CATALYST

RATED NC17

DISCLAIMER: Paramount owns the characters and the premise behind Star Trek.

Voyager's signal grew faint on the shuttle's scans as it veered away from the ship in the direction of the distant planet. Captain Kathryn Janeway sat beside her First Officer, Commander Chakotay, content to let him pilot while she performed the small ship's various other duties.

‘Preliminary long-range scans show this planet to have a rich supply of metals,’ Kathryn remarked. ‘No inhabitants other than wildlife. Sounds made-to-order.’

Commander Chakotay tapped commands into the control panel, altering their course for approach. ‘We can use anything we can get. I'm detecting an abnormal amount of gravity, though. We need to be careful going in.’

‘Agreed. Slow to impulse.’

‘Aye, Captain.’

The shuttle jerked as it entered the planet's powerful gravitational pull and a warning bleep appeared on Chakotay's screen.

‘What do you have there, Commander?’

‘Heavy atmospheric disturbance. It almost looks like a plasma storm, but scans don't identify it as such - I've never seen winds register this high, and I'm detecting ice particles instead of rain.’

‘Damn! Why can't things go according to plan once in a while?’

‘Where's the fun in that?’ he quipped.

She would have sent forth a smart retort but was distracted by the multitude of readings across her panel. She tapped commands swiftly. The shuttle, buffeted by the powerful winds, bucked and kicked, forcing the two officers to brace themselves in their seats. Chakotay expertly piloted the shuttle on down through the storm, maneuvering to avoid the worst of the battering. The winds grew ever more fierce in their intensity. Flashes of green-tinted lightning caused the two officers to flinch and shield their eyes. They could hear tiny knocks and pings as ice particles and chunks struck the hull of the shuttle.

Suddenly a massive gust of wind along with a lightning surge hit the port nacelle, throwing the shuttle completely out of control. Kathryn and Chakotay were thrown from their chairs as the shuttle veered crazily toward the planet's surface. It glided across thick, high, gelatinous vegetation, slowing its speed so that when the nose plowed into the viscous sand, it did not break up. The ooze heaved and buckled with the impact and settled around the small ship held nearly upright in its grip.

In the steam and exhaust from the crippled shuttle, the two officers braced themselves on the sharply slanted floor. Chakotay managed to get his feet under him, placing them on consoles and chairs. The floor was now nearly the wall. Holding to whatever he could, he braced himself against the side of the shuttle to keep from falling back toward the helm. The shuttle appeared to be sinking; he could see dark ooze penetrating the cracked nose, its level rising ominously. Kathryn lay sprawled higher toward the stern, slightly above him, gripping whatever she could to keep from falling. There wasn't much to hold onto.

‘Kathryn! Are you all right?’

She nodded dizzily then lost her grip. Chakotay's arm blocked her fall but her body twisted away from him. He grabbed wildly for her in an attempt to prevent her rolling back toward the approaching ooze. His arm encircled her and his hand inadvertently caught her breast. In struggling to maintain his balance and pull her up, he maintained his grip, however indelicate it was, until he had gained a better foothold. Stable for the moment, he released her and shifted her weight so that she could find her own foot- and hand- holds. He braced himself and reached for the rear door release. The door rose about an inch, but because of their sharp angle it would not open.

‘Can you hold on, Kathryn?’

‘Yes - I'm fine.’ Kathryn watched Chakotay place one shoulder against the shuttle door. Pushing with all his strength, he managed to raise the door enough for Kathryn to get through.

‘Kathryn! Hurry!’

He boosted her up so that she could worm her way through the hole he had created. Once out, she surveyed the area. The shuttle was mired in what appeared to be some sort of quicksand. Only a foot away was solid ground – or so she hoped. She jumped and landed in a roll. The shuttle door rose and fell shut as Chakotay tried and failed to hold it open and climb out at the same time. The shuttle continued to sink quickly; its rear door was now only two meters from the level of the sand.

‘Wait, Chakotay!’ she shouted to him. Looking about quickly, she spied a tree limb large enough for her needs, and dragged it up on the rear of the shuttle. She shouted for him to raise the door once more and inserted it, levering the door open. Swiftly, he rolled out and off the shuttle to the ground. Kathryn dropped the branch and jumped, landing on the crumbling edge. With a loud sucking noise, the shuttle vanished into the muck. The smooth ripples of the sand closed over the last of it, obliterating any trace that it had ever been.

The edge gave way under her and Kathryn grabbed for Chakotay. He pulled her to firm ground, holding her close to his body. They stood together, looking at the site for a moment, then met each other's eyes. Kathryn stepped back, wiping her hands on her trousers disgustedly.

‘Another shuttle gone and not even a phaser left!’

‘Voyager can beam it out - I'm sure it's salvageable.’ Chakotay cast a sheepish, sideways glance at her. ‘Um, Captain. I'm...um...sorry about - ‘

‘About the shuttle? Commander, you couldn't have predicted -’

‘I know - it's not that - I'm sorry - for - um - what happened inside...’

Janeway would not have believed that as dark as he was, Chakotay could blush. ‘Commander, don't let that worry you. Just thanks for catching me. Now let's see what we have to work with.’

They each tapped their comm badges. No familiar chirp. Voyager would be unable to contact them until the storm had passed, and from the looks of things that would be a while. The wind was still rising and large ice particles were beginning to pelt them.

‘Let's find shelter!’ she shouted above the wind.

Chakotay pointed toward what looked like cliffs in the distance. Kathryn didn't waste breath; she just nodded and motioned him on. The light was fading; the roaring wind rippled Chakotay's short black hair and whipped Kathryn's long hair down, blinding her. Chakotay lead the way through waist-high grasses and strange trees, cautiously feeling his way with one hand, Kathryn clinging to the other. The wind knocked them to their knees several times. A grassy clearing opened before them, and on the other side was promise of shelter with several dark areas along the cliff wall that could be clefts in the rock.

‘There, do you see it?’

She nodded. A large black hole that might shield them from the wind and stinging ice particles now pelting them painfully. Larger ice chunks and small electrical bolts flew about them and the wind made it difficult to even speak. Chakotay signaled that he would go in first. With no tricorder, there was no telling what sort of wildlife might already inhabit their small shelter and would resent such an intrusion.

Kathryn clung to the rock while Chakotay entered the darkness cautiously, his hands clearing away debris and plant growth, his keen ears tuned for sounds. No tricorder, no Sims beacon, he thought. It's gonna be damned hard to determine just what's in here, if anything. He felt around. The ground dropped away sharply and he slid into a small natural cavity. A conveniently timed, brilliant flash lit up some of the small cavern to allow him a glimpse of a dry, sandy floor. The cave was surprisingly deep, completely closed with no other tunnels. No wildlife could he detect. He started back toward the opening.

The wind whipped Kathryn's hair as she struggled to hang on to the rock face. The pull of the wind grew more powerful; it changed direction and now came barreling around the point of the cliff with hurricane force, bringing with it cold torrents of rain laced with ice. Kathryn was drenched in seconds, her breath nearly gone from the shock of the icy torrents. Darting through the black cotton curtain, she extended a cold, blue hand and was relieved to feel Chakotay grasp it. He pulled her down into the lower cave.

‘Damn, Kathryn, you're soaked! Come here.’

He led her closer and lowered her to the sandy floor, then quickly stripped off his uniform tunic. He lay it gently over her.

Relying on the atmospheric flashes that came more and more frequently to light the place enough to see by, he scoured the area for something, anything with which to start a fire. Loose rocks here and there. A well-chewed bone. A few dried sticks. There, in the corner! Chakotay waited for another lightning flash to illuminate what he thought he had seen. A circle of rocks with a blackened center?

‘Kathryn! Are you hurt?’ he asked her in the darkness.

‘No -- just -- very -- cold!’ she said in a shaky, halting voice.

‘You're not going to believe it - this is an uninhabited planet, right? Looks like some type of intelligence was here at one time. There's been a fire built; and if I can manage it, if there's flint, I'll have us a fire going.’

‘Are you -- sure?’

Chakotay could hear the buried laughter even behind the quiver in her voice and couldn't help grinning. He examined the rocks strewn on the ground. One by one, he struck for sparks until his patience was rewarded with a small flash of light.

‘Only one problem...’

‘What's -- that?’

‘There's very little wood in here, and what's outside is too wet.’

‘So we have -- the tantalizing promise -- of a warm fire, but -- no wood to feed it, right?’ Chakotay could hear the tremors she attempted to control in her voice.

‘I have an idea. I hope Starfleet won't take offense.’

‘What -- are you -- doing, Commander?’

Chakotay didn't answer. He removed his rank insignia and laid it carefully aside, then stripped to the waist. He began tearing the gray dickey and Starfleet-issue undershirt into strips. These he laid across a framework of the remaining small twigs to allow air circulation and he struck his flint.

‘If my -- hair wasn't wet -- I'd add it -- to the collection.’

‘No need. We'll make do.’

Grinning in the dark at her, he added dry moss to the bits of fuel. A few more tries with the ancient flint and the new flame flickered into being. He carefully fed more of the torn strips and the fire grew. The light now permitted him to check the interior. A few chunks of coal. More twigs and moss here and there. Another bone. All these he gathered and placed by the fire.

His eyes sought Kathryn, who sat a few feet away, leaning against the wall, eyes closed, shivering violently even under his coat.

‘Come to the fire, Kathryn.’

He helped her up and guided her to the corner. Her body felt like ice. Chakotay added a few more pieces of gray to the fire. It was now large and warm, filling most of the small room with some degree of comfort, yet Kathryn continued to shiver.

‘Kathryn...’ He hesitated to voice the suggestion in his mind, but in view of her survival, went ahead. ‘You need to get out of that wet uniform. You'll never get warm at this rate, and I'd bet you're on the verge of hypothermia now.’

After a moment, she nodded. ‘All right.’

He took his uniform tunic from her shoulders and turned considerately away as she undressed. She placed her wet boots by the fire then lay the three pieces of her uniform on the sand nearby, hoping they would dry soon. She felt awkward being here alone with him, survival situation notwithstanding, barefoot and dressed only in underwear. It called up another time, an even more awkward moment when they had been alone together and a towel had been her only garment. She remembered the look in his eyes then, and felt even more uncomfortable. However, Chakotay had been right. As she drew nearer the fire, her wet skin dried and her shivering ceased to a somewhat lesser degree. Chakotay tore the sleeves from the tunic for fuel and placed the remains over her shoulders. Turning his back to her, he quietly tended the flame.

A powerful draft penetrated the cave, threatening to extinguish their only source of warmth. Chakotay climbed to the opening and stacked rocks until the opening was fairly well blocked. He slid back to the lower level and stood regarding Kathryn, hunched over the flame, still quivering uncontrollably.

Without a word, Chakotay lowered himself behind Kathryn, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close against his chest. She stiffened and pulled away, then realized he was trying to warm her with his own body. She soon felt the heat from his big body radiate to hers, warming her all over, relaxing her. She allowed her head to rest back against his shoulder.

‘Thanks, Chakotay.’

She was grateful for his silence. Nothing need be said. They sat for a while until the fire again flickered. Chakotay leaned forward and threw in a chunk of coal to augment the flame. He glanced down at Kathryn in his arms. She was sound asleep. Cradling her head, he gently lowered her to the soft sand and stretched out behind her, propping himself on one elbow. He studied her in the flickering firelight. Her hair gleamed, its reddish-brown strands picking up the lights and reflecting them. His eyes traveled over her face, lingering on her lips, her throat, and because he couldn't stop himself, they rested on the swells of her breasts under her Starfleet-issue bra, the lovely flat belly and navel. He stopped, closed his eyes and leaned his head back, fighting the rising feelings within. Unbidden came the memory of the feel of her breast lodged against his hand when he caught her in the shuttle and his body stirred. It would betray him if she awoke now. Perhaps she would sleep a while longer so that he could make love to her, if only with his eyes.

She shifted in his arms, turning so that her body faced his. Exhausted as she was, she slept so soundly that surely she wouldn't feel his lips lightly on her forehead, his finger lightly stroking her breast. Chakotay allowed himself to do these things with guilty pleasure. Surely if she awoke she wouldn't allow even the thought of it. Shaking his head at his own audacity, he let his head rest on an outstretched arm and cuddled Kathryn to him with the other. Better get some sleep - we'll both need it. The fire will last a while longer. Chakotay's eyes fluttered closed and he slept.

Kathryn woke to glowing warmth throughout her body and discovered that it was due to the fact that she was cradled in Chakotay's arms, her cheek against his chest. She drew back and looked at him. He was asleep beside her, his broad chest pressed against her, one leg covering hers. Far from insulted or annoyed, she knew he was simply protecting her. She knew, deep down, of his love for her and that he was able to hold back his feelings only by great strength, courage and force of will. Her eyes studied the tousled, black hair, the tribal tattoo so a part of him, the hawk-bridged nose, the full lips.

What would be the consequences of making love with him? He has waited all this time for me to make the first move. I realize that. He never will take the initiative unless I let him know it's all right. It must be the survival scenario, the primal instincts. It must be the isolation. It's so many things, but suddenly I feel this urge...to touch him. To have him touch me.

Why had she always denied herself any pleasure other than a cup of coffee? But now the moment worked its magic on her. She smiled to herself, remembering his devotion, dedication and loyalty as she studied him. His smooth dark skin gleamed in the firelight. He was broader in the chest than she had thought; his arms well-muscled and defined, his belly tight and flat. As with most of his people, Chakotay had very little body hair. A few scars marked past battles, both Maquis and in the service of Voyager.

Kathryn allowed her hand to glide over his broad chest. Lightly, her lips brushed his. Deep in sleep, he let out a sigh and rolled onto his back. Then slowly, slowly, he came awake, confused, disoriented, feeling warm hands on his body. His eyes opened and focused. Kathryn? Caressing him? Leaning over him, poised as if to kiss him?! What the hell?!? Suddenly fully awake, he started up, then realized that he was erect and that she knew it. He looked at her in shock, eyes wide, questioning. She said nothing except with her eyes. She ran her fingers through his hair and smiled down at him. He came up on one elbow, searching her face. What he had hoped for these many years was now evident in her face. For some reason, this incident had provided a catalyst. They could begin now. They could come together and grow closer. Kathryn!

His hand went to her hair, his fingers entangling themselves in its thick curtain. That same hand pulled her head closer to return her kiss. Together, not separate - each one's lips sought the other's. He lay back and her hair, now dry, fell across his shoulder. His arms went around her. Their breathing escalated. Chakotay's fingers opened the catch on Kathryn's bra. Her heavy breasts fell forward onto his chest and the feel of their warm weight made his breath catch in his throat...

The storm outside raged on but the fire inside blazed, warming and exciting to the two people now lying naked in each other's arms. Chakotay's initial shock had swiftly given way to wild passion. He had wanted Kathryn and had suppressed his feelings for so long that now unleashed, he could no longer control them.

He sat up and pulled her across his thighs, cradling her in his arms, taking her lips as if he could never get enough. Where she had begun the lovemaking he now controlled it. He held her face as he kissed her, his other arm under her neck and shoulders. He whispered her name over and over. He glanced down over her body and brought his hand down between her breasts to her belly and legs, caressing her. His hand came up to cup her breast, his thumb running over the round smoothness, finding the nipple, hard and erect, passing his palm lightly over both of them. A shiver passed over her, but this time it was not cold. She abandoned herself to him, closed her eyes and leaned her head back.

Chakotay lowered her to the soft sand and leaned over her, lowering his lips to her breast. He whorled his tongue around the nipple, fondling her. Her hands, too, were exploring; she sought his shaft with an eager hand, learning it, feeling it tip to base, how long and large it was, rock-hard in its strength and power. Her hand took his testicles in a gentle hold, cupping them to the base of his penis with her palm, gently pressing, kneading. He groaned while his tongue and hands manipulated her breasts, now wet and gleaming in the firelight.

Now he lifted her back into his arms, arching her back it so that her breasts jutted out, the other arm between her legs, his hand cupping her buttocks. The indirect pressure of his arm against her excited Kathryn and she moved slightly against it. Chakotay's mouth continued the delicious dominance over her breasts, wet and swollen with sex. Kathryn's first orgasm shuddered her, spurring him on to give her the next one and the next. Her joy was his.

Kathryn at last pushed him away. Turning toward his body, she leaned him back on his elbows. He watched in astonishment as she lowered her head to his groin where his penis thrust into the air, turgid and erect, quivering in the firelight. Her warm breath bathed his genitals and he closed his eyes. Her tongue teased the tip, causing him to shudder. She gently held him in her hand as she crouched over him, the curtain of her hair not permitting him to watch her. All he had was sensation and it was nearly overwhelming. She began lightly stroking him with the tip of his penis barely in her mouth, tonguing and sucking it. The strokes became shorter and the warm mouth continued to take him in, deeper and deeper. His fists clenched and his muscles went taught, and when she suddenly took all of him into her mouth, he gritted his teeth and groaned, gasping. Not much of this could he take. He took her away from the object of her passion and sat up, pulling her into position, making her straddle him.

She clasped the rigid organ to her belly while his hands again explored her breasts. Eyes were closed, mouths open and pressed together, breaths exchanged, soft sounds emerging and comingling. Kathryn, wild with passion, attempted to push up in order to impale herself but Chakotay held her still, continuing to make love to her without consummating; making it last as long as it would; for who knew when she would ever allow this again? They would never have as much privacy or feel as uninhibited as they now did. Desperate, she again attempted to begin penetration. Chakotay suddenly shifted.

Now she was beneath him, his big body pressing hers into the soft sand, his hands on her wrists, his mouth on hers and then her breasts then back to her mouth then down her belly. She gasped as he continued to hold her hands and his tongue traveled to her private center and he kissed her there, hot and slow. He released her hands and pressed her thighs wide, holding them apart, fingers brushing across her while he began licking and sucking her, causing her to gasp for breath and writhe on the floor beneath him, helplessly groaning as if in agony.

His hands spread over her belly, holding her down as he worked his delicious torture on her, not stopping when she begged him, not coming up between her legs with the thrusting piston she needed so badly, even when she pulled at his shoulders. Her hands were desperate in his hair, alternately pulling and caressing, then at her sides or above her head, grasping the sand, grasping for anything to hold on to while he made her crazy. It went on and on. His tongue penetrated her, his fingers, one by one, plunged deep into her, she was soon screaming, writhing, wanting him to stop and not wanting him to. He knew Kathryn; he knew she wanted to be controlled just this once, in just this time, just this now. She wanted someone stronger, with more power than she had, to overwhelm her and she had no say, no way to control the situation, nothing to do but lie down for him and let him have his way.

He could stand it no longer. His fingers remained inside her as he raised himself and came forward to anchor himself to a breast. His knees pressed her legs outward, holding them wide. Swiftly replacing fingers with penis, he played it along her wetness and held it in position. The moment had come. It had come. They were both sweating. She raised her pelvis to his, begging him with her body, soft groans emerging from her throat, gripping his arms, bracing for the time they would join. It had been a long time; Janeway was ready, more than ready, but he was big and she knew it was going to hurt. He was gentle; despite his desperation to plunge, he inserted the tip and let an inch go in. She relaxed and breathed as he withdrew that inch and deepened his next thrust two inches. She was tight, so tight! She was heavenly; she made him ache. He withdrew the two inches, then withdrew completely. He again worked the tip in her moisture while they both quivered, then drove his shaft a little deeper - then deeper - she thought there was no end to him until she felt him inside her to the hilt - his pelvis jammed against her, his curls entwined with hers.

He waited a long, delicious moment, imbedded inside her, while she lay beneath him, trembling. They looked at each other, eyes locked, as he began a slow thrust, letting her adjust to him, whispering softly to her.

‘It's all right, Kathryn. Relax. I won't hurt you. Let's go slow. We have all the time in the world. Relax. Relax, Kathryn.’

The litany of his honeyed vanilla voice soothed her and she smiled at his gentleness. He felt her entire body go limp and her sex relaxed and softened, warm and inviting. He began grinding his hips in and out of her, gently plunging and thrusting only an inch at a time. Her gasps and his lust-grunts sang in unison as they worked to achieve their goal. He lay forward lightly on her, his mouth covering hers. Imitating his pelvis, his tongue thrust in and out of her open mouth, past her breath, past her sanity. As her passion mounted, his hips responded in drive and speed, in and out and side to side, plunging from every angle, now shallow, now deep, now fast, now slow. Her legs grew tired and he allowed them to fall to the sand. He maintained his penetration and his knees spread her legs a little while he drove his hugeness inside her until her wet body at last contracted. He slowed, allowing her the orgasm and a brief rest, then resumed his thrusts. His fingers caressed the area where they were joined, teasing her. Masterfully, he brought her another and another and still another shattering explosion of sexual release. Kathryn, totally abandoned, frenzied beyond control, thrashed and writhed, arching under his gentle assault.

‘Chakotay -- I can't -- please -- I can't do any more!’

‘Yes, you can. You need this, Kathryn. I've wanted you for so long. Let me make love to you for as long as I can - for just this one night.’

He made her obey. She was deliciously in his control. After what seemed like hours, Kathryn was exhausted from her body constantly straining in orgasm yet he continued to take her and to bring her to yet another. Finally his rhythm faltered and changed. A glance at his face told her that at last he was in the throes of his own release. His buttocks clenched, his shorter thrusts now came faster and harder. Chakotay's own primal scream erupted from his throat, harsh and guttural. His body arched, head thrown back and no part of him touched her except his maleness, now spasming and jerking deep within her. Her final shudder gave way to aftershocks as he slumped over her, quivering.

She took him into her arms. He thrust now, ever so slightly, tapering, bringing them down, easing off on the incredible sensations which had held them so high for so long. They rested. She felt him slide out of her. Relaxed and satiated, he indulged in afterplay; caressing her face and she his; kissing each other softly. His hands now caressed her swollen breasts with a light, unfevered touch, marveling at her body, memorizing her for the time they would have to exist in another place, another time. How much longer would he have to wait until he could again possess her, body and soul? The thought was intolerable.

Suddenly his expression changed, and he surprised her by taking her wrists again, pinning them to her sides as he focused his attention back to her breasts, the fever returning. His urgent touch and insistent mouth alarmed her.

Breathlessly she gasped, ‘Chakotay - wait. Stop. You're bringing me back -- and you can't...’

His hoarse, husky voice answered, ‘Let me worry about that.’

He continued to take her breasts roughly with his mouth and to hold her down, his legs over hers. She couldn't move. The aftershocks were turning back into foreshocks. This can't be happening, she thought.

Shifting his weight off her, he brought both hands above her head and held them there with one powerful hand. Three fingers of the other hand had already made their way back inside her, now thrusting, giving her yet more pleasure. Rather than fight him, she surrendered to the onrush of feeling and shut her eyes tight, mouth open in a soundless scream, every muscle tensed. He manipulated her and watched her reactions, smiling at the tiger in her, wild and unleashed. Roughly, he choked off her groans with his tongue thrusting into her mouth. When she was quiet, he trailed his tongue down her body and flicked it across her while his fingers continued their probing. Her gasps increased; heart pounding wildly, she didn't think her body could take any more, yet it did. He created such a fire, such passion in her, as to be unbelievable. He couldn't seem to get enough of her. After yet another earthquake shook her, he removed his fingers, licked his way back up to her breasts, kissed each of them a final time, then took her into his arms, holding her close.

Our time is coming to an end soon and we have to go back to the way we were. I would have preferred this never end. Perhaps we can manage to continue on the ship - somehow. When the storm ended and Voyager came they would have think of other matters. For now, all that mattered was his massive body next to hers, each now warm and satisfied. Kathryn placed her arms around Chakotay. She kissed him tenderly. This man had given her so much - he had aligned himself with her professionally, helped guide her through some tough decisions, had been by her side, steady as a rock and had even saved her life. Now he had given all of himself to her and she was profoundly moved and grateful. I mustn't let this go. I have to hold on and cherish what he has given - and allow him to give it again. And again. Smiling to herself at the thought, settling down to wait for Voyager's call, Kathryn joined Chakotay in deep, untroubled sleep.

The End.