Alpine Snow (an OPI
Challenge story)
by ragpants
Tessa Omond settled the Delta Flyer into orbit. The shuttle was stolen,
she knew, though not how or by whom. That was just another detail,
and she'd learned early on not to examine details too closely.
Behind her, Chakotay and Harry Kim snapped and sealed themselves into their
arctic weather gear. She could hear them arguing, low-voiced, over some procedural
minutiae or another.
Tessa made an unnecessary adjustment to the Flyer's altitude control. The
frozen planet below rose up, glistening like alpine snow, pure and shriven,
to fill the viewscreen.
Tessa closed her eyes. I hope you find what you're looking for, Chakotay.
The argument behind her ended. Tessa engaged the auto-pilot and moved to
the back of the shuttle. She insinuated herself into the strained silence
that surrounded the two men before another disagreement could arise. Impulsively,
she grabbed Chakotay's collar and pulled him down into a hard, deep kiss.
She could feel Kim's disapproval scorch her back, but she didn't care. If
the mission proved successful, this might be her last chance.
"Be careful," she warned both of them, although she looked only at Chakotay,
"the sensors show a massive low pressure cell forming about eight kilometers
east of your beam down point." She reached out to snug the hood of Chakotay's
winter survival suit. "It could be a storm. I'll be standing by with the comm
channel open in case you run into problems."
Chakotay's thick gloved hand brushed her face with silent gratitude, then
all too soon he and Kim were gone.
I hope you find what you're looking for, Chakotay. I do. Even if it means
we will never meet, that I will never take you to my bed. Even if it means
that tomorrow you won't remember my name, that next week we will pass each
other on the street without sharing a second glance. Find Voyager, Chakotay.
Find your answers. Find that women you mourn for when you think I'm asleep
in the middle of the night. Find them, and rewrite your past. Maybe then both
of us can find our separate peace.
Tessa returned to the Delta Flyer's pilot's station and waited for the reports
to flow in from below.