The sudden appearance of the Alpha Flyer on Dorvan Five caught the village completely by surprise. However, astonishment was quickly followed by rejoicing when the news spread about who was on board. Very quickly, a welcome-home party was organized for Chakotay and his escort. And when the villagers learned that the woman accompanying him was none other than the legendary captain of Voyager herself, their enthusiasm knew no bounds. The celebrations continued long into the night as everyone had to hear all the details of their adventure.

Still weak and exhausted from the trip, Chakotay retired early to his house, accompanied by the love of his life on one side and his doting sister on the other.

Very quickly, the two women had sized each other up and wordlessly come to an understanding. For both of them, the wellbeing of this man was the most important thing in the universe and both would do whatever it took to maintain it. If that included single-handedly fighting off Cardassians or any other threat, then so be it.

Watching the two carefully assisting Chakotay, Tom murmured to his wife that by the looks of things, Miral wasn’t the only one who would soon be spoiled rotten.

Although she chuckled softly, B’Elanna reminded him that after what Chakotay had been through, he deserved a little spoiling.

=^= =^= =^= =^= =^= =^=

In the days and weeks that followed, as village life once more returned to normal, Chakotay slowly recovered from his injuries.

True to her word, Kathryn was careful to follow Doctor Bashir’s instructions precisely, monitoring Chakotay constantly to the point where he complained that he couldn’t even use the bathroom without her hovering over him.

His complaints fell on deaf ears.

Much to the amusement of the entire village, Kathryn used every trick in her extensive repertoire to ensure he did exactly as she bade him, to the point where his sister was heard to remark that her father must be turning over in his grave. The contrary had finally been tamed.

Thanks to the persistence of Lieutenant Mordeen, who by now had taken up permanent residence in the village, Starfleet stationed two runabouts at the spaceport with a crew of three, whose job it was to patrol the region of space around Dorvan and several neighbouring planets. There would be no more kidnappings by Cardassian raiders or anyone else if Starfleet could possibly help it.

=^= =^= =^= =^= =^= =^=

Some months passed before Kathryn and her cohorts eventually learned what the fallout had been at Starfleet Command. Only when newly-retired Admiral Paris came for a long visit with his son and family did they finally hear the whole story.

As Kathryn had feared, Command had eventually discovered what she’d done, as well as who had helped her. Repercussions had promised to be swift and wide-spread. In particular, Admiral K’Orandt had been livid that she had been able to remove the holo-emitter so easily from Jupiter Station and smuggle it to Deep Space Nine. He, especially, had pushed for full court-martials for everyone involved.

Fortunately, calmer heads had prevailed.

Although angry, Admiral Hayes had been quick to realize that since no real harm had been done – in fact, the holo-emitter had been returned before it was officially discovered to be missing – it might behoove Starfleet to go easy on the perpetrators. As he explained to his fellow admirals, if Command dealt out harsh punishment, inevitably the story would be leaked to the media, and then there would be hell to pay.

“I might remind you, gentlemen,” he added, “that our request for additional funding goes before the Federation Council in the next few weeks. I have no wish at all to face a hostile citizenry who, if mobilized, will very likely sway the Council to not only refuse our request but likely cut our budget as well. In short, right now, we need all the good publicity we can get. Court-martials will not serve that end at all.”

“But…but…!” blustered K’Orandt, unwilling to give in so easily, “there has to be some punishment! We can’t just let them off scot-free!”

Silence fell around the table. The admiral had a point. Regulations had been broken, classified material had been removed without authorization, someone had to take the fall.

After a moment, Admiral Paris had spoken up. “If you really find it necessary to punish someone, then punish me. I was the most senior officer involved; therefore you could say I’m the one responsible for the actions of everyone else.”

Several soft gasps echoed from those who hadn’t known about Paris’ involvement.

“I’m not sure what that would accomplish,” replied Hayes. “And quite frankly, it could open a can of worms that I really don’t want to get into. Such action could easily reflect back on Command as a whole, leading the general public to wonder exactly what’s going on here. I think court-martialing you would be an over-reaction.” He held up a hand as K’Orandt opened his mouth to speak. “However, I have to agree with Admiral K’Orandt that some action needs to be taken.”

“Well,” answered Paris, “I did tell Katie Janeway that I was about ready to retire. Would that satisfy you?”

Hayes scowled but nodded. “I don’t like to lose your knowledge and experience, Owen, but perhaps it would be the best way out of what’s becoming an increasingly messy situation.”

**********

“And so,” concluded Owen Paris to his rapt audience, “that’s exactly what I did. Officially, I’ve simply decided to take early retirement. Unofficially but generally known through ‘fleet and within the Council, I’m the scapegoat.”

Kathryn stared at him, horrified. “Owen, I’m so sorry. I should have gone back and faced them myself. I never meant for all this to land on your head.”

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t,” he told her, reaching over to pat her hand. “It makes very little difference to me, and if you had gone back, they would not only have court-martialled you but sent you to prison. They were pretty angry, Katie.”

From beside her, Chakotay spoke up. “Then I, for one, am also very grateful to you, not only for helping me personally but also for doing something that allows Kathryn to remain here.”

“There is one thing,” Paris continued. “It would probably not be a good idea for either of you to leave Dorvan any time soon, and certainly not to set foot on Earth. At least not for a few years until memories have faded a bit.”

Kathryn smiled. “Not a chance of that,” she promised. “I have everything I want right here. This is home now.”

Beside her, Chakotay added with a warm smile, “For both of us.”

**********************

END

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