryn gave a jolt and shook her head. We’re not doing that tonight, she told herself, and walked with pace back into the living room. Time for a drink. She made her order at the replicator; a martini, she decided. Something different. A side of olives too perhaps. Nice. Good start. She lay the bowl on the small table next to her reading chair and lit the candles next to it before looking around for more inspiration. What next?
“Computer… access my musical database. Play…”
She tapped her lips with her finger, thoughtful. Now what had he programmed it as?
“Play restricted playlist Alpha 003, Q’s Sensual Serenade of Seduction.”
“Playing restricted playlist Alpha 003, Q’s Sensual Serenade of Seduction.”
Kathryn grinned as the first tune began to play. Her fingers danced lightly through the air in time with the opening beat, and she felt her hips begin to gently sway in unison without giving conscious intention to the movement. She sauntered slowly back towards the chair where she had left her evening supplies and sat down, crossing one leg over the other as she scooped up her glass. Taking a first sip of the cocktail, she winced a little at the potency. Not bad. Pleased with herself, she took a larger drink and felt the warmth spread down her throat and into her chest. Not bad at all. Kathryn leaned back in a relaxed fashion and popped an olive in her mouth. The briny taste complimented the alcohol perfectly. Q would be pleased. He was always going on about the importance of pairing specific food and drink together to create a more pleasurable experience, which she continued to find fascinating given that he needed neither but enjoyed both with so much gusto. Everything Q did had a heightened level of exuberance however. That was one of the things she loved about him; despite his omnipotence, he had such zest for experiencing their existence as she knew it. Her gaze drifted downwards at her exposed chest, torso and thighs, and she found herself remembering, as she admired the lingerie he had bought her, the last time she had sat here while Q was trying to seduce her. She’d come out of the bathroom in a towel looking for her hairbrush, assuming she was quite alone, and there he was, sitting completely naked in her chair waiting for her. She’d let out a laugh of surprise but had managed to quickly regain her composure at the interruption.
“You’re lucky Jade is with the Doctor this evening.” She tutted at him, and continued moving around the items scattered across the dining table to look for her brush.
“Get over here.” He growled and patted his thigh provocatively.
“No, I have plans Q.” She said in a pointed tone. “You’ll have to come back.”
Q raised an eyebrow.
“Kathy. I wasn’t asking.”
Kathryn stopped what she was doing and held his gaze, resistant for as long as she could manage before she let out a sign of irritation and finally complied.
“You get two minutes and then I have to go.”
She had tried to keep an uninterested expression as he slowly peeled back the protective barrier barring his access to her body. After taking a moment to wolfishly savour the sight before him, he used the tension he held on each end of the towel to pull her down into a straddling position over his lap.
“Q…” She was laughing now, “I said two minutes.” Of course, there would be no two minutes with Q and she would not be withheld from him. Once he had started kissing her, she knew he was going to get his way and she was going to be very very late to her engagement.
Kathryn now closed her eyes and smiled, indulging in the memory of Q’s hands tightly clamped around her hips, the friction between them as she rose and fell on top of him. Q’s mouth moved interchangeably from her chest to her neck and up to her mouth, capturing kisses as different parts of her skin came into range. Her eyes had been closed then too, her expression serious, as she focused on moving herself in a way that would give him the sensation he had been desperately seeking. Kathryn’s hand now began to slide up the inside of her own thigh, as she remembered Q moaning her name and how his arms had wrapped themselves around her quickly as if he had expected her to fall but in reality to tighten the grip he had on her. The thrill of the memory excited her and the gasp she remembered making at the time carried through to the present, one hand rising to grip the arm of the chair and the other moving from her thigh and landing against the silky material of her underwear. She felt her face grow warm and her heart flutter in her chest, her thighs rubbing together, crushing her fingers. If Q wasn’t here to do it, she would have to damn well seduce herself. She was still capable of that wasn’t she? It had been a while. Her fingers began to move with the same rhythm she had found on top of Q that evening. Steady. Intentional. Designed to make the recipient beg for more. Kathy… she remembered him gasping. Oh Kathy…
Q… She whispered this in response now. Ohhh.. Q…
He had always known how she liked to be touched, better than any other man had ever come close to, better than she had even known herself, and with Q’s consistent demonstration, she was now able to replicate the same tempo, the same pace.
“Oh… Q…”
Was this still her memory or had she verbalised that. She did not know. She did not care. The fingers on her free hand dug into the fabric of the armchair. This was what she needed. This is why she had been wound so tight. She was breathing in starts now, her bottom lip quivering, her heart racing. She could feel her thigh muscles clenching, desperate for a release. She moaned aloud, twisting her shoulders and arching her back. She could feel her orgasm rising within her. She felt so good. She felt too good. She felt… she felt…

The sound of a loud buzzer jolted her from fantasy in the same manner as being ripped from sleep.
What… what?? Dazed, she looked around and realised it had been the door that had betrayed her.
No….
Her head flopped back against the chair as she silently cursed whoever was standing behind it.
I was so close.
Allowing a second for her heart beat to steady, she reluctantly pulled herself up to a standing position and closed her dressing gown before going to greet her visitor. Pressing the entry panel, the doors parted to reveal Commander Chakotay.
“Captain.”
There was a notable expression of surprise in his face when he greeted her which quickly gave way to a warm smile. Kathryn wondered if her own was still flushed, the warmth that had been rising in her cheeks only moments earlier still felt present.
“Good evening Commander.” Her greeting was more breathless than she would have liked. She crossed her arms over herself, suddenly feeling painfully aware that the thin material of her dressing gown was the last barrier of modesty against her highly un-starfleet attire.
“I was about to have a late dinner and wanted to see if you had eaten yet.” His eyes moved searchingly over her shoulder to the room behind her. “Am I… interrupting?”
Did he suspect he’d happened upon her engaging in some form of romantic entanglement, she wondered, and was looking to verify Q’s presence? Q’s music was still playing and very audible, she realised, the backdrop to an intimate scene.
“No.. I was just..” She gestured in the same direction, and then looked back at room herself as she scrambled for a credible response. “Uhh.. reading.” Immediately she cursed herself. The room behind her was dimly lit, cocktail clearly visible, no book to be found anywhere. A very poor excuse under pressure Kathryn. What happened to all that StarFleet training?
“Reading…” She heard him respond and there was a note of light hearted incredulity in the tone. Clearly her subterfuge was being questioned. When she turned back to face him, she noticed however Chakotay’s attention had been distracted by the inside of something other than her quarters, as his gaze shot back up from below her face to meet her. Kathryn tilted her head puzzled. Was he just… checking her out? She wanted to adjust her dressing gown but she didn’t want to draw her attention to it.
“Yes. Reading.” She said, with playful defiance.
Chakotay nodded and then leaned against the doorframe, folding his arms.
“By candle light? With a cocktail?” He was teasing her. An eyebrow raised. A telling smile. So he had noticed.
She broke into a grin and gave him a shrug.
“A woman has to have a little romance in her life now and again Chakotay.” She quipped liberally. “Sometimes a cocktail by candlelight does just that.”
Thankfully, there was now way he could possibly know how much romance she was just having, she mused gratefully. Chakotay knew her well but no man was that perceptive.
Chakotay’s eyebrows lifted a little and then a controlled smirk crossed his face and he leaned in a little towards her.
“Yes, that’s true. Though some women deserve much much more.”
There was a pregnant pause as he glanced over her shoulder again into her quarters. He wants me to invite him in, Kathryn realised. Should I invite him in? It felt instinctively right to do so. After all, they’d been having dinner together only 24 hours prior. But Kathryn had been around Q long enough to know what the expression on his face meant. He was hopeful and hungry, and he wanted to fuck her more than he could stand. It was unlike Chakotay to be so overt in his expression, and she had to admit she was a little turned on by it. He was on the rebound clearly from Seven, and perhaps he had made his return to her quarters to see if she was lonely and stupid enough to let him take that out on her. She wasn’t, she told herself, but that didn’t stop the vision popping into her head of him stripping off her dressing gown to have her over her dining table. She felt herself blush. What was going on with her? I’m actually losing it, she thought.
“I couldn’t agree more, Commander.” She gave him a smile. “But that's all I’ve got for tonight. Thank you for the dinner offer, I’ve already eaten but, rain check.” The lilt of formality skillfully injected into her amiable tone told him there would be no invitation and not to expect one. Friendly but firm.
Chakotay gave her a slow nod and returned the smile. To her surprise, he still seemed bemused by the whole exchange and not at all affronted by her polite rejection.
“Of course.” He replied, and then paused, giving her a long look. “No matter. It was worth stopping by regardless. Good night Kathryn.” He gave her a dashing smile and then took off up the corridor.
As the doors closed, Kathryn stared through the metal barrier as if she could still see him walking away. Whatever had just occurred between them had unsettled her, and she still wasn’t sure if it was in a good or a bad way. Her face had lost none of the heat that she had acquired prior to his arrival and as she turned to the mirror to inspect her complexion, she realised that Q’s underwear lifted her cleavage slightly higher than her dressing gown protected, so pleasing curves of exposed skin could be seen above the silk lace that peeked beyond the fabric. She wondered if Chakotay would be thinking of that when he tried to sleep tonight? Would he be going home to partake in the same type of activity he had interrupted her enjoying. Would he think of her instead of Seven when he tried to have a little ‘romance’ in his life? Did Kathryn even want that? As if to answer her own question, her expression stared back at her judgingly. No, you don’t. It was Q you were imagining when you were feeling so good before. It was Q who made you see stars when he was underneath you, inside you, on the arm chair. It’s Q you’re missing. Only Q. Get it together. The frustration was flooding back now, the same feelings she had held at bay temporarily with her martini and her memories were now hammering down on her. Letting out a cry of annoyance at Chakotay, at Q, at herself, she charged back into her bedroom and flopped down onto the bed and buried her face into the blankets. Maybe she should just go to sleep. Perhaps day fifty-one would bring her better luck.
“I see Commander Chuckles is up to his old tricks.”
Unlike the memory that had guided her into ecstasy earlier, this voice rang in Kathryn’s ears clearly as if the speaker was next to her. She lifted her head with a start.
“Q?” Had she imagined it? She sat up quickly; looking around, she remained quite alone. “Q? Is that you?”
“Oh.. you remember me do you?” The voice said again. “I’m surprised you recognised my voice. I thought you had quite forgotten me.”
A flood of emotion filled Kathryn’s chest, the sense of relief overwhelming. He’s here. He’s okay. Thank god.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” She laughed, looking around for him. “Where are you? Why can’t I see you?”
“I’m talking to you from our hiding place.” Q replied. “I can’t leave where we are right now… luckily for Commander Chakotay.” He added spikily.
“Oh, forget Chakotay…” Kathryn scoffed, waving her hand at the invisible presence.
“I will if you will.” Q cut in before she could continue.
Kathryn rolled her eyes, the relieved smile she had been wearing only a second earlier now beginning to give way to impatience. She wanted to know what was going on, why it had been so long since she’d heard from him, not listen to the omnipotent being’s thinly veiled jealousy.
“Q. I’ve had to wait two months to hear anything from you. I suggest you think about whether that’s the tone you want to be using with me right now.” She said pointedly. There was silence and she knew he was deciding whether he was still sulking. Before he could make the wrong decision, she continued. “Let’s start again. Where are you? Jade said you were going back to Edotine?”
“Oh you got the letters?” The edge in Q’s voice finally broke and he became more like his amiable self again. “I asked Junior to sort that out.” He added, sounding pleased with himself.
So wherever they are hiding, Q couldn’t deliver the letters himself, Kathryn thought. Interesting.
“Yes, I got them. So.. you left Edotine then?” She prompted again.
“Yes. We had to unfortunately.”
“Why?”
“Oh...”
Kathryn detected an element of nervousness in his hesitation.
“I… uh… I can’t tell you.” He mumbled evasively.
She frowned, feeling the sensation of foreboding rose within her.
“Why not?”
“It’s complicated,” Q replied, “but where we are currently is quite adequate and very safe Kathy I promise.”
“And this safe hiding space is… where?” The same edge Q had greeted her with earlier was now creeping into Kathryn’s own voice.
“I can’t tell you that either.” As if detecting her anger in her resulting silence, he pressed on quickly. “I know, I’m sorry. It’s been... difficult. I’ll explain when I see you.”
“And when might that be? Wait, let me guess, you can’t tell me that?” Kathryn’s reply was terse, her patience dangerously depleted. She heard Q sigh and knew what was coming.
“I… I don’t know yet. Listen, Kathy, I know you have a lot of questions. I just… can’t answer them right now.” He sighed again. “Look, I don’t have long. I have to get back to Jade and I just wanted….”
“Do I at least get to ask how my daughter is since I haven’t seen her or heard a word from her for two months?” Kathryn interrupted. “Or is that privileged information too?”
She could practically hear Q wince at her sharpness but she didn’t care. After all this time. After all this waiting and worrying, was he really going to tell her nothing?
“Of course you can ask about Jade.” He said gently.
“Well? How is she?” She demanded and then let out her own sigh of frustration that seemed to release something else within her that made her heart hurt. “Is she… alright?” The question this time was slightly softer, more desperate. When Q didn’t immediately answer, she prompted him again. “Q?”
“Yes, she’s fine.” Q said finally. “Of course she’s fine.” There was another hesitation that seemed to last longer than it should. “She just misses you.”
Was that a weird pause, Kathryn wondered, her frustration momentarily forgotten. Did she need to read into that?
“I miss her too.”
“How about me?” Q continued before she could dwell more on it. “Do you miss me Madam Captain?”
Kathryn let out a scoff that was rooted in irritation and yet somehow it seemed to help simmer her anger nonetheless. She flopped back down onto her back on the bed and closed her eyes, rubbing her face with her hands.
“Sometimes.” It was a reluctant reply but the corners of her mouth were beginning to turn upwards.
“Only sometimes?”
She recognised the teasing tone in his voice and knew he was trying to steer the conversation out of dangerous waters.
“It sounded like you were about to miss me very thoroughly earlier my dear Captain.”
“What do you mean?” Kathryn dropped her hands and opened her eyes, frowning.
“Well, why else would you put on my playlist?”
She could hear the playfulness in his voice, the enjoyment at setting her on edge. How much had he seen? Clearly he had known that Chakotay had been to visit.
“Are you watching me?”
“I wish.” Q chuckled, and there was an odd noise that followed like the sound of a drink being sipped from a bottle. “Alas, it is merely coincidence that I happened to make this connection when you put on the music. Perhaps our dirty thoughts are attuned to one another? I was having them about you, and from what I heard, you were certainly having them about me. Don’t deny it,” he called when she let out a derisive noise in response, “I heard you moan my name sweet Captain.” He then laughed, apparently pleased by the thought.
Kathryn’s cheeks blushed and she found herself grinning up at the ceiling. So he must not be able to see her for whatever reason, but he had clearly guessed what she had been doing.
“Although i will say the moment was rather ruined,” Q carried on, adopting a haughty tone, “by having to hear my beautiful wife get macked on by her sleezy first officer.”
“Your w...” The response was so stupid that it made her laugh out loud without meaning to. “You’re an idiot.” She grinned, “and if you must know, what I was doing was for my benefit, not for yours and certainly not for Commander Chakotay, thank you.”
“Huh, well I can't argue with you there.” Q replied. “So…” He let out a grunt and there was the sound of movement as if he was getting comfortable wherever he was. “What are you wearing?”
Kathryn pursed her lips so she didn’t laugh at the now lurid affectation in his tone.
“I thought you said you didn’t have long.”
“You let me worry about that.”
She let him stew in the silence for a moment as she too wriggled around to get more comfortable on the bed and so she could move her head to the pillow.
“If you must know, I’m wearing the underwear you bought me. You know, the pink set?”
Q let out a little groan.
“Temptress.”
Kathryn chuckled, her hands brushing over the silk straps that curved around her hips.
“Why, what are you wearing?”
“Nothing so alluring my dear Captain.”
She tilted her head slightly and stared at the empty space next to her. It was conversations like this that they had shared so often in bed together. Silly discussions about all sorts of things that usually ended in laughter, and teasing, and sweet stolen kisses. She moved her hand to the other pillow and rested the back of it where Q’s head would have been. She could almost see his face in her mind's eye staring back at her roguishly and adoringly. It made her heart ache.
“Kathy? Are you still there?”
“Yes,” she blinked and turned back to the ceiling, “tell me what you’re doing now. I know you can’t tell me where you are but just.. describe it for me? I want to hear your voice.”
“Right now? Well, I am sitting on a wall on the top of a hill. It’s a warm night. There is a night sky full of stars above my head. A full moon. A light evening breeze. From where I am sitting, I can see the entire city. All the little lights flickering in the dark. I’m drinking an ice cold bottle of the local ale and admiring the fading sunlight against the mountains on the horizon. It’s rather lovely actually.” Q sighed contently. “The only thing that could make this more perfect is if you were sat astride my lap right now. In fact, I bought you the sexiest little dress the other day that covers absolutely nothing just for the right occasion.”
“Very thoughtful.” Kathryn replied with a smile. Her eyes were closed now and she was picturing the scene as he described it to her. His voice was making her feel snuggly. Sleep always seemed easier when he was next to her.
“Are you satisfied by my description?” He asked.
“I am.”
“Well…?”
“Well what?”
“It’s your turn.” Q sang back.
“You know where I am Q.” Kathryn giggled. “You’ve spent enough time breaking in here to be overly familiar with the layout of my quarters.”
“No Kathy, I want you to tell me what you’re doing,” he replied, “and I don’t mean lying here talking to me.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean Kathy. Very naughty of you, might I say.”
Kathryn opened her eyes, a smirk creeping across her face.
“I’m not doing that any more Q. I was interrupted, remember?”
There was another sound of the beer being sipped.
“Noone is interrupting you now.”
Kathryn opened her mouth to respond but hesitated, for a moment doubting if she had interpreted him correctly and if she had, trying to decide if he was serious. It was Q though, and whenever there was the opportunity to take advantage of a scandalous occasion, he usually didn’t pass it up.
“It’s called alone time for a reason.”
Q tutted back at her.
“You are alone. Besides, If I was there, you know I’d be the one making you feel that way. It was my name you moaned after all. Mine.” He sounded proud and territorial. Kathryn’s tongue wet her bottom lip, which then caught between her teeth, exposing the desire she was feeling. She loved and hated that it turned her on when he spoke like that. “Kathy, if I was there, I’d have you pinned down to that bed right now so you couldn’t move. My mouth would be working its way up your thighs with the only intention of making you as wet as you deserve.”
“Q…”
“So what are you waiting for?”
“I can’t…” She laughed nervously, although she was starting to feel the enticing tingles of anticipation spreading outwardly across her thighs and navel. “Not with you in my head.”
“That’s the perfect place for me to be. I’m imagining it and it’s very very nice. Oh the things I would do to you if I was with you now sweet Captain. It’s been two months and I am desperate for you.” Q growled. “I want to hear you call my name. Give me something to carry with me until we meet again.”
It took a little cajoling but finally Kathryn closed her eyes again and allowed Q to guide her hand where he wanted it to go. As he whispered in her ear, urging her on, she began again the same delicious rhythm she had found in the arm chair. This time it felt so much better. Q’s voice in her head was able to demand things of her now and she could do nothing but obey him. One hand stretched and flexed against the blankets before clutching at the fabric and grasping it tightly. The other followed the commands of the man in charge. “Faster, Captain. Not too hard, yes… just like that. Don’t get ahead of yourself… only when I tell you to.”
Inside her there was an eruption building, begging to break free.
“Q… please.” She moaned. She could hear him chuckle, pleased with the effect he was creating.
“I said.. Not. Yet.”
Kathryn was sweating. She could feel the beads rolling down her chest. Her breath was becoming laboured. The sound of the beer bottle being sipped rang in her ears. The waiting was torture. She didn’t know how much longer she could stand it.
“Q…”
“A little harder. That’s it. Harder. That’s it Captain. Now, show me how much you miss me.”
The application of the extra pressure he had been withholding from her did the job.
“Ohhhh… god… Q!” His name had been swallowed by a cry of ecstasy as Kathryn’s back arched against the bed. “Ohhh!”
Finally, uninterrupted, the Captain of Voyager was able to find what she had been searching for all day. Her cry of pleasure gave way to a breathy sigh as her whole body melted into the blankets beneath her.
“Well that backfired on me.” Q exclaimed in what almost sounded like a despondent tone. “I want you more than ever now.”
“I, on the other hand, feel quite content thankyou.” Kathryn laughed, before taking a long inhale and exhale to allow her heart beat to slow. She rolled over and curled herself into a sleepy content little ball, enjoying the reverberations of her orgasm that continued to echo through her body. “Is this why you…” she tried to find the right word, “... called me? To do this?”
“No.” She heard Q chuckle. “But this was far better. Gah,” he let out a cry of frustration, “I miss you.”
Kathryn sighed happily.
“And that really is everything you’re going to tell me?” She asked in a resigned tone. She was too tired, too content, to argue with him now anyway. Perhaps that had been Q’s plan all along. Annoyingly, it usually worked.
“No, you can also tell Commander ‘Handsy’ that you are mine, and he better keep his ideas of late night dinners to himself.” Q declared.
“I’m not telling Chakotay anything.” Kathryn closed her eyes, settling herself into a sleeping position. “You can tell him yourself if you ever come back to Voyager.”
“I am coming back!” Q cried, outraged. “And don’t you think otherwise. I’ll… be back in contact soon okay?”
“Alright. Tell Jade… Tell her I love her and I miss her more than anything. I’ll write to her, if Junior can deliver something back in return?”
“Yes, she’d really like that. And Kathy?” His voice was now sincere and apologetic. “I am sorry, I mean about the wait and for not being in contact sooner. I would never have done that to you again if I didn't have a choice.”
“I know Q.” Kathryn replied reassuringly, “I’ve just missed you, that’s all. But do what you need to do to keep Jade safe. I understand.”
“Because I love you every minute of every day that passes here.” Q continued, a pained tone evident in his voice. “I’m thinking about you all the time.”
“I know. Me too.” She said gently. “I love you Q. Good night.
“Sleep well Kathy. I love you too.”

Chapter Text

Despite Q’s well intended wishes, Kathryn did not sleep well. She had stared up at the ceiling long after he had signed off, turning over his comments in her mind, trying to draw from them anything that might reveal what had happened. Something had clearly transpired in the last few weeks that had changed Q and Jade’s circumstances. Perhaps the Continuum had discovered Edotine? Maybe Q was worried about them overhearing the location of their new hiding place if he spoke it aloud? If that was the case, had he risked their safety just to call her? Q could be reckless like that she knew, but his reluctance to divulge anything about their current state had made her think he was taking whatever precautions he felt were necessary, even if it had needed to keep them apart these last two months. There were elements of their conversation that had been odd when she reflected on it… well, odder than usual. Q had been right, she had lots of questions. Why had he needed to contact her like a long distance comms call, for example, and why had he needed Junior to deliver Jade’s letters? Then there was Jade herself. Was she really okay? The tone in the teenager’s later correspondence had left the Captain unsettled and she had hoped to find reassurance from Q that she had read too much into it, but there was something about the hesitation in his voice that had only amplified her concerns. When Kathryn had eventually given in to sleep that night, she had dreamed vividly of looking out from atop a grassy hill that looked down over a vast spread of twinkling city lights, illuminating the darkness below. A soft voice called to her, carried upon on the light evening breeze. Mom? Where are you?

Kathryn had entered the bridge the next morning with coffee already in hand. She admittedly felt a lot less agitated than she had the day prior but the restless night and the alleviation of the worry that had been her companion for so long now had left her feeling more tired than even her trusted brew could assist with. She’d even considered stopping by sickbay for a pick-me-up courtesy of the Doctor, but she knew it would take more energy than she currently had in her to haggle with him for a ‘quick fix’. Perhaps after her shift, she thought, as she made her way down to her Captain’s chair. There were a few pads waiting for her, reports she needed to sign off on from her various department heads, and she thought she would spend the morning skimming through those before retiring to her ready room to write back to Jade. Perhaps she could pose a few questions to her that would not compromise her position but give her a sense of how the teenager was feeling. Settling into the chair, she took a sip of her coffee and began to skim through the first report. The first few hours passed quickly, albeit not particularly productively. As much as she had tried to focus on Tuvok’s initial security assessment for the tricky area of space they would soon be heading into, she had spent much of the time idly ruminating on her discussion with Q the night before and her newly formed silent commitment to no longer flirt with Chakotay. She wondered if another coffee would reset her focus and was about to stand up when a green flash of light suddenly consumed everything before her, blinding her vision so that brilliant emerald colour faded into static. It was almost as if a star had exploded right in front of the ship and they hadn’t filtered out the light in the viewer. Around her, she heard her crew cry out in surprise. Whatever it was, it was bright and painful, and Kathryn shielded her eyes with her hands instinctively, recoiling from it. As the warmth from the strange light began to fade as quickly as it had come, Kathryn heard the distinct thud of an object hitting the floor and a yelp of pain. Had someone fallen over, she thought, anxiously rubbing her eyes to try and rid the black dots that were still exploding across her sight as it began to recover.
“Tuvok…” She was about to call for a status report when a word cried out by Tom stopped her in her tracks.
“Jade?”
What?!
Kathryn felt her heart stop in her chest. She must have heard incorrectly. Surely not?
She forced her eyes open with some difficulty and, rising to her feet, saw that the thud had not been a crew member but a body that had fallen seemingly from nowhere and was now sitting sprawled on the floor by where Tom was now standing at his station. The intruder threw back their hair which had fallen over their face and looked from left to right. The expression they wore seemed to indicate both surprise and elation at where they had landed. It was a face they all knew.
“Jade?” Kathryn gasped in astonishment.
Jade’s gaze finally found the Captain’s.
“Ta dahhhh!” She cried, throwing her arms in the air as if she had accomplished some sort of magic trick, and flashed her a grin. “Hi mom!”
Jade!
The breath that Kathryn had been holding onto desperately finally released, propelling her forward instinctively and she rushed towards the newcomer, collecting Jade up in her arms tightly.
“What are you doing here?” She cried happily, and then pulled herself back so she could look down at the girl. “Are you hurt? Are you okay?” She clasped Jade’s face in her hands.
“I’m fine.” Jade giggled, letting one arm go from the Captain’s waist so she could rub the base of her back, “Rough landing though. Did you miss me?”
“Of course. More than anything.” Kathryn broke into a grin, despite her eyes watering, before pulling her daughter back into a bear hug. “You just surprised me, that’s all. Your father made me think it would be a while before I could see you.”
Jade lifted her head and gave her a cheeky smile.
“Good surprise?”
Kathryn beamed back at her.
“The best. Look at you!” She was finally seeing her properly now, the initial shock and excitement fading enough for her to recover her senses. Her eyes then widened a little as she took the sight in. “What happened to your hair? It’s blue?”
Jade’s black hair had been straightened out from its usual wiry curls and the bottom half of it, which now touched her shoulders, appeared to have been dipped into a fluorescent cobalt colour of some kind. There was still one curl to the left side of her forehead however that had refused to conform to the new style, Kathryn noted.
“I dyed it.” Jade nodded excitedly.
“Yes, I can see that.” Kathryn gave her a bemused smile and touched the stubborn curl affectionately, “I bet your father was thrilled. Wait.. where is Q?” She looked around expecting to see the equally triumphant appearance of a man who had somehow solved all of their problems overnight and was ready to brag to her about it, and yet Jade appeared to have arrived alone.
“Dad had to go do some important stuff.” Jade answered. “He said for you to look after me while he was gone.”
Kathryn looked back at her and frowned.
“But… Q said you were in hiding.”
“Yes, we were, but like J can do the protection thing while he’s away. It’s no big deal.” Jade shrugged as if she shouldn’t be worried. “Dad thought it would be good if I waited with you cause it’s been so long since I was here.”
It had only been there for a second but Kathryn recognised the expression that came with a rehearsed statement. Jade was a good liar, she knew, but she’d given Kathryn plenty of opportunities to practise spotting it. As if confirming her instinct, she saw Tom, who had been standing to the side of Jade a few paces away, pull a face as if he also had seen something or heard something in her voice that he didn’t trust. He met her gaze and gave her a concerned look. Something wasn’t adding up.
“And where is Junior?” Kathryn continued, turning back to her daughter, her tone becoming a little more suspicious.
“He’s just… lurking. You know, like they do.” Jade mumbled, her eyes wandering over to the rest of the crew with interest, the toe of her shoe beginning to kick the floor. Kathryn eyed her warily.
“And the green light? What was that?” She asked, gesturing up at the ceiling from where Jade had mysteriously fallen from.
“Oh… That was dad. I dunno, it’s Q stuff I guess. I’m sure he can tell you when he gets here.” Jade turned her attention back to her and gave her an appeasing smile.
As if on command, a flash of blue light suddenly lit up behind her. It was far less blinding than the green one had been and much more familiar.
“As it happens,” A voice boomed, and Jade’s face immediately changed, the colour draining from her cheeks. “I too would like an explanation.”
“Ooops.” She quipped, wincing.
Kathryn looked up to see Q stood in his Captain’s uniform. His arms were folded and his face was more furious than she had ever seen before. Jade slowly turned to greet her father, who glared back at her venomously.
“‘Ooops’ is right, young lady.” He growled in a dangerous tone, and pointed over Kathryn’s shoulder. “Ready room. Now.”
“But..”
“NOW.”
Jade let out a huff and rolled her eyes, before she turned and slinked in a distinctively aggrieved fashion passed Kathryn, heading silently towards the Captain’s ready room. Glancing at Tom, who gave her a bewildered shrug in return, Kathryn then followed Q who had marched off immediately after their daughter.
“What’s.. going on?” She asked, eyeing both of the pair uneasily as the doors closed behind her and they were finally alone.
“Go on.” Q folded his arms again, and nodded in her direction despite addressing Jade. “Tell your mother what you did.”
It was only then that Kathryn noticed with surprise that he’d somehow acquired facial hair since his last visit. It mirrored a few days' growth and gave him a rugged handsome quality she had to admit she didn’t hate, but it seemed strange to see it on him nonetheless.
“How did you know I was here?” Jade responded curtly, drawing her attention back to the argument.
Q let out a hollow laugh.
“Really?! That’s what you’ve got to say to me?” He cried. “The real question is why you didn’t think I wouldn’t be right here after you Jade?”
“Hmph.” Jade pouted and stared off towards the desk petulantly. “I thought I’d have more time.” She muttered.
“I control time and space, remember?” Q cut back at her.
Jade let out a scoff that rivalled her father’s.
“How could I forget?”
“Did you really think I wouldn’t just come straight here when you absconded?” He asked, his voice somewhere between anger and exasperation. “Of course I knew this is where you would go.”
Kathryn turned to the teenager, her expression changing from confusion to outage sharply.
“You ran away?”
“When you say ‘ran’, if you mean jumped into a transit relay corridor, then yes.” Q waved an arm at the teenager flippantly.
“What?!” Kathryn cried, her hands rising to her hips as she stared down her daughter. “Start. Explaining.”
Jade let out a sigh that seemed to roll through her whole body.
“I just missed you.” She replied sullenly, folding her arms again and refusing to look up at her. “Dad wouldn’t bring me. It’s not fair that I can’t visit.”
“You know why you..” Q began but Jade cut him off.
“You miss her too. I know you do.” She shot him an accusing glare. “You say it all the time, and I saw you sneaking past the barriers to call mom last night. You said we couldn’t talk to her, but what you meant was I couldn’t.”
Kathryn cast a stern look back at Q disapprovingly. She’d specifically cautioned him on talking like that for exactly this reason. Jade didn’t usually need any encouragement. And as for the ‘call’ Q had made to her, when she had been worrying about the consequences that might have been caused by it, this had not been one of them. What were these barriers that Jade had referred to? Why had Q needed to sneak past them? Why had he not told Jade he had made contact with her? Kathryn could feel a dull tension headache forming behind her forehead.
“This isn’t about me.” Q said quickly, avoiding Kathryn’s eye. “This is about you deliberately disobeying what I told you to do and, worse, taking a risk that could have gotten you stranded somewhere I couldn’t get to you, or even killed Jade. And now you’ve brought us into the open, out of hiding. I told you…”
“B said it would be fine.” Jade interrupted impatiently. She then sharply twitched, her eyes closing with a grimace, betraying the spark’s actual feelings on the matter.
“Well, the cosmic weapon in your head is immortal, you are not. You had no idea what could have happened.” Q snapped.
Jade let out a cry of frustration.
“I’m okay aren’t I?”
“That’s not the point.” Q pointed his finger at her angrily. “After everything we’ve been through, I can’t believe you would be so reckless. Need I remind you that you are not the adult here and you are not the one who decides what risks we take.”
Jade’s gaze narrowed stonily.
“I don’t need reminding of that. Every day of my life is a reminder that nobody cares what I think.” She then turned her nose up at him insolently and turned to face the Captain.
“Can I go now?”
“You’re not staying Jade...” Q warned but Kathryn raised a hand and then stepped between them. Facing Q, she rested her palms on his chest in a bid to de-escalate him. You need to relax, she hoped he read in her expression, I know you are angry but this isn’t helping.
“Q, she’s here now.” She said calmly. “The Continuum is going to realise that soon, and that’s not going to help things. Jade’s in no state to make any kind of protection for us. Why don’t you let me take over for a bit, give you both some time to cool off. If you think it’s safe enough?” She added. She could see by Q’s face he was still emotionally caught in the fugue state of the argument. It was unlike him to be so infuriated with Jade, and she wondered whether it had been the terror of losing her again, even temporarily, when he lost sight of her that had completely destroyed the remnants of his patience.
“Great!” She heard Jade declare behind her in a satisfied tone.
“Hey, you’re not out of trouble young lady.” Kathryn whipped around, causing Jade to shrink back a little. “Do not mistake me. This isn’t a reward and I am not on your side in this argument. You’re staying here because you are grounded Jade.”
“What?!” The teenager cried, aghast. “That’s totally unfair!”
“And I’m only agreeing to you being here,” Kathryn continued, ignoring her, and now speaking in a tone that made even the most seasoned of her command crew quake, “so I can see what you're doing every minute of the day and night. You think your father is bad when it comes to controlling your life, I’m about to be your worst nightmare.”
“But mom!”
“Don’t ‘but mom’ me.” Kathryn pointed at her disapprovingly, her voice beginning to escalate. “You disobeyed your father and, even worse, you scared him half to death. Don’t you realise why he is so angry? I don’t care how much you miss us being together, you do not put yourself at risk like that. I mean it Jade. Don’t you ever do a thing like that again. Do you hear me?”
Jade’s forehead creased a little and then her eyes dropped to the floor. Q was glaring at their daughter over Kathryn’s shoulder with a ‘what she said’ expression. Kathryn paused, and then sighed, rubbing her temple. The headache that had begun to rumble dully behind her eyes was now thudding like a drum. This was not the reunion she had been imagining.
“Look, I know this isn’t ideal. We all want to be together,” she continued a little more evenly as both Q and Jade looked away from each other hotly, “and we will hopefully soon, but, Jade, honey, we lost you once, remember? We can’t go through that again. Your life is too important to us for you to be so cavalier with it.” She took hold of Jade’s arms and unravelled them, despite resistance, from their crossed position, and clasped her hands in her own. “Please, It’s been so long since I saw you, don’t be like this with each other, okay? Q?” She looked back at the omnipotent being with a pleading expression.
“Fine.” Q grumbled, and then sighed, shaking his head and releasing some of the tension from his shoulders. “It’s fine. I’ll make it work. You can stay, for now. I’ll get Junior to watch you, but I want to talk to Obi Wan first.”
Jade looked up at him sharply.
“Do you not trust me?”
Q raised an eyebrow.
“With my life, yes. To do what I tell you to do, not a chance. Now, Jade.”
Jade held his stare for a moment with a cool one of her own.
“Fine.”
Her eyelids flickered before her irises lit up with a luminescent gold hue. Kathryn’s eyebrows lifted in surprise at how quickly the transition occurred between the teenager and the ancient weapon. She’d never seen it happen so fast before. A lot had clearly changed since she had last seen her daughter.
“You don’t have long.” The spark shook their head, appearing to be in some discomfort. “She’s too agitated, we can’t focus.”
“It’s fine. We don’t need long.” Q said, his expression now serious.
“For the record,” Obi Wan continued, meeting Q’s gaze. “I told her this was a bad idea.”
“You let her do it anyway.” Q put his hands on his hips as if he was addressing a small child who had been caught out misbehaving. “What did we say about giving into what she wants?”
Obi Wan’s jaw stiffened in a visible display of frustration, an oddly human response for the spark Kathryn thought.
“Saying ‘I let her’ makes it seem like I have any sway over what she does.” They replied stiffly. “I’m riding shotgun, remember.” Their line of sight then flickered towards Janeway as if noticing her standing there for the first time. “Captain, it’s good to see you again.”
“Uhh.. likewise.” Kathryn nodded awkwardly. Unlike Q, she had never really gotten used to speaking to the being that possessed their daughter. Knowing it wasn’t actually Jade she was addressing still unsettled her.
“Obi Wan.” Q drew the spark’s attention back to him. “You must have told her how to recalibrate the relay hub for Voyager’s location. To deposit her at this time, this place?”
“I didn’t.” Obi Wan stressed. “I don’t know how she did it. She just said she’d worked it out by herself.”
“And you believe her?” By the way Q asked the question, it was clear he didn’t.
Obi Wan was quiet for a moment and then they met Q’s searching look with a frown.
“How she did it doesn’t matter. She was always going to try to find a way back here Q. You shouldn’t have kept her from Voyager so long.” The response had a notable accusatory tone and Kathryn wondered if this was not the first time the two beings had engaged each other in a debate on this topic. As if to confirm this, annoyance flashed in Q’s face and his pallor darkened.
“You know why I did that.” He snapped and turned around abruptly. “I just…” He was looking at Kathryn now. His eyes were wide and anxious, and in that moment she could see the pressure of the last two months etched visibly in his features. “I just want her to be safe. I want to protect her.” It sounded like he was trying to reassure her more than anything else, or even perhaps himself.
“There are many other ways Jade can hurt, Q.” The spark replied quietly. “She misses her mother.”
Kathryn gave Q a sympathetic look that she hoped would reassure him. I know this is hard but I’m on your side, you’re doing the best you can. She knew now for certain there was something she was missing. Its presence, whatever it was, felt heavy in every terse word and pointed glare between the two cosmic beings and the teenager they were united in protecting. Kathryn only wished everyone would stop arguing with each other so she could finally find out what was going on.
Before she could pry further, Q turned from her and faced Obi Wan again.
“I’ll be leaving Jade with the Captain for a few days,” he said calmly, his tone now carefully measured, “and Junior will watch you. The first sign of trouble and I’ll have him remove you both. Is that understood?”
Obi Wan hesitated but then nodded, remaining silent.
“And I’m relying on you to help inform her choices.” Q continued, “ I…” He too then paused and let out a heavy sigh, his gaze falling to the carpet. The exhale seemed to diminish his size although he had lost none of his height. “Don’t think I don’t know what you are saying Obi Wan. I do, okay?” He looked up again, his gaze less hard. “But you know better than anyone how important it is to be careful right now. I can’t watch her all the time, but you can. You’re not riding shotgun, you know that. Jade trusts you. She listens to you. Please… just make sure she doesn’t do anything too reckless, okay?”
Obi Wan was quiet for a moment and then they gave him a single nod of sincere agreement.
“Of course. I’ll do my best.”
“Alright. I’d like to speak to Jade now, please.”
Obi Wan closed their eyes and then began to cough, the expression on their face distinctly uncomfortable, almost panicked, as if breath was suddenly in short supply.
“Jade?” Q put a hand on her shoulder.
The teenager gave a shudder before letting out a splutter of breath and opening her eyes, in the same way that one might gasp for air having surfaced from below water. The process of returning to her body seemed much less fluid, Kathryn noted, and appeared to be a lot more unpleasant based on Jade’s expression. It was now Jade staring back at her, after all, the golden hue had disappeared to reveal the usual emerald green. Kathryn also noticed how tired she now looked, as if allowing Obi Wan to take hold of her body had drained everything from her.
“Can I go now?” She said again, in a quiet voice, her face turning from Q who still had hold of her shoulder.
“Jade. Look at me.” Q bent down so he was closer to her height, and gently moved her chin back so she would look at him. “I’m sorry for yelling at you.” He then said, his voice rasping and restrained. “When you disappeared… You just scared the hell out of me kiddo, that’s all. I can’t lose you again. Please don’t make me think I might?”
Jade frowned, the decision as to whether she wished to concede was visible in her expression, and then her face softened and she gave him an earnest and slightly apologetic smile.
“I’m sorry.”
Q let out a rueful laugh.
“No you’re not, you little terror.” He pulled her into his arms and Kathryn was relieved to see she accepted the embrace without resistance. “Ohh.. by the cosmos.” He sighed, casting his eyes upward. He then looked back down at the crown of her head and shook his own. “I’m still furious at you, you know,” he said, planting a kiss against her hair, “but I love you so much.”
Jade looked up at him.
“I love you too dad, and I am sorry. Honest. I just…” Sadness flashed in her face and she gave him a resigned shrug. “I just missed mom.”
“I know you do.” Q said gently. “And I’m sorry. I should have told you I called her. It was a… moment of weakness. I missed her too.” He shot a side eye at the Captain and gave her a brief smile.
“I’ll come back at the end of the week.” He then said, directing his attention back to Jade. “Just… be better behaved for your mother okay? For your own sake. She’ll come down on you much harder than I will. Now, scoot.” He laughed, ruffling her hair and then letting her go. “I’ll see you at the end of the week.
This time she gave him a proper hug, the deep unwavering affection between them bursting through the earlier stiffness of their argument.
“Okay, bye.”
“Bye kiddo. Be good.”
Jade had almost skipped to the doorway and was about to leave when Kathryn called out to her.
“Straight back your quarters Jade. No detours. I’ll come and see you once I’ve finished my shift.”
Surprise and frustration flickered across Jade’s face simultaneously.
“But I said I was sorry!?” She cried, throwing her arms up defensively.
Her mother held her questioning stare with a raised eyebrow, an expression that had silenced many before the teemager in both the resoluteness and finality it conveyed. Jade let out a huff in response, her posture slumping again from its brief exuberance.
“Ugh. Fine.” Without another word of debate, she turned on her heels and stomped up the corridor out of sight.

“And you wanted another one of those?” Kathryn quipped dryly as the doors closed behind their disappearing daughter.
“I don’t want to hear ‘I told you so’ right now.” Q’s tone was amiable but seemed a little defeated. His back was still turned as he faced the doorway and his hands were on his hips. While the stress in his posture was clearly evident, Kathryn couldn’t help but run her eyes admiringly from his shoulders, down his back, to his backside. A tiny little sigh escaped from between her lips. However coincidental, he really was built to every one of her specifications.
“So what do you want to hear?” She asked, coming to stand next to him and slipping her hand into his, giving it a squeeze. At the contact, Q immediately swept the hand up and pressed his lips into the palm, turning to face her.
“That you missed me.” He exclaimed, the kisses he lay upon her skin travelling to her wrist before he laid his cheek into her open hand.
Kathryn sighed and gave him a resigned smile.
“Of course I missed you Q.”
“And you love me.”
“I love you.”
“And I’m the handsomest, sexiest, most wonderful man you have ever met.”
She pulled the hand back, laughing.
“Are you done?” She asked, pointedly.
With the hand removed from his grasp, he looked at her properly now, and before she could get a chance to question anything that had just transpired, his own were grasping her cheeks and his mouth was pressing urgently against hers. Kathryn felt her whole body react as she sunk into the kiss that had been denied from her for two months. After a few seconds, Q broke away just enough to throw his arms around her, gathering her back up into him tightly. She could feel the desperation in the hug, as if he too had been hanging on by a thread just to get to this moment.
“I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me anything?” Kathryn chuckled, patting him gently on the back as he continued to embrace her silently.
“I missed you so much.” She heard him mumble in reply.
Kathryn felt a stupid smile slink across her face. It was always so hard to not get swept up in Q’s romantic proclamations. Noone had ever managed to make her feel so equally annoyed and adored at the same time as him.
“I can see that.” She said, and slowly pried him off her so she could look up at him properly.
She raised her hand to his cheek, stroking where the new beard now transitioned to skin. “But that’s not what I meant.”
Q avoided her stare for a moment and then sighed deeply, as if he had suddenly become acutely aware of the weight of the cosmos sitting on his shoulders.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into her.” He spoke carefully, as if he was admitting something embarrassing and choosing his words carefully. “All she is fixated on is reuniting us and my darling Kathy you know I want that too, more than anything.” He finally met her gaze, his voice beginning to escalate, the stress visible on his face. “But she’s getting so reckless. She’s… well, if i’m honest, she’s driving me completely crazy. I can’t take my eyes off her for a second without her putting herself in danger or pulling some stupid stunt! And then…” his eyes widened a little and he clamped his lips together. Kathryn could see the end of the sentence on the tip of his tongue, but for some reason he had stopped himself short of continuing.
“Q,” her hand dropped to his shoulder, “what is it? Tell me?”
Q held her gaze silently, his face locked in a frown. An internal debate appeared to be raging behind the omnipotent being’s eyes. Finally, he shook his head.
“Kathy, it’s nothing to worry about, honestly.” He gave her a reassuring smile, although to Kathryn it seemed half-hearted. “I’ll come back tonight, when Obi Wan can make a shield for us, and then I’ll explain everything then, I promise.”
Kathryn stared back at him for a moment, every part of her resisting the overwhelming urge to push him for an answer. Voyager was unprotected however, and they were on borrowed time. Q was right, it needed to keep. For now.
“Can you at least tell me one thing, before you go?”
Q looked at her apprehensively.
“Yes?”
“The facial hair?” Kathryn continued wryly, and gave him a questioning smile.
“Oh!” Q’s eyebrows raised, and then his face lit up eagerly. “It’s my mortal beard.” He said proudly, moving his chin to show it off to her better. “Do you like it?”
“Yes,” she conceded, and kissed his cheek as if to demonstrate her approval, all the while enjoying the tickling sensation that the rough hair left against her lips, “yes I like very much, but *why* do you have a mortal beard?” She then hesitated and gave him a knowing smirk. “I suppose you’ll tell me that tonight too, right?”
Q grinned at her apologetically, his silence providing the response.
“Alright, you better get out of here.” Kathryn continued, shaking her head. “So, tonight?”
“Tonight, Kathy.”
Q’s gaze locked with hers and his mouth moved in to intercept her, and before she could stop herself, Kathryn’s arms were around his neck, one hand sweeping into his hair, his running fervently across her body, both pressing as much as they could connect against each other. Mouths, bodies, hips deliciously melding into one another. If they hadn’t had the pressing risk of the Continuum swooping in at any moment, Kathryn suspected that they would have been drawn into something missed much more than a farewell kiss. As if drawing to the same conclusion, Q pulled himself from the embrace reluctantly and leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes.
“Control of all time, and yet I never seem to have enough with you.” He whispered.
“That would be too easy Q.” She quipped breathlessly and kissed him again, this time light and sweetly. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“See you tonight.” Q nodded and then, with a flash he was gone.

Jade had done what her mother had commanded and returned to her quarters. They had been assigned to her when she had stayed for the two week stint a couple of months back, and Q had let her fill it with anything she wanted. No daughter of his was going to stay in a boring grey box, he had declared. The decor, therefore, was not exactly Star Fleet issue, she knew, when she visited the quarters of her friends, like Tom and Harry. She had big comfy cushions, and a bright rug, and posters and photos on the yellow walls, a paint colour that had been added by her dad and one her mom had been less than enthused about. Still, whenever Jade stayed on Voyager, after a day or two, she would generally end up migrating back to Kathryn’s quarters, sleeping on the sofa or the pop up bed. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the rooms set up for her. After all, it was the first time she’d ever had a space of her own and that was great. But she still felt better when Kathryn was near her at night. She slept better. Felt… safer. Besides, her time with her mom was so infrequent, any opportunity to be close to her needed to be maximised. She wasn’t sure how much time Kathryn would want to spend with her at the moment, Jade now mused as the doors closed behind her. She seemed pretty angry at her, a fact that Obi Wan had reminded her of several times as they had walked down the corridor away from the ready room.
“Can you stop lecturing me please?” She had snapped back, wobbling a little and holding onto the wall as they had passed a couple of Ensigns, “It’s hard enough to walk and talk to you without looking crazy, it doesn’t help when you are yelling at me!”
Not only was it hard, it was also exhausting. Housing the activated spark was much different to the way it had been before when Obi Wan’s energy was dormant. Jade continuously felt the unfathomable weight of all the knowledge and the power that the spark was trying to withhold from her pressing against the outer edges of her mind, trying to spill in, like an rickety old dam that was holding up against a bloated river after a storm. Obi Wan had been trying to teach her mental exercises that would help alleviate the pressure, to eventually control the flow of the power Jade could access and strengthen the barrier against what she wasn’t ready for, but the lessons hadn’t come naturally to her and she was getting frustrated with herself on the lack of progress.
“I’m tired B. I’m going to have a nap.” She sighed, eyeing the bedroom, “Will you be okay until I wake up?”
“Of course.” Obi Wan had seemed a little sheepish since her outburst. “You should rest. We’ll talk more when you wake up.”
Jade yawned and made her way over to the bed, crawling on top of the covers and rolling onto her back. Above her, the steel grey ceiling of her room, one of the few surfaces not decorated by Q, reminded her reassuringly of where she now found herself.
“Everything is going to be fine now, you’ll see.” She said, with a smile.
“Hmm.” The reply did not seem to indicate that the spark agreed.
“Don’t worry so much B. It’s bad for you.” Jade chuckled sleepily. She couldn’t be mad. She was back on Voyager, she thought, as she stretched out comfortably, closing her eyes. She was back with her mom and she had made it home.
“You don’t worry enough.” The spark retorted. “And that’s bad for all of us.”
Jade made an affirming sound but did not reply, her mind already giving in to a deep and welcome sleep.

Down and down and down into the dark she swam, all the way to the bottom of the ocean. Her dreams were as cloudy as they had ever been, but she swam through them, far beyond them, to the all consuming deep dark blackness below. The current, even this far down, was strong. Resistant. She pushed on however, swimming as hard as she could manage, her head filled with the pounding of the pressure and the hammering of her heart. Finally, the ocean bed came into view and right in the centre of the seabed, there was a door. Jade reached for the handle and gave a hard tug, opening it upward like a trap door. She took one more look around her and then pulled herself inside quickly, taking care to close the door behind her. With the door closed, Jade was now standing, quite dry, in a long corridor. Ahead, more doors stood in rows along each side of the wall. They were black, shiny and fancy looking, like the doors of the old expensive terraced houses in the leafy affluent areas she would visit with her Earth parents when she was a child. Each had a number that rose sequentially across each side of the hall as the corridor progressed. She didn’t know what was behind the other doors, she hadn’t tried them, but something within her innately knew they were not ready to be opened yet. There was only one door she had tried, and that was the one she was visiting now. She walked along the red carpet down the hallway, until she reached door number 15. Standing in front of it, the door felt larger than the others, even though she could see it was the same size. Her hand reached for the door knob, the same hesitation trembling in her fingers as every other time she had visited previously. Taking a deep inhale in for courage, she pushed forward and stepped inside, closing the door quickly behind her. Her eyes squinted to adjust to the darkness and she let out the breath she had been holding out slowly and silently in a bid to quieten her beating heart.
“The wormhole... it worked.” She called out. “I’m here.”
“As I said it would.” A voice replied from the darkness. “Didn’t I tell you to trust me Jade?”

Chapter Text

Kathryn was late finishing her shift on the bridge, staying back to be briefed by Tuvok on his security report for the next region of space they were entering. It was the same report she had failed to get through earlier and therefore this time she listened with renewed interest and rising apprehension as Tuvok delivered his update. From his assessments and Seven’s long range scans, the space ahead of them seemed to be inhabited by warp capable people that lived densely across a number of closely clustered planets. These planets appeared to be part of a collective, a small federation of sorts, ruled by the largest and closest world to their current position. Tuvok had informed her what little he had found about the planet, but what the Captain now wanted to discuss most was what he’d told her lay in the space beyond it; the direction they were now heading in. The first warning had come during a recent away mission to a local trading world they had just passed. It had been here that, while stopping for supplies, one of the away crews had first heard whispers about ‘the labyrinth’.
“Show me the entire network again?” Kathryn said, gesturing to the viewer screen on the wall.
Tuvok pressed a button to widen the image they had been staring at for the last fifteen minutes. She could see where the name labyrinth had come from; without knowing what one was looking at, it would appear to most to be a maze in space, knotted and woven lines of red running like passageways through the map of stars. It had been revealed, however, to be a vast network of sensor barricades that lay across the open space and beyond, from what they could tell, to the outer edge of the region. Nothing could move through without being detected, and if one had the unfortunate mistake of being so, the advanced weaponry installed in each of the sensor stations Seven had detected in the long range scans would take care of the problem quickly and without mercy.
“Hmm.” Kathryn was staring at the image intently, her eyes flitting between the tiny dots on the screen that collectively failed to do the colossal size of the sensor system justice. “And how long to go around?”
“With the necessary retreat through the Tal Bin pass?” Tuvok began, referencing the precarious highly unstable slipstream the traders had shown Voyager how to carefully ease its way through a fortnight earlier, “Eighty-two days Captain.”
A compressed sigh escaped Kathryn’s lips and she rubbed the throbbing vein in her temple idly.
“The Dopki were right about a short cut.” She muttered coolly. “It’s a shame they forgot to mention this.”
Tuvok raised an eyebrow, tilting his head in a gesture indicating agreement.
“Indeed.”
“And when is Neelix back?”
Neelix, having some knowledge of the merchants in the area, had volunteered to head back to Gadao, another trading colony they had just passed, to find out more information about the sensor network and, more importantly, any way of getting through it.
“He is scheduled to return by 1100 hours tomorrow.” Tuvok replied.
“Good.” Kathryn finally drew her gaze from the screen to look back at him. “Schedule a briefing with the command crew then. Let’s hear what he has to say and then I want options.”
“Yes Captain.”

Kathryn had almost forgotten the events of the morning by the time she left her ready room and the reminder that Jade was waiting for her back at her quarters suddenly soared through her excitedly. She’d be hungry by now, she thought, Tuvok’s briefing had kept her much later than anticipated. I wonder what she feels like for dinner? I can’t believe she is really here! Happier than she had been for fifty days prior, Kathryn hummed excitedly to herself as she practically skipped at double pace to the turbo lift. She arrived at Jade’s room about ten minutes later, and punched in the code into the door keypad to let herself in as she normally did.
“Jade?”
Silence greeted her. Kathryn frowned. Hmm.. that’s odd? Remembering how tired Jade had looked, she walked over to the bedroom and stuck her head around the entry. The bed looked like it had been disturbed, laid on perhaps, but it was now unoccupied, much like the rest of the room. Jade’s quarters seemed long abandoned. She was not here after all? For a moment, a sense of panic gripped Kathryn’s chest as the thought that Jade had been snatched away by some unseen force in her absence popped into her head. This was then quickly replaced by a different emotion, as her rational mind kicked into gear. A different explanation was unfortunately much more likely. She sighed wearily and rubbed her forehead again. She was so ready not to be mad at the teenager. All she wanted to feel was elation that Jade was home. Why did she have to make that so challenging?
“Computer, locate Jade Janeway.” She said in a resigned voice.
“Jade Janeway is located in holodeck one.”
Kathryn put her hands on her hips and tutted disapprovingly, annoyed albeit still somewhat relieved that her intuition had been correct. She now knew exactly what her missing daughter was doing.
“Computer, name the other crew members also located in holodeck one right now?”
This was less of a question, she knew the answer even before the dulcet tone of the ship’s computer filled the silence.
“Lieutenant Tom Paris, Ensign Harry Kim.”
“Right.” With gritted teeth, the Captain of Voyager turned immediately on her heels and headed out of the abandoned quarters in the direction of her holodeck suite.

“I’d watch her Harry, she’ll have your entire weekly rations if you’re not careful.”
Tom was laughing when he pulled open the door to his newly developed holo-speakeasy. He had been pleased with the program, the perfect place to base his new weekly poker nights, but he was still working out some of the finer details. He wanted it to be as authentic as possible, like a real prohibition era bar, but he was still trying to get the feel of the place right. Harry and he had been eagerly enroute to the holodeck after their shift had ended when they’d run into Jade lurking in the corridor. Judging by her glum expression, Tom assumed the reunion with her parents in the Captain’s ready room had not gone well. Instead of probing the issue, he patted her on the shoulder sympathetically.
“You look like someone in need of something to do.” He chuckled. “Why don’t you come help us on the holo-deck? We’re working on a new program. We could use your expertise.”
Jade’s face lit up at first but then she fell into a frown again just as quickly and gave the pair a heart hearted shrug.
“I’m waiting for mom.”
“We just left the bridge,” Harry replied, “ and the Captain was about to get a security report from Tuvok. She’ll be ages.” He grinned at Tom, evidently still pleased that they, unlike their superior, had avoided being roped into one of the Vulcan’s infamously lengthy post-shift briefings. “Just tell her to pick you up here when she’s done?” He then added, addressing Jade again.
The girl immediately brightened.
“Great!”
The trio continued to walk in the direction the officers had been originally heading, Tom and Harry eagerly filling Jade in on what they had designed so far.
“And we’re having our first poker session tonight if you want to join us.” Harry continued as they arrived at the entry to holodeck one. “I think there will be six of us now so there is plenty of room at the table to lose some money!”
“Really?” Jade nodded along eagerly. “I’d love to.”
“If it’s fine with the Captain.” Tom interjected, casting Harry a wary look. “I can ask her if you want me to?” He then said to Jade gently, a silent acknowledgement of the circumstances surrounding her arrival. Janeway had not returned to the bridge after Q and Jade’s appearance, choosing to spend the rest of her shift working from her ready room, so Tom hadn’t had the opportunity to judge her resulting mood. Surely she was happy though? He’d seen on her face how much their absence was weighing on her; despite her assurances that she was fine, the entire crew could sense the heaviness that had settled over their Captain in recent weeks. And of course Jade was still here, which was a good sign it hadn’t caused too much upset. Still… it was probably not the best idea to antagonise her mother any further.
“That’s okay. I’ll do it when we get inside.” Jade said, smiling up at him. “She’ll be totally fine with it though… besides, what else am I going to be doing?”
“Running into mischief, that’s what.” Tom grinned and ruffled her hair. “It’s good to have you back. Computer, activate program Paris Zeta Alpha five - Demo.” He then called into the panel on the wall.
“It’s good to be back.” Jade nodded, and put an arm around each of them as they headed inside. “I’ve missed you guys.”

The laughter that had been continuously present over the two hours that followed their arrival on holodeck one dissipated in an instant however as Tom realised that the person who had knocked at the door to his new bar was not one of the other ensigns he had invited to play poker that evening but someone much more senior and acutely unimpressed.
“Captain!”
Kathryn met his gaze coolly. She was leaning against the door frame with her arms folded.
“I believe you have something that belongs to me Lieutenant.” Her sharp blue eyes drifted past him into the room beyond. Her jaw was tight, her cheeks drawn inward, as if she was sucking on a boiled lolly. Tom knew that look. He’d been on the wrong side of it often enough.
“She… didn’t tell you she was here, did she.” He grimaced, tugging at his collar nervously. He didn’t need an answer to the question, her expression told him everything he needed to know. “Uhh.. Jade?”
Instead of waiting, Kathryn stepped past him and entered, coming to a standstill at the entrance area. Tom followed quickly and watched his superior officer survey the scene with an unreadable expression. Jade and Harry were sat as he had left them, Harry behind the bar and Jade sitting on the punter's side with her back to the door, her winning hand of poker on the bar top between them, a practice round before the others arrived. At Tom’s call, Jade had turned her head. Her face, initially bright with enthusiasm, quickly faulted at the sight of the newcomer stood next to him.
“Mom… Hi...”
There was a tinge of apprehension in her voice and Tom knew with a sinking feeling that his assumption at the door had been correct.
Kathryn raised an eyebrow and cast her eyes up to her Lieutenant disapprovingly, immediately verifying this.
“Poker?”
“It’s.. educational.” Tom said quickly and flashed her an appeasing grin. “Like math class.”
The Captain folded her arms and gave him an unimpressed look.
“In a bar..” she continued, in a tone that told him his charm was not going to get him out of this.
“A holobar.” There was a notable squeak in his voice that he couldn’t quite qwell. “She’s not drinking. It’s just… root beer.” He pointed quickly at a bucket with several bottles stacked together in ice. “A few of us… Harry, me, and a few of the ensigns, we’ve been meeting on and off to play cards. I wanted to make a more realistic setting and I asked Jade to help me with the program. We thought it was only fair she scored an invite.”
“I thought you said you said she was fine with it.” Harry hissed at Jade.
Jade began to occupy herself with shuffling the cards.
“Well.. you know, fine is a… strong word.” She began carefully..
“Jade, you said you’d asked permission.” Tom said with a stern parental tone, folding his arms to mirror the Captain’s stance in a bid to separate himself from the trouble Jade was now in. Janeway’s gaze was fixed squarely on her daughter however, who still didn’t look up from the deck.
“And why don't you tell Harry and Tom why you didn’t ask me Jade?” She asked, walking forward and turning Jade around on the rotating stool so she had to face her. Jade complied with the movement, but did not raise her eyes.
“You would have said no.” She mumbled.
“And why I would’ve said no?” The Captain leaned in a little closer to make the line of sight between the pair more difficult to avoid.
“Because… I’m grounded.” Jade sighed, finally looking up to meet her steely gaze. “And you told me to wait in my room.”
“Captain!” Harry gulped like a goldfish out of water. “We didn’t know.”
“It’s not their fault,” Jade said quickly, jumping to her feet. “Don’t blame Harry and Tom. I gate-crashed. You were taking ages and I was so bored!” She then cried, throwing her arms into the air in protest.
Kathryn straightened up and sighed but Tom noted her face had softened a little, and there was a hint of resigned bemusement in the expression behind the eye roll that followed.
“You’re supposed to be bored, that’s what being grounded means.” She took her by the shoulders and steered her back towards the door. “Say goodnight Jade.”
“Goodnight.” Jade sang out a little defiantly, and then shuffled towards the exit ahead of the Captain.
She stalled by the door and turned her head, flashing her friends an apologetic smile.
“I’m really sorry guys, invite me for the next one?”
“Out.”
The stern direction from her mother saw her scarper finally from view.
Kathryn stopped, one hand on the door frame, and turned back towards those left in the room.
“I’ll see you both at 0700.” She said pointedly.
Tom and Harry both stood to attention, synchronised both in speed and enthusiasm.
“Aye Captain.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Neither would see Kathryn’s smirk as she slipped from view out of the speakeasy and returned to her parental problems in the 24th century.

“I know… I know...”
Jade skipped a little quicker to keep pace with her mother’s brisk stomp along the corridor.
“I know you know, that’s why I’m cross.” Kathryn cut back. “I wasn’t joking Jade. You’re not here on a holiday.”
Jade visibly winced at the blunt tone.
“I… I know,” she said again, this time more sincerely, “it’s just... it’s been ages since I was here last and I’ve missed everyone so much! Please don’t confine me to quarters. I’ll be good, I promise.”
She then pouted dramatically, clasping her hands under her chin as if begging for forgiveness.
Kathryn scoffed at the gesture.
“Don’t.”
“What?”
“Don’t use your father’s tricks. It doesn’t work for him so it won’t work for you.”
Jade let out a cry of indignation, slowing her pace.
“But… I'm way more responsible than dad and…” Beginning to lag behind, she hurried forward again to Kathryn’s side, “uh… better behaved, and… and well, I don’t start as much trouble as he does, do I.” She pushed her hair out of her eyes and gave her mother a beaming sweet smile as if to prove her point.
Kathryn raised an eyebrow. Face of an angel. Yeah right.
“Are you sure about that?”
Jade simply grinned in response and then linked her arm as if the matter was now resolved between them, causing Kathryn to snort and roll her eyes.
“You drive me just as crazy.” She muttered and then laughed, properly this time, clasping her arm around the girl and giving her a squeeze. Jade was, in so many ways, like Q, including being annoyingly impossible to stay mad at.
“Huh that’s funny,” Jade giggled, “dad says the same too.”
“I bet.” Kathryn re-linked her arm, their walk finally relaxing to a more leisurely pace as the tension thawed between them as quickly as it had arrived, “so, speaking of your father. Why are you giving him such a hard time?”
Jade suddenly looked affronted.
“I’m not!” She said, frowning.
Kathryn gave her a pointed look and held it until the teenager relented.
“Oh I don’t mean to.” Jade replied earnestly. “I just wanted to see you. I missed you.”
Kathryn slowed to a halt and, releasing her arm, turned to face her.
“I miss you too angel,” she said, a little softer, “all the time, but you can’t just run off and do what you want. The Continuum…”
“I don’t care about the Continuum.” Jade cut over her, folding her arms insolently and looking away up the corridor towards the direction they had been heading.
“Jade…” Kathryn sighed, “sweetheart...” She reached for her face and gently guided it back towards her. “I know this is tough on you but it’s not going to be forever.”
“But you don’t know that.” Jade exclaimed, her shoulders slumping downwards in frustration. Her bottom lip had jutted out a little in protest but her eyes had also turned glassy, betraying deeper emotions. The expression made Kathryn’s heart hurt.
“Yes I do.” She countered, her hand leaving Jade’s cheek to smooth the hair that had fallen over her forehead back behind her ear.
“How?” Jade pressed, staring up at her now.
“Well…” Kathryn appeared to consider this question for a moment, “because I’m your mother, and I’m Captain,” she added, offering her a knowing smile, “which means I know everything. It’s in the job description.”
To her relief, Jade gave in to a reluctant grin.
“Which one? Mother or Captain?”
Kathryn arched an eyebrow.
“Both.”
This made Jade laugh.
“Now you do sound like dad.”
Kathryn joined her and then pulled the girl into her arms, an embrace which Jade reciprocated eagerly. Kathryn closed her eyes as she felt the arms wrap tightly around her, clinging as if someone was threatening Jade off the ship at that very moment.
“The point is,” she continued, blinking to stem her own blurry vision, “at some point we are going to be back together so I need you to try and keep yourself in one piece, and not give Q or I a heart attack before that happens please?” She looked down at the dark hair below her chin and planted a kiss against it. “Frankly, I don’t need the stress.”
“Sorry.” Came the muffled reply.
“Alright.” Kathryn smiled, and then released her. “I’m going to make you a deal.” Putting her hands on her shoulders, she leaned down to Jade’s eye height. “You aren’t grounded but I want you to apologise to your dad when he comes to get you... a real apology Jade, one you actually mean.” She added sternly as Jade opened her mouth to protest. “And I meant what I said. You are not to pull a stunt like you did to get here again, do I make myself clear?”
“Yes Captain.” Jade sang back but Kathryn’s narrowed gaze caused the mirth to immediately disappear.
“Yes mom.” She said quietly. .
“And you promise me that you are going to stay out of trouble while you’re here?”
“Yes!” Jade’s tone was becoming exasperated at being pressed.
“I mean it.” Kathryn replied, unwavering. “I don’t want to be disappointed in you. Don’t let me down.”
This did the trick. Jade scowled. Now she would have to behave.
“You don’t play fair.” She pouted, genuinely this time, folding her arms.
Satisfied, the Captain grinned back at her and straightened back up to her full height again.
“How do you think I put up with Q all these years?” She quipped. “Well?”
“I promise.”
“Good girl. Come on,” Kathryn nudged her arm. “I don’t want to quarrel, I’ve missed you!” She pulled her under her arm and, Jade giggling, they returned to their easy walking pace. “Why don’t we get some dinner? I’m starving.”
“Ooh…” Jade gasped excitedly, “can we make cookies?”
“For dinner?” Kathryn eyed her incredulously.
“Please!”
“Alright fine, you can have a couple of cookies but while we make dinner. You know, food with some level of nutritional value, a vegetable perhaps? Honestly, what is your father feeding you?”

Presuming correctly that Jade would be spending her first evening in Voyager with her mother, Q had left a bag of her belongings on the bed in Kathryn’s quarters rather than her own. The teenager had rummaged through it, tutting a number of the choices made, and then excused herself to go and get showered and changed. Kathryn had passed the time in her absence finishing off Tuvok’s written report, and then had replicated some chocolate chip cookies for Jade and a coffee for herself. She was carrying the tray back to the coffee table when the teenager returned from the bathroom with wet hair and a big grin on her face. She was wearing a big white t-shirt with some sort of decorative drawing that looked like a face, the length of which hit her knees, and light grey long pants. In one hand she was carrying what Kathryn recognised to be fluffy bed socks. Jade’s feet were always cold so there were stashes of socks wherever she went, socks of all colours and patterns thanks to her father. Today’s were light blue and had tiny bumblebees on them Kathryn noted. She was about to comment on the wet hair, which was dripping on Jade’s shoulders, when the t-shirt she was wearing moved enough for Kathryn to get a proper look at the image. She stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening.
“Please tell me that’s not what I think it is?” She spat.
Jade stretched the fabric out properly so she could see. A huge picture of Q’s face stared back at her, a slightly maniacal grin on his face, the kind that he often pulled when he had sprung his powers on her unexpectedly.
“It was in my bag in your room. I think dad was worried I’d miss him.” Jade laughed, staring down at the shirt. “Or maybe it’s a reminder that he’s always watching. I dunno.”
Kathryn let out something between a laugh and a grunt of disbelief.
“Your father is so…,” she paused, shaking her head as she tried to find the right word, “...strange.”
“I know. He has one of you, you know.” Jade replied, and waggled her eyebrows mischievously in a manner that reminded the Captain very much of Q.
“What?!” Kathryn’s smile faded. “You better be joking.” She said sharply.
Jade giggled but didn’t reply. Kathryn couldn’t tell if she was teasing. Perhaps it was better not to know. Before she could probe her further, the tray of cookies in her hand distracted the girl and her eyes lit up.
“Oooh!”
“Ah.” Kathryn quickly moved it away as she reached for it. “Go dry your hair off first,” she pointed back at the direction of the doorway Jade had exited, “then you can have one.”
Jade pouted and then, spinning around on her heels, shuffled back into the bathroom. Kathryn watched her go and then stuck one of the cookies in her mouth, wondering idly as she listened to the hum of the dryer what a t-shirt with her face on looked like.

Jade returned five minutes later with hair that bordered on damp and, with the bathroom now vacated, Kathryn had left her alone so she too could get changed out of her uniform. She returned to the living room fifteen minutes later to find Jade sitting cross legged on the sofa, half a chocolate chip cookie dangling freely from between her lips and a look of pained concentration on her face as she tried to wrestle a brush through her own hair. The straightening effect she’d arrived with had not withstood Voyager’s shower and, exposed to a half-hearted blast from the dryer and the subsequent warmth of the room, a more familiar mass of springy curls had begun to resurface.
“Here…” Kathryn gestured for her to move, sitting down on the sofa as Jade flopped to the floor by her feet. Once on the carpet, she leaned backwards against the sofa base and passed the hair brush back over her shoulder to her mother.
“Is this permanent?” Kathryn asked as she began to draw it through her tangles as gently as possible.
“What?”
“You know what.”
Finishing the first half of her cookie, Jade picked up the part she had discarded on the plate earlier and took a bite.
“Ah ha.” She nodded. Kathryn couldn’t see her face but she knew the teenager looked proud of herself at that moment. She tutted, but couldn’t hold back the grin.
“I can’t believe you dyed it blue.” She scoffed.
“Well dad didn’t like the orange last time.” Jade replied, pausing her chewing for a moment to wince as her mother tackled a particularly difficult knot.
Kathryn let out a tutting sound.
“I can’t imagine he particularly liked this colour either Jade.”
“Dad doesn’t like anything at the moment.” Jade muttered quietly.
“Well that's because he’s not used to not being the only one misbehaving.” She tapped her daughter gently on the head with the back of the brush as if to emphasise her point.
“Hmm.”
“Hmm indeed. Alright, you’re all done.” Kathryn smoothed down what she could and then patted Jade lightly on the side of the shoulder. “Move over.”
Jade slid a few inches to the side and allowed space for Kathryn to move down to the carpet to join her. As she landed, the teenager immediately slid into her side and curled up against her.
“Thanks mom.” She ran a hand through her hair. “It is always less painful when you do it.”
Oh…
Feeling the weight of the girl against her made the Captain’s eyes water. She’s finally here. She’s safe and she’s home.
“Ohh I missed you.” She sighed, wrapping her arms around her and hugging her tightly. “Blue hair and all.” She chuckled.
“Missed you more.” Jade giggled, snuggling into the embrace.
“That’s not possible.” Kathryn relinquished the hold and then rotated herself slightly, leaning her side against the sofa, so she could address Jade properly. “Look, I know you’re having a difficult time adjusting to all of this, and I know you think we’re being hard on you but we’re just being cautious Jade. Your father and I.. Well, we just want you to be safe and happy.”
Jade looked up at her and gave her an earnest smile.
“But I am happy, mom. I’m home! And soon you and dad will be back together, and dad will feel better and then we can be a family again.”
Kathryn sighed and lent her head on her hand as her elbow came to rest against the sofa cushion. She appraised the hopeful glow in her daughter’s face with a sinking feeling in her stomach.
“Jade, honey, you staying here is only going to be temporary.” She said gently. “You know it’s too dangerous. Sooner or later, Q is going to have to take you back.”
“Not unless you get back to Earth first.” Jade retorted.
Kathryn let out a single laugh and closed her eyes, nodding.
“That would be nice, but unlikely.” She sighed, brushing her own hair backwards from her forehead absentmindedly before continuing to work on massaging the dull throb in her temple. The headache had definitely subsided but she could still feel what seemed like the blood working extra hard to make her brain work. I need some sleep tonight, she thought ruefully, that or a hypospray.
“But that’s what you said, right?” She then heard Jade continue. “When you get back to earth, we can all be together. The Continuum will leave us alone.”
“Yes…” Kathryn opened her eyes and lifted her head from her hand. “That’s what I said, but that’s not going to happen any time soon. You do realise that, don't you?” She eyed the teenager warily. An unnerving look of determination had crossed the young girl’s face.
“We’ll see.”
“Jade..”
“What?!” Jade realised her mother was now looking at her and quickly adopted an innocent expression.
“I don’t like when you get that look.” Kathryn frowned. “It’s too much like Q, it makes me nervous.” She squinted at her, suddenly suspicious. “You’re not planning on doing anything reckless are you?”
“Of course not.” Jade said brightly, stretching out her legs and wiggling her toes as she finished the last bite of the cookie in her hand. She seemed honest in her response although it occurred to Kathryn that Jade’s definition of reckless vastly differed from her own.
“And you don’t have anything to tell me do you? No secrets you’re keeping?”
“No...” Avoiding her eye, Jade picked up another biscuit, broke it in half again and shoved one of the pieces in her mouth. “Like what?” She mumbled through animated chewing.
“Like.. I don’t know… why you left Edotine for example?”
There was a definitive pause and Kathryn saw the hesitation in her face as she registered where the line of questioning was going. She then gave her a placating smile and offered her the second piece of the cookie.
“Want some?”
“Jade. I know Q and you aren’t telling me something. What happened? Where did you go?”
Jade frowned and for a moment, she seemed flustered.
“You should ask dad.” She then said quickly.
“Well he’s not here,” Kathryn replied firmly, “so I’m asking you.”
She wondered whether she was pushing her too hard. Was it wrong to make her comment on something she seemed to think was out of her control? Something had happened though, Kathryn was sure of it, something that neither Q and Jade wanted to talk about, and whatever it was, it had led to Jade’s surprise appearance on Voyager.
Jade looked down at the cookie piece in her hand, the chocolate was beginning to warm under the press of her fingers.
“I…”
For a second, Kathryn thought she had broken through but then Jade shook her head.
“I’m here, isn’t that more important?” She asked, her voice hardening a little.
“Jade.” Kathryn promoted gently again, her other hand lifting the girl's chin upward so she’d look at her. “Come on. Talk to me. No more secrets, remember?”
Jade moved her head back and fell silent and appeared to be considering this while she sucked the melted chocolate from the pad of her thumb.
“Alright.” She conceded. “After we left Edotine, Dad took me to…” she swallowed, “we went back to Iogia.”
“What?” Kathryn’s eyes widened and she sat up properly, her arm dropping. “But… why? Why the hell would he take you there?”
“I don’t know.” Jade cried, her voice sounding small, “I didn’t want to go, but dad said we had to. I just…” she raised up her knees and wrapped her arms tightly around herself in a little ball, her chin leaning on her knees. “I didn’t like it there. I don’t want to be anywhere near that place. What if … he had turned up. I didn’t feel safe”
Fernand. It had been Fernand’s fortress that Q and she had first rescued her from all those months ago. The fortress where Jade had experienced unspeakable horrors. Surely not…
“Oh...”
In her shock, Kathryn didn’t know what to say and so she instead pulled her into her arms and wrapped herself around the girl.
“Don’t you see?” Jade clung to her tightly. “I had to get away! I just wanted to come home.”
“Well you’re here now.” Kathryn said, hushing her soothingly. “It’s alright, don’t worry.”
Jade lifted her head, her bottom lip quivering.
“Please don’t send me away again mom? I just want to stay here with you. Please let me?”
Kathryn held her breath. She didn’t want to promise her, she knew she couldn’t, but the look on Jade’s face was impossible to say no to.
“Let’s… talk to your dad about it. He’s popping in later tonight. I’m sure we can work something out.” She clasped her hands to Jade’s cheeks, “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” Jade nodded. “I’m okay.”
“Good. I’m sorry honey, I didn’t mean to upset you. I just…” Kathryn paused, and then shook her head. It wasn’t the time. She would talk to Q first. “Never mind. Come on.. finish your cookie, you’re getting crumbs on the carpet. Honestly? For dinner? Crazy girl.” She shot a grin, and was relieved when Jade reciprocated. She then poked her in the side teasingly and laughed as Jade erupted into a fit of giggles at being tickled. “And don’t think I don’t know that’s your third. Let’s get some actual food, alright?”
“Okay. I love you mom.”
“I love you too, angel. Come on.”

Chapter Text

After hearing Q had intended to return that evening, Jade had insisted on staying up to wait for her father, presumably to give her unsolicited opinion on where she should be allowed to live. Despite her protests, she had ended up falling asleep on the sofa and, as Kathryn glanced up at her from her reading chair, the girl remained as she had been for the last hour, stretched out on her stomach with her face turned from view, one arm curled back under her head like a pillow. Seeing her so comfortable made Kathryn smile and then yawn idly, but she too was determined not to miss Q. He’d said that he would come back that night and he’d also promised he would explain everything. Kathryn did not know how he could explain taking Jade back to the place where Fernand had kept her captive and done much worse. What possible reason could he have had, what risk could they have faced, for that to be their only credible option? Rubbing her eyes with one hand, she turned the page of her book with the other, but then immediately turned it back again as she knew she hadn’t digested a single word. She then reached for her coffee and, frowning for she did not remember finishing it, stared down at the brown dregs in the bottom of the cup considering whether it was too late for another. Before she could act either way on that thought, to her surprise, the ship’s computer buzzed, alerting her that she had a visitor. Strange. Q surely wouldn't come by the door? Kathryn put the book and the coffee cup back down on the side table and stood up, adjusting her dressing gown tighter around her waist as she made her way to the entry of her quarters. She then pressed the panel on the wall and adopted a smile to greet whoever the newcomer was as the doorway slid open.
“Commander?”
“Captain.” Chakotay gave her a friendly nod. “Oh…” He glanced down momentarily and adopted a sheepish smile as if he had suddenly noticed her dressing gown and realised the time. “It’s late, I’m sorry.”
“That’s alright.” Kathryn was surprised to see him but she greeted him warmly nonetheless. “I was still up. Everything okay?”
“Yes, I was just passing really. I was speaking with Tuvok.” He gestured back down the corridor with the pad that was in his hand. “He was briefing me on this network from the long range sensor sweep.”
Kathryn assumed what he was holding was a copy of the same report Tuvok had briefed her on earlier. Chakotay had been working down in engineering with B’Elanna all afternoon as the calibrations in the warp drive’s systems needed to periodically enter and exit the slip stream passages they were using to travel had required continuous attention. While there had been plenty of skillful technicians on hand to assist with the work, Chakotay had mainly been there to ensure their Chief Engineer didn’t allow her frustrations with the highly variable and time pressured adjustments to boil over into the management of her team. He must have stopped by the bridge enroute, Kathryn thought.
“Yes,” she raised her eyebrows. “Quite the system isn’t it? Could be an interesting first contact.”
Chakotay nodded again, his eyes drifting back to the pad.
“They clearly have some technology we’d be interested in.” He said, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. “This shielding in particular could be very handy. They clearly know how to reinforce their ships to handle longer journeys through the slipstream.” He then looked up at her and grinned. “For Engineering’s sake, I hope they are willing to share.”
“For all our sake.” Kathryn mused. “I hate to think what B’Elanna would do to us if we had to tell her we were turning around again to go back the way we came.”
Chakotay gave a fake shudder as if the concept was unthinkable and they both laughed.
“At this stage, I’ll settle for just safe passage through their space.” Kathryn continued wryly, the memory of Tuvok’s update and the sensation of foreboding it provoked was still fresh in her mind. There was no reason to think that this first contact would not go smoothly but Kathryn could not shake the feeling that there were challenges ahead they did not yet know about. “We’ll need to get a closer look but those cannons look pretty formidable already.” She then let out a rueful sigh and shook her head. “I really don’t feel like making any more enemies this month.”
Chakotay smiled sympathetically at her, perhaps reading her train of thought.

They’d stumbled into this region off space after a run in with a people they had later found were known as the Ekun. The Ekun ship had managed to deal a number of blows to Voyager before they had managed to escape and had limped into a nearby asteroid field to find a safe place to assess the damage caused. Kathryn had thought that the second ship they had encountered in the heart of the field was waiting for them to commence a second attack but the design and the technology of the vessel had shown it belonged to a different race. Taking their chances, Kathryn had hailed them and learned they were Dopki and traders operating from a mining station that was currently orbiting a nearby planet. More importantly, they were also avoiding the Ekun and had somehow managed to successfully until that point. It had been their Captain who had, somewhat reluctantly, shown how, guiding them the entrance to the slip stream they were now travelling, a naturally occurring subdimensional corridor through the region that could speed up their travel exponentially. The Dopki used it to ferry shipments for their mining and also to avoid Ekun scout ships. On their first attempt to follow the Dopki vessel into the phenomenon, they had nearly breached Voyager’s hull, much to B’Elanna’s chagrin. It appeared that their rescuers had made modifications to their own shields that enabled them to move deeper into the corridor without causing structural damage to their ship, allowing longer travel over greater distances. After two more attempts and some innovative adjustments by B’Elanna with help from the Dopki Captain, they found Voyager was able to drift on the outer edges of the corridor, pulled along by the natural mechanics of the slipstream like a small surfer catching a giant wave. They wouldn’t travel as far or as fast as the Dopki, but they would be able to move through the Ekun’s territory relatively unseen over short periods.
“We’re ahead of schedule in our shipment delivery,” the Captain had said begrudgingly, after they had offered some of the ship's deuterium as payment for services rendered. “We can afford to travel at your speed for a few rotations. We’ll take you as far as the Tal Bin pass. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you’ll be smashed to bits by the spatial ruptures, and you don’t.” He eyed Kathryn and her crew dubiously. “Clearly.”
Kathryn raised her eyebrows and controlled her smile so it reflected well practised diplomatic appreciation. She wanted to laugh but knew she’d be in more trouble with the old Captain, and likely also B’Elanna who looked furious.
“We appreciate your generous wisdom, Comsar.” She said quickly, before her Chief Engineer could verbalise her feelings, and bowed her head.
Despite his gruff attitude, Kathryn quite liked the old man without knowing why. He had made a brief visit to Voyager after the first attempt to enter the slipstream had failed so she could finally get a proper look at the man who had peered at her disapprovingly through the viewer. He was human looking, she thought, the Dopki biology seemed to be close to human, but large in stature and he moved like he was used to being viewed as intimidating. Despite his older years, he’d kept a shock of fiery red hair and wiry beard of the same colour that connected at his ears and made him look like a lion. One of his blue eyes was false and mechanical, and it joined the real one to roam around Voyager’s engineering section with the sharp interest of a man who knew instinctively how things should work. He reviewed their efforts to meet the technical requirements needed to traverse the slipstream in the manner of an old professor reluctant to make life too easy for an eager student, disappointed but not entirely dismissive. Perhaps that was why she liked him; he reminded Kathryn a little of the old admirals she had worked hard to impress in her early StarFleet years. Was that why he had not told her about the network, because he had helped too much and she had needed to work that out for herself? Perhaps it was just not important enough to mention. She hoped it was the latter, but something about their last exchange made her feel he knew they had challenges still ahead. They had squeezed their way through the Tal Bin pass which was, as promised, a precarious few hours for the Voyager crew before they were free and out of Ekun space.
“Thank you Com Dago. We appreciate the assistance of you and your crew. We’ll find our own way from here.”
The Dopki Captain was silent for a moment and then he leaned in towards the viewer as if to get a better look at her, or at least to eye her more disapprovingly.
“You travel loudly Com Sitara. Like a precocious child. That will be a problem for you around here.”
Kathryn did not know how she could not ‘travel loudly’ in a star ship but, not wanting to insult their means of escape, she buried her pride and smiled humbly.
“We’ll try to be more careful.”
“Comsar, what does Sitara mean? Do I want to know?” Comsar, she’d learned, was a term used to assign a Captain’s rank in Daro’s people’s tongue, with Com usually being added to the name as an address. The Dopki Captain had called her Sitara from almost their initial meeting.
Com Daro was silent for a moment and then what she imagined was a rare and begrudging smile crept over his face before the viewer screen went black.

Chakotay cleared his throat, breaking Kathryn from her memory.
“So, speaking of sneaking places undetected,” he then said, folding his arms and raising an eyebrow, “We have a stow away I believe?”
“Stow away?” It took Kathryn a second to catch on, “Ohhh, yes, you heard.” She then chuckled. She could feel her cheeks warming with embarrassment with the reminder that her personal life had caused such a public ruckus on the bridge.
Chakotay grinned and nodded.
“Tuvok told me. It’s good news.” He then added reassuringly, as if making it clear he was only teasing her.
“Did Tuvok also tell you how she arrived?”
The Commander’s smile faulted a little.
“He did.”
“Hmm.” Kathryn pursed her lips. “Don’t get me wrong,” she folded her arms and leaned against the door frame. “I was desperate to see her but this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. But… she’s going to stay until the end of the week. I think maybe Q needs a break.” She had volunteered this without him asking and immediately caught herself, knowing she was speaking out of turn by revealing Q’s frustrations to Chakotay. “I don't know,” she added quickly. “He was supposed to be here tonight, but I guess he got held up.”
Chakotay tilted his head slightly and gave her a questioning look. He seemed to have noticed her pivot.
“Everything alright?”
“Yes...” She paused and Chakotay waited, as if assuming she wanted to say more. “Everything’s fine.”
There was further pregnant silence. He was giving her space to fill.
“Q took Jade to Iogia.” The words tumbled out before she could stop them. She had been on tender hooks for hours to talk to Q about this but Q wasn’t here. “That’s where they were.”
“Iogia…,” Chakotay frowned and then recognition crossed his face, “that’s where you first found her, right? The bounty hunter’s fortress…. Ahhh.”
Kathryn could see in his expression that it had finally dawned on him why that might be an issue. He was quiet for a moment and Kathryn could see he was trying to decide what was appropriate to ask.
“Do you know why?” He settled on. It was a good question. It was Kathryn’s only question.
Kathryn shook her head.
“There must have been a good reason.” Chakotay offered with a shrug.
He was being surprisingly accommodative of Q’s reasoning, Kathryn thought. Maybe there had been enough thawing between the two men that Chakotay’s inclination to always see the good in everyone had finally thwarted his singular aversion to the omnipotent being. Perhaps it was simply because he likely knew how distressing this revelation would be for his Captain and that was more important than scoring a few low blows in Q’s absence. Kathryn should have felt calmed by it and grateful but a flicker of irritation warmed within her. She wanted someone to be as outraged as she was.
“What Chakotay?” She asked, a little more hotly than she had intended. “What reason could he have had to take her back to that place? I can’t think of any?”
She hated to admit it but regardless of the reason, Kathryn felt an immediate sense of fury and anguish at the idea that Q would take Jade anywhere near that planet. The Continuum had searched for Fernand after the events at Jade’s birthday but he had evaded capture. Everyone assumed he had succumbed to the injuries Q had inflicted upon him but it made Kathryn suspicious that the Q of all beings could not verify his death. She did not expect to see him again but she didn’t like that Q would take Jade to a place that was so full of memories of the bounty hunter’s most heinous acts, especially when they didn’t know where he was. Q had told her not to worry about Fernand. Was this why?
“What did Jade say?” Chakotay replied.
Kathryn shrugged, and glanced back over her shoulder into the darkened room.
“Nothing, but she was evasive when I questioned her.”
“It is Jade. That’s nothing new.” The Commander’s tone was matter of fact but intended to be humorous. She knew he was trying to make her laugh, trying to appease her worry, but it was too dominant to be let go of so easily.
“I think she knows more than she’s letting on.” She continued. “She was upset by it though. She says it’s why she ran away.”
“But you don’t think it is.”
Chakotay had picked up on the stress on the word ‘says’ without Kathryn even intending to betray her thoughts on this. Did she doubt Jade’s explanation?
“I… I don’t know. I just know she’s not telling me everything.”
Her attention was drawn back by Chakotay laying his hand on her elbow gently.
“You’re her mother. She might just be worried about upsetting you, and that’s why she’s holding back. Maybe ask the Doctor to talk to her. You know she opens up to him.”
Kathryn stared at him silently for a few seconds and then she relented from her tense stance.
“That’s actually not a bad idea.” She leaned her head against the door frame and sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing her eyelids.
“You okay?”
Kathryn let out a hollow laugh.
“Yes. I just need to remind myself sometimes that it’s not always going to be like this.”
“Look,” she heard Chakotay continue softly, “I know it’s hard but try not to worry about Iogia. Jade’s here now and you can protect her. It’s good that she’s back with you. Try to focus on that.”
“Yes, you’re right.” She opened her eyes and gave him an appreciative smile. “Thanks. It’s good to talk this through with someone.”
In the absence of Q, she was grateful to have someone who knew how to alleviate her worries and Chakotay was well versed at that.
“Of course. I’m glad to help.”
“What’s going on?”
The object of the discussion herself had patted barefoot out of the darkness of the room behind them, rubbing her eyes. Chakotay took one step backwards into the corridor again and Kathryn peeled herself from the doorframe as Jade came to a halt closely at her side. She relieved to see Jade was wearing a sweater now so her commander could not see Q's face staring back from her bed shirt.
“Hi Jade. It’s good to see you again.” Chakotay smiled at her warmly.
Jade nodded and gave him a smile in return.
“You too Commander.” She said politely as Kathryn put an arm around her shoulders.
“Did I disturb you? I’m sorry. I just stopped by to talk to your mother about a report.” He gestured with the pad in his hand again. Jade’s gaze drifted from the pad back to the man before her.
“I wasn’t asleep.”
“Right.” Kathryn chuckled.
Jade looked up at her mother and Kathryn could read the question on her face immediately. No dad?
“Go on honey, go back inside.” She steered the girl in the direction she had come from and then gently ushered her back into the room. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
“She got taller.” Chakotay commented as Jade shuffled away back into the darkness.
“Yes.” Kathryn pulled a face. “The height came with the new attitude.” She tutted, partially in jest.
Chakotay laughed.
“And the new hair too. I take it you love the blue.” He teased.
Kathryn let out a snort of amusement.
“Oh absolutely.” She then let out a dramatic sigh and folded her arms. “I’ve been prepared for anything in the Delta Quadrant Chakotay but i think parenting a teenager may be my greatest test yet.”
“Well…” Chakotay nodded, thoughtful for a second, and then playfully nudged her arm with his elbow, “we’ve had some practice with Tom and Harry I guess.”
This made them both laugh. Chakotay, seeming pleased to finally see some genuine mirth again, gave her a reassuring smile.
“Listen, why don’t you spend the morning with her.” He nodded in the direction Jade had departed. “I’ll take bridge duty. I’ll call you when we’re ready for the briefing.”
There was notable hesitation on Kathryn’s face.
“No Chakotay, you’ve worked so late tonight…” She began, but was cut off by a raise of his hand.
“I’m fine. All I did today was keep B’Elanna calm. Besides, you need a break, and Jade needs some time with you. You won’t know any more until Neelix returns anyway.” He raised his eyebrows at her in the manner he often used when he was anticipating her to be difficult about something. “And I’ll call you the minute he returns.” He added when she opened her mouth again. “I promise.”
Kathryn pursed her lips and then broke into a grin. He knew her too well. She could admit when she had been bested.
“Alright. Thanks Chakotay.”
“No need to thank me.” He said, and gave her a nod. “Sleep well.”
“Goodnight.”
When Kathryn came back into her quarters, the sofa that had recently carried her sleeping daughter was now empty. Kathryn frowned and then moved towards the bedroom where she found Jade curled up in the far end of her bed appearing fast asleep. The Captain let out a soft chuckle and then retreated back to the living room again. She stood alone for a few minutes, half expecting Q to choose that moment to appear. She wondered if he had been lurking nearby listening, waiting for Chakotay to leave so he could dramatically lament the Commander’s late night visits to her quarters while he was gone. But there was nothing. Kathryn remained alone. Disappointed, she quickly arranged a few things for her shift the next day and began to turn out the lights before returning back to the bedroom. Unwrapping and then throwing her dressing gown over the dresser lazily, she clambered carefully into the other side of the bed and lay down. Jade did not stir at her arrival and so Kathryn watched her daughter for a few minutes quietly to determine whether the appearance of sleep was simply a ruse not to be sent back to her quarters or if she had in fact crashed out. Gentle snores emanated from behind the black mop of hair. If she wasn’t asleep, it was a good impression
“Goodnight honey.” She whispered, craning over so she could plant a kiss on her head. “It’s good to have you home.”

There had been a sound. A whimper in the dark. Kathryn, a light sleeper by trade, was immediately awakened by it. She was initially unsure what it was at first but when the sound occurred again she opened her eyes and rolled over hastily. She couldn’t see Jade’s face, her head was still turned from view, but in the starlight cast from the window, she could see the covers were clasped in tight fisted grip at her neck and she was moving a little as if trying to fight against some unseen force.
“Nooo..”
“Jade?” Kathryn took her shoulder and tried to pull her backwards so she’d roll onto her back but she refused to move. Her body felt rigid under the Captain’s grasp.
“Hush… It’s alright… It’s okay.” Kathryn whispered. She wanted to hold her but she didn’t want to constrict her in case it made the night terror worse. Instead, she watched Jade continue to fight for a few minutes, gently hushing her and stroking her back, until eventually the girl’s body began to soften and then finally she seemed to sigh herself out of whatever she was dreaming and back into a deeper sleep. Kathryn watched for a little while longer, her gaze a little watery and her stomach churning. She worried about what lasting effect all this would have on her. After everything Jade had been through, how could there not be one? Q didn’t want to admit it. He’d made that clear. He just wanted them all to move on but obviously Jade’s subconscious wasn’t letting her. Dreams were where the mind ran at its freest and Kathryn could now see Jade was still running in hers. It was the one place neither Q or she could help her. There had been no nightmares the last few times Jade had stayed on Voyager. This was new. It must be a ramification of her trip to Iogia? Kathryn felt something stir within her like a beast rattling the bars of its cage deep in the pit of her stomach, reminding her there was still unfinished business to be attended to, anger that was yet to be abated. She watched her daughter a little while longer and then, satisfied the nightmare had truly passed, she lay down behind her, an arm curled protectively around the now quiet and motionless mound under the duvet, and tried to go back to sleep.

***

Kathryn woke with a start feeling as if she had been ripped from a deep unyielding sleep, and immediately reached for Jade next to her. There was an immediate stab of panic at finding the space in the bed where her daughter had been lying now empty and she sat up, suddenly fully awake, looking around her. Her other senses then caught up with her as, beyond the bedroom, the sounds of clinking dishes and animated humming made her heart beat settle again and she let out a slow steady exhale. Ugh… it feels like I've been asleep for a thousand years, she thought, rubbing her face with her palms. She then lifted her arms into a stretch and, yawning, glanced over at the clock. It was almost 09:45? What!? How had she slept so long? It was lucky she had taken up Chakotay’s offer. Easing herself from the bed groggily, Kathryn threw back on her dressing gown and headed out of the bedroom. Jade was sitting at the dining table eating cereal and reading one of the pads that Kathryn had left there the day before. She looked up at the noise and flashed her a sheepish look as if she had been caught out.
“Sorry, I waited for a bit; but I got hungry,” and then her gaze flickered over to the pad lying next to her cereal bowl, “and… uh… bored.”
“Don’t be silly.” Kathryn tutted, crossing the floor and pausing to clasp Jade’s head in her hands. “Good morning angel.” She mumbled into her hair as she kissed the top of her head, then continued her journey to the replicator to make a coffee. “You should have just woken me. It’s so late!”
“You were dead to the world, I didn’t want to disturb you.” Jade replied. “Besides, the Doc says you need to sleep more.”
Kathryn let out a haughty laugh as two cups of coffee materialised in front of her. She picked them both up and turned back, crossing the floor back towards the teenager again.
“Let me worry about what the Doctor thinks is good for me please.” She handed Jade the second mug and stood with the other cradled in her hands, blowing on it a little to cool it.
“Thank you.” Jade went to take her first sip but then she paused and frowned.
“Did dad not come last night?” She asked, looking up at the Captain questioningly.
“Oh… no, sorry, he didn’t.” Kathryn shook her head. Preoccupied with Jade’s nightmare, she had completely forgotten Q had been a no-show. “But that’s not entirely unlike him though.” She added reassuringly, noting the look of concern on Jade’s face. “You know your dad. He’ll be waiting for a more inconvenient time to appear.”
“Hmm. Maybe.” Jade mumbled pensively and raised the mug to her lips again.
“Did you find anything interesting?” Kathryn nodded at the discarded pad next to her cereal bowl.
“Oh…” Jade glanced at it and blushed. “Umm… I was just reading about that planet with all the cannons and sensors and stuff. Sorry.” She quickly added, pushing the pad away slightly as if distancing herself from the indiscretion. Kathryn shook her head indicating she shouldn’t worry. She didn’t need to tell her that anything really sensitive would be locked with a command security code anyway.
“So…” Jade was still eyeing her warily but Kathryn could tell her curiosity was starting to outweigh the concern she’d overstepped. The eagerness made the Captain smile in anticipation. “Will you go and, like, try to make first contact?”
“Probably.” Kathryn replied, sipping on her coffee. Her thoughts started to drift back towards her conversation with the Dopki Captain. “We need to gather intel first and assess the risk, then we’ll decide. But I hope so,” she shrugged, “it would certainly make life easier and the journey a lot faster if we could continue using the slip stream through their territory.”
“Can I come?” Jade then asked eagerly, and when Kathryn frowned as if not understanding the question, she continued, “Can I come with you when you go to the planet? I’d like to go on an away mission.” She added with an excited grin, the last two words holding almost a sound of reverence as she said them. “Maybe I could go in the Delta Flyer with Harry and Tom?”
“Hah!” Kathryn shook her head. “You three get into enough trouble on Voyager, never mind on an alien planet together. Nice try.”
She sat down at the table across from her, looking up in time to see Jade’s face fall a little.
“But could I come with you then?” she tried again, a little more cautiously, “When you go?”
Instead of responding, Kathryn took another drink of coffee to buy her some thinking time. She didn’t even know if she could take Jade from Voyager. It was one of things she had wanted to ask Q last night. Was Junior watching and protecting them, as he had said he would, or were they simply on their own hoping the lack of Q’s presence was enough to keep the Continuum at bay? Would Kathryn feel safe leaving Jade alone on Voyager regardless?
“We’ll see.” This was the safest response for now. Let's cross one precarious decision at a time. Based on her expression, Jade appeared to take this as a definitive yes, and happily tucked back into her cereal again. Kathryn watched her idly for a few minutes, her chin resting in her hand, until Jade seemed to notice she was staring at her. She shot her a quizzical look, spoon hovered mid air.
“How did you sleep?” Kathryn asked, answering her silent question.
“Okay.” Jade shrugged, her reply nonchalant.
“Have you been up long?”
“A couple of hours…. Why are you looking at me all serious?”
Kathryn put down her coffee cup.
“You never said you were having nightmares again.” She looked at her pointedly now.
“I’m not.” Jade said quickly. Kathryn noted that the tone seemed higher than usual.
Kathryn raised an eyebrow.
“I was lying next to you, remember?”
Jade stared back at her, her expression unreadable for a moment, and then she broke into an appeasing grin.
“Oh it’s just a dream mom. It doesn’t mean anyth...”
Kathryn let out a bitter laugh in response, cutting her off.
“Really? We’re still saying ‘it’s just a dream’, in this family?”
Jade laughed too but it sounded a little awkward.
“So… what were you dreaming about?”
“Nothing.” The teenager poked at the remaining cereal in her bowl with her spoon. “Just.. a bit of everything I guess. I don’t really remember it now.”
Kathryn stretched over and placed her hand on Jade’s arm.
“Sweetheart. I’m not trying to push you. I just worry about you, that’s all. If you’re dreaming about Iogia or the Master…”
“No.” Jade jumped in and her cheeks flushed pink. “I’m not. Well, not like that anyway. Not like it was before. I was dreaming about… Earth. My Earth.. I mean,” she blinked a couple times like she was correcting herself, “my timeline. My… other family. My other… parents. I haven’t dreamt about them for ages. I guess it was just a bit weird. That’s why I didn’t want to tell you.” She had been staring at the table top while explaining and now quickly stole a look back up at her mother as if to gauge her response.
“Oh.” Kathryn let go of her arm and sat back in the chair. It hadn’t been what she was expecting. “Sorry honey… of course,” she shook her head, “you don’t need to tell me. I understand…”
She shouldn’t have pushed her to talk, she thought. Jade rarely talked about the family she had spent the first ten years of her life with, her birth parents. It was a wound she carried quietly and Kathryn felt immediately angry at herself for almost forgetting they existed.
“No, mom.” Jade let go of her spoon and reached for the withdrawn hand, clasping it with two of hers.
“It’s not like that. I’m not… not telling you.” She frowned, trying to find the right words. “It’s just… you’re my mom, and I love you, and that’s it.” She added with a resolute nod. Kathryn broke into a laugh despite herself, her eyes watering. Jade’s response explained everything and absolutely nothing all at the same time, which was so quintessentially her daughter.
“Okay,” she nodded, indicating she had been temporarily appeased. “As long as you’re alright.” Jade let go of her hand and they both returned to their coffee cups again. No more heavy talk, Kathryn thought, let’s just enjoy the rest of breakfast.
“Of course.” Jade answered brightly as she finished the dregs of her coffee and then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Besides, as far as my dreams go, no one was trying to kill me so…”
“That’s really not funny Jade.”
At her mother’s semi-stern reproach, the teenager simply grinned back cheekily.
“Lighten up mom. It’s nothing to worry about, really.”

Chapter Text

“Show them the network.”
Tuvok activated the briefing room viewer at the request of his Captain and the bridge crew all swivelled their chairs to face the image of the vast sensor array that lay ahead of them.
“And those larger dots… the red ones…,” Harry pointed at the screen, “are they all cannons?”
“It’s like a… minefield.” Tom said after letting out a whistle.
He sounded both impressed and apprehensive, Kathryn noted. She gestured for her morale officer to continue his away mission briefing.
“Mr Neelix?”
“There was an inter-sector conflict, about fifty years ago,” Neelix said, turning back to the rest of the crew, “the Dobak traders told me that the Ekun arrived from a nearby system forty-three years ago and laid waste to the entire region. Their own homeworld had been destroyed by their technological advancements, driving them into space permanently, and when they found the slipstream, they hoped to use the worlds they encountered for materials that would reinforce their galactic armada.”
He rose from his chair and pointed to the first of a series of grey dots that formed a line heading into the network system.
“This larger world is Kraton, and the people that live here are called the Hetavah; it’s roughly translated to mean ‘travellers of the water’ the traders said.” He added.
“The water being the slipstream?” Chakotay prompted, and Neelix nodded eagerly.
“Correct Commander. They had travelled the slipstream within their own sector boundaries for three generations before the Ekun arrived, and had become the centre of a formidable trading colony of worlds. They were by no means ready for war however, the sector had been mostly peaceful bar some trading squabbles. The Hetavah became the defensive force for the Ekun attacks, and managed to beat them back after ten years of fierce warfare. They were the ones, under their newly formed sector government, that built the sensor array, to protect themselves and the other planets under their rule.”
“Rule?” Kathryn asked, frowning. “So it’s no longer a trading federation?”
Neelix pulled a face and bounced hesitantly on his heels where he stood.
“Regretfully, the merchants I met with were… vague on this detail.”
“Fearful?” Tom asked.
The Talaxian shook his head.
“Cautious I think. I didn’t get the impression they were bound to an autocratic regime, but it seems the Hetavah are the primary decision makers of this system’s broader political and security system. There was definitely some concern about offending them, perhaps there are trading implications.” He offered, with a shrug.
“I have been monitoring communications traffic from some of the outlying satellites and shipping stations as you requested Captain,” Seven added, “and can verify from the broadcasts that Mr Neelix’s perspectives have merit. There is a sector government in place and it appears to have representation from other larger worlds behind the sensor network.”
“Wouldn’t that indicate some form of functioning democracy?” Harry asked, optimistically.
“However,” Seven cut in again, “the Hetavah are the only warp capable species I have detected, and Kraton is clearly more advanced than any planet in the region, both in weaponry and technology," she raised an eyebrow sharply, which was as close to concern as her face ever registered, “including Voyager.”
Trying not to look worried herself, Kathryn had wandered to the far end of the briefing table as Seven had been speaking, and halted near Tom and B’Elanna. She turned back to her crew, and she gestured to Neelix to continue, noting as she did he suddenly looked uneasy.
The Talaxian cleared his throat.
“It appears,” he replied, “although the merchants were cagey to discuss it, that the Hetavah scavenged much of the Ekun’s acquired technology after the war, and used it to boost their own capabilities significantly beyond the rest of the sector and their own natural development. In the last twenty years, they have expanded their trading connections with other regions exponentially, and have a vast network of trading alliances, including with the worlds we just passed. This network,” he gestured again to the viewer, “appears to be a result of that growth. This isn’t a wall they built to hide behind Captain, it’s a means to control who enters their space and how.”
“Hence the caution I suppose.” Chakotay swivelled around in his chair to face Kathryn. “I wouldn’t want to risk getting locked out of the entire sector if I was a mere merchant ship.”
“I’ll need to get a little closer to be sure,” it had been the first time B’Elanna had spoken so the crew all turned their head to look at her, “but from analysing Seven’s data, it appears they can manipulate the sensors direction in different patterns to create safe passageways to manoeuvre through.”
“Like weirs on a river.” Tom nodded, peering over her shoulder. “That would make sense.”
“The sanctioned ships must have some sort of interface or code to avoid being targeted by the sensor’s cannons.” B’Elanna continued, ignoring him. “That’s what lets them through safely from different parts of the surrounding space.”
“Is that something we can… manipulate?” Kathryn asked.
B’Elanna’s eyes were still glued to the pad in her hand and she gave a shrug without looking up.
“Seven wasn’t lying when she said this is far more advanced than Star Fleet has ever seen. I’d need to run some diagnostics on one of the sensor arrays even just to understand the technology, never mind manipulate it.” Appearing exasperated, she glanced up at her Captain with an apologetic, almost defeated, expression. “We’d never get a clear run at it without being detected first.”
Kathryn gave her a sympathetic smile and patted her gently on the shoulder.
“Do what you can, B'Elanna. In the meantime, we’ll plan for first contact.” She added, addressing the rest of her bridge crew and hoping that it was excitement and not the growing anxiety they would detect in her voice. “Neelix, did the traders tell you anything about who we might be dealing with once we arrive at Kraton? I’m assuming that’s where we’d dock for any diplomatic negotiations.”
“Yes Captain.” Neelix nodded his head. “A little. Kraton’s leader also heads the sector government, at least as a figure head. They call him Tenen Bolten Allar. His father won the campaign against the Ekun, Bolren Allar he was called. Bolten Allar, the son, inherited the legacy and used it to form the first multi-world government, or so the Dobak traders say. Tenen is a title, but not like president, it’s actually a Hetav word that translates closely to ‘Lord’… or… uh… ‘King’, but with more gravitas,” he made a gesture with his hands to indicate for them to think bigger. “Because everything in this sector is within Allar’s domain, at least according to the Hetavah people.” He raised his bushy eyebrows, the tone of his voice as he said this seemed to parody how it had been relayed to him by the traders.
“Like an emperor maybe?” Harry suggested.
“Yes,” Neelix said brightly, “that probably fits better.”
“So it is a dictatorship?” Chakotay pressed, his eyes meeting Kathryn’s briefly.
“There has been no immediate evidence in the data Seven and I have collated that indicates Allar’s government is totalitarian or repressive by Star Fleet’s standards.”
Tuvok reported.
“That doesn’t necessary mean anything.” Chakotay replied stiffly. “Sometimes it’s the lack of critical rhetoric that validates the presence of an autocratic regime. We should be careful if you are planning to negotiate safe passage.” He was addressing his Captain only now. Kathryn tried to give him the same reassuring smile she’d offered B’Elanna but knew she was destined to strike out twice. Breaking the silence, a video, generated by Seven who had been tapping away on a pad, appeared on screen, revealing a man standing on a balcony looking down at a huge crowd. He was tall and broad shouldered, with ice white hair and piercing blue eyes that could be seen despite the camera being a little way away. He wore a white uniform that looked similar in style to an admiral’s dress, although his was paired with a cloak and a silver metal ring that he wore around his head like a crown. He was waving to the crowd and smiling.
“I have boosted our long range sensors and this appears to be playing on several of their RD channels.” She said with a nod towards the screen. “This appears to be the Hetavah leader Neelix referenced.”
“Seems popular enough.” Tom quipped.
Kathryn couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.
“Well let’s hope the cameras don’t lie,” she replied, “from what I am hearing, it sounds like the only way we are getting through that sensor network is with his permission. Otherwise, we will be adding an additional three months to our trip just to get around the damn thing and I really don’t feel like letting the Ekun take another run at us.”
She detected a weight of glumness ripple through the room at her words as the reality of their potential predicament fell heavily upon them.
“And there’s no way to sneak through it undetected?” Harry asked finally, breaking the silence and eyeing B’Elanna who was still huddled over her pad.
“Negative.” Seven answered for her. “The configuration of the sensors provides almost total coverage. While there are pockets of space where we could travel without detection, we would not be able to miss them all.”
“Alright.” Kathryn was anxious to get the team’s mind to work rather than ruminating about the possibility of being turned back by the Hetavah, or worse blown out of space by their cannons. “Work with B’Elanna, Seven. If there is a way through this thing, I want to know about it just in case. Tom, Harry, see if you can bypass the interference from the slipstream gate and get a message to Comsar Dago’s vessel. He may be travelling back this way after making his shipment. I want to know if he can get us an audience any faster or at least if he can give us some intel about what to expect when we reach Kraton. Tell him, if he’s as well connected as he said he was, it should be an easy feat for him.” She folded her arms and frowned.
I’d be keen to know why he didn’t tell us about this too, she thought. He had been so helpful getting Voyager through the slipstream passages, it seemed odd that he wouldn’t have mentioned what was lying ahead of them.
“Tuvok, Chakotay, we should probably attempt this diplomatically, so can you work with Neelix on a plan for negotiation with the central government, whether it be this Allar or some other official, but I want a detailed security report too. I want to know what we’re walking into, the risks.”
“Yes Captain.” The reply was unanimous.
“Alright, let’s regroup at 2000 hours unless anything changes. Dismissed.”

Chapter Text

“Captain.”
The red bearded Dopki Captain who had come to Kathryn's rescue to get her ship away from the Ekun and navigate the slipstream, now peered at her through the bridge viewer with a mixture of wary suspicion and gruff impatience.
“Comsar. Thankyou for answering my hail.”
“After the seventh, you were becoming difficult to ignore. I have a collection to make twenty kellecks from here and only a short window to reenter the slipstream. What is it that you need?”
Kathryn could immediately sense by his manner and tone he already suspected why she was calling, and that this would not make for an easy conversation.
“Information, Com Dago.” She put her hands on her hips and used the assertive voice she reserved for her most difficult negotiations. “Kraton? The Network? I see from your face you know what I’m talking about. What do I need to know?”
“That is not my world.” Dago said stiffly. “I am Dopkarian.”
“Yes, I know.” It was Kathryn’s turn not to sound impatient. “But as you told me, you are one of this sector’s most successful merchant traders, and from my understanding, Kraton is the centre of commerce here.”
Dago pursed his lips so thinly they entirely disappeared into his bushy facial hair for a moment. There was something distinctly uncomfortable in his expression. The reminder of his standing, however flattering, had clearly not pleased him. Kathryn decided to try another tact quickly.
“Please Com Dago? I’m not here to start trouble, if anything I’m trying to do the opposite. I just need to know how to get through the next part of this space as quickly and safely as possible, and then hopefully you’ll never hear from me again.” She offered him a charming smile, hoping it would appease his resistance. “You already helped us get this far. What’s a little further? Comsar to Comsar, what do I need to know about negotiating with Bolten Allar?.”
Allar's name triggered a different response and Dago let out a laugh that seemed to lose its timber as soon as it had escaped his lips. He ran a hand through his beard thoughtfully and then tilted his head, as if finalising a conversation, or at least a decision, silently in his mind. His non-mechanical eye then met Kathryn’s.
“Allow me to board, we shall speak privately in person.”
“Why?”
“Just… do as I tell you. This won’t take long.” His tone was direct but softer than expected, almost like the one Kathryn often used with Jade when she was messing around and she needed to appeal to the teenager's better judgement. Kathryn found herself nodding before she really had given further thought to any of the risks and then quickly issued the command to her bridge crew to follow suit.
“Uh.. Ensign Kim, lower the shields, and beam the Comsar to my ready room when he is ready.
“Aye Captain.”

“What do you need to know…”
It was a statement Comsar Dago had been musing on reflectively for a few minutes now. For a man who had only just said he had a short window of time to offer her, he did not appear particularly hurried in revealing his information. Kathryn was leaning against her ready room desk, her hands resting against her lap, and had watched the Dopki Captain pace backwards and forwards silently until finally her patience reached its end.
“Yes,” she prompted, trying to remain encouraging in tone. “Anything you can tell me would be very helpful.”
Finally, Dago stopped and turned to face her. The conflict evident in his expression moments early was now replaced by a graver countenance. Kathryn quickly stood up straight in anticipation.
“You should tread carefully, Sitara.”
“We’ve seen the cannons.” Kathryn began but Dago waved his hand to silence her.
“I mean the Council of Juron. Bolten Allar. Tread very carefully.” He said the words slowly, nodding as each syllable was sounded out in his gruff timber.
Kathryn wanted to speak but she waited, sensing there was more to come and did not wish to dissuade him from revealing further information by interrupting again.
Com Dago sighed heavily. He seemed to shrink in stature as he exhaled.
“How much do you do now about the governance of our space? Its history?”
“Not very much.” Kathryn replied. “We know about the war with the Ekun, and how Kraton grew technologically from its spoils. We spoke to some of your people in passing. That’s how we got Bolten Allar’s name.”
“Hmm…” Dago shook his head, “I don’t know the sitting Tenen but I knew his father Bolren. He was smart, ruthless… a warrior.” He raised a hand, as if to excuse himself. “That’s not a criticism. It’s what we needed during those times to lead the rebellion. We were not prepared for invasion and war is not for the weak. When the fighting ended, there was a power vacuum that needed to be filled desperately to unite the sector. Bolren was the obvious choice, his name was heralded as a hero by so many worlds. His political and military advisors became his council, the council of Juron he called it.”
“Juron?” Kathryn asked, frowning.
“Juron was supposedly the first Hetavah leader to navigate the slip stream out of the Antos system, that’s what we call the sector of space you are travelling through by the way.” Dago explained. “There is a famous legend revered by all on Kraton of how Juros conquered the Tal Bin pass and consolidated the space behind into what used to be the Great Kratonian empire. Even though Juron's empire crumbled with his death, it was considered the last golden age of Kraton and the freedom of space travel it brought changed the sector forever. It is common for Hetavah navigators to carry symbols and emblems of Juron for luck when travelling the slip stream.”
“Do you?” Kathryn wasn’t sure why she had asked that out loud. Perhaps it was to get a sense of the Dopki Comsar’s allegiance to Kraton’s culture and practices. Mainly, she was just curious.
Com Dago eyed her cooly and raised his eyebrows, the one above the real eye lifting higher than the mechanical one.
“As I said, I’m not Hetavah.”
With a pang of annoyance at herself, Kathryn was about to begin to attempt an apology but fell silent as Com Dago continued his tale.
“What the stories don’t say is that the Tal Bin pass used to be Ekun space and many of their colonies were lost or enslaved during this period as Juron conquered his new worlds. Juron's Kratonian empire is a relic of an old time, but there are some who mark this period as a direct path to the war of our generation and draw parallels with the future Bolren and his son have built.” He let out what seemed to Kathryn to be a snort of derision. “History makes fools of us all, Sitara.”
“So Bolren Allar saw himself in Juron.” Kathryn asked. "A unifier of worlds, and the leader of a new world order?" She was fascinated by Dago’s tale, like a child gripped by a bedtime story. Perhaps there was something in the Hetavah legend that could help her appeal to the reigning son’s magnanimity.
Dago nodded.
“Bolren, once the Antos system’s saviour, became a god. He was the one who ordered the salvage of the Ekun’s technology to build the gate, uh.. what you call the network.” He clarified with a nod and a wave of the hand towards the window. “Whether he would have learned to be a benevolent god? Well, we’ll never know. He did not live to see the gate’s completion. His son inherited his throne, and Bolten, the junior, has only known the safety and prosperity of the system his father built. The council keep close ranks around their master, and they are suspicious of outsiders.” He broke from his storytelling to peer at her pointedly. “They will not openly trust your intentions.”
“Should I trust theirs?”
Com Dago shrugged.
“Perhaps you can trust them, perhaps not. That’s a matter of perspective, and intention I suppose. Do you intend to be a threat to the Imperial Court?”
Kathryn shook her head.
“No. I simply want safe passage through the network... I mean, the gate.”
“And the Hetavah want peace in their borders, and the Juron Council wants to ensure its grip remains tightly on the entire Antos system, free from retailition. Young peace is fragile Sitara. Your little run in with the Ekun when I found you will already have been reported back by now. The Council’s view will likely be that an unknown alien ship once pursued by their greatest threat is… just that. A threat.”
Kathryn could feel her temper starting to prickle. That wasn’t what she wanted to hear and the lightly condescending tone in which it was being delivered wasn’t helping her feel better about it.
“So what do you suggest?” She folded her arms. “We just turn around and go back the way we came?” She hadn’t meant it to sound so overtly indignant but the frustration that they would need to turn around only to commit to three more months of unnecessarily dangerous travel was almost too much to bear. “If you knew this, why did you help us? Why did you let me bring my ship all the way out here?”
Com Dago stared at her for a moment and then he stepped forward and, to her surprise, placed his hands on her shoulders.
“The alternative would have meant certain death.” He was speaking softer now, all traces of the earlier superiority now gone.
“You seem like a very capable diplomat, and your charms may just win over Allar yet.” A hint of a smile crossed his lips. “The Ekun would have destroyed your ship before you had the chance to try and use it on them.”
Kathryn blinked a couple of times quickly, feeling her cheeks flush. Her father used to deescalate her in exactly the same way. Give her some cold hard truths, and then settle her ego and her anger with gentle encouraging humour. Was this why she trusted Comsar Dago so instinctively? Perhaps it wasn’t what he could tell her that Kathryn was seeking, but his reassurance that everything was going to be okay.
“Are you able to at least get me an audience with the Council?” She asked quickly, eager to move the discussion back into more useful territory. “You clearly know many…”
Daro dropped his hands, shaking his head.
“I cannot.”
Kathryn let out a sigh of frustration.
“We have no other connections Comsar, noone to help us. I just want to get my ship home." She pleaded. "Please."
“I want to help you Sitara,” Dago replied, his expression sincere. “But I can’t risk the association if you do not succeed. The Ekun were the invaders yes, terrible in their greed and their violence, but atrocities were committed by both sides in a bid to control the fighting. I’m a merchant... to some a pirate, yes, but I wasn’t always so. I used to be a commander in Bolren Allar’s imperial fleet.” He looked at his feet and fell silent for a moment, seemingly deciding whether to continue. “As the war reached a turning point, my ship would help refugees escape the bloodiest fighting and navigate the slipstream to safety. There were many border worlds caught in the cross fire. I did not ask what side someone was from if they were heading away from the battlefield.” He paused again, and cleared his throat, before raising his gaze back to Kathryn’s. “I paid my price for that betrayal, and remaining legitimate and lucrative in my business dealings for the new empire, and off the radar of the Hetavah security forces, ensures I can continue to trade and live within these borders. I have a family Sitara. Children. I have granddaughters.” His cheeks flushed a ruddy red, genuine emotion clearly evident in his features for the first time. “If the Tenen or the Council decides you are an enemy and learns I have helped you, my livelihood will cease to exist. My family ostracised. I will not have my girls growing up in some outer colony without their grandfather to protect them.”

The growing tension was suddenly cut by the corridor-facing door of the Captain’s ready room sliding open.
“Mom, are you here?”
As if summoned by Dago's lamentation, Kathryn turned her head to see her own daughter appear in the open doorway.
“Oh good.” Jade's face lit up when she spied the Captain standing in front of her desk. “I’m sooo hungry.” She came to a halt a few paces into the room and clutched her stomach as if to emphasise her point. “Can we go eat something yet?”
“Jade.” Kathryn spun on her heels and made a beeline to stop her. “What did I tell you about buzzing the door during my shift hours?”
“But it’s after 19…,” Jade’s gaze drifted behind her mother and she seemed to notice Comsar Dago's presence for the first time. “Ohh.. sorry, I thought you were alone. Hi.” She added, before her face brightened with interest. “Wait, weren’t you on Voyager when we entered the slip stream? You helped B’Elanna convert the engines to compensate for the slipstream’s spatial pressures right?”
“I did.” Dago replied with a nod.
“Yeah, I saw your ship.” Jade slipped expertly out of her mother’s grasp and approached the Dopki Captain eagerly. “It’s way cool. How fast can it fly?”
“Jade…” Kathryn began but was promptly interrupted by a grunt of amusement from Com Dago himself.
“Much faster than yours.”
Jade grinned.
“That’s so awesome. Can I see inside? How do you manage to get so deep into the sleep stream? Does your ship have warp capability?”
Dago tilted his head, a deep chuckle rumbling from his belly.
“You’re a curious little thing aren’t you.”
“Please forgive my daughter.” Kathryn made ground with Jade and her hands fell to the teenager’s shoulders, prompting Jade to look up at her mother sheepishly. “Curious is an understatement. Comsar Dago has a shipment to make, sweetheart.” She addressed her daughter now. “We should let him get on his way. Why don’t you go wait in the mess hall for me, save us a seat. I’ll be right along.”
“But mom...” Jade looked disappointed but Kathryn raised an eyebrow which said more than would need to be verbalised.
“I thought you were hungry?” She asked pointedly.
“Alright.” A resigned sigh rolled through the girl's frame and she looked back at the Dopki Captain with a resigned smile. “Thanks anyway.”
Com Dago bowed his head.
“Safe travels child. Look after your mother won’t you?”
Jade frowned as if she was being told something obvious.
“Of course.” She said simply, and then she waved at him and headed off in the direction she had been ordered.
”She is very much like you, Sitara.” Dago said in a surprisingly warm tone for the gruff Captain, his good eye following Jade out the door.
“Yes…” Kathryn muttered, rubbing the knot between her neck and her shoulder absentmindedly as she watched her daughter disappear. “I’m not sure that’s a good thing sometimes.”
“I... will help you.”
“I’m sorry?”
Forgetting Jade’s exit instantly, Kathryn spun around. Had she just misheard what Dago had said?
“Yes, I will help you.” He said again slowly, nodding his head as if he was still in the process of making up his own mind about the decision he had made.
“What changed your mind?” Kathryn knew she should jump on the opportunity now Daro was forthcoming but she was intrigued by what had caused the change of heart so quickly after his passionate speech about the the huge risk he would be taking to get involved.
“Hmm..” Dago pursed his lips again and Kathryn noted there was still patchy colour in his cheeks. “I have not been to my homeland in several cycles. You… your daughter… well, you remind me of my girls, and I miss them.”
"Oh..."
Kathryn felt a warm feeling spread through her chest and face, and she broke into a beaming smile. Before her, just for a fleeting moment, she could beyond the gruff Dopki trader to see Daro the loving father, the grandfather who adored and waited on his grandchildren as the most important thing in his life, the honourable man who found himself in a terrible possible in both war and peacetime and did whatever he could to protect his family, even if it meant being apart from them. This was why she had liked and trusted him instinctively, she realised. He was like her own father in so many ways. She wondered whether this had been why he had helped her so readily with the slipstream upgrades. Perhaps a lonely Captain had seen some small part of his home in her like she had in him.
“But…” Daro straightened up again, the familiar brusque countenance returning, “I would like to see them again so I will not accompany you to Kraton. I will, however, instruct you on how to get an audience with the Council and provide you with a trusted contact in the Tres provinces, that is where their palaces are located. I’ll warn you, Hetavah bureaucracy is notoriously lengthy and the Juron Council even more so. They will not see you willingly. You will need to follow my instructions to the letter if you want to gain an audience within a cycle.”
Kathryn made a mental note to ask Seven how long a cycle was in the Antos system. She didn't like the chance of it being hours.
“And it goes without saying that you never met me and I never helped you.” Dago continued, frowning warily at her. “Should anyone ask? And they will.”
Kathryn nodded.
“Of course. We never met. I’ve never heard of you.”
Dago held her gaze for a moment, scanning her face as if assessing her sincerity to her pledge of secrecy, and then he nodded himself apparently satisfied.
“Good. Now take me to that star lab you have. I’ll provide your crew with the charts you need.”
“Astrometrics? Okay.” Kathryn raised her hand towards the door. “I do have one more question though.” She then asked as they made to leave her ready room.
“Oh?”
She stopped at the doorway and put her hands on her hips, casting the Dopki Captain a searching look.
“Are you ever going to tell me what Sitara means?”
Comsar Dago let out a genuine laugh this time. It was low and rumbling, and pleasing to the ears.
“I suppose I should put you out of your misery. It is a Dopki common tongue word, meaning "little flame.”
Kathryn frowned. That hadn’t been what she was expecting.
“Little flame?”
“Yes,” Dago gave her an inch of a smile, “it’s an affectionate term we would give to the more headstrong and willful of our young.”

Chapter Text

Jade sat in the far corner of the mess hall, far away from the hustle and bustle of the crew finishing up their evening meals around her. Head separated from the table top only by the crux of her bent left arm, she drummed her right hand’s fingernails rhythmically against the metal and stared at the bubbles climbing from the base of her soda glass, through the dark brown liquid, and erupting in a pleasing fizz at the surface of her drink. As always, the replicator got her requests half right. The colour and the texture of the drink was close, but it tasted something closer to an off brand cola than the Coke she wanted. The Star Fleet of today probably didn’t permit the ingredients, she considered idly with a sigh; there were so many things from her childhood on Earth she would never be able to drink or eat again. If her dad had been here, maybe he could have conjured one up with a snap of his fingers. But dad wasn’t here, was he? As she let out another heavy exhale, she felt a ripple of movement up her spine, like a rain drop running along her skin in the wrong direction. She turned her line of sight from the glass to the chair opposite her and found it no longer vacant. Obi Wan tilted their head in a questioning manner, their golden irises sparkling under a furrowed brow. Jade acknowledged their sudden appearance with a brief raise of her eyebrows before she turned her attention back to her drink.
“You seem… distracted.” Obi Wan said after it became clear Jade wasn’t going to break the silence. “Is everything alright?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.” Jade mumbled into the fabric of her sweater arm.

There was condensation on her glass now as it had begun to warm up in the heat of the room, the bubbles becoming slightly obscured from view. She reached forward with her right hand and used a finger to draw a line from the top of the glass to the bottom. Now she had a single thin column to see bubbles climb their path up her drink. Perhaps she could try reaching her father through the new trick she had learned, she wondered. It had gotten her to Voyager after all, although there was existing interstellar transport infrastructure to house and stabilise her makeshift wormhole. She didn’t have that here obviously, but then she had almost created micro wormholes all on their own before. If she could get that right and somehow focus enough to determine her dad’s location, she might at least be able to see or sense something through it that would reassure her he was okay. After all, he almost always appeared whenever she called out to him, even when she was in trouble and he was cross at her. When he couldn’t, he would leave her a sign so she would know he was fine. This time, there had been nothing. Silence. Jade felt a rise of anxious energy surging through her as she contemplated the possibility that something had happened to him after he left Voyager. He was all on his own, after all. There had been no one to watch his back. That was her job. Jade knew deep down she had been unreasonable during their last few exchanges but she had just been so angry. Angry at the Continuum. Angry at the Master and Fernand, and the Before beings, and her real parents, and everyone else who had got in the way of her having the life she wanted. Angry at her father for taking her to Iogia…. But she hadn’t been cross at him. Not really. Jade knew she had been angry at herself for being so terrified of being back on Fernand’s planet. Even though they had been outside of the fortress walls, being back there had made her feel like she was in that cell all over again. For all the time that had passed, all the progress she thought she had made and suddenly she was back to square one, alone and afraid. She should have been stronger, she thought. It felt like Fernand was still shaping her even now and she hated that. Her dad had been an easy target for her rage and her fear. She had just wanted her mom, and he had denied her to keep them all safe. Her eyes prickled hotly as tears threatened to erupt from under her lower eyelids. Everything felt like such a mess. Jade could feel the anxiety in her chest beating down on her now. The bubbles in the soda glass were swirling, like a whirlpool sucking water violently down to the ocean floor. Down and down and down, into the deep depths where nothing but the only her darkest secrets lurked.

“Jade…” Obi Wan began, but was stopped by the sudden appearance of a tiny green pulsing spark of light, no bigger than a marble, at the bottom of the soda glass. The gold in Obi Wan’s eyes flashed a violently bright white and they lurched forward, a hand slamming on top of the glass, extinguishing the phenomenon immediately. Jade sat up with a start and stared at the now unremarkable liquid, her eyes wide.
“That… that was a wormhole.” She gasped.
“I wish you’d warn me before you do that.” Obi Wan grimaced, shooting a frustrated look at their host. “I would like not to incinerate this entire sector of space if I can help it.”
“What?” Jade noticed the spark’s expression and her own changed from wonder to one of guilty remorse. “Oh shit, I’m sorry. I was just thinking about it, I didn’t mean to actually do it. Did I hurt you?”
She suddenly noticed some ensigns staring at her from a table near the door. In her surprise, she’d obviously addressed Obi Wan verbally rather than in her head. To the other patrons of the mess hall, Jade was still alone at the table.
“No, you just surprised me.” Obi Wan replied, a little softer. They dropped their hand from the glass. “What were you thinking about? I couldn’t see.”
Jade saw the hint of suspicion in their gaze and wondered if the spark had sensed her fear. Had they followed her mental spiral all the way into the darkness? To the thoughts she was not yet ready to admit to?
“Just dad.” She said quickly, now back to addressing the spark by thought. “I was worrying about him.”
Obi Wan seemed to scrutinise her face for a moment, but then nodded.
“I understand. I’m sure Q will return when he is ready.”
“You… can’t feel where he is, right?” Jade asked. She hadn’t thought to ask Obi Wan whether her father’s presence was something they could sense. To her disappointment, the spark shook their head.
“I’m afraid not.”
A silence fell between them, and Obi Wan watched as Jade picked at the end of her sweater sleeve mulling over the fate of her father and the tiny cosmic wonder they had just created in her soda glass.
“I do wish you would share your worries with me Jade.” They continued, placing their hand over Jade’s to stop her pulling a thread loose. “I know the wall in your mind is heavy but I'm still part of you, and I’m here to share that burden with you.”
Jade gave the being a kindly smile.
“You already do enough.” She then offered a grin. “Besides, I don’t want to bore you with my human problems.”
Obi Wan let go of her hand and leaned back in the chair, folding their arms.
“And yet you’re always happy to bore me with those terrible human high school romance shows you make me watch.”
Jade scoffed as if she was offended.
“Hey… you said you liked ‘Buffy’ when we watched it last month.” She said pointedly.
“I found it educational.” The spark cut back, a hint of a smile playing on their lips. “After all, it’s about a girl with powers who never does what her mentor tells her to do. It’s practically autobiographical.”
Jade grinned mischievously and leaned forward, ignoring the jibe.
“You just liked Spike. Admit it.”

“Everything alright Jade?”
“Huh?”
Jade looked up with a start to find Neelix standing to the side of her table. She had been engaged in teasing Obi Wan that she hadn’t even noticed him approaching.
“Umm.. what?” she asked, unable to gather her thoughts quick enough. Neelix was frowning at her in that way adults often did when she said something slightly out of pocket and they were worried she was going to do something reckless. She saw that face a lot. “Sorry, Neelix, I was… just thinking. What did you say?”
“Yes.” Neelix smiled sympathetically at her. “You did seem like you were lost in thought. You’d been staring at the chair for at least fifteen minutes. I thought maybe you were feeling a bit lonely and needed some company.”
“Oh…” Jade subtly glanced in the direction of the chair inhabited by Obi Wan, who looked somewhat displeased at them being interrupted but simply shrugged back at her. “Thanks Neelix, that’s super nice of you, but really… I’m totally fine, honest.” She gave him an earnest smile hoping it would be enough to appease him.

It wasn’t.

Neelix lowered himself into the chair across from her, sitting through Obi Wan who rolled their eyes and shifted in a flash to his left.
“Is everything okay Jade?” He said with an empathetic tone. “You’ve seemed a little… out of sorts this visit.”

*Told you*

Jade ran her tongue over her teeth in annoyance, trying not to look at Obi Wan.
“It must be hard with your father away and the Continuum still interfering in your life, and being moved here, there, and everywhere.” Neelix continued and patted her on the arm. You know we’re all here for you Jade.”
“Yes, I know.” She nodded. She liked the Talaxian chef and Voyager’s morale officer immensely but her mother was right, his tact sometimes left a lot to be desired.

*You should listen to him*

Jade had almost visibly rolled her eyes and she reached for her drink, hoping a prop would help her avoid visibly reacting to Obi Wan’s taunts and accidentally offending Neelix.

*I wouldn’t drink that if i were you, someone went and made a wormhole in it*

Will you stop!?

She put her right palm up in the spark’s direction without thinking, instantly regretting it as Neelix looked at her confused. Quickly turning the gesture into the appearance of a hand cramp, she gave the Talaxian her sweetest smile, noting Obi Wan pull a face and disappear into nothing from her peripheral vision.
“Thanks Neelix, I really appreciate it. I'm honestly fine though. Just hungry. I’m waiting for my mom.”
Neelix’s eyes lit up at the mention of the Captain.
“Ah yes, Captain Janeway was meeting with Comsar Dago; hopefully they won’t be too long, we have another briefing at eight oclock tonight.” He leaned towards her and said this in a hushed tone as if they were a couple of conspirators discussing the plans for revolution.
“Oh?” Jade glanced at the clock on the far wall. It was already 19:35. “What about?”
“The Captain will lead an away mission tomorrow to Kraton to seek approval from the leader of this sector to pass through their space. The briefing is to discuss the plan. I expect I will go with her as the cultural liaison to the Hetavah.” Neelix leaned back in his chair again and stretched happily. “I always find that meeting new cultures is so exciting.”
Jade had to admit, it did sound exciting.
“I wish I could go with you.” She sighed. It would be fun to get off the ship for a bit and see what an away mission was really like. Secretly, she also wondered whether she could find a quiet place away from Voyager’s internal sensors to try her wormhole practice again.
“You can ask the Captain.” Neelix offered. “It is a great experience and I’m sure she would let you tag along if you asked.”
“I don’t know about that.” Jade said dubiously. “She’s pretty big on not letting me go anywhere outside of my room or sickbay at the moment.”
“Why don’t I ask her for you?” Neelix replied.
Jade looked up in surprise.
“You’d do that?” She asked eagerly, her smile this time genuine.
The Talaxian nodded, appearing pleased at her reaction.
“No promises, but if it will get you smiling again, I will ask.”

At that moment, Captain Janeway herself walked through the doorway of the mess. Even from the other side of the room, Jade could tell her mother was tired and a little stressed. Now was not probably the time for Neelix to be asking her anything. Now was probably not the time for Neelix full stop end of story.
“Say, Neelix? Mom hasn’t eaten yet and probably won’t before the next briefing. Could you make her something to take with her? I can just replicate…”
“No, no, no!” Neelix seemed ecstatic to have been put to service and he leapt to his feet. “I will make something now. I still have some Beetlebark stew and I can whip up some bredden balls to go with it. Very delicious. I have a brand new recipe. I’ll be back in a flash.”
“Thanks Neelix.” Jade called as the little man hurried off in the direction of his kitchen.

“Where’s he off to in such a hurry?” Kathryn asked as she approached Jade’s table and slid into the seat next to her so they were both facing outward. “Hello you.” She took Jade in her arms and melted into her as if the embrace was a rechargeable battery and she had arrived depleted of her energy.
“Hi mom. You okay?” Jade mumbled into her shoulder.
“Yeah… I mean, yes, sorry, I’m fine baby,” Kathryn finally let her go, rubbing her own temple absentmindedly as she sat back in the chair. “It’s just been a long day. So sorry I kept you waiting. You must be starving.”
“That’s okay. Sounds like it has been a busy one.” Jade replied, and then gestured in the direction of the kitchen. “I’ve asked Neelix to package yours up, I know you have to eat and run. He said you at a 2000hr briefing?” She added when Kathryn looked at her questioningly.
“Oh… god, what time is it now? Right…” she rubbed her forehead as if to stay a headache forming, “i’m sorry sweetheart, I thought I’d have more time to spend with you, this isn’t exactly what I thought this week was going to look like.”
Jade could see the overwhelming workload reflected in the fatigue in her mother’s eyes and it worried her. Her mom was invincible. Unstoppable. She could do anything. Whatever this Kraton thing was had clearly laid a lot of extra pressure on her to organise. Was her own presence adding to her stress?
“It’s your job. I get it. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.” She said in the most grown up voice she could muster. “Just eat something before you go back to work, alright?”
Kathryn looked up in surprise and then broke into an adoring smile.
“What did I do to deserve you as my daughter?” She pulled her back into her arms and held her tightly, planting kisses on her head and cheeks.
“Mom…” Jade giggled, trying to wriggle out of her grasp. “So embarrassing.”
“Now, that’s my real job.” Kathryn laughed, a lightness returning to her features as she appraised the girl in her arms. “At least until your father gets home anyway.”
Jade grinned at first, but then the mirth faltered a little. Kathryn noticed immediately and tilted her chin up gently.
“He’s coming home.” She said in a reassuring tone. “He’s just…” she paused, and frowned as if searching for the right word, “being Q,” she then settled on. “Don't worry. Okay?”
“Okay.” Jade nodded and hoped her sincerity was believable.
“I love you.” Kathryn then said, gently pushing Jade’s hair out of her eyes. “You know that right?”
Jade laughed this time and gave her another nod.
“I know mom. I love you too.”
Her mother's gaze then drifted towards the discarded cola on the table and she frowned.
“What *are* you drinking?” She asked, reaching for the glass to inspect it.
Jade’s eyes widened and she quickly grabbed it before Kathryn could and stood up, gripping the drink to her chest as it was a priceless heirloom about to be ripped from her arms.
“Nothing. It’s…. uh… it was a wrong order. I’ll get another.” She said quickly and scurried off to the replicator as skittish as Neelix himself had departed, with a perplexed looking Captain watching curiously after her.

Chapter Text

As her command crew discussed the plan for first contact with the Juron Council and the information Comsar Dago had stored in Voyager’s database, Kathryn found her attention wandering uncharacteristically. She was thinking about the meal sitting waiting for her in her ready room, and the teenage girl who had ensured she had taken it with her. My baby girl, she thought, her cheeks flushing a little; how did I get so lucky to call you my daughter. It never failed to surprise the Captain how delightful it was to be unreserved with her love for Jade. Time in the Delta Quadrant had made her closer to her beloved crew than she knew Star Fleet would ever sanction but she was still naturally aware of the need to remain somewhat divided from them to retain overarching authority on their ship. She had to be their Captain first, even with a dear friend like Tuvok or someone even emotionally closer to her like Chakotay. With Jade however, she was allowed to be completely and unequivocally besotted. It was the one thing the Delta Quadrant could not take away from her. While Kathryn had loved Jade from the beginning, learning to understand and express that love had taken time. Q had shown her by example of course, his feelings for their daughter always displayed honestly and openly for the entire universe to see whether they wanted to or not. And of course, she would also come to realise over time that Q loved her too just as fiercely. Kathryn left out a soft sigh and leaned her chin on her hand as her elbow moved to the briefing table. She could almost feel him behind her, hands kneading into her shoulders as she relaxed herself into his waist with the blissful release of tired muscles. He’d chuckle in that mischievous way he always did when he was successful in distracting her from work, and he’d sense she was worrying about the mission and offer insults about the Juron Council to make her laugh. Mostly, he would reassure her despite protests that she was brilliant and courageous and everything was going to be okay.

God, I miss you Q.

“Captain?”
The room was looking at her now, each face slightly perplexed.
“Yes Commander.” It was unusual for them to have to prompt her, but despite the distraction of her mental rhetoric, she’d picked up enough words from Chakotay’s summary to know her command crew were asking her to sanction their approach. “That all sounds good. Please confirm our expected arrival time with Dago’s contact on the ground, Angok is it?” She glanced at Tuvok who nodded. “Thanks for your work on this.” She now addressed the entire team. “I know it's been a big few days but I appreciate your efforts and hopefully we’ll have another first contact under our belt. Another first for Star Fleet.” She gave them all a reassuring smile, raising her eyebrows a little. “Now, you all have your orders. Get some sleep and I’ll see you tomorrow. Dismissed.”
The crew’s concern at their Captain’s distracted state seemed to quickly dissipate and they clambered out of their seats and headed towards the door. Tom and Harry were chatting amiably on their way out of the door, clearly excited for the new adventure ahead of them. B’Elanna hurried past them no doubt eager to get back to analysising the cannon data Dago had left with her, and Tuvok and Seven departed swiftly without comment in their usual way. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Chakotay had stood but not moved from his position at the table. She took this as a sign he wanted to talk in private with her and was about to turn to address him when she realised Neelix was also hovering at the doorway.
“What is it, Neelix?” She asked.
“Well,” Neelix bounced a little on his heels a little apprehensively, “Captain. It’s about Jade.”
Kathryn raised her eyebrows in surprise. She had assumed this would be about the away mission.
“What about her?”
“Uhh..”
Neelix’s gaze shifted from his Captain to their First Officer momentarily and Kathryn detected a reluctance in his expression, as if he had been expecting to catch her alone and was now unsure what to do given she wasn’t. Chakotay either did not notice this expression or chose to ignore it because he made no movement to leave. Before she had a chance to test her assumption however, Neelix began to speak again.
“I was talking with her in the mess hall earlier today. She seemed a little…” He frowned, searching for the right word, “... melancholy.”
“Oh…”
Now Kathryn understood Neelix’s caution and wished Chakotay had taken the hint. This was something personal. It felt somewhat intrusive having him there to listen into a discussion about Jade’s feelings. That was for her parents alone.
“Was she alright?” She asked, feeling a sense of foreboding seeping into her chest again. She crossed her arms over herself, hoping it would stay the sensation.
“Oh yes,” Neelix said reassuringly, “you know Jade. She’s just missing Q, and with the moving backwards and forwards between you two, it’s leaving her feeling a bit lost.”
“Right.”
Kathryn wondered whether Jade had actually said this to the Talaxian, or whether he had surmised it from her demeanour. The teenager after all was never one to really give much away about how she was feeling. As much as she hated to admit it however, his assessment felt fairly spot on. It was exactly what she had been worrying about and Neelix, without realising, had just confirmed her fears.
“So I was thinking…” Neelix pressed on, “she might need some distraction. Perhaps, we could take her with us to Kraton on the away mission tomorrow maybe?”
“The away mission?” Kathryn repeated, surprised. She had been thinking he was going to suggest having Jade back on kitchen duty again, and was already primed to say no given the havoc the two of them had caused last time they’d invented a new menu for dinner. The mess had been offline for 24 hours just for cleaning.
“Yes,” Neelix nodded eagerly, “she seemed really excited about the idea of one day going on an away mission, and i thought since you are leading this one yourself, and Mr Tuvok has deemed the security landscape of the capital much like your own San Francisco, perhaps this might be a good opportunity. I would be happy to watch her of course if it helps you Captain.”
Kathryn raised an eyebrow skeptically.
“Has Jade put you up to this Neelix? You can tell me.”
“Oh no Captain.” Her morale officer shook his head emphatically. “In fact, I was the one who suggested it.”

Great. So Jade knows this is a possibility. Even if it wasn’t her idea, I’m never going to get out of this now.

“I’ll think about it, Neelix, okay?” She smiled weakly at him. After all, what was she going to do with Jade while she was off the ship? She’d hadn’t heard a peep out of Junior who was supposedly guarding them from the Continuum in Q’s absence. Could she really leave Jade all alone on Voyager with no one to protect her? What if something happened while she was on the away mission? It was almost an hour back to Voyager from the Imperial palace’s docking bay. All her planning today and she had completely forgotten all about her daughter. What kind of mother was she?

Neelix was eyeing her nervously, clearly unsure whether he had said the wrong thing, and so she patted him gently on the arm to reassure him. “Thank you for looking out for her. I appreciate it more than you know. I’ll speak to Jade tonight once i’ve made up my mind.”
“Of course Captain, let me know what I can do to help.”
Neelix bobbed his head at her, then at Chakotay, before he headed out of the briefing room.

“And how can I help *you* Commander?” Kathryn said, spinning on her heels to face Chakotay as the doors behind Neelix finally closed.
Chakotay grinned at the note of levity in her otherwise resigned tone; it was one she often used after warding off one of the Talaxian's overly ambitious schemes to improve the ship’s culture.
“I’m just checking that you're okay.” He said warmly, coming to her side. “You’ve seemed a little distracted this evening.”
“Oh, sorry.” She sighed, knowing she couldn’t deny it, especially not from him. “I’m okay. It’s just been a long day.” She rubbed the back of her shoulder absentmindedly. “I just need to eat something and I’ll be fine.”
Chakotay reached forward and rested his hand against her bent arm, just above the elbow, as if steadying her.
“Why don’t I take the away mission?” He asked, concern flooding his expression. “You’ve not had a break since we entered Antos space...”
“No…” she interrupted gently, shaking her head, “you heard what Dago said. They’ll know if we don’t send our *supreme commander*.” She pulled a face as she parodied the term the Comsar had used. “Can’t risk offending the Council before we even start. I’ll be fine, honestly.”
She could see him appraising her in the way he did when he didn’t quite believe what she was telling him. Usually, it was reserved for the end of a long shift on the bridge when she had declared she could absolutely work another five hours to finish whatever report they were wading through.
“You’re worrying about Jade.” He said finally.

And you are annoyingly astute sometimes, she cursed.

“No…” Kathryn replied with a little too much gusto and when he raised his eyebrows pointedly, she fell into a resigned smile. “A little.” She admitted. “Is it reckless to bring her with me to Kraton?”
Chakotay considered the idea for a moment and then he shrugged, dropping his grasp on her to fold his arms.
“I mean… it’s Jade, It’s reckless to leave her anywhere.” There was mirth in his expression, the response was designed to make her smile and it did the job.
“Still,” She countered, “It’s not not exactly Star Fleet protocol to bring children along on away missions.”
Not for the first time, she was feeling at odds between doing what was right as Voyager’s Captain and as Jade’s mother. She was used to being the bastion of Star Fleet’s principles, a solitary leader with no other responsibility but maintaining the safety of her crew and her ship to get them home. The Doctor would say that had made her reckless with her own life on more than one occasion. Now she had a fifteen year old daughter to consider. Where exactly did Jade fit within the world Kathryn had so carefully crafted out here in the Delta Quadrant? What would happen to her if Kathryn wasn’t there to protect her?
“Well…” Chakotay quipped, the corner of his eyes crinkling in masked amusement, “I don’t think Star Fleet has a protocol for Captains with children under siege by a race of power-crazed omnipotent beings. Unless I missed that class at the Academy.”
This time Kathryn laughed. It was quite ridiculous when you said it out loud. Her training had barely prepared her for their life in the Delta Quadrant, never mind what it meant to share that life with one of Star Fleet’s documented menaces, their chaotic daughter, and a weaponised ancient entity tagging along for the ride. As always, Kathryn would simply have to trust her gut. It had done her right up until now.
“True.”
“I’m more than happy to stand guard over Jade until you return Captain,” Chakotay continued, “but I suspect it will be less distracting for you if she’s with you. I know it isn’t ideal, but at least you won’t be worrying about her or the Continuum if you can keep an eye on her yourself. Technically it's still a diplomatic mission and Neelix seems to think your part in the discussions shouldn’t be more than ceremonial. I’m sure Tom can keep an eye on her while you are with the council, and you can bring her back to Voyager once Tuvok and Neelix take over the negotiations. Just do what you feel more comfortable with.” He seemed to notice she was still unconvinced and then gave her a wink. “You’re the ‘supreme commander’ after all.”

The Delta Flyer arrived in Hanger 2 of Eal Detan Bay, the arrival port enabling ships to enter Kraton’s Tres provinces, just after 0900 the next morning. The planet’s conglomerate capital was further north, in the mega metropolis of Queron, but the real centre of power, the Imperial Court where Ten Bolten Aller housed during the late summer and height of Kraton’s political season, was located in the mountainous provinces situated in the southern archipelago. This was where the rich and powerful of Kraton’s elite were located, Dago's contact Angok had told them as they had navigated through the crowds of what appeared to be a busy shopping district leading to Allar’s palace main gate. Kathryn had maintained a tight hold of Jade’s hand since they had left the shuttle, gently tugging her along when she dragged behind to stare eyes wide at the magnificent juxtaposition of a technologically prominent cityscape buried into the base of the foliage swallowed mountain. It was beautiful, Kathryn could not deny it. Within the city walls and in the shadow of the mountain, the air was misty and cool in comparison to the oppressive heat that had greeted them at the port. The city seemed to buzz with activity but it was spacious and comfortable as if designed to give the impression of success without the trappings of urban living. Here, Eal Detan seemed to have managed to bring technology and nature into harmony, as twisting vines and pleasing white and pink flowers intertwined with complex city infrastructure and huge advertising screens portraying government messaging. There was something about the place that made Kathryn feel uneasy however. It felt almost as if she had stepped into a play and she was the only one who did not know her part. Everything around her seemed to be moving in preordained motion, and Voyager's crew were a disruption to the planned flow of activity. Unknown. Unplanned for.
“Stay close to me sweetheart.” She whispered to Jade as they hurried to keep pace with their guide, who marched a few paces ahead of them with Neelix and Tuvok close at his heels.

Better to be safe than sorry, her gut told her, as she tightened her grip on Jade’s hand and cast a wary eye at the people moving around her.

Neelix and Tuvok had taken a shuttle an hour earlier than the Flyer to meet with Angok and arrange their meeting with the Juron Council’s representative. Angok would navigate the initial bureaucracy to gain their entry passes into the palace, a process that seemed paradoxically lengthy and Kathryn suspected was intentionally designed to keep visitors tied up in knots rather than permitted through the doors. Once they were through, they would be on their own. Angok had repeated this several times. He was loyal to Dago, not to them, and if they found themselves in trouble, the ‘ente fah’ should not expect help from him. Ente fah was a common slang term used by the merchant pilots, Dopki and Dobak alike it seemed, meaning ‘raiders from beyond the gate’; Kathryn knew this already as Comsar Dago had used it when they had first met.

It was not a term of endearment.

Bringing up the rear of their party were Tom and Harry who had travelled with her on the Flyer, the latter of whom had not originally been part of the away party but who Kathryn had assigned to join Tom on babysitting duty. Kathryn had winced internally at the idea of assigning two of her bridge command crew to watch her daughter, it had seemed like such a personal liberty, but Paris and Kim appeared to be more than happy with the request and openly pleased that the Captain trusted them with Jade's safety. Kathryn suspected Tom had secretly also been eager to escape an entire day of Hetavah negotiations with Tuvok at the helm and Harry was simply happy to be off desk duty for the day but, whatever the reason, they accepted the responsibility with enthusiastic deference and Kathryn was grateful to have two more sets of eyes on Jade, even if those eyes belonged to two crew men who could be, at times, just as silly as she was.

Chapter Text

Five hours into Angok’s slow negotiations to gain the crew an audience with the Juron Council, they hit their real first hurdle.
“I’m sorry Captain, I have tried.” Angok sighed wearily, wiping the sweat from his brow with his sleeve. “The Partadai will absolutely not permit children into the inner sanctum of the palace.
“Not when Council is in session.” The Partadai himself interrupted impatiently. He had been peering at them throughout their exchange from an elevated square window cut into the enormous wooden door before them. This door, Angok had already told them as they waited to be seen in the palace courtyard, was the gateway to the Imperial Court. While the surrounding palace buildings were vast and open, what lay behind this door was a secret world of politics and power, cut deep into the mountain core. The reigning government in the Queron capital controlled Kraton’s commercial, social and technological endeavours, it was here in the hidden world of the Imperial Court where the Juron Council made political and security decisions for the twenty three worlds within Kraton’s gated network of control.
“This is a critical time,” the Partadai continued, “don't you realise? We simply cannot have any disturbances.” His eyes narrowed on Jade disapprovingly.
The Partadai, the Imperial Court’s official liaison tasked with managing visiting dignitaries requesting an audience with upper council members, had been the third of the Juron Council’s bureaucrats that Kathryn had been passed to as they made their slow progress into the palace’s inner world. The tall gaunt pale man had the face and mannerisms of an undertaker that enjoyed his job a bit too much, she thought, feeling her impatience bristle almost uncontrollably. He had already deemed Jade an intolerable disturbance due to her misdemeanour of kicking a stone repeatedly against the wooden door out of boredom earlier. Kathryn really couldn’t blame her for this. The wait to be seen had been long and exceptionally frustrating. A small part of her wanted to hurl the rock at man at the window instead and demand to be seen.

“It’s alright Captain.” Paris said, his hands falling to Jade’s shoulders who stood in front of him. “Harry and I will take Jade to find something to eat. There were a few food places in that market square earlier we could try. We can rendezvous when you are finished.”
Kathryn looked from him to Jade to Angok and, realising holding her ground on Jade’s dismissal was only delaying the long process even further, reluctantly nodded.
“Alright. Just don’t go too far, and get back to the Flyer immediately at the first sign of trouble.”
“What trouble could there be?” Jade scoffed, rolling her eyes. “I don’t think anything happens on this planet without at least three of these stuffy old guys being wheeled out to sign off on it first.”
“Just behave yourself, you.” Kathryn tilted her daughter’s chin upward and tapped her on the nose affectionately. “Be good for Tom and Harry.” She leaned in a little and adopted a more serious tone. “I mean it, Jade. First Contact missions are very sensitive. While you are on this planet, you represent Voyager and how the Hetavah see us as guests. There is a lot riding on this visit. It’s important to make the best first impression possible.”
“Yes, mom. You told me. Several times.” Jade gave her an exasperated grin in return. “I’ll be on my best behaviour, I promise.”
Kathryn could already see the excitement in her face, the chance to explore a new world without either of her parents watching her every move. She glanced up at Tom and Harry and saw the same expression, coupled with relief that they could finally escape this bureaucratic torture.
“That goes for you two as well.” She said, raising an eyebrow.
Both men were quickly startled back to attention.
“Yes ma’am.” Tom nodded.
“You can count on us.” Harry quickly stammered after him.
“Okay, get out of here.” She said, quickly kissing Jade on the top of the head before dismissing the three of them with a wave of her hand. Watching them eagerly head away across the courtyard in the direction of the door they had entered two hours prior, Kathryn hoped their fear of her anger and disappointment would keep them all in line while they were out of her sight.
“Now that this issue is settled,” the Partadai said in a clipped tone, breaking her attention reluctantly away from the departing group. “You may now enter the inner sanctum of the imperial court. Follow me.” He closed the window hatch and Kathryn could hear the sound of mechanical locks being engaged behind the door.
“This is where I leave you.” Angok said, clearing his throat. He turned to her and bowed his head stiffly. His hostility had somewhat lessened with the progression of the negotiations, despite the rising heat of the day which had penetrated even the shade provided by the mountain. He still wasn’t exactly friendly, but the suspicion had disappeared from his gaze when he looked at them. “Com Dago said I should make sure you got this far, and to tell you Com Janeway that he hopes your charms really are as good as he suspects they are. You will need them for what is to come next.”
“Thank you.” Kathryn replied sincerely, giving the man a nod in return. “We couldn’t have gotten this far without you, and I know the risk you took to help us.”
For a moment, Angok almost seemed conflicted about leaving but finally he gave a grunt farewell and departed in the same direction as her daughter had.
Kathryn turned back in time to notice Tuvok and Neelix respond to the large door swinging open before them revealing a long dark cavernous passageway behind it. Her crewmen appeared pensive but determined, and this filled her with courage.
“Well?” The Partadai appeared at the side of the doorway and gestured inside.
Kathryn took a deep breath and nodded her head.
“Let’s get this done.” She quipped, leading the way inside.

Tom, Harry and Jade had wandered the city square for a few hours investigating the different shops and eateries before they finally found somewhere they all agreed on. There had been several more sophisticated looking establishments but they were a little unclear on how the money worked and whether they would have enough in the satchel Angok had left with Tom, so they agreed that the tiny little hole in the wall, with the kitchen under the tarp and stools around old looking tables under a barn type structure in the very far corner of the square, was probably the best option and would allow them to draw less attention. More importantly, Tom had also been lured in by the delicious honey smoked savoury type smell that had caught his attention as it wafted through the square.
“They’re roasting a dead carcass over an open fire.” Harry muttered, a look of distaste crossing his face as he eyed the source of the aroma.
“Consider it a cultural experience Harry.” Tom slapped him on the shoulder as he dipped his head under the rickety wooden framed doorway to enter the seating area, “I’m so hungry, I would even eat Neelix’s pie that moved from Ensign Cullock’s birthday party last month.”
“Ugh. Don’t remind me. I’d blocked that from memory.” Harry grimaced, his hand falling to his stomach as he followed close behind.

The man operating the spit was at least 6’5’’ and broad as he was tall. He was wearing a black apron that had been patched several times, brown cloth tunic and splattered leather boots; an outfit that made him look like a butcher. His bald head was tanned as if he had spent long hours in the sun and from his left eyebrow to the bridge of his nose, there was a deep scar that was punctuated only by a milky coloured eye. Where the tunic ended at his elbows and his thick neck, there seemed to be fine silver and black lines that were etched along his skin. His appearance seemed at odds with the clean modernity that dominated the rest of the square’s establishments. Harry eyed him nervously as the man stripped the meat from the bone with the ease of someone skilled with a blade and dumped a measly pile of the meat unceremoniously into each of their trays with a scowl.
“Come on,” Tom muttered, picking up his tray quickly and nodding to a vacant table a few meters away. “Let’s sit over here.”
“I like your tattoos.”
Tom and Harry had almost made it to the table when they heard Jade pipe up behind them. Spinning around, they saw that she was still at the serving bench, her head tilted upwards with a crane of neck to look up at the giant man before her.
“Jade!” Tom hissed, dropping his tray to the table. He made to move forward but Harry grasped his arm, his eyes fixed on the knife in the man’s hand.
Jade, oblivious to any apparent danger and ignoring Tom’s call, gestured to the man’s left arm and then touched her own neck. “Is that what they are?”
“Yes.” The man said gruffly, wiping his forehead with the back of the hand not holding the knife. He then tilted his head and raised his eyebrows as if perplexed that this small person before him had thought to address him.
“Is it okay to ask what they mean?” Jade asked, appearing unperturbed by the man’s size or demeanour. “Your tattoos I mean?”
The man’s gaze dropped to his arm and then a softer expression fell across his face.
“It’s a star map.” He said quietly and put the knife down on the table much to Tom and Harry’s relief. “To my home.”
“So you don’t get lost? That’s so cool.” Jade replied eagerly, leaning over the table to get a better look as he held out his arm and lifted the sleeve a little further. The tattoo continued under the fabric and Jade suspected it covered his chest and joined the parts she could see at his throat and his other arm.
“My home was lost many years ago in the war.” The man said and cleared the croakiness from his throat. “I am Behami, having a place to call home to anchor my spirit to is an important part of my faith. The Ion elders created this map for me so I may find my way in the afterlife and one day be reunited with my kin.”
“Oh…” Jade sank back into her heels, her face falling. “I’m really sorry about your home.” She offered sincerely.
The man peered at her silently for a moment and then gave her a small smile, bowing his head.
“And where is your home?” He then asked. “You are not from here I can see.”
Jade shook her head.
“I don’t really have one yet. It’s a bit complicated…” she frowned, struggling to articulate her situation in a way this stranger would understand. “I’m lost too I guess.” She added, with a shrug.
“Are they your kin?” The man tilted his head in the direction behind her. “The scared pale ones that were with you?”
A smile crept across Jade’s lips and she nodded, glancing momentarily back at Tom and Harry who she could see were watching her with hyper alert expressions and tense postures from the table.
“They’re my friends. You see, my mom is a great Captain… uhh.. a Comsar, I mean.” she corrected. “Her ship got lost a long way from their planet, and they’re trying to get back there, and my dad… he’s kind of lost too. I’m not sure where he is. I hope we can all make it home together one day.” Jade’s voice had grown small in her explanation and her gaze had fallen to the tray in her hands. Was Voyager her anchor, she wondered? Could she call it home if her father couldn’t be there with her? She could feel the warmth of Obi Wan’s hands pressing into her shoulders reassuringly. The spark seemed to have sensed the heaviness growing in her heart and had offered some invisible comfort.
Another sense of heaviness in her hands broke her from her thoughts as the man dumped a much larger ladle of meat onto her tray.
“Eat before it gets cold.” He said, the familiar gruffness in his tone returning as he nodded at the food he had given to her. “A small one like you needs to keep their strength for such a journey.”
Jade felt her spirit lighten at the gesture and she broke into a smile, stretching herself upward to demonstrate she wasn’t quite as small as everything seemed to tell her she was.
“Thanks.” She replied. “I hope you get where you need to go one day.”
“You too.”

Turning away, Jade saw Tom and Harry beckoning her with frantic arm waving and was about to head over to them when a boy stepped in front of her, blocking her path.
“You have secret powers.” He declared with a grin, raising his eyebrows at her knowingly as he sipped from a brown bottle.
Jade stopped in her tracks, nearly dropping her tray, startled both by his sudden appearance and by his statement. Obi Wan was visible only to her, how could he have possibly seen anything? Surely that’s not what he meant? There was a discarded tray and pushed back chair at the table nearby, which she assumed meant that the boy had been sitting close to the fire and had eavesdropped on her whole conversation with the cook.
“What?” She stammered, eyeing the newcomer suspiciously. “What are you talking about?”
The boy was a few inches taller than her, with a shock of red hair that he’d made no attempt to tame and ice blue eyes that stared back at Jade with a sense of mischief. He wore dark tan leathers and a green tunic, much like the other merchants at the square shops, but diagonally across his chest hung a black belt that had a variety of pockets with bits of wires and technical equipment hanging haphazardly from them.
“I didn’t think Kiydos knew any multi-syllabic words but you had him talking in whole sentences.” He cast a look over Jade’s shoulder at the man she had just left. “Teach me your magic.”
“I just don’t waste them on you, Partavec.” The man behind the bench cut back as he slammed another carcass on the table with a loud thud and began cutting pieces away for roasting. “We all know you wouldn’t understand them.”
Unperturbed by the insult, the boy grinned back at the man who made a hand gesture in return that Jade didn’t recognise but instinctively knew was designed to be offensive.
“Perhaps you should be more polite.” She replied haughtily, feeling defensive of her new friend and irritated by the boy’s imposition without really knowing why.
The boy let out a laugh.
“Am I not?” He folded his arms.
“Well, you’re barring my way and my food is getting cold.” Jade turned her nose up and pushed past him with the edge of her tray, continuing her journey to Tom and Harry’s table. To her annoyance, the boy kept pace with her, falling to her side as she walked.
“My apologies, princess.” He said and chuckled at the scowl this triggered. “I’m Leon by the way.”
"I thought Kiydos called you Partavec." Jade cut back trying to sound disinterested.
The boy laughed and shook his head.
"That's his poor attempt at humour. And you are?"
He looked at her expectantly and after a pregnant pause, she reluctantly complied.
“Jade.”
“Huh… I haven’t heard that name before.”
“I’m not from here.”
“Clearly. “ Leon snorted, lifting his eyebrows. “It’s like you’re *trying* to get noticed by the Partaguardia, you and your friends wandering around the square like that.”
“The what?” Jade frowned, looking at him properly now.
“The Imperial palace’s security forces. They’ve been watching you since you came out of the palace gate.” He nodded his head in the direction they had entered the square from.
“Well I wouldn’t *be* wandering if they let me into the palace in the first place.” Jade muttered, but her eyes roamed the throngs of busy people moving backwards and forwards past the restaurant with renewed suspicion.
“Listen.” Leon took hold of her elbow to draw her attention back. “If you get into trouble, see that big purple building?” He gestured down the street leading away from the palace and upward, pointing at a large purple spire, like a church building, hiding behind the steel skyline. “Come and find me there. It’s a good place to lay low.”
Jade glanced down to the grasp he had on her arm and then met his gaze.
“Why would you help me?” She asked skeptically, appraising his face for any sign of deceit.
The boy simply grinned back at her and there seemed to be no malice in his expression.
“Welll…” he let go of her arm, and ran a hand through his hair, a move that left a small streak of what looked like engine oil at the corner of his forehead where his fingers had skimmed the skin. “I heard what you said to Kiydos. Us lost kids have to stick together.”

Chapter Text

Kathryn imagined it would be growing dark outside by now. She couldn’t be exactly sure however as there were no windows in the space where they had been sitting for the last few hours. The dark tunnel the Partadai had guided them down from the courtyard had quickly met an almost blinding sterile light and a very bland waiting room. Well, it wasn’t a room exactly, but a long corridor that met the tunnel like the head of a T with rows of seats periodically set against the wall in both directions. It reminded Kathryn of being in a hospital.
“Master Karok of the Juron Council’s Third Austeriot will be with you presently.” The Partadai had bowed his head and scuttled off back up the tunnel before they could ask what any of that had actually meant.
They would have been hungry if Neelix hadn’t remembered he’d stashed some supplies in his satchel, and the party of three shared the snacks between themselves silently, with Kathryn all the while wondering whether this meeting with the mysterious Master Karok was really ever going to happen and trying to ignore the tiny voice in the back of her mind that maybe it would not be so terrible if it didn’t. On several occasions, Tuvok and she would exchange a glance and Kathryn could tell he was sharing her reservations. She had known that the Hetavah bureaucracy was lengthy, Dago had warned her of this, but surely this wait was not normal. Would the Juron Council not be eager to meet a new species through which to share knowledge about an unknown universe? What worried Kathryn wasn’t that the Council meant them any harm, but that they simply just didn’t care. They would keep Voyager’s crew waiting and waiting as their arrival was insignificant to them. If that was the case, how long would Kathryn be sitting here before someone deigned her with enough importance to grant her an audience. She could feel the frustration of the day, the lack of control over the situation, boiling within the pit of her stomach. She hadn’t even been able to contact Tom to check on Jade, or make communication with Voyager to reassure them she was fine; as soon as they had entered the mountain, their comm badges had failed. Kathryn was unsure whether this was some sort of natural phenomenon relating to their subterranean lodgings, or whether the interference was man made in design. Given the Hetavah’s technological capability, she assumed the latter and that thought did not fill her with much confidence. Would Jade or Chakotay be getting worried by now, she wondered; how long would it be before one of them came to investigate what had happened. With her eyes closed and her head leaning back against the wall, she mused on the endless possible variables for a while, her thoughts punctuated every so often by Neelix shifting his weight repeatedly on the chair next to her as he tried to get comfortable. Admittedly, her lower back was aching too. The seats were a pristine white colour, much like the rest of the corridor, and hard as a rock as if, ironically, designed only for short stays.
After a while, Neelix’s subtle manoeuvring was broken by another sound, that of footsteps echoing from the far end of the right corridor. Kathryn opened her eyes again, blinking a couple of times to adjust to the light, and turned her head to assess the newcomers as they strode up to meet them at some pace. There were four of them, with one man leading the way. Unlike the others who wore dark military style uniforms, the man at front of the pack had a long red cape that swept behind him as he moved revealing a grey sleek formal uniform underneath. He looked to be in his sixties, with sparse white hair giving way to a large forehead and intelligent mistrusting eyes.
“Captain Kathryn Janeway of the USS Voyager?” The man came to a halt a few paces away, and looked down his nose at the three of them as if inspecting something unsavoury.
Kathryn rose to her feet slowly, immediately sensing something menacing in his posture. Tuvok and Neelix did the same and she felt her Security Chief tense next to her, his whole presence now on alert.
“Master Karok?” Kathryn asked, uncertainty in her voice. While the other palace bureaucrats they had met that day had been frustrating, they had been banal in their personality and indifferent to her visit and Voyager’s problems. Now, Kathryn felt the authority of this man oozing off him and saw his eyes quickly sizing her up as if assessing her threat capability. Automatically, in response, she began to do the same. This man is dangerous, she thought, not physically perhaps although the men he commands behind him clearly are here to even out that shortcoming, but he has power. We need to be careful.
“I am he.” The newcomer said, and then turned his head slightly to address his men behind him. “In the name of the Tenen, Bolten Allar, arrest her.”
Kathryn took a step back in surprise.
“Excuse me?”
“For what crime?” Tuvok asked, stepping in front of his Captain valiantly as the three soldiers moved forward to apprehend her. Kathryn saw one of the men reach for a device on a belt and out of fear it was as a weapon, she laid a hand on Tuvok’s shoulder. Stand down, her gaze said when it met his. Don’t escalate this just yet, but be ready. They had known each other so long now, Kathryn knew he had understood her. Taking a breath, she turned back to Karok raising her hands as if trying to demonstrate she was not a threat to him.
“Surely there has been some mistake,” she said, offering an appeasing smile, “what offense have I committed?” On the outside she was calm, in control, but internally her brain was running on overdrive trying desperately to replay every interaction, every step she had taken since arriving in Eal Detan. She’d been stuck in various palace waiting rooms most of the day however, surely she could not have caused such offence as to require this response?
“One who disturbs the public peace of Eal Detan is under our law guilty of civil disorder, Captain.” Karok replied haughtily.
Kathryn wanted to laugh but caught the urge in time.
“How could I possibly have disturbed the peace Master Karok,” she scoffed, the irritation in her voice becoming more apparent, “when you have had me waiting to meet with you for almost, what, nine hours? Who could I have possibly disturbed?”
Karok stepped forward, his hands clasped behind his back, and Kathryn noted an eagerness in his expression like a spider that had been lying in wait for a fly to land in its web and now finally had the opportunity to reap its reward.
“Are parents not responsible for the actions of their children on your world Captain?” He asked.
Kathryn’s indignant expression faded and her eyes widened as she felt the breath being forced out of her lungs.
“Jade…”

After Jade caught Harry and Tom up to speed on what she had heard from the boy Leon, the trio decided to finish their meals quickly and get moving again.
“I didn’t see anyone following us.” Harry had said dubiously at first, but his eyes too cast a wide scan of the square’s perimeter every few minutes while they ate.
“I dunno.” Tom replied between chews of meat. “This whole place kinda gives me the creeps if I'm honest. It feels like an act, you know? Like we’re on the holodeck or something. Everything is a little too orderly, too clean, don’t you think?”
“I don’t know about clean.” Harry wrinkled his nose and wiped his sleeve against the table as he noticed he had inadvertently leaned in something sticky. “But I get what you mean. I thought Star Fleet Command was bad for rules and process but getting into that palace was like trying to break into a prison.”
“Jade?” Tom had noticed the teenager was staring into the crowd, her spoon still hovering halfway to her mouth. “Do you see something?” He prompted when she didn’t answer.
Jade frowned and then shook her head slowly.
“Not see.” She said, her gaze transfixed on a shadowy part of the square close to the outer edge of the palace walls that was just visible through the crowds and market stalls. “Feel. Maybe…” she looked uncertain. “I think someone might be watching us.”
Tom turned his head in the direction of where she was staring but couldn’t distinguish any specific threats in the throngs of shoppers. He then appraised Jade’s face silently for a moment and noted she seemed genuine in her trepidation. He was unsure whether she was just being paranoid after what the boy had said to her, or whether she was really sensing some sort of invisible ominous threat. He didn’t really know the extent of Jade’s powers, the Captain had kept that close to her chest, but he had seen she was capable of things no normal human child should be able to do and, more importantly, he trusted her.
“Alright.” He then said with a nod and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. “Let’s get out of here.”
They stood and made a quick quiet exit towards the back door of the restaurant. Jade cast a glance over to Kiydos the cook as they rounded the fire pit, but the man was now deeply absorbed in his work and didn’t notice her pass. Leon had already left some time ago and, as her gaze lingered on his discarded food tray, Jade wondered whether she could trust him at his word. There was certainly an unwelcoming presence following them, Jade was sure of that. Both she and Obi Wan could sense them, whoever they were, watching and waiting for the right moment. Primed. Determined. It was like this sometimes, usually when the Continuum got near to Q and her hiding places. She would get a strange feeling, like putting a hand near a hot plate her mind would want to recoil from the unseen danger. It had come in handy on more than one occasion. Obi Wan called it an adaptation, a byproduct of losing her mind reading defence mechanism. Jade, on the other hand, called it her spidey sense. This time, she knew it wasn’t the Continuum following them, she was sure the threat was mortal, but nevertheless she felt the same type of intention. Whoever they were, they did not mean to help her. Leon, on the other hand, had been quite the opposite. His face was open, his presence grounding. Annoying, but friendly. For some reason, she knew he wasn’t lying to her.

Trust your gut. Go to the church.

It was Obi Wan in her ear.
“Come on.” She found herself saying to Tom, tugging at his sleeve. “It’s this way.”
“Shouldn’t we go to the Flyer, try and hail the Captain?” Harry asked Tom as they hurried discreetly down a cobbled alleyway leading off from the square. “This might be a trap.”
“I think we have to go to this place.” Jade replied for him, leading them on. “I don’t know why, but I just think it is the right thing to do.”
Tom shrugged and gave Harry a nudge with his elbow encouragingly.
“Good enough for me I guess.” He quipped, and on seeing his friend look unsure added quietly out of ear shot of Jade. “If they are following us here, they’ll have likely made the Flyer and will be waiting for us. Let’s just go check out this place and we can try to reach the Captain from there.”

With the top of the tall spire of their destination firmly in sight, they walked at pace through weaving alleyways until finally they hit a dead end at the mountain itself. Now they were closer, Jade noticed that the huge purple building they were chasing was, like the palace, was burrowed into the towering peak range. While the palace had obviously been intentionally constructed as so, this building looked like it had been partially buried by a large rockfall many years earlier. It was Harry that noticed the stairwell first, hidden from view behind some foliage. It had clearly been built after the landslide had buried the main entrance and it rose upward to provide access to a set of large double doors on the outer wall at the second or third level of the original building structure. Closer now, they could see the building had been some sort of religious or cultural landmark in a previous life. Its style seemed strangely offset from the sleek silver city walls, a dark crumbling structure of purple brick, carved ornate symbols and dark wet moss allowed to grow liberally in the permanent shadow of the mountain.
“Behind me.” Tom commanded as they reached the top of the stairs. Using one hand to pull a wooden door open with a heave and the other to bar Jade from entering before him, he crossed the threshold into some sort of entrance area. Against the wall to their right, was a black velvet sofa and what looked like a cloak room set back into an alcove. Ahead, ran a long carpeted hallway lit by occasional orange and red ornate lanterns illuminating green and gold delicately decorated walls. With the door closing with a thud behind Harry extinguishing the light from outside, it seemed they had entered a completely different world to the cityscape they had spent the day exploring. Tom couldn’t help but gaze around at the sumptuous stylings of the space made even cosier by the intimate lighting. It reminded him of an early 20th century gentleman’s club. I must try to recreate this aesthetic back on the holodeck, he thought admiringly.

A polite cough brought his attention back to his company and it was only then he noticed to his left stood an attractive woman wearing a sheer blue dress and a golden headband gently pulling back blond wavy hair. She was standing behind a large wooden desk and appeared to have been perusing some sort of ledger when they had interrupted her with their arrival.
“Welcome.” She said with a courteous smile and a slight bow of her head. Her voice seemed light and airy. “Leon said three strangers might be passing by. I suppose you are those he spoke of?” She added, appraising Tom and Harry’s away uniforms and Jade’s sweater and jeans with a quizzical raise of her eyebrow.
Tom looked to Jade who in turn nodded her head at the woman.
“Is Leon here?” She asked.
“Where is ‘here’ by the way?” Harry asked quickly before the woman could answer Jade, craning his neck over Tom’s shoulder to peer down the corridor. There seemed to be some sort of thudding noise emanating from behind the closed door at the end that seemed strange when set against the refined atmosphere of the main entrance. “What is this place?”
“This is the entrance for our… special guests…” the woman said with a playful smile, “our regular patrons enter through the Karseum. The tunnel network.” She clarified when the three before her each flashed a look of confusion at the word she had used.
“I didn’t even realise this city had tunnels.” Tom raised his eyebrows and glanced at Harry who looked equally perplexed. “So this Leon,” he turned back to the woman, “he’s a special guest then.”
The woman smiled again in the same way she had before, as if Tom had intended to be amusing and she had found him so. It was a very enchanting expression, and he ran his thumb over his wedding ring as a reminder to himself that he was not the type to find the smiles of pretty blond girls of interest any more.
“Follow me.” She then said, and gestured for them to accompany her up the corridor. With Jade accompanying closely behind her, Tom and Harry exchanged a glance at one another and then fell into line after them. The sound Harry had heard was louder now, although the door at the end of the corridor was obviously heavy enough to keep the sound muffled. It seemed strangely rhythmic, like music, although it was strange to Tom who felt this type of establishment, whatever it was, should be playing something more sophisticated in keeping with its aesthetic. The woman reached the door and pulled it open with ease despite its size, unleashing the full force of the sound that had been hidden behind it. It was distinctly music now, a loud almost mechanical beat layered hypnotic synthesised melody. Before Tom could open his mouth, Jade had paused in the doorway threshold and then pulled her head back from the room the woman had now entered, turning her neck to look at the men behind her.
“Ehh.. Tom..? You know how you said this place was a bit too clean for you?” She asked with a deadpan expression.
“Yes…” Tom leaned over and pushed back the door further so he could see.
“How about that?” He heard Jade quip as he took in the sight before him with wide eyes.
The door had opened up into a corridor that branched off to the left and right. Immediately in front of them however, where one might expect the corridor’s other wall to be, Tom saw that the entire half of the building had been completely cut away to reveal an enormous cavern almost seven levels high. The back of the space was barely visible in the darkness and Tom was suddenly struck with the feeling of being inside a dolls house looking out. Disorientated for a moment, Tom lifted his head to see the inner frame of the spire they had been following since they left the square soaring above them. It was still intact until the far side of the base of the pyramid gave way to the rock that had entombed the rest of the lower building structure. His gaze drifted back down to eye level and he noticed there was a metal spiral staircase that led from the corridor ledge they were standing on, allowing one to descend to the lower levels. When Tom took a step forward next to Jade, he could now see over the side to where the music was coming from. In the space that would have previously been the lower three floors, there was a pit filled with hundreds of people dancing. Lights flashed in time with the beat kick, activated by a man behind a large technical contraption that was also seemingly controlling the music.
“Oh… my… god…” Tom and Harry said in unison as they both looked from the sight before them and then back to Jade who stood between them.
“It’s a nightclub!” She gasped with large gleaming eyes.
Unsure of what to say or do, Tom surveyed the scene again with a mixture of interest and horror, before giving purely into the latter when a figure in his peripheral vision dragged his attention from the party below. One of several red doors that lined the wall of the corridor to his right had opened and a woman had appeared wearing only small lace looking black panties. She gave him an interested smile before tossing her black hair over her shoulder with a practiced whip of her head, and turning to walk in the opposite direction, her half visible backside swaying in time with the music as she gracefully carried her drink in one hand and led a half dressed dazed looking older man with the other.
“Ooohhhh I think it’s more than a nightclub.” Tom nearly choked on his words, his hands quickly clasping over Jade’s eyes before she could notice what he had seen.
“Hey!” He heard her cry out in surprise, trying to bat him away.
Tom felt Harry grab his arm and turned his head in time to see the colour drain from his friend’s face as he too noticed the scantily clad woman move beyond the corridor and turn the corner out of sight.
“Oh god... The Captain’s going to kill us.” He squeaked breathlessly as his entire soul seemed to evacuate his body. “We’re so dead. We’re going to get thrown in the brig for the next seventy years.”

Chapter Text

“Relax, Harry.” Tom hissed as he continued to wrangle their teenage ward before she saw something age inappropriate.
“Relax?” The ensign squeaked. “We brought our Captain’s daughter to a *sex club*” he mouthed the last words in a panicked animated fashion. “You relax!”
“It’s not a sex club,” Tom countered, also mouthing the last two words in a similar manner to Harry so Jade wouldn’t hear. “It's just… a club… that has some… mild nudity in it.”
“You call that mild nudity!” Harry pointed as another woman appeared from a door further down the corridor in a similar level of covering as the first.
“Let’s go down.” Tom hastily pointed at the spiral staircase ahead of them. “That bottom section looked alright.” He let go of Jade’s eyes and, ignoring her grumpy protest at being manhandled, gave her a gentle shove in the back towards the stairs. “Off you go.”
“None of this looks alright.” He heard Harry mutter behind him as they descended to the next level, which was still about twenty-five to thirty feet above the dancing crowd. “Who does this place even cater to?”
Two men in dark leather pants and what looked like sweat mixed with fluorescent paint covering their naked chests gave them a friendly nod of the head as they passed them on the stairs from the lower levels and kept climbing.
“Everyone, by the looks of it?” Tom couldn't help but grin, nudging Harry in the ribs with his elbow.
They arrived at the level below which, like the one above, also broke out into two corridors branching in either direction to their left and right but this time had no door leading to an exit.
“Isn’t this just another cultural experience Harry?” Jade giggled, linking her arm through Harry’s. “Don’t you want to experience things?”
“You’re too young to experience things, may I remind you.” Tom interjected with a cluck of his tongue. “Come on,” he reached around Harry’s back to take hold of Jade’s shoulder and draw her from where the edge of the floor gave way to the party below, “it looks like there is some sort of bar down the end of this corridor here. Let’s get away from the music. Why did your weird little friend tell us to come here anyway?”
“Because,” a voice said from behind them, stopping the three in their tracks. “It’s the only safe haven in Eal Detan from the Imperial Palace.”
Tom spun back on his heels and saw the mysterious boy from the square had appeared on the stairwell. The green tunic was gone, and now he was in a white shirt which made his shock of red hair stand out even more.
“You!”
How convenient, he thought, feeling annoyance flash in his chest as he noted the wide grin on the boy’s face. With two large strides forward, his hands were suddenly grasped around the scruff of the boy’s shirt. “She’s fifteen years old!” Tom gestured a slight head tilt back in Jade’s direction but didn’t take his gaze off Leon for a second. “Did you think it was funny, sending us somewhere like this?!”
“Tom!” Jade gasped in surprise. She moved forward to intercept but was blocked by Harry before she could grab his arm.
“Speak. Now.” Tom growled, ignoring her. This boy had seemed a little too pleased with himself for his liking, but now there was a glint of alarm in his eyes.
“I didn’t mean any disrespect.” Leon said quickly, raising his palms upward as if to reinforce he intended no harm. “I saw you were being followed. I just thought you would need a place to lay low for a bit. The Partaguardia have an arrangement with the owner. It’s the only place they won’t enter unless their given cause to, so…” he glanced down at Tom’s hands clasped around his collar, “maybe don’t give them one, hey?”
“Tom…” Harry nodded his head towards some of the club’s patrons who had been coming up the spiral staircase and had paused in their ascent to see what all the fuss was.
Tom let the boy go. For a moment, he had felt a surge of angry adrenaline pulsing through his veins at the idea that this Leon, whoever he was, had deliberately lured Jade here under false pretences. Perhaps he had jumped the gun a little. Was this how the Captain felt any time someone got too close to her daughter? He let out an exhale to steady his temper. This parenting stuff was hard work.
Finally released and no longer under immediate threat, Leon too let out a quick exhale which blew back a red tuft of hair that had fallen forward over his eyes when Tom had grabbed him. Recentering the neckline of his shirt, his gaze moved to Jade and the grin he arrived with finally returned.
“You made it princess, I knew you would. Are you going to introduce me to your bodyguards?” He then cast a wry look back at the two men.
“Umm.. well you’ve met Tom.” Jade said, gesturing at each of them in turn. Tom could see she looked embarrassed. “This is Harry. They’re my friends. Guys, this is Leon.”
“Nice to meet you.” Leon bowed his head. “I’m sorry about upstairs”, his eyes flickered to Tom and then he nodded upward but in the direction of the corridor with the red doors. “They’re rented rooms, so not much we can do about it. The money keeps the club open and stops us from being bugged since half the upper elite use the… uh… services. The Pit is a legitimate establishment though…” He puffed his chest proudly.
“The Pit?” Harry prompted.
“That’s the dance club downstairs.” Leon stuck his thumb over his shoulder back towards the stairwell. “Just good music and good times all through the night.” He added in the manner of a salesperson.
“So you work here?” Jade asked, picking up on his tone.
“Sort of. What do you think?” He looked at her eagerly.
“Oh I love it. It’s great!” She grinned before noting Tom’s look of disapproval and quickly falling silent again.
“We’ve lost contact with our people and our ship in orbit.” Tom interjected before the gushing over their surroundings could continue. “Do you know if there is another way to make contact with the palace? Our Captain is in negotiations with the Juron Council.”
“Oh…” Leon let out a dry laugh and raised his eyebrows. “So that’s why they were after you then.” When the two men shot him a questioning look, he continued. “They say the natural magnetic field mountain range blocks communications signals but it is really blocked by the Council. Only Imperial Palace frequencies will get through. If you’ve been trying to hail your ship, the Partaguardia probably have picked up on it and were sent to investigate. You won’t be able to use your comms devices anywhere in Eal Detal I’m afraid. But…” he paused, suddenly thoughtful. “Come down to the lower bar. We’ve got a hiiiighly illegal broadcaster stashed that has been hotwired to piggyback off the palace’s frequencies so we can spread the word about coming to the club and warn people about the palace inspections. I’ve never tried to call a ship in orbit but you might be able to configure it to reach your people.” He added with a shrug.
Tom appraised the boy for a moment, trying to detect any deception in his expression, but seeing nothing notably sinister in the face staring back at him, he nodded.
“Alright. Lead the way.”
The four of them set off back towards the stairwell and down into what Leon had called the Pit. As he surveyed the scene below on the descent down the stairs, Tom thought about the classic literature his father so loved that would often describe theological scenes of old religions, and wondered whether this was what they looked like when they talked about hell. These people were not in a state of torture however; quite the opposite, they seemed to be having the time of their lives dancing energetically to the pulsing beats and flashing lights keeping them all in sync. From what Tom could see, there were not just Hetavah people but also several other species mixing within the crowd. These must be from the other worlds under Kraton’s protection he thought as his eyes roamed the crowd. They made it to the ground level and snaked in single file through the dancers who parted for Leon as he led the way through the crowd with ease. Jade was behind Harry and in front of him at the rear of the line, so Tom could watch as the teenager’s head turned left and right as she marvelled at the outfits and moves of everyone around her. He was grateful to see Leon had been right about the change in tone of the lower establishment; down here, everyone was at least wearing clothing that covered their intimate areas for the most part, and none of the antics from upstairs were obviously on display.
Reaching the lower bar area, Leon nodded to the man and woman busy serving drinks and then led his three guests to a small alcove to the far left of the bar. The music was still loud but moving immediately behind the speakers, which seemed to project the beat outward at the crowd, it was much more manageable to hear one another.
“Drink?” Leon asked, sliding a tray across the wooden countertop towards Jade. Small glasses of blue liquid were arranged in a circle around the edge, each with a tiny silver flame dancing on the top of the drink. Jade’s face lit up at the offering and she quickly selected the one closest to her and raised it to her lips.
“No shots.” Tom commanded, reaching over her shoulder to take the glass from her hand before she could take a drink from it.
“Hey, that was mine!” Jade spun around, her hands coming on her hips as she cast her friend an affronted look of betrayal. For a moment, she looked just like a tiny Janeway standing there staring at him indignantly, and Tom had to fight hard to suppress the grin that wanted to stretch across his face.
“In about five years,” he replied, the hint of a smirk still fighting for control of his expression, “and I need it more than you do right now, trust me.” He then blew the flame out and knocked the drink back in one hit. It was a good move to confiscate the alcohol from Jade; whatever was in the glass was potent he realised, trying not to wheeze as it hit the back of his throat.
“Give me one.” Harry said, helping himself to a shot from the tray before Tom could warn him. The eager expression quickly gave way to a look of disgust.
Jade rolled her eyes and turned back to Leon.
“I never get to have any fun.” She quipped dryly, rolling her eyes.
“The broadcaster?” Tom prompted, noticing that the boy had found himself content to simply stand and grin at Jade.
“Oh yeah… sorry, hang on.” Leon nodded and disappeared around the corner of the bar behind a curtain. After a moment, he came back with a large radio device cradled in his arms. Heaving onto the bar top, he pointed to the dial and buttons on the top. “You can try to use your communications devices,” he tapped his own chest mimicking where Tom and Harry’s comm badges were pinned, “to triangulate the signal. The range is pretty good, you might be able to get your ship if you play around with it.
“Great, thanks.” Harry said sincerely as the two men began to inspect the device.
“While you do that,” Jade began to step backwards away from the bar. After a few paces, she grabbed Leon by the wrist to the surprise of the boy and pulled him in the same direction, “we’re going to dance.”
“What?” Tom had been distracted by the radio but his head snapped back around again as he realised what she had said. “Absolutely not.”
“Oh Tom, please?” Jade pouted. “Just one dance. I’ve never been to a club like this before and you know there is no way mom is ever going to let me again. I know having fun is, like, illegal in Star Fleet but you were young once, right? Don’t you remember what it was like to just go out and have an experience like this?” She let go of Leon’s wrist so she could clasp her hands together in a begging fashion. “Pretty please?”
She was looking at him with big pleading eyes as if she was a hungry puppy staring at his hot meal. Tom realised he preferred it when the Captain was here to be the bad guy. It was a lot easier to hold his ground.
“I’m still young, thankyou.” He cut back, slightly affronted at the idea he could not empathise with her youthful predicament.

Ugh.

He could feel himself wavering.
“Alright. One dance while we fix the radio. You stay in our eyeline though. I do not want to turn around and not be able to see you.” He pointed to the edge of the dancing crowd a few metres from the bar. “And as soon as we make contact with your mom, we’re outta here okay?” Tom’s gaze then fell to Leon and it narrowed. “And you, sparky.” He pointed at the red headed boy. “You did us a favour and we’ll cut you some slack, but that’s precious cargo there,” he nodded at Jade without looking at her, “I see one hand out of place and…”
“Whoa…” Leon put his hands up again, and to Tom’s relief he looked somewhat mortified at what was being suggested, while Jade flushed the colour of beetroot beside him.
“Tom…” She dropped her hands and scowled at him but was promptly interrupted by the boy next to her.
“Of course.” Leon said solemnly. “You have my word.”
“Alright.” Tom nodded towards the dance floor, his expression one of satisfaction. “Go have fun.”
Leon gave him a salute and gestured to Jade to follow him. Jade nodded but before she followed, she turned her head back to Tom and Harry.
“Thankyou.” She grinned, but then cast Tom an amused but pointed look. “Could you be any more embarrassing?” She then flicked her hair over her shoulder, turned and followed the boy out into the crowd.
Tom chuckled, shaking his head. Teenagers.
“Remind me not to volunteer for babysitting duty again any time soon.” He muttered wearily to no one in particular as he turned back to the radio again. “It’s no fun being the responsible one.”
Harry was still looking over his shoulder in the direction Jade had left.
“Tom…” he shook his head disapprovingly, “this is a really bad idea.”
“Don’t you think I know that.” Tom cut back, and waved his hand flippantly at the girl who was already dancing up a storm on the peripheral edge of the dance floor, “but what do you want me to do, she’ll just stand her and sulk otherwise. Besides, I didn’t hear you piping up to say no to her either.”
Harry pulled a face.
“And,” Tom turned to follow his gaze at the dance floor and his expression lightened. “Look how happy she is.”
“I’m glad she’s happy.” Harry grumbled, turning back to the broadcaster and starting to adjust the dials again in no particular order. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this stressed in my entire life.”
“We've got the bar covered,” Tom replied, batting his friend’s hand away from the receiver and trying his own combination, “and we can see the exits. Noone is paying her the slightest bit of attention. What’s the worst that could happen?”
Harry clucked his tongue at his friend impatiently.
“Oh, I don’t know… the Captain finds out and has us expelled from the airlock?”
They tried the rest of the away team first, but were unable to get Janeway, Tuvok, or Neelix on their hails. "I'm not sure I've configured this right," Tom muttered to himself in frustration as he fiddled with the dials. They should be in the palace so why wasn't this getting through? Maybe he would have more luck with triangulating Voyager's location. “Paris to Voyager.” He tried the broadcast microphone again. “And she’s not going to find out,” he moved the mic from his mouth to continue addressing his friend. “ Let Jade have her experience and then we’ll..”
“Tom, it’s good to hear from you,” a familiar voice echoed through the receiver, interrupting him. “We were beginning to worry.”
It was Commander Chakotay. Voyager had heard his hail. Their debate immediately forgotten, Tom met Harry’s excited look and grinned. He then quickly explained to Chakotay what had happened at the palace and that they believed they had been followed by the local security police until they had taken shelter where they were now. Tom decided it wasn’t necessary to explain to his superior office exactly what type of establishment they had taken shelter in.
“Do you think the rest of the away team might be in danger?” Chakotay asked once Tom had finished recounting his tale. “We haven’t been able to reach them all day.”
“Unclear at this stage,” Tom replied, feeling a sense of unease return to the base of his stomach as he thought of his Captain potentially trapped in the palace. “We can't reach them either but the comms device we're using to contact you isn't really reliable. We have a foothold nearby the palace though, and a contact who we think we can trust. We’ll look into it and provide more intel in a couple of hours.”
“Alright Tom. You and Harry, be careful. Let us know how we can help.”
“Aye Commander.”
The sound of static echoed in response as the connection between Voyager and the broadcaster broke off. Tom immediately started to reset the settings to try the rest of the away teams comm badges again.
“Jade’s a good kid,” he said out loud as he tweaked the dials, “but the Captain and Q have got her locked down to the point that she’s going to rebel eventually. Trust me, I know.” He glanced up at Harry. “I see myself in her when I was that age.” Noticing his friend was looking at him unconvinced, he added. “What, didn’t you push against authority when you were a teenager?”
“No Tom,” Harry cut back tersely, “I didn’t, and no offence I don’t think we should be using you as a teenage role model.” He turned his head back towards the dancing crowd again,
“Stop worrying,” Tom chuckled, noting the tense muscles in his friend’s jaw. “It could do you some good to live a little yourself Harry. We’ll be back on Voyager before we know it, and at least Jade can experience a little freedom under our supervision while we’re here. Isn’t that away missions are all… what…” he broke off at the change in expression on the Ensign’s face. Harry’s face had clouded over in a look of panic and he grabbed Tom’s shoulder to spin him around.
“Is that the type of freedom you had in mind?”

***

Kathryn was alone now. It had been at least two hours since Master Karok and the armed guards accompanying him had escorted her to this holding cell. She wished she hadn’t complained about the corridor earlier, the iron bed she was perched on now was much more uncomfortable than the white seats. She stood up, arching her back a little to give herself some relief, and occupied herself by wandering a slow path between each corner of the small room while she thought about her next move. She was unsure where Tuvok and Neelix had been taken. Even if her comms badge had worked, it had been taken from her. No one had been to see her since she had been taken into custody. Had something really gone wrong outside the palace? Had Jade really been involved? Where were Tom and Harry? Was everyone okay? There were so many unanswered questions, and no one to alleviate her rising fears that something terrible had happened to her daughter or her crewmen. She chewed on her bottom lip, her brow furrowing, as she tried to force her brain to stay calm and instead focus on figuring out how she might be able negotiate her way through this mess. Comsar Dago had said to use her charms, but perhaps he had been right when he had cautioned that it might not be enough. Master Karok did not seem like the type of man who could be easily captivated by anyone, no matter how charming.
There was a clunk at the metal door, and Kathryn looked up to see it swing open and a man appeared before her. She didn’t recognise him but he was dressed in a similar manner to the guards that had apprehended her, except he wore a silver sash across his chest.
“I demand to speak to someone in authority.” She said icily, folding her arms. “This is completely unacceptable.”
The man smiled at her in an unfriendly way that seemed almost mocking.
“So I have heard. You make a lot of demands for someone so new on our planet, Captain.”
“As she should,” another voice said from the doorway behind him. A hand appeared on the guard's shoulder and guided him to the side so that its owner could enter the cell. He was obviously a man of some importance, Kathryn noted, given how quickly the bravado of the first guard fell away and he scuttled out of the way. “Firnea,” the second man continued, and appraising Kathryn slowly with the tilt of his head, his gaze met hers and he gave her a genuine smile, “can’t you see we have a worried mother in our midst?”
Kathryn, too, took in the newcomer with wide eyes. He was tall and lean but strong looking, with white hair that offset his pale grey uniform precisely, and icy blue eyes that watched her with keen interest. A powerful presence that was immediately felt without any introduction.
“You’re Bolten Allar.”

Chapter Text

“Well you did ask for someone in authority.” Allar said with a dashing smile, appearing to note and find amusement in the surprise captured in the Captain’s expression. “I assume I will do?”
Kathryn opened her mouth but closed it again finding herself momentarily speechless. She hadn’t expected to meet with Allar on this trip. They had been told that the reigning Tenen never joined political negotiations and that all of Voyager’s dealings would be with Juron Council representatives. Bolten Allar was the mysterious yet omnipresent figurehead of the gated planetary community of the Antos System, seen everywhere on every broadcast and holo-billboard, but usually leaving the political machinations of managing his vast empire to his trusted advisors.
Before she could gather herself to speak, the guard who had opened the door and was peering at his master with respectful reverence snapped his head back to glare at her.
“You…” he began, pointing at her with the butt of his weapon, “will address his excellence as Ten Allar, or Tenen.”
“Firnea,” Allar shot a reproachful frown at him and raised a hand to stay the man, “the Captain does not know our ways and why should she when she has not been appropriately received since her arrival.” His gaze too turned to Kathryn. “I’m pleased you recognised me.”
How could I not, Kathryn thought, your face is everywhere. She took a quick inhale of breath to steady herself and offered the man before her a genial smile.
“I’ve seen your broadcasts.” She replied politely. Use your charms, Dago’s voice ran through her head, the Tenen will surely know where the others are being kept.
Allar clucked his tongue, his eyes rolling drolly.
“They are a little ridiculous aren’t they?” He offered, as if confiding something she too might find diverting. “My advisors insist, but I am not at all how I appear on the channels I assure you. You, on the other hand,” he then tilted his head and appraised her slowly from the ground upwards in a way that made Kathryn feel a little uneasy, “are exactly as I had been promised.”
“I’m sorry?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. “Promised how?”
Her impatience, slowly rising as the day had gone on, had given her words an edge of challenge that she hadn’t intended but this only seemed to amuse Allar further, his eyes sparkling with interest as he watched her from the other side of the cell.
“I don’t mean any disrespect, Captain.” He said amiably, raising his hands in a manner that Kathryn saw was meant to disarm her.
“I find that hard to believe Tenen Allar,” she replied abruptly, folding her arms, “given you have arrested my crew and I’ve been locked in a cell for the last two hours. On my home world, this is not how we conduct first contact. Now,” she cleared her throat and straightened herself up to reassert her authority. “I understand there has been some sort of disturbance involving my people while we waited to be seen by the Council. I would like to clear that matter up and ensure the safety of everyone involved so we can resume our negotiations without further inconvenience or delay to either of us. Will you assist me?”
She held Allar’s gaze evenly and waited for his response. She hadn’t exactly been charming, she knew, but the fate of Tuvok, Neelix, Tom, Harry, and of course Jade, were at stake. Whatever Allar’s relaxed manner of conversing had intended to achieve, they simply did not have time for it. At her blunt response, she could see the Tenen was deciding his response carefully now, the silent rhetoric calculating behind his cool blue eyes. Had she gone too far? In reality, she didn’t have much footing in this debate. There had clearly been some altercation involving Harry, Tom, and Jade, and perhaps a law on this world had been grievously broken? The Council member Karok who had arrested her earlier had been right about one thing, they were her people and as their Captain, as Jade’s mother, she was responsible for their actions. “If my crew have committed a crime,” she continued, her tone a little softer and more conciliatory, “I assure you it was not intended. I do not wish this misunderstanding to impact any future relationship between our peoples, but you can of course understand that I just want to know mine are safe and well.”
A smile crept across Tenen Allar’s face.
“Do you know how rare it is for people to live up to their reputation these days.” He said, slowly closing the gap between them. “So often, the reality is… disappointing. But when I heard about you…” he paused a couple of feet in front of her and looked at her admiringly, mirroring her folded arm stance, “A brave Captain lost in an unknown quadrant, trying to get her ship home alone while facing down unknown dangerous new species every day with such tenacity and hopeful optimism, well of course I had to meet such a person.”
Kathryn could feel the whisper of heat flicking over her cheeks and neck in embarrassment. She lowered her gaze for a moment, feeling all the righteous indignation for her current position falling away. It wasn’t simply because of the way Allar was now looking at her, although that didn’t help; it was because there was only one person on this planet who would speak so openly about her like that. Her jaw gave in to an emotive twitch and she ran her tongue over her teeth behind closed lips to try and force it back into a neutral expression.
“I see you’ve met my daughter.” She then said carefully, still not raising her gaze from the floor. It was all making sense now.
The sound of Allar’s rumbling chuckle made her lift her head.
“I have had that pleasure, yes.” He said with a grin.
A mixture of relief, confusion and embarrassment coursed through Kathryn’s chest.
“Is she here?”
“She is.” He lifted his elbow, offering it to her to take. “Allow me to escort you to her. I can then tell you more of your crew.”
Kathryn eyed the arm but did not move.
“I am not your enemy Captain. My council on the other hand considers you to be a threat to the stability of Eal Detan’s security and wishes for you to remain incarcerated. Fortunately for you, your daughter speaks exceptionally highly of you, with much passion and… uh…” he raised his eyebrows, “at great length.”
Kathryn let out an exhale of air that was caught somewhere between a sigh and a laugh and nodded her head.
“Well…” she said in a resigned tone as she rubbed her forehead, “that does sound like Jade.”
“All deserved I’m sure. I don’t normally interfere with the Juron Council’s decrees, but I admit I was most intrigued after everything she told me. You can walk out of here because of that interest.”
Kathryn looked up and saw the resolute expression in his gaze. There was clearly no choice. Take my arm, or stay here and rot, possibly leaving Tom, Harry, Tuvok, and Neelix to do the same.
Slowly, she reached out and looped her arm through his.
“What exactly did my daughter tell you,Ten Allar?” She asked as they walked through the doorway of her cell.
Tenen Allar looked down at her and as their eyes met, his gaze softened and a hint of a smile crossed his lips.
“The truth, from what I can see.”
***
Leon watched with a grin as the strange girl he’d met only an hour early danced up a storm before him. He had first spotted her outside the palace gates wandering around the various shops and restaurants that lined the stone square, and assumed it had been her first time in Eal Detan by her slow pace and the wide eyed keen interest in the landscape and buildings around her. Her unusual clothes were of course a dead give away that she wasn’t from Kraton, but off world visits to Eal Detanl were not uncommon this early in the political season as the various world political liaisons began their long and arduous petitions over trade and gate travel rights. Leon hadn’t recognised the uniforms of the men accompanying her however, and so he had wondered what planet they had arrived from and his curiosity had been peaked. The men also didn’t share a resemblance to the girl in any way and were taking a careful watch over her as she moved through the throngs of people, but they also seemed friendly and casual in their demeanour when talking with her which made him think they weren’t hired security. They also hadn’t spotted the fairly obvious Partaguardia security detail that had tailed them from the palace which should have confirmed his assumption watching her wasn’t their usual job.
With his interest piqued and in an attempt to get a closer look at the party of newcomers, he had followed them into the old grill shack. The girl was shorter than he was, although he knew he had his father’s height and was tall for his age, but he guessed, like him, she was around fifteen or sixteen assuming they both aged in the same way. She had fair skin and black hair, with roughly cut blue edges sweeping her shoulders as she moved, and he liked the way her face scrunched up when she laughed or how her eyes had flashed indignantly at him when he had teased her. Leon had never heard the name Jade before but he liked it and decided it suited her, whatever it meant. He had been pleasantly surprised when she had later turned up at the club. He’d thought he had maybe been too direct and scared her off but he now realised as Jade had grabbed his wrist and pulled him onto the dance floor that this girl did not scare easily.
“Where are you from?” He shouted over the music.
“What??”
Jade had been dancing and opened her eyes to look at him with a frown as if she wasn't sure whether she’d actually heard him speak or not.
“Where are you from?” Leon leaned in closer to her ear this time so she could hear him properly. In his peripheral vision, he could see the older of the two men, the man he now knew was called Tom Paris, watching him for a moment before turning back to the radio.
“Oh!” Recognition flashed in Jade’s face, “I’m from Earth!” She shouted back, still dancing energetically to the rhythm pumping from the speakers.
Earth? Leon frowned, slowing to a steady sway as he sounded out the new word.
“Never heard of it.” He then shrugged and gave her an apologetic grin.
Jade slowed her dancing to match his and shook her head.
“You wouldn’t have. It’s super far away from here.”
“Oh, yeah.” Leon nodded, suddenly remembering her conversation with the surly Kiydos back at the grill shack. “Is that the place your ship is trying to get back to? Where your mother is from?”
Jade looked surprised that he had remembered, or perhaps she had forgotten he had been eavesdropping, and she nodded with a somewhat evasive smile.
“That’s right.”
“I was born here on Kraton,” Leon said quickly, unsure if he had pressed her on something she felt was sensitive, “but my mother was from Dorarian. That’s in the outer sector, near the Pass. It’s where I get the red hair from,” he pointed to his head, immediately feeling foolish as soon as the words had left his lips, “...from… uhh.. her.”
Why did I say that? She hadn’t even asked! Feeling awkward, he ran a hand through his hair instinctively, and then realised he was drawing attention to it more and dropped it again, feeling warmth in his cheeks that had no doubt turned just as red. Hopefully the strobe lights and darkness of the club would hide it.
Jade was grinning at him now but he couldn’t tell whether it was in amusement or sympathy. Leon wasn’t entirely sure which would be worse so he decided not to ask. All of the confidence and mystery he felt he had projected at the shack had clearly disappeared.
“Is that where the Dopki people are from?” Jade asked suddenly, before he could conjure up a way to easily change the subject. “We met some of the traders on the way here. Redheads just like you.” She grinned teasingly.
“Yeah…” Leon laughed, feeling his tenseness ease a little at her good natured ribbing. “It’s a pretty common trait.”
“I can’t believe you work here, this place is awesome.” Jade then said, finally taking pity on him, casting her gaze upward to the lofty cavernous ceiling.
Eager to redeem himself, Leon cleared his throat.
“I actually own part of the bar.”
“No way?” Jade’s eyebrows raised in surprise.
She looks impressed, Leon noted pleased. He wasn’t actually supposed to tell anyone he was one of the eight silent partners in the Pitt. The night club was, after all, a highly illegal establishment and his business dealings were supposed to be a secret but there was something about this girl that made Leon want to just tell her stuff. He wasn’t sure why.
“Don’t you go to school?” She asked, tilting her head questioningly, with a frown.
“Oh.. um.. yeah kind of.”
“Kind of…?” Jade paused and gave him a look like she expected to elaborate.
It had been the second time he had fobbed her off with the ‘kind of’ explanation and this time it appeared he would need to expand on his answer. Before he could think of how best to meet the challenge, he suddenly felt the presence of someone next to him. Assuming it was Tom coming to call time on their dancing, he turned his head to address the newcomer with a smile and the intention of stalling for a few for minutes… but it wasn’t Tom. The expectant smile faded from Leon’s face.
“Graiis...”
The man standing before him now was a tall square angry looking man with a low brow, a crooked jaw, and thick muscular arms that he held in a continuous state of flex. He was dressed similarly to three other men that joined behind him, all clad in a dark leather vest and pant uniform with red trim and the markings of the Juron Council’s personal security unit. Unlike the Partaguardia that were directed by the palace and, for the most part, Kratonian law, the Eal Kau Tan did not operate under any legal jurisdiction and their motivation was always financial. The group was made up of mercenaries and murderers, and their leader Tol Graiis did both wonderfully. Clearly he had gotten wind of the Partaguardia’s hunt and hoped to bag the prize for himself thinking that Council will gift him for acquiring a foreign visitor in an illegal establishment. Like the palace guards, members of the Eal Kau Tan were not welcome at the Pit. Unlike the Partaguardia however, they never seemed to remember that.
Aiysh, he cursed under his breath. How the krek did you catch on so quickly?
“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” Graiis sneered as Leon took Jade’s wrist and gently pulled her behind him.
“What do you want Graiis?” He said through gritted teeth, his eyes darting quickly towards where the Pitt’s own security were usually stationed to see if they had noticed the intruders. “I don’t see any Council members here tonight to hold onto your leash,” he then bounced his head as if considering this for a moment, before flashing the older man a mocking grin, “not unless they're flat on their back upstairs in the private suites?”
“Smirk all you want, Partavec.” Graiis cut back over the din from the music. “We came for the girl.” His eyes flashed dangerously in Jade’s direction and Leon felt her pull backwards slightly against his grasp at the attention. “Why am I not surprised to find her here with you of all people.” Graiis then spat at the boy before him. He took a step forward to reach for Jade’s shoulder but Leon barred his path with an outstretched hand.
“I don’t know who you think you’re searching for, but she’s not it.” He began backing the two of them away slowly as Graiis and his men began their advance. “Mehi and I go way back. Her father is in the Imperial Court, you know. I’d hate to see the trouble you’ll get into when he finds out you manhandled his daughter in a business of ill repute.”
“Cut the aiysh kid!” Graiis growled. Lunging forward, he shoved Leon aside roughly, causing his hand to slip from Jade’s wrist, “We know who she is, we have her image and her bioscan from the palace entry records. Stop wasting our time and get out of our wa…”
Using all his body weight, Leon threw himself back into Graiis with as much force as he could muster, the momentum pushing the older man off balance. Unable to keep his footing, he fell backwards into two of his subordinates standing immediately behind him, barrelling them in turn into the crowd. The fourth guard who had escaped the tumble threw his fist at Leon’s head, who ducked but not in time and copped a smack in return on the right side of his brow bone. Dazed from the impact but still on his feet, Leon span himself around and used the momentum to slam his foot into his adversary’s leg bringing him to his knees. There was no time to celebrate the victory however as Graiis was back on his feet and sprinting towards them. Leon quickly raised his hands in anticipation to deflect whatever was about to be thrown at him when a roar of anger drew his attention. Several of the Pitt’s patrons had also been inadvertently knocked to the floor by his tumble. It was common for regulars in the Pitt to be set upon by Partaguardia or Eal Kau Tan members lying in wait in the tunnels hoping to gift those they captured leaving the club with a beating or a night in the cells, and seeing the uniforms on the floor in a vulnerable state was too good an opportunity to miss. Chaos was beginning to permeate as the fight rippled through the crowd and more and more dancers, angry at having their fun interrupted, joined the fray. The energy in the air was electric now and Leon knew it was a matter of minutes before all hell broke loose and the alarm would be sounded to evacuate or they would be at the mercy of the Partaguardia for civil disruption.
“Let go of me!” Jade’s cry pulled Leon’s gaze back from the crowd. Graiis had his arms clamped around her waist as he tried to lift her from her feet to drag her away. Leon grabbed his arm and yanked it back but the man was exceptionally strong and simply shrugged him off with a snarl. The crowd was dense around them with pushing and shoving, which was the only thing stopping him from getting away but Leon knew that wouldn’t stop Graiis from making his escape; he’d use brute force until he got what he needed and that might include against Jade too. In a panic, Leon looked over his shoulder for help and saw her friends Tom and Harry had seen the fight break out and were now trying to edge their way into the crowd presumably to get to her. He wasn’t sure if they could see Jade and Graiis, or were aware how the fighting had started, but Leon could see the panic on both of their faces clearly enough as their eyes roamed the crowd looking for their ward.
“Tom Paris! Over here!” He cried, waving his arm madly over the surrounding heads to get Tom’s attention. “Quickly!”
“Argh! Biyot!” The sound of Graiis cursing turned him around in time to see the large man clutching his forearm arm and grimacing in pain. Jade had landed a foot in front of him, glaring triumphantly as she wiped blood from her mouth. Furious, Graiis shook the injured arm and then made a grab for her again, catching her by the throat and lifting her a couple of feet off the ground. Jade’s eyes grew large in shock and she clawed at the hand desperately, gasping for air and kicking her feet outwardly at the man holding her. Leon ran forward to help but was blocked from reaching her one of the other guards fighting with a group of nearby dancers. Jade opened her mouth as if she was trying to call for help. Her lips tried to formulate her words but no sound came out. Graiis looked like he was enjoying himself, a malevolent fascination plastered across his face as he watched her struggle and her skin flush red. Leon shoved a dancer aside and pushed closer and closer. A few more steps and he would be able to reach her.
Jade closed her eyes, and opened her mouth one more time.
“Fernand… Stop….”

What happened next, Leon would not have been able to explain to anyone. For a moment, it seemed to him like someone had sucked all the air from the cavern, suffocating the sound in an instant like a candle flame being snuffed out. Leon blinked in surprise, rubbing his ears thinking something was happening only to him as no one else seemed to visibly react to the strange phenomenon. Then, CRACK! A bright shock of light and heat exploded in his face. Leon raised his hands as a spray of what felt like hot sand being carried on a strong wind blew past him at speed, blinding him in an instant. For a moment, Leon felt like he had been caught in a hurricane of colossal force and pressure, but then the sensation subsided as quickly as it arrived. Leon was surprised to find himself still standing and he wiped his eyes on his sleeve hurriedly, forcing them open despite the stinging. Had a bomb gone off? He felt unhurt, he thought, just disorientated. His vision clearing properly, he saw that like him, everyone around him appeared to be okay and still on their feet. He looked down at himself to be sure and noticed a strange golden shimmery dust was now covering his clothes and the floor and those around him. That must have been what had stung his face, he thought, but what it was he had no idea? To his relief he was, as he had assumed, unharmed however. Perhaps he had been too far away from the blast? But then, where did it come from? Leon couldn’t see any visible signs of devastation, the club seemed to be as it had been before the explosion except… wait… Leon peered closer at a group of people immediately in front of him, the two men and a woman locked in a tussle with one of Graiis’ guards. Their fists were raised, their hands grasping each other. One of the men’s faces was twisted as if he had just been punched in the jaw. They’re frozen, Leon realised with surprise, frozen stiff? He quickly looked around at the rest of the crowd around him and realised they were the same. Each person had taken on the manner of a silent statue, frozen in whatever action they had been doing when the explosion had occurred. How was that possible, Leon wondered in awe, scanning each face carefully for any sign of life. No wait… he peered closer again at the figures he had first inspected and realised their faces had changed just slightly, their limbs now a little further from their original position. They were still moving, he realised, but just very slowly as if they had been slowed down to a tenth of their normal speed.
Only Leon seemed to have complete freedom of movement. What was happening? He then looked back to where Jade and Graiis were standing and saw she was still hanging from his outstretched grasp.
“Jade!”
He ran to her and, putting one arm around her waist, he pulled her backwards, prying Graiis’s fingers back from her neck with the other hand. Jade fell back into his chest with a thud, but Graiis’s arm did not lower. Instead, it remained stretched upward and his hand clasped in a claw like manner as if he still had hold of her. Whatever had affected everyone else in the club was also impacting him it seemed.
Jade shifted against him and then lifted her head with a snap.
“Are you alright?” Leon asked, relieved to see, like him, she was moving at normal speed. He let her go as she turned around to look at him. “Did you see what happ…”
He stopped and his eyes widened, his mouth falling open. Jade’s own eyes were no longer green but glowing a brilliant golden colour, shimmering like the dust he had covering his clothes.
“Leon.” She whispered in a voice that did not seem her own.
“What…”
“You must protect me. I cannot be captured.”
A thin line of blood began to run slowly from her left nostril until it dripped over her top lip but she did not even seem to register it.
Leon stared at her in astonishment, unsure of what to say.
“Do you understand?” She pressed. “Reunite me with my mother. Get me back to my ship. Do this now.”
Something wasn’t right. Ignoring her eyes, Jade just seemed different; her manner, her speech pattern, everything seemed older and so far removed from the girl he had met tonight.
“Who… are you?”
“Now Leon.. Now!” Jade closed her eyes and stumbled forward, her hand landing on his shoulder to steady herself.
The silence around them was ebbing now as noise and life began to flood back into the room around him. Leon looked up in time to see Graiis hand begin to move and his face crinkle into a snarl as the force that had kept him rooted to the spot began to wane. The voice of the girl, or whatever it was he had just been speaking to, rang in his ears.

We have to go. We have to go now!

***

Leon had pulled Jade’s hand from his shoulder to loop her arm behind his neck so he could take her weight. Her eyes were still closed, and her head had hung heavy against his shoulder. Had she passed out, he had wondered, as he’d dragged her through the crowd. There was no time to look for her friends, he’d had to get her out of here. He had to keep her safe. Why, he had absolutely no idea. By all rights, he should let the guards have her for ruining the night. Financially, this would set the club back at least 10,000 celts, and that’s if they weren’t fined again. Yet here he was, ignoring his duties and dragging this strange unconscious girl through a crowd that was slowly being released from whatever unknown hold had been placed on them. They had made it to the top of the staircase by the time the Partaguardia reinforcements burst through the lower tunnel doors. Leon didn’t have time to look back to see whether Jade’s friends had also made their escape or would be arrested. He assumed the latter based on the number of guards. Many would be taken into custody tonight. They had tumbled out of the club into the street and Leon had hurriedly navigated alley after alley until he was sure he had put enough distance between them and Graiis. They had found some small sanctuary on the stone steps of an old grain mill in the long abandoned industrial quarter and had been resting there for the last fifteen minutes, Leon slowly catching his breath and Jade with her head against his shoulder, her eyes remaining closed. Leon looked down at the mass of wiry dark hair streaked with blue.

What are you?

After a few more minutes, there was finally movement and sound from the lifeless girl. A cough and a shudder, and then Jade opened her eyes wearily as if she had been ripped from a deep sleep. She raised her head from Leon’s shoulder and looked up at him with a frown as if trying to place his face. Her eyes then widened fearfully and she quickly pulled away, scooting to the other side of the step like a wounded animal.
“Whoa…” Leon raised his hands, trying not to look hurt at her reaction. “It’s just me.”
For a moment, she had looked at him like he was someone to be terrified of, and then recognition flashed in her eyes and her posture softened a little although she stayed on her side of the step.
“Wh.. what happened?”
“I was going to ask you the same question.” Leon replied, leaning back against the brick and running a hand through his hair. Now he was sure she was alright, he realised he was still fairly out of breath from the fight and the run, and his knuckles were aching. “Was that you, with the explosion and all the dust? Did you do it?”
“Dust?” Jade repeated, her eyebrows lifting. Her gaze then drifted down to the bloody fabric in his hand.
“Oh… that’s not mine, if you’re worried about me.” Leon saw her looking and gave her a grin, waving his bare arm to show her where the fabric had come from. “Although you do owe me a new shirt.”
He heard the breath catch in her throat, her fingers rising to the skin under her own nose to touch where only the hint of dried blood remained. There was a look of realisation there, Leon could see it dance in her eyes. They were green now her eyes, he noted, the mysterious bright gold that he had seen staring back at him had disappeared when she had fallen unconscious.
“You said I had to protect you.” He tried, cautiously pressing her and hoping to get a bite. “You said I had to get you back to your mother.”
Jade’s gaze snapped upward to look at him properly, the faraway expression she had woken with had now been replaced by one that was sharp and wary.
“But it wasn’t you, was it.” Leon continued when she didn’t answer. “When Graiis had hold of your neck, you changed into someone else.”
Jade blinked a couple of times and then her expression clouded.
“You possessed my body?” She said sharply, turning her head away from him.
“Wh.. what!?” Leon scrambled to his feet quickly, and took a step backwards away from her. “I didn’t do anything to you!”
Jade shot him a look of annoyance and held up her palm as if he was interrupting.
“I’m not talking to you.” She tutted and turned her head towards the empty street again. “No, I do not see how it helped.”
She then scoffed and tossed her hair in annoyance.
“How is that relevant?” She said stiffly, continuing the one sided argument with herself. “Well obviously I didn’t do it on purpose…” After a pause, she huffed and rolled her eyes. “How should I know? You’re the one who knows how this stuff works….” Another pause. “I don’t care if you like him.”
She seemed to notice Leon staring at her and pursed her lips, her cheeks flushing pink. “We’ll talk about this later.”
“Well that’s just wonderful.” Jade turned back to Leon now, standing up to meet him and wiping her hands on her pants legs to shake off some of the dust. “You may have got my friends arrested but my sleep paralysis demon likes you.” She quipped sardonically.
“Firstly…” Leon folded his arms, “the guards were looking for you not me, I’m the one whose bar shut down remember, and secondly, what the hell is a sleep para… what did you say?” He paused and frustration flashed in his features. “You owe me an explanation.”
Jade sighed and put her hands on her hips. She was silent for a moment while she considered this, and then she cast him a questioning look.
“How did you know it wasn’t me? Before, at the club? The eyes, right?”
Leon pursed his lips and shrugged, feeling a little embarrassed.
“That was part of it.” He answered coyly. “I dunno. You just seemed like a completely different person.”
Jade tilted her head, noting his discomfort at her appraisal.
“Apparently I should trust you.” She then said reluctantly, kicking her toe against the gravel beneath her feet. “I know I got you into some shit tonight but… I don’t have anyone else, and…. I really need your help.”

Chapter Text

“Shit, I got blood on my sweater.” Jade grumbled, slowing to a halt so she could use some spit and her thumb to rub away the red that had splattered from her nose down onto her chest. Her efforts did nothing but make an even more obvious stain against the light grey material.
“I lost half a shirt.” Leon scoffed, tugging her hand gently away by her wrist to stop her from fussing over her clothes and keep the momentum of their pace. “Come on. We can’t stay here” He then urged, glancing around discreetly as he ushered her up a stone cobbled hill.
The stones were notably cleaner here and more carefully aligned to one another, Jade noted, her attention firmly on her feet after tripping over a loose brick earlier. It was a far cry from the more organically laid tapestry of stonework in the older part of town. She preferred the older aesthetic, she decided. It felt more real, more lived in. It had moved with the natural curves of the ground below and given in where nature had wanted to burst through seeking daylight. The new part of town surrounding the palace seemed so ordered and controlled in comparison, so man made, as if the stones had been stamped down with force and the earth below had been forced to concede to them.

Leon and Jade rounded a corner and found themselves at a wooden door hidden behind undergrowth set into a stone wall to their right. If one had not been entering the street from the alley, it would have been easy to miss. Leon gestured at the door, indicating that was their way forward. This guy clearly likes a hidden entrance, Jade thought, casting a side eye at her companion as he hacked a pathway through the overgrown bushes. The door itself looked old and wooden and looked like it was partly rotting, something that would have seen more at home in the older part of town Jade thought.
Leon looked around to check if they were alone.
“Are you sure you want to go after your mother?” He asked. It was the third time he had since they had set off from their resting place. “I mean, I could try and get you off world. Back to your ship.”
“I’m not leaving her here.” Jade said firmly. “Something has happened. I just know it. I need to save her.”
She glared at him in a manner that begged him to challenge her, but he didn’t. Instead,
Leon turned and reached forward to hold onto the round door knob that protruded from the wood but didn’t pull. Instead he waited, and before Jade could ask what he was waiting for, there was a hissing sound followed by a click.
“Molecular scanner.” He said, noting Jade’s puzzled expression as he pulled his hand away and waved it slightly as if whatever he had done had been uncomfortable. “Reads your DNA.”
“Cool.” Jade quipped, admittedly impressed by the technology but confused why it was needed to be on an old door behind a bush.
“It’s hot actually.” Leon said, rubbing his palm with a wince.
Jade grinned. She was used to people misinterpreting her by now.
“So is this your place then?” She asked as he gripped the handle again, this time with both hands, and started to pull. The door was clearly not wood by how heavy it was, but after a few hefty tugs, it creaked open with a metallic clang revealing a dimly lit passageway that descended into darkness behind.
“It’s only dark for a moment,” Leon said, appearing to see the apprehension on her face, “just until you get to the end of the tunnel,” he stepped back so she could see, waving a hand ceremoniously toward the entrance, “but there’s room for two and… uh… anyone else around.” He peered to either side of her expectantly. As in on cue, the sensation of pressure encapsulated around Jade’s palm.

I’m here. Obiwan’s voice echoed in her head.

“Two’s enough.” Jade said with a smile. She squeezed the invisible hand in hers for comfort, and angling herself to the right slightly, together she and the spark walked eased themselves through the doorway and into the darkness.

A few minutes later, Jade burst back into the light, closely followed by Leon who had been a pace or two behind her. She recoiled a little at the brightness and blinked to ease the pain in her eyes. She had been expecting another cavern, much like the club, but instead to her surprise she found herself in what appeared to be an office or a study of some kind. It wasn’t like her mom’s ready room; however, the stylings were almost similar to the office back in her old house on Earth that her father had never let her siblings or her into. She’d only been in there a handful of times, but it had been a great room of mystery to her in that her father would spend hours in there when he was home and had always been furious when she’d touched anything in there. In this room, there were dark panels of wood covering the walls, serving as a backdrop to shelves and shelves of old books that had titles on the spines in languages Jade didn’t recognise. There was no opportunity for natural light that she could see, wherever Leon had brought her was closed off from the outside world, but the room was softly lit with discrete lamps dotted around the place making the room feel warm and cosy. Where there were no books, there were large paintings centered between sumptuous drapes that spread either side the ornate frames like curtains would a window. There was a creak behind her and she turned her head to see Leon closing the door of the tunnel exit behind them. It swung back into the wall with a seamless click followed by a mechanical clunk. Now closed, Jade could see the room side of the door was covered with a huge portrait painting of a man, almost the height of the room, that now completely blocked any sign there had been another way out of the room.

Whoa, a secret passage? Jade thought. Now that is neat.

Whoever worked here was clearly important and had some power. She hadn’t been sure what to expect at the end of the dark corridor, but certainly not this.
“This is… nice.” She remarked, nodding her head at the painting as Leon hurried past her. “Where are we?”
The painting on the back of the door depicted a regal looking man in a silver cloak and crown matching his ice coloured hair and blue eyes.
Oh yeah… This must be the King, or whatever he called himself, Jade said to herself, stepping forward to get a closer look. What was that word again? Ten something. Tenen? She knew the people of this world were really into the monarchy from Tuvok’s briefing but, realising the same man was reflected in all the other paintings in the room, this was a little weird. The man’s face had been all over the screens in the square though. Maybe that was just a thing on this world. “You guys are patriotic, huh.” she noted, raising her eyebrows.
“Uh huh…”
She looked over her shoulder and saw Leon wasn’t listening. Instead, he was rummaging through what was a stack of well ordered metal slides and papers lying on the large oak desk in the far corner of the room. The slides looked like the padds they had on Voyager, flashing information as Leon hastily touched the surface, however the technology seemed much more advanced than what Jade had seen before. He discarded the first few in quick succession, each hitting the desk with a clack as they landed in a messy pile on top of each other destroying the otherwise orderly nature of the workspace.
“What are you looking for?” Curious, Jade turned away from the painting and joined him at the desk. Leaning on her hands, she craned her neck to peer over at the pile in his hands.
“All lifeforms are scanned by the palace’s bio-gate on arrival.” Leon replied, tilting the padd so she could see. “It’s why they hold you in the entrance so long, so they can run diagnostics secretly on offworlders.”
“Ew.” Jade wrinkled her nose in disgust. “That’s so creepy. How do you know that?”
Leon held up two of the slides, his eyes darting between each of them for a moment. He then appeared to decide on the one in his left hand and dropped the right as he had the others.
“If Partaguardia is holding your family,” he continued as if he hadn’t heard her question, “and they are still in the palace perimeter, I should be able to lock on their signal pattern and see their location.” His fingers danced across the surface of the metal padd, images flashing in an overlapping pattern beneath them as if he was building a 3D model of a building with his very touch. “Ah!” His eyes lit up and he stopped tapping. “You were right. Your mother was detained. Here, see?” He showed her the screen, excitement in his voice. “That’s only four… no, five levels below us. This one is the Captain, it says ‘off-worlder female unknown’, presumably because they don’t know her species. But that would be your mother right?” He looked at her expectantly.
Jade frowned, staring closely at the image he was pointing at. To her it seemed like a red dot on a grid, but there was a tiny label next to the symbol that said ‘OW-F-U’.
“What do you mean, below us?” She then gave him a questioning look. “Are we…” She looked around at the room again and saw that the dark wooden panelling on the walls gave way near the ceiling to a dusky coloured rock. There was a pleasing incense in the air but it didn’t quite mask the smell of earth, and there was a distinct silence that seemed to smother the room that only came from being deep underground. They were in the mountain, she realised, her eyes widening. The security of the door. Why would they need molecular screening for an old back passage unless…
Her eyes widened.
“You brought me back to the palace?!” She cried aghast.
Leon visibly hesitated and he lowered the padd.
“I had to bring you here.” He said steadily, as if he’d been expecting her outrage and had spent time rehearsing the response to it. “It was the only way we would get to know if they were holding your family. It’s the only way I could access the security system.” His complexion then ruddied a little under her furious glare. “You asked for my help, remember? This is how I can help you.” He added defensively.
Jade stood upright and put her hands on her hips, raising her chest a little.
“If your people are as advanced as you claim, why is it that a boy from a seedy illegal night club can wander into the palace through a bio… whatever… locked secret doorway and just access the Partaguardia’s presumably top secret security files.”
Leon let off a scoff of annoyance.
“First off, my club isn’t seedy...”
Jade raised a hand to stop him, not just because she wanted to cut off whatever sardonic jibe that was about to be thrown back at her but because she had remembered something, something that had been nagging at her earlier in the club earlier but she had pushed to the back of her mind.
“Partavec.” She then said, staring at the boy before her.
“What?” Leon’s eyes widened. He looked surprised and affronted for real this time and Jade knew her suspicions had been correct that she had just called him a slur of some kind.
“Parta means palace right?” She pressed. “Partaguardia, Partadai. That man who was after us… Graiis or whatever his name was, he called you ‘partavec’, and now I think of it, Kiydos at the restaurant, he did too. Neither of them meant it kindly.”
She held the silence, waiting for Leon to fill it with an explanation.
“Partavec is a term of disrespect for anyone who works in the palace.” He mumbled, not meeting her gaze. “It’s… offensive.”
“So… you work in the palace and a night club?” She cast an incredulous eyebrow raise at him. The door obviously recognised his handprint, but still. She had seen the fastidious manner in which the palace officials dressed. Leon’s attire, with his loose white shirt, patched green pants and dirty brown boots, didn’t exactly fit in with the aesthetic.
“Sort of.” Leon rubbed his elbow, his eyes anywhere but hers. He then huffed impatiently.
“Look, we really don’t have time…”
“Make time.” Jade snapped, pulling the padd away from his hands so Leon had to look at her. “‘Sort of’ isn’t going to cut it this time. You said I could trust you. The palace sent people to find me. They have my mom. You have to start…”

“Bollen, what is the meaning of this?”
Jade jumped in surprise at the sound of another voice that interrupted her tirade. Turning towards the origin of the sound, she found the outline of a tall man watching them from the shadows of the doorway. How long had he been standing there, she wondered, taking a step backward. And who was he?
“Bollen?” The man prompted again after being met with an awkward silence.
Jade turned her head towards Leon, raising her eyebrows.

Bollen?

Leon’s face had paled, a complexion that was even more noticeable against his red hair.
“Father… I thought you were meeting with the Austoriot tonight.” He replied stiffly, lowering his gaze. “Wasn’t it a late sitting?”

Father…? Jade’s eyes widened, turning back to the newcomer again. Leon’s father worked here in the palace too? So that’s why his handprint worked on the door.

“I did. We broke early due to disturbance in the town” the older man paused, and stepped forward into the light of the room. “I don’t support you know anything about that though, do you.” He added evenly, although there was authority in his voice that suggested his question, not that it really was one, was not meant to be answered. His eyes landed on his son’s ripped shirt and his jaw visibly stiffened in annoyance. “The tunnels again?”
Before Leon could dare respond, the man’s gaze then landed on Jade and brightened with interest. “Who is your acquaintance Bollen?” He said, still addressing his son.
At first, Jade hadn’t seen much resemblance between Leon and the newcomer at all, whose silver hair was styled to tight precision and grey one piece suit appeared immaculately pristine and clearly expensive. Looking closer however, as the man came further into the light, she could see Leon’s bright blue eyes were an inherited trait. His father’s were also clever and watchful, they lacked Leon’s humour, she noted.
Leon and Jade glanced at each other and when Leon didn’t immediately respond, Jade cleared her throat awkwardly.
“Well… sir,” She added quickly, not knowing what term of respect to use. Sir was what she had used with guests her father had introduced her to when she was younger. “I’m just a friend of Le..uhh… Bollens.”
Bollen… she tried not to pull a face when she corrected herself. Leon seemed like a… well, Leon. Bollen didn’t seem to suit him at all.
The man before her let out a laugh but not unkindly it seemed. It was a disorientating shift in personality from the way he had spoken to Leon, Jade thought.
“You’re an off-worlder,” he corrected her, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled, “not one I recognise, but one my son clearly trusts to bring into the Tenen’s personal chambers.”
“Tenen… this is Bolten Allar’s room?” Jade spluttered and instinctively her eyes shot to the large painting on the secret tunnel door as if expecting the man himself to leap from the canvas to accuse them of treasonous breaking and entering. “And…” A sinking feeling settled in the pit of her stomach as her brain finally made the connection between the static painting and the much less ornately dressed man standing in front of her. “You are, of course, Bolten Allar.”

Chapter Text

Jade gestured her hand at the man nervously and then, considering that might be considered rude, attempted a movement that got stuck between a curtsy and a bow. “Your… uh… majesty?” She tried, peering up at him hesitantly.
Allar chuckled at this. He seemed amused by her lack of grace and understanding, which perhaps was useful Jade thought, feeling the tension ease in the room. She cast a glance at Leon hoping he would help but the boy said nothing, his eyes glued to the floor. Unsure whether it was his expression or because he was correct in reminding her that she had indeed got her into this mess, Jade felt her conscience prickle and she cleared her throat and straightened herself up gingerly.
“Please… don’t blame Leon, it’s my fault we’re here.”
“Jade…” Leon began and then winced at his own error.
“Jade.” Allar clucked his tongue. “So you do have a name.”
Jade gave a small nod of acknowledgement.
“An unusual one at that.” Allar’s attention drifted towards the scattered pads on the table and she saw the muscles around his cheekbones stiffened just slightly. “You must live far from here. Which colony did you say you came from?”
“She didn’t.” Leon cut in bluntly.
So he knows my name, Jade thought. Well, he’s going to need to know my name if I’m going to demand my mom back. She readied herself; she’d seen her mom do it plenty of times. Deep breath. Shoulders back. Chin up.
“My name is Jade Janeway.” She declared, her hands falling to her hips. It gave her courage to say her name out in full, even though the delivery had carried a nervous crack that made her internally wince. “And I am a crew member of the Federation Star Ship Voyager. My mom is Captain Kathryn Janeway. You are holding her and her crew here illegally, without any reason… which is, like, totally against the galactic uh… geneva convention of the Federation and a really big deal so I’m here to demand you let them go.”

Nice. She heard the spark say in her ear.

Shut up, he doesn’t know what it is.

“You demand it, do you?” Allar asked, folding his arms and raising his eyebrows.
“I do.” Jade nodded, holding his stare at fear she would lose her bottle if she broke eye contact. “But, respectfully of course, your highness.” She added, less combatively. “My mom just wants to negotiate safe passage for her crew, that’s all. She would never do anything at all to disturb your city. She’s, like, super obsessed with first contact protocols and this diplomacy stuff, trust me.”
Allar said nothing for a moment and then his eyes locked onto his son.
“She’s in the holding cells.” Leon said, interpreting the silent question in the look and sliding the padd that he’d held on to across the table over to his father. There was a little more colour in his face now, and confidence had returned to his posture again. “The Partaguardia had the Captain and her escort arrested here at the palace. The Council sent Graiis to my club looking for Jade and arrested her friends. I assume there is a reason, father.” A tone of clear accusation echoed in his response and Jade shot him a pointed look. Don’t go too far. Not when they were so close.
There was a few seconds of tense silence while Allar inspected the padd and then he looked up at her again.
“Your ship is warp capable.”
Jade nodded.
“And your mother is the Captain?”
Jade didn’t like the hint of incredulity in his voice.
“Why, what of it?” She asked before she could stop herself.
Allar let out a laugh and shook his head, the first sign of any levity in the man.
“I mean no offence. We have many fine female Captains in our own armada, it just isn’t so common in less enlightened races.”
The tug of a retort churned in Jade’s stomach but this time she held her tongue. We need this man, she told herself. I need to be diplomatic. It’s what mom would do.
“Well my homeworld is thousands of light years from here.” She began. “And my people are part of a great federation of planets, just like Kraton is in this sector. My mom’s ship has a crew of many different types of people and she’s the Captain for all of them. The best Captain, in fact.”

She could see she had Allar’s attention now. This was good. The more interested, the more likely he was to help her.

“And… she’s totally badass too.” She added quickly, not wanting to lose the momentum.
“Bad… ass?” Allar sounded out the words, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh yeah. She’s an explorer and an amazing scientist. She knows so much about space and how it all works. Her ship got thrown to a whole other quadrant of the galaxy but she’s so focused in trying to get her crew home while learning about this new part of the universe.” She inhaled quickly, having delivered her defence in one breath. “If you met her, you’d see she isn’t a threat. If anything, she would be a great ally to the Kraton homeworld.”
“And why would I want her as an ally?” Allar asked, cocking his head slightly. “You just said she is a ship lost far from home, with no resources and no protection. If she’s here begging at my gates, then her technology clearly does not stand up against the basics of our defensive weaponry.”
“My mom doesn’t beg.” Jade said stiffly, feeling the rhythm of her praise jolted to a halt by the unexpected insult. “And *you* would be lucky to have her.”
“Oh? How so?”
Against her fury, Allar remained cool and measured in his tone. Was he testing her, she wondered, or teasing her, or just indifferent to her pleas. A feeling of rising panic began to swell within her. Perhaps he wasn’t interested after all?
What if she couldn’t convince him?
What if something happened to her mom or Tom or Harry, or Tuvok and Neelix, because of her?”
“Because… well… she’s brilliant!” She cried, her face flushing red. “And just the best and kindest and most bravest person you will ever meet. She has done things that no captain would ever have to do, not anywhere. She’s faced species in the Delta Quadrant that are way worse than whatever you’re trying to keep out with your stupid gate and defensive weaponry.” She pulled a face as she mimicked him. “The Borg, the Vidiians, the Q Continuum. Your council is nothing compared to theirs and my mom still beat them. You will never ever meet anyone like her, I promise you that!”
Jade’s face felt hot, burning with anger and pride simultaneously, and suddenly the absence of a window in the small room was more apparent than ever.

Calm down, the voice in her head said gently. Breathe.

Allar allowed one of his long pauses to swallow the air in the room, before he let out a short bark of a laugh.
“Hearing a child be so complementary of their parent.” He turned from Jade to cast a critical eye at his son. “Lovely to hear that, isn’t it Bollen?”
“Yes father.” Leon muttered.
Jade looked between the two of them, confused as to what was happening by the shift in questioning and the lack of any notable reaction to her insults.
“What do you say Bollen,” Allar continued, eyeing his son with a pointed expression, “shall we grant your friend her request?”
“Yes father, please.” The boy said more earnestly, although it was clearly painful for him to be so sincere.
Allar turned back to Jade again and clasped his hands behind his back.
“I did not know your mother had been arrested, or even that she was here in the city. Such matters are usually left to my council.” He said.
“But you’ll free her?” Jade prompted. “Right?”
The Tenen smiled and gave her a nod, waving his hand at her with an air of authority.
“With such a well argued defence, how could I possibly not?”

***

Partavec. Jade had looked from the man to the boy as they had walked up the corridor, finally noticing the resemblance in the angular features and the gait of their walk, despite the distraction of the younger Allar’s red hair. Partavec wasn’t a term for someone who worked in the palace, it was one for someone who was the palace.
“You called me princess but you’re the royal one.” She whispered to Leon a few minutes later. They had descended to a lower level of the palace’s structure via some sort of elevator and were now standing in an atrium that joined several other corridors barred by what looked like to Jade, but probably wasn’t, perspex security doors. The Tenen was speaking with one of the guards a few meters away. It was clear Allar didn’t attend this level very much given the scurrying and grovelling of his minions who appeared from every corner to greet him. The distraction had given Jade and Leon their first few minutes alone since they had been surprised in the study. Jade hadn’t meant to sound accusatory but she had simply been startled by the revelation. This boy who had accosted her in a simple street restaurant had seemed normal. Annoying and weird of course, but not important weird.
“Don’t remind me.” Leon rolled his eyes and then he paused and cast her an apologetic look. “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It’s just… easier that way, you know? Keeping the complicated stuff secret.”
Jade nodded. She knew that better than most.
“You kept my secret.” She then asked. “Why?”
Leon shrugged.
“I don’t really know your secret. Just that I’ve seen you slow down time with your mind, and you apparently have invisible friends.” He then shot her a grin. “So totally normal stuff, right?”
Jade laughed and Leon seemed pleased, his stance relaxing again properly for the first time since they had reentered the palace. He’d clearly been worrying about her finding out who he was, and now the cat was out of the bag and the world hadn’t ended, and they had faced his father for the most part unscathed, he looked like his old self again. Smug and annoying, but Jade preferred him that way.
“The time thing was new for me too if it makes you feel any better.” She grinned.
Leon shook his head, letting out a wry snort.
“Not really. I still think you’re weird.” He said teasingly.
Jade laughed, and nodded appreciatively.
“Say’s you.” She said with a smile. “Say, Leon.” She then added, touching his elbow gently. “Before your dad comes back, can you do something for me?”
“Sure!” Leon’s eyebrows had raised at the connection and he nodded quickly. “What do you need?”
“That padd you showed me, the one of the cells? It looks like they’re only keeping my mom here. Can you find out what happened to Tom and Harry? Tuvok and Neelix too. They were with my mom when the guards arrested her. Can you see where they were sent?”
“Of course.” Leon replied, and nodded eagerly. “I’ll sneak past old Finea, he’s the guard in the cell block, and get a look at the transport log. If they’ve been sent anywhere outside of Eal Detan, it’ll be by a detainment ship and we’ll be able to see where. I’ll just be a few minutes.” He then peered at his father’s back hesitantly. “Just… be careful around him, alright? He’s not as as he or the telemedia will have you believe.”
He then gave her a reassuring smile and headed off towards another exit away from his father.

“I do not understand these familial relationships.”

Obi Wan’s sudden appearance next to her made her jump. She pursed her lips and focused her expression to be as neutral as possible so she didn’t accidentally sound out the response and draw attention to herself. Since her powers had ‘gone off’ at the club, it had been much harder to focus than normal.

What do you mean?

“Your friend doesn’t seem to like his father very much,” Obi Wan said as they both watched Leon disappear through a door at the far end of the atrium. Jade shrugged almost imperceptibly.

You’ve heard me and dad fight, she responded silently.

Obi Wan frowned

“Not like that.”

****

“And Jade’s here?”
Now free, Kathryn walked up the corridor, her arm looped into Allar’s.
“Yes, she arrived not long ago.” Allar replied. “Your crew that were accompanying her were unfortunately arrested when the Partaguardia raided an illegal dance club to break up the fight so she was alone.”
Kathryn ground to a halt and turned abruptly, pulling her arm from his.
“Forgive me.” She said sharply. “I’m going to need you to elaborate on every single one of those words.”
Allar gave a little chuckle and nodded his head.
“We have robust law enforcement within Eal Detan as a palace stewarded city, however you will always get those who like to push against boundaries. The place where your daughter and her friends were found is a known illegal meeting spot popular with the younger crowd and the more unsavoury off-worlders. They call it the Pitt as it is located in an old collapsed mountain above the abandoned section of the city tunnels. Rather unsavoury place. The council has tried to close it down several times but it keeps reviving itself despite their best efforts” He offered her his arm again and gestured they should continue to walk. As Kathryn reluctantly tucked her hand into the crux of his elbow, he continued. “There was a disturbance, a public brawl, my guards tell me, and your people were identified as the cause. The guards did not know they were in Eal Detan on a diplomatic mission, or that you are from beyond the borders of our colonies, and your daughter ran when challenged so the order was given to seize anyone in connection with her. By the time the message got back to the palace, you as her mother had been deemed a security threat and therefore you were detained.” Allar raised his eyebrows as if they were sharing an inside joke together. “I know, I admit it was overzealous. Master Karok is fastidious about my security.”

That’s one word for him, Kathryn thought bitterly, remembering the rough manner in which the guards of the Juron Council’s third austeriot had bundled her into her cell and the great pleasure the weaselly man himself had taken in reminding her of her motherly responsibilities.

“Where are the rest of my crew?”
“Firnea tells me they were moved to a detainment carrier. I have Karok looking into where now. I should be able to tell you shortly.”
“Right…” Kathryn nodded. She had to be careful. Allar was being awfully amenable but that didn’t change what had happened and without knowing the whereabouts or safety of Tuvok, Neelix, Tom or Harry, there were still chess pieces on the board that Allar could play against her. “If,” the stress was on the word, “my daughter has inadvertently broken some law here, I will of course make recompense on her behalf.” She said, “but she’s a good girl and she would not have meant any harm. She gets a little carried away sometimes but I can assure you she is not a danger to the safety of your city.”
Allar let out a grunt of amusement, making her look up at him in surprise.
“I’ve met her, remember? I’m only freeing you out of her fear for my life.” He then gave her a grin as if to reassure her he was joking. “I’m actually thinking about appointing her to my council Captain, her ardent defence of you and her demands for your immediate freedom moved me more than any political sitting has all year.”
Kathryn laughed weakly, already imagining her passionate and brilliant daughter berating the sector’s ruling emperor into submission.
“Don’t fret. It’s nothing I didn’t deserve.” Allar chuckled, seeing the conflicted look on her face. “Besides, I understand. I have a son. He is also described in polite circles as willfully spirited.”
“Jade and he would likely get on.” Kathryn retorted, feeling her cautiousness of Allar wane slightly.
Allar nodded.
“I dare say they would.”

Chapter Text

“Mom!”

Kathryn and Allar had moved through an entirely transparent yet surprisingly thick security door and had only just turned the corner of where the corridor opened into a much larger space when she heard the sound of her other title being yelled ahead of her.

“Jade…” The name slipped from her lips in a sigh of overwhelming relief. Letting go of Allar’s arm, she took a few strides forward and opened her arms before the force of a small human barrelling into her at speed pushed her back a step again. Encasing Jade protectively in her arms, Kathryn’s gaze instinctively turned upward. The heavy weight of her worry was slowly easing and she felt like she could finally breathe a little. Her eyes prickling, she closed them for a second and uttered a silent thank you to whatever in the universe had engineered her daughter’s safe return once again.

Fate? Luck?

Q…?

“Are you alright?” She asked and then looked down at the curly dark hair against her chest. Jade nodded against her uniform.
“I’m okay.” She mumbled, her voice slightly muffled by the fabric smushed against her face. “It was you I was worried about.”
“Me?”
Jade pulled away slightly and lifted her chin to look up at her mother.
“Yeah.” A flash of anger crossed her face and she pulled one arm away to point a rigid accusing finger behind her. It was only then Kathryn realised that Master Karok had arrived before she had. He was peering at them from a few meters away, an uninhibited expression of displeasure on his face. His army of personal guards that had flanked him when she had been arrested, however, now appeared to now be absent although Kathryn suspected they were not far away.
“He put you in a prison cell.” Jade continued heatedly, scowling over her shoulder at him.
“Oh… I’m fine.” Kathryn replied with a soft appeasing tut. It was far from fine but she didn’t need the teenager waging warfare on any of the Juron’s Council members. Karok might have deserved it but it definitely wouldn’t help whatever trouble they were already in.
“It was a misunderstanding, that’s all. Tenen Allar and I have worked it out.” She gently placed her hand on Jade’s forearm, pressing down to lower it, and was about to continue speaking when she noticed the splatter of blood on the girl’s sleeve and below the flat collar of her grey sweater. Kathryn felt her breath catch in her throat with a sudden grip of panic.

Was it Jade’s blood? Had she been hurt, or was it someone else’s? Or perhaps…

Her gaze locked with laser focus on the red against the soft light cotton. Not a lot of blood and not a splatter but more like a dripping pattern. Much like the first splashes of a nosebleed would leave. Kathryn bit back the urge to ask, feeling the unfamiliar eyes on them. She had to focus. Jade seemed fine and there were no other signs of injury. She could find out about what caused the blood later. Right now, she had to appear like she was taking whatever these trumped up charges seriously and perhaps they could get out of there without any further hostilities.
“Why did you run from the guards?” She said instead, her palms coming to rest on Jade’s shoulders to draw back the teenager’s focus.
Jade’s gaze snapped to her at once and her eyes widened indignantly.
“Because they were chasing me?” She cried.
“Because of the fight?” Kathryn prompted, giving her a look that silently told her to settle down.
“That was the fight.” Jade huffed impatiently, annoyed at being pressed to explain herself. “The guards attacked us. We weren’t doing anything wrong.”
“Besides being present in an unlawful establishment of ill repute.” Karok barked. “A place for fornication and excess.”

“Well, you would know all about that, right Karok?”

For a second, Kathryn had thought the quip had come from Allar but then she saw a boy appear from a doorway on the far wall of the hall. He was maybe Jade’s age, perhaps a little older, and had bright red hair and was wearing a white shirt that appeared to be torn at the bottom. He sauntered towards the group with his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. The smile broke into a grin when he saw Jade and he raised his eyebrows at her in a way that made Kathryn realise with surprise that they must know each other somehow. Allar also seemed to recognise the boy and she noted with interest that the friendliness and ease he had been so careful to portray had stalled on his expression. Karok’s opinions on the boy’s arrival, on the other hand, were very clear; he looked positively livid but she was unsure whether that was at his sudden appearance or what he had implied.
“We were just dancing.” Jade said quickly, drawing her attention back from the newcomer. “Tom made sure I didn’t see anything.” She made a gesture as if to cover her own eyes. “Honest. I was like this for the whole upper levels.”
Kathryn blinked a couple of times. It was unlike the Captain to ever be lost for words but for the first time she had no idea how she was supposed to respond to that.
Jade ceased performing her pantomimed blindness with an appeasing grin, which promptly faded into a sheepish grimace as she noted her mother was not amused and quickly losing patience.
“Do I even want to know why you were in this… place… to begin with?” Kathryn sucked at the inside of her cheek, putting her hands on her hips. “Why you were dancing?”
She was starting to get a headache again and all she wanted to do was clear up this mess, find her crew, and get the hell out of this place.
Jade pursed her lips. She’d seen that look many times and wasn’t brave enough to risk a retort.
“Probably not.” She sighed.
“She was dancing, because I asked her to.” The boy said, coming to a halt next to Jade who shook her head at him quickly and gave him a pointed look.

Don’t help.

Kathryn turned her head to look at him and raised an eyebrow.
“And you are?” She asked sharply.
“A constant source of disappointment to me.” Allar interrupted before the boy’s open mouth could fully form words. “Allow me to introduce Kraton’s future Tenen, my son Bollen.” He walked to stand behind the boy, and landed a heavy hand on his shoulder. “He’s likely the reason your daughter was in that wretched club in the first place.”
The red headed boy cast his father a thinly veiled scornful look.
“That would be Karok’s fault actually.” He cut back quickly. “Jade came to the club because she was being followed, and only Karok could have ordered Graiis and the Eal Kau Tan to pick her up.”
“Enough Bollen.” Allar’s voice was quiet but sharp.
“What’s the Eal Kau Tan?” Kathryn asked, frowning. She was still getting over the surprise that these two were related. Besides their height, they didn’t at first glance resemble each other at all. Tuvok’s briefing also had not mentioned Allar had children.
“The Juron Council’s personal muscle.” The boy replied boldly. “Karok sends them when they need to extend their… presence… beyond the remit of the law.”
“Oh, another alien Council trying to kill me. How original.” Jade muttered, rolling her eyes.
Kathryn shot her a warning look, silently urging her to be quiet.
“I assure you Jade,” Allar’s friendly charm was back again, the mask quickly restored. “The council means you do no harm. They were simply responding to what they deemed to be a security risk. As the Captain has already graciously said,” he turned to his son and the tone became more clipped, “what happened was a misunderstanding.”
The boy opened his mouth but the older man quickly cut him off.
“I will not let your imagination nor your insolence be the cause of an interstellar conflict. Do you hear me Bollen?”
“Nor will I.” Kathryn said, before he could reply.
Jade looked up at her mother in alarm.
“Mom…”
“Assuming,” Kathryn continued, locking a firm gaze on Allar, “my crewmen are returned to me immediately. I am respectful of your laws Tenen Allar but I would argue, given that both of our children were mixed up in this… misunderstanding,” she gave the word a little emphasis, “and that no real harm was done, we can consider ourselves both equally responsible and acquitted of their alleged crimes. With this in mind, my crew should be no longer guilty by association. Once they have been released to me unharmed, we can consider this diplomatic mission complete and we’ll be on our way. Do you agree?”
There was a cry of protest heard from Karok but Kathryn did not break her eye contact from Allar. She knew the political power sat with the Juron Council but Allar was still ruler and they were making this decision as parents, not representatives of their world. If she had her measure of the two men correct, and Allar agreed, there would be no way Karok could oppose him. While the Tenen’s genial smile continued flawlessly, she could see the flicker of careful calculation behind his eyes. Finally, after what felt like an awfully awkward amount of time staring at one another, he cleared his throat.
“Karok?”
The older man walked forward and stiffly handed Tenen what looked to be a padd of some kind. Allar’s eyes fell to the screen in a manner than one might glance at a shopping list to remember an item forgotten, and then he looked back to the Captain and gave her a nod.
“The two that were with you had already been taken to our detention transport shortly after your detainment.”
“Transport?” Kathryn said quickly. “Transport where?”
Allar raised a hand as if to ask her to calm herself.
“We have a security base on Nesu, our third mood. All off world prisoners are transported there immediately upon arrest for processing.” He explained. “At my request, Karok has arranged for the transport ship to drop your crewman off at your vessel enroute. They should be there shortly. Your ground ships were also detained to be impounded so they are being towed under escort to follow.”
“What about Tom and Harry!” Jade blurted out, spinning around to face Allar head on.
“It’s alright, I’ve sorted it.” Allar’s son said, taking her by the arm gently. “They’re on the same transport, they’ll be able to get off with the others.”
Jade gave him a grateful nod and then looked back at her mother who had an inscrutable expression on her face.
“My my,” the Captain’s gaze was still locked with Allar’s, “for a bureaucracy as complex and lengthy as yours, your justice system is certainly swift Tenen Allar.”

You separate me from my people, send them immediately off world, and leave us here with no means of escape. Why?

“Surely a sign of any enlightened society.” Allar replied, and then gave her a knowing smile. “I have honoured your request yet I still sense your suspicion. Do you not trust my intentions, Captain?”
To Kathryn’s annoyance, he seemed bemused by her reaction rather than offended.
“Well, that depends.”
“On?”
She could sense his eagerness for her answer. He was enjoying the game.
“Your next move.” She replied, her palms came to rest gently on Jade’s shoulders, ready to move her from harm if needed. “You have made arrangements for my crew, for my shuttles, so what about us?”
Allar was silent for a moment, allowing the tension to hang in the air as he supposedly considered his options, and then finally he gave her a grin.
“Dinner, I think.”
Kathryn’s eyebrows raised. She had not been expecting that as an answer.
“Dinner?
“Dinner.” Allar nodded firmly. “Our business has not yet concluded, Captain. Jade told me you came to negotiate access to our space. I assume you still want to do that? My father used to say never make a big decision on an empty stomach. I doubt either of you would have eaten today and I am well overdue for my evening meal,” he placed his hand on his stomach to emphasise his alleged hunger, “so allow me to share with you some of our region’s finest delicacies by way of apology for today’s inconvenience. We can talk about your proposal after we eat and in the meantime I can enjoy the sport of trying to win your trust. What do you say, Captain?”

Chapter Text

“Captain. It’s good to hear from you.” There was a clear sound of relief in both Chakotay’s voice and in his expression on the screen. “Are you alright?”
“The others?” Kathryn demanded. “Have you heard from them?”
Chakotay nodded. He was used to her bypassing his questions about her own wellbeing by now and knew not to press her until she got what she wanted.
“They were moved to some kind of detention ship.” He replied. “We were hailed about five minutes ago with a request to dock. They were all on the viewer screen when the call was made, they seemed fine. Unhurt.” He added.
“And Tom and Harry were there too? With Neelix and Tuvok?”
“Yes, all four of them.”

Oh thank god.

Kathryn inhaled and closed her eyes for a second, allowing herself to savour the first sensation of real ease she had felt since setting foot on this planet. They were fine. Everyone was okay. Maybe they would actually get through this with everyone unscathed by the experienced. She had insisted on checking of course, and Allar seemed more than accommodating, having escorted them himself to a small private communications cell before leaving the Captain alone to call her ship. Was that a good sign? Much like the rest of the rooms she had seen so far, this one was also grey and windowless, and painfully artificially bright. A hailing console was set on top of a pedestal in the centre of the small room, and the large rectangular viewer screen which she now stood in front was set into the wall behind it. Allar had shown her how to use both prior to leaving.

When she looked at the screen again, she saw Chakotay still appeared uneasy.
“What is it?”
“They… uh… didn’t have Jade with them though.”
“Oh,” Kathryn let out a laugh, realising the stress on his face was at least in part due to him working himself up to telling his Captain that her daughter was missing. “No, she’s fine. She’s here with me.”
“Hi!”
Jade had propped herself up against the wall to the side of the screen and had been picking idly at her sweater sleeve while her mother made the call to Voyager. Hearing her name, she rotated slightly so she could stick her face into the view of the camera and gave the Commander a wave, before dropping out of frame again and returning to her leaning position.
“Oh… good.” Chakotay let out a relieved chuckle, the creases on his forehead fading. “We were worried when she wasn’t with the others. I know a very stressed Lieutenant and Ensign who will be pleased to hear that news.”
Kathryn imagined the fretting poor Tom and Harry must have done in captivity at the idea of losing Jade on their watch and made a mental note not to chastise them too heavily when she returned to Voyager for taking her to such a place in the first place.
“Captain.” Chakotay prompted, breaking her from her thoughts. “Are you alright? What happened?”
“I’m fine Chakotay.” She said, trying to sound reassuring. “It’s… well, I’ll explain properly when I get back. I’m dealing directly with Bolten Allar now and I think we might finally be getting somewhere.”
She didn’t want to tell Chakotay that somewhere was dinner, nor that she didn’t trust Allar as far as she could throw him. Her Commander didn’t need to worry any more than he already was.
“The Tenen?” Chakotay asked in surprise.
“Yes,” Kathryn nodded, “he seems receptive to hearing our requirements. Jade has become friendly with his son too. Perhaps some good can actually come of this mess.”
Chakotay pulled a face and she could see she had failed to fully appease his concerns.
“Captain, I really think one of us should be with you.” He said, uneasily. “I don’t like the idea of you being alone down there, especially after everything that happeni….”
Kathryn raised a hand to stop him.
“I just want to get out of here Chakotay, and having someone flown down again is going to take way too long. Besides, I can’t risk another one of the crew getting shipped off in a detainment vessel somewhere. If we have no luck, we’ll head back to Voyager immediately. Allar has agreed to transport us as soon as we have finalised our negotiations. We should be home in a few hours.”
In her peripheral vision, she saw Jade’s eyebrows raise at this. Sure, Allar hadn’t actually said this, but Chakotay didn’t need to know that either right now and Kathryn was sure she could make it happen. Allar had released her crew at her request after all, surely there would be no issues providing Jade and her with the same courtesy.
“If you’re not, we’ll be paying a visit.” Chakotay said firmly. Kathryn gave him a warm smile knowing he meant what he said and hoping to convey that she appreciated it in her expression.
“Hopefully, we’ll be returning with good news but please continue to prepare for any eventuality.”
She raised her eyebrows, and hoped Chakotay would read in her expression that they were likely being monitored and if Seven and B’Elanna had come up with any plan to bypass the sensors in her absence, start looking at making it a reality.
“Aye Captain.” He paused, and then gave her a serious look. It was one she knew so well, and only he of the crew could give her. “Be careful.”

The screen went back and Kathryn let out the inhale she had been holding slowly and deliberately, her fingers rising to rub her eyes and then her temples. It had been a very long, worrying, and frustrating day, and it was far from over yet. Such an experience wasn’t exactly unfamiliar to her, but it didn’t make it any less draining. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Jade was watching her quietly, a look of apprehension on her face.
“Come here.” She beckoned, waving a hand to draw the teenager over to her. Jade came to her eagerly and allowed her mother to envelop her in a hug.
“And you, my girl,” Kathryn continued, planting a kiss on the girl’s head, “also need to be more careful.”
Jade raised her chin to look up at her and pouted.
“I told you what happened.” She said a little petulantly.
“I’m not talking about that.” Kathryn released her and gently cupped her face with her palms. “We need to say as little as possible in front of Allar.” She said, her voice becoming quiet but firm. “Nothing about your father, no little quips about our track record with murderous councils,” she raised her eyebrows pointedly, “and absolutely nothing about the spark or your powers, alright? That goes for Karok and Allar’s son too.”
“You can trust Leon.” Jade replied earnestly.
“Leon?”
“Bollen. Allar’s son.” She clarified. “Leon’s the name he likes to use.”
“Jade,” Her name was punctuated with a weary exhale by the Captain. “I’m being serious now.”
“So am I.” Jade said emphatically. “Leon’s okay. The guards were following us as soon as we left the palace. He warned me. And then Graiis attacked us in the club. That's why the fight broke out, because Leon defended me. He got me out of there.”
“And then he brought you back here. Back to the palace.” Kathryn pointed out. Jade was always too trusting, couldn’t she see that this boy might have simply been a tool for his father?
Jade frowned and shook her head.
“He brought me to you. It’s what I wanted. To save you!”
“Never mind me!” Kathryn cut in sharply, her voice rising. “You should have stayed hidden and tried to get back to Voyager. Pressing Allar for my release like that,” she clucked her tongue disapprovingly, “it could have gone so badly. He could have arrested you too. Anything could have happened? How many times have I told you…”
She stopped, her frustration at her daughter’s recklessness distracted by the sight of a furrowed brow, a quivering bottom lip and ruddy cheeks. Jade, it appeared, was bordering on getting upset. It had been just a big day for her too, Kathryn realised, and away missions that went awry were not exactly in her wheelhouse. She’d given this speech to her crew many times, chastising them for disobeying her orders by refusing to save themselves. With them, it felt easier. She could be a motherly Captain, but still the Captain nonetheless. She could command and reprimand when they did not follow her orders. To the child before her however, this girl with big green eyes, and black and blue hair, and all the attitude and mischief and courage and love combined into one precocious package, the girl that lobbied so passionately for her freedom, there was only one course of response she could choose.
“Oh… god,” She sighed and pulled Jade into her arms again, “You did save me.” She whispered as she pressed her lips to the crown of her daughter’s hair, feeling her own eyes water. “You did a great job. I’m so proud of you.”
She heard a sniffing sound against her uniform and felt her heart ache a little. Not my finest parenting move, she thought.
“I’m sorry.” She tried again gently. “I didn’t mean to yell. I just get so worried something will happen to you.”
“You believe me don’t you?” Jade asked, lifting her chin again to look at her. “About the club? That we didn’t do anything?”
“Of course I believe you.” Kathryn said. “I’m not cross at you. I just…” she paused and sighed again, trying to think how to articulate what she wanted to say, how to make her understand. “Your safety is more important than anything. You are more important than me, okay? If we’re separated, you need to keep yourself safe. You can’t keep putting yourself in danger to get to me.”
“But you're my mom. I need you.” Jade said in a small voice, her expression desperately serious.
Kathryn laughed. She didn’t mean to but sometimes she couldn’t help but marvel at Jade’s ability to be both terminally evasive and yet so wonderfully and unintentionally matter of fact just when it really mattered.
“I know.” She said, taking the girl’s face gently in her hands, “But I need you even more. We can’t always be together, sometimes it’s just not safe that we are. But I need you to understand that no matter what happens, however long it takes, I will always find you. You just need to take care of yourself until I do. Okay?”
“Okay.” Jade gave her a little nod. “I understand.”

Enough, Kathryn thought. I’m sure we’ll have the opportunity to debate this again soon enough.

“Good girl.” She kissed Jade’s forehead and then straightened herself up, letting her go. “Right now, we both need to be careful. I’m not sure why but don’t think we’re quite as free as Allar would like us to think we are.”
Jade sniffed again, and rubbed her nose. The redness in her cheeks was starting to clear again.
“B doesn’t trust him either.” She said, with a frown. “He gives off total interplanetary dictator vibes.”
Kathryn raised her eyebrows.
“The spark said that?”
Finally, a smile reappeared.
“Pretty much.” She grinned. “I may have translated it a little.”
Kathryn smiled, and affectionately brushed her hair back from her eyes.

My brave beautiful girl. What am I going to do with you?

Jade seemed to guess what she was thinking.
“I’m sorry I made trouble.” She then pulled a sheepish face. “Again.”
“You don’t need to be sorry honey, I know it wasn’t your fault, and you were just protecting yourself, right?” She touched the blood splatter on her sweater tenderly, and saw Jade’s eyes widen a fraction and the flicker of guilt cross her face. It was the answer to the question Kathryn hadn’t wanted to ask earlier. The blood was hers but it wasn’t from the fight. A nosebleed. She had used her powers.
“We’ll talk about *this* back on Voyager, okay?” She tapped her finger against the stain.
Jade nodded, her expression falling a little.
“Okay.”
“Alright, enough lecturing." Kathryn gave her a reassuring smile. "We should probably get back and see what Allar intends for us with this dinner. Just stick close to me alright?” She offered her hand and Jade took it. “No wandering off.”
“I promise.”

Chapter Text

Despite Kathryn’s reservations, dinner was not unpleasant. In fact, it was very agreeable given the circumstances. Bolten Allar had not been lying when he said he would treat them to the best delicacies his empire had to offer. It was hard not to be persuaded by it. After years being nourished by the replicator, Kathryn’s taste buds were easily seduced when confronted by such rich and complex textures and flavours. The only time she ever ate this well was with Q, who would take great delight in watching her enjoy whatever delicious morsel he had just fed her, sometimes not even waiting until she had finished before trying to kiss her.

“Stop watching me eat,” she’d scoff, trying to evade him. “It’s so weird.”
“I like seeing you satisfied.” He’d said one time, after she had finished the most delectable chocolate tart and had sighed with content happiness at the final bite before licking the rich chocolate from the end of her finger and thumb. It was Q’s grunt at this gesture that had made her realise she was under observation. They were sitting on the floor of her quarters living area on a silly makeshift picnic blanket; Q’s idea of a date.
“I like all the ways I can make you satisfied.” He then purred, waggling his eyebrows at her suggestively. “And I like the expressions you make when I do.”
Kathryn winced a little, half embarrassed at his scrutiny and half concerned that her enjoyment of food and of Q’s other carnal appetites were manifesting on her face in the same way.
“Don’t ever change.” He added quickly, as if guessing her thoughts. “I think about that expression all the time.” He took her arms and pulled her forward so she half fell into his lap. “If I had my way, you’d look like that all the time.” Before she could argue, he twisted his torso and rotated her to the floor so he could be free to throw himself on top of her.
“Q, don’t! I’m too full.” Kathryn protested but admittedly did not try particularly hard to resist as he draped himself fully over her with his entire frame.
“You only make that face for me, right?” He asked, gazing down at her with love and lust in equal measure. Kathryn could feel the hum of excitement flickering along her skin like electricity where his body made contact with hers.
Defeated, she laughed and then looped her arms around his neck lazily, sliding one of her legs upward so she could angle her hips against his to create a more enjoyable position. Q’s obsessiveness was more intoxicating than any liquor. It was almost impossible not to get drunk on it.
“What face?” She whispered coquettishly, lifting her head to gift him the softest of kisses, one that had just a hint of her tongue at the edge of her front teeth. “Remind me.”
Q let out a throaty exhale and then gave her a wolfishly proud grin in return.
“Oh with pleasure Captain.”
Kathryn still remembered vividly how Q had made love to her that afternoon. How closely he had watched her face as she had gasped and sighed and moaned at each thrust of himself into her. She remembered the concentration in his expression as he committed her own to his infinite memory. She still remembered the feeling of the carpet beneath her, the weight of Q’s body sandwiching her so deliciously to the floor. The pull of his fingers tangling into her hair, gripping her thighs, caressing her breasts. She remembered the way he quivered uncontrollably when she whispered in his ear that only he could make her feel this good and then, the thing that was always the final deathknell to his restraint whenever they were together, that she was his. Only his. She remembered his eyes closing at these words, his breath becoming ragged, his lips parting from a sharp inhale, and that familiar little crease cracking between his eyebrows as he started to lose control. The gasp of her name as he succumbed to her completely. The look of satisfaction on his face, as beautiful as Kathryn remembered it to be. How powerful she felt that she could create it.

The memory of this stirred within her as she sampled some strange luminous jelly like dessert that had been placed in front of her. Thoughts of Q often forced themselves to the surface when she least expected them to. As Captain, she was always in control of herself, but occasionally tiny delicious reminders of her time with him would force themselves to the front of mind and she’d feel a heaving sense of adrenaline, a rush of potent sensations flooding through her that only she was privy to. Such memories were always annoyingly timed but not unwelcome, which was very Q of course. During his long absences, they made her feel like he was with her. If he had been, she could imagine him grinning at her now from across the table, trying to show her he’d guessed she was thinking about him. How silly it was to be so in love with the universe’s most wonderful fool, she thought with an idle smile as she poked at the jelly with her spoon.

“I’m pleased you like dessert captain.”
Kathryn looked up sharply and realised Allar was watching her from across the table. He had sat at the head, and she to his left. Jade was next to her and Leon sat opposite, a notable gap between his father and him. Was this the boy’s mother’s space, Kathryn had wondered. Was there a Mrs Allar? She did not know what the queen of a Tenen would be called. Tuvok’s briefing had been sparse on the details of Allar’s personal life. If she did exist, where was she?

“I do, thank you.” She forced a smile. “I’m not quite sure what I’m eating, but it is delicious.”
Allar reached over to take a small slice of a cake like dessert and Kathryn stole a look at him as his gaze left hers. He was around her age, she thought, perhaps slightly older, and his blue eyes and sharp distinguished features made him conventionally attractive. He had a confidence that came from ruling a vast empire unchallenged and he entertained in a way that reminded Kathryn a little of Q from when they had first met. Rich and undeniably showy, designed to impress and to humble. Even the room he had brought them too for dinner was overwhelmingly opulent. A far cry from the sterile and brightly lit outer chambers and corridors she had been guided through, the inter sanctum of the Tenen’s personal rooms were beautifully decorated with dark ruby walls and green velvet drapes, with soft lighting from jewelled encrusted lamps on the walls.
“I like beautiful things.” He had explained simply, as her eyes had widened at the change on entering the room, and smiled at her in a way that made her a little uneasy as he showed her to her seat.
Allar’s gaze had also lingered on her a little too easily as she ate, clearly assessing her response to his offerings and presenting her with further opportunities to be impressed at his attention to her. She had smiled politely and was gracious at his flattery, but inside she knew that there was a different type of performance playing out behind those icy blue eyes than the one laid out for her on the table. Perhaps this had been why the memory of Q had come to her all of a sudden. While Allar shared some of Q’s mannerisms, there were so many reasons why this man was different. Q was known to be a trickster, and he was extremely annoying at times, but at the core he was good and he was to her what he always presented to be, plain and simple, even though his power was far from it. Allar had all friendliness in his expression but his eyes told a different story, there was permanent coolness there that was not just from the colour. It was a guarded quality that betrayed a much more cunning agenda than what was being presented. Even in the early days, before Jade, before Q had won her love, he’d had her trust. Even when he had frustrated her and tormented her, and sometimes even frightened her, she had trusted him implicitly, without knowing why. She just always knew she could. Allar invoked none of the same sentiment.

He had been a good host however, Kathryn had to admit. The food had been delicious and Allar had talked much about the history of his planet and the empire he now governed, which had been fascinating. His stories had a distinctly Hevetah lens, Kathryn noted, remembering the alternative views that Comsar Dago had shared with her on his last visit to Voyager. To Allar, Ekun were the feared scourge of the sector, and Kraton’s growth from plucky underdog to galactic benevolent overlord made for good story telling. That was to be expected however. Allar was the Tenen of this vast empire and his spoils had been gained on the victories of his father.

Kathryn put down her spoon and stretched a little.
“I couldn’t eat another bite though.” She said, patting her stomach to reaffirm she had finished and wondering how best to segway the discussion to business. She suspected a few hours had passed since she’d last made contact with Chakotay and, with her incarceration, had completely lost track of what time it was. Without any form of natural light, it was impossible to know whether it was day or night. Kathryn could feel the dull ache of sleeplessness gnawing at her temples so she suspected it must be the early hours of the morning.
“Thank you for the dinner.” She turned to see if Jade had detected the finality in her tone but instead found her busily engaged in a discussion across the table with Leon about his glider and not paying the adults any attention.
“My pleasure.” Allar nodded his head. “I imagine you are eager to commence our negotiations.”
Kathryn felt a light tinge in her cheeks, embarrassed that she had been read so easily.
“It’s been a long night. Enjoyable, of course.” She said, turning her attention back to him with a smile. “But I do need to return to my ship.”
“Of course.” Allar bowed his head. “Would you mind if we walked and talked? I need to digest, and there’s something I want to show you before you leave.” He gestured a hand towards a doorway that was partially covered by a heavy draped curtain. In the soft lighting of the room, she hadn’t even noticed it.
“Walk?” Kathryn raised her eyebrows. She knew they were pretty deep inside the mountain by now, Allar had told her this while they had been eating.
“Yes, I’d like to show you my private palace gardens. I think you’d like them immensely. Leon?” Allar turned to his son for the first time since they had sat down. “Perhaps you can show Jade the little ship you are so proud of while the Captain and I talk.”
There was a distinct tone of disapproval in the elder man’s tone and based on the flicker of a scowl on Leon’s face, it was not an uncommon one. Kathryn felt herself wince internally at the uncomfortable energy between the two.
To her surprise, Leon then looked immediately at her, a strangely serious expression in his eyes before finally his gaze met his father’s.
“We’ll come to the gardens too. I’d like to show Jade.”
“Very well.” Allar’s expression switched back to the amiable one he had worn during dinner. “Let’s all go together.”