Enemy of My Enemy - Fides Violare

At least, that's what most of the crew believes. Oh, they don't say it to my face, but when the breakup of the Voyager/Fides alliance is the hottest topic of conversation on a ship this size, it's impossible for me not to get wind of it.

My crewmembers are saying that we were too different, Starfleet and Maquis, to be able to work together. They are saying that it had just been a matter of time before we would encounter an insurmountable difference in ideologies which would result in the severing of the alliance. They are relieved that no bloodshed resulted from the breakup.

I thought that our common goals and needs, our shared origins in the Alpha Quadrant, would overcome our differences. I thought that we could put our past discords and our former oppositions on both sides of a proverbial Federation fence behind us and work together.

I still believe that.

Maybe it was not a difference in political ideas and doctrines that caused our separation. Maybe it was not a contrast in convictions between the two crews that begat this confederation's demise. Perhaps the crux of the problem was higher up the command chain.

For Chakotay is proud, and I am stubborn.

The beginning of the end was a difference of opinion, which denigrated to a debate and disintegrated into an all-out verbal altercation with no one the victor. I have to admit, when we came upon that world I felt as deeply for its population as Chakotay did, those people being dominated as they were at the hands of the Kazon. I was infuriated to witness how a Kazon sect had appointed themselves the overloads of that young civilization, the inhabitants of a world rich in mineral wealth. By the means of their superior technology, the Kazon were forcing the population of the continent where the mineral was found from their lands and homes. I ached to be able to do something to stop this injustice.

But the prime directive says, "thou shalt not interfere."

And Starfleet has been my religion for as long as I can remember.

It had been Chakotay's too, until another race asserted its superiority on his world and he felt that the institution he had pledged to serve had forsaken him.

Chakotay's people had also been victim of the overloads of their lands who seemed to care not for what that world meant to its people. I guess I do understand why he couldn't pass this Delta quadrant world by, couldn't allow himself to let the subjugation of that world continue. To a people barely past warring with rocks and spears he gave the knowledge of advanced tactics and technology.

He gave them weapons.

I was born Starfleet. Baptized with its doctrines and then confirmed as a member vowing to uphold its beliefs. What Chakotay did, I could not condone.

We discussed it rationally enough, at the outset. Chakotay contended that the Kazon had already introduced technology to that world, so providing its people with a means of defending themselves would not be changing what they knew of technology. He was desperate to make me see his point of view, determined to help those poor people. In my heart of hearts, I agreed with him. But even my deepest desires could not make me violate the sanctity of the prime directive.

Chakotay could not be swayed and I could not turn a blind eye. I had dug my heels deep into Starfleet dogma and when our discussion turned to vehement opposition, I would not take a step toward compromise.

I was infuriated with him for forcing me to an ultimatum. Now that I have had many long days to ponder our conflagration, I wish I had yanked a boot out of the miasma of directives and philosophies that had set hard and fast around me and tiptoed toward an understanding, prodding Chakotay to middle ground with me.

We had argued a similar situation once before, that of giving away technology, although in that instance it had been to the benefit of our own crews. I forgave Chakotay when he turned his back to my wishes on that occasion. I should have realized that although this particular scenario did not impact on us directly, it surely hit close to home for Chakotay. I should have tried to be a bit more understanding of that at the time.

Instead, in my anger, I told him that Voyager was leaving, we were resuming our course for home, with or without him and his crew.

Now Voyager travels alone.

While my crew did not have confidence in the longevity of the Voyager/Fides alliance, I think they're beginning to notice the absence of the Maquis personnel and the resource they provided to our understaffed ship.

I, for one, will admit that I miss having Fides travelling alongside our bow.

I miss Chakotay too.

We were just beginning to take a delicate, tenuous hold on a friendship. It was refreshing, even relieving, for me to have someone I could consider a peer alongside me on this voyage.

It can be lonely at the top.

Tuvok, without a doubt, has always been a steadfast friend, and our relationship has never been diminished by our difference in ranks. I can talk to Tuvok, and he does his best to support and advise me when need be.

But, being a Vulcan means that Tuvok will never be someone with whom I can share laughter, or anguish, exhilaration, or grief.

Maybe I could have, someday, with Chakotay.

Not now.

But why not? Surely, despite all our differences and in view of our commonalties, there must be a way for us to find a middle ground, a cornerstone which we can build on. A foundation is not used to build a structure in one direction only, there will be angles and diverging points; the footing is only integral to holding the framework together.

Damn it, this can work.

There's an ancient Earth parable which tells of the wise man building his house upon the rocks. When the storms came his house stood sound. The foolish man built his house upon the sand, and the rains washed it away.

If Chakotay and I could get our boots out of the sand (and yes, maybe one of us has to pull her head out of it a bit too) and build upon the rock, this confederation would be solid.

This, I have faith in.

Janeway's eyes lost their unfocused look and her back straightened in her chair.

"Lieutenant Paris, I'm sending you a course change," she ordered as she keyed the coordinates into the console beside her.

She rose from her chair and turned to the ops station.

"Ensign, I want you to begin continuous long range scans."

"Aye Captain," Kim replied. "What are we looking for?"

"Fides."

*****

The liquid in the bowl was a dull yellow colour, and there were some grey-green lumps floating around in it. The smell was not completely offensive, and there was a comforting steam rising from its warmth.

Despite my better judgment, I dipped a spoon into the soup and then raised it to my lips. Haute cuisine it was not, hell, it wasn't even old-fashioned home cooking, but since Fides bid farewell to Voyager we've had to make do with what we could scrounge up. At least it was hot.

I inadvertently shuddered slightly when I took another sip. While two spoonfuls made me realize that I would be more than willing to pass on dinner and go to bed hungry, I wouldn't set a bad example for the crew. I was the one who had let Voyager leave us to our own devices, after all. Maybe this soup was my penance.

Bendera tries, and he doesn't complain, but he is no chef. His only qualification for the job was that he had prepared provisions at that mining camp back on his home colony. But those had been prepackaged meals which required no culinary expertise to make.

It's odd, in a way, how some familiar aspects of home continue to dominate even here in the Delta quadrant, 70,000 light years away.

It's unfortunate that injustice is one of them.

I didn't want to part ways with Voyager, but at the same time I could never have turned my back on those people who were being forced from their lands on that planet. It was a situation so similar to what had happened on my home planet, when the Federation handed it over to the Cardassians, and that was what had made me decide to leave Starfleet behind and join the Maquis in the first place. If my only fight was to be for my own lands, then I had become Maquis for vengeance, not for justice. I had to fight for all, or fight for none.

If only Janeway could have understood that. But then, in all fairness, I hadn't really provided her with a full understanding of my views on the matter. She'd been so set in her Starfleet way and I'd been so determined to do what I felt was necessary, that aside from a perfunctory discussion which turned into a verbal brawl, we hadn't taken the time to try and reach a compromise.

I let Voyager leave.

Well, we'll get by. We always have. The Maquis are resourceful. We've been in worse situations before.

I took a deep breath and then swallowed another mouthful of the so-called soup.

Well, maybe not situations any worse.

We'll get by.

*****

Kurt lay flat on his back, legs bent and feet hooked under the storage cabinet positioned beside the bunks. Hands braced behind his head, he curled his torso up so that his forehead met his knees and he calculated each exertion as his head met the deck once more.

Head to knees, head to deck. Twenty-nine. Head to knees, head to deck. Thirty. Knees ... deck. Thirty-one.

The small confines of his cabin weren't ideal for such an activity, but the circumstances did not allow him much choice.

Knees ... deck. Thirty-six.

He did miss Voyager. Being able to work out on the holodeck had been such a pleasure. There he could climb mountains, or kayak, or try to whip one of his comrades' butts in a game of hoverball. Now he was back to doing sit-ups on the cabin floor. However ...

Knees ... deck. Forty-four. Knees ... deck. Forty-five.

He'd follow Chakotay to hell and back. Already had a time or two, in fact. So if Chakotay believed that the Maquis were better off without Voyager, then who was he to argue the point? Or argue it much, anyway. He had taken the opportunity to enlighten his friend as to his thoughts on the matter. Chakotay was one stubborn son of a ...

Knees ... deck. Fifty-three. Knees ... deck. Fifty-four. Knees ... deck. Captain Janeway.

Knees ... what the hell?!

Kurt's head fell back down to the floor and he gazed up in astonishment at Voyager's captain looming over him. For her part, Janeway appeared to be a bit embarrassed and a bit surprised herself.

"My apologies, Mr. Bendera. It hadn't occurred to me that quarters on Fides would be shared. I thought I'd find Chakotay in here."

"He's not," Kurt offered as he scrambled to his feet. 'Obviously,' he thought. There wasn't exactly anywhere he could be hiding in the tiny cabin.

"I really need to talk to him," Janeway explained, "but I didn't know what kind of reception I'd receive if I tried hailing him. I thought maybe if I gave him no choice..." Her words trailed off as she watched Kurt carefully, waiting to see what he would do about the presence of the "enemy" on board his ship.

Kurt glanced over to the intercom beside the bunks. He could reach it from where he stood. Janeway didn't miss the direction of his gaze.

"Please, Mr. Bendera, I just want to have the opportunity to speak with him. I'm unarmed..." Janeway held up her arms and did a quick pirouette, "...and I didn't bring a boarding party."

Her eyes held his with an imploring gaze.

"You just want to talk to him?" Kurt asked hesitantly.

"Yes. Just talk. Please," she beseeched. " If we can work out our difference of opinion and resurrect our alliance it will be to the benefit of my crew and of yours. Please help me."

Kurt had never had a Starfleet captain plead for his assistance before and removed from that novelty was his contention that what this particular captain was asking was a reasonable request. Chakotay could be a stubborn ox, but could also see sense when it stood flush in front of him. Janeway deserved the opportunity to meet him face-to-face and Kurt admired her tenacity and outright courage at beaming aboard Fides unannounced to confront Chakotay.

"Okay," Kurt consented. "I won't blow the whistle on you as long as you promise not to leave this cabin until Chakotay gets back. He shouldn't be too long. He was just in the middle of dinner when I left the galley a while ago."

"Thank you, Mr. Bendera. I appreciate it."

"Just let me get into my clothes," Kurt said, as he grabbed his pants and shirt from the top bunk and hastily pulled them on atop his workout shorts. Janeway politely turned away from him.

"Captain..." Kurt paused as he opened the door to vacate the quarters. "Good luck."

She nodded at him and gave him a small smile in thanks.

As he headed along the corridor Kurt spied Chakotay coming toward their quarters. He tried to appear natural, as if there wasn't a certain Starfleet captain standing in wait for Chakotay in the cabin. Kurt didn't want to think about Chakotay's reaction to that; he thought it best if he didn't even consider what Chakotay would do to him when he found out Kurt had a part in Janeway's continued presence in the cabin.

"Hey, I thought you were working out?" Chakotay stopped as he got closer to Kurt.

"Uh, all finished!" Kurt said with artificial brightness and a false smile. "Gotta go!" He brushed past Chakotay and continued down the corridor.

He had just turned the corner to go engineering and see whom he could pester there when he heard a voice coming from back by his quarters.

"Chakotay! I'm glad I caught you."

Seska! Seska catching Chakotay meant that she'd try to worm her way into their quarters and hang out with him all evening. Kurt was pretty sure any intimacies between the two were a thing of the past, but that didn't stop Seska from seeking out Chakotay's company quite often.

He peeked back around the corner. He couldn't quite overhear their words, but Seska was gesturing at the door to the cabin, and Chakotay was nodding his head in assent.

Kurt took off at a run back toward them, bellowing as he went.

"Seska! There you are! I need you! You've got to come with me!"

Both the Bajoran woman and Chakotay looked at him in surprise. Kurt didn't pause in his momentum as he flew by them, grabbing Seska's arm and dragging her along with him.

"C'mon! You've got to see this. Bye Chakotay!"

Chakotay watched, puzzled, as the two of them set off down the corridor, with Seska demanding to know what Bendera wanted with her. Kurt was definitely in an odd mood tonight.

With a sigh, he pushed the door to his cabin open and entered the dark quarters, not bothering with the lights. At least Kurt could still find something to get excited about. Chakotay did not know how much longer such exuberance would be possible aboard Fides.

He had been a fool to let his anger get the better of him and result in the severing of his alliance with Janeway, he admitted, as he walked over to the bunks and tumbled into the lower berth. If only he had the opportunity to try to work it out with her. But Voyager was long gone and he wouldn't take his crew on what could be a wild goose chase looking for the larger ship, particularly when he didn't know what sort of reaction he'd get from its crew, even if he found her. Chances were he might never get the opportunity to try and make peace with Janeway.

"Chakotay?"

Then again, he'd been wrong about other things before, too.

He'd only been lying down for a few moments, so he couldn't have fallen asleep and been dreaming already. His eyes were becoming accustomed to the darkness and he could make out a vague form in the room with him. One that definitely did not belong there. He reached over and smacked the illumination switch.

Janeway was at the end of his bed, her arms resting on the footrail, her body hunched over so that her head poked through the space left between the upper and lower bunks.

He gaped at her, still astonished by her presence on his ship, in his cabin.

"You're a difficult man to get a word with," she admonished.

Chakotay found his tongue.

"What are you doing here? How the hell did you get here? We haven't picked Voyager up on any readings."

"Voyager's not around. I had Tom bring me in with a shuttle."

"But we would have picked up the shuttle if you were in transporter range."

"We were only in transporter range for a matter of seconds. I transported over while we were travelling at warp."

Chakotay gave her an incredulous look.

"You transported at warp?! Do you know how risky that is?!"

She dismissed his concern with a wave of her hand. "I'm a starship captain. It's a risky business."

"But it's exactly because you're the captain that you shouldn't be taking such risks." Chakotay was sitting up in his bunk now, getting quite agitated at her nonchalance in attempting such a feat. "You should have let someone else come."

Janeway raised one eyebrow.

"Who was I supposed to send? Tuvok? Tom? I'm sure they would have received a warm welcome," she intoned sarcastically. "This is all beside the point. I'm here now and I need to talk to you."

"Well, I don't suppose I can ask you to come back tomorrow." Chakotay decided the proper decorum in this situation would probably stipulate that he get out of bed, though neither Starfleet nor a rulebook of etiquette likely outlined the protocols for this particular circumstance. Nonetheless, he swung himself out of the bunk as Janeway came around to stand before him in the small space between the beds and the door.

"I would offer you a seat, but..." Chakotay gestured around the confines of the cabin, with didn't permit such luxury.

"I'm fine."

"So, why did you go to all this effort to track me down?" He was rather curious.

"Because I want you back," she said bluntly. "You and your crew." Her tone became passionate as she continued on about the subject. "We can make this alliance work, Commander! I think we need each other, your crew and mine."

"And I think you believe that, too," she finished, in a softer voice.

*****

Kurt arrived at the now deserted galley, Seska still in tow, and came to a halt as he sprinted through the doorway. Then he dropped Seska's arm and leaned over to place his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. If he had known that he was going to end up going for a run tonight, he wouldn't have bothered with the sit-ups.

Seska seemed a little less winded.

"So?" she began. "You've got me here. Now tell me why you dragged me here in such a hurry."

"Uh ... um ..." Kurt gasped.

He cast his gaze frantically around the room, trying to come up with a reason for his actions. Turning his back to her, he wandered over to the food storage area, his mind and his eyes seeking a plausible excuse.

"Well...?" Seska demanded.

'Patience was not one of that woman's strong suits,' Kurt thought.

He spied a vegetable new to Fides' food stores, which was oblong and looked rather like a coconut.

"Here!" He cried triumphantly, holding it up for Seska to see. He grinned at her in pleasure.

"What," she snapped, her eyes narrowing, "is that?"

"It's a goyva," Kurt said, sounding very sure that it was. "Apparently you can use it as a vegetable in your Bajoran hirashka."

"You dragged me here so that you could show me a goyva," Seska began, taking two slow steps toward him. "Bendera, hirashka doesn't even have any vegetables in it. That's not why you brought me here." Her voice was definitely taking on a menacing tone.

Kurt gulped, then set the goyva down on the counter.

"No," he said slowly. "No, you're right. It wasn't the goyva." He tried his best forlorn expression on her. "It's ... it's ... it's just that I'm lonely, Seska. I'm lonely, out here in the Delta Quadrant, and I need someone to talk to." He gazed at her beseechingly.

Seska's expression went from threatening fury to gentle pity in an instance.

"Kurt, I had no idea," she said sweetly. She came around the counter and took his arm gently. "You just come over here and sit down." She led him over to a table, giving his shoulder delicate pats. "That's right, sit there." She gave him a gentle smile.

"If you want to talk, THEN FIND SOMEBODY WHO CARES!"

She whirled around and stomped out of the room.

Kurt let his arms slide across the table until his forehead rested on its cool surface.

Something was going to be cooked.

And it wasn't the goyva.

*****

Janeway felt more relief than she could have anticipated at Chakotay's willingness to discuss their differences of opinion and to come up with a means of circumventing the problem should it arise again in the future. It seemed that they were now very attuned to one another in their mutual desire to reach a compromise and to find that common ground.

Chakotay reached out a hand and she shook it solemnly before letting go.

"So we agree to always search for that third option when we cannot come to terms over an issue." Janeway stated.

Chakotay nodded.

"Not every issue will always be black and white."

Suddenly, the ship pitched violently, throwing the deck up like a seesaw. Janeway instinctively reached out to grab onto something to maintain her balance. The nearest thing was Chakotay's waist.

His arms went out and slammed against the rail of the upper bunk. The force of the ship's roll threw his body against Janeway's but his arms prevented her from suffering a nasty blow to the back of her head. She clung to him to prevent herself from toppling over.

At the same time the door to the cabin burst open and thrust a body inside. As one, Chakotay and Janeway turned their eyes from the other's to gaze down at Seska who lay sprawled on the deck at their feet.

The Bajoran woman took in Janeway's presence in Chakotay's cabin, and the unintentional embrace the two shared.

"What the HELL is going on?!" Seska blustered.

"Good question," Chakotay muttered, as he leaned over to punch the intercom. "BRIDGE, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

The deck had leveled once again so Janeway took the opportunity to slip out from under Chakotay's arm. She ducked around the foot of the bunk.

"Chakotay!" yelled Ayala through the communications system. "We've got a Kazon ship on our tail, and they've opened fire!"

"Evasive maneuvers!" Chakotay ordered. "Try and outrun them! I'm on my way up!"

Seska, now on her feet, barred his way to the door.

"What is she doing here?" she demanded, pointing accusingly at Janeway.

Chakotay turned to where Janeway was barking quiet but rapid commands to an unseen person.

"I think she's getting us some help," he said.

Janeway stepped back over to Chakotay's side.

"Tom's contacting Voyager. She can be here in 15 minutes."

Seska stared daggers at Janeway.

"She can't stay here!" She growled. "We don't need her help!"

"She can, and we do!" Chakotay thundered. "Get to engineering," he told Seska, "they'll need you there." He turned to Janeway, already dismissing Seska. "Come with me to the bridge."

Janeway followed Chakotay at a run, with both of them banging against the bulkheads and bumping into each other as the ship shuddered and shook around them. They made it through the mayhem to Fides' cramped command centre.

Chakotay fell easily into the conn position, while Janeway hovered over his shoulder, seemingly oblivious to the startled gasps and stares of the bridge crew. Chakotay turned to Ayala who manned the nav and ops position beside him.

"Ayala, give the lady a seat, where are your manners?" He quipped through a grim smile.

The crewman vacated his station and took the auxiliary position at the back of the bridge. Janeway sat in the now empty seat and took a swift account of the readings.

While Fides dipped and rolled acrobatically around the larger Kazon cruiser with Chakotay at the helm, she couldn't seem to evade or outrun the larger ship's weapons. Fides took several more hits, one of which had just severely compromised the shields.

Janeway hit her commbadge.

"Tom, see if you can draw their fire for a moment so we can get a clear shot at their weapons systems!"

"Aye Captain!" Paris called back from the shuttlecraft which had returned to join in the melee.

Like an insect buzzing around one's head, Paris repeatedly took aim at the Kazon ship. He became annoying enough for the Kazon to swat back at.

"There's our chance!" Chakotay cried as the Kazon focused their weapons on the shuttle.

Janeway fired, and missed.

The Kazon didn't.

To her horror, Janeway watched Paris's shuttle explode, filling the viewscreen before her with a blinding light.

For a moment, she forgot the fight and turned to gaze helplessly at Chakotay.

His eyes conveyed his regret for her at the loss of her pilot. No matter his own thoughts about Paris, he could see the dismay that the loss created for Janeway.

Chakotay began to reach out his hand to her in comfort.

A blaze of light erupted from the Kazon ship and then it went dark, a black hulk listing in the cold void of space.

"Lieutenant Tuvok to Captain Janeway. We have disabled the Kazon ship and were able to beam Lieutenant Paris from the shuttle before it was destroyed."

Chakotay's hand dropped back to the console before him, but he offered Janeway a relieved smile.

Her face lit up as she returned the expression.

*****

After taking a quick tour of Fides to assess the damage sustained during the battle, Janeway was ready to return to Voyager.

They had finished their tour in the galley, and Janeway had also asked Chakotay for a list of provisions required by Fides. She would have the food stores sent over to the Maquis ship with the work crew she was assigning to assist with repairs.

She had already called for a beam out on her command, and was going over some final details with Chakotay when Kurt burst into the room. He had a small carrying case slung across his chest.

"Hey Ch'kotay, Captain," he said in his usual pleasant tone. "So I guess now that we're one big happy family again we get our holodeck privileges on Voyager back again, right?"

Janeway nodded.

"Yes, you do."

"Great! I drew morning bridge duty which means I'm off of repair detail, so I'm going to go grab some holodeck time now."

Chakotay shook his head.

"Before you go beaming over to Voyager, I think we have a small matter of failing to report the presence of unauthorized personnel on board the ship to discuss." His tone was flat and his eyes narrowed on his crewman.

Kurt stared at Chakotay.

"C'mon old man, if I hadn't let the Captain here stay on board we'd all probably be space junk right now, and the ol' Maj on that Kazon ship would be whooping it up in your seat on the bridge. Plus we wouldn't have our allies back. Right Captain?" He sidled up alongside Janeway.

She couldn't help but grin.

"He does have a point. Remember, not every issue will always be black and white ... old man."

Janeway quickly tapped her commbadge.

"Energize."

Kurt watched the transporter beam grab hold of her before he turned to Chakotay.

"Y'know Ch'kotay, I think she likes you."