Chakotay was sitting in his chair as Kathryn strode onto the bridge. Nodding to the crew, she stood before him, hands on her hips.

"You're sitting in the wrong chair," she said, a smile curling her lips.

He noticed she had placed only three pips on her turtle neck that morning, and looked well rested. Apparently she'd been able to sleep better than he had.

"I think you'll need this," she said, handing him a fourth pip.

Chakotay was doing his best to keep a straight face as the rest of the Bridge crew looked on with a mixture of confusion, and badly disguised non-interest. Tom and Harry exchanged glances, but at least they had a clue what was going on. Tom had told Harry about B'Elanna's suggestion to move some people around, but he had no idea the Captain and Chakotay had considered a move as well. Harry was fairly bursting with the news--what a topic of conversation this was going to be! If nothing else just the *thought* of the command structure being moved around would keep people entertained for days.

Janeway looked at Chakotay, "Do you want to make the announcement, or shall I?"

"You're still the Captain," he said in a tone that implied, 'but not for long!'

"Very well, put me on ship-wide," she ordered. "This is Captain Janeway to all members of the crew." She paused a moment, gathering her thoughts about how she wanted to phrase this.

"As you may have heard, there's been some speculation about the possibility of the crew participating in a short-term transfer program. Commander Chakotay and I have discussed this and feel it's an excellent opportunity for those of you who wish to learn more about other aspects of the ship's day-to-day operation. Those of you who are interested, please see your supervisors for placement assignments. Also, Commander Chakotay and I will also be taking part in this exercise. As of 08:30 hours, we will be exchanging roles. He will take over the duties of Captain and I will become the First Officer, but I will be joining the science team as well."

Down in the Science Lab Lt. Tyler and Ensign Myers exchanged fearful glances. Janeway *here?* She had proven herself a more than able scientist on many occasions. Not only would the Captain, whom they seldom saw, be competition, but she'd have a chance to see their work habits as well. No doubt there would be some sweeping reforms made. Tyler and Myers didn't exactly follow Federation procedure. Not that they did anything wrong, they just "cut out" some of what they termed, "unnecessary." Things like a dress code, allowing beverages at a work station, personal items in the lab et cetera. No one ever came down there, so it seemed silly to keep up with Starfleet conventions, especially since Myers was formerly Maquis. The strict adherence to the uniform dress code made them all uncomfortable and only served to emphasize their differences. Since working together, they had formed an excellent working relationship, and no one wanted to see that change.

Back on the bridge, Janeway continued. "The re-assignments will last one month for everyone. Since the Commander and I will also be joining you," she said with a smile, "we'll be exchanging titles as well. You will please refer to Chakotay as 'Captain' and I will take the title of 'Commander.' At the end of the month, we'll resume our original ranks. Good luck to all of you who choose a different path today. Janeway out."

Chakotay stood and said, "thank you Capt. . .Commander." In a quieter voice, only audible to her he said,

"That part about switching titles wasn't necessary."

"I know, but I thought, if we're going to do this, let's go all the way." She saw the twinkle in his eye and said,

"That's not what I mean, and you know it!"

"I could have you put in the Brig for insubordination," he teased.

"Oh so *that's* why you wanted my chair so bad! I knew there had to be *some* reason you were being so 'considerate.' If you have no further need of my services, Captain, I'll be getting down to the Science Lab."

Chakotay stepped aside and held his arms wide, motioning for her to take her leave.

"Commander, if I may have a word." Tuvok said, and both Chakotay and Kathryn looked at him, each unsure of which of them he meant.

"Commander Janeway," Tuvok clarified, with more than a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Kathryn sighed. She knew what was coming and didn't want to hear it, much less have everyone else listen it as well. "Captain? May we use your Ready Room?"

"My Ready Room is your Ready Room," Chakotay quipped. Janeway stared hard at him. He was going to push this thing to the limit, she could see that now.

Janeway motioned for Tuvok to walk ahead of her as she followed him into her former office off the bridge. "Before you say anything," she said, holding up her hand to halt his forthcoming rebuke, "I want you to know I didn't make this decision lightly. Chakotay's been stuck listening to crew complaints and doing mundane jobs for weeks now, I thought he would benefit from a change as well."

Tuvok stood rigidly at attention as the temporary Commander explained her position.

"Well," Janeway said, "Aren't you going to tell me how irresponsible I'm being, turning over command of this ship just to add some interest to our lives?"

"Apparently my thoughts on the matter will not have to be voiced, as you seem to know them all ready."

"Tuvok, I know this is a little unorthodox, but it really is a harmless exercise. You're free to request a reassignment as well, if you wish," she added, knowing even the thought of such an action was unthinkable to the Vulcan.

"It would be highly illogical of me to take you up on your offer as Vulcans do not experience 'boredom,' as you call it. Also, with many of the crew members attempting new positions, there will probably be an even greater need for security."

Kathryn tried to hide her smile from her over-zealous, if well-meaning Security Officer. She highly doubted the crew's first reaction to the opportunity to learn new tasks would also include breaching security. They'd been out here too long for that. If someone were going to get into any "sensitive areas" they would have done it by now.

"Tuvok," she continued, "if anyone from your department wishes a transfer, I hope you'll be understanding and supportive of their decision."

He didn't miss her veiled order. "As you wish Cap. . .Commander," he amended, finding it difficult to address her by the new title.

"Good," she said, her voice conveying finality. "Now if you'll excuse me, I believe I'm due in Science Lab One."

As she exited onto the upper section of the bridge, she caught herself starting to automatically order Chakotay to take over command of the vessel. Grinning at how much of her behavior was autonomic, she asked him,

"Permission to go to Science Lab One, Captain?"

"By all means, Commander. I expect a full report by the end of Alpha Shift," he said with a suppressed grin. He almost felt like he was in the middle of an elaborate holodeck simulation, playing out his fantasy of commanding *Voyager.* He felt a little silly, as if he were engaged in some role-playing game, but the people around him weren't in on the play. He supposed it would feel a little more natural as time went on, after all, he had Captained his own vessel not that long ago, and had taken over for Kathryn on numerous occasions. It would just be so much easier if he didn't feel that damn Vulcan's eyes burning a hole into his back!

*********

"You missed one," Tyler said, handing Myers a framed photo as he rushed passed her to collect his own personal items off his work station. Crewman Zeider was in Sickbay, so he hurried to clear his area as well, collecting memorabilia with one sweep of his huge arm and depositing the lot into a biohazard bag.

"God, I hope we got everything," Myers worried. "I'm in middle of a touchy experiment and if I'm thrown into the Brig, it could ruin months of work."

"We should be Okay," Tyler reassured her. "Even if you run all the way here it takes at least ten min. . . ." The word's died on his lips as the door slid open before them, and they practically collided with Janeway.

"Captain!" Alyssa Myers choked out, her eyes wide, trying to hide the fact that her arms were full of non-regulation articles.

"At ease, Ensign," the Captain said, trying to keep a grin from showing up on her face. The stiff posture Myers had adopted reminded her of the day she met Harry Kim. Had it really been four years already? She dropped that train of thought and spoke to Tyler.

"I can't remember the last time I was down here, you usually come to me."

Tyler swallowed and forced a smile, "You're so busy Captain, it just makes sense for me to come to you."

"Well that should change," Janeway said, "at least for a month. I can't imagine my bridge duties will take much with things as dull as they are, so I should have plenty of time to persue my scientific interests, which, I suppose, was the point of my 'transfer.'"

"So you'll be here a lot?" Myers asked with trepidation.

"That's what I'm hoping for."

Jarek Tyler and Alyssa exchanged pleading glances, which, fortunately the Captain missed as she perused the Science Lab. Jarek motioned to Alyssa to hand over her arm load to him, and nodded towards the door, indicating that he would dispose of their contraband. Without asking permission to leave, Tyler slipped out the door, then quickly returned, with empty arms. The Captain had been busy checking things out at an empty work station and hadn't even noticed his absence.

"Where?" Myers mouthed at him

"Behind the access panel near the Jefferies Tube," he whispered.

"Did you say something?" Kathryn asked, turning to look at her new colleagues.

"Uh, no, just that we're glad you'll be joining us for awhile," Myers tried to smile.

"Thank you Ensign, I think it will be an interesting month." Janeway glanced around the room again and added,

"You know what this lab needs?" Both scientists shook their heads.

"A few personal touches."

*********

Chakotay settled into the Big Chair. It felt good. He had been there numerous times, but it was nice to know he wouldn't have to give it back at the end of his shift. It wasn't long before the dreaded reports started coming in, although at least today's had a new twist with the personnel transfers.

Tuvok came around the railing to stand before Chakotay. "Captain, may I have a word with you?"

If Tuvok hadn't been a Vulcan, Chakotay would have sworn the Security Officer had used a derogatory tone as he addressed him. He wasn't sure he still hadn't. Chakotay motioned him to the Ready Room.

"Captain," Tuvok began, standing before Chakotay stiff as a board, "as you are aware, I have objected to this unorthodox chain of events."

"So you've said," Chakotay said rubbing the bridge of his nose as a headache started to form. Now he knew why Kathryn always seemed to be massaging her nose as well.

"And I feel it's my duty to inform you that I have noted this in my logs," he continued.

"I would have expected nothing less," Chakotay, answered, half-leaning, half-sitting on the desk, pushing the computer terminal aside. It was apparent Tuvok was waiting for a more logical explanation as to why both he and the Captain felt this was acceptable behavior, but Chakotay wasn't about to give him the satisfaction. They hadn't *technically* done anything wrong, so he didn't worry about the information showing up in the logs. In fact, he was counting on it. If this worked, maybe Starfleet would consider using it as a standard method of dealing with the doldrums of space.

"Was there something else Lieutenant?"

Tuvok handed him a PADD with his report and said, " Not at this time, Sir."

It took nearly all of Chakotay's will power not to smile at the struggle Tuvok was obviously having over this. He watched the stiff-shouldered man exit the room then took his place at Kathryn's desk. Sitting there he felt closer to her than when he sat in her Command chair. Maybe it was because he had been there before, but this was the first time he had taken a seat at her personal work space for longer than to access the computer terminal. Sitting there felt intensely intimate, as if he'd finally been invited to share a corner of her private world. She was the Captain here, and yet when the doors were closed, she was Kathryn as well. He found himself running the palms of his hands over the surface of the desk, almost as if it were Kathryn herself beneath his warm hands. Realizing his action, he quickly jerked his arms back, almost embarrassed where his mind had taken him, even though he was alone in the room. Maybe this wouldn't be the "shore leave" he had envisioned. Everywhere he looked were reminders of her. An unfinished log entry on the computer, notes and ideas on a PADD carelessly left on the corner of the desk. The couch where he could envision her sitting slightly on her right side, her left leg comfortably slung over her right, with her hand paused before her mouth, staring out at the passing stars. The room even smelled of her delicate perfume. Not an overwhelming scent, just the soft fragrance that was uniquely hers.

Chakotay shook his head and sighed. He better find some work-related distraction to get him back on track, or he would exit the room with nothing more than an entire shift of daydreams under his belt.

Down in Science Lab One, Janeway was busily setting up her work station as Lt. Tyler and Ensign Myers looked on, occasionally exchanging questioning glances. Feeling their eyes on her, Kathryn turned to observe their tense posture. Smiling, she raised her hand and advised them to be "at ease."

"Just continue as if I weren't even here," she told them, knowing it was going to take some time for the two of them to get used to her presence.

Jarek, trying to relax and accept her as college, stepped forward and inquired about the project she was about to embark on. An excited gleam entered Janeway's eyes as she outlined her research.

"As a Cadet I had done a thesis on massive compact halo objects, under the guidance of Tom's father, Admiral Paris. Our mutual interest in the phenomenon brought us quite close. In fact it was he who suggested Command School," Kathryn said, her eyes glazing over momentarily remembering the man who had been her mentor. Jarek and Alyssa exchanged glances again, not quite how to react to the impromptu personal confession of their Captain. Surprisingly, it had a calming effect on Alyssa, and she felt confident enough to point out the obvious to her commanding officer.

"But we haven't encountered any halo objects, compact or otherwise."

"I know, but remember that cluster of pulsars we passed the other day? It was the only thing that had happened all week."

"Yes, but there was nothing special about them, just standard pulsars, although it was a little unusual that they all had the same interval between pulses, however, that can be explained by their proximity to each other."

"Okay, but did you notice the energy signature? It's resonating at the same frequency as a compact halo object," Janeway proudly announced.

Tyler and Myers both approached her work station where she had the preliminary data entered.

"You're right!" Jarek cried. "I don't know how I missed this!"

"Or me either," Alyssa added.

Janeway smiled. "Don't worry about it. It's not like it was staring you in the face. I never would have found it myself if I hadn't taken the time to dig deeper, and I normally wouldn't have had the time to do that, but with the way things have been around here lately, I looked, just for something to do. I was really excited by this. It's one of the reasons I agreed to the switch in positions with Commander Chakotay, so I would have the time to see if a cluster of pulsars like this might be the beginnings of compact halo objects."

"Still, you would have thought one of us would have noticed," Alyssa persisted. "Zeider was here then too, and he must have missed it as well."

"You've all got your own projects to work on. I hardly expect you remember the readings you took on an average pulsar cluster to correlate to something as obscure as halo objects."

Alyssa Myers was a bit taken aback. She had always had the impression that Janeway was the ultimate perfectionist. The embodiment of Starfleet. The Maquis used to call her "By The Book Janeway," when they had first come on board, and Alyssa had no personal experience to base her own opinion on. The only contact she'd ever had with the woman was hearing her voice over the comm system or at briefings with the entire crew, where Janeway would invariably be all Starfleet. She was delighted to discover she wasn't as intractable as she had once thought. Feeling herself relax a little, she said,

"If you'll excuse me, Commander?" She tried the title on tentatively, "I should be getting back to work." Janeway dismissed her with a nod, anxious to get started herself.

********

Chakotay had made arrangements with the "Commander" to have dinner with her at 1800 hours, but checking his chronometer, he found that she was already fifteen minutes late. Promptness was a Janeway trademark, and he began to wonder if something had happened to her.

"Computer, locate Cap. . .Commander Janeway."

"Commander Janeway is in Science Lab One," the computer's lilting voice calmly answered. Chakotay smiled. Her first day there and she already was so involved in her research she had lost track of the time. He remembered the tenacity she had exhibited on New Earth when she was on the trail of what she thought was a lead. If he hadn't literally forced her to stop and eat, he had no doubt she would have sat before that damned computer terminal until she passed out.

"Captain Chakotay to Commander Janeway," he announced, tapping his comm badge. Gods he liked the sound of hearing the title of "Captain" again!

"Janeway here," she answered, sounding slightly irritated at having been disturbed.

"Commander, don't you have an appointment in the Mess Hall that you're late for?"

"Oh God, what time is it?" She asked, accessing the time on her terminal. She *knew* she should have set an alarm.

"Chakotay, I'm so sorry! I was in the middle of a magnetron scan and I guess I lost track of the time and. . . ."

"There's no excuse Janeway!" he teased, the smile even coming into his voice. "And by the way, it's 'Captain Chakotay' to you!"

"Yessir!" She snapped back so crisply, he could practically see her standing at attention.

"I won't put you on report *this* time Commander, if you get up here within the next five minutes."

"On my way, Janeway out." Chakotay laughed, envisioning her running through the corridors as if her life depended on it. Not four minutes later, Kathryn burst through the doors of the mess hall, and slowed herself to a walk, trying to shake off the curious stares of her crew.

"How was that?" She panted. Chakotay checked his chronometer and nodded with approval.

"Not bad. Four minutes and thirty seconds. And I thought I was going to have to bust you down to Ensign."

"Not in this lifetime!" She said, her breathing returning to normal. She smiled at the suppressed grin on his face. Just seeing him struggle, trying to keep those endearing dimples from his face, was enough to make her smile as well. He always made her feel so good. He even made her forget that she had just embarrassed herself by running through her ship as if she were being chased by all the demons of hell. But it had felt good, she realized. And she felt good too. Maybe for the first time in weeks.

"A little jogging seems to be good for you," Chakotay observed. "I haven't seen you look this relaxed in ages."

"I feel relaxed," she said, reclining slightly on the chair across from him. "If I would have thought a day playing in a science lab would do this for me I would have handed over the ship to you weeks--months ago!"

"You would not," he said. "I would still have had to drag you kicking and screaming away from that chair on the Bridge."

"You're right. I guess you know me a little too well," she said, placing her hand over his and giving him a look that was almost his undoing. If reading a few extra reports and deciding on some course changes had wrought this kind of a change in her, to allow her to unself-consciously touch him like that in public, he hoped they never left these doldrums!

Suddenly realizing she still had her hand over his, she pulled back, but not as if she had been burned, as sometimes had been the case when she discovered her touch had lingered on his longer than what would be considered proper.

"Neelix have anything left that could be classed as edible?" She asked, straitening up in her chair.

"He's saved us a couple of plates," he answered, still a little surprised in the change in her. Now he wished he'd suggested dinning in one of their quarters, even the near empty Mess Hall was beginning to feel crowded. At least he could thank the Gods that Paris and his gossip mill were absent this evening. Even so, word of Kathryn's race through the lower decks had probably already spread throughout the entire ship.

Kathryn was about to get up and see what Neelix had saved, when the Talaxian tottered over with their dinner.

"There you are 'Commander.'" Neelix said, giving her a small elbowing in the ribs as if the subject of her title switch was their private joke. He smiled broadly and placed the steaming plates before the officers. At first Janeway was unsure if it were steaming from the heat coming off the food, or the odor it was producing.

"What is it?" Chakotay asked, waving a hand before his face to dispel some of the steam that threatened to overtake his olfactory senses.

"Wahlvek souffl�," Neelix replied, puffing up with pride, more than his souffl� had. "Of course it wouldn't be quite so. . .pungent if it had been served when it had been ready," he added by way of chastising Janeway.

"I'm really sorry," she apologized again. "For more reasons than one," she said, slightly under her breath so as not to hurt Neelix's feelings any further than she already had. But Chakotay heard her comment and struggled to keep from laughing. Having to explain what was so humorous to the little cook, would prove to be too large of a diplomatic challenge.

"Well, I'll leave you two to your dinners. Excuse me," he said, with a little backward shuffle.

"Smooth Chakotay,"

"What? Did I say anything?"

"No, but I almost lost it, watching you try not to lose it!" She chided. Picking up her fork she stuck it into her souffl�, which immediately deflated, releasing even more unpleasant odor. "And I was really hungry, too."

"Maybe it's not as bad as it looks."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Just try it," he urged.

"You first."

Chakotay, not one to back away from a challenge, especially from her, lifted his fork and took a large mouthful. "Hey! This isn't bad!" He exclaimed. "Try it!"

Kathryn tried a tentative bite, but soon found herself spitting it out in a most undignified manner. Chakotay was laughing so hard he almost forgot and took another bite himself. Janeway lunged for her water to rinse the foul taste that remained in her mouth. Gasping, she turned on him.

"I only want to know one thing," she said, having to take another drink from her glass.

"What's that?"

"How on Earth did you manage to swallow that. . .*stuff* with a straight face?"

"Years of practice. How do you think I managed to live through torture at the hands of the Cardassians? This was what they'd serve on Sunday's for a special treat." He had meant it as a joke, but he could tell he had touched a nerve. Suddenly he remembered. She too had been in a Cardassian prison. And for quite some time. It really was amazing she had survived, even knowing her determination as he did now, he was still impressed.

"Kathryn, I'm sorry, I didn't mean any. . . . "

"It's okay, Chakotay. Really. It was a long time ago. Another life," She tried to reassure him, but her eyes still had a haunted look. The casual, carefree mood had suddenly evaporated like the steam from their Wahlvek Souffl�.

"Let's get out of here," he suggested, taking her by the hand and almost dragging her to her feet.

"Where are we going?"

"Let's go down to the Science Lab. I want you to show me your experiment."

"Do you really want to see my experiment, or are you just being polite?" She asked, suspicious of his attitude change.

"I'm just being polite," he said with a smile. "But I'm sure there'll be *something* in the lab that will interest me."

She gave him her sternest don't-get-cute-with-me look as he propelled her towards the door. "What about Neelix's dinner? He'll know for sure we didn't eat it."

Chakotay quickly walked back to the table and gathered their plates. "Just taking it with us!" He called to the Talaxian who was watching him with a curious stare.

Once again he and Janeway were headed out the door. She started to head towards the turbo-lift, but Chakotay was going in the opposite direction.

"Where are you going? The turbo-lift is. . . ."

"I know, but I have to drop this off in the Hydroponics Bay first."

"The Hydro Bay? Why?"

Chakotay grinned. "Didn't *you* think that stuff tasted like fertilizer?

On to part 3