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thegeminisage · 19 days

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star trek update time! I AM BEHIND. tuesday we watched voy's "message in a bottle" and ds9's "who mourns for morn?" thursday we did ds9's "far beyond the stars" and last night we did voy's "hunters" and ds9's "one little ship."

message in a bottle (voy):

THIS ONE WAS SO EXCITING.............

i know vaguely how voyager ends because i have an internet connection but im still like omg omg omg theyre MAKING CONTACT WITH EARTH omg omg

like the whole episode i was so sure something would happen and they would get close but make no progress bc thats been the name of the game so far but THEY DID IT!!!

the emh was great here too. it was fun to see him next to someone who is basically who he used to be. that said, i didn't love who they cast for the other emh...i think it would have been more fun if it had been another zimmerman look alike or. better yet, julian bashir. julian bashir in this episode would have made it PERFECT

seven of nine shocking that guy was amazing. everyone say thank you to seven of nine for finding the communications relay

i get where b'elanna is coming from w seven but like............b'elanna is easily the rudest person on this ship. and i dont hold that against her i know where she is coming from but its hard to see her go damn seven youre rude when she is always snapping at everyone lskdjfgh

that said: Girl Fight

anyway "60k lightyears feels a little closer today" i welled up fr. great job everyone

who mourns for morn? (ds9):

i think i owuld have liked this episode a lot better if it didn't come so close to the magnificent ferengi episode...it's like very typical quark shenanigans and even though he IS my best friend now i don't think this was his best episode. he spent this whole episode just like...trying to do shenanigans and get money which is fine but it's all v surface level stuff. season 3 esque, if you will. the other episode had way more substance to it

that said, i love morn as a like bit character and i love that we found out increasingly improbable and fantastic things about him - cat burglar is almost as good as secret prince

even better when he got back and quark was like DON'T SAY A WORD after we've been talking about how talkative he is all episode and we have not heard him utter a single word in six seasons. incredible

i also like the two aliens who talked really slowly. very fun on-screen presence.

odo giving quark shit in this episode was also pretty good. like he was doing absolutely nothing illegal and odo literally didn't have anything better to do than harass him. E QUARK!

far beyond the stars (ds9):

this episode.

it is such a shame that avery brooks never did anything major outside of ds9. like, a handful of made for tv movies and that's IT?? ik i keep saying this but the man should have been an a-lister. holy fuck. he is SO talented it's insane

i was kinda hoping this guy was sisko's ancestor - that somehow for some reason the prophets were torturing him with visions too? but the fourth wall thing was really good too. and it also freaked me out i love a good fourth wall break <3

outside of the plot of this episode being good, the acting from everybody was phenomenal, but again, ESPECIALLY avery brooks...why can't tng and voyager holodeck episodes be like this?? jesus christ. like this had almost nothing at all to do with ds9 and i still loved it

aside from that, what a treat to see everybody out oft he makeup. some people i recognized ONLY by their voices. we had to pause and rewind several times to focus on what they were actually saying because we were so shocked at how different they looked, and in odo's case, sounded!

anyway, 10/10 episodes. bonus points for the fake jadzia going "oh my gawd she's got a wooorm in her belly" and giggling in disgusted delight <3

hunters (voy):

NEWS FROM HOME THIS IS SO EXCITING!!!!!!!! i SAID everybody say THANK YOU to seven of nine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i was so sure harry wasnt gonna get a letter i was shocked when it finally did come in

tom not getting his letter but knowing one was sent vs b'elanna having no one who loves her enough to send a letter but still learning all her friends are dead...i was glad she gave him a reality check but at the same time...they do kind of work. both of them left behind such shit situations that their lives actually IMPROVED once they got to the delta quadrant and that is Something. semi-reluctantly, i now get it

TUVOK'S A GRANDFATHER......................we've been speculating about his babies and potential grandbabies for 3.5 seasons and now we finally have some ANSWERS!!!!! this is obviously his first grandson but i would still love to know how old the rest of his kids are...i doubt theyre like Babies but young adults? older teens? no one tell me i want to find out on my own

thuh-rilled that janeway finally got dumped by mark. absolutely baffled as to why she and chakotay talked it over like that if they weren't gonna be endgame...when tf did they decide to get him with seven instead? like i don't object because then i don't have to pick between jc and j7 i guess but what the fuck?? it makes no sense. i'm not really Seeing jc7 in my mind palace yet but i'm trying

one little ship (ds9):

this one was so funny. spend an entire episode struck by the lighting bolt from mario kart

o'brien being like saauuur preoccupied with his size also...hilarious. he wanted to kill julian every time he made a pun. don't worry o'brien your wife will understand

that said, really good when julian talked him through those repairs. i think it's easy to forget how fucking smart o'brien is but julian literally did not forget. he solved problems.

"fry every cell in my tiny body" or whatever tf julian said. his tiny, tiny body

when worf was worried about his wife but she came to save him but she was 1cm tall

sisko delaying the repairs was really good...i feel like he meets a jem'hadar and the first thing he tries to do is make them feel a sense of personhood so they can get angry about the injustice of their situation. like, it shows that he has empathy but it's also an incredibly effective tactic - people like as respect sisko as a captain and as someone who fights fairly, honorably, and effectively in battle, so they all hold his opinion in high regard - and the sitch with the jem'hadar is SO skeevy that like of Course they are mad about it. so he can pretty easily manipulate them if he plays his cards right which is? fun and sexy

bonus for kira becoming hysterical at the idea of o'brien and the others becoming that tiny. i think this is when he started to get insecure

edit: i did forget to say initially i really hated the use of "alphas" in this episode. it was very bad and i did not enjoy it any time they said it.

TONIGHT: voy's "prey" and ds9's "honor among thieves."

#personal #star trek blogging #voy lb #ds9 lb

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summahsunlight · 4 years

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This Way Became My Journey, Ch. 23

While the computer was running its diagnostic on the alien device, B'Elanna Torres had snuck away to the mess hall to grab a ration pack for lunch. Well maybe she hadn't really snuck away; Captain Janeway had after all given her permission to take a small break. But it sure felt like sneaking away, with Michael breathing down her neck wanting to know every little thing that came up about the device. Snatching a ration pack up she went to join a Bajoran, by the name of Seska, who was sitting at a table in the middle of the room.

"I didn't think Janeway was ever going to let you leave the bridge," Seska drawled with that sly grin of hers as B'Elanna took a seat.

B'Elanna shrugged her shoulders. "I think she felt bad that her kid was watching over everything I did. Anyways I don't have a lot of time. I need to get back up there to finish working on that device that Chakotay brought back from the planetoid."

"If you ask me this is a waste of time," Seska replied, pushing her empty ration pack to the side. "We shouldn't be chasing after any aliens that like to harvest organs. It could end up getting us all killed."

"Neelix could die if we don't track them down," B'Elanna said, slightly shocked by her friend's cold tone.

It was Seska's turn to shrug her tiny shoulders. "The Doctor has kept him alive this long; that's better than most people can say if they had just had their lungs stolen."

"And what if it was Chakotay that had been attacked? Or Harry? Would you feel the same way?"

"Of course. Neelix should be counting his blessings while the rest of us get to the real work of finding dilithium to help the power shortage," Seska answered, her dark eyes studying B'Elanna's face. "You don't actually agree with Janeway's decision to go chasing after these aliens do you?"

B'Elanna averted her eyes. "To tell you the truth, I think it's rather noble."

Seska scoffed. "One noble deed doesn't make up for her selfish decision to strand us here."

The hatred for Janeway that was laced in Seska's voice was not lost on B'Elanna and the young Klingon woman suddenly found that she was not hungry anymore. Pushing the tray away from her, she looked her friend, or someone she had once regarded as a friend, in the eye. "Seska, I know it hasn't been easy the past month, adjusting to life on a Starfleet ship, but believe me when I say that Captain Janeway has the best intentions of this entire crew at heart."

"You didn't think that way a month ago," Seska pointed out.

B'Elanna shook her head. "No, I didn't. But the past few weeks I've worked closely with her and my opinion has changed. If we had used the array to get home, there would have been people back in the Alpha Quadrant who thought her decision to sacrifice the Ocampa selfish. Either way, she couldn't win."

Seska got up from the table angrily. "You're starting to sound like all those delusional Starfleet idiots."

The Chief Engineer watched as the Bajoran left the table and stalked out of the mess hall. B'Elanna wasn't sure why Seska was having the hardest adjustment out of them all. Perhaps she felt like she had been slighted by Janeway when she wasn't given a higher rank, after all, she was Chakotay's former lover. And then there was B'Elanna's promotion to chief engineer. It was never spoken between the two, but B'Elanna knew that Seska was jealous of her friend's promotion and the trust that Janeway put in her. She also knew that Seska wasn't too keen on all time the B'Elanna had taken to hanging out with Harry Kim in the mess hall or for a stroll on the holodeck. But Harry had been the only one nice to her, on the Starfleet side that is, for their first few days, and she was grateful for that.

It wasn't her fault that she was sliding into fit with the crew and Seska was struggling. She just needs to make friends outside of the Maquis, that's all.

B'Elanna decided that the next time Harry joined her for dinner she was going to ask Seska to join them. She was sure that Harry would be friendly and make an attempt to befriend Seska no matter how unreceptive Seska seemed.

Speaking of Harry, B'Elanna was sure that Janeway had given him a fifteen minute break to eat something as well. Maybe she had missed him when she had first come in the room. Glancing around she soon found that it had been easy to miss him. He was seated at a corner table with Sarah Barrett. B'Elanna instantly felt…jealousy.

She was shocked by this, at first. There was nothing romantically going on between her and Harry so she shouldn't be bothered if there was something between him and the counselor. But then she remembered Elle Platt, back from her Academy days. Elle had the same dark, coffee brown hair as Sarah, same enticing sapphire eyes. B'Elanna had thought Elle had been her friend and had told her about her crush on one of their classmates. They never spoke of it again, until B'Elanna had seen Elle with her crush, cuddling on the lawn one warm afternoon. Elle later told her some story about wanting to keep B'Elanna safe because she only would have been hurt, that her crush never would have dated a half Klingon.

B'Elanna, who had always resented human girls, with their silky locks of hair, and smooth foreheads, had shortly left the Academy after that. So was it this fact that Sarah looked so much like Elle that she was jealous of the time she spent with Harry? And if she ever did want to be more than Harry's friend, how could she compete with the perfection that Sarah was?

She was shocked at this realization. Being more than Harry's friend? He was Starfleet, a nice guy, but still Starfleet. Well what's so wrong with that? They had been through so much together on the Ocampa home world, she had connected with him in a way that she had yet to connect to anyone else on the ship, with maybe the exception of Chakotay. And that's when her emotions switched to jealousy to downright anger.

Sarah could have any man she wanted on this ship, with the bat of her pretty little eyelashes, why was she with Harry? Good, even Tom Paris was eating out of the palm of her hand and she had taken the one guy that B'Elanna actually felt…feelings towards. It figures the one nice guy on this ship—

"Seat taken?"

B'Elanna glanced up to see Tom Paris. She shook her head. "No."

He sat down and dropped his ration pack tray in front of him. His grayish eyes looked up to see what she was looking at and he frowned.

This peaked her curiosity even more. Was Tom's feelings about Sarah more than just wanting a date? B'Elanna suddenly didn't feel so bad that she was not the only one who was jealous on this ship. "Something wrong with the view?" she teased.

Tom only frowned more as Harry and Sarah got up and left the mess hall together, laughing about something. "No, nothing's wrong with the view."

"If I didn't know you any better Paris, I'd say you were jealous," she continued teasing getting up from the table and going to recycle her tray. It was time to get back to working on the alien device and the diagnostic. She would have to push thoughts of Harry aside until further notice.

However, the thoughts of Harry and Sarah eating lunch together, sharing a laugh, just would not escape her no matter how hard she tried to get her work done. Michael Janeway was still standing over her shoulder, soaking in every last bit of information that the computer was coming up with. If that kept up he could his mother the report and B'Elanna could return to engineering where her real work was.

Mindlessly drumming her fingers on the console she noticed Tuvok raise an eyebrow. "Does that form of activity make the computer scan faster?" the Vulcan questioned her.

"No, but it keeps me occupied while we wait." The doors of the bridge swishing open brought her attention about and Paris strode back onto the bridge, no trace of the frown he had worn in the mess hall. How can he let it go so easily? Oh, that's right, he's a pig. He probably has another love interest lined up behind Sarah and the Delaney sisters.

The computer beeping brought her attention about. "Captain," she called out, getting Janeway's attention. "We've completed our diagnostic on the alien device."

Janeway strode over to join the group, which was an odd mix when you really thought about it; a Vulcan, a five year old human boy, and a half Klingon. "What have you got?"

"It appears to be more than a weapon," B'Elanna reported. "It's also a very sophisticated medical scanner and surgical instrument."

"From what we can tell," Tuvok said, handing the device to Janeway, "it uses a neural resonator to stun the victim while a quantum imaging scanner begins a microcellular analysis of the entire body.

"The amount of information this thing can gather puts a tricorder to shame," B'Elanna continued. "You fire this at someone you learn everything about their anatomy, right down to their DNA sequencing."

Janeway turned the device over in her hands. "So we're dealing with aliens who've developed a technology specifically designed for extracting organs from other beings. The question is…why?" Chakotay demanded her attention and she mindlessly put the device down onto the science console.

"The alien ship has dropped out of warp," the first officer reported. "It's approaching a large asteroid."

The captain went to stand on the command station next to Lieutenant Barrett while Tuvok took his own station. "On screen."

"It's entered the asteroid captain," Paris reported.

"Hold position."

There were very little options that Janeway had at this moment. She could either take the ship into the asteroid if it was wide enough or she could try to flush the aliens out some how. But that could take hours, and Neelix didn't have hours. Even though the Doctor had come up with a solution for the time being, no one really knew how long he could survive using holographic lungs, not to mention that if ship's system ever went down and the emitters went off line, Neelix would die.

"MICHAEL!"

The shear volume of Lieutenant Barrett's voice startled everyone on that bridge and all eyes snapped about looking for the child.

The boy was standing at the door to the ready room and immediately Janeway could see that he had the alien device clutched in his little hands. The captain had moved the baby into the ready room so she could comfortably nap and she had no doubt that her son was about to test the device out on his baby sister. How could I be so careless with something that dangerous around? She hadn't even seen Michael move from his spot near the science station, for that matter, neither had B'Elanna. Michael was terribly clever, a trait that Janeway knew had been inherited from her; he could easily slip away from baby sitters, his mother, etc.

So how had Sarah seen it?

Michael looked sheepishly up at his mother. "I just wanted to see Ava's DNA."

His mother gestured that he give her the device back and he complied.

"Sit there," Janeway instructed, pointing to her chair.

Chakotay cleared his throat while the boy did as he was told. "Uh, Captain, we've determined the asteroid is man made."

Fascinating. What's even more fascinating that Sarah knew Michael had that device; another question for another time, perhaps.

"I think I've located where the alien ship entered the asteroid, Captain," Paris was saying bringing their attention about to the situation at hand. "There's an open crater on the limb of the asteroid."

"Let's see it," Chakotay ordered and the viewscreen changed from the image of the asteroid to the opening that Paris had found.

Janeway crossed her arms over her chest. "How large is that crater, Mister Paris?"

"Two hundred meters in diameter."

"Captain," Tuvok cautioned. "May I suggest that you consider carefully what you're about to do?"

"How do you know what I'm about to do?" Janeway asked, raising an eyebrow and glancing at Tuvok.

"I could describe you in detail the psychological observations I have made of you over the past four years," Tuvok answered, calmly. "Which lead me to conclude that you are about to take this ship into the asteroid, but suffice it to say, I know you quite well."

"One of these days, I'm going to surprise you Tuvok," she replied, with a wry grin. "But not today."

Janeway moved back into the command station and briefly looked at her counselor. "I've already consider other options. If Neelix has any chance of surviving, we have to act fast. Red Alert. Mister Paris lay in a course. Mister Tuvok maximum shields, phasers at the ready."

The Captain turned about in the command station and looked hotly at Michael, "And you stay right there and don't touch anything."

"Yes ma'am."

Voyager glided into the asteroid while Janeway made her way down the command steps to stand next to Chakotay and behind Paris. Her eyes watched the screen intently as the cavern's walls began to narrow.

"Captain," Paris said. "I'm reducing power to the aft-thrusters only. This passageway is getting a little too narrow for my taste."

"Use your discretion Mister Paris," Janeway replied, turning towards Tuvok. "Any sign of the alien ship, Commander?"

"We're still following the ion trail," Tuvok answered, "but electromagnetic interference is limiting our sensor range. I'm only able to scan five hundred meters a head of us."

Chakotay asked the next question. "Are there any indications we're being scanned or probed Mister Kim."

"Not yet."

"Sick bay to Bridge. May I enlist the services of Counselor Barrett please?"

Janeway glanced up at the lieutenant. Was it her imagination or did the Doctor sound anxious? "Certainly Doctor, she's on her way, Janeway out." For a moment the women made eye contact. "You heard the Doctor, he needs your help, we're just going to have to handle first contact without you."

#star trek voyager fanfiction #kathryn janeway #chakotay #janeway x chakotay #tom paris #sarah barrett (oc)#tom paris x ofc #harry kim #b'elanna torres #kes #neelix #tuvok #the doctor (emh)#this way became my journey

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chronotrek · 7 years

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749. [VOY] Author, Author

SCORE:

(4/5 stars)

Voyager has managed to establish a stable live feed with the Alpha Quadrant. By bouncing the signal off a singularity, they have 11 minutes a day of solid uplink with which to talk to home. A lottery system is drawn up to give everyone a 3-minute phone call, and the Doctor gets first position, which is fortuitous for him as he's got a publisher to talk to. He's writing a holonovel called Photons Be Free about the struggles of an EMH aboard a Federation starship lost in the Delta Quadrant, and the publishing firm of Broht and Forrester (who distribute the Dixon Hill holonovels) is very keen on what he's written.

The publisher wants to sell it right away, but the Doctor has a few revisions he wants to get in before it's ready for primetime. Tom offers to give it a fresh pair of eyes, and is disturbed by what he finds. The story is set on an ersatz Voyager, all characters looking like Voyager crew but with slightly modified names. The Doctor is forced to treat the ship's pilot with a minor concussion over a man who will die if not operated on within five minutes. The captain kills the more injured man to end the Doctor's triage objections. Disturbed by what he sees, Tom invites the other crew to see it for themselves to prove he's not just sore about being shown up by another holonovelist.

Janeway calls a meeting with the senior staff and the Doctor and they all express their concerns over the story. He insists it's a work of fiction and is not about Voyager or the crew, but that he used the setting because writers write what they know. He acknowledges that he's afforded a lot of freedom on the ship, but his thoughts are for other holographic lifeforms and the oppression they face, such as his fellow EMH Mark 1s who have been repurposed as miners on dilithium asteroids. He insists that the characters are not based on the crew, that he merely used their appearances as templates, but Janeway's concern extends beyond just hurt feelings. She worries that if this gets published as-is, people in the Alpha Quadrant will think this is what Voyager and its crew is like. The Doctor refuses to censor himself for their feelings, and leaves the meeting incensed.

He returns to his program to work on revisions, only to find Paris has rewritten the program to be about a beleaguered medical assistant's struggles with an egomaniacal EMH. It's an over-the-top parody in which the lecherous EMH is shown drugging and taking sexual advantage of "Two of Three." The Doctor angrily confronts Paris about it, but Tom just retorts with all the same arguments: it's not about you, it's entirely fictional. The Doctor points to clear similarities that Paris exaggerated and mocked, to which he catches the Doctor by making him realize that his Lieutenant Marseilles in Photons Be Free is very much the same kind of parody.

Neelix visits the Doctor and says he actually quite enjoyed the story, found it compelling, and suggests that he simply retool it so that it doesn't resemble Voyager and its crew so closely. The Doctor finds that a reasonable compromise and tells his publisher that the final draft is going to take some time because of the significant rewrites and redesigns going into it. However, it's revealed that the publisher has already distributed the draft copy he submitted when Admiral Paris receives a copy from Barclay and contacts Janeway, very concerned about its optics.

The publisher claims that because the Doctor is a hologram, he is not considered a person in the Federation and therefore has no rights as an artist to his work. Realizing this is becoming a civil rights issue, a hearing is convened, taking up 3 days of transmissions for arguments and rulings. The publisher points out that a replicator can make him a cup, but the cup does not belong to the replicator. Tuvok, serving as the Doctor's advocate, uses character testimony from crewmates and examples of the Doctor's attempts to improve himself and even violate his original programming. The arbitrator isn't ready to establish major judicial precedent in the case and doesn't recognize the Doctor as a legal person, but he does see fit to recognize him as an artist with all rights to his work intact and orders an immediate recall of all copies of Photons Be Free distributed so far.

Interspersed throughout the episode has different crewmembers talking to family back home. Harry is able to call his parents (trading his 130th spot with Tom's so he can talk to his mother before her birthday) but the transmission is cut short by a solar flare right as his mom is about to embarrass him by writing a letter to Janeway demanding he get a promotion. B'Elanna gets a letter from her dad asking to speak with her, saying he knows he can't undo the last 20 years of him abandoning her but knowing that she's alive makes him want to try to make amends and she agrees to write him. As Seven operates the connection she sees the impact and the value of connecting with family members, and on Harry's suggestion, she calls her aunt who is able to tell her stories of her childhood, how she misbehaved when her aunt babysat her, and her love of fresh strawberries, a taste Seven notes she still has.

A postscript four months later goes to a dilithium mine staffed with EMH mark 1s. They've apparently gotten hold of a copy of Photons Be Free and are passing it around.

NITPICKS

With this episode so heavily focused on rights, you'd think that the crew would point out that the Doctor would need to obtain their likeness rights to have this holonovel published as is. Even if nothing else, I would think the Doctor could have conceded at the outset to changing the base matrix of the characters so they don't resemble the crew.

While granted, the Doctor is being an arrogant ass when comparing his literary merits with Tom's, he's hardly in a position to call Broht and Forrester high-brow publishers when they publish Dixon Hill novels. It's the pulpiest of pulp.

FAVORITE QUOTES

Janeway: Your emitter isn't a ball and chain. It liberates you. Doctor: It doesn't always feel that way.

Two: It hurts when I do this. Holo!Doctor: Well then, don't do it.

EMH1: Time for your diagnostic. Report to the holo-lab. EMH2: I know the routine. EMH1: And, while you're there, do yourself a favor. Ask the operator to run program forty seven beta. EMH2: Why? What is it? EMH1: It's called Photons Be Free. It's quite provocative.

#star trek #voyager #voy #chronotrek #chronological #review #author author #the doctor #holographic rights #reginald barclay #dwight schultz

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bumblingbabooshka · 2 years

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Do you have any interesting takes on Ocampa lifespans?

I don't know?? Ocampa are interesting because their life span mimics more like, animals, than it does humans.

I think they age very very quickly to get past the "child" stage. Like how a lot of wild animals have children that can walk a few minutes after being born.

Kes says that her father died when she was a one year old but also that he was "The greatest inspiration in her life." and that she thinks about him when she needs guidance, etc. Kes is two years old when she's first on Voyager but she seems to be the rough equivalent to whatever age Tom, B'Elanna and Harry are. (early 30's I assume)

This implies to me that as a one year old she was probably already like...an older teenager?

I think that to an Ocampan the first year of their life is like their entire childhood/adolescence and by the end of that first year you've become an adult. Parents typically spend a /lot/ of time with their children because this stage goes so fast and its the only time they can really impart their own values etc on their children.

I think Ocampans are baby-babies for like...a few days. Not even a week. Most of their time in childhood would be as kids who can walk and talk and play, learn, explore.

They're babies for a few days and then spend the rest of their first year as children/teenagers. By one they're considered adults and four-five is when they hit "middle age" and begin to physically age again to match what humans would look like at around 40. Then by seven or eight years old they again age, deteriorating rapidly and dying. Either within the year at eight or next year at nine.

So to me Ocampans have four distinct 'aging' times and before that they retain their look. Aging is not a gradual process like it is for other species. I also think that on Ocampa people are very kind and attentive towards elders since it is such a rapid and frightening process.

Ocampans to me would probably have a culture that embraced death as like, another stage of life. Especially since their dormant telepathic power is SO great - Kes can literally at one point see through molecules and into the universal unknown so yeah...death being another form of life is probably something that would have been seen as exciting, like an ascension rather than a loss (Pre-Caretaker Event of course but Post-Caretaker Event I think some sentiment of that would still be around)

I also headcanon that Ocampans have the same innate...like, abilities? Like, Ocampan babies don't need to be taught how to walk or talk. They begin to do those things on their own so parenthood is more about imparting wisdom and values onto them.

I think Kes would be surprised that so many other species have babies that take so long to get to a stage where they can be semi-autonomous and that parents had to do so much physical teaching of children. She's surprised they've lived so long!

Umm....Ocampans don't have periods because they only have one shot to have a baby and then that's it!

I think that Ocampans before the Caretaker event would have spent their lives after reaching one year old dedicated to the strengthening and control of their mental abilities. Like, physical learning is for children and mental learning is for adults.

Ocampans typically mate with one person for life (Kes is a REBEL!!!) and don't experience any "negativity" in that relationship (distrust, jealousy, envy, betrayal). That makes me wonder a lot about Ocampan relationships...!

I think they'd probably get together at one or two years old and spend the rest of their lives together but like...how do they not experience things like "distrust" or "envy" ? From what we see of Ocampans they seem to have the same emotional regulation as like, humans, though they do have a sort of 'higher-plane' energy going on...

I don't know if I'm explaining myself right but like, a Vulcan might (hypothetically) not experience "jealousy" because they have a telepathic bond to their spouse and also highly regulate their emotions. Do Ocampans have something similar? Are they taught it? I guess in their underground city maybe its so peaceful and commonplace that it's just consequently something you don't have the need for? Like a utopian society type thing.

Speaking of Kes I wish they'd leaned MUCH harder into her being an explorer or even a bit of an offbeat zealot. The Caretaker was basically celebrated as a God to the Ocampans and Kes went "Mmm....No :/" and went off on her own. That takes a lot of guts and belief! And I do NOT think she would be satisfied just staying in sickbay all day.

I also wish they'd played with her age more. I think there could have been at least an interesting B Plot where Kes resisted the human urge to treat her like a child. Or felt she didn't fit in with others humans put in her age group...or maybe humans in general? The two people we see her speaking with the most (aside from Neelix) are Tuvok and the Doctor. Tuvok is like 90-100 + Vulcan and the doctor is an ageless holobeing. I wonder, if she hung out with say B'Elanna/Tom/Harry, would she find them immature? boring? fun? What about Chakotay or Janeway?

Or an episode where she expressed resentment towards others for how long they got to live. A sort of "You can live for what to me is multiple generations and you waste your time doing this??"

I want her to be WEIRDER. Her soft, low voice...her immense power...her incredibly fast ability to learn...I think it would be fun if she WAS a very compassionate, kind person but also looked down on humans a bit which increases as her powers do. She's just written so blandly in the show - why?? She has interesting stuff to work with!

This is someone who was sheltered all her life underground, defied her apparent God to explore the world, got captured and tortured by the aliens above, and discovered that like...there's a whole UNIVERSE out there! I think she's portrayed as too even keel for that.

I actually have a lot of thoughts on my personal ideal Kes characterization but that's off topic (wasted potential fr) v_v so uhh yeah! That's it. Was any of that interesting?? I dunno~!

#Q&A #liquidink21 #ocampa #kes #st voy #star trek voyager #kes voyager

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summahsunlight · 5 years

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This Way Became My Journey, CH. 12

Pairings: Janeway/Chakotay, Paris/OFC

Characters: Kathryn Janeway, Chakotay, Tom Paris, Sarah Barrett (OC), Harry Kim, B’Elanna Torres, Kes, Neelix, the Doctor

Chapters 1-10 / Chapter 11

A/N: Here is the next chapter! I hope you like it :)

Captain's Log, Stardate 48439.7

As we maintain a course back to the Alpha Quadrant, we're conducting what would be routine maintenance to the ship; routine that is if we had access to a starbase

"Engine efficiency is down another fourteen percent," Tom Paris reported later that afternoon at the senior officer's briefing, or the ones that had been hastily thrown together. They were still without a chief engineer and a chief medical officer. Tom moved slightly back to his seat, looking over his data on his PADD. Sitting down next to Sarah Barrett he remarked, "If we don't get more power to the warp drive, we're all going to have to get out and push."

"What about alternative energy sources?" Janeway asked. She looked at Harry, remembering the report he had issued to her last night, that had been sitting in her stack on her desk that morning, about his idea. She had unfortunately not been able to read through it thanks to Ava making a mess of her ready room. The broken vase had taken nearly an hour to clean up because she had to crawl along the floor to find all the tiny pieces. "Ensign," she said pushing memories of the regretful morning from her mind, "have you had any luck getting power from the holodeck reactors?"

He shook his head. "Not yet. We tried hooking them to the power grid and we ended up blowing out half the relays. The holodeck's energy matrix just isn't compatible with the other power systems."

"Captain," Chakotay said, getting her attention. "If we relocate all security personnel to deck seven we can shut down power on deck nine and reroute it to propulsion."

Tuvok looked intrigued. "That would be inconvenient, but acceptable."

"Fine," Janeway said, picking up a PADD. "Let's move onto the personnel situation."

She was about to say more when Neelix and Kes burst into the room, Neelix apologizing that they were late. Janeway and the rest of the senior officers seemed surprised to see them there. "Mister Neelix, this is a briefing for the senior officers," Janeway told them.

"Well I am the senior Talaxian on board and Kes is the senior Ocampa," He replied. "And I do know more about this region of space than any other member of the crew."

For a moment Janeway met Barrett's eyes. The young woman raised her eyebrows in response as if to say that Neelix was right.

"We have some excellent suggestions, Captain," Kes added, noticing the looks passing between Janeway and Barrett.

Janeway nodded. "Very well; you're welcome to join us, this time."

Tom got up and offered Kes his chair and went to stand with Neelix.

As Kes got settled, Janeway voiced, "To be honest, we could use some excellent suggestions right about now." She placed the PADD with the personnel needs onto the table.

"I've been thinking," Kes told her. "That you could convert one of your lower decks into a hydroponics bay; you'd be able to grow your own food. I understand that the replicators went down earlier today and that the emergency rations won't hold out much longer."

Janeway had to admit it sounded like an excellent idea, and since she was sick of peanut butter and jelly, the only thing she had left besides the emergency rations, she decided it was worth a shot.

"What about cargo bay two," Harry suggested, tacking onto what Kes was saying. "It was designed for organic storage, and it already has adjustable environmental controls."

Janeway was sold on the idea now, smiling at Kes, she said, "When can you start?"

"Me?"

"It's your idea, your project," Janeway told her.

Kes felt a smile form on her face, pleased that she had been able to offer some help to these people. "Right away," she told Janeway. Neelix went to babble on the things he could to with vegetables and how something called Feragoit goulash was known across twelve star systems. Janeway had learned to take everything that Neelix said with a little grain of salt however.

Smiling she went back to the PADD she had placed on the table earlier. "Okay, onto the personnel problem." She scrolled down the list on her PADD. "We've managed to find a replacement for the transporter room chief, but we still need an astrogation plotter, chief engineer, medical support staff…" she paused and let out a small, frustrated sigh. Being stranded out here was beginning to sink in fully with her and she realized that she had a lot of work ahead.

Chakotay was handing her a PADD, informing her that he had given her a list of Maquis that he thought would make good officers. Janeway scrolled down the list, each name registering in her mind, but no face, that is until she came across B'Elanna Torres name. Barrett had mentioned to her the other day that Torres was "volatile" and just recently she had struck Lieutenant Carey, breaking his nose. "B'Elanna Torres, wasn't she the one who was involved in that incident with Mister Carey?" she asked Chakotay.

"That's right," he said, looking accusingly at Sarah.

"Just what job do you think she's suited for?" Janeway asked.

"Chief Engineer," he replied.

Janeway studied him for a moment. "You're serious?"

"Very."

Deciding that this issue was not going to be solved at the present time she placed the PADD he handed her down onto the table. "Regarding sickbay, we still need a chief medical officer."

"What about that electronic man?" Neelix questioned.

"It is an emergency medical hologram and its abilities are limited," Tuvok answered him. "It can only operate in the confines of sickbay."

"Not to mention its lousy bedside manner," Tom quipped to which Neelix nodded his head in agreement.

"Well couldn't you work with…him, Counselor," Neelix said, looking at Sarah.

Barrett gave him a bemused look. "It's a hologram, Mister Neelix, not a person. I can't put him through therapy to improve his compassion. He is what he is." She looked at Janeway then, "Although, maybe we should look into his programming to see if we can improve on it just a bit. I heard that Ava was terrified of him the other day."

Terrified wasn't the word that Janeway would have used, recalling how she had taken the baby down to sickbay to have the Doctor check up on the double ear infection. While the infection was all but gone, his cold tone and mechanical like way of dealing with people had caused Ava to go into hysterics.

"That still doesn't help us when the power runs out," Kim was pointing out, bringing Janeway's attention about to the meeting at hand.

"What if someone trained alongside the Doctor, as a field medic?" Chakotay offered.

"Good idea," Janeway said, with maybe a bit too much enthusiasm in her voice to make him feel better for her lack of trust in B'Elanna. Stealing a glance at Tom, she said, "Lieutenant I understand that you studied biochemistry at the Academy."

Tom looked worried. "Only two semesters," he told her.

"Close enough, you just volunteered to be field medic," Janeway told him, amused by the look on his face. "Report to sickbay as soon as we're finished here."

"But Captain," Tom started to protest as the ship shook violently. Somehow the senior staff managed to get to their feet and make their way out onto the bridge towards their stations.

Janeway gripped tightly to the railing at conn, screaming, "Report!"

Seska was manning the engineering console. "We're running into some kind of spatial distortions."

"Mister Tuvok!"

"The distortions are emanating from a highly localized disturbance in the space time continuum. Distance, twenty thousand kilometers off the port bow!"

"All stop!"

As soon as the ship came to a stop, the jolting stopped. Janeway let out a small sigh of relief and moved away from tactical which she had scrambled too when she asked Tuvok for his report. "On screen," she ordered and an image appeared on the view screen. Looking at the mass of blue and purple before she glanced at her personal screen, going over the readings it was giving. She had never personally seen this type of anomaly before, but she was pretty sure she knew what was out there. "If I'm not mistaken, we're looking at a type four quantum singularity."

"Captain," Tuvok said, "I'm receiving an audio transmission from inside the singularity."

"On speakers," Janeway ordered and the cabin was filled with a garbled message.

"I think I found the source of the transmission," Kim announced from ops. The image on the view screen magnified and the distorted image of a ship could be made out.

Janeway turned slightly in her chair and looked over her shoulder at Neelix and Kes who were standing at the rail behind her. "Does it look like any ship you're familiar with?"

Neelix squinted his eyes trying to make it out. "No, nothing I recognize. But then again, it's so hard to make out."

The Captain stood and moved towards conn. "They maybe trapped in the event horizon. Open a channel," she ordered Tuvok. When he signaled to her that it was open she began to speak again. "This is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Starship Voyager to the vessel near the quantum singularity. Do you need help?" While she waited for a response she heard Neelix telling Kes that a singularity was a star that had collapsed in on itself, and that the event horizon was a very powerful engery field surrounding it. She wasn't surprised that he next went into some story that he had encountered one before. She didn't hear the rest of the story though, because Tuvok was speaking to her.

"No response to our hail Captain."

"Can we tractor the vessel out?"

"No, the subspace interference is too heavy," Harry replied as Neelix made his way down the steps into the command station.

"Captain," the Talaxian said. "We're less than three light years from Ilidaria. They have sophisticated technology, they might be able to help, and they're quite friendly… most of the time."

Janeway shook her head at his suggestion. "No. It looks like its being pulled into the singularity. We have to get it out of the event horizon." She was startled to hear Chakotay contact Torres down in engineering, peering around Neelix at her new first officer she wondered if he realized just what he was doing.

"I was thinking we could remodulate a tractor beam to match the subspace interference, it might be enough to cut through the event horizon," Torres' voice interrupted her thoughts.

"A subspace tractor beam?"

"Exactly."

"When can you have it ready?" Chakotay asked her, growing more aware that Janeway was not happy with him.

"Two maybe three hours."

"Get right on it, use whatever people you need," Chakotay told her.

Janeway pressed her lips together briefly before speaking, "Mister Carey what do you think?" The tension that passed between the two was not lost on the people nearest them, being Neelix who was sandwiched in between, and Sarah who was standing to the right of Janeway.

"With the right field modulation it might work. But we'll need more power to the emitter array," Carey's voice said over the comline.

"Very well," Janeway replied, glancing up at the ceiling momentarily. "You're in charge Mister Carey, report to me when the tractor beam is ready."

"Aye, Captain."

Janeway told Tom to hold their position and with one look at Neelix, which told the Talaxian to step aside, she moved towards Chakotay and dropped her voice into a tone that she often found herself using when she was frustrated with Michael. "I'd like to see you in private."

As she stepped off of the bridge into her ready room, Chakotay following behind her it became apparent to everyone that the tensions between Starfleet and Maquis were not solely restricted to Engineering.

"Michael take your sister and go sit out on the bridge for a moment," Kathryn ordered the children in perhaps too hostile of a voice, but she was not in the best of moods. She went to stand on the upper level of her ready room and waited for the children to leave.

"Mama, why did the ship move like that?" Michael asked her instead of moving. "It ruined the block house I was building."

Kathryn crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes. She was not in the mood to argue with him, not when she had a bone to pick with her first officer. Michael knew that look all too well and the little boy eagerly took Ava by the hand, and proceeded down the steps of the upper level of the ready room, past Chakotay who was standing by the desk, and out onto the bridge.

When the door hissed shut behind the children, Kathryn glared at her new first officer. "We have a problem and I think it's time that we discuss this."

"Captain I appreciate your concerns about Torres, but I promise you-," Chakotay started to say, but she interrupted him.

"You don't understand Commander," Kathryn said, "This isn't about Torres, my problem is with you."

"Me?"

"Let me be blunt," Kathryn said, losing her patience. "What you tried to do just now was out of line."

"In what way?" he asked.

"When you decided to call Torres in Engineering," Kathryn snapped.

"I've worked with her. I know what she's capable of," Chakotay responded, feeling himself losing his own cool. "We needed an answer right away and I knew she could give us one."

"Carey is the senior officer in Engineering," Kathryn retorted.

"If you look at it that way, none of my people will ever have seniority," Chakotay argued.

Kathryn moved off the upper level of her ready room towards him. "That's the problem right there. They're not your people. You're treating the Maquis on this ship as if they're still your crew."

"I'm doing everything that I can to integrate them into your crew, but frankly, you're not making it easy for me, Captain."

"I can't make it easy Commander. Surely you can understand that. They don't have the discipline, they don't have the training."

"But some of them have the ability, like B'Elanna Torres!" he responded.

Kathryn moved away from him, towards her desk, but didn't sit down. "The Starfleet officers on this ship have worked all their lives to earn their commissions. How am I supposed to ask them to accept a Maquis as a superior officer just because circumstances have forced us together?"

"You're asking them to accept me," he told her.

"You're qualified. You're a graduate of the Academy and you have command experience," she argued.

"Permission to speak freely."

"Go ahead."

His eyes became dark. "I have no intention of being your token Maquis officer."

She was taken aback by the darkness of his eyes and his words. "Show me another Maquis candidate and I'll consider him."

"B'Elanna Torres."

"Who cannot control herself and could not make it through the Academy."

"She's the best engineer I've ever known!" he yelled, turning about to leave. "She could teach at the Academy!" He stopped before he got to the door and turned about to look at Kathryn. "You're right Captain, I do consider these my people because nobody on this ship will look out for them like I will. And I'm telling you, you're going to have to give them more authority if you want their loyalty."

"Theirs…or yours, Commander?"

"I'm trying to help you," he answered her. "I'm sorry that you don't see that. I strongly recommend that you get to know Torres before you chose a new Chief Engineer. Permission to leave."

"Dismissed," she whispered, watching as he stormed out of her ready room and back onto the bridge. Raising her eyes to the ceiling she studied it intensely for a few moments, what she wouldn't give to be able to go back in time and stop this all from happening. Trying to explain to High Command why they had suddenly disappeared for several days with no communication with Starfleet was looking a lot more pleasant then what she was facing right now; a seventy five year journey with two crews that just could not get a long.

Stop with the self-pity, Kathryn, she chided herself. Circumstances were what they were, and she was going to have to make the best of it. With a defeated sigh, she sat herself down behind her desk and called up B'Elanna Torres personnel file, perhaps she should take Chakotay's advice after all and get to know the woman better.

"Computer, activate the emergency medical holographic program," Kes commanded as she stepped into sickbay.

The hologram appeared before her, stating, "Please state the nature of the medical emergency."

"Actually, there is no emergency," Kes replied. "I'm creating a hydroponics bay; I was told you could provide me with some nitrogenated soil samples."

The Doctor didn't look too pleased. "That's it?" Her apologetic look told him the answer that he sought. "And so it begins. The trivial of medicine is my domain now; every runny nose, stubbed toe, pimple on a cheek becomes my responsibility."

"You are the only doctor we have," Kes pointed out to him while he prepared her samples.

"I'm not just a doctor!" He exclaimed, turning to look at her. "I've been designed with information from two thousand medical reference sources and the experience of forty seven individual medical officers! I am the embodiment of modern medicine." After the egotistical rant the hologram turned back to the shelf. "How much dirt do you need?"

"Four samples will be enough," Kes answered.

The Doctor sighed, frustrated and collected the samples for her. "Now I know how Hippocrates felt when the King needed him to trim a hangnail." He placed the three samples he had managed to carry from the shelf into a portable storage unit.

"You're very sensitive aren't you?"

"As a medical practitioner I require a certain sensitivity to properly address a patient."

"I'm talking about you as a person," Kes replied, gently.

The Doctor turned around, standing by the shelf once more, looking at Kes. "I am merely a hologram."

Kes was looking at him, studying his appearance intently. "Doctor, has your program altered your appearance since I came to sickbay?"

"No. Why?"

She moved towards him and joined him at the self. "When I first came in your head was at the same height as this cabinet. But now you look at least ten centimeters shorter."

He looked at her, concerned, and then went to sit at the desk, typing in a few keys on his console. "I've just run a diagnostic on my image processor. It shows that I've been reduced in height by ten point four centimeters." He tapped his combadge. "Sickbay to operations."

"This is Kim."

"The holographic projector in here is malfunctioning," the Doctor told him. "Can you send a repair crew down right away."

"We're a little busy right now, we'll get to it as soon as we can."

"It's just that-,"

"Kim out."

Dejected at being cut off, the hologram looked down at the desk before glancing up at Kes. "Well, it seems like a very busy day in operations."

"I'm sorry I bothered you," Kes said, turning to go, gathering up her samples.

"No trouble at all, just turn off the program before you leave."

Before she left though, she looked back at him one last time. "What's your name?"

"What purpose would a name serve a hologram?"

"I just wanted to know what to call you besides Doctor," she replied.

"I guess they never thought I'd be around long enough to need one," the Doctor said. "What's your name?"

"Kes."

The hologram smiled. "Well, Kes, I'm glad that I could help you today."

With a warm smile, she said, "Computer end program." As the hologram disappeared, she took the samples and proceeded to cargo bay two where she was going to begin her project of creating a hydroponics bay to help a crew that had helped her so much in the past several days.

With a troubled expression, Sarah Barrett stepped out of the turbolift onto the bridge just as Joe Carey's voice came over the comlink that they were ready to proceed with the tractor beam. Janeway was making her way across the back of the bridge towards tactical and where Sarah was standing. She had a hard, determined look on her face, and Sarah could see that she was tense. The information that the young woman was going to give her was not going to make present matters any better, either.

"Captain, can I speak to you for a moment?" the young counselor asked her, stepping into her path. Janeway shook her head and went to move around Sarah, but the counselor stepped in her way again. "Ma'am, it's very important."

Gently Janeway placed her arms onto Sarah's shoulders and moved her out of the way. "I'm sorry, Counselor, it's going to have to wait. We're about to attempt using the subspace tractor beam to free that trapped ship. I promise once this is all over I'll speak to you." Moving past Sarah, she pointed at Tuvok, "Mister Tuvok, lock onto that ship."

"Engaging tractor beam." A blue energy beam shot forth form the front of Voyager and locked onto the ship in the middle of the singularity. "It's working," Tuvok reported. "The beam is penetrating the event horizon."

Kathryn felt very little relief at this news, but when she heard Harry Kim contact engineering to check their power levels because he was reading massive fluctuations, she lost what little feeling of relief that she had possessed. Suddenly the ship lurched and she was thrown against the railing lining the back of the bridge. Immediately her leg began to throb in the area that had smacked against the rail, sending a wave of pain coursing through her veins.

"We're being pulled towards the singularity!" Tom Paris reported, anxiously, as he was thrown across his console.

"What's going on?" Chakotay asked Kim.

"Power to the tractor beam is down eighty percent. The gravimetric force of the singularity is pulling us in!"

Kathryn wasn't sure how she did it, with the ship shaking violently, and her leg throbbing in intense pain, but she managed to stumble to conn, clutching at the railing. "Impulse engines full reverse! Disengage the tractor beam!"

"I can't shut it down!" B'Elanna Torres said over the comlink. "The relays are locked!"

"I'm picking up hull stress all over the ship. If we keep the engines at full reverse it will pull the ship apart," Harry said.

"Cut the engines."

"We're moving forward again!"

"Engineering, get that tractor beam off line!"

Joe Carey's voice could be heard next over the comline. "Captain I can shut it down, but I'll have to get in there and physically cut the main power feed."

Kathryn didn't care how he did, not at this point. "Do it," she ordered him. The ship continued to shake for several seconds while they all held their breaths. Finally, after what felt like hours to Kathryn, the motion stopped and Tuvok was reporting that the tractor beam had been disengaged. Closing her eyes she let out a small breath of relief. "Move us to a safe distance, Mister Paris."

"Are we abandoning the rescue attempt?" Chakotay asked her as she joined him in the command station.

"No, but we're going to need help," Kathryn replied, and then ordered Tom to lay in a course for the Illdaria system. Glancing at Chakotay, she said, "Have Mister Neelix report to the bridge, it appears we're going to follow his suggestion after all." The first officer nodded his head and left the bridge. It was then that Kathryn noticed Sarah standing there and recalled that the young woman had something urgent to speak to her about before they had made the rescue attempt. "I suppose now is as good as any a time, Sarah, to talk. What can I do for you?"

"Engineering brought something to my attention, and they weren't exactly sure how to approach you," Sarah replied. "They found an object lodged inside a conduit on deck eleven."

Kathryn gave her a puzzled look even as a toy action figure was produced in Sarah's hand. Instantly the Captain recognized the toy as her son's. Visibly she kept her cool, but inside her head was swarming with emotions. It suddenly dawned on her that the children had never come back into the ready room after she had forced them to leave so she could speak to Chakotay alone. Kathryn had not even noticed that they were missing she had been so preoccupied. She cursed herself for being so careless. Snatching the toy out of her counselor's hand she wrung her fingers around it. "You didn't happen to find the culprit did you?"

Sarah shook her head. "No ma'am. I searched the deck myself, but found nothing."

"Computer, locate Michael and Ava Janeway."

"Michael and Ava Janeway are in the mess hall."

Wonderful, Kathryn thought. Who knows what they've gotten into there. We've only got two replicators left; I wouldn't be surprised if they've blown them out. "Mister Tuvok, you have the bridge," she ordered, storming up the steps and into the turbo lift. The day was seemingly getting worse and worse, if that was entirely possibly. She wasn't sure how much longer her mental being was going to hold up with if there were anymore broken computers, shattered vases, combadges tossed about, and toys lodged into power conduits. She was already in a fragile state as it was.

The doors to the lift opened and she proceeded to the mess hall. Briefly she wondered how many kilometers she had logged roaming the ship looking for the children the past few days. I need to put a homing beacon on them, she thought with mild amusement as the doors to the mess hall swished open.

Kathryn had expected to find Michael tinkering around in some conduit. However, the two children were seated at a table with another crewman; Ava snuggled up into the woman's lap, and from where Kathryn was standing, appeared to be sound asleep. The Captain reasoned that it was probably the baby's nap time and she felt miserable about forgetting them for a good two to three hours. Michael was savoring a hot fudge sundae and Kathryn prayed he had used one of her replicator rations to get the ice cream instead of the crewman who had suddenly been deemed baby-sitter.

"Captain!" the young crewman suddenly saw the older woman standing there and jumped to her feet. Ava stirred slightly, but didn't wake up. "I didn't notice you come in!" The crewman was a bajoran female, who had dark hair and eyes, and by Kathryn's estimate couldn't have been out of the Academy that long.

"It's alright, Crewman," Kathryn responded, with a tired tone to her voice. "I was actually looking for these two trouble makers. Sorry to inconvenience you, I should be keeping a better eye on them."

"It wasn't an inconvenience, ma'am," the young woman replied. "I found them roaming around on deck eleven and thought that they'd like to get some ice cream. They looked a little bored, ma'am."

Kathryn felt a smile lace her face. "I guess being cooped up in my ready room everyday isn't exactly the most interesting place for a five year old and a one year old. But you still shouldn't have felt obligated to take care of them. After all, it's not one of your duties to watch the Captain's children."

"Believe me Captain, I'm better suited for this than all those Starfleet algorithms," the young woman said, absentmindedly, and then her eyes gaped when she realized what had just left her mouth. "I mean…I've always enjoyed being around children, ma'am."

"It seems that children like being around you too, crewman, I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't know your name," Kathryn said, wishing that she had taken the time to go over more of the personnel files that had were scattered throughout her quarters so she could get to know her crew better.

"Tal Celes," the girl replied.

Kathryn held her arms out. "Well, thank you again Crewman Celes," she replied, standing there with her arms open. The young woman looked confused and Kathryn didn't know why but she just warmed her heart. "I think I can take it from here."

Realizing that the woman wanted her baby back, Celes snapped to attention and placed the sleeping Ava into her arms. Gesturing for Michael to come with her, Kathryn thanked the young woman again, and as she left, perhaps had found a solution to her childcare woes. But the first thing she had to do was to speak to Michael about wandering off and playing in a power conduit.

Kathryn waited until they were inside the lift the doors had firmly shut, and they were on their way back to deck one before speaking to her son. "There's something we need to talk about. You have to understand, Michael, that this ship, it isn't like our house back in San Francisco, and you can't just roam around it as you please."

"I wasn't roaming around, I knew exactly where I wanted to go," Michael replied with a huff.

"Michael, you could get hurt," Kathryn chided. "Someone in Engineering found one of your toys in a power conduit on deck eleven. Honey, you could have blown the conduit, getting yourself and Ava seriously hurt."

"I just wanted to see how it worked, Ava was the one who got the toy stuck in there," Michael told her. "You don't need to worry."

But that's all she found herself doing, especially now that circumstances had made her life as a mother much more difficult. They faced the prospect of all kind of dangers, threats that could harm herself or her children. What else was she to do but worry about them?

#star trek voyager #star trek voyager fanfiction #kathryn janeway #chakotay #janeway x chakotay #tom paris #sarah barrett (oc)#tom paris x ofc #harry kim #b'elanna torres #neelix #kes #the doctor (emh)

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