Disclaimer: Paramount owns all. I'm just playing.

Summary: Voyager is once again sent to find the Maquis, while Tom and Chakotay manage to hitch a lift off DS9.

~~~

Squinting in the bright sunlight, Louis Zimmerman stepped nervously from one foot to the other. The kernel of anxiousness he'd been feeling for the past week gnawed away at his insides. Their return to their Alpha Quadrant hadn't quite been the homecoming any of them had expected. He'd been preoccupied by his own personal problems, then by the deaths of Harry and the sixteen members of the Maquis. His visit to Kathryn Janeway on their last day aboard the Tanazaki had given him something else to ponder. As they'd dismantled the computer console together, she explained to him the whole sordid story: her suspicions about Lamond, the death of his son, the transmission Kes claimed to have seen in a vision. She had also, he recalled with a twinge of mortification, chastised him for avoiding Kes.

Mindful of her rebuke, he'd called the young Ocampan woman several times since their return to Earth, but she seemed to be avoiding him. He left messages, but was unsure if she even viewed them. Now he stood outside the apartment in which she was staying, rocking on his heels like a nervous teenager. He was just about to reach out to press the chime again when the door opened.

Louis forced a small smile to his face, trying to ignore the dark circles clustering around her eyes.

“Hello,” he said. “You're a hard young woman to reach.”

Kes blinked at him silently, and for an odd moment he wondered if she'd even understood what he'd said.

“I'm sorry, Doctor,” she said eventually. “I've been terribly rude ignoring your messages.”

He smiled again, though his lips felt tight across his teeth. “Of course, it's perfectly understandable if you haven't felt like seeing people. I could-”

Kes waved him to silence with one hand, then stood aside.

“No, it isn't. I've been thinking about you. Please, come in.”

He stepped quickly inside the apartment, expecting to find signs of disarray. To his surprise, the room looked almost unoccupied. Only a few padds and a mug sitting on the coffee table hinted that anyone was living there. Kes gestured to the couch.

“Sit down. Can I get you something?”

“No, thankyou. I just came to see how you were. What you were doing. What your plans are.” The words tumbled out before he could reconsider them.

Kes sank down on the sofa beside him as he spoke. “My plans,” she said softly. “That's an interesting question.”

“I know that on the Liberty we talked about what you'd do here on Earth. You said you'd be interested in doing some study at one of the universities. I thought… with things… your plans might have changed.” Louis trailed off for a moment, then shook his head. “I suppose that is the wrong question to ask. Maybe we should start with 'How are you?' instead.” He eyed her carefully for a moment before going on. “I'd understand if you wanted to be left alone for a while. But you don't know anyone here. And Voyager is leaving today. I'm Kathryn – Captain Janeway's Chief Medical Officer. Again,” he added. “So I'll be leaving this afternoon. I didn't want to go without seeing you.”

Kes twisted her small fingers together as she listened to him babble, then to his surprise she managed to smile.

“I've lost a friend, doctor. A good friend. But that doesn't mean I'm going to hide away in here for weeks and do nothing.”

“Oh,” he said. “Does that mean you do have plans?”

She bobbed her head. “Yes. But not for university.”

“What then?”

She seemed to be considering his question, but her reply sounded vague. “I'd heard that Voyager was leaving soon. I thought you might be coming by to see me before then. At least I hoped you would.”

“Oh?”

“Yes.”

Louis stared at her for a moment, but she didn't say anything else. “Why?” he asked.

“Why what?”

“Why did you hope I'd come by?”

Kes shrugged. “Because you're my friend. Because you're leaving. Because you understand what's happened.” She continued to entwine her fingers as she spoke. “I've tried to meet some people, you know, this week. It's no use. What can I say to them? I don't want to say anything. Then I want to say everything. Tell them all about what happened. What's happening now. How Starfleet is lying about everything. About Harry. About Chakotay. I can't do it.” She paused to take a ragged breath. “I can't stay here.”

Before Louis could ask her where she was going instead, she had pushed herself up from the couch and hurried into the other room. He sat for a moment, wondering whether to follow her. Grief affected people in different ways, he knew. Still, in her agitated behaviour he saw little echo of the self-composed young woman Kes had always been on the Liberty. Then, as quickly as she'd disappeared, she returned, clutching a small case.

“That's why I've been waiting for you”.

He stared at her, still mystified. “Why?”

“I'm coming with you,” she said.

Louis continued to gaze at her blankly. “Coming where?”

“With Voyager. To the colony on Jotham Four,” she said, hefting the case. “I've already arranged for someone else to take this apartment.”

And with that remark, she made for the door. Zimmerman stood and followed her, still bemused, his mind full of questions.

“Captain Janeway has agreed to this?”

Kes didn't respond. “Should I ask you why?” he said.

Kes paused in the doorway and turned to him, her face grimly set. “You might not like the answer.”

“Try me.”

She eyed him for a moment, then shrugged her shoulders again. “I'm going to get them,” she said simply, then stepped through the doorway, into the glare of the morning sun. At a loss for anything else to do, Louis followed her.

~~~

Kathryn retired to her ready room only minutes after Voyager had gone to warp. Tuvok waited for an appropriate interval of time to pass before he followed her. She was sitting on her couch, twisting slightly so she could stare out at the stars. “Tea,” she said softly, as he approached.

“Thankyou”. Tuvok poured himself a cup from the pot and seated himself nearby. Before he had come to know Kathryn Janeway better, he might have suspected that she was testing him in some way. That this was some human ritual, that she was waiting for him to speak first. That his selection of topic might reveal something about him, his attitude towards her, their relationship. As it was, he knew Kathryn Janeway quite well, and said nothing. After a few minutes had passed, she turned from the window to face him.

“So, Tuvok,” she said, “back on Voyager again. How does it feel?”

Tuvok involuntarily raised one eyebrow at her choice of phrasing, but understood the meaning behind it. “Oddly familiar,” he replied, “and yet not wholly comfortable.”

“Still wishing for a chair behind that security console?” She gave him a small smile.

“I believe my discomfort is psychological rather than physical.”

Kathryn chuckled softly at that. “Indeed,” she said quietly. “That's a very good description of it.”

Once again, Tuvok allowed the silence to hang, and merely waited for her to speak.

“I think I replicated all my uniforms the wrong size,” she remarked, after a pause, then began tugging on one sleeve. “Or a little too itchy.”

“They appear to be well-fitting”.

She gave him a penetrating glance. “Do they? Well, I suppose that's good. Appearances are important.”

“To some,” Tuvok allowed. “Commander Cavitt, for example, might not understand your sense of discomfort.”

Kathryn blew out a breath in frustration. “No,” she said slowly. “No, I don't think he would. That's alright. I won't tell him.”

“I do not think he would be interested in my discomfort, either.”

They both drank for a few minutes in silence before she spoke again. “So, Tuvok, what do you want to ask me?”

“I thought perhaps you would like to talk.”

“About?”

“Our mission.”

“Oh, our mission. What is there to say?”

Tuvok watched her for a moment, sipping his tea quietly before responding. “Perhaps it is little help to you, Captain, but I appreciate that your discomfort is of a different nature to mine.”

It was Kathryn's turn to raise an eyebrow. “Oh? How so?”

“I am concerned over our suspicions about Captain Lamond and the conspiracy of silence that appears to be surrounding his recent behaviour. I am disconcerted by Starfleet's recent allegations about the cause of the shuttle explosion.” At Kathryn's sour face he continued. “In particular, their decision to blame Chakotay for a crime he did not commit. That does not reflect well on this uniform.”

“No, it doesn't. And that's putting it politely.”

“You are also affected by personal feelings, as I am not. Your emotional attachment to the friends you made on the Liberty, and in particular your close friendship with Chakotay, will make this mission more difficult for you.”

Kathryn smiled at him wryly. “I thought that was the point. How better to test my loyalty then getting me to lead Starfleet back to the traitors. Except we aren't actually sure where they are.” She snorted. “Does command really think that they'd stay in the Jotham Four base, knowing that we know where it is? Even if I didn't lead Starfleet back there, one of the others might be able to.”

“I believe they think it is our best clue,” Tuvok said.

“Do you?” Kathryn frowned. “I don't. I think they want me to go there just to prove that I'll go there.” She waved her hand to silence Tuvok's response. “It doesn't matter. I know very well I'm being tested here. That isn't the point.”

Tuvok placed his tea cup down on the table. “Captain. I apologize for my inability to discover the stolen transmissions”.

Kathryn glanced at him in surprise at the change of subject. “I'm not disappointed in you, Tuvok. You did your best.”

“It appears that my best was not good enough.”

“To my mind that only proves that whoever orchestrated the theft knew exactly what they were looking for, and how to get it.” She eyed him again. “Well, that's one thing off your chest. What else did you want to ask me?”

“Perceptive as always.”

“Perceptive, yes. Mind reader, no.”

“Do you think it was wise to allow Kes to accompany us? It is rather irregular.”

Kathryn sighed. “Very irregular. But she insisted that she was going to Jotham Four anyway, regardless of whether we took her. And seeing as we're going there too-” She shrugged. “Besides, the doctor told me he spent the whole shuttle ride out here trying to convince her to change her mind. She wouldn't.”

“Kes is a very determined young woman. But I'm not certain what she expects to achieve by this journey.”

“I don't know, either,” Kathryn admitted. “Apart from the fact that she wants to be doing something. Something for Harry.”

“Mr Kim will not benefit from her help now.”

“No,” Kathryn agreed quietly. “But she might. This whole mission has an awful sense of déjà vu about it, don't you think?”

“Are you referring to our chasing the Maquis?”

“Yes.”

“Many things are different this time,” Tuvok said, still thinking of Kes.

“Who do you think could have told Starfleet that trading the specs was my idea?” she asked suddenly.

“I've considered that question over the last few days,” Tuvok admitted, “and I must say I have no idea.”

“Admiral Groot didn't say where he found out about it.” She pulled a face at the mention of his name. “But he seemed very pleased he could use it as a weapon against me.”

“Do you think his campaign to discredit you will continue?”

“I'm sure of it. I still have some friends in high places who are keeping an ear to the ground for me. He's pushing for another tribunal hearing, but I think the legalities are tying him down. So he might have to settle for continuing his dirty tricks crusade.”

Tuvok appeared puzzled. “Dirty tricks?”

“Rumours,” she said. “Insinuations. The gossip about me he's spreading.” When Tuvok wouldn't meet her eye she nodded. “I see you've heard some of it already.”

“I didn't want to mention it.”

“Never mind,” she said. “We'll find the truth about what happened. All of it. And no little burglary is going to stop me blowing the whistle on this whole cover-up then.”

Tuvok fell silent for a moment, before standing to leave. “Well,” he said with calm aplomb, “perhaps I'd best go and find myself a similar wind instrument to blow.”

Kathryn laughed at that. “Tuvok,” she said, as he reached the door. “I'm glad you're here with me.”

The Vulcan inclined his head. “As am I.”

Kathryn's face held her smile until the doors slid shut behind the Vulcan, then she sighed, and resumed staring out of the window. It had been more than two weeks since she'd left the Maquis on Jotham Four. More than two weeks since she'd last seen Chakotay. And here she was, hunting him down once again. Only this time, she thought to herself, her intentions were quite different. Even her old friend Tuvok had no idea how different.

As if to physically shake herself out of her mood, she returned to her desk, swung the monitor towards her, and began to call up an encrypted series of files.

“Computer,” she said, “I'd like to make a time-delayed recording.”

~~~

“I think there's a part of me that still can't believe it.”

“That's probably the last remnant of your Starfleet training talking.”

“You have Starfleet training, too,” Chakotay pointed out.

Tom made a pained face. “Please, don't remind me. But its been quite a while since I've found myself in agreement with any almighty Starfleet principles.”

“I hardly think those principles are coming into play here.”

“Mmm,” Tom said. “If whoever is responsible for covering up what happened to the shuttle had the ability to do this…” he sucked his breath in through his teeth, “there's obviously more of them than I thought. Or they're higher up in the chain of command. Or both.”

Chakotay grunted his agreement. His mind was still replaying the newsfeeds they'd both overheard as they'd crawled through DS9's duct system earlier that morning. Mostly he was surprised by how dumbfounded he'd felt. He knew the Federation media could sensationalize news about the Maquis, but everything they'd heard since their return to the Alpha Quadrant suggested that community sympathy for their cause had been growing. He'd expected more people to question why Starfleet refused to release further details proving that he was responsible for betraying the amnesty seekers. Thus far they had ignored the few isolated calls for evidence. Instead the media continued to replay the few details from the Starfleet press release: the grainy pictures of the shuttle explosion, Chakotay's file photo, the new warrant for his arrest.

He couldn't help imagining how Kathryn had reacted to the news. What was she doing now? Was she trying to argue for his innocence behind the scenes? Garak's veiled comments about her vendetta against Starfleet didn't give him much to go on. Was she pushing for an official investigation into the shuttle explosion? Or trying to find who really was responsible for contacting the Cardassian vessel? If Tom's Cardassian friend was correct, and Seska and Jonas were somehow involved, did she know this? A nagging voice at the back of his mind worried that she might be doing nothing at all. What if, after her Starfleet briefing, they'd ordered her to take time off to recover from her ordeal on the Liberty? What, another voice suggested, if they'd found her conduct during that time unacceptable? What if she was starting to question it too?

“You're thinking about her, aren't you?”

Chakotay jumped slightly as Tom's voice broke into this thoughts. “Who?” he said absently.

Tom rolled his eyes. “Fine,” he said, “don't talk to me about her.”

The younger man shifted his position slightly so that he could stretch out his legs, at least to the length that their cramped position inside the maintenance tube allowed. Chakotay watched him silently, thinking now about Tom's recent behaviour. If he'd had a choice he would probably have picked any number of travelling companions over Tom Paris. But Tom had come to him with an idea about where to find information. Lacking any other leads, he'd agreed. So far, Tom had proved surprisingly reliable. Two days had passed since their visit to Garak, and they'd hadn't managed to find their way off the station yet. Tom had scouted for gossip, tips and supplies while Chakotay remained hidden. Now, using information Tom had gathered, they waited near the docking bay for a chance to sneak onto one of the outgoing trader's ships.

“I was just wondering what Kathryn was doing now,” he said after a few minutes had passed.

“I'd wager a few bars of latinum on something involving drinking coffee.”

“No bet,” said Chakotay, shaking his head. “That's too easy.”

“I don't think she'll just let them get away with it, if that's what you're asking.”

“What can one person do against officially sanctioned lies?”

“Someone like Kathryn? A great deal,” Tom said quietly.

Chakotay shot another glance at him. The young man's features were guarded, but something about his tone suggested he'd just said something quite important.

“I hope you're right. We can use all the help we can get.” He glanced out into the corridor, then jerked himself upright as he saw a heavy-set man step through the doorway leading to the docking bay. “I think he's leaving for Quark's now,” he hissed. “If your information was correct.”

“I certainly hope so. I paid him enough for it.” Tom sat up and began rapidly gathering their few belongings. “Let's go,” he said, scooping the last of their food supplies into his bag. They slipped into the corridor, and made their way hurriedly towards a control panel on the wall. While Chakotay stood guard, Tom pulled open the panel cover and began snipping wires.

“With any luck we'll manage to get out of range before anyone notices my handiwork.”

“We can't wait any longer anyway. Security on this station is a little too efficient for my liking. I definitely don't want to come across that Shape-shifter I've heard so much about.”

Tom grinned at him as he snapped the panel shut again. “You and I are going to have to stop agreeing on things, you know, or we might actually end up liking each other.”

“Don't get too carried away, Paris. We still have a long way to go.”

Tom chuckled as they hurried down the corridor towards the trader's small ship. “Get the door open, old man, and I'll promise to be disagreeable for the entire trip.”

Chakotay began typing the code Tom had stolen into the door's locking mechanism. “What makes you think you aren't pissing me off right now?”

In reply he heard a muffled grunt, followed by a dull thud. He snapped his head around to see Tom gingerly lowering an unconscious security officer to the floor.

“You can't be as pissed as he's going to be when he wakes up,” Tom said.

The hatch hissed loudly then slid open. “True,” Chakotay agreed. “Better take his weapon”.

Tom bent down to retrieve the phaser, then gave the man a quick poke.

“Not the shape-shifter,” he said, as his fingers prodded into the man's flesh.

“That's the first good news I've heard all day.”

Tom clambered over the inert man and followed Chakotay onto the ship. Minutes later, they'd managed to start its engines and unlock the docking clamps, when somewhere in the bowels of the station, an alarm began to sound.

“Uh oh,” Tom said.

“I hate it when people say that. Tell me you can fly this rust bucket out of here.”

Tom's fingers began flying over the controls. “Piece of cake,” he said. The ship began to vibrate, then the impulse engines kicked in and propelled them away from the station.

“You'll probably hate to hear this too, but I think we're being chased.”

“Well then,” Chakotay said.

“Well what?”

“Do I have to give you orders Paris? Let's get the hell out of here.”

Tom grinned wickedly. “Aye aye, Cap'n.”

“Tom”.

“What?”

“Just shut up and drive.”

Still grinning broadly, Tom did exactly that.

~~~

~ read part twenty five ~

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