#but janeway and tom could have said to turn around

[thegeminisage]

ok. it's star trek update time. only one day behind thankfully! wednesday i pussied out of kiraodo hell so we did voy's "threshold" and "meld" and last night we finally DID do ds9's "crossfire" and then "return to grace."

threshold (voy):

absolutely nothing that i'd heard about this episode could have prepared me for the reality of it.

firstly, it must be said, the episode IS awful. there's absolutely no point to any of it, except, vaguely, tom paris's self-esteem issues, the thing he has to tackle after conquering his daddy issues. all told though he wasn't unbearable this episode, except for maybe when he insisted on taking the 2% risk to his fucking life

that said, did i give it a "must see" on the spreadsheet? yes, absolutely, even though it comes right before meld, which i gave a "must see" in a totally different way

like, sorry, if you can't tell what kind of a time you are getting into with one vs the other i can't help you

look. the fact of the matter is firstly i didn't expect all the body horror. also i didn't expect the salamander edging ie i thought they'd be salamanders the entire time and they only were for a few minutes. and finally: their wet, heaving, salamander bodies in the fog...was enough for me.

also, PEPPERONI!

finally, what the hell even was that conversation he and janeway had at the end. why aren't they more worried about their salamander babies. none of it makes any SENSE. it's glorious

meld (voy):

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST

easily. EASILY. the best voyager episode we've seen so far. prior to now it was the one with the romulan but this one blows that one out of the fucking water

first of all, did you know tuvok has 4 babies and breed orchids because it's very important and he is so important he is my special little guy. i think if i was murdered i would definitely want him solving my case. he's a very thorough detective

the like..he just COULDN'T understand violence without reason. and instead of being like "wow that guy's got horns well not gonna let it ruin my day" he turns around and MIND MELDS WITH HIM? WITH THE SERIAL KILLER? "my vulcan nature will allow me to control it" YOU ARE INSAAANE

everybody talks about spock being crazy but it's gotta be just a vulcan thing. tuvok was willing to do the shady business deal, he is ALWAYS the first to put his hand on his phaser (so jumpy...), he's always clenching his jaw (thanks cathy i'm never going to be able to unsee it), like he is so far away from home and his babies and potential grandbabies and also his orchids, except for that one spock orchid he keeps in his quarters. he is under an immense amount of pressure. he got tortured like two or three episodes ago and (worse) someone HEARD HIM SCREAM and he just has to deal with that. my best friend tuvok. where was i even going with this

i love that he's afraid of himself. like he said about the torture: sometimes you simply have no choice but to endure the experience. he tried everything suder did: the holodeck, the therapy. it didn't work. (him fake killing holo-neelix was so scary btw because it was premeditated)

and i love that he has a REASON to be afraid of himself. this is the first instance since "amok time" and "all our yesterdays" we got a glimpse of what vulcans were like before they decided to go full surak, and like NO WONDER. BECAUSE THEY WERE SCARY. between telepathy, sheer brute strength, and incredible intellect, tuvok was nearly unstoppable. he fought his demons with all the fervor of spock himself. and speaking of spock...

the doctor said (and im copypasting here) "There's a definite neurochemical imbalance in the mesiofrontal cortex. That's where the Vulcan psycho-suppression systems are located." is this to imply there is a physiological component to the emotional control vulcans have, and if yes, spock may not have access to the full range of those abilities given his half-human heritage...? ie he's potentially stuck with the strength and lasting power of vulcan emotions and attempting to stay on top of them with fragile human impulse control

i don't know if i like it better that way, or if i like it better that he DOES have that ability and all the other vulcans still judge him anyway. after all, he certainly doesn't have half a pon farr or half the strength of a vulcan, biology doesn't work that way. but it is. sorry. fascinating to think about

and finally, who would i be if i didn't mention penetration? what a fucking line that was. i want to paste it over some spones screenshots. good fucking lord

sorry to make this voyager episode about tos. janeway and tuvok remind me SO much of kirk and spock i can't help but be into it a little even though i know their platonic friendship is really important and everything. i wouldn't have been mad if tuvok was single, you know? especially since, sigh, chakotay ends up with seven. he was so afraid of hurting her physically and then he hurt her emotionally and he was SO contrite...kill me

crossfire (ds9):

i don't want to talk about it.

actually wait yes i do. this episode wasn't fair to sisko. he NEVER yells at his people for no reason especially when it's clear they are normally competent and they're having trouble bc of emotional reasons. he sits down and talks to them about it! this was character assassination

okay and fine while i am talking about it i will also say i was pleasantly surprise by quark and the quark/odo. i'm gonna be a kira/odo girlie forever but i have been DYING for quark to do something interesting or with some emotional weight and he MET the challenge. this was the last person i expected to figure odo out, but in the end i don't think there could have been a better choice. odo said he didn't want sympathy and he meant it, and anyone besides quark would have attempted to give it to him (except maybe worf, lol)

oh, speaking of worf, their shared autism conversation...they need routines...personal space...love that for them

sorry, back to quark, it was REALLY funny when he gestured to his ears and went "hello?" it's exactly how i talk in 2024 so it got a huge laugh out of me

i don't dislike shakaar, and i did like a lot of cute kira/odo moments in this ep, but i think the elevator thing was stupid. i think it was also kind of rude for kira to be 20 minutes late to their meeting on both a personal and professional level and then be like :( when odo decided not to do them anymore. there was a lot of classic "friendzone" tropes in this episode, which weren't as tired and aged then as they are now, but jesus

anyway, i can comfort myself by knowing they go canon in the end. ik a lot of people hate them as a couple and i have a vague understanding that some of the bumps along the road continue to have these vibes, but i am prepared to ignore all that as long as they start kissing eventually

final note i read this on memory alpha:

this, but he saves kira instead and shakaar almost dies, and THAT'S when he has his breakdown about his love life interfering with his job/who he is and decides to attempt to get some distance. that would have been a much cleaner episode and also more gentle. idk why the think what they have is gentle. it was pretty brutal in places

return to grace (ds9):

man, every time they bring dukat in he becomes more complex and more layered and interesting. and we NEVER miss a beat with this guy. i was just saying aloud "this is all extremely fun and funny but i wish we remembered more often he ran a labor camp and did war crimes" and literally less than three minutes later they were discussing the fact that he did war crimes

like, you spend this whole episode thinking he's laying the moves on kira bc of his bajoran fetish/he's single now (which: lmao) and kira straight-up says "what he wants from me is forgiveness" when we as viewers got tricked into thinking what he wanted from her was the strap. (or, you know, both. one must be intrinsically linked to the other, naturally.)

and it si funny. again, they have that q and picard energy. the more he wants her the less she wants him and the less she wants him the more he wants her. he is a disgusting little creature and will Never be worthy of the strap!!!

love also that kira was like yeah you know what if you wanna run off half cocked fine i will raise your baby. you cant turn her into a little terrorist i cannot let you radicalize the child. that's twice she's wound up saving his daughter now

though i DEEPLY loved these two episodes with kira and dukat, i also miss when dukat had some weird gay thing going on with sisko. what, bc sisko's got a gf now he's just supposed to bow out gracefully? not my dukat

anyway, it was absolutely amazing to see kira in her element here, but i think it was such important character development that she goes "no, this isn't secretly what i live for, this TRAUMATIZED me, and i will live with the effects for the rest of my entire life." a lot of people on star trek post-war episodes have picked fights just so they could keep on fighting, because they quite literally don't know what to do with themselves otherwise. they NEED the war, they NEED the enemy. kira doesn't, and you get the sense she's only just now realizing that about herself. it's such a subtle but important bit of growth <3

NEXT TIME: ds9's "sons of mogh" and potentially voy's "dreadnaught" depending on time

[writingsfromstarfleet]

[Tom Paris] The Wedding

♫ - Nancy Mulligan - Ed Sheeran 

A/N: This is for a lovely and very patient Anon, I am so sorry this took so long, I hope you’re still around! Thank you all for reading, I appreciate every one of you! Hugs! - Mal  ♡

Never in your life did you think you were one for marriage. You hadn't ever really thought much about it, and never saw yourself actually getting married. You loved weddings, and you loved the festivity of the day but you hadn't imagined you would be having your own wedding someday.

That all changed when you met Tom Paris.

You were both aboard Voyager when she was lost in the Delta Quadrant, but you both came from different sides. You were a member of Captain Janeway's crew, whilst Tom was one of the Maquis you had taken on board. At first, you were polar opposites, exchanging snarky comments and looks back and forth. But the more you got to know him, the more he seemed less like an asshole and more of a genuine person. Eventually, you got to know Tom Paris the person.

Ever since then, you had been inseparable, and whilst on shore leave, Tom had proposed to you. With no hesitation, you had said yes. The bond you had formed with the Lieutenant was far too important to you, and you knew he was the one you wanted to spend the rest of your life with. The wedding planning was put into motion, and soon enough, the day itself had arrived.

As B'Elanna had finished fixing your hair into place, you finally got a chance to look at yourself fully in the mirror. Your eyes welled up and your smile was wide.

"You look wonderful, Y/N," B'Elanna said, smiling just as much as you were. You turned to her and gave her a hug.

"Thank you, and thank you for the effort you've put in with all of this, I appreciate you so much."

"Don't mention it, the least I could do for you after all you've done for me. Now, stop crying and get ready for the best day of your life."

The two of you finished preparing, and ran into your captain on the way out.

"Why Y/N, look at you! I was coming in to check everything was alright, and my goodness, you look gorgeous." She took your hands and stood back a little, it reminded you of what a mum would do. "Truly, you look beautiful, Mr Paris is a lucky man, I will say."

"Thank you, Captain, for everything."

The hours rolled on and eventually, it came to the big moment. You waited patiently for the cue and with a quick glance over yourself, you took a deep breath and stepped out into the aisle.

The room was filled with your crew and friends, at the end stood Tom and his best friend, Harry. As you walked, you could feel all eyes were on you, gasps and smiles filling the atmosphere. Though the attention fell on you, yours fell to your soon-to-be husband.

Tom's jaw was wide the moment he laid his eyes on you. Barely remembering to blink as you walked, he reminded himself of just why he fell in love with you in the first place. Your ability to captivate him knew no bounds, and he stared as though he may never see you again despite this being the proper start of your life together.  

"Pick it up off the floor, buddy," Harry tapped Tom on the shoulder, and he laughed. "I hope you remember the words."

Tom smiled. "Shut up, Harry."

As you reached the bottom of the aisle, you took your eyes off Tom long enough to see the proud face of your Captain smiling at you both. That alone calmed your nerves and you turned attention back tot he love of your life. The ceremony went perfectly, and the conclusion was reached.

"I do." "I do."

And you kissed.

The ceremony ended and it was off to the mess hall for a party, everybody's favourite part of a wedding. But not before the first dance.

Tom took you by the hand and whisked you to the middle of the dance floor. Eyes locked together, you danced slowly to the music of Tuvok playing the harp, occasional backing instruments played through the hall. Silence overcame the guests as they watched you two engulfed in each others presence, not a care in the world and dancing the moments away. Once you were done, Tom dipped you into a kiss and the hall clapped for you.

Now, it was onto the real event, the partying. Neelix and the replicators had managed to conjure up some decent food and drink, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Making your way around the hall and chatting with your guests, an arm swooped around your waist and pulled you off.

"And where do you think you're going?" Tom asked and you'd giggled.

"Greeting our guests, Tom. You can't miss me already, surely?"

He sensed the playfulness in your voice and pouted like a child. "But I do,Y/N!"

Giving him a kiss, you fled once again, leaving your sulking husband in the shadows.

"Y/N!" The voice of your Captain called you to the other side of the room, where she was stood with Chakotay and Tuvok.

"Hello, are you all enjoying yourselves?"

"We are," she replied, beaming at you and enclosing you in a hug.

"It's been lovely, you look beautiful," Chakotay spoke, also engulfing you in a hug.

"It has been a very nice day, Y/N. May you and Mr. Paris be happy together." Tuvok didn't hug you, but acknowledged you enough that you knew he meant the equivalent of a hug.

"You must be buzzing, Y/N, I have never seen either of you look so joyous, and I can see why. You share a love that anyone would strive for. Here's hoping it continues for you both, and you can keep him well behaved and under wraps from now on."

You laughed along with the group, turning your eyes to your badly dancing husband and nodding.

"Oh, I'll do my best, Captain."

[fardell24b]

30th & 31st January 2023 Writings

30th & 31st

 Excerpt from: An Aquatic Second Contact

“Why?” Freeman asked.

 “I would be able to advise him better than here on the station or on the Cerritos.”

 “Good point,” Freeman responded. “Then you can. You are assigned to liaise with the Klingons on this mission. Obey Captain Ma’ah’s orders!”

 “I will obey them as if they were from you, Captain,” Mariner said.

 “Are you sure, Captain?” Ransom asked.

 “Yes,” Freeman answered.

 “Cool,” Mariner said.

 “But first, get back to the Cerritos and change back to a usual uniform,” Freeman ordered.

  Words: 83

  Excerpt from: The Messed Up Magazine Girls

Ron arrived outside the Possible house to find Kel waiting for Kim outside. “Huh?”

 “Oh, I’m here for Kim,” Kel said.

 “Oh, you’re Kel?” Ron asked. He thought she’d be… younger.

 “That’s me. Kel as in Kel!”

 The door opened and Kim emerged. “Hey, Ron,” she said in her usual tone. She then lowered her voice a little. “Kel.”

 “Hi, girlfriend. I am, like, beyond psyched. This is going to be too much fun. Are you just so giddy with this?”

 “Giddy?” Ron asked. “I wouldn’t want to be giddy! I mean I do get giddy sometimes on our missions, but not on purpose!”

 “Could you tell me about some of these missions?” Kel asked.

 Kim sighed. “No big!”

  The only indication that anything was out of the ordinary at Middleton High School was that the board said Secret Visitor Today. That and the media circus waiting outside.

 “Oh, no -- do you think all those people are there to see me?” Kel asked.

 “I’m sure Barkin said that it would be kept secret,” Kim said.

 “I wouldn’t trust him,” Ron said.

 “Now, Ron. Just because you think he has it in for you,” Kim said.

 “He does!” Ron objected.

 A reporter than came up to them. “Kel! Rose Megata, Channel 8 news. Mind if we follow you around for a while?”

 “I'm sorry, but today I'm just a regular Middleton High student. I don't know how you found out about this, but please, no cameras.”

 “But your office called to say you'd be here!” Megata said.

 “Darn it! They must have misunderstood my "no publicity" edict. That is so wack! I'm sure you're more interested in my student escort, Kim.”

 “But we have covered plenty of her battles against the Seniors and DNAmy. She’s old hat,” Megata said. She then turned to Kim off camera. “No offense.”

 “None taken,” Kim said,

 “Just the Seniors and DNAmy?” Ron asked. “What about Monkeyfist?”

 Kim shrugged. “Just the examples she could think of,” she said.

 Megata turned back to Kel. “How about a few words about your impression of Middleton so far?”

 “Middleton is rocking!”

 Words: 353

  Excerpt from: Mystery in Polonia

“Then we keep looking?” Turlough asked.

 “Yes,” the Doctor answered.

 “Let’s go then. Maybe something more recent,” Tegan suggested.

 “Certainly,” the Doctor said.

 Words: 23

  Excerpt from: Voyager and the Convergence

“Aye,” Paris responded.

  Voyager slowed, but it wasn't enough...

  In Astrometics, Seven's eyes widened as she noticed that Voyager was going to graze a convergence area very soon. “Astrometrics to the Bridge. Drop out of warp now!”

 “Seven?” Janeway asked.

 “Now!”

  “Now!” Seven said.

 “Captain?” Tom asked as he prepared to execute the command.

 “Do as she...” the Captain began. But they ran out of time. The warp field, and then the extreme Starboard side of Decks 7 and 8 in the Saucer Section, along with the starboard nacelle, clipped into the convergence area. The ship shuddered.

 Words: 97

  Total: 551

 Overall Total: 9426

[curator-on-ao3]

I'm taking you up on your generous offer to answer a ST Voyager related question because I love your replies so much 😁:

Why did Janeway punish Tom Paris in "30 Days" so harshly?

Thirty days of solitary confinement are/border on torture. Also, other crewmembers have disobeyed Janeway's orders before, too, and got away with far less dire consequences.

Thanks a lot!

Thank you so much, @darksideofthecoffeebean! 💕

I agree with you — thirty days of solitary confinement is torture. On that one, I think we have to go with “this episode was made in 1998.” Per a Psychology Today article from 2018: “Placing prisoners in solitary confinement is tantamount to torture and it needs to stop.” The article also makes clear that the United Nations condemned use of solitary confinement in 2011 (and even reading that condemnation is upsetting by modern standards for the various “exceptional circumstances” in which the UN’s expert said solitary confinement should be allowed). In 2020, a dIfferent UN expert “voiced alarm at the excessive use of solitary confinement by correctional facilities in the United States,” per this news release, which notes that “solitary confinement of more than 15 consecutive days is regarded as a form of torture.”

So, in an episode in which, to me, the moral dilemma and even the CGI hold up, that aspect of Janeway’s punishment does not. Based on what we know now, I don’t believe there is any moral defense for solitary confinement. To my mind, this leaves us with two options for “Thirty Days:”

Janeway (as written in 1998, before widespread condemnation of solitary confinement) thinks some time by himself will give Tom a chance to think about what he did.

Janeway knew what she was doing was torture and, with Noah Lessing in her not-too-distant future, she was all right with it.

Personally, I’m going with option one as the lesser of two thoroughly distasteful options.

On to the second part of your excellent question — other crewmembers disobeyed Janeway and had much less harsh punishments.

Let’s imagine you’re Janeway. Your jaw clenches and your eyes burn. Tom Paris exits the Delta Flyer — you could have shot him down — and doesn’t even have the decency to look sorry for what he did. You order security to take him into custody. The Moneans hadn’t argued when you refused to turn him over, when you told them that this was an internal matter and you would handle it … so now you have to handle it.

You ride the turbolift to your ready room. Pace the carpet. Damn, you’ve been here before — mentally and physically, you’ve been here before.

When B’Elanna and Tuvok stole the spatial trajector, what was it B’Elanna said, remorse pinched across her face?

“I take full responsibility for what happened.”

And Tuvok: “My logic was not in error, but I was.”

They were sorry, both of them, willing to accept the consequences for their actions. Like Chakotay, when he stole the shuttle. You’d said you were putting him on report, in case that meant anything anymore, and he had replied, “It means something to me, Captain. It means I've let you down, and for that I'm truly sorry.”

And Neelix, injured in sickbay when he admitted to his lies to try to procure a map, his regret proven sincere by his agreement to live by Starfleet values — and his punishment scrubbing the exhaust manifolds.

Punishment. You punished Seven of Nine for delivering the Species 8472 to the Hirogen, locked her out of primary systems, threatened the brig. You would have relieved her of duty if you didn’t need her in Astrometrics.

You don’t need Tom to pilot the ship. Culhane would love more time at the helm. Besides, it wouldn’t hurt to spread the work around. Senior staff disobedience — whether they’re sorry or not — has become a cancer. Who’s going to be next, Harry Kim? Not on your watch.

You stride to your computer, swivel the display so you can read the charges against Tom: insubordination, unauthorized use of a spacecraft, reckless endangerment, conduct unbecoming an officer.

And he’s not sorry.

He said he wanted to join the Federation Naval Patrol. Starfleet wasn’t even his first choice.

And he’s not sorry.

You pulled him out of prison, gave him a field commission, trusted him to find the traitor, rescue the crew on Hanon IV, follow your orders at all times.

And he’s not sorry.

You’ve confined crew to quarters before — even for an indeterminate amount of time like Lon Suder — but Tom, though he certainly didn’t serve as a model officer today, needs to be a model for what happens if people on this ship continue to disobey your orders … and not even have the decency to be sorry.

You stand, your spine straight, righteous.

You’ll let Tom keep his field commission.

But a reduction in rank and enforced time for self-reflection both sound like a good idea.

Because, for what Tom Paris did today, he damn well should be sorry.

.

.

.

I hope this helps, @darksideofthecoffeebean. 💕

Episodes referenced include “Maneuvers,” “Prime Factors,” Prey,” “Fair Trade,” a dash of “Meld,” and, of course, “Thirty Days.” If anyone is wondering why “Scorpion, part 2” wasn’t there despite Chakotay disobeying orders (“I want you to know that disobeying your orders was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do.”), it’s because Janeway, by the end, didn’t seem to begrudge his thought process (“I understand. And I respect the decision you made, even though I disagree with it.”). Also, when Seven tried to contact the Borg in “The Gift,” to my mind, she wasn’t yet a member of the crew (I feel like that happened when Janeway gave Seven a commbadge at the end of that episode), so Seven wasn’t yet subject to orders from a Starfleet captain.

If anyone has something about Voyager they would like to feel better about (in-universe, not behind the scenes stuff), please send me an ask and I’ll try to help you.

[moncapitaineee]

So I was bored and decided to do a Q x Shy! Vulcan! Female! Reader. Because why not-

(Actual Q quote)

Y/N looked around in her quarters. She just left starfleet and is now serving on one of the best starships in history the uss Voyager. No doubt she was very proud of her achievements as a vulcan it might be rare but she was but there was a downside, her communication skills weren’t the best. Yes she’s Vulcan and she should have decent communication skills but that was wrong. She heard her door chime. “Enter.” Y/N said and the captain walked in. “Hello Lieutenant Y/N I’m Captain Janeway I apologize for not being able to introduce myself when you transported here.” The captain introduced. “It is q-quite alright.” Y/N said forgiving the captain. “Well good your first shift starts in 3 hours understood?” “Yes Captain understood.” Y/N said.

A couple months later she now was adapted to where she could be for the rest of her career. She enjoyed being on the wonderful starship, and people began understanding that she had trouble communicating with others so at times they help her. One day, Y/N was called to the Captain’s ready room and when she arrived she saw the captain and somebody else. It was a man. He was tall, he had curly hair, his hair was a bit messy, Y/N had thought that the mans eyes looked quite unusual, he also wore captains clothing and he was speaking to the captain..more like arguing. ‘Who’s this?’ Y/N thought and as soon as Janeway turned around she saw Y/N. “Oh- Lieutenant L/N sorry to keep you waiting.” Janeway says smoothing her uniform. Y/N turned back at the man and he simply just rolled his eyes at the captain. Then Y/N saw that the man had took a quick look at her but she didn’t bother with it. “Captain what did you need me for?” Y/N asked. “Oh yes I just wanted to introduce you to somebody.” “Ahem I’m not a somebody, Kathy.” The man interrupted sounding very hurt. Janeway simply chuckled and rolled her eyes and then looked back at Y/N.

“Lieutenant, this is Q, an immortal, omnipotent species, has infinite power apart of the Q continuum been on the ship a couple years now he won’t be a bother..at least one could hope so.” The Captain chuckled as she introduced to the man. Y/N glanced back him and he looked at her. ‘Q’ she thought.

“What are you staring at?” He snickered and smirked with a hint of mischief or was it smugness? Y/N just looked away embarrassed. “Well C-Captain I’ll be heading back now..” “Alright, Lieutenant see you later.” Y/N nodded and she left. Once she left her whole face was green, she kept her head down and she got on the turbolift to engineering. Once she got there everybody saw her green face and knew something had happened. Torres walked to Y/N smiling. “Well Y/N what happened? Why so..Green.” Torres giggled. Y/N smiled and said. “I met a very- handsome being-“ Y/N said. Torres gasped. “Who is it?!” She excitedly asked. Y/N bent over to her ear and whispered and explained. Torres smiled. “Looks like Tom Paris owes me a personal ticket to the Holodeck.” Torres said aloud. “Why?” Tom asked. He freezes and then remembers. “Ooooh.” He said responded in realization. He pouted and got to work. “You probably should go see Tuvok ask for his advice about it.” Torres recommended. Y/N thought about it and nodded a yes. She left engineering and looked for Tuvok.

Once she had found him in the mess hall she sat down across from him. “Oh Lieutenant what do I owe this visit?” Tuvok asks casually. “Well I- share these feelings for somebody and I don’t know what to do.” Y/N explained. “Who is it?” Tuvok asked. “Q..” she said quietly. Little did she know Q had been watching her and he was sitting near harry Kim and looking at her. He watched as Tuvok explained how she shouldn’t let emotions ruin her job especially as a Vulcan. Y/N nodded and agreed, thanked him and left. Weeks went by and Y/N still didn’t know what to do it was like the female vulcan was in the mists of choosing human or Vulcan and it made Y/N feel very stressed out.

One afternoon, Y/N was working very hard in engineering, everybody could tell she could use a 2 hour break but they all stayed silent about it and simply just continued to work. Finally Torres decided to speak up about it. “Y/N” She spoke said. Y/N looked over and said “yes?” “You need a break. It’s not a recommendation it’s a order.” Torres spoke to her with a soft but stern voice. Y/N sighed and gave in she decided to go to holodeck and relax there. Once she got into holodeck she made a memory of her very Vulcan childhood. She was looking and walking around remembering the old days suddenly Q appeared out of nowhere. Q spoke. “Your description of me is ‘very handsome being?’ you know you could’ve said more.” Q said smiling. Y/N face and ears turned a darker shade of green. “Well- I-“ Y/N tried to speak but she couldn’t and put her head down. Q smiling simply cupped her face. “Thank you.” Q said thanking the flustered Vulcan. Y/N smiled at his thank you. Then Q leaned in a kissed Y/N. She smiled and kissed him back deeply but softly.

[fiadorable]

For the WIP game, I have questions about all of them! If I *have* to narrow it down to one, though, I'm gonna go with '5 times pike.' There are so many ways that one could go! (Also, I saw 'janeway naps on the beach' and my immediate thought was that 'good for her' meme 😂)

omg you would pick the one I have the least written for to ask about 😂

5 times pike's actual title is Five Times Captain Pike Accidentally Avoided His Fate and the One Time He Didn't (original, right?). I'm still trying to figure out how the multiverse is going to work so I don't even really have anything more to share, unfortunately.

However I do have a little something for Janeway naps on the beach, which you can find below 😊

ask me about my wip game

It was unseasonably cool that day. Not enough for the weather net to flag the temp and correct it, but enough that the sand was warm and the Gulf almost uncomfortably cold. Chakotay waded in from the open water, rubbing his hand back and forth across his head to fling the water from the regulation short strands, and gratefully accepted a towel and a cold drink from Gretchen Janeway.

"How's the tournament going?" he asked as he draped the towel across his shoulders. He gulped down the water as he turned to observe the beach volleyball game in progress a few meters down the beach from where Gretchen had set up her beach towel and chair.

"The Parises are up by one, but Annika hasn't served yet," Gretchen said.

Surprised, Chakotay turned back. "I though the agreement was for her to play on the Paris team since Hannes plays professionally."

"That was before Phoebe saw Julia's serve."

He watched as Julia Paris made a running dive to save an expertly spiked ball from Seven, allowing B'Elanna a chance to tip it over the net and trigger another few minutes of volleying. They were playing 3v3, Phoebe, her husband Hannes, and Seven against Julia, B'Elanna, and Tom. Several of the Paris and Janeway cousins gathered around the sidelines, cheering as control of the ball returned to the Janeways. Seven delivered a devastating serve to the Parises.

"And now they're tied again."

Chakotay turned back to look at Gretchen and saw that she hadn't even looked up from her PADD, and he smiled at the familiar amused but distracted look on her face. "Working vacation for you as well?" he asked.

"Quantum mechanics finals wait for no one," she said, making a few slashing marks with a stylus before looking up. "You didn't think Kathryn got all of her bad working habits from her father just because he was the admiral and I'm the professor, did you?"

Chakotay chuckled and said, "Even if I had been under that impression, it would have been corrected the moment I watched you two debating the nature of the Q as you polished off a carafe of coffee at 2300 last night." He turned his gaze back to the game and frowned. "Speaking of, where is Kathryn? Did she get called back to headquarters with Admiral Paris?"

"Oh, no. She's got the baby in the shade over yonder," Gretchen said, turning in her chair and pointing to the tree line behind her.

He followed her gaze until he found the erstwhile captain. She was stretched out on a lounging beach chair, carefully shaded by both the towering palm trees and an over-sized umbrella. Sunglasses obscured her eyes, but he could tell from the tilt of her head and the utter relaxation of her body that was out cold. A teenager sat next to her idly perusing a paper publication, also making notes on a PADD. "Don't any of you Janeways know how to take a vacation?" he teased.

"Hmm? Oh, that's Rebecca, Phoebe's eldest. She burns in the sun just like Kathryn." Gretchen's face softened as she watched her daughter sleep. "I haven't seen Katie sleep this much in a very long time," she said, softly.

"Spirits know I've done my fair share of napping since our return as well," he said, keeping his voice deliberately light. "In fact, a nap in the shade doesn't sound too bad. I think I'll join them."

"Mm," Gretchen said aloud, but he heard the other ten things she left unsaid. "You were a good first officer, Mr. Chakotay. I'm glad Kathryn had you to rely on our there. But this is your vacation, too. You are allowed to stand down your watch."

She didn't mean it in a bad way, he knew. "Mrs. Janeway, there's nowhere else I would rather be than right here, right now, in this moment." He pointed to the shade. "Except for maybe right there."

[myenterpriseisparked]

The Voyager Bunch

Or, Rascals: Voyager Edition

-----

Based on this post

This is dedicated to @jellybeansarecool @bizships @emilie786 @joyful-voyager and @subtle-spock for providing ideas, encouragement, and for generally being really awesome people. Also they are the nicest folks ever. Go follow them.

This ain’t my first fanfiction rodeo, but it is my first Star Trek fanfiction rodeo so I beg for your patience. Also, I am perfectly aware that there are some plot holes in here. This is because I am an animal scientist, not a Starfleet physicist/biologist/whateverist. Swiss cheese also has holes and swiss cheese is good so please consider that.

Click here to read on AO3, if you prefer. Thanks for reading!

-----

Despite having only been a captain for a few years, Kathryn Janeway had seen more unusual occurrences, courtesy of the Delta Quadrant, than most Starfleet captains combined. Some days, she felt a little overwhelmed by the summary of the last three years of experiences. Other days, she was grateful for the callouses such challenges had built over her nerves, preparing her to face even the strangest incidents without panicking.

Today was a day to be grateful, because without having seen everything she had seen, the prospect of her Chief Engineer, Chief of Security, Head Helmsman, and most brilliant Ensign being reverted into child-like versions of themselves would have launched her straight into a spiral of panic.

“How-” Janeway paused for a moment to pinch the bridge of her nose, “how exactly did this happen?”

“Well, ya see, ‘Lanna and Harry and I were in that shuttle and then this big black thing showed up and we flew into it and there was a big flash and-”

Janeway held a hand up, cutting off the shockingly fast string of prattle. “I think I understand that part, Tom, thank you.” She spoke as gently and patiently as possible. “What I don’t understand is how Tuvok got into this.... predicament.”

She turned toward the tallest of the four children, who stood with his hands behind his back in a way that would have been exactly like Tuvok, if the pre-teen boy weren’t fidgeting with the hem of his shirt and looking around the bridge, open mouthed and starry-eyed. “Tuvok?”

The Vulcan turned toward her. “The shuttle was stuck in the anomaly and the tractor beam wasn’t working, so I rammed my ship into theirs to dislodge it.” Tuvok nearly smiled, which was jarring to see on his features, no matter how much younger he looked. “It worked, but I got sucked into the anomaly too. When we came out the other side, we looked like this.”

He motioned to Tom and B’Elanna, who were standing next to him, both of which appeared to be around the age of 5 or 6. Harry, who looked to be about a year old, was currently tucked into Chakotay’s arms, playing contentedly with the rank bar at the large man’s throat.

Janeway looked the group over, ignoring the humored smiled playing at her first officer’s lips. With a sigh, she turned to the members of her senior officer team that were not currently under the age of 13. “I’m open to suggestions.”

“I would like to run some experiments first, but I am wondering if I can age their DNA back to the correct age in a process similar to the one I used to turn you and Mr. Paris back into humans after the, ah, Warp 10 incident,” The Doctor said.

“That might put their bodies back at the right age,” Kes said, brow furrowing, “but their minds appear to have reverted to their new biological age as well. Will the DNA reversal process fix that?”

The Doctor tilted his head. “I’m unsure. I need more time to research and run simulations.”

Janeway nodded. “Get started on that right away. In the meantime,” she turned back to the children and her commander, “let’s get you four something to eat.” 

Neelix jumped to his feet, practically lighting up the room with his enthusiasm. “I’ll fix you kiddos up something real nice!” He dashed over to the door with a wild grin. “Give me ten minutes, and I’ll have the best grilled cheese sandwich you’ve ever smelt!” He saluted the whole room and practically bounced out the door.

Janeway glanced over at Chakotay who, for the first time since he had picked up baby Harry, looked nervous. His worried glance met her own and he tilted his head.

“Well,” Chakotay sighed, “hopefully these guys aren’t as picky of eaters as I was.”

-----

As unappealing as Janeway found Neelix’s cooking to be, it was, apparently, perfect for kids, as evidenced by the unrestrained glee with which Tom, B’Elanna, and Tuvok devoured their sandwiches.

The captain couldn’t help but smile as Tom downed the second half of his sandwich in a few bites and think how the older version of Tom would have been appalled to see himself eating Neelix’s cooking with such enjoyment.

As the older children ate, Janeway found herself spooning some kind of mashed vegetable mix into Harry’s waiting mouth. At first, she was a little uncomfortable with the idea of feeding one of her best officers, but, once she was able to get past the strangeness of the entire situation, she found herself enjoying the funny expressions and eager attitude of the baby in front of her.

“Gosh, he’s such a cute baby.” She said with a grin for the fourth time.

Chakotay leaned over, his shoulder brushing hers as he smiled at Harry. “I’d like to agree with you, Captain, but you keep hogging him so I can’t get a good look.” He turned to look her in the eye, raising his eyebrow teasingly.

She shoved him playfully with her elbow. “You got to hold him earlier in the conference room. It’s my turn.”

“I think your turn ended about ten minutes ago,” he grinned.

“I think I can find something else for you to do if you’re going to take Harry away from me, Commander.” She returned his grin.

“Fine,” Chakotay shook his head with a chuckle, “but I get him later.”

-----

Several hours had passed since lunch and, much to Chakotay’s disappointment, baby Harry was still firmly in Janeway’s possession, perched on her hip and looking for all the world like he belonged there.

Chakotay tried not to think too much about how naturally Kathryn had taken to caring for Harry as he watched her pace the bridge, checking on various scanner readings and flight paths, from his position on the floor by their command chairs. Beside him, Tom and B’Elanna rolled a ball back and forth between them, excitedly chattering about... well... everything.

“Do you think the whales were really THAT big?” Tom spread his arms out to the side.

“Yeah they were!” B’Elanna exclaimed loudly enough that the entire ship could probably hear it. Despite Chakotay’s best efforts to get her to lower her voice, the young girl seemed to only have one volume. “I saw a big fake one in a museum once and it was HUGE!”

“Whoa!” Tom’s eyes widened. “Bigger than this ship?”

B’Elanna tilted her head. “I don’t know, but it was definitely bigger than me!”

The two kids laughed, rolling the ball back and forth faster.

“Hey Tom?”

“What?”

“You’re my best friend!” B’Elanna suddenly reached forward and gave Tom a hug.

Chakotay glanced up at Kathryn to exchange a look of awe before he turned back to the kids on the floor. “But B’E, I thought you just said a few minutes ago that I’m your best friend.” He raised an eyebrow, hiding his smile.

The young girl gave him a look that he had seen far too many times on her older counterpart’s face whenever he said something particularly dumb. “I can have two best friends, duh.”

He laughed. “Fair enough.”

Suddenly, he saw Kathryn’s purposeful walk stop out of the corner of his eye. 

“Chakotay,” her voice was even and tense, “where’s Tuvok?”

Eyes widening, Chakotay glanced around the bridge. Tuvok was no where to be seen.

“Chakotay to Tuvok.” He stood as he tapped his commbadge. “Tuvok, please acknowledge.” They waited a moment and, upon receiving no response, moved simultaneously toward the turbolift. 

“It’s possible he hasn’t figured out how to use his comm.” Janeway tucked Harry closer to her side as they stepped into the lift. “Computer: locate Tuvok.”

“Unable to comply.”

Janeway gave the ceiling a glare. “Why?”

The computer did not respond.

“Maybe the de-aging effect has made it difficult for the computer to locate him.” Chakotay rested a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure he’s alright; he’s probably just exploring the ship; you saw how amazed he was by everything in the conference room earlier.”

She nodded tightly. “Let’s hope so. Where do you think he’s gone?”

“Maybe to the holodeck?”

“Or his quarters.”

“What about the mess hall?”

“He just ate.”

They both paused, mulling it over.

“Alright.” Kathryn straightened. “I’ll check holodeck one and his quarters, you check holodeck two and the mess hall.” She turned back to the lift door. “Holodeck one.”

Chakotay swallowed around the lump in his throat, trying not to think of all the ways a small child could get hurt on a spaceship like Voyager. As the turbolift began to move, Janeway’s badge chirped.

“Kes to the captain.”

Her brow raised as she tapped the emblem. “Go ahead.”

“I think I’ve found something you’re missing.” Kes’s usually lighthearted tone was even lighter, clear amusement seeping through.

Kathryn turned to look Chakotay in the eye, a hopeful smile brightening her face. “I’m on my way.”

-----

Honestly, Janeway was a little ashamed of the fact that she didn’t think to go looking for her best friend among the orchids and other plants in the aeroponics bay, considering his horticulturally-related hobbies. As she and Chakotay stepped into the room, smiles crept onto both of their faces as they watched Tuvok carefully transfer one of Kes’s sprouts to a bigger pot. After patting the soil around the plant firmly, he wiped a hand across his forehead, smearing dirt on his face to match the dirt on his uniform.

Kes smiled up at the command team. “He came down and asked about a hundred questions about our system and then offered to help me with my work while we talked because its ‘more efficient to talk and work than simply talk.’” 

Janeway chuckled at Kes’s approximation of Tuvok’s speech pattern. “Thanks for letting us know, Kes.” She reluctantly handed Harry to Chakotay, who flashed his dimples, and crouched next to Tuvok. “Hello there.”

Tuvok glanced up quickly before resuming his work. “Hello, Captain. Did you know that these Talaxian green beans take only a week and a half to reach maturity?”

“I did not.” Janeway raised a brow and tilted her head. “That’s very impressive.”

“I thought so too when Kes told me.” He patted the soil around another plant and set it aside, retrieving another sprout.

“Tuvok,” the captain reached forward and rested a hand on his shoulder, “I’m glad you’ve found something to do, but you have to tell someone where you’re going before you wander off. We didn’t know what happened to you and Chakotay and I were really worried.”

Behind her, Chakotay’s heart flipped. There was something rather... intimate about the way she had referred to both of them being worried about a child.

“I’m sorry, Captain.” Tuvok nodded his head. “It won’t happen again.”

“Good.” Janeway smiled and stood. “Why don’t you help Kes down here for a while and then come back up to the bridge when you are ready?” She looked at Kes. “That is, if Kes is alright with that.”

The young woman smiled. “Of course, I’d love some help.”

Janeway nodded and turned back to Tuvok. “Be sure to let us know when you’re on your way back up.”

“Of course, Captain.”

She patted him one last time on the shoulder and turned back to Chakotay. They fell into step beside one another and entered the elevator.

As the doors whooshed closed, Janeway turned to Chakotay with the intention of reclaiming Harry, but stopped. A smile grew across her lips as she watched Chakotay bounce Harry gently, allowing the little boy to palm his tattoo in curiosity. Even as one of Harry’s chubby fingers poked him in the eye, Chakotay simply chuckled and took the tiny hand in his own.

He finally turned to look at her. “What?”

Kathryn just shook her head, grinning wider. “I was going to take Harry from you, but I can’t bear to break up this cute little arrangement.” She motioned to the two of them with a long finger.

The corner of Chakotay’s mouth kicked up a little higher. “Captain, did you just imply that I’m cute?”

Her brow arched, but her smile didn’t diminish. “It would be hard for anyone to look unappealing with a cute baby in their arms.”

Her heart stopped suddenly as she realized what she had just said. From the look of Chakotay’s face, he had caught it too. Implying that he and the baby were cute was one thing; calling him “appealing” was another. Before she could say anything else she might regret, Kathryn turned back to the lift door, schooling her features back into the face of the Captain.

If she had turned but a half-second later, she would have seen a wide smile break across Chakotay’s face.

-----

“I’m sorry, Captain, but I need more time. I won’t deactivate myself until I have a solution, but this situation is very delicate and I can’t risk rushing my tests. You’ll need to find somewhere for the children to sleep. Hopefully I’ll have a solution tomorrow.”

Kathryn nodded. “Of course. Thank you, Doctor.”

With a grim smile, the feed from sickbay switched off, leaving her to look at her dark reflection in the black screen. Something like relief swept over help alongside a touch of regret. On one hand, she could really use her senior officers back in functioning shape. On the other hand....

Her eyes drifted back down to Harry, who had pulled a bit of her hair out of it’s ponytail and was curling it around his tiny fist in unbreakable fascination. A smile tugged at her lips as she cuddled him a bit closer. 

She could get used to this.

The thought struck her before she even knew what she was feeling and, as soon as she admitted it to herself, she took that feeling and shoved it as deep into the recesses of her mind as she could. She was the captain of a ship that was constantly in danger and she shouldn’t dwell on things she couldn’t have.

Kathryn sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. “Well, Harry, looks like we need to find you a place to sleep.”

Turning back to the computer, she moved to set him down so she could use both hands to search the crew quarters layouts for a suitable place to keep the children overnight. As soon as Harry’s feet touched the ground, a wail rose from the back of his throat and his face scrunched.

Kathryn quickly scooped him back up. “Harry? What’s wrong?”

The boy’s cry of protest faded into whimpers and he buried his head in her shoulder, clinging to her tightly.

A warm feeling washed over her. “Ah,” she smiled, “I see.”

She pulled him closer and turned back to the computer, tapping buttons with one hand. “You can stay up here with me, then.”

The door to her quarters chimed.

“Come in.” 

Before she could turn to greet her guest, mischievous giggles rose from the door. Eyebrow raised, she whirled around to find Chakotay standing in the doorway, a stack of PADDs in his hand, a tiny engineer on his left leg, and a tiny helmsman on his right.

He stepped forward with far less difficultly than she would have expected, given the extra weight on his legs. He crossed the room quickly and passed the PADDs to her. “The crew reports you requested.”

“Thank you.” She smiled, glancing down at the still giggling forms. “Not to alarm you, Commander, but it would seem that you have a couple of lifeforms attached to you.”

Chakotay’s eyes grew wide in mock surprise. “Really?” He turned his head and shuffled around, as if to look at his back. “Where?”

Tom and B’Elanna’s laughter grew. Suddenly, Chakotay leaned over and scooped the two of them off his legs, lifting them both up over his shoulders as their shrieked in delight.

He turned back to Kathryn with a wide smile. “Not to worry, Captain, I’ve apprehended the life forms.” 

She smiled back with a soft chuckle. “We need to find a place for the life forms to stay tonight.”

Chakotay’s smile faded into a more serious, but not displeased look. “The Doctor doesn’t have a solution yet, then?” He lowered Tom and B’Elanna to the ground. They scampered off to the viewport, excitedly chattering about the stars.

“No, he needs a bit more time.”

Chakotay nodded. “Maybe I could take them for the night, that way someone is there to keep an eye on them.”

Kathryn shook her head. “I have no doubt in your babysitting abilities, Commander, but four children is a lot for one person to watch alone and your quarters are not big enough for Trouble 1 and Trouble 2 to run around in.” She gestured to the kids at the window. 

“Fair point. Maybe I should take Harry and Tuvok then, and you could take Tom and B’Elanna?”

She turned Harry away from Chakotay. “Trying to take my boy again, are you Chakotay?” 

He chuckled and shook his head. “Do you have another idea, then, Mom?”

Her breath caught in her throat, but she managed to smirk at him and continue speaking without any indication that his previous sentence had impacted her. “My quarters are the largest on the ship. If we set up cots here in my living room we could easily both keep an eye on the children overnight.”

“Sounds good to me.” He glanced up at the clock on the wall. “How about I go collect Tuvok from aeroponics and some food from the mess hall while you get the cots set up?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

He gave her one last lingering smile, which she returned, before heading out the door and down the hall.

-----

Apparently the lunch they had shared earlier that day had been misleadingly easy. Supper was, to put it lightly, a challenge.

“B’Elanna, eat your own food and stop taking from Tom’s plate,” Kathryn said firmly.

“But Tom isn’t eating it!”

“I was going to eat it! I’m just a slower eater than you are!”

“Well eat faster then!”

“B’Elanna!” Chakotay set down the spoon he had been using to feed Harry and fixed her with a stern look. “That food isn’t yours, and Kathryn already asked you to stop taking Tom’s food. You won’t be asked again.”

B’Elanna mumbled out an apology and stuffed another bite of her own meal into her mouth.

Kathryn shot Chakotay a grateful smile and turned to Tuvok, who was holding up one of his vegetables to the light. “Tuvok? What are you doing?”

“I’m looking at the xylem and phloem of this plant.”

She bit back a smile. “I appreciate your curiosity, Tuvok, but I need you to stop studying your food and start eating it.”

The young Vulcan turned to her and nodded. “Of course.” He politely chewed and swallowed his food and turned back to the captain. “Did you know that this particular plant is a distant cousin of Terran broccoli? You can tell by the-”

Chakotay smiled as he watched Kathryn listen to Tuvok’s fourth lecture of the evening on plant biology. Neither of them were certain of what he was talking about most of the time, but his enthusiasm for the subject was nearly infectious and neither of them minded listening.

“Chakotay?”

He turned away from the scene across the table and looked at Tom next to him. “Yes?”

“After dinner, will you read to us?”

“Of course.” Chakotay smiled and ruffled Tom’s hair. “Anything particular you want to hear?”

“I want to hear about your missions with the Maquis!” B’Elanna bounced in her seat, all of that barely-contained Klingon energy starting to spill over. 

“Or perhaps you could read to us from a classic story,” Tuvok raised a brow. “I’m fond of the works of Tolkien, maybe Tom and B’Elanna would like ‘The Hobbit’ too?”

“What’s a hobbit?” Tom’s face scrunched in confusion.

“Maybe,” Kathryn interjected before Tuvok could give a detailed recounting of the beloved childhood book, “Chakotay could tell us a story from his tribe.” Her eyes met his across the table. “He is pretty good at recounting ancient legends.”

Heat crept up the sides of Chakotay’s face as he held her stare. “Maybe.”

“Nah,” Tom’s voice broke through the pleasant tension between them. “I wanna know what a hobbit is!”

Chakotay chuckled. “Alright, ‘The Hobbit’ it is.”

-----

It took some time to get the older three to settle into bed, but finally, they began to yawn and snuggle deeper under their blankets. As their heads grew heavier, Chakotay wrapped up his story telling and the command team began to tuck their young companions in for the night.

As Chakotay wished Tom and Tuvok a good night’s rest, Kathryn carefully extracted B’Elanna from where she was snuggled into her side and took her over to her cot. As she got the small girl settled, she suddenly reached up and captured Kathryn in a tight hug. Surprised, Kathryn’s eyes widened, but she returned the gesture in earnest.

“Kathryn?”

“Yes, B’Elanna?”

“You’re my best friend.”

Kathryn blinked and pulled back to look B’Elanna in the eyes with a small smile. “I thought Chakotay and Tom were your best friends.”

“I can have more than one best friend.” B’Elanna’s voice was filled with deep confidence, despite how sleep-laced it was.

“Fair enough,” Kathryn chuckled, pulling the blankets tightly around the girl. “Goodnight.”

She met Chakotay in her bedroom, Harry still in his arms.

“Any time I try to set him down he starts crying.” Chakotay grinned sheepishly. 

She grinned back. “I had a similar experience earlier today.” She reached up and brushed hand over the boy’s soft, black hair. “Its a good thing he weighs next to nothing.”

At Kathryn’s gentle touch, Harry stirred. His dark eyes found Kathryn’s and he reached out for her. With a look of mock hurt, Chakotay transferred the boy to his desired location.

“I’m trying not to be offended right now, Harry.”

Kathryn simply grinned and bounced the baby in her arms gently. “It’s alright, Chakotay. He has excellent taste.”

Chakotay shook his head, dimples flashing. “I suppose I can’t argue with that.”

She turned toward the bed and settled herself on one side, her back resting against the pillows and Harry resting against her chest. “Let’s see if we can get this one sleepy enough to not notice if we set him down.” She looked back at Chakotay, who was still standing, rather awkwardly. She patted the bed next to her with a smirk. “Come on, Commander. Get some rest. We’ve has a big day, wrangling the kiddos.”

He smiled and crossed the room to the other side of the bed, gently sitting next to her, his legs stretched out. “It has been a long day,” he said with a sigh. “But, I can’t say I haven’t enjoyed it.” He tilted his head to look at Kathryn, who was already looking up at him.

“Nor I.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Suddenly, Chakotay was very aware of how close their faces were. He watched as Kathryn’s eyes slid down to his lips. Before he could do something he couldn’t take back, he took a deep breath and turned away.

“Well,” Kathryn cleared her throat, sounding more like the Captain now, “it’s been fun but we should get some sleep. I’ll keep an eye on Harry here and take him to his cot in a few minutes. You should go ahead and rest, Commander.”

“Of course.” He tilted his head and gave her a small smile. “Goodnight, Kathryn.”

She grinned back. “Goodnight, Chakotay.”

-----

Apparently, Kathryn didn’t stay awake long enough to take Harry back to his cot, as evidenced by the weight on her chest as she stirred awake the next morning. She slowly became aware of her surroundings and the previous day’s events came flooding back to her.

She also became distinctly aware of the warm, comfortable presence beside her. As she opened her eyes, she realized that her first officer’s arm was settled around her shoulders and that his shoulder was currently her pillow. His head rested atop hers and the hand that was not draped around her shoulders was resting on top of Harry’s back next to her own.

The situation was all rather snuggly and, were it not a violation of every professional barrier Kathryn had erected between her and the commander, she would have had no issue in savoring the moment.

Then again.... maybe she could allow herself just a few moments to pretend that the baby in her arms wasn’t her star technical officer and that the man holding her close wasn’t her XO and that this was a perfectly normal situation.

Before she could get too far into her fantasy, however, Chakotay stirred next to her, his dark eyes fluttering open to find her own.

“Good morning,” he said, his voice huskier than her own as sleep clung to it.

“Good morning.” 

They looked at each other for a moment before Chakotay carefully extracted himself from her side, helping her up so she could carefully place Harry in his cot in the living room without waking the boy or the other children who were still sleeping. Without a word, they quietly prepared breakfast and coffee, steeling themselves for another day of handling the kids.

-----

“I’m afraid I’m a bit.... stuck,” The Doctor ground out with obvious difficulty.

The captain raised an eyebrow. The EMH admitting that he was struggling to solve a problem was a rare instance indeed. “How so?”

With a huff, The Doctor turned back to his desk, flipping through experimental results from a stack of PADDs. “Kes was right; the DNA reversal process I initially thought might work will not account for the de-aging of the officers’ brains, so I decided to look at the type of radiation that might have caused this and, to be completely honest, Captain,” he turned back to look her in the eye, “I have absolutely no idea how this even happened. There’s no evidence of radiation, the temporal energy around them is unidentifiable, and I can’t figure out how their cells and their minds were reversed.” He lowered his head. “I’m unsure of how to even proceed from here.”

Kathryn nodded, taking the emotions that were beginning to tumble in her chest and stuffing them as far down as she could. “Very well, Doctor. Take a rest and we can all come back to the issue later once we’ve had time to think.” She rested a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up. “Don’t despair yet; there’s a lot of other brilliant minds on this ship besides your own. We’ll figure it out together.” She smiled and gave his shoulder a squeeze before heading into the turbolift.

As the doors slid open, she found Tuvok waiting in the lift for her. She smiled down at him and stepped inside, calling for the bridge.

“Chakotay to the captain.”

She tapped her badge. “Go ahead.”

“We need you on the bridge, there’s a bit of a situation.”

She raised a brow, glancing down at Tuvok, who was gazing at her intently. “On my way.”

-----

“So they want to.... interview us?”

“They want to interview you specifically.”

“To see if we are worthy of going through their space.”

“Something like that.”

“And going around their space isn’t an option?”

“It would add another 7 months to our journey, so this interview is our ideal option.”

“No pressure, eh, Commander?” Janeway shifted Harry from one hip to the other with a long sigh. “Alright. Hail them.”

After a moment, a blue and red humanoid alien appeared on the screen.

“Greetings, Ambassador.” The Captain flashed a polite smile. “I’m Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager.”

The alien woman inclined her head. “Hello, Captain Janeway, I’m Ambassador Tel Parah of the Doonian Delegation.” Her eyes swept the bridge. “You’re ship is heavily armed, which, according to the laws of our people, requires that we do a personal interview of the commanding officer to ensure that violence or other manners of chaos will not be instigated as you pass through our space.”

“Of course, I understand.” Janeway smiled again. “What questions may I answer for you?”

Over the course of the next 30 minutes, Janeway was grilled on their purpose in passing through Doonian space, the types and numbers of weapons they carried, and the journey they had made so far. Just as Janeway thought there wasn’t possibly anything more she could tell them, Ambassador Parah paused and looked up from the computer device in her hand to study Janeway. After a moment, she spoke again.

“Just one more thing, Captain Janeway,” a slow smile slipped onto her face, “What’s your son’s name? He’s absolutely precious.”

Janeway raised her eyebrows in surprise and glanced down at Harry, who she had nearly forgotten was still in her arms. At some point, he had removed her combadge and was currently turning it over and over again in his tiny hands, taking a moment here and there to bite parts of the object he must have found particularly interesting. Kathryn exchanged an amused glace with Chakotay, who shrugged off screen, before turning back to the ambassador. 

“This is Harry.” Janeway smiled, turning the boy so the ambassador could see him better.

The other woman smiled widely. “How adorable. He has the brightest eyes.”

“He does.” Kathryn smiled back down at him.

“You know,” Parah leaned back in her chair, “I usually don’t allow anyone through our space that isn’t from a system or planet we are already know and trust and so I wasn’t planning on letting Voyager pass. However, when I saw your baby and how well-cared for and happy he seems, I felt that I could trust you somehow.” She smiled again. “We value children highly in the Doonien Delegation. Children are often a reflection of a parent’s character. I can tell by Harry’s disposition and curiosity that you are of a fine character, Captain.”

Janeway cuddled Harry a little closer, heart warming. “Thank you, Ambassador, I take that as a high compliment.”

“As you should.” Parah leaned forward again. “You may pass through our space. We will have you stop at three checkpoints on your way though which I will send you the coordinated for in a moment. Have a safe journey.”

The screen went blank and Kathryn turned to Chakotay.

“Should I feel bad that I let her believe Harry is my son?”

Chakotay chuckled, stepping close enough and lowering his voice enough that the rest of the bridge could pretend not to hear him. “Are you saying he’s not?”

Her gaze grew softer. “I guess he’s sort of been like a son to me since we got on board.” She looked back down at him. “I feel very protective of him.”

Chakotay rested a hand on her shoulder. “I know.”

They smiled at each other again. Chakotay opened his mouth to say something more but, suddenly, there was a tug at Kathryn’s elbow.

“Captain? Now that the negotiations are over, I think I have an idea about how to fix Tom, B’Elanna, Harry, and me.” Tuvok’s eyes were bright and eager.

“Alright,” Captain Janeway smiled down at him. “Let’s get The Doctor up here and we’ll hear your idea together.”

-----

Chakotay exchanged glances with The Doctor and the Captain over the table as he bounced both Tom and B’Elanna on his knees. “Could that really work? It seems almost too easy.”

“Well, if this is a phenomena that’s inexplicable and is tied only to the anomaly the shuttles passed through, I feel like sending the children back through isn’t our worst idea.” The captain rubbed the back of her neck. “Doctor?”

The holographic man continued typing into his PADD for a moment before stopping and reading. “I- I honestly think this could work.” He slid the PADD over to Janeway. “It’s hard to predict, since we have no idea what exactly caused this, but if we send the shuttles through the anomaly opposite of the way they first went through, I think it just might turn them back to their usual ages.”

“How do we know it won’t just make them even younger?” Chakotay watched as B’Elanna slipped off of his knee, pulling Tom along with her to go play in the corner.

“We’d have to run some tests to be sure that they don’t. Perhaps we could send a plant through first, or some other organic life form.” The Doctor took the PADD back and made a note.

“We would also have to make sure that, if the tests show some promise, Tuvok can take the shuttle back through the anomaly.” Janeway turned to the boy sitting at her right. “Well, Tuvok? Do you think you could pilot the shuttle?”

He shook his head. “Since I don’t have my older self’s memories I don’t think I could.”

“We could use the tractor beam to send the shuttle through,” Chakotay said. “If we give them enough of a push to go through the anomaly, they should be able to pilot themselves back to Voyager once they get out the other side and have returned to their normal ages.”

Janeway raised her eyebrows. “Well, it’s worth a shot and I don’t have any better ideas. Commander, set a course for the anomaly. Doctor, prepare the experiments.”

-----

Tom and B’Elanna seemed to sense that something was up as they suddenly became even more clingy. The whole trip back to the anomaly, B’Elanna shared the captain’s chair with Kathryn, insisting with all of her Klingon passion that the older woman tell her more stories from earlier in their journey through the Delta Quadrant. At the helm, Tom hung on to Chakotay’s arm, watching the stars go by and asking Chakotay a hundred questions about piloting starships. Tuvok sat in Chakotay’s usual seat, interjecting with questions of his own here and there, and Harry sat on Kathryn’s knee, chewing on her jacket sleeve, her combadge still clutched tightly in his left hand.

After they reached the anomaly, it took a couple of hours for The Doctor to complete his experiments and, once he had declared that plants that had gone through the anomaly twice were returned to the same age the started as, they began preparing the children to enter the anomaly themselves. 

“Will it hurt?” B’Elanna asked in the smallest voice she had ever used in her life as Kathryn tucked the small Starfleet uniform that she had come through the anomaly with around her shoulders.

“It won’t,” Tuvok said. “It didn’t hurt when we came through the first time, did it?”

She shook her head, but didn’t look very reassured.

“It’s okay, ‘Lanna!” Tom grabbed her hand. “I’ll be right beside you.”

Kathryn stood and took a step back, feeling almost as if someone had filled her chest with some of Neelix’s heavy stew. She had to let them go, of course, this wasn’t the way they were supposed to be, but she was certainly going to miss seeing the level of innocence her officers had now. B’Elanna was unburdened by trust issues, Tuvok was passionate and bright, and Tom - well, she supposed he hadn’t changed all that much, but at least he seemed to be genuinely happy, not just putting up a front of humor to protect himself.

It would be hard to see them go back, but maybe, now that she understood how the world and time had changed her friends, she could help them.

She was shaken from her thoughts by a tug at her collar. She looked down to see Harry pulling at her pips, completely enamored by the gold metal.

“Oh, Harry.” She nearly choked on his name. Since he was so young now, she didn’t have any insight into his personality after having seen him as a baby, but she was going to miss his innocent curiosity and familiar weight on her hip.

Before she could think too much about it, she handed Harry over to Tuvok. The younger boy scrunched his face up and whimpered at the change of hands, but Tuvok bounced him gently and he settled down, reaching for the pointed tip of Tuvok’s ear.

Kathryn took a step back, feeling Chakotay step up behind her so that they were nearly touching. “Best of luck, you four.” She gave them her most reassuring smile. “See you on the other side.”

She and Chakotay hurried up the bridge and gave the go ahead for the ensign who had taken over Harry’s post to begin using the tractor beam to move the shuttle out into the anomaly. They stood side-by-side on the bridge and watched the shuttle go through. At come point, they grabbed each other’s hands and squeezed each other tightly.

There was a flash as the shuttle passed through the anomaly. After a few terrifyingly quiet moments, the shuttle came bursting out of the other side and a voice crackled over the comm.

“Cochran to Voyager,” confusion leaked through Tom’s voice. “What the hell just happened?”

Kathryn and Chakotay smiled at each other in relief. “What’s the last thing you remember, Tom?” Chakotay asked.

“B’Elanna, Harry, and I were coming back to Voyager when we- wait a second, how did you get here, Tuvok?”

Janeway laughed. “Why don’t we get you four back on board and then we’ll explain everything.”

“Copy that. See you in a few.” Tom’s voice grew quieter, like he was leaning away from the comm. “I have a feeling this is going to be one heck of a story.”

-----

After everyone had been debriefed and left to process the last two days of strangeness, Chakotay found Kathryn in her favorite spot; on her couch and staring wistfully out at the stars as they drifted past. She had shucked her jacket and taken her hair out of it’s clip, leaving her in her grey turtleneck with her hair falling around her shoulders and face.

“Got a lot on your mind?”

She turned to smile at him, a note of sadness in her eyes. “It’s been an interesting couple of days.”

He settled on the couch a ways down, turning to face her. “It sure has.” He was quiet for a moment. “I’m going to miss our kids.”

“Me too. It was fun having little ones around, playing at being a parent.” She fidgeted with the seam on the couch. “It was different and they sure did give us some challenges,” she chuckled, “but I loved it.” 

“Have you ever thought about having kids of ou-” he coughed, “your own?” 

Her crystal blue gaze caught his. “Yes.” She smiled and looked out the window again. “I always thought someday I would be a mother.” With a snort and a smirk, she continued; “Of course, I never thought I’d be mothering my helmsman, security officer, engineer, and technical officer.”

Chakotay laughed softly. “I think you were mothering them before they were turned into actual children.”

“Perhaps.” A pause. “What about you? Did you ever think about being a father? Outside of the whole instance with Seska, of course.”

He nodded. “When I was in the Maquis, no. My life was too fast-paced to be a proper father. If I was going to be a dad, I wanted to do it right and I couldn’t have done that from a Maquis ship.” He took a deep breath. “After joining this crew, though.... I’m in a better place now, and I think I’d be thrilled to be a father.” He looked over at Kathryn to find that she was already looking at him with something like wonder in her eyes. He held her gaze for a moment and, finally finding a bit of courage, he said: “I’m more at peace.”

A smiled played at the corners of her lips, and her eyes looked a little like they were silver-lined, though Chakotay couldn’t quite tell for sure in the low light of her quarters.

“You were really good with the kids. You would make an excellent father, I have no doubt.”

He smiled. “You would make an excellent mother. You’re a natural.”

“Thank you, but I barely felt like I knew what I was doing.” She chuckled.

“You could have fooled me.” He grinned for a moment, before his countenance grew more serious. “I hope you get your wish someday, Kathryn. I hope you get to be a mother.”

She was quiet for a moment, and Chakotay suddenly felt his chest tighten. Had he said too much.

Before he could fall too far into his panic, her hand slid over to his, giving it a squeeze. He looked up into her eyes, which definitely had tears in them now.

“I hope you get to be a father too Chakotay. Someday.”

He squeezed her hand back and they both fell into a comfortable silence, enjoying the view of the stars outside Kathryn’s window.

[trek-tracks]

what... what is threshold day?

Hoo boy.

Threshold Day is the anniversary of the airing of Threshold, one of the, if not THE, most batshit episodes of Star Trek Voyager, and Star Trek in its entirety. (Spoilers for Threshold below.)

In it, Lt. Tom Paris decides that, due to his enormous daddy issues, he will only be redeemed if he lives up to his potential by making it into the history books. In this case, it’s by breaking the transwarp barrier, which does not mean being trans and going into warp, a barrier which I’m sure was broken way before this, but going Warp 10 (in the new scale). Because apparently exploring basically a new section of the galaxy at the helm of the only Starfleet starship to be there is just garbage in terms of history-making, I guess.

So they find out there’s a 2% chance his personal brain will explode if he does this, and they’re going to let Harry Kim do it instead, but Tom is like, “no, Captain. You don’t understand. I have MASSIVE daddy issues. Also, you’d probably have to promote Harry if he succeeded, and nobody wants that.” 

And Janeway is like, “Oh shit, I really don’t want to promote Harry. Also, I have some pretty big daddy issues of my own, so I getchu; have at it. Hope your brains stay unexploded.”

So he successfully does his thing, and he’s like, EVERYWHERE AT ONCE, MAN. He sees everything. Past, present, Harry in the shower - I mean, future - in all places at once. Which is why it’s odd that he’s so surprised when he collapses in the Mess Hall after drinking one of Neelix’s truly noxious brews. He should have known how gross it was going to be. 

Anyway, the next twenty minutes or so are the EMH trying to stop Tom from turning into a weird gross scaly creature, with limited success. He stops being able to breathe oxygen. He gets super paranoid and rants a lot. He yells about pepperoni (I am not kidding). He asks for a dying kiss from Kes, which leads to a truly marvelous turn-down line: “I’m sorry, Tom. If we let down the forcefield, you’ll suffocate,” which I will now use for any unwanted come-ons. He legit DIES, then comes back to life a pretty long time later. He yells at Janeway, and then, like anyone who dares yell at Janeway would expect, his tongue literally falls out of his mouth. 

Finally, he’s getting pretty close to salamander territory, when the last 15 minutes give up on making ANY sense. He busts out of Medbay, kidnaps Janeway, goes to Warp 10 again, turns them both into complete salamanders (I guess the EMH literally did nothing to help Tom, because apparently Janeway makes it through the transformation just fine without medical attention), and then HAS LIZARD BABIES with her.

Which we know, because the Voyager crew manages to find them three days later, and in that time apparently Janeway has changed over and already had the babies. Also, they were able to find a shuttle that literally could have gone anywhere in the entire universe. Chakotay then shoots the salamanders and they take them back, leaving the babies to…I don’t know, sala-meander around or something. Why is Chakotay’s first reaction to phaser the largely-sedentary salamanders? I have no idea.

Cut immediately to the EMH having been able to just roll back their DNA or something and make them entirely human again as if nothing had happened (If this were possible, why didn’t they just Warp 10 home to Earth and then fix everyone while they evolved? It sounds like it would suck, but so would being lost for 70 years). Janeway insinuates she may have initiated the salamating. (Tom should have said salami instead of pepperoni, in salamander solidarity). They laugh off something that should require about 50 years of counseling. Tom says, “cool, I think I have slightly less daddy issues now.”

YOU KNOW WHO HAS MORE DADDY ISSUES NOW? MAYBE YOUR ABANDONED SALAMANDER BABIES.

AND NONE OF THIS IS EVER MENTIONED AGAIN. OR HAS ANY IMPACT ON THE SERIES. EVER.

And so, we commemorate this weird atrocity (which actually has some nice character development and Emmy-winning makeup, but AT WHAT COST) with a day of commiseration and celebration, largely spearheaded by @captaincrusher. Join us next year…posts are already being prepared.

[giffingthingsss]

In Defense of Threshold (minus two things)

Introduction

Ah, yes, that episode. The episode. Happy Threshold Day!

I am fascinated by the decision making process of the writers. Most of the episode is fine. And then at the very end, it takes a turn for the insane. 

But I am here to defend the episode before it goes insane. 

Arc Setup

Season two saw them attempting to do some kind of overarching plot with the Kazon. They planned ahead a tad. They started a plot where Tom would be recruited by Janeway to play double agent. Threshold kicks off said plot. He’s recruited off screen following this ep. 

This episode is an exploration and a reminder to the audience of all of Tom’s issues. Now maybe you buy that he’s getting less and less ‘starfleet’ in the following episodes.

Tom and Janeway spending time together (not like that!, we’re not to the insane part yet) and her hearing all of these issues feeds into her deciding he’s perfect for the mission. 

Tom

One of my issues was going to be with their choice to have him turn into a salamander for going really fast. But upon reflection, I don’t think it’s so crazy. 

Forget the science part of it and that there just needed to be a reason Voyager couldn’t go warp ten. This is a Tom character dive. And Tom turning into something disgusting, something that cannot survive on this ship, that doesn’t fit in, an outward manifestation of the monster he feels he is inside, and yet is supposedly more ‘advanced’ than those around him, fits perfectly. 

Other characters haven’t looked down on Tom in forever. But Tom hasn’t caught up with everyone around him yet. His line to Janeway to ‘stop lying!’ when she tells him how valuable he is to the crew really got me. It says so much about what’s going on in Tom’s head.

(Great line, somewhat taken away from by his head bladdering out, which I never noticed before this viewing. lol)

He starts out desperate to prove to the world what doesn’t need to be proven. Willing to die to prove it. Everyone on the ship already accepts him, he just doesn’t believe that.

He was supposed to be the golden child, but Tom can’t get out of his own way. Never good enough for his father, he internalizes this feeling of never measuring up (‘I shall self-sabotage because I’m going to fail anyway’). The external mirrors the internal.

But there’s also a superiority thing going on. Tom is gifted, but not in the ways that would please his father. He hates himself, but also feels above others sometimes. The inferiority complex isolates him, and in isolation, he begins to feel above the people that he thinks reject him.  

“I’m different, I don’t belong here, I need to get out of here...” etc... No lasting growth occurs in Tom before Voyager forces it into him. The pattern of leaving and maintaining his gifted-but-despised-disappointment loner status, that has come to be almost a comfy security blanket, has happened over and over again. 

‘I guess I still have a lot of barriers to cross (THRESHOLDS, if you will) in my personal life.’ Tom thought others were the problem. Turns out it’s his own self image that needs work. 

So there’s actually a pretty consistent theme in the episode, even when it comes to tongue-falling-out salamander man. And plot setup for the rest of the Kazon arc. 

....And then the other things happen. Oh, yes. THOSE THINGS. Try as I might, I cannot come up with something deep and meaningful here. 

The Two Things

Tom runs off with Janeway. Because.... pffft. Reasons? There was no need to include her at all. The same effect could have been achieved if Tom had just run off and they had just gone and gotten him back. 

Follows naturally from the first thing - WHY LIZARD BABIES?!!! Why on this green earth would you write Tom and Janeway banging in lizard form and having lizard babies? Why bring her at all, but then also... why that?!! Just for a moment of comedy?

Congratulations. Your weird fanfic scenario at the end created a Star Trek legend. 

Infamous, emmy-award winning episode. Complete with lizard babies.

[songbookff]

Janeway/Seven with kisses prompt 24?

"Kisses for a cover"

I like this prompt for them.

This was one of those times where Kathryn wished she had listened to Chakotay and stayed on the ship. But here she was, with Tom, B'Elanna, and Seven, staring at the locals they were certainly not supposed to be interacting with.

Of course, they had been physically altered to look like the residents of the planet, but it was such a small town that the group they had encountered looked suspicious of them.

"Are you here with the honeymooners?" When the alien asked the question, Kathryn thought for a moment the universal translators had malfunctioned. And it was possible that whatever word they actually said had only roughly translated to honeymoon.

Tom moved first, slinging his arm around B'Elanna and kissed her smoothly on the cheek. "Just here to take in the sights with my beloved."

The group of aliens clapped and cooed, obviously happy about this declaration. One said, "We love this time of year when all the young lovers come to honeymoon on the coast."

"How about a kiss?" asked one enthusiastically. The others clapped and repeated "Kiss! Kiss!"

Always the showman, Tom gracefully pulled B'Elanna close and dipped her, kissing her firmly on the mouth. Kathryn froze, realizing that they group took her and Seven as a couple as well.

Before she could decide how to handle the situation, she felt Seven's arm slide around her waist and when she turned, Seven reached out a hand to tip her chin upwards. Their lips met awkwardly, but convincingly and the group cheered again.

As soon as the group of aliens walked off in the other direction, Seven stepped away and to Kathryn's surprise, she felt a sense of loss at her touch.

"Well that was close," muttered B'Elanna and she stomped on in the direction of their original mission, Tom following close behind, neither looking directly at the Captain or Seven.

When the actual married couple had put a bit of distance between them, Kathryn nervously said, "That was good thinking, Seven."

"I think we could have done better." The comment was so direct that Kathryn stopped walking. Seven took a few more steps before turning to look at Kathryn coyly.

"What?"

"I believe we can do better. With some practice, I'm sure we can improve our technique together." Seven raised an eyebrow, as if her statement had been obvious. Kathryn gaped back at her. Seven tilted her head slightly, adding, "Unless I misinterpreted the signals you have been sending over the past few months, I believe you have wanted to kiss me for a while. I share this desire, although I had hoped our first kiss would be more romantic than this."

"You've imagined our first kiss?" Kathryn was dumbstruck. Seven wasn't mistaken of course, Kathryn had wanted to kiss her for quite some time. But it was highly inappropriate and she would have never thought that Seven returned those feelings.

"That is what I just said..." Seven looked over her shoulder to where Tom and B'Elanna were disappearing in the distance. "We should get moving, Captain. We can continue this conversation when we are back on the ship. I would like to describe to you how I imagined our first kiss."

"I would like that very much...but only if you call me Kathryn."

“Of course, Kathryn.” 

[sharpnothashtag]

The Good Ship CrushWay, Chapter 47

Bridge: KJ, Data, Daneel, Tasha, Tom, Patrick

KJ: Conn, current speed? Tom: Warp 3. KJ: Helm, current heading? Ro: 315 mark 47. KJ: When will we be there, Number One? Data: At current speed, 2 weeks, 4 days, 7 hours. KJ: Daneel, any word from Dukat? We'll be entering Cardassian space soon. Data: In 4 days at our present speed. KJ: Thank you. Daneel: (looking down, multitasking) Dukat's last message was a strange one--we'll be picking up a couple of people who need to be ferried to DS9. His neck was very tense, and he was more articulate than usual. Patrick: Was he annoyed, perhaps? Daneel: (clearly working on something else and not concerned about this) Unclear. KJ: (blinking...realizing she is going to have to get used to someone who doesn't read emotions that well) Are there any ships we need to be aware of in sensor range? Daneel: No. (KJ turns away) However (KJ turns back, fake smiling to put her best foot forward with new Lieutenant) there is a Gamma Class Nebula right (bringing it up on the viewscreen) here if you would like to study it. KJ: Would you like to study it, Lieutenant? Daneel: I have been. (buttons) There are some dilithium crystals that could be used as bargaining chips with the Borg, provided they are in a dire enough state to need them. I have also found trace elements of Galantium. KJ: Data, isn't Galantium the normal antidote given for Lyantirum poisoning? Data: Galantium Byzantride, yes, however it is only used for extreme cases. KJ: You saw the elevated Lyantirum levels from the weapon they were using. Are those levels severe enough to cause poisoning? Data: Yes, but all the drones rescued thus far have not needed the treatment. Hypothetically, with their method and frequency of travel, it would have taken a full year for the effects of Lyantirum poisoning to take effect. However, at the rate the drones were dying due to the phase variant disease, many of them did not succumb to the effects. KJ: Tom, take us by the nebula. Collect all the Galantium we can store. I have a feeling that the Borg we are about to encounter need help, and lots of it. Janeway to Seven of Nine. Seven: Yes, Captain? KJ: Coordinate with Dr. Crusher on the information I'm sending to both of you now. We need to know how the Borg reconstruction surgery could be altered due to the effects of Lyantirum poisoning. Communicate with headquarters that we have found a large cache of Galantium and are collecting it in hopes of using it for treatment. Janeway out. (turning to Ro) Ensign Ro, you and Commander Data figure out the most efficient way to dispense the treatment to as many drones at a time as possible. Lieutenant, you're in charge of harvesting the Galantium. Get down to Engineering, and make sure everyone is on the same page. Daneel: For clarity's sake, what page is that? KJ: (typing into the padd on the arm of her chair, over this before it even starts) The page where we save the Borg's asses. Again.

(throw to commercial)

B'Elanna: Emptying the Bussard collectors is going to take time, Lieutenant. Miles: We'll be here another 6 hours just making sure that they're ready--apparently no one at Utopia Planitia thought they were important enough to test before we left. Daneel: Understood. The Captain sent me to help in any way I can. (B'Elanna nods and takes them off to help clean and test the collectors. Miles is left in Engineering to deal with the programming side of things.)

B'Elanna: Can you hand me that plasma spanner? (Daneel hands it to her. B'Elanna clearly feels awkward.) So...Miles tells me that you and Data hung out last week. Daneel: (blushing deeply) Yes, we did. B'Elanna: May I ask you in what context? Daneel: We went on a date. B'Elanna: (beaming) I like the two of you together. You are both very sweet--almost innocent. Daneel: Innocent? B'Elanna: You're both consenting adults, so it isn't a "young love" situation, but it does feel like you two are generally inexperienced. Daneel: I don't come across as cold and jaded? B'Elanna: I don't think so. But I'm not really one to judge. Daneel: You aren't? You seem neurotypical. B'Elanna: That's true. But that doesn't mean that I trust the way I interpret people's characters. If I were fully Klingon, I think I would be a better judge. But (shrugs) I'm half human. Daneel: I kind of thought that I came across that way. B'Elanna: Why is that? Obviously something in your past has scarred you, but I do wonder why you think of yourself in that way. Daneel: Have you ever found someone who understood you in a way you didn't understand yourself? B'Elanna: Yes. Daneel: Besides Tom. B'Elanna: Strangely enough, yes, besides Tom. Daneel: Wesley Crusher is that person for me. (B'Elanna cocks her eyebrow.) We met while we were in the Academy. One day at lunch, I was studying for my robotics class with the textbook that Data wrote. B'Elanna: (sarcastically) A real page turner. Daneel: (enthusiastically) I know, right?! Anyway, the seat next to me in the cafeteria was open, and Wesley just interrupted my study session.

Flashback (Those of you who know me know I am not a huge fan of Wesley Crusher. That isn't Wil Wheaton's fault. I'm about to try to do him justice. Please bear with me, nonexistent readers and Wil Wheaton.) Wesley walks past Daneel without looking at them. It is as if he isn't allowed to go past--like a video game character hitting an invisible wall.

Wesley: I know this is a really weird thing to say, but I feel like I'm supposed to sit here. Glasses: (Daneel doesn't look up from their book) Go ahead. Wesley: (blinking in surprise, sits down. Notices the book.) Oh, Data's book! I really miss him. Glasses: (deeply surprised, about to fan-person) You know him?! Wesley: Yeah, he's on the Enterprise where my mom was assigned. Daneel: Cool! What's your name? Wesley: I'm Wesley Crusher. He/him/his. Daneel: Wesley? (Wesley nods. Daneel sticks out his hand.) Daneel Akares. They/them/theirs. I have a potentially strange series of questions to ask you. Wesley: (smiling, sitting back in the chair with finger guns) Shoot! Daneel: (hearing the screams of their friends as they exploded; immediately panicked, ducking under the table) Who's shooting?! Wesley: (surprised, talking to them slowly and calmly as he sits on the ground with them) I'm so sorry--I thought you knew that slang term. I just meant to go ahead and ask me the questions you want to ask. No one has weapons here. You're safe. Glasses: I'm sorry. (Daneel is hugging their legs to their chest) I'm still processing a lot of stuff from the Occupation. Wesley: That's okay. (He scoots around under the table to sit side by side with Daneel) What did you want to ask me? Glasses: (looking around) Do you know someone called "The Traveller"? Wesley: (shocked) Yes. He and I know each other well. Daneel: He saved my life. I think he was looking for you, though. Wesley: What makes you say that? Daneel: He called me by your name. He said he was "here to help find her." Wesley: I know when that was. I'll never forget it. Stardate 44161.2. The day my mom disappeared. Daneel: Did the Traveller find her? Wesley: Yes. It was one of the scariest times of my entire life. Daneel: I had a bomb inside my chest. He defused it. Wesley: I'm so sorry. (Daneel puts their head on Wesley's shoulder, still shaking a little.) Do you want to come to my quarters and get to know each other? Daneel: I would like that. However, you should know first that I am not romantically or sexually attracted to you. Wesley: (laughing) Nor I you. Come on, let's go. (Wesley gets up, dusts himself off, and offers Daneel his hand to help them off the floor. Daneel accepts.)

Conference room: KJ, Data, Ro, Miles, Bev, Tasha, and Tom

KJ: Data, report. Data: We have devised a solution. As soon as the threat of assimilation is neutralized, we will beam as many drones as possible into our six cargo bays. Galantium Byzantride will filter in through the environmental controls. Once the treatment is complete, Seven of Nine will take a sample drone, input the command to regenerate, and then we will head back to Utopia Planitia. KJ: How long will it take for the treatment to take full effect? Ro: Only an hour. It's a wonder no one has tried this method before. KJ: Tasha, I want security teams on those cargo bays nonstop until we get back. (Tasha nods.) Doctor, will there be any side effects that would affect the reconstruction surgery? Bev: There is a 30% chance of death with our current surgical routine. Data, Seven, The Doctor, and I will have to perform several holographic simulations in order for this to succeed. KJ: Understood. Lieutenant Daneel, are the Bussard collectors prepared? Daneel: Ready, Captain. Miles: Once the Galantium is collected, Dr. Crusher and I will need to coordinate on how to make the vaccine airborne. Bev: I have a plan in place for that--I'm in the final testing stages. KJ: Good work. Daneel, start the collection process. Ro, when we start the collection, drop the shields and immediately start recharging them. Tom, as soon as we're done, I want to be out of here. Ro and Tom: Aye.

Bev and Miles in Engineering

Bev: (typing in several codes) So, I heard the lovely pieces you, Data, Jean-Luc, and Patrick played at Worf and Deanna's wedding. Would you like to play for mine and Kate's? Miles: Sure. I'd love to. As far as the rest of the quartet goes, you'll have to ask them. Bev: Oh, I already have. I talked to Keiko before we left. She specifically told me to mention it while you were doing something else. Miles: (laughing) That's my wife, alright. She knows I do better when my brain is otherwise occupied. Bev: (laughs. Quiet settles in) So, this couple that we're picking up. Do you know them? Miles: Do I ever. Bev: ...do I get an explanation for that? Miles: (pressing a few buttons in a final flourish) Not at the moment. It's time to collect the Galantium! Bev: You can't just leave me hanging in suspense like that. Miles: I'll tell you this much: there is no more confusing couple in all of Starfleet, and of the same token, they are the most loving couple I've ever known. Bev: (smiling) I suppose I can handle that. Miles: (touching his combadge) O'Brien to Janeway. We're ready to start collecting. KJ: Acknowledged.

(Exterior shot of the ship. The Bussard collectors power up briefly, and then from the nebula, a Borg sphere emerges.)

KJ: (understandably pretty freaked out) Ro where the hell was that thing?! Ro: I'm picking up traces of...synthetic Lyantirum? Data: The cloaking device. Ro: We're being hailed, Captain. KJ: Take the damn thing. Borg: We are the Borg. Your technological-- KJ: I killed your Queen, you directionless drones. You report to me. Borg: Insufficient. Your simple human mind cannot possibly organize the thoughts of millions of drones. KJ: You look at me, Borg ship. I am the only person to ever negotiate with you. I am the one that has gotten away time and time again. You keep chasing me around the galaxy. Years ago when I was ripped away from my crew, it seemed that I was almost immediately forced to deal with you AGAIN. You're almost as stubborn as I am. But notice that I said almost. My efforts to help you have finally worked. Borg: We have noticed the voices disappearing from the collective. KJ: Yes, and that's because of me. And a few hundred other very important people. Patrick: (looking for permission) Captain? (KJ nods) My designation was once Locutus. Does the collective remember me? Borg: The collective recognizes Locutus of Borg. Patrick: Does the collective remember the plans of the Queen before stardate 16147.3? Borg: To research synthetic Lyantirum as a source for a superior cloaking device. Patrick: And did the collective achieve this goal? Borg: Affirmative. Patrick: How?

One drone's voice comes above all the others.

Drone: Because they assimilated us.

Three drones walk to the front of the viewing area.

Data: Sissun? Chuti? Keriss? KJ: The members of the Lyantirum think tank on Mars. Drones 1, 2, and 3: We were assimilated, and then the collective destroyed Jouret IV. KJ: I thought you weren't on Jouret IV when it was attacked. Drones 1, 2, and 3: We were not supposed to be. However, our transport ship was delayed by a plasma storm. We were assimilated. The colony was destroyed. We helped form the Lyantirum transport device and the synthetic Lyantirum cloaking device. KJ: Those devices are dangerous to you and to the space you use them in. Borg: Enough. This discussion is irrelevant. Assimilation is imminent. Resistance is futile.

The communication is cut off.

KJ: Ro, raise shields. Tom, prepare evasive maneuvers. Data: (on communicator) All hands, battle stations. KJ: The Borg have engaged us.

[moocowmoocow]

Because @cannibalspicnic is a horrible influence, I present:

When Janeway met Avasarala.

When Harry had told Janeway that the mysterious gate in front of Voyager had a opening in the vicinity of Uranus, her knees nearly gave out. They had had so many false hopes through the years that she thought she had built a strong forcefield around her emotions whenever the prospect of home beckoned. But the strong signals coming from the gate and the Doctor’s reassurance that the crew was fully conscious and in their right minds had given her more hope than she had since she first destroyed the Caretaker’s array.

Leaning over Tom’s shoulder, she checked the flight path. If the strange space in front of them proved to be no problem, they should be home in an hour at the latest. She mentally rolled her eyes at herself. Of course the strange space was going to be a problem. When had anything been easy in the Delta Quadrant?

She squeezed Tom’s shoulder. “Ready?” she asked.

Tom looked back and gave her a smirk that was reassuring in its familiarity. “Yes, ma’am.”

She let go of his arm and made her way to the command center. “Janeway to Engineering.”

“Torres here.”

“Are your shield modifications ready?”

“Aye, Captain.”

Janeway could hear a hint of happiness and excitement in her engineer’s voice. She grinned and looked over at Chakotay. “What do you think, Commander? Should we go home?”

He tapped the back of his hand twice. “Not dreaming.” He smiled at her. “I think we’re good to go, Captain.”

She put her hands on her hips. “Engage.”

Voyager didn’t even shudder as they entered the strange space. There was a large space station in the center, but it did not seem to detect Voyager as it slipped by it. The shield modifications must have rendered Voyager invisible to its sensors. As Voyager exited the gate that opened to Sector 001, Janeway let out a breath she hadn’t been aware she was holding.

They emerged in a solar system that Janeway knew as well as the back of her hand. Probably better, if she was honest. This had been entirely too easy. Something had to be - - -

“Captain,” Harry said, panic in his voice. “Everything is wrong.”

She turned to look at him. He was pale, staring at his sensor readings in shock. “What do you mean, wrong?”

“This is our solar system. But it’s not our solar system.” He shook his head. “There are no Federation signatures. Utopia Planitia and all other Federation bases do not exist.”

“Damn,” she whispered.

“Earth and Mars are still there,” he added. She could see him clinging the last remaining vestiges of hope. “It appears that most of the life in this system is concentrated on those two planets.”

The responsible thing would be to turn around and go back where she came. She can almost feel Tuvok willing her to do it. But she had come too far to turn away now. “Mr. Paris, lay in a course toward Earth, maximum warp.”

“Captain - “ Tuvok started to object

“I know, Tuvok. But since we’re here, we might as well look at home.”

He arched his eyebrow but did not say anything more as they made their way to Earth.

*

When they arrived, Earth filled their view screen. It was wrong, yes, with different coastlines and choking pollution, but it was still the Earth and it was beautiful. Janeway could not stop the gasp and the tears that flooded her eyes at the sight of it. Many on the bridge seemed to be in the same state as her, gazing in wonder and dismay at the planet.

“Captain, we’re being hailed,” Harry reported.

Janeway wiped the tears from her eyes. “On screen,” she said, her voice a little rough with the emotions swirling in her.

A human woman appeared on the screen, wearing what seemed to be actual gold jewelry with a purple jacket. Janeway saw that she was trying to hide her shock and fear, but she could not completely banish them from her eyes. “I’m Captain Kathryn Janeway, of the Federation Starship Voyager,” Janeway said in her most placating voice.

The other woman pursed her lips. “What the fuck is the Federation?” And Tuvok thought she was undiplomatic.

Janeway moved toward the view screen, putting her hands up in an effort to try to diffuse the situation. “We’ll get to that. Why don’t you tell me who you are?”

The other woman gathered herself together and tilted her chin upwards. “I’m Chrisjen Avasarala, Secretary General of the United Nations.”

The United Nations sounded familiar.  “It was an organization created after World War II, Captain,” Tom interjected. “It was supposed to stop more world wars.”

Avasarala narrowed her eyes. “You’re human?”

Janeway nodded. “I and most of my crew are. However, other members of my crew come from other planets that are members of the Federation.”

“But you came through the ring gates. How do I know you’re not some protomolecule shit?”

“You and your people are free to come and do any tests, but you’ll find that we’re completely human.”

“I’ll have to take you up on that.”

“Get your people together. We’ll transport you over.”

The other woman nodded. Janeway turned back to Chakotay. “Fuck,” she said, rubbing her hands across her face.

[summahsunlight]

This Way Became My Journey, Ch. 24

When Neelix opened his eyes for the second time that day, just Counselor Barrett was standing over him, one of her small hands was resting behind his ear and she was smiling at him. She had such a pretty smile, he concluded, and if he were in better spirits he might actually feel warmed by her presence. Instead he felt conflicted. She was here obviously to calm him down from before when he had his first anxiety attack, but he couldn't stand the sight of her standing up right and breathing on own her with her little shy grin. She could not possibly understand what was going on with him. How could she? She had never been forced to live like this. She had never been intentionally paralyzed.

"How are you feeling Neelix?" Her voice was soft, using gentle tones like a mother would use with their sick child.

What a stupid question. I'm feeling miserable. I may never get out of this device and be forced to spend the rest of my life in here. "I'm…feeling alright."

She patted his shoulder. "It's alright to tell me otherwise, Neelix. I understand."

Do you really? Do you really know what it's like to be lying here unable to move? Neelix averted his eyes. He didn't want to speak with her. He didn't want to listen to her tell him some therapeutic babble that she was undoubtedly going to give to him. It was not going to help, it was not going to get him out of this device. When he had first opened his eyes earlier that day he had been skeptical, but happy to be alive. Now, now he wished that the Commander and Ensign Kim had just left him to die on that planetoid. It would have been much better than lying here, staring up at the ceiling, which Kes' had decorated rather nicely, for the rest of his life.

"How about we talk about something other than yourself? How about Kes? How did you meet her?"

Thinking of Kes brought about another bout of melancholy. She had been standing there when he first had a woken when Lieutenant Barrett had told him what the Doctor and Lieutenant Paris had done to keep him alive. Kes had been so naïve, she was after all only one year old, confident that the Doctor was going to find a better solution. He had tried to get her to go on with her life, even if he knew that meant she'd be with Tom Paris. The man was already making the moves on her and Neelix wasn't even dead yet. "I don't want to talk about Kes."

"There must be something we can talk about to pass the time by."

"NO!" Neelix yelled, angry eyes flashing at her. "I don't want to talk! Just leave me alone!"

He saw her sapphire eyes flicker off to the side; she must have been looking at the holo doctor. And then he was surprised to see them snap back to him, with just as much anger. This wasn't the type of person he had read about in the ship's database that studied to become a counselor. For a moment, the glare almost reminded him of Captain Janeway. This girl could have command of a ship someday. I can see her going toe to toe with the Kazon just like Captain Janeway.

"You're going to listen to me and you're going to listen to me real good, understood Mister Neelix?"

She even sounds like Janeway. All he could do was nod his head; she had rendered him speechless for once.

"Good," she said, sternly. "Now I won't begin to try to even understand how you must be feeling, because I've never been lying in your situation. But, if this is going to work, you're going to have to get off of the woe is me bandwagon and start facing facts. You're alive and that's better than anyone could hope for if they've lost their lungs."

"My lungs weren't lost! They were stolen!"

"You're also lucky," she went on to say, ignoring him, "That you have a captain who is completely devoted to finding who did this to you. I've spent a few years in Starfleet and I'll tell you right now, I've yet to see a captain as loyal to her crew as Kathryn Janeway. Now, I would think you'd want to show her a little respect and gratitude for what she's doing for you and sitting here whining about everything is NOT the way to go about it."

Neelix instantly felt sheepish. How could such a small woman make me feel so…inferior?

Her eyes softened a bit. "I can only do so much for you Neelix. You have to be able to help yourself along the way. Now, let's try this again, what would you like to talk about?"

He bit his lip. "What's happens to Kes if Captain Janeway doesn't find my lungs?"

Lieutenant Barrett looked confused. "She would stay on Voyager."

"But what happens to her? Does she go on with her life?"

"That decision is entirely up to Kes what she does if Captain Janeway is unsuccessful in finding your lungs."

Neelix didn't hear her, he kept rambling. "Does she end up with…Tom Paris?"

She blinked. "What does Tom Paris have to with any of this?"

He didn't miss what she had said that time for her voice caught a little. He turned his eyes to meet hers. "You're trained to make observations, haven't you seen the way he looks at her?"

"He looks at every woman that way Mister Neelix. I've noticed no difference in his behavior."

"Even you?"

Her face flushed a little. "Even…me."

"You could do better than Tom Paris," Neelix pointed out to her. "Like…Ensign Kim."

Her eyebrow shot up. "Harry?"

"I see you two eating in the mess hall together all the time," Neelix replied, with a smile. It felt good to smile he realized. "Sitting and chatting; you always look so relaxed and happy when you're with him. And he did bring you those flowers while you were recovering from your injuries."

"How do you know about those flowers?"

"Ensign Brooks saw him bring them to you. Word gets around fast on a little ship, Lieutenant. Everyone knows. I guess… I just assumed that there could be more there. I think you'd make a very cute couple."

Again her cheeks got a little pink but this time she glared at him. "We're supposed to be talking about you."

If he could shrug his shoulders he would have. "Talking about other people makes me feel better."

She rolled her eyes. She has very pretty eyes, they remind me of the ocean on Talax. "Really Neelix, gossip is not what I had in mind when I came down here. The Doctor wanted me to offer you my professional services, not my friendship."

"I'd rather have your friendship."

She smiled warmly. "I'd rather be your friend."

He could hear the doors to sickbay swish open. Barrett looked up to see who had entered the room and straightened her form. "Kes is here, I'll leave you in her capable hands while I go help Captain Janeway make first contact with a species that, well let's face it, doesn't want to make first contact with us. However, if you need me don't be afraid to contact me, alright?"

"Alright." As she turned to go, he called out, "Thank you Lieutenant, I really do feel better now."

Ship Counselor's log, stardate 48532.4; Mister Neelix still exhibits emotions and behaviors that are disturbing me greatly during his recovery, he goes from being extremely depressed to being extremely happy in a matter of moments. If were home in Alpha Quadrant I would request a trauma specialist, but for now I'm going to have to make do. I can only hope that the aliens we have followed into the asteroid have Neelix's lungs, or we're in for one long and rough ride.

Tom Paris happened to glance up to see Sarah Barrett come out of the turbo lift onto the bridge. She could not have been gone more than twenty minutes. Either Neelix had had a fast recovery or he was not awake yet and the lieutenant saw it pointless to wait around for him to wake up while she could be more useful on the bridge.

Janeway looked surprised to see her as well. "Everything alright?" the Captain asked, softly.

Sara made her way down the steps towards the command station. "For the moment yes, Kes is with him. But, if we're not successful in getting his lungs back, I'm afraid he's in for an emotional roller coaster ride. If we were home I'd request the services of a trauma specialist."

The Captain frowned. "Unfortunately we don't have that luxury. You're just going to have to do your best, Sarah."

Sarah's eyes sparkled, Tom loved it when she got that look, it made her look endearing. "Don't worry Captain Janeway, I'm confident we'll get his lungs back."

I wonder if she really means those words, Tom thought, turning back towards his control panel. And then he remembered that not more than twenty five minutes before she had known that Michael Janeway had taken the alien device and was about to enter the ready room. No one else on that bridge had seen the child move, not even B'Elanna Torres who had been right next to the boy when he did it. Perhaps she does know we're going to get his lungs back.

How she had known was another question. He didn't think she was part betazoid, after all, there had to have been some empathic or telepathic forces working there for her to know. And if she was part betazoid, she had never mentioned it before. Of course there had been a lot of things that she had not mentioned to him. Like the fact that Harry Kim had given her flowers while she had been recovering, or that he had stopped by every day to check on her. Glancing over his other shoulder he caught a glimpse of Harry working at his console intensely.

Tom had wanted Harry to find a new girlfriend, just not one he was thinking about dating. He admitted that he had tried to gage Harry's feelings for her when they had been talking about her in the mess hall while she had been missing. Although his attitude had been that he was happy for Harry, on the inside he was downright jealous and B'Elanna Torres of all people had picked up on it today.

Which meant by tomorrow it would be all over the ship. Damn little ship.

"You're doing just fine, Mister Paris," Janeway said, firmly from behind him. "Just fine."

Her little vote of confidence took his thoughts away from his jealousy of his best friend. It also made him aware that he was not paying attention to his flying. Perhaps that had been Janeway's intention of complimenting him. Either way he should acknowledge her faith in him. "Thanks Captain."

"Sensors detect a large chamber up a head, Captain," Tuvok reported.

The Vulcan was correct, Tom soon found out, because Voyager was flying into a large cavern where they appeared to be thousands of Voyagers and the alien ship. Oh just fabulous, this day keeps getting better and better.

Chakotay was the one to voice the opinion that they all were thinking. "What the hell is it?"

"We appear to be seeing Voyager and the alien ship reflecting off the walls of the chamber," Harry informed the bridge crew.

"Can you determine which ship is the real one?" Janeway said, suddenly appearing to his left.

"No Captain. The walls are emanating severe electromagnetic interference. I cannot scan them directly," Tuvok replied.

"It's like trying to navigate through a hall of mirrors," Janeway said. "You never know when you're going to walk into the glass."

Tom peered up at her. "I'm still picking up the alien's ion trail; maybe we should still follow that?"

"They might have left a fake ion trail to lure us in here," Chakotay replied. "It may lead us straight into one of those walls."

"That's a chance we're going to have to take," Janeway said, turning about to Tuvok. "Commander, extend the deflectors to maximum range. If we do run into something it will give us an extra margin of error. Follow the ion trail Mister Paris, slowly. Mister Kim, continuous scans."

"Aye Captain."

Captain Janeway's assessment of the chamber, like it was a hall of mirrors, was pretty accurate Tom concluded after starting to follow the ion trail again. He tried his best to navigate the maze as it were, but he wasn't sure when or if he was going to crash the ship into a wall at any moment. Just what Janeway needs today, me wrecking Starfleet's most advanced ship.

He felt something brush against his arm and could see out of the corner of eye Michael squeeze his way in between the conn and his mother so he could stand with Janeway. Even though the captain had told him before to stay in her chair, she gently weaved her hand through his hair in a gesture that Tom had received from his mother when he needed comforting as a child. Right now his deep blue eyes were watching the viewscreen intensely but anyone could see the nervous strain on his little face. As frightening as it was for the rest of them, they were trained officers, they knew how to deal with a situation like this. Michael was a child, a very bright child, but still a child. The thought that they were hunting down an alien that had stolen Neelix's lungs must have been a terrifying concept for him.

Janeway must have realized this as well. "Michael, why don't you go into the ready room and check on Ava."

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea," he answered. "I don't want her to get scared and all."

With a hint of smile Tom watched as the boy moved past him and disappeared into the ready room. He had to admit that even though he had not been thrilled when he had first learned of the kids being on board, the boy was starting to grow on him and who could resist Ava's big blue eyes? They were a nice little moral boaster to have around even if at times Michael went tinkering into conduits and consoles that he really shouldn't be tinkering with.

His console beeped. Tom glanced down at his controls to see what the issue was. "Captain," he said. "I'm reading a minor fluctuation in the warp core. I don't think it's anything to worry about."

But even as he said those words the power started to drain all over the ship.

Janeway tapped her combadge. "Janeway to Torres, what's going on down there?"

"Some kind of power drain," B'Elanna Torres answered. "I can't localize it but we're losing power at a rate of seven percent per minute."

"The power drain is coming from somewhere in this chamber, Captain," Harry told her. " Some kind of dampening field. It's bleeding energy directly from the warp nacelles."

"B'Elanna shut down the warp core and go to emergency power," Janeway ordered Torres.

"No effect Captain."

"Keep me informed, bridge out," Janeway said, turning towards Harry. "Ensign Kim can you pin point the source of the dampening field?"

"It appears to be coming from two one seven mark zero one five, distance five hundred and forty seven meters."

"Tuvok, what would happen if we locked phasers and fired at the source?"

"The walls of the chamber reflect directed energy. The phaser beam would ricochet along an unpredictable path, possibly impacting with our ship in the process."

"Alright, we won't try that."

Tom grinned at conn. Janeway's dry sense of humor was unlike anything he had seen in a Starfleet captain. She's in a class all her own.

"Maybe we should," Chakotay spoke up. "What would happen if we the phaser power to a minimum setting and sent out a continuous beam?"

"The phaser would continue to reflect off of the bulkheads until it encountered a non reflective material," Tuvok answered.

"Like the real alien ship," Chakotay replied.

Tom was intrigued. On paper it sounded like a good idea, and he realized it was the only one they had at this point.

"We'd be using the phaser's like a search light, scan the interior of the station until we find the alien ship," Janeway conversed.

"Exactly."

"Do it."

The phaser beam shot forth from the bow of the ship and soon created a tangled web of orange throughout the chamber bouncing off each of the reflected ships. Tuvok adjusted the phaser's so they wouldn't be harmful to Voyager if they managed to find their ship before the alien one.

"Wait a minute," Harry called out, "I think I've found the real ship."

"On screen."

The image on the viewscreen changed before him and Tom was looking at the alien ship with a phaser beam not reflecting off of it. The idea had actually worked. That was easy.

"Mister Paris bring us within transporter range of that ship."

"Yes ma'am."

"I'm picking up two life signs," Harry said.

Tuvok gave a brief report next. "The alien ship is powering up engines."

"Bridge to transporter room three, lock onto those two life signs and beam them aboard."

Tom saw Janeway move swiftly across the bridge and enter the turbo lift with Sarah and Tuvok. He almost pitied them, having to make first contact under situations like this, of course Sarah had dealt with the Borg, and certainly this was a walk in the park compared to that.

Well, maybe. Janeway was not going to be happy that these aliens had led them on a chase and attacked one of her crewmen. He had only been on this ship a month and already he had seen her temper. Sarah was not only going to have the job of first contact she was going to have the job of calming Janeway down to make a good first contact. Good first contact? How can it be good when they've already hurt one our crewmen? It's already gotten off on a bad foot.

"Tom, where's Mama?"

He looked up to see that Michael had now rejoined them on the bridge and with a rather cranky looking Ava. Guess who just woke up. "She went to the transporter room to get Neelix's lungs back. We beamed the aliens who took them on board."

"We found the alien's ship? And brought the aliens on board?"

"We did."

The boy looked worried. "Tom, they aren't going to hurt Mama are they? What if they want her lungs too?"

Tom blinked, noticing the glare that Chakotay gave him. Right, the kid is five, too much information. "Uh, well she took Commander Tuvok with her, and some security. They had phasers. I'm sure she'll be fine—,"

"But Neelix had a phaser too! It's standard procedure to bring a phaser on an away mission! And that didn't stop them from taking his lungs!" Michael gasped, fretful tears streaming down his cheeks.

What the hell have I done? He looked towards Chakotay for help, but the first officer shook his head, as if to tell him he had to get himself out of this mess. "Michael, listen, stop crying. Everything will be fine, promise."

This only seemed to make the boy cry harder, which made Ava start to cry and garner looks from the whole bridge crew his way. Tom felt like crawling into a hole and hiding for hours. Even more so when Michael wailed, "That's what Mama said when we hadn't heard from Daddy in three days! And he didn't come home!"

Tom felt his heart drop. He couldn't imagine what it had been like for the boy, who had been only three at the time, to lose his father. It must have been harder on Janeway trying to comfort him. But Janeway didn't have the option that Tom had now, glancing at Chakotay briefly, he called out, "Computer locate Captain Janeway."

[coffeefairy]

Writer’s Month August 2020 - Day 4

Day four of the challenge, no one is more surprised than I am!

Day 4, Long distance relationship

Fandom: Star Trek: Voyager

Ship: Harry Kim/Tom Paris

Rating: Teen and up

Summary: Tom and Harry get put in opposite shifts and find out that three decks sometimes can feel as far as seventy-five thousand lightyears. Set sometime during season 2.

Excerpt: The next thing he’d known was the ensign at the transporter conn clearing her throat. Pulling away he’d found himself and Tom in the same position they’d been in, huddled together, kissing desperately but instead of being surrounded by the disintegrating shuttle, they were sitting on the transporter pad.

The Captain had looked harried, hair not as neat as normal, but she had relaxed and even afforded them an amused eyebrow raise.

“I’d say as you were, gentlemen, but I think we’d all be happy to get out of this nebula.”

Tags: Love confession, established relationship, long distance (sorta, not geographically), terrible title that may change

Scheduling Conflicts

“Hey, Harry.” 

Harry’s combadge beeped for a private channel and Tom’s voice spoke at a murmur, only loud enough for him to hear.

Everyone was allowed to use private channel communication on the Bridge, but not loud enough to disturb others. As he was at his Ops conn, it wouldn’t bother anyone so he muttered,

“Hey,” in reply.

“Do you want pizza or steak for dinner? I can’t make up my mind.”

“I don’t trust you to replicate steak so I’m voting pizza.”

“Hey, not fair. Didn’t I replicate a great dinner last time?”

“It was tomato soup. Plain tomato soup.”

“Well, excuse me, Mr Cordon Bleu,” Tom chuckled over the line. “Me and my insulted pride will go and make the pizza now.”

“I’ll see you after gamma shift ends. I’ll cheer you and your insulted pride up.”

“Oh, yeah?” Tom’s voice dropped to a purr. “Will you come back and-”

“Bye,” Harry interrupted and ended the call. However amusing his boyfriend would find it, he wouldn’t want to spend the rest of his shift turned on by whatever suggestion Tom had been about to make. 

Smiling at the prospect of heading to Tom’s quarters after his shift, he started another scan of the area. 

They’d only been together a few months, everything still sparkling and wondrous. The change from friendship to romantically involved had been easier than Harry had anticipated. They were still great friends, but now he was allowed to act on the impulse when he wanted to reach out for Tom, run his hand through his hair, kiss him. All the things that had been driving him crazy before, the wish to get closer always ringing in his head, had quietened now that he knew he could follow its lead. 

It had taken almost dying of exposure in a disintegrating shuttle but the feelings it turned out both of them had held back had risen to the surface, the thought of dying with Tom never knowing how loved he was impossible for Harry to even contemplate. The moment, stark in his memory flashed in his mind. The blood on Tom’s face, so bright in the otherwise monochrome world, his eyes shining with fear, regret, and somehow through it all, determination and hope. His surprise, then wonder and awe as Harry tried to get the last oxygen to last for the words he had to say. In the cold impending vacuum he hadn’t heard the first time Tom said he loved him too, but he’d seen his lips form the words. Their lips had met an instant later, Harry prepared for it to be the last thing he ever knew.

The next thing he’d known was the ensign at the transporter conn clearing her throat. Pulling away he’d found himself and Tom in the same position they’d been in, huddled together, kissing desperately but instead of being surrounded by the disintegrating shuttle, they were sitting on the transporter pad. The Captain had looked harried, hair not as neat as normal, but she had relaxed and even afforded them an amused eyebrow raise. 

“I’d say as you were, gentlemen, but I think we’d all be happy to get out of this nebula.”

It had made their relationship public from the moment it had started but any fear Harry may have felt at this prospect had faded quickly. Thomas Eugene Paris, it turned out, was an excellent boyfriend. Attentive, focused, loving, with the edge of fun and the unexpected he had always represented in Harry’s life. 

A light flashing on his conn caught his attention.

“Captain, I’m reading a tachyon disturbance seventy-five lightyears away and it’s-”

The impact was sudden, shuddering through the hull. The Captain, eyes steely and voice cool ordered red alert. Harry bid farewell to the pizza with Tom.

o.O.o

Sometimes three decks could feel as far as seventy-five thousand lightyears. Janeway was trying out new shift configurations in an attempt to iron out the last vestiges of the two crews of Voyager feeling like two. Always championing her “one ship, one crew” policy, she was moving everyone around from their usual rotations to promote “increased understanding”. While Tom approved of the idea in theory, he wasn’t happy he and Harry had ended up on opposite shifts. The little time he managed to see his boyfriend he was either falling asleep or getting up. The fact that he often found him in bed surely had its advantages but he missed just being with him. Hell, he even missed working with him. Hearing that deep voice in its professional mode, coolly assessing and analyzing, stating facts and numbers with the ease of a more experienced officer. You had to have got it bad when you found someone’s work voice sexy. 

Still, Tom would take any abuse his younger (stupider) self would heap on him for acting like a lovelorn fourteen-year-old if he could see him now. That Tom had never known what was good for him anyway. Older (wiser) Tom did and he knew beyond a doubt he’d never do better than Harry Kim. 

It had been surprising to find himself falling so quickly for someone he’d just met, he’d assumed himself too old and cynical for it. But it hadn’t taken Harry more than a few hours to disabuse him of that notion. Harry believed the best of people, and not because he was naive, but because he wanted to. He was handsome, funny and smarter than anyone gave him credit for. So was it any wonder?

Smiling to himself, Tom adjusted the course minutely. He didn’t have to, they’d earn three minutes on their journey time of seventy-five years but it pleased him to fly to the best of his ability. He figured the difference between a pilot who flew and one who cruised on the straight stretches was in the details. 

On his conn, the private messaging function beeped. Opening the side panel he saw Harry reminding him they’d agreed to meet in Sandrine’s at eight. Tom knew Harry was going to stay awake for about an hour before his early start would catch up to him. Still, it was an hour he’d get to see him, conscious and talking. Tapping the message to acknowledge the receipt, he heard the Security officer at the conn Tom thought of as Tuvok’s, inform Janeway of some unusual readings. Posed to change course at her order, he waited for it. The Captain didn’t miss opportunities to explore unknown phenomena. Then his conn flashed, crackled and died. An instant later it began spouting numbers and figures at him that made no sense. Behind him he heard from the others all conns on the Bridge had experienced the same malfunction. Grimly, he looked up to the viewscreen to do his best to fly blind with only the unknown stars to guide him.

There was no way he’d ever make it to Sandrine’s by eight.

o.O.o

After three weeks, Tom and Harry asked for a private word with the Captain. It was easily granted and they explained that while they weren’t asking for special treatment, the new schedule was preventing them from seeing each other, in effect putting them in a long distance relationship on a vessel smaller than what could be classified a village. Janeway had narrowed her eyes, explained no one could be seen getting preferential hours. They had both volunteered for the unpopular night cycle shift.

“No, no need. I actually would like to return to some of the old configurations. And,” she consulted her PADD, “you’re both back to Bridge duty as of next week, on the alpha shift. That said,” she interrupted their congratulatory glance. “As Bridge officers we...we have a duty to the rest of the ship. We can never let our personal lives get in the way of our work. When we work, we’re present. I can’t allow any...change in circumstances, or outside influence affect your work, and if I see that it is, then this shift rotation may well change.”

“Yes, Captain,” the chorused. 

“Very well, dismissed.”

At the door she stopped them with a raised hand. “Tom...Harry, I...As your Captain I’ve told you the rules for fraternization, as Starfleet insists on calling it. But I want you to know that…” she looked out towards the windows to the right, to the stars sweeping by, discovered for the first time by human eyes, to be left behind the next moment. “That I am very happy for you. Where we are, what we are living through, it’s...it’s good to have someone to share it with. Someone who is going through the same.”

With the Captain’s well wishes they left her to stare at her PADDs, chewing at her bottom lip, a far-seeing look in her eye. One or two of their colleagues afforded them a curious glance as they passed through the Bridge after exiting the Captain’s Ready Room. Most focused on the task they had at hand.

In the elevator Tom’s hand found Harry’s. 

“So, now that we have the Captain’s blessing and everything...how about that pizza?”

[mia-cooper]

2019 fanfiction in review

I usually put more effort into pimping my favourite fics of the year, boosting a few new writers in my fandoms, etc. This year, however, I have not, for reasons both within and beyond my control. Which is pretty much my excuse for not Doing Better with writing for the past month or so, but hey. At least there’s this.

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1. Best fic(s) you read all year, and why?

How can I even begin to list all the beautiful, shocking, feel-good, feel-terrible-but-in-a-good-way, envy-inducing, page-turning, soul-destroying, fluffy, hilarious, infuriating and horny fics I’ve read this year? I can’t. So I will instead list three that come immediately to mind.

@curator-on-ao3 – The Dismissed Protocol (rated T, VOY, TNG, Janeway & Crusher)

This fic made me angry. So angry that I left a ranty and incoherent comment, slammed down the lid on my laptop and stormed around the house for a bit. Why was I so pissed, you ask? Because this fic hit a good few of my personal triggers around bodily autonomy and the right to make informed choices, and because although the fic ends triumphantly, it’s somewhat of a pyrrhic victory and it left a really bad taste in my mouth. Which, considering this is fiction, is the mark of some really good writing. When it comes to tackling difficult topics with a fresh and thought-provoking perspective, and without opting for the easy answers, Curator never disappoints. This story is just one of many examples of that in her work.

@love-in-the-time-of-kolinahr​ – it will take place without witnesses (rated E, DSC, Pike/Number One)

Okay so let me start by saying it was the author’s fucking EXCELLENT pun of a pseudonym that made me read this in the first place. Then it was the poem they quoted (Discovery by Wislawa Szymborska, which is like a portentous rocket in the guts). Then it was Una’s scales-off-the-eyes, we-are-true-equals, don’t-bullshit-me-lover candidness in the way she sees, talks to, knows Chris Pike. I adore Pike in his laconic-space-cowboy-with-a-heart Disco incarnation, I like him a lot as the CoolDad in AOS, but this fic? This fic gives me smart, forthright, deeply tender Number One, and Pike as the fractured and very human hero I hope like hell we’ll see more of because they are definitely making a Pike series RIGHT? It is written. Anyway… this fic is beautiful and harsh and deft and real and sexy and poetic and at its core it’s about love, and who doesn’t love love?

@captacorn​ – Stars in a Ruined Sky (rated M, VOY, Paris/Torres)

It took me a while to read this one because CaptAcorn was posting it at the same time I was writing my epic, and I had no brain space to maintain a hold on someone else’s dark and compelling plot. But when I picked this one up, I couldn’t put it down. It is AMAZING. A Timeless AU, set in a universe where Voyager crashed and most of the crew survived, this goes where no other 100k+ epic I’ve read before has dared to tread, and it does so without flinching. The details are what make this unforgettable – there’s no magic reset button, so when something bad happens to the crew, there are actual lasting consequences – but it��s the humanity of the characters (if I can use that word to describe a crew that includes aliens) that makes it unputdownable (fuck off, my nana said that’s a word). This is not an AU I want to think happened, but CaptAcorn makes it one that rings true. And I’ll definitely read this again when I have the emotional fortitude for it.

Wow, there’s no Janeway/Chakotay in my top three. What? So here’s a bonus:

Northernexposure’s trilogy – Soft Light, Aftershocks and Resolution (rated E, VOY, Janeway/Chakotay) – three for the price of one! I mean, when northernexposure posts a new fic I race to read it no matter what, but smut! Beautifully written, true to character, sexy sexy smut from one of my all time favourite authors! How could I turn that down?

2. Best fic(s) you published all year, and why?

Mmmyeah to be honest I kinda feel as though my writing peaked in 2017, but here we go.

Desperate Measures (rated E, VOY, Janeway/Chakotay and other pairings) – because there’s angst and smut and the plot is twisty as fuck and I feel like there’s a pretty satisfying payoff. And it’s really long and relies on the reader engaging with my OCs which people seem to have done, which makes me think that if I ever do want to go write another original novel, maybe I won’t want to burn it as soon as I’m done.

This Is The Moment (rated M, DSC, Pike/Tyler) – because these two have exhausting chemistry and I couldn’t not write this but it was hard to make it come out of my brain the way I wanted it. But I’m really happy with it.

And I have a soft spot for First Officer’s Log (rated T, VOY, Chakotay & Tuvok, implied Janeway/Paris), because I just really love Threshold, okay? And while the episode is wack on so many levels there are really dark and heavy themes to explore there which I feel have gone very unexplored and I hope my fic struck that same balance between moral philosophy and holywhatthefuckery.

3. Favourite opening line(s) in a fic you published in 2019:

From Bad Maquis (rated M, VOY, Janeway/Chakotay):

The only thing more restrictive – and bosomy – than this outfit, Kathryn mused as she stared at her reflection, was her holodeck governess costume.



Still, at least she didn’t have to leave her quarters wearing this getup, and thank goodness for small mercies. Because she was on the verge of backing down from this challenge as it was, and Kathryn Janeway did not chicken out. Ever.

I mean, it sets the scene, doesn’t it? Who doesn’t love Janeway in leather.

4. Favourite closing line(s):

This is maybe cheating a little bit because this fic isn’t finished, but this first chapter can stand alone and I won’t be continuing it for some time (first, I have to finish the two prequels, haha). Anyway, these are the closing lines from Inertia (rated T so far, VOY, Janeway/Paris and others):

When the daze clears and Tom looks up to discover that his hovercar is parked in front of an address he’s never visited but has nonetheless memorised, maybe he should feel a little bit surprised.



He doesn’t. No matter how far he tries to go or how long he stays away from her, turning up at Kathryn Janeway’s door is inevitable.

Why do I like it? Well, I have an everlasting appreciation for Janeway/Paris, for one thing. For another, if you read the rest of the story and understand what Tom has just learned, you’ll want to know what happens next. I hope. I sure want to know.

5. The fic that was best received, and your favourite comment(s) on it:

That would be Desperate Measures again. It’s my longest fic by far and I was absolutely bowled over by the response to it, but one of my favourite comments on it is this one:

It actually looks like Janeway is saying gimme and it cracks me up.

Honestly though… the depth and kindness of comments on that fic in particular, the time and thought and effort that people have put into their reviews … it made up for every moment I wanted to chuck it in and never look at that fic again, or any other.

6. The fic you wish had gotten more love:

Honestly, I was surprised there was so little response to my @voyagermirrormarch​ fic trilogy, Heaven in the Shape of Hell. I really thought they’d be crowd pleasers, but it shows what I know, lol. I haven’t even finished the third one because the lack of interest made me wonder if they were just really shite, but I’m not so butthurt about it anymore and I will come back to it someday.

7. How many fandoms you wrote for in 2019, and which inspired you most:

Does Star Trek in all its incarnations count as one fandom? If so, I wrote for two (Trek and Marvel). If all the different versions of Trek count separately, I wrote for seven (MCU, AOS (that’s Trek Alternate Original Series, not Agents of SHIELD), Disco, Mirror, Enterprise, DS9 and Voyager).

Anyway, I guess I’ll never stop being inspired by Voyager, so even if Disco season 3 and the Picard show do nothing for me, I’ll always have that.

8. Your favourite pairing(s) to write for:

I mean, Janeway x Chakotay, for sure. But I’m deeply, deeply invested in Janeway x Paris at the moment.

9. What you’re writing now/next:

I’m struggling through the second part of what was supposed to be my contribution to @25daysofvoyager​. I’m actually going to post the first part once I’m done with this quiz in the hope it’ll kick my ass into gear. I’m also on semi-hiatus from Kinetic Friction, but I’ll be going back to it as soon as I’m done with my 25 Days fic. At some point after Kinetic there’ll be the sequel, and then the rest of Inertia. I’m also contemplating something for Threshold Day, possibly throwing something into @voytalentchallenge​ (don’t count on that one), and I have an idea for a pre-Enterprise D, pre-Voyager meeting between Picard and Janeway (with smut, obvs), plus all the other fics I’m definitely going to write …

And of course there’s my meat raffle. Time to pimp that one again. Donate to AO3 and if I draw your name out of the hat of randomness I’ll write you a fic to your specifications (roughly).

10. Writing goals for 2020 (word count? new fandoms/pairings? anything?):

Look, I’d just really like to actually write to some of the prompts I’ve had sitting in my ridiculously complex filing system without getting sidetracked by the newest shiny thing to catch my eye. In terms of fandoms, I hope I’ll write more for Discovery, I’m looking forward to Picard, and I would like to branch out from Trek a bit. More MCU, definitely, and maybe others if I get inspired. The main thing I want out of writing fanfiction at the moment is for it to continue making me happy, though, so I just hope I keep having fun with it.

[whumpster-in-a-dumpster]

Whumptober 9 - Shackled

Character: Tom Paris

Fandom: Star Trek - Voyager

This one was written in a little bit of a hurry, as I’m sure you might be able to tell - still, hopefully it’s good enough to fulfil the prompt! Ah, Tom, always the damsel in distress. At least this time you’re not turning into a primordial lizard thing.

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The cell door opened, and Tom winced as he looked up, pupils contracting painfully at the harsh white light in the corridor. His knees were rubbed raw through the sodden fabric of his uniform, but that was nothing compared to the inescapable torment in his back and shoulders. The holding cell hadn’t been too bad at first – sure, the guards had been a little rough when they’d dragged him in and forced him to the floor, but he’d experienced far worse in his wide and diverse experience of imprisonment. His hands had been shackled behind his back with some sort of heavy magnetic clamp, and both of his arms were hooked over the higher of the two long, solid pipes that ran from one end of the room to the other. He’d wondered at their purpose when they’d first entered the room; curiosity killed the cat, he mused dryly to himself. The clamps around his wrists were secured to the second pipe, holding him in that kneeling position, with his arms drawn just high enough to be slightly uncomfortable. He’d been left alone, then – at the time, he’d found the situation unpleasant but bearable, if slightly humiliating. However, over the next few hours, that slight discomfort had turned to a dull ache, then to a sharp, stabbing pain, then finally to a harsh, unrelenting agony that spread across his upper arms and shoulders throughout his back and into his neck. Every movement was torture; he could feel the strands of his muscles snapping apart, and even before the first hour had passed the waves of cramps across his upper body almost had him vomiting from pain. He’d all but lost track of time, marking its passage in shifting his weight as much as he could to new positions until they too became intolerable and he had to force his taut muscles to move again, but he guessed it had been six or seven hours since the cell had last opened.

Now he blinked up at the figure standing in the doorway, and couldn’t hide the relief that washed across his face as he recognised Janeway looking down at him with that mixture of sympathy and barely-contained righteous anger that he probably shouldn’t have been as used to as he was.

“How are you, Lieutenant?” She asked, affecting a normal tone.

“Ahh – wishing I hadn’t skipped arm day in Tuvok’s training regimen, but otherwise peachy keen.”

Janeway smiled at him, then turned to Tom’s erstwhile jailors, standing behind her, with a look that could burn through tritanium.  

“Well? Are you planning on releasing my officer today, or do I need to reopen communications with your chancellor?”

The two aliens glanced at each other, and then one reached up to a small glowing control pad set into the wall. The magnetic clamps around Tom’s wrists released, and he couldn’t contain a small gasp of mingled pain and relief. However, he couldn’t immediately lift his arms free of the metal bar – his muscles were too stiff, too exhausted, and they wouldn’t move as he wanted. Instead he gathered his legs under him, wincing, and started to stand, trying to let his shoulders relax. Seeing him struggling Janeway swiftly moved to help, gently lifting him and supporting him under his arms as he stood.

“Thanks, Captain.” He said shakily. He felt wobbly, and Janeway must have seen it, as she kept one hand on the small of his back, unobtrusively keeping him upright. His muscles still burned, and he could feel a spasm starting to work its way around his ribs, but at least the worst was over. Janeway tapped her comm badge.

“Janeway to Voyager. Two to beam up.”