Enemy of My Enemy - Food for Thought

by Kath Tate

Disclaimer: Star Trek Voyager and its characters are the property of Paramount. This story is not meant to infringe upon the trademarks or copyrights of Paramount.

EOME is a series of Voyager stories which are based on the premise that the Maquis ship was not destroyed in "Caretaker." Given that there is no name in canon for the Maquis ship, this series calls it "Fides," which is Latin for "Faith."

The order of the EOME series:
Confederation
Follow the Leader
Casualty and Confession
Food for Thought

Please do not distribute without Kath's permission. Thanks.

*****

Chakotay walked into engineering on Voyager slowly trying to ignore the feeling of weakness in his knees. He was tired. He was hungry.

Fortunes for the two crews had taken a recent downturn. A nasty incident with the Kazon had left Voyager damaged and had decimated the cargo bay of food stores. Kes's garden in the hydroponics bay was not able to keep up to the demand of the crew. Fides never had many supplies in the first place.

The replicators were only working at a limited capacity, due to a malfunction in the power system. Torres and Carey had spent several sleepless days and nights trying to compensate, but the truth was they weren't going to be able to fix it without some additional parts.

Right now, power was especially low because Torres had rigged up a water purification system to try to keep their water supply adequate. She was in charge of engineering at the moment; Joe Carey was in sickbay.

Morale was also plummeting, as the last attempt to gather food supplies had been nearly disastrous. The food they had gathered, although reading normal with their sensors, contained elements that were not compatible with the human digestive system. At least a third of the crew was ill as a result including the Chief Engineer.

Torres was seated at her console, half slumped over it with fatigue. She looked up at Chakotay's entrance.

"Quit pacing old man, you need to conserve your strength," she told him. He paused beside her, placing a hand on the top of the console. She noticed it was trembling. "Any word?"

"Not so far," he said. "Any change?"

"No." They lapsed into silence.

Captain Janeway and Lieutenant Tuvok were down on the planet's surface negotiating for supplies. They had been gone long enough for Chakotay to think that a deal might be in the making, but almost too long, like it wasn't going to be straightforward.

"Ensign Kim to Commander Chakotay."

"Chakotay here," he hit his badge and held his breath.

"The captain and Tuvok are returning from the planet now, sir."

"Thank you ensign," Chakotay acknowledged as he headed for the door. Torres saw him cross his fingers as he left her.

*****

Watching Janeway and Tuvok materialize in transporter room two, Chakotay got a sinking feeling in his empty stomach. They were alone. And Janeway looked as worn out and defeated as he'd ever seen her. It was not a pleasant sight. She caught his eye immediately.

"No go," she said bluntly and marched out of the room. Chakotay spared a glance at Tuvok, who was not forthcoming with any details and then he followed the captain.

He followed her all the way to her ready room before she spoke. She sat down on her couch, sinking into it with a weary sigh, and regarded him somberly.

"I tried seeds and plantings. I even tried labour." She smiled as she remembered Chakotay telling her that many of the Maquis had farm experience.

"Labour for supplies Chakotay?" she'd asked him with a grin. He had returned the grin.

"It's worked in the past."

Chakotay wasn't grinning now. He looked very pale.

"I moved onto the cultural database. Starcharts."

"What did they want?" asked Chakotay. Their initial contact with the T'Asukhi had been that they were typically asocial, bordering on xenophobic. Neelix's assessment of them had been to stay away. But Voyager and Fides couldn't afford to pass up any opportunity to get their desperately needed supplies.

"Tech," she told him bitterly.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked, finally seating himself in one of her chairs.

"Technology. They wanted our technology. I tried everything, everything I could think of but they wouldn't budge."

"So give it to them," Chakotay said bluntly. She was shocked.

"Absolutely not!"

Chakotay was amazed.

"Captain! Our crew is starving!"

"We'll take our chances on the next world we come to, Commander," she said sharply. "I'm not providing technology to an undeveloped race. We have violated enough of the Prime Directive just by contacting them."

"What next world? Where is this next word?" Chakotay blasted her. "The last world we tried nearly killed us. And who's to say we're even going to find a next world?! Give them the tech and get us some food!"

"No!" Janeway's tone was sharp. She sat up straighter. "The situation is not so bad that we can't break orbit and continue our search. There must be another source of food without compromising our principles."

"Your principles, Captain. But there are two ships of hungry people for whom you and I are responsible and some of them may not understand those principles after a few days without solid food." Chakotay's dark eyes flashed with anger.

"You understand them, Commander, to say otherwise would be a lie. You lived under these guiding principles for a long time before you abandoned them. I won't abandon them."

They glared at each other, then Janeway looked away. She hadn't really expected his support, but she had thought he would understand.

*****

"Kes?" Chakotay called out in the nearly empty hydroponics bay. He couldn't see her right away, so he turned to leave and nearly tripped over some equipment sitting by the door. "Ahh!"

Kes found Chakotay rubbing his shin and glaring down at the agrolamps.

"Sorry about that Commander. I had Suder take down the lamps that weren't in use because I was afraid they might be draining the power. But now I'm not sure where to put them. I guess I'll find room in a cargo bay ..." Her voice died off.

Chakotay looked sadly down at the Ocampan. Her delicate features were translucent and she looked even more frail than normal. She was responsible for the output of the garden and she was clearly frustrated that it wasn't able to produce enough to feed the crew.

"Have you anything I can take back to Fides today?" he asked, finally. She shook her head.

*****

Torres tracked Chakotay down to the galley on Fides. She'd finally left Voyager's engineering in the hands of Lieutenant Ashmore and returned to her home ship. Chakotay had his arms crossed on the table with his head down. She'd heard that the trade attempt had failed. But she hadn't heard why.

"Hey," she said softly, sitting opposite him.

"Hey," he replied, lifting his head slowly. Something about his body language, something about the expression in his eyes, made Torres shiver with fear.

"We are going to die out here," she said. Funny how the words didn't sound as cold when she spoke them as they seemed in her head.

"It is looking very possible," he admitted.

Torres suddenly had a vision of Voyager and Fides, stopped dead from no power, adrift in space, no food, then no water, then no air . . . She shivered again.

"Why?" she asked. "Why wouldn't they help us?"

"Because Janeway decided the price was too high," he said harshly.

"How can she do that?!" demanded Torres. "What gives her the right to decide if we live or die?"

"She's the captain," Chakotay pointed out bitterly.

He stood up to shuffle slowly around the back of the counter to collect two carefully measured water cups. Returning to their table, he cracked his leg painfully against his chair. He gave a grunt. Torres looked over at him, her face a question.

"I bruised my shin this afternoon," he mumbled by way of explanation.

"I wonder if you bruise more easily when you're malnourished," she mused, staring off into space. Chakotay didn't answer. He was rubbing the front of his leg with a distracted air.

*****

Janeway was not at all prepared for what she saw when she entered the mess hall. Neelix was cooking up a storm. The place was packed with Maquis and Starfleet alike, everyone with a tray, everyone with a meal. Everyone eating.

Stunned, Janeway could only stand inside the door observing the scene for a moment. She caught sight of Neelix, bustling about behind the counter, partially obscured by steam, and a little smoke from one of his more unusual looking dishes.

"Neelix! What is going on?" she asked, moving towards him. As she got closer to the kitchen she saw another figure near Neelix. Janeway drew a sharp breath. Commander Chakotay.

"Isn't it wonderful Captain?" Neelix bubbled over. "We have enough food to last us until we get to the Tri'illa sector, where I assure you there is no end of agricultural planets."

"Where did this food come from Commander?" Janeway's voice was cold.

"I got it from the T'Asukhi," he told her, softly.

"How did you manage that?" she asked, hoping against all hope that maybe he'd been able to get them to trade for something she was willing to give. But she knew it was not to be.

"I gave them two of Kes's lamps from hydroponics. Being an agricultural society, they were intrigued with a method for speeding up the growth of their crops."

"You went against my orders?" she asked, still not really believing that he had done this.

"I don't follow orders from you, Captain," Chakotay said, bluntly. "But even if I did, I never received any orders from you regarding this trade."

"You went against my wishes Commander!" snapped Janeway.

The room had become silent while both crews watched their leaders. The only sound was the bubbling of Neelix's stew and the hiss of his frying pan.

"You held true to your principles, Captain. I held true to mine."

"Who else was in on this?" she asked, spreading her arms to take in the food stocks piled around the room. "Who helped you with this?"

"I acted alone," he said swiftly. Too swiftly. "No one helped me."

She didn't believe him, but unless the other guilty party or parties came forward there was not much she could do. She was feeling lightheaded, due mostly to hunger, but also to rage. She turned, looking for the first security officer she could see.

"Lieutenant Durst!" she called. The young man stepped forward. "Take Commander Chakotay to the brig and confine him there."

There was a collective gasp from the spectators as Lieutenant Durst reluctantly walked over to Chakotay. Several of the Maquis scrambled to their feet to come forward, but one look from Chakotay made them stop, hesitant.

"Come with me, Commander," Durst said, a bit nervously. Chakotay nodded and they walked out of the room.

Janeway leaned up against the wall for some support, totally aware that she was still the centre of attention.

"Captain, you really should eat something," urged Neelix. "There is plenty. There is enough for everyone. Kes has already taken some up to sickbay." He held up a plate. She felt ill, but she knew he was right.

"Did Chakotay eat anything yet?" she asked.

"Not yet," Neelix admitted. Janeway sighed.

"Have someone take him a tray right away," she told him.

*****

Chakotay found he hadn't the energy to pace in the small cell, so he sat on the edge of the cot surveying his surroundings. So this was Voyager's brig. He couldn't imagine staying in here for any length of time; the space was too confining. Of course, it was at least twice the size of his quarters on Fides, with one great difference. The door to his quarters would open to let him out. He wondered what Janeway was going to do now. He hoped she was taking some time to have something to eat.

B'Elanna arrived after awhile, carrying a tray from the mess hall. She waited, impatiently, while Durst inspected the tray cautiously. Looking defiant, she agreed to step back while he delivered the food to Chakotay, replacing the force field after handing over the tray. To his credit, Durst then crossed the room to the security desk, giving them some small measure of privacy, even while he watched them with suspicious eyes.

"What are we going to do?" asked Torres, her voice low and filled with worry.

Chakotay chewed slowly, pondering her question.

"What's happening now?" he asked.

B'Elanna, having eaten, was feeling well enough to pace the length of the cell's door, staying as close as she could to the field without being burned.

"Most of the Maquis have returned to Fides. There was some grumbling, some heated words, but not much. Many of the Starfleet people are grateful for the food, regardless of methods you took to get it." Torres stopped her nervous walk. "But Ch'kotay, our people aren't too happy with the way Janeway treated you. They're not very pleased that you're in the brig!"

"Our people," murmured Chakotay with some sadness. They really hadn't moved beyond that. He stood, abandoning the food for a moment to come stand next to her by the field. "B'Elanna, go back to Fides and try to keep a lid on everyone."

Torres shook her head angrily.

"No! No, I won't do that, I can't do that!"

"Listen to me!" he urged, his voice rising, but she cut him off.

"You saved our lives when she would have let us die for some stupid Starfleet rule! Now she's thrown you in here? She has no right to treat you that way!"

"B'Elanna," Chakotay pleaded. "We can't start a confrontation over this. We don't know what Janeway's plan is. In fact, I doubt she knows what her plan is. She reacted in the only way she knew how. That doesn't mean that after she's thought about it she won't decide on a different course of action."

"And if her course of action is to keep you locked up?" asked B'Elanna, worried.

"We'll deal with it," he told her.

"They're pretty upset, Chakotay," she whispered looking down.

"Go, and tell them I'm ok," he said softly. "Tell them I said not to do anything stupid."

*****

Janeway had managed to eat the meal Neelix prepared for her, each mouthful tasting more bitter than the last. It hadn't escaped her notice that most of the Maquis had left Voyager shortly after Chakotay had been taken to the brig. B'Elanna Torres had been the last to leave, after returning the food tray to Neelix and casting a hostile glance over towards Janeway on her way out the door. So far, no one had said anything, no one had done anything. But that didn't stop Janeway from worrying.

She contacted Tuvok, needing a meeting, and considered getting together with all the senior staff. She decided to wait until she'd heard Tuvok's advice. As it turned out, she was glad she'd held off on the conference.

"Captain," said Tuvok, standing at attention before her desk in the ready room, "I have to confess that I knew about Commander Chakotay's plan."

Janeway slowly sank into her chair, disbelief stealing over her features.

"Tuvok," she whispered.

"In fact, I collaborated with him to exchange the technology for the food items."

"Commander Chakotay claims he acted alone," Janeway said, her voice hard.

"He's lying," Tuvok informed her calmly. "Not very logical, but gallant, I suppose."

"What am I going to do? Am I to throw you in the brig as well?" Janeway asked, rhetorically. Tuvok did not answer. "At ease, Lieutenant." She waved him down.

Tuvok sat, stiffly, in the chair by the desk.

"Tuvok you are aware of the violation of the Prime Directive that Commander Chakotay has committed by giving that technology to an undeveloped race?"

"I am fully aware of the crime that we committed, yes."

"Why?" she asked him, still not believing that he would have done this.

"It was the logical thing to do. Our crew was starving; we had no source of food except the one on T'Asuk. You were not able to break with your principles to trade the tech. Commander Chakotay was not bound by such principles, yet he had nothing worth trading. I knew that he would attempt to steal something from Voyager in order to save us from starvation." Tuvok's voice remained cool, without remorse.

"So instead of stopping him, you helped him?"

"My motivation was merely to prevent the further suffering and perhaps death of our crew, Captain."

"How can I ever trust you again?" asked Janeway, knowing that even without the benefit of emotions Tuvok was aware of how deeply he'd cut her by his actions.

"I ... regret betraying your trust, Captain," he admitted. "But I felt I was acting in the best interests of the crew, including you."

*****

The galley on Fides was packed with Maquis. Angry, wary, highly motivated Maquis. Torres listened to them with a growing sense of unease. She wasn't going to be able to calm them down. She was no Chakotay, and these people weren't going to listen to anyone but him right now.

"We should break him out of there and take her ship! Let her see what it feels like to be in the brig for a change!" Seska was saying, her voice filled with hatred. There were nods and cries of assent.

"No!" Torres stepped forward. "Chakotay told me we shouldn't do anything stupid."

"Janeway is the stupid one! Stupid for thinking we'd just accept it when she throws our captain in her jail!" Dalby yelled.

Torres turned to Kurt, her eyes pleading with him to back her up. He looked uncomfortable but didn't say anything.

Seska went on to outline a plan. Prison breaks were not new to this group, so they had some experience in the attack. Torres's pleas for reason were drowned in the anger of the mob. Janeway was wrong and it was time someone told her so.

*****

Janeway approached the field slowly, not sure of what she was going to say. She wasn't all that sure of what she was going to do either. Chakotay was seated cross-legged on the cot, with his back leaning against the wall, eyes closed. He looked far too serene than anyone in his position had a right to be. Janeway felt her anger return, which helped her indecision somewhat.

"Commander," she said coldly, to get his attention. He opened his eyes and looked at her, but did not move off the cot.

"Captain," he said.

"Have you anything to say?" she asked, wondering if there was anything he could say that would make this situation easier.

"Are you expecting me to apologize, Captain?" he asked, with some surprise. "Because I'm not sorry. I did what I felt to be right and I would do it again. In an instant. So if you're looking for regret, you've come to the wrong cell."

"You stole from my ship!" she accused him, eyes flaring with anger. "You sold my tech even knowing that it went against Starfleet principles! Is there any reason why I shouldn't keep you in this room for the rest of our voyage?"

*****

"Voyager has raised shields," Gerron informed the group waiting to transport. All eyes in the room turned to Torres, the one engineer who'd been given any kind of authority on the Starfleet vessel. If anyone knew how to bypass security protocols, it was B'Elanna. She looked away, trying one last attempt at reasoning with them.

"I think we should wait to see what Janeway has in mind. It could be that she's just leaving him in the brig until she cools off. Especially since her own first officer was involved."

"Or maybe she's got a double standard," suggested Jonas. "What's ok for her Starfleet officer isn't so cool for the Maquis rebel! I didn't see her locking Tuvok up, did you?"

"Who's in the brig, B'Elanna?" hissed Seska. "Tuvok? Or Chakotay?"

*****

Now Chakotay uncrossed his legs and slowly stood to walk over towards her. She'd mistaken his expression for calm, but when he got closer she could see that he was angry, perhaps as angry as she was.

"I'll give you a reason, since you don't seem to be able to see it for yourself! How about this one - without that food your crew would be dying. My crew would be dying. And how meaningful would our deaths be to Starfleet, over 70 light years away? I'll tell you! They wouldn't care a bit! Because they think we're already dead. And the truth of the matter is, Captain, that we are out here, by ourselves, without the 'Fleet or the Federation to back us up. All the principles in the galaxy mean NOTHING next to survival. So maybe you should rethink some of your priorities."

Janeway had never heard Chakotay speak in such a tone. She was glad there was a force field between them, preventing him from coming any closer to her. Even so, she resisted the urge to take a step back.

"Don't you tell me what to do, mister!" she snapped at him. "Without those guiding principles we'd have no direction, no order ... "

"And with them we'd have no lives," he interrupted, harshly. "I think your first officer agrees with me."

"You leave Tuvok out of this," she flashed.

Chakotay tilted his head, looking at her.

"He told you, didn't he." She nodded. Chakotay laughed a short humourless laugh. "Figures. The only one he was good at lying to was me." His voice was bitter.

"I also heard from Neelix and Kes," she admitted. "For someone who acted alone, you sure had a lot of help."

"For someone who lives and dies by principle, Captain, you suddenly have a lot of people under you who don't share your beliefs," he told her. "And I can assure you, the Maquis aren't going to be too ... happy about this situation."

*****

Torres found herself overriding the command codes and lowering Voyager's shields. Somehow, she'd been swayed from being the voice of reason, to becoming a collaborator. They needed her to get by the defenses. Working swiftly, Torres begged a prayer for forgiveness from Chakotay, who would be angry with their actions, and from Harry, who was responsible for raising the shields to block out their transport.

*****

"Is that a threat, Commander?" Janeway stepped closer to the field, her eyes challenging him. Chakotay returned her look calmly, without fear.

"Not at all," he said. "I'm not the one with any worries, being protected by this field and all. Unless you've decided to execute me?"

"Actually, I hadn't considered that, Commander," she said. "Are you worried I might?"

"No," he confessed simply, and she believed him. "It would go against your principles."

Slowly Janeway keyed in the code to lower the force field. Durst, still at the security desk, came forward will some alarm, but she waved him away impatiently. She stepped into the cell to stand before her rebel ally.

"Chakotay," Janeway said, with a note of pleading. He couldn't remember her calling her by his given name before. "You were in Starfleet a long time. Don't you remember? Did you discard everything when you left, even the Prime Directive?"

"Starfleet and the Federation proved to me that their high and mighty principles were only held as long as it was convenient," Chakotay told her. "They abandoned those colonies without any thought of the consequences to the people living there. How does that fit into your directives?"

She didn't answer him. Instead she posed a question of her own.

"How are we going to work together if I can't even trust you not to steal from my ship when it suits your needs?"

Chakotay shook his head.

"I voiced my opinion to you, Captain, you just weren't listening."

*****

"Unbelievable," whispered Seska, holding up a tricorder outside the security door. "The force field has just been lowered. That'll make this much easier."

"They're going to be alerted to our presence any time now," Torres told the group. "In fact, I'm a little surprised they haven't ... "

The alarm filled the hallway with a loud klaxon and a flashing red light.

"NOW!"

*****

It was hard to say who was more surprised by the sounding of the red alert, Janeway or Chakotay. Durst leapt to his feet just as the Maquis came bursting through the door. Torres shot him quickly, knowing that her own weapon was on stun. She couldn't vouch for the others. Seska, especially, seemed out for blood.

In a swift motion Chakotay grabbed Janeway and pulled her behind him, effectively blocking the line of fire with his body.

"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" he bellowed, while the group took up position in the room.

There was a moment of total silence in the room. Chakotay felt that the pounding of his heart must be loud enough for everyone to hear, especially the woman standing behind him. Janeway moved slightly, as though to step around him and he lashed out a strong arm to hold her back. Foolish woman! Was she trying to get herself killed?

Torres stepped forward then, her weapon lowered, her eyes sad. She held out her arms as though she hoped she could hold back the barrage of anger from her cohorts.

"Everyone take it easy," Torres said, her voice shaking a little.

"Get out of the way, Chakotay," Seska ordered, ignoring Torres.

"What are you doing, Seska?" Chakotay's voice was hard.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

"I'm not going to let you make the biggest mistake of your life," he responded, with a softer tone.

Behind him, he heard Janeway's comm badge chirp and Tuvok's voice come through.

"Hold your position, Lieutenant," was Janeway's terse order. At least she was staying put.

"We're not going to let her put you in a cage," Seska told him, gripping her weapon more tightly.

"And I'm not going to let you shoot Captain Janeway," Chakotay said. "So put down those weapons and we'll talk."

Janeway could see, even from her view obscured by Chakotay's body, that all the Maquis in the room had their weapons on her. Only Torres, in the centre, had lowered hers, and yet she was the only one who'd fired a shot. None of them could fire on Janeway without risking a hit on Chakotay, who remained solidly in front of her. His right arm was twisted around behind him, his hand locked in a strong grip on her arm which told her to stay where she was. But that didn't mean she couldn't use her voice.

"Seska, I have no intention of locking up Commander Chakotay," Janeway said with a loud, and what she hoped was convincing, tone.

"Then what is he doing in the brig?" asked another voice, from across the room. Janeway was ashamed that she couldn't put a name to the face.

"I stole from her ship. It was correct procedure to arrest me," Chakotay said quickly, before she had a chance to respond. "Put down your weapons," he coaxed. "This is no way to have a discussion with an ally."

Janeway caught glimpses of uncertainty on some of their faces. They looked to Seska but their allegiance to Chakotay was strong. For her part, Janeway was alarmed at the raw hatred on the Bajoran woman's face. Chakotay didn't see it. He was looking at Gerron, and Ayala, and Dalby, and Kurt.

"Bendera," he called, "put it down before someone gets hurt. No one is going to jail today."

Kurt's calm face assessed the scene and he slowly lowered his phaser, giving a jerk of his head to his companions. Gerron and Ayala almost immediately followed suit, the influence of Chakotay was so powerful on them. Dalby, reluctantly, grudgingly, lowered his weapon, leaving only Seska on the other side of the room.

Chakotay took a step forward towards her, now almost completely out of the cell. When he spoke his voice was quiet, soothing, his body language relaxed. He brought his arm out from its grip on the captain and held up his hands.

"Seska, I know you don't really want to hurt anyone. Let's take it easy. Captain Janeway is not the enemy. We've all been through a lot recently, we've all been hungry. I know you didn't mean to frighten us like this." As he talked her down, he moved slowly in her direction, exposing Janeway but feeling confident that the others would not raise their phasers again.

"Chakotay, I won't have you in this jail," Seska said, defiantly, but without the force of before.

"I'm not in jail, see?" he told her, now completely out of the cell. "The captain and I were just discussing what happened with the T'Asukhi. We may have ... philosophical differences, but we're not enemies."

Chakotay was only a few steps away from her now. He could see tears coming down her cheeks which surprised him; he had never seen Seska give into crying in the past. The strain of the past few weeks must have really taken their toll. With his right hand he reached out to touch her face, gently wiping away a tear. Seska choked on a sob. Chakotay's left hand reached out to take her phaser, powering it down deftly and tucking it into his belt. He opened his arms to pull Seska into a hug, placing one hand on her back and the other on her head, stroking her hair. Her knees gave out then and he supported her weight while they sunk to the floor.

Somewhere behind him Janeway and Torres breathed twin sighs of relief and the captain moved towards the door. Chakotay looked up quickly, checking that no one would stop her, but the others remained at ease, stepping aside to allow her to pass without a word.

Everyone's eyes were on Janeway; no one noticed the small smile of satisfaction on Seska's face.

*****

It was late at night. Fides' corridors were quiet as Chakotay made his way back to his quarters. Of course Kurt was still awake. Kurt was always awake.

Chakotay stood just inside the door looking at his friend with exasperation. Kurt was lying sideways off his bunk so that his torso fell over the edge. His arms were crossed on his chest, his blond curls hanging towards the floor, his face beet red.

"What the hell are you doing Bendera?" asked Chakotay. "Are you trying to get some more oxygen in your brain?"

Kurt opened his eyes slowly, not at all bothered by Chakotay's tone or his implied insult.

"You should try meditating this way Chakotay. It might give you a whole new perspective on things." Kurt curled his body up and twisted around so that it was his legs hanging down, not his head.

"I don't need to stand on my head to meditate," muttered Chakotay.

"Did you get everything sorted out with La Capitaine?" asked Kurt.

"Yes, and no thanks to you."

There was silence. Kurt sensed some frustration in his friend and was debating the wisdom of exposing raw nerves when they'd been through so much today. Kurt had already been dressed down by his leader with the others when they'd returned to Fides. He didn't need a personal attack as well. Sometimes bunking with Chakotay had some serious disadvantages.

"We came to an agreement of sorts. She tries not to starve the crew and I won't steal any of her tech," Chakotay finished, shortly.

"Well, then all's well that ends well," Kurt said, a bit sarcastically.

"What were you thinking? What were you thinking?" Chakotay advanced on the bunks, looking up at Kurt. "Were you really going to kill her? No, don't answer that, I don't think I want to know." He turned to face the far wall.

Kurt pushed himself forward so that he was nearly off the bunk, dangling there about to fall.

"Ch'kotay, hey," he said softly to get his attention again. Chakotay looked at the floor. "C'mon old man, we didn't go in there to kill the captain. We went in there to bring you home."

In his mind's eye Chakotay saw Voyager's brig, the Maquis spread out in the room, weapons drawn, Torres's unhappy face as she stood in the centre by Durst, unconscious on the floor.

"I sent Torres back here with a message from me that everyone should stay cool," he began but Kurt interrupted.

"Don't blame B'Elanna. She tried, she really tried. But you might as well have asked her to stop the rotation of planets around a sun." Kurt hopped off the bunk finally and placed a hand on Chakotay's shoulder, turning him around.

"You were her big supporter, I suppose," Chakotay shot at him. Kurt said nothing for a moment. Then he sat on the edge of the lower bunk.

"Are you going to tell me that you weren't wondering if Janeway was going to leave you in that brig? That was her mission, after all. Or have you been so busy playing Starfleet officer with her that you've forgotten about being Maquis?"

Chakotay lashed out quickly, startling them both, as he cuffed Kurt on the side of the head. Kurt stood, fists clenched, ready to fight but hampered by the size of the room. He wasn't really sure he wanted to take on Chakotay either. Certainly not while he was in this angry mood.

"That was a stupid thing to say, Bendera!" Chakotay growled, not backing down. "Does being Maquis mean I have to make stupid decisions? I have to act without thinking of the consequences? Do I have to jeopardize our means of getting home?" He gave a little snort. "How long do you suppose our alliance would last with a Voyager led by Tuvok? Janeway holds us together."

"And how long would it last without you?" shot back Kurt. "You think we're going to maintain some agreement when you're in jail? Get back into reality! You think we're going to follow a Starfleet officer to the Alpha Quadrant without you? Someone who puts rules and regulations in a higher place than the lives of her crew? You hold us together Chakotay. I don't give a damn about Janeway and her officers."

"Well give a damn!" snapped Chakotay. "Because they are the ones who are going to get us home."

He rubbed his face with his hands, letting out a loud sigh. He was so tired. Tired physically and tired emotionally. He felt like he was holding this alliance in place by sheer determination and it was exhausting him. Why couldn't they understand?

"Did I ever tell you about Carmichael?" he asked Kurt abruptly. Kurt gaped at him in amazement.

"No, you never told me about Carmichael. Who the hell is Carmichael?" Kurt climbed up on his bunk again and stretched out on his side, propping up his head on his hand. He watched Chakotay pace in the small space.

"Commander Carmichael was the first officer on the Galileo. Deep space duty. He was a spit and polish man, everything by the book, practically had us saluting any time he was in the room. I was tactical officer. It was fairly tame stuff since the ship's mandate was exploration, not confrontation. I had more of a task keeping the crew in line than dealing with any aliens."

Chakotay paused a moment as though lost in thought. Kurt said nothing, watching his friend and wondering why he was tripping down this particular memory lane.

"One time there was this fight between two of our guys, both ensigns. It was fairly nasty. I got to them first, split them up and demanded to know what was going on. Neither said a word. I knew that if Carmichael got involved, the instigator, a fairly quiet man named Paul Adams - hmm, it's funny how I remember his name - anyway, Carmichael would probably confine him in the brig, maybe even have him court martialed. That's the kind of tight ass he was.

I did a bit of digging around and found out that Adams had had his shore leave cancelled when he'd transferred over and we'd headed out pretty quickly after that. He had a baby girl he'd never seen, never held. That morning he'd received a subspace communication that she was gravely ill. Turned him to grief, to anger. He didn't mean to hurt anyone.

So I spoke to the other guy, hmmm, can't remember his name now, tried to talk him out of pressing charges. Got the two of them together. By the time Carmichael found out about it, there was no conflict anymore. And I was able to get Adams some leave."

"Are you going somewhere with this Chakotay?" asked Kurt, softly.

"Yes, yes I am. You see, I like to think that people act for reasons, and if you understand those reasons, the motivations, then you'll understand the people better. Locking people in the brig punishes a crime, but it doesn't get to the heart of the matter. It doesn't solve anything. And Janeway, well ..." Chakotay paused for a second. Kurt raised an eyebrow. "On the surface Janeway is just like Carmichael. A rule book in one hand and the almighty Federation principles right behind her. More 'Fleet than the Fleet itself. To see her you'd think that she couldn't bend without snapping in two. But scratch the surface a bit and you'll find she's more like me than she knows. Interested in what makes people behave the way they do, and just flexible enough to know when not to apply the regs. As a leader of people you have to be able to motivate them. You can't do that as well as Janeway does without allowing for a certain amount of leeway."

"You're just figuring this out now?" asked Kurt with a grin. "After how long working with her?"

"She could have nailed your hides to the brig wall for what you did this afternoon. She didn't. Doesn't that speak volumes about her?" Chakotay had stopped pacing and now faced Kurt.

"I don't know," Kurt admitted, shrugging. "I don't know the lady as well as you do. But I'd guess, and this is only a guess, that it wasn't that long ago and she would have nailed our asses to the wall, and yours too for that matter. Doesn't that speak volumes about you?"

Then Kurt winked at the surprised look on his friend's face.

Go to the fifth EOME story Change of Command