It started off innocently enough: a flirtatious comment here, a meaningful touch there. Some wrote the actions off because Janeway regularly showed affection for all of her crew with pats on the arm, shoulder, and so forth. Others saw much more to it. Then we got “Resolutions,” where a virus strands Janeway and Chakotay together on a planet. After Voyager leaves them and continues its journey to the Alpha Quadrant, Janeway quickly goes to work in search of a cure for the virus despite the fact that the Doctor had no luck prior to Voyager leaving its command team behind. Meanwhile, Chakotay takes on a more domestic role. He takes care of the cooking since Kathryn despises the task. He uses the resources at his disposal to make headboards, and even a bathtub after Kathryn tells him that a bath is her favorite way of relaxing.

You know, that is pretty romantic. How could something like that not melt the heart of someone who enjoys a hot bath?

Although Janeway does appreciate the gestures, her scientific mind is still set on finding a cure that will let them leave. She sees their stay on the planet as a temporary home, but Chakotay has already accepted the possibility that they may grow old and die there. When all of Janeway’s research equipment is destroyed during a devastating plasma storm, Janeway must finally accept the idea of spending the rest of her life planetside.

She must also acknowledge the romantic tension that’s been brewing between her and Chakotay. He tells her a thinly-veiled “ancient legend,” as he calls it, about a man who never really felt at peace with himself until he vowed to help a “woman warrior” on her mission. Janeway slides her hand into his as the tears come down her cheeks, and what happens afterward is left to the imagination.

Although there were already fans on the Internet who saw potential for a Janeway/Chakotay relationship before “Resolutions” aired, that episode was the catalyst for a major group of “relationshippers” in the Voyager fandom. Fans showed their support for the pairing with sites such as “Janeway and Chakotay in ’96!” (it was an election year in the U.S.), the JetC email group, message boards on AOL, and of course, an explosion of fan fiction on alt.startrek.creative.

Even now, nearly sixteen years since “Resolutions” aired, fans have taken it upon themselves to explore all that could have been on the Internet. On YouTube, fans share their painstaking efforts at creating music videos that feature the couple. Others show off their Photoshop talents with image manipulations that put Janeway and Chakotay in sometimes NSFW situations. And of course, there’s the fan fiction, where authors bring the two together in infinite time frames and methods. The fans do the above simply for their own enjoyment and the delight of others who also keep the movement alive.

Here are a few examples of the many Janeway+Chakotay creations…