Cascading to New Heights
By Ralkana

=/\= =/\= =/\=

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into going hiking, for God’s sake,” Kathryn muttered, pushing her lank hair out of her eyes with one hand. The other hand was focused on keeping the lush vegetation from smacking her in the face or tripping her up. Chakotay ignored her mumbled comment, as he’d ignored the last several remarks she’d made, doing his best to hide his smile at her burgeoning exasperation.

He stopped and held out a hand behind him, silently offering her help up the fairly steep slope. He knew better than to ask aloud after the last three times she’d snapped at him. She growled, pushing his hand away, and then growled again when water dripped into her face from a vine above her.

“I thought you said this was a desert planet!”

This time Chakotay couldn’t help himself. He turned and laughed when he saw the outraged expression on her face, stopping abruptly when he caught her glare.

“I never said that,” he said innocently. “I said I grew up in the desert. You grew up in Indiana. Does that mean all of Earth is plains and cornfields?”

“Where are we going anyway?”

He raised one hand to push the stubborn lock of hair out of her eyes yet again. “I thought you might like to see the most beautiful sight on Trebus.”

His gaze rested on her sweaty, dirt-smudged face and his expression softened. Kathryn groaned and rolled her eyes.

“Chakotay, I swear, if you say something like ‘but I think I’m already looking at it,’ I’m going to turn around and trudge right back down this mountain.”

He smiled sheepishly and she sighed. He leaned forward and brushed a quick kiss on her lips, taking her hand as he shifted the pack on his back to settle it more comfortably.

“Come on, it’s not much farther.”

They continued on, as the day grew warmer and warmer. Perspiration and the vapor rich environment served to make Chakotay’s thin shirt transparent, and Kathryn fell silent as she again slipped a couple of paces behind him, idly watching the muscles in his broad shoulders and powerful legs as they bunched and flexed. She tried to look away several times, aware that the sight wasn’t doing anything to help her in this heat, but she was drawn to him, as she always had been, and she didn’t have to hide it anymore. She lost herself in memories and fantasies of that big golden body moving over hers, his beautiful face resplendent in his pleasure.

He stopped suddenly and turned, grinning wickedly when he saw the look on her face. Caught, but unashamed of her thoughts, she simply smiled crookedly at him.

“Later, beloved,” he said, stroking her cheek, and she shivered in anticipation, even in the heat. “Hear that?”

Kathryn cocked her head, listening, and she gradually distinguished a rushing sound. The air was heavier and smelled even more like water than before.

“Is that…?”

He grinned. “Come on.” They forged on, at a faster pace now. Her curiosity was piqued and he was happily anticipating her reaction. He eventually halted again, gesturing for her to do the same. “Right through here,” he said, and the rushing sound threatened to drown out his words.

He pushed aside a curtain of vines, and she gasped. The trail ended on a wide, grass-covered ledge. Across a gorge thundered an enormous waterfall, more than a hundred meters tall. The ledge was about halfway up the falls, close enough to get some of the spray, but high enough to be free of the clouds of vapor that obscured the pool at the bottom. It was an awesome sight.

“It’s gorgeous!” she exclaimed, and Chakotay smiled. Moving closer so that she could hear him, he spoke into her ear.

“Thought you’d like it. If you want, you can go cool off in the spray while I get lunch ready.”

“You brought lunch? I was wondering what was in that pack…”

“Of course. Did you think I would make you hike all that way and then not even feed you? I’m insulted. I take care of my Kathryn.”

She smiled, kissing the shoulder nearest her. “Yes, you do. You always have.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Go play. Just be careful. Stay on the grassy area. There’s less spray but those rocks are slippery.”

“Yes, sir!”

He glared at her. “Go. Get out of here, Trouble.”

She laughed and pushed away from him. As she turned, she saw an even sparser trail that led to a higher ridge.

“Wow, I bet the view’s even more spectacular up there! Come on, let’s go up! We can eat there.”

He caught her hand, stilling her movement. When she glanced back at him, he shook his head.

“We can’t go up there, Kathryn.”

She stared at him inquisitively and then nodded. She’d been very good about listening to Chakotay in regards to where they could and could not go on Trebus, not wanting to trespass on land or beliefs.

“All right. The view is wonderful enough here. I’m gonna go cool off while you set out what I’m sure is a much better lunch than I could ever provide you.”

He laughed, but his mirth faded as she coyly looked up at him and pulled off her drenched outer shirt. He growled, grabbing the shirt from her. “Go before I stop you, and then we’ll never eat.”

“Well, you could join me…”

“Oh, believe me, I plan to. After lunch. We need to keep our energy up for what I’ve got in mind…”

She laughed as she strode toward the spray, and Chakotay bit his lip to stifle the urge to warn her again to be careful. He knew she would; there was no sense nagging her about it. As he unloaded his pack, he shifted his gaze back and forth between Kathryn and the higher ledge.

A small smile broke out on his face, quickly replaced by an expression of apprehension. Maybe we’ll be able to go up there next time we’re here.

He remembered the processions he’d seen go up that hill in his childhood. That ridge was where the Council of Elders would go to ask the Spirits to give them a bountiful harvest, and where newly married couples would go to ask for the Spirits’ blessing for a fruitful union. Chakotay lost himself in a cherished daydream of raising a family with Kathryn, and he jumped in surprise when she waved her hand in front of his face.

“Hello… where’d you go?”

“Sorry. Did you have a nice… shower, I guess?”

He looked her up and down as he spoke, his dark eyes registering appreciation. She looked fresh and cool, her wet hair slicked back from her face, dark tank top and shorts clinging to her form. His memory and imagination provided the details that the dark fabric obscured, and she grinned at his expression.

“Later, honey,” she said, echoing his earlier words with a smirk. “It was wonderful. I’m famished.”

He served out the food, laughing as she impatiently snatched samples from the various containers. There was pasta salad, fruit salad, and several kinds of cheese, as well as some nuts and crackers. He pulled two insulated flasks from the pack, holding one out to her, and she groaned.

“Chakotay, if you ever tell anyone I said this, I’ll deny it, but I think it’s too hot for coffee.”

He smirked. “Thought you might say that.” He shook the flask and it rattled. Her face lit up.

“Iced coffee?” When his smile widened, she crowed with joy, grabbed the flask, and kissed it. “Oh, you wonderful, marvelous man!”

Chakotay pouted, his lower lip sticking out slightly. “If I’m the wonderful, marvelous man, how come it’s the coffee that gets a kiss?”

She laughed and gave him a quick kiss, nipping at the full lip that stuck out. “Thank you, honey. This looks delicious.”

They ate in silence for a while, enjoying the repast after their long hike. Chakotay smiled as she made appreciative noises at the iced coffee. When she looked longingly at his flask, he laughed.

“Sorry, this one’s tea. I should have packed another one of coffee.”

“One’s fine. I’m just being greedy. Thank you, Chakotay.” She gazed at the natural splendor around them. “God, it’s so beautiful here. How’d you know about this place? It’s not that close to where you grew up.”

“My father brought us all up here often when I was young. Of course, the trip took us a couple of weeks; we hiked the whole way. You and I cheated,” he said with a smile.

They had left very early that morning from the small city that had been rebuilt over the remains of Chakotay’s home village. They had borrowed the hovercar his sister reluctantly used to transport goods and supplies for the rebuilding effort. It had taken them several hours to reach the huge hills and peaks that were barely visible in the distance from their starting point. Kathryn could not imagine hiking that far, especially in the heat that characterized Trebus.

“Chakotay, honey, as much as I respect your customs and beliefs, I thank you for choosing to take the shortcut.”

“I wanted to bring you here to show you this, not kill you with a forced march across a barren wasteland.”

She laughed. “Well, thank you. It’s so beautiful here. Why do you think it—” She bit her lip, unsure of whether she should continue. The devastation of his home planet was still a source of great pain to Chakotay, especially since they had arrived here, and she didn’t want to spoil the beauty of the spot for him by bringing up anything difficult.

“Why do I think it survived?” he asked, and she nodded. He shrugged, and bitterness crept into his voice. “I really don’t know. My guess is that they didn’t destroy it because there weren’t any communities nearby. Ours was one of the closest. But who knows? That certainly didn’t stop them from destroying other remote, beautiful places.”

Kathryn remembered all the empty, gray wasteland they had passed in the hovercar, areas where terraforming had not yet occurred. It was amazing, actually, how much had already been accomplished, considering how much had been wrecked and annihilated. She put a hand on Chakotay’s shoulder, and he laid his own hand upon it, squeezing it as he sighed.

“I’ve learned not to question why some places survived and some didn’t. I just mourn for everything that’s gone and celebrate everything that’s left. When my sister told me this place had survived, I knew I wanted to celebrate its survival with you.”

“It’s wonderful, and I’m so glad that you brought me here. I’m so glad that I can see this, see some part of your home the way it should be.”

Chakotay glanced around them. “It is beautiful, isn’t it?” He sighed again. “It was all beautiful. As much as I strained against being here when I was young, Trebus was a beautiful place to live.”

“And it will be again. Your people will make sure of that,” she replied.

“It will never be the same.”

“No,” she said, “It won’t. But beautiful things that have weathered hardship and devastation have their own particular beauty. Your world is a survivor, Chakotay, just like the people who lived on it, loved it, and fought for it.”

He smiled gratefully at her, and they fell silent again, watching the endless magnificence of the water plummeting down. Suddenly, he asked, “Kathryn, are you happy?”

She stared at him, taken aback. “Of course, why?”

“I… I mean… would you… do you…”

He stopped and cleared his throat, and she watched him toy with the pasta left on his plate. Her consternation increased when one of his hands came up unconsciously to tug at his ear. He only did that when he was uncomfortable, and she hadn’t seen him do it in quite a while. He opened and closed his mouth several times, and she realized her eloquent angry warrior was struggling for words. Her alarm grew tenfold.

“Chakotay, what is it? Whatever it is, you can tell me, honey.”

“Yesterday, at the Council meeting…”

The previous day, there had been a meeting of the Global Council of Elders, and Chakotay had attended as a visitor. The name of the council was a misnomer; there were only seven or eight villages rebuilt enough to send representatives, and most of the representatives were younger than Chakotay. Still, it was an auspicious beginning for the reborn planet, and Kathryn had assumed that it had been a successful meeting. When he’d returned, Chakotay had seemed a bit preoccupied, but she had put it down to preparation for today’s trip to the mountains.

After his first attempt to tell her his thoughts, he’d fallen silent again, fiddling with his fork, and Kathryn bit her tongue to keep from prodding him. He would tell her when he was ready, though his silence might drive her crazy in the meantime. Eventually, he took another deep breath and spoke, still staring at his plate.

“They… they asked me to join them.”

She said nothing for a moment until his meaning became clear.

“Oh! You mean… they want you to sit on the Council.”

“Yes,” he said warily.

“But… that’s great, isn’t it? You’d be able to take a more active role in the rebuilding.”

“Yes, I would, but—”

“And you’d still be able to catalog your notes and do your research for the FAA.”

There was a spark in his eyes when she mentioned his work for the Federation Anthropological Association. He was preparing a thesis on all the species Voyager had encountered in the Delta Quadrant. It was a huge amount of work, but something he enjoyed immensely.

“I hadn’t really thought about that, but yes, I guess you’re right. I could.”

“Well, what did you tell them?”

He folded his hands in front of him, looking down at them again as he spoke. “I thanked them for their kind and compelling offer and told them I would give it serious thought.”

His real answer was wrapped inside the diplomatic language, and she smiled at the tone in which he delivered it. It was his first officer voice, the one that said I don’t know how you’ll take what I’m about to tell you, so maybe if I wrap it up in enough pretty words, you’ll get distracted and I can escape before you figure it out. He might be leaning one way or the other about taking the Council’s offer, but he wouldn’t give them a definite answer until he found out what she thought about it, what she planned to do. Well, she thought, if we’re gonna talk about the future, I guess I have something to tell him too.

“While you were at the Council meeting, I got a call from Owen.”

Chakotay momentarily stiffened and a brief look of fear flashed through his eyes, but he banished it quickly, settling his face into a neutral mask. She knew why he was concerned; though her leave didn’t officially end for another three months, he knew as well as she did that preparations would begin soon for her next posting. Though Chakotay had never tried to talk her out of remaining in Starfleet, he was terrified that her next posting would take her far away from him. They hadn’t talked about it, and he had tried to avoid thinking about it, but he knew it could not be avoided for much longer.

“Starfleet is intent on expanding its presence in this sector,” she said, and he nodded.

That information had been a source of much discussion and debate at the meeting. Though the new colonists had not asked and would not ask for help or protection from the Federation or Starfleet, Chakotay had strongly urged them to accept any help or aid offered. Encouraged by his friendly relations with both organizations even after his second resignation from ‘Fleet, they had all eventually agreed to follow his advice. Help would be accepted, up to but definitely not including active membership in the Federation. They would be allies with the Federation, not an active part in it. It was at that point in the meeting that one of the Council members had suggested Chakotay be considered for inclusion in the Council, and the rest of the members had agreed with alacrity, much to his surprise. Chakotay dragged himself away from his memories of the meeting and focused again on Kathryn’s face.

“Owen told me they’re looking for a Director of Operations over the sphere of influence that includes Trebus and the other colonies and reconstruction efforts in the former DMZ. Because it’s a posting with no foreseeable end, as well as great responsibility, it includes a promotion of one rank. The position requires extensive command experience as well as knowledge of the requirements for building a community, and the ability to deal well with unexpected setbacks.” She grinned, and he laughed at the description of life on Voyager. Her face became serious again.

“I’m at the top of the postings list, Chakotay, and amazingly, my experience somehow exactly fits Owen’s description of the position. If I want it, all I have to do is reach out and claim it.” She took his hand. “The only catch is, I’d have to set up a home base on one of the former colonies, establish a good working relationship with the government of whichever colony I choose, say, perhaps, with a member of Trebus’ Global Council of Elders.” She laughed and stroked the grey streak that was just beginning to appear in the hair that hung on his forehead. “Although, I’m not sure how close I could bring myself to get to an ‘Elder’.”

He laughed joyously and grabbed her hand up, bringing it to his lips to kiss it. “What did you tell Owen?”

She smirked. “I thanked him for informing me of the opening, and for his advice, and I told him I would give it serious thought.”

He looked up at her, the similarity of their answers not lost upon him. His eyes were liquid and bright as he asked, “Are you really that happy here, Kathryn?”

She smiled and nodded, her own eyes filling at the wonder and slight doubt in his voice. He’s afraid I’m going to hate it and apply for a posting somewhere else, do anything I can to get myself far away from here and from him. “Yes, I am. You’re here, Chakotay, and you’re happy here, I can see that. The heat’s a little more than I’m used to,” she said, pulling at her shirt, which was clinging to her, “But I can adjust. It’s peaceful here, and after the journey we had, I could use a little peace.” She grinned. “Besides, I’m sure working with you will keep life as an admiral from becoming too tedious.”

His face clouded. “We would be working together, wouldn’t we?”

She placed a finger on his lips, knowing his concern. “Honey, Owen knows about us. He commented on how happy I look, and he wouldn’t have offered me this position—hell, I suspect this particular position wouldn’t exist—if he thought that our relationship would be a problem. This is different than life on Voyager, and I don’t think it will be a problem here; you’ve always felt that we could work and play well together… have you changed your mind?” Chakotay shook his head, smiling at her phrasing, and she continued. “I love it here, Chakotay, and I think… I think we could belong here.”

His heart soared at her words, and before he could stop himself, he blurted, “Marry me, Kathryn.”

She froze, eyes wide. “What?”

He sighed. “Well, that wasn’t quite the way I intended to ask you, but I mean it. Marry me. Take me by your side, where I wanted to be all these years.”

“You’ve always been at my side.” She laughed. She’d known him for far less than a quarter of her life, and yet, it seemed like forever. “At least, it feels like always.”

He shook his head, undeterred. “No. Not the way I should have been, the way I longed to be. We have a chance now, Kathryn, for happiness, a chance to really make this our home. Will you marry me?”

She launched herself at him, knocking him onto his back in the wet grass and climbing atop him. Before he knew what was going on, she was kissing him, her hands clutching at the collar of his shirt. Chakotay groaned into the kiss as she plundered his mouth, exploring the familiar contours and dueling with his tongue. Finally, she pulled away, panting, to stare into his wide, dark eyes.

“Yes,” she gasped out, and then she kissed him again. The kiss ended abruptly when he laughed, rolling them over so he was on top, pressing her into the grass with his body.

“I love you,” he murmured, pressing kisses all over her face, cradling her soft cheeks in his hands and stroking the skin with his thumbs. She grinned wickedly and, with a grunt, rolled them over again.

“I love you too. You said earlier that you wanted to celebrate. Let’s celebrate!” she said, ripping his shirt from him, laughing as buttons scattered everywhere and his eyes widened even further.

“Aye, Admiral!” he said with a laugh, and she smacked him in the chest before lowering her head to eagerly claim his mouth yet again.