Title:     Oh, Spirits 1/?
Author:    JJ
Series:    VOY
Codes:     C/P
Rating:    NC-17,
Archive:   CPSG, Cha_Club

Summary: This is an AU that was inspired by a very good friend of mine.
Morgan wrote this same plot in another fandom, and I wanted to write it as
a C/P story.  It contains a character death.  I will give this story a
Kleenex warning.

Another version of how Chakotay and Tom got to where they are now, in
season seven.

I claim all grammatical errors as my own.

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Disclaimer: Paramount owns all rights to Star Trek Voyager.  I am just
having fun, and will return all characters when I'm done.  We all know I am
not making any money doing this.
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Chakotay slowly climbed the hills surrounding the valley.  As the early
morning fog swirled around him, the trees' and rocks' ghostly shapes
marking his ascent to the rim above the village.  He inhaled deeply,
pulling the clean unprocessed air into his lungs.  He thanked the Spirits
for their new home and the life he had.

For 8 years they, the crew of Voyager, had struggled to get home.  They had
fought bravely, faced unknown situations with strength and determination,
and overcome odds that no one thought they could.  However, in the end,
they had landed.  That had been 16 months ago, but what forced them to land
was inevitable.  They had gotten involved in a fight with some species, he
didn't remember the name now, but the fight had been intense.  They had
taken a direct hit on the starboard nacelle, and it had been damaged.
Despite B'Elanna's, Seven's and Carey's best efforts, they had had to shut
it down permanently.  The nacelle was unstable.

He remembered that staff meeting well.  Kathryn sitting at the head of the
table wanting to deny the truth, Tuvok with his hands steepled in front of
him, everyone paying rapt attention to B'El's report.  To repair the
nacelle would wipe out Voyager's energy reserves, and there was no
guarantee it would work or last.  They all tossed ideas out:  Tom, Harry,
Kathryn, even himself.  B'El listened but they had all been tried or were
unworkable.  They could travel on the port nacelle, but doing double duty
would age the already abused engine quickly, but, by using spare parts from
the starboard, they could extend its life.

Finally, in the quiet of the conference room, Kathryn Janeway, the woman
who promised to get Voyager and her crew home, leaned back in her chair.
With tears in her eyes, she looked at Harry.

"Start scanning for a habitable planet."

Pandemonium had ensued.  Everyone trying to dissuade her, but she held her
hands up, and the room quieted.

"I'm not giving up."  Her eyes sparkled with the unshed tears, but her
voice rang with authority.  "We will continue to look for more power
supplies, and try to find an answer to this problem.  But I will not leave
my crew dangling in space because I was too stubborn to make contingency
plans!"

With his thoughts far in the past, Chakotay missed the root in the
semi-darkness of the pre-morning dawn.  He tripped and fell, sliding
backwards on the slick mud.  He came to a stop and rolled over onto his
back.

"Good job, old man," he laughed as he moved experimentally, determining if
he was hurt.  Slowly he climbed to his feet, nothing seriously damaged, but
his ego.  He would live.  He scrapped some of the muck off himself,
gathered what he had dropped, and continued his trek.

That had begun the final three months of Voyager's maiden run.  They had
tried to find more dilithium, and couldn't find anything in large enough
amounts to replicate what they needed.  Even if they stopped using the
replicators for everything, but the bare necessities, it wouldn't work.
Chakotay had been so proud of the crew during that period.  Everyone
willing to give up their personal possessions, eat only Neelix's cooking,
anything to try to fix the engine, but it didn't happen.  The Doctor had
even offered to clear his subroutines.

Finally they came across this planet.  They had stopped at a nearby planet
to gather supplies.  The people there weren't warp capable, but had shared
the news of this planet with them.  With a sense of hope and dread, Voyager
had limped into orbit, the port nacelle beginning to malfunction.

Kathryn and Tom and several others had come down in the Cochrane and
explored.  It was so strange how this planet had been so perfect for them.
There were small deposits of dilithium, enough to power the EMH, and
replicators, and other equipment they needed.  The planet was rich in
vegetation and wildlife.  It had water, the atmosphere was very breathable.
 For a week they had scanned, discussed and planned.

Kathryn had put the news out ship wide and took a vote, each member of the
crew having an equal say in the decision.  She gave everyone 3 days to
think about it and enter their vote.  It came back unanimous - land Voyager
while they still had energy and power to start anew.

The response from the crew was overwhelming, some of the ideas were
brilliant.  Send an encoded message to the Alpha Quadrant with their
coordinates, a small defense system was designed to defend the planet in
case of attack, a probe with a message was sent towards the Alpha Quadrant,
a plan to use the emergency shelters to build a large hall until smaller
quarters could be built.  Everyone had pitched in, be it from learning to
make cloth, to experiments to determine  which of their seed stock would
grow best, to even little Naomi Wildman starting flowers in their quarters
to plant to make the place look more like home.

Chakotay once more shook his head, the crew of Voyager had not only become
a crew, they had become a family.  Each growing and learning in their
travels, even Kathryn.  It was decided that Voyager would be landed and
maintained, but not relied on.  He remembered the night that she had called
the senior staff to her quarters.  She stood before them, no longer in
uniform, a very strange sight.  She had a pile of data padds on her desk
and handed them out, as people sat down.

"I never thought we would come to this," She admitted quietly.  "Actually,
I never thought we would make it this far."  Her smile was ironic.  "And I
want each one of you to know, we haven't failed in our mission, we've just
decided on a new home."  She turned around and face the viewport.  For a
moment her quarters were silent.  Finally, she turned back to us.  "As you
can see, I've outlined the evacuation of Voyager, and what I think would be
a viable plan for setting up the new settlement."

She waited a moment as everyone scanned the padds, murmuring assent or
asking a question.  When a plan was decided on she looked at them, and her
face took on a sad note.

"When we land...I've been the Captain for a long time and it's taken its
toll on me.  Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm tired.  Therefore, when we land, I
want to elect a council to lead the settlement.  I don't want to be the
"Captain" anymore.  I want to be part of this, our new lives together, and
I don't want to be solely responsible for all decisions.  Tomorrow, I'm
going to ask the crew to vote on the council.  Anyone is a candidate, I
trust the crew to make good decisions.  The five people who receive the
most votes will serve.  I think two years would be an agreeable term, and
the five elected can come up with a basic set up the laws.  I also think we
should keep an open participation going with the laws, a town meeting so to
speak."

We sat quietly and waited for Kathryn to finish.  We all knew from long
experience she wasn't done yet.

"Computer," her voice trembled slightly.  "Captain's log.  As we begin to
plan our exodus to our new home.  And, as one of my final acts as Captain
of this fine vessel, I, Kathryn Janeway, make these recommendations,
commendations and personal observations.  The crew of Voyager should be not
only commended, but applauded for their actions in this effort.  Each
member of this crew has acted beyond the call of duty.  For my senior
staff:  I commend each and every one of them.  We couldn't have made it
this far without them."  All of our eyes were misted, even Tuvok looked
humble.  "I recommend each be granted their field rank, that all members of
the Maquis be granted amnesty, and that Tom Paris' record be cleared of all
wrong doings.  These men and women are the epitome of what Starfleet
represents:  Honorable, hardworking, loyal, and the best damn friends I've
ever had."  For a moment there was silence, but Kathryn's rough voice,
finally broke the quiet.  "Computer, end log."

The next day the votes began to trickle in.  When the computer registered
that everyone had voted, the results were announced shipwide.  The council
consisted of:  Kathryn, Chakotay, Tuvok, B'Elanna and, strangely, Neelix.
Harry, Greg Ayala and Tom were alternates.

He remembered Tom's outrage.  "I rank behind Neelix!"  Chakotay had looked
across their quarters and smiled.

"At least, you didn't rank behind Dalby."

"Oh, please.  I would have air locked myself."  Then his lover smiled.
"You know the really great thing about all of this is?"

"What?" he had asked with a warm smile.

"There is no leola root on this plant."

They had both chuckled at that observation.

It was a sad moment as Tom had landed Voyager.

"She's down, Captain."  Tom's voice was quiet and subdued.  Chakotay had
squeezed his shoulder, and Tom had uncharacteristically covered Chakotay's
hand and leaned into it.  Chak had known Tom was afraid he would never fly
again.

For a month they had worked hard. The first thing they did was built the
settlement.  The large hall was built and then the surrounding buildings.
They followed Kathryn's plans and soon had a viable town.  It was late
summer on the planet, so the next point of order was the hydroponics bay.
It was decided that for the first winter Voyager would be maintained.

Chakotay had been pleased to see their dependence on Voyager begin to fade.
 By the next summer, about 7 months later, very few trips were made to
Voyager except for studies and research.  The council worked well, of
course, they were used to working together for the good of the crew.  Big
decisions were brought to the crew and a vote was held.  Kathryn was very
careful with her words, because she knew people would give her words more
weight.  Couples began to emerge, and Kathryn happily married many of her
crew.  But the biggest surprise was when Greg and Kathryn came to he and
Tom's place and Greg, his oldest friend, quietly asking that Chakotay marry
them.

Marriages and other moments of importance were celebrated with a large
celebration at the hall.  Of course, someone had found fruits capable of
being fermented and everyone brought food.  Music was played, dancing and
friendship were the order of the evening.  Everything seemed to be working
well, on the whole.

On the night of their fifth anniversary, he and Tom had been the center of
a lot of teasing and good natured joking.  They had shared a dance in front
of everyone present.  It was a pleasant evening for everyone, but that
night, he had found Tom staring at the night sky.

"You miss it don't you, love?"

"Sometimes, Chak.  I may take a shuttle out in a day or two, if that's
okay."

"I'll try to come up with a reason," Chakotay laughed.  It was no secret
that occassionally Tom's supposed scans and scavaging trips were nothing
more than helping Tom scratch his itch to fly, and no one had a problem
with it.

That night they had made slow love.  Chakotay taking slow deep strokes into
his lover, his husband, the person to whom he owed his life.  He teased Tom
until they were both sweaty.  Their eyes had met.

"I love you, Chakotay," Tom had whispered, his eyes aglow with the truth of
his declaration.  Chakotay cherished the words.  He knew it wasn't
something that came easy to Tom, to share his feelings and make himself
vulnerable.

He had leaned over, kissed Tom and whispered back.  "You are my life."

That was how it had been since that night in a seedy bar on some backwater
planet.  The night he had met Tom Paris and had fallen in love.
 
 

TBC