I have to admit, when I first started writing these stories, I hadn't seen every episode (any series which airs an episode like "Threshold" that early didn't seem to warrant much attention). But I came back to the show via ... Chakotay/Paris slash fiction. There is such marvelous stuff out there, I just had to start watching again. And the reruns have been lots of fun.

I apologize if I haven't gotten characterizations down; sometimes it seems as if they change on the show from week to week!

These stories are meant to stand alone, but I couldn't resist putting certain elements into each. I love the holodeck, so it's important in most; Jeffries Tube 13 also shows up (no magic behind that number; I just liked it). And, amusingly enough, the green curtain in "Random Acts", which was written first, also shows up in "Ghost Light", which I wrote third; I just kind of -- um -- like the color green?

Please try not to laugh at my technobabble; it turns out I do it really badly!

Notes on the individual stories

"Parallel Lines": My, but this one was a long time finishing! The movie "Closing Doors" was a C/P-writer's dream, with the pivotal moment being Tom Paris making/not making the judgment error that affects the rest of his life. (My referring to Tom Paris by his first name in one story & his last name in the other is a nod to the two hair styles used to separate the two storylines in the movie.) The few stories I've read which attempt alternative versions of Paris's life after Caldik Prime seem to have assumed that he'd get over the accident & be okay; I wanted to take into account the fact that this natural-born pilot was at the helm for the deaths of three people. Actually, my alternate Paris turned out more emotionally scarred than the one we saw on the screen -- possibly because he has no one else to blame for every mess he finds himself in. The Q ex machina device was irresistible -- & in keeping with the theme of the arbitrariness of the universe. Seska makes her move earlier in the alternate line than she did in the show: I figured that Chakotay's interest in Paris -- & the recognition that Chakotay thus was allying himself even more closely with the Federation & would no longer listen to her -- would have led her to make contact with the Kazon earlier than she does on the show. Wow, what fun to do the romance in the alternate story, blissfully free of that history of betrayal & mistrust! Some of the incidents in the non-alternate story are from bits & pieces on my hard drive: the kidnapped-crew incident was originally an adventure for the first-season Doctor; the Ekaishaan may show up later as another people, since I didn't use a third of the stuff I had for them. Poor Samtha! As I explain below, she's me: I needed a victim & didn't want to kill off anybody actually in the show. My apologies to anybody who doesn't like tables: it was the best way I could find to get everything lined up right. (&, since I wrote each story separately, I was really surprised to see how much there was that lined up! For example, there are two neck rubs nearly opposite each other that were a complete surprise!)

"Perfect Knowledge": Yet another story (see below) that was supposed to be a quickie -- & ended up taking months. It was probably inevitable that this big romantic sap basically did a redo of "Tamlin." In a way, it's sort of a companion piece to "First Contact," with Chakotay taking charge on The Big Bad Planet. I didn't create the background for the "fancy" version, but the original wasn't nearly this gaudy. (I rather like both Boys in red.) And, how did the Paris in Chakotay's vision weave the grass braid into a ring with a "sailor's knot," when it wasn't revealed that he was interested in the sea until years after the incident with Seska? Well, he does have to have a perfect knowledge of the boy....

"First Contact": Ah, yes, the never-ending slash story. It was supposed to be finished in October, 1999. Then in November, 1999. Then it was supposed to be done in December, 1999. Or, was it mid-January, 2000? What was supposed to be a nice, short first-time story set in a slave culture (is there any Trek writer who doesn't write one of these?) turned into a nice, long first-time novella set in a slave culture. Well, there's just that much more room for the sex. (That naughty little scene that starts out "Ghost Light" somehow popped into this one, too -- couldn't resist.) And, oh, my goodness, it turned out to be a hurt/comfort story! I love a good slave story just as much as anyone. But I wanted to do something different with it. All too often, the two characters fall instantly into their roles and really enjoy themselves. That doesn't happen here. After all, these two guys are the essence of independence: neither is going to enjoy being the slave that much. Nor should he. I also wanted to play around with the strange and subtle relationship between master and slave -- at least as it's played out in Western culture: strangely intimate, but with both on either side of a definite barrier. I can't say that I've said anything unique or startling on the subject, but I did enjoy it. I've also included an outtake that didn't fit in the story. And, yes, I thought my choice of who plays the slave might be fun. Dedicated to everybody who waited so patiently -- and to those who just wanted me to get my act together, dammit!

"Random Acts": My obligatory sex-on-the-holodeck story -- doesn't everyone who loves Trek come up with one? It was the first one into my head, and still the first in my heart. The programs Chakotay describes toward the end of the story are actually the setups of some of my favorite online Chakotay/Paris stories -- the ones that got me hooked.

"Collateral Damage": The first slash story I've ever written with no graphically detailed sex in it. Not even a kiss. I was astonished to realize that at heart it's a "get Paris" story; I hate "get" stories! But this one's mine. I was fascinated by what would happen if the aliens-from-hell showed up at a fragile point in the relationship: just before either has actually declared himself. And what would happen if Chakotay tried to help Paris -- by doing his duty? The admiral and ambassador Paris thinks of when Janeway's rubbing his neck are two slash writers I'm especially fond of; you can find "Ambassador" Keiko Kirin's stories online -- she's been my "mentor" and my inspiration as a slash writer, so if you like my work and you haven't read hers, do it! Now!

"Ghost Light": This one came to mind hard on the heels of "Random Acts" -- which may account for that green curtain.... When the first holoimage popped into my head, I was surprised to realize that Janeway was also there, and having a most -- um -- un-Captainly reaction. Would she react that way? Dunno -- but a lot of very intelligent women would! I'd also love her tree house tub (if I can't have that other program she tries not to enjoy....) All the personnel in the story have appeared or been mentioned in epsiodes -- but one. The hapless Samtha is me: I needed somebody incompetent and didn't want to malign anybody already in Starfleet. Thanks to Alice for pointing out the psychological profiles. By the way, this story's dedicated to the fire flies outside my window, which have been so lovely this summer.

"Chain Reaction": A quicklie little piece of fluff for my friend (my personal muse, apparently), who suggested that handcuffs would fit her mood just fine. And a little life-gets-dull stuff courtesy of adulthood. Some of Chakotay's grumpier thoughts about Janeway, their relationship, and his place on the ship come from some things Robert Beltran has said; I happen to agree with him (where was Chakotay last season?) and thought it would be even more fun to play around with some of it. The stuff about the hair just needed to be explored. I had a lot of fun with names and technobabble on this one. And, no, I can't pronounce the D'honian names, either.

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