by Dakota

Voyager was cruising along at a blazing warp three after an encounter with a species that never did mention their names or the reasons for their hostility. They had simply appeared, fired on Voyager, and then disappeared when it was clear that Voyager could destroy them. Unfortunately their efforts had followed similar actions by three other groups in the region. Their combined efforts had done enough damage to limit Voyager’s speed for the last three weeks. Weapons were on-line but shields were still not 100%. Chakotay looked around the bridge. They had pulled everyone they could to engineering to assist in the repairs so the bridge was running with a minimum number of crew. This should have been Harry’s watch but he was more valuable in engineering right now, so Chakotay was standing a third watch. He was trying to remember the last time the crew had been worked this long and hard without a break. The ensign at Ops interrupted Chakotay’s reverie.

“Sir, I’m picking up an M-class planet about five light years from our position. There are indications of a fairly advanced civilization there but it’s unclear whether it has attained warp capabilities.”

“Why unclear?”

“Well, there are traces of warp signatures near the system, but it’s not clear whether they enter the system. There is heavy solar activity right now preventing more precise scans.”

Chakotay tried to decide whether it was worth investigating. If it was pre-warp, they couldn’t land and probably shouldn’t even approach the system. If the civilization had attained warp travel and they were another of the group of species that had been attacking, Voyager could sustain even more damage.

“Ensign, have any of the warp signatures from our attackers lead in that direction?”

“No, sir. That’s part of the problem. The signatures are primarily located on the far side of the star system.”

Well, if they were warp capable, they were avoiding travel in this direction.  He looked around the bridge at the faces of the crew.  If there was any possibility that they could find a safe place to work on the ship and provide a break for the crew, they should investigate.  He should probably consult with Kathryn before changing course, but she was overworked right now and might not want to deal with any new species, friendly or otherwise.  He would just have to choose his words carefully when he gave her his report.

“Ensign, set course for the planet.  Maintain present speed.  Are there any planets big enough to block us from scans when we drop out of warp?”

“No, sir.  All the planets are either too small or not in a position to block us from scans. There are six comets in roughly the same orbit approaching the outer planets’ orbits. Voyager could join the group. If we set our forward shields to refract part of the visible spectrum, Voyager should look just like another comet from the planet.”

“Good suggestion. Set our course to bring us in on that trajectory and make the adjustments to our shields when we approach the comets.”

“Aye, sir.”

Chakotay turned as the door from the turbolift opened behind him. Harry entered the bridge with a slight smile on his face. He looked like he had something to say, but couldn’t quite find the words.

“What is it, Harry? I thought you were working in engineering this shift.”

“I was, sir. B'Elanna ordered me out. She said I wasn’t allowed back in engineering until at least Gamma shift tomorrow. She outranks me, sir, and it is her department.”

“What did the Captain say about that?”

“She didn’t say much. B'Elanna had just ordered her out of engineering, too. In fact, B'Elanna was getting rid of everyone who had been on duty more than twelve hours. She said repairs were far enough along not to require people to work when they were practically asleep on their feet. She also said we’d all be more use tomorrow after we had some sleep.”

“You just came on duty, Harry. Why were you ordered out?”

“Well, sir. I wasn’t exactly ordered out of engineering. I was ordered to the bridge and told to send you off duty.”

“Torres ordered you to relieve me on the bridge?”

“Yes, sir. She was very specific about relieving you.”

“Did the captain say anything about this?” Harry flushed. He was clearly nervous about delivering these messages.

“Yes, sir.  She told me to tell you she’d be in the mess hall.”

“OK, Ensign, you have the bridge. Who am I to argue with a mere lieutenant?  We’re on course for an M class planet about five light years off our previous course.” Chakotay left the bridge and headed for the mess hall. No time like the present to tell the captain that all of her officers were making decisions for her this evening.

Chakotay entered a surprisingly full mess hall. B'Elanna must have really cleaned them out of engineering tonight. He sighed. It was probably a good thing. Kathryn was already seated at their usual table and had trays and drinks for both of them on the table in front of her. She was clearly waiting for him to join her.

“You’re getting to be as bad as me, Chakotay, when it comes to over-working.”  Kathryn grinned despite her fatigue as Chakotay sat down.

“I must have been working with you too long, Kathryn.” Chakotay smiled back. This was as relaxed as he had been for three days. He looked at his food trying to decide whether he was even hungry. He knew he hadn’t eaten for more than twelve hours and that he should eat.

“What’s wrong? Is it moving too much?”

“No, my eyes won’t even focus enough to notice whether it’s moving. I’m just trying to decide whether I’m even hungry. I hadn’t realized how tired I was until I sat down just now.”

“I know what you mean, Chakotay, but eating is probably a good idea. Anything interesting happen on the bridge I should know about?” Leave it to Kathryn to ask a question like that before they had a chance to taste their food much less enjoy their meal.

“Not really. We located an class M planet with a fairly advanced civilization, possibly even with warp capability.”

“And. . . ?”

“I ordered a course change to check it out. If there is any possibility of giving this crew some leave, we should investigate. The warp signatures we could pick up were only in the opposite direction from all the aliens who’ve been bothering us the last month or two. If the people on the planet are warp capable, I really don’t think they’re one of the hostile groups.”

“Chakotay, if I weren’t so tired I might be angry you didn’t at least check with me before ordering a course change.  Maybe I’ll be angry tomorrow, but tonight I’m too tired. You really think it’s safe?”

“I wouldn’t have ordered the change if I didn’t, Kathryn.” Chakotay refused to bring rank into the discussion. He knew Kathryn was tired and she didn’t seem too upset that she hadn’t been consulted. He knew she trusted his judgment but this was the first test of that trust in a long time. Kathryn sighed.

“Well, you’ve consulted me now and I agree. Just don’t decide something without consulting me when I’m on the bridge. OK, Chakotay?”

“You have my word, Kathryn. No decisions when you’re on the bridge unless I ask you first.” They both smiled. The conversation turned to recent crew gossip. They finished their meal and headed for their quarters to get some sleep. Voyager continued her journey to the class M planet while they slept.

Six days later, Kathryn and Chakotay were walking along a beach chatting. They found a large rock and waited for the sun to set. The class M planet was not home to a civilization. Rather, it was a base for a number of races that used it to restock supplies and provide shore leave for crews far from home. There was a message buoy in orbit asking visitors to take only what they needed and to avoid damaging the ecosystem. Kathryn decided to land the ship. They selected an island that did not seem to have had any visitors for quite some time. Voyager’s island was in an area that reminded most of the crew of the Hawaiian Islands on Earth. Warm, sunny days followed by slightly cooler nights accompanied by gentle breezes provided a nearly perfect climate.  It had rained during the night and on into the next morning once, but the rain had been gentle and pounded rhythmically on Voyager’s hull.

This beach had become a favorite site for Kathryn and Chakotay during the last few days. They had been busy working on repairs until earlier today when B'Elanna finally decided that Voyager was better than when she came out of the construction docks.

Three days earlier, another ship had entered orbit, but not landed. The crew of the ship had struck up a friendship with Voyager’s crew and soon members of both crews were taking leave together on Voyager’s island. Because Kathryn was still spending most of her time in engineering with B'Elanna, Chakotay had been the one talking with the captain of the other ship. Now he was filling Kathryn in on some of those conversations while they waited to watch the sun set.

“Kathryn, it’s been so interesting talking to them. They are very much like us in many ways but there are a lot of really unusual differences. They don’t look at the world the same way we do. Their philosophy is like ours but with an unexpected twist.”

“We’re alike but different. Makes perfect sense to me. Care to explain it anyway?”

“Well, let’s see if I can think of an example. I know. The meanings they assign colors. They have certain meanings associated with various colors just like we do.  That doesn’t mean that everything of that color takes on those meaning any more than we consider everything black is bad.  For instance, orange is their ‘bad’ color.  It is the color of changing leaves but when they apply it to people it means they are changing away from the good things in life. So, if they provide clothing for criminals or prisoners, it is usually orange.”

“Really? That is different. What other meanings do they assign to colors?”

Chakotay was pleased with Kathryn’s reaction. She had been working too hard, as usual and she seemed to be relaxing for the first time in weeks.

“Let’s see if I can remember the ones they told me about. Red is a happy color or the color of beautiful things.  It is almost the same as the word for beautiful in one of their ancient languages. This is a very old association and had something to do with the dye to make red being very rare and expensive. Anything red was very highly valued. Then there’s green. Green is the color of change.”

“Change?”  Kathryn asked her question and shifted to get more comfortable which meant she moved closer to use him as a backrest.

“Yes.  All the plants on their world die every winter so green is the color of things that constantly die and are reborn. They extend that to things like the hours a business is open and laws. In books with old law, they highlight the old laws in green and type the new laws below the old. If a business is changing its hours, the old hours are in green and the new are in a different color.”

“What color are the new hours?”

“Bright purple.” Chakotay intentionally made his answer brief. It was a game they sometimes played, making the other ask questions to get the whole story. Kathryn usually was the one withholding details so Chakotay was enjoying this rare opportunity to tease her.

“OK, I’ll ask. Why?”

“This is really simple. All their children are born with very bright purple eyes. Most of them fade to a darker shade in a few weeks. So bright purple is the color of the very new or very young.” Kathryn shivered as the temperature dropped as the sun dropped lower in the sky. Chakotay shifted slightly and put his arm around her to provide extra warmth. Kathryn accepted the gesture and leaned her head back against his arm. Her glance left the slowly setting sun and returned to Voyager about a kilometer up the beach. There was a flurry of activity as people hurried to complete their assigned tasks before darkness fell.

“Chakotay, do you really think it was a good idea to let Tom have a Christmas party here?”

“Having a party was probably a good idea. I’m not sure we needed to make it a Christmas party. I know it’s that time of year on Earth right now but a lot of our crew never celebrated Christmas in the Alpha Quadrant and we’ve been gone a lot of years and moved on with our lives here on Voyager. Very few of us actually miss the lives we had back there. I think most of us feel nostalgic about the Alpha Quadrant and celebrating something like Christmas allows us express that nostalgia. So, yes, I think it was a good idea. We need the reminder every once in a while of why we keep moving on instead of finding a nice planet and settling down to create new lives.”

“Good. I wasn’t sure about the Christmas part but you didn’t seem to oppose it so I said yes without really knowing why. Are any of Tom’s plans remotely similar to any Christmas I might remember?”

“I certainly hope so. He promised me that he wouldn’t do anything too outrageous.  His exact words were ‘I won't plan anything that could land me in the brig’. I wish I had asked our approval about his choice of tree for the festivities. This one currently looks like Carmen Miranda’s hat.” Kathryn chuckled at the image and looked toward the site for tomorrow night’s party.

There was a big pile of dead wood ready to light surrounded by circles of logs to provide seating.  Off to one side was a cleared area where tables would be set up with food and drinks.  On the other side, nearer the ocean, was Voyager’s “Christmas Tree.”  Tom had selected a plant that resembled the top of a giant pineapple.  It towered about eight feet above the sand.  Plans called for everyone to hang their gifts for others on a branch.  The gifts would be the ornaments for the tree.  Tom already had a group putting multi-colored fairy lights on each leaf and testing them.  Others were setting out torches along the beach in both directions for about a hundred meters.  Anyone seeking privacy was not going to get away unnoticed if they slipped away along the beach.

A few people were wandering out from the ship to hang their packages on the tree tonight. Somewhere Tom had found a tradition that required that true gifts had to be made by the giver. He had adapted this to permit the giver to personalize a replicated gift. He had added a requirement that the gift not break the tree, so most of the gifts were fairly small or lightweight.  Kathryn and Chakotay discussed the decorations and what they knew of Tom’s plans. Their conversation faded to silence as the sun touched the water and the colors spread across the sky.  Kathryn leaned closer to Chakotay. She had already decided on his gift but she now had a better idea how to wrap it. Together they watched the sun disappear before they reluctantly returned to Voyager.

The party was in full swing when Kathryn saw Chakotay join the party. He had taken the first two hours on the bridge. Tuvok had endured his two hours at the party with grace. However, he was prompt in his arrival on the bridge to relieve Chakotay. Chakotay had taken time to change out of his uniform before heading for the bonfire.  His first sight of Kathryn was when she walked around a group near the fire carrying a foil wrapped bundle. Her hair was pulled back from her face but fell loosely down her back over the green dress she was wearing. She motioned for him to join her on a log. When he reached her, she handed over the hot packet and fished flatware from her pocket and handed that to him as well.

“Here, you’d better eat.  As soon as this group notices you’re here, Tom will want to start passing out the gifts and you’ll never get a chance to eat.”

“Thanks, I think.  Why won’t I get to eat if they start passing out gifts?”

“Didn’t Tom tell you?  He’s decided that the closest we can come to “Father Christmas” is the “dad” of Voyager – and that would be you, Commander.  So you are the one to hand out all the gifts.”  Kathryn smiled as Chakotay winced.  “It’s your own fault for being so willing to listen to everyone’s problems.  Besides, I told Tom you would enjoy getting to speak to every member of the crew this evening.  Now hurry up and eat, ‘dad,’ before your children, especially that tall blond one with the receding hairline, become too impatient.”

Sitting down next to Kathryn, Chakotay followed her instructions and opened his packet to find an assortment of local vegetables and herbs.  It looked very appetizing and smelled even better.  Just before taking his first bite he looked up at Kathryn.

“Did you make this or did someone else and you just retrieved it from the fire when I got here?”  Kathryn took his jibe without comment and Chakotay took her response with a flinch as her elbow connected with a rib.  They both grinned.  Without further comment, Chakotay began eating his dinner.

Kathryn had not been wrong. Chakotay had eaten about half his meal when Tom came over and said it was time to start handing out the presents. While Tom and Chakotay were discussing the procedure, Kathryn went to the food table and picked up two bottles of fruit juice. When she returned she was dismayed to learn that the men had decided that she would be the perfect helper to take the gifts off the tree and hand them to “Father Christmas” for delivery to the recipient.  Before she could protest, Tom had assembled the crew and was explaining the procedure.

The next hour was spent in hectic confusion as gifts were removed from the tree and handed around. The process was slow at first but picked up after the helper and “Father Christmas” settled into a pattern. Kathryn tried to find the gifts for the people standing closest to Chakotay so it wouldn’t take so long for them to come forward to pick up their gift. When she found the gift with her name on it from Chakotay, she put it in her pocket. She also pocketed her gift to Chakotay.

Everyone was so busy examining their own gifts and finding out who got what from whom that they didn’t notice that their captain and first officer had not received any gifts from the tree. Chakotay wondered what Kathryn had done with the gift he had put on the tree for her. When they finished, Chakotay and Kathryn quickly left the center of the circle and returned to the bonfire. They found an empty log away from the crowd and sat down.

“What did you do with your present?”

“Oh, it’s here in my pocket. I wanted to give you yours first.” Chakotay was surprised at her response. Kathryn took two packages out of her pocket. She handed the green one to Chakotay and returned the other to her pocket. He looked at his package strangely. The purple ribbon was a very unusual choice to put on a green package.  Kathryn just smiled and waited.

Chakotay unwrapped a box and removed the lid.  Inside was a hardbound copy of a book. The lower right corner had Kathryn’s name engraved in golden letters. The title of the book was “Star Fleet Rules and Regulations.” Several pages were tabbed. Chakotay opened the page to the first tab. It was titled “Command Structure.” The second tab opened to a page where a section began entitled “Interactions Among Officers.” The third tab opened to a page headed “Personal Relationships.” The entire page and those that immediately followed were highlighted in green. The final tab was attached to a piece of paper. On the paper were two entries. “Define Parameters” in green lettering appeared above the phrase “What Parameters?” in purple.

Kathryn watched Chakotay’s face as he turned the pages of the book.  His expression changed from confusion to understanding to uncertainty.  When he looked at her, Kathryn nodded her head in confirmation and smiled. Chakotay’s answering smile removed any doubts that he might no longer want what she was offering.

“What about your present, Kathryn?”

“Oh, I’ll have everything I want for Christmas once I’ve given you the rest of your present.”

“And just when do I get the rest?”  Chakotay and Kathryn had moved closer together as they spoke quietly, both aware of the presence of the crew only a few feet away.

“After you’ve walked me home.”

“I’m getting this present in the corridor?”

“No.  I’m going to ask you in for some tea and you’re going to accept, just like we always do after one of Tom’s parties.  Then I’m going to ask you to tell me the Legend of the Angry Warrior.  I’ll give you the rest of your present and then we can start working on the ending to that Legend.”

“Oh, I have a feeling I’m going to like my present, Kathryn, and I’ve been wanting to finish that legend for a very long time.”  Mindful of the crew around them, Voyager’s command team picked up their presents and turned towards their ship, their home and their future together.