Star Trek Voyager: Consequences

Star Trek Voyager: Consequences 10. Breaking Point

“Chakotay, are you really sure about this? Of course I don’t know the circumstances but…”

Chakotay ran a hand through his hair and sighed as he met the eyes of Dr Gabriel Gutierrez, his new, or soon-to-be, boss at Lima University. “I know I’m putting you on the spot asking for leave before I even start the job, but I wouldn’t be requesting it unless the circumstances really called for it…”

“Do you mind sharing?” Doctor Gutierrez asked carefully, “Has a family member passed on or…”

Chakotay slowly shook his head as he gulped; he’d been dreading explaining this ever since he’d spoken to Irene and resolved on a decision. “No, I have no close family but…” His voice trailed off for a second and Gutierrez saw his face visibly darken and his whole body tense up before he spoke again. “A…close friend of mine was attacked and I want to go check on her…” He swallowed the lump in his throat, thinking again how all of this could have been prevented. “She’s not coping well, I’m worried that…”

Gutierrez cut him off, understanding but not wanting to hear anymore. “Look, I can give you two weeks compassionate leave, but if you need longer than that you’ll need to wait until next term to start, okay?”

The relief that flooded through Chakotay was evident in his face as he smiled tiredly. “Two weeks is fine. I really appreciate this.”

Gutierrez gave him a sympathetic look, “I know you do. I’ll see you in two weeks.” Chakotay nodded gratefully and after a quick goodbye pulled back from the phone, suitcase in one hand and a shuttle ticket in the other.

                                                            ****

“Seven of Nine, which power couplings did you request be re-routed to your new lab?” The young Vulcan officer asked his superior, who it seemed was on a personal phone call.

Some people would have been annoyed at their lunch break being disrupted but Seven would have been more annoyed if they’d sat around waiting for her to return rather than working, as they had the last two days, so she turned to face the Vulcan after a quick apology to her Aunt Irene, who calmly excused her. “The power couplings from section B-42 Delta, did you not take notes at the briefing this morning?” Seven asked the Vulcan tersely.

The Vulcan inclined his head but otherwise remained expressionless as he said, “I apologise Ma’am, my notes appear not to have been comprehensive enough.”

Seven raised an eyebrow, “Apparently not.” She handed him a pad. “These are my instructions, give them to anyone who is unsure at the moment and I will be back to supervise within twenty minutes, is that understood?”

“Yes Ma’am.” The Vulcan confirmed, rapidly taking leave of her.

Seven waited until her office doors had closed firmly behind him before turning back to the phone, “I’m sorry about that Aunt Irene.”

Irene smiled, “Don’t worry, you sound busy. I didn’t realise you were already building the Astrometrics labs.”

Seven allowed pride to flutter across her face for a moment, “Yes, the Vulcans are on the whole an efficient species; we had the plans drawn up within ten days.”

“That’s wonderful Annika! Yet I must say that young Vulcan didn’t seem very efficient to me.”

Seven sighed, this experience had made her realise that managing people was a great deal hard and more complex than mastering technology. “Let’s just say an adherence to logic doesn’t always entail ingenuity or independence.” Irene laughed knowingly and Seven smiled along with her. Changing the subject she asked, “How did clearing my apartment go? I’m sorry that you had to do it…”