Chaos killed the calm on the Bridge of the USS Voyager. The starship began to shake violently and all lights dimmed and flashed. An unbearable screech echoed all around, drowning the cries of the desperate crew. On the view screen, flourescent colours glowed and then swirled madly. The ship began to spin, faster, faster. Everything was a maze of colour. Nothing to see but merging colour, nothing to hear but a deafening screech... The ship was being consumed, life draining, nothing to do, nothing to do but scream...
Admiral Kathryn Janeway woke with a start. She could hardly breathe and her body was drenched in sweat. She buried her head in her hands, waited for the images and sounds that haunted her to fade into midnight silence. At last they did, all was quiet. She commanded soft light, and then slowly got out of bed. She went over to the replicator and replicated herself a mug of hot chocolate. Her hands trembled as she picked it up and put it to her mouth. The warmth was soothing, the taste comforting. She wandered over to the window and gazed out at the sky full of stars, sparkling like diamonds against black velvet. The moon was full, bright, a lamp casting white light on the Earth. It was hard to imagine that once she had been amongst the distant stars, that once she had been at the other side of the galaxy. She had loved there, had lost there, and it was devastating to know that the remains of those she had loved were so far away it would take almost thirty thousand years just for light to reach them. Tears blurred her vision and she turned away. As she did so, she caught a glimpse of a photograph of the Voyager senior crew resting on her dressing table. She wandered over to it and picked it up. She gazed tearfully at the faces before her. Chakotay, Tom, Tuvok, Seven, the Doctor. She put down her drink and tenderly touched the glass frame, ran her fingers over their faces. She could see them now, could hear them. They were laughing in the Mess Hall, the Doctor singing. Even Seven was laughing as she played with baby Miral while Tom and B'Elanna danced. She could see Chakotay step forward, offer her his hand to dance, could feel his arms encircle her...
A sharp pain suddenly gripped her left side and the picture fell clumsily onto the dressing table. The Admiral clutched her side, moaned lightly as the familiar pain moved across her back, burning like fire. She walked over to her bedside table and fumbled in the draw for a hypospray she kept there. She put the spray to her neck and slowly the pain began to recede. She climbed back in her bed as haze fell before her eyes and pulled the covers tight around herself. Voices called out to her, dozens and dozens of voices echoing. Ghosts of the past. They were forever tormenting her. They would never leave her alone. Never.
Blue skies stretched over green fields and a golden sun blazed down
on acres of farmland. From a small window of an old run down farm
house, B'Elanna watched as Ayala fed her pack of Rottweilers. He limped
as he moved about the yard and his steps were slow, painful. Greying black
hair tumbled over hunched shoulders and his weathered face was covered
with a beard that reached to his chest. B'Elanna turned her attention
from Ayala to the reflection of a Klingon warrior in the glass.
"How much longer are you going to keep me waiting?"
She saw the Klingon shuffle uncomfortably. "There are complications."
"There are always complications." She turned to him. "All you give
me is excuse after excuse. I want that deflector, understand?"
He nodded. "I will have it for you within four days."
"Two," B'Elanna said uncompromisingly. "Within two days."
He nodded again. "Two days."
On a long white screen that adorned a cream wall, Admiral Janeway watched
from a black couch as the ship she had once captained soared through a
black San Francisco sky. All around the ship fireworks burst into rainbows
of colour and on the ground beneath, thousands upon thousands of people
cheered.
"These should be familiar images to everyone who remembers the USS
Voyager's triumphant return to Earth after twenty three years in the Delta
Quadrant. Voyager captivated the hearts and minds of people throughout
the Federation, and on this, the tenth anniversary of the ship's triumphant
return, we will look once again at what the famous crew accomplished before
and after tragedy struck on the tenth of July 2380..."
Tears welled in Janeway's eyes as images of her once youthful crew
filled the screen.
"We shall honour those who died with a special..."
"Computer, end display."
Instantly the screen blanked and all was silent. Janeway wiped away
a tear, fought to hold back the rest that would fall. Her hands were clammy,
her breathing rapid. She had to calm herself, had to stay in control. Any
moment now, Reginald Barclay would arrive to escort her to Voyager's tenth
return anniversary party. Every part of her was screaming at the
thought of it. Everyone would expect her to smile, to laugh, to be once
again the Captain they had known or imagined her to be. She couldn't do
it...not anymore...She couldn't pretend....couldn't keep pretending.
Suddenly the door chime sounded.
Janeway froze. He was here, here to take her. She couldn't go, not
this time...
But she had to. She couldn't let them down. Attend was the least she
could do for them. The door chime sounded again and this time Janeway got
up to open the door. As she expected, Reg Barclay stood in the doorway.
He smiled warmly at her.
"All ready, Admiral?"
"Almost," she said, forcing a smile. "Come in."
Barclay stepped into the living room and Janeway went over to a full
length mirror that graced a wall. The reflection she saw there was a world
away from the young captain who had so eagerly accepted the mission to
capture Chakotay and his crew. Her hair was white now and her face old
and tired. Black shadows circled her eyes, but there was no trace
of tears on her cheeks. She looked as well as she could ever expect too.
"Not like you to be unpunctual, Admiral," Barclay teased.
"No," she replied, tidying a brown scarf she wore around her neck.
"But just like you to be early."
She left the mirror and picked up a black jacket from the arm of the
couch. Barclay watched her put it on. "Do you think B'Elanna Paris will
come this year?"
Janeway momentarily froze, but then resumed her activity. "I don't
know, Reg. But as she's never been to a reunion before, I doubt she'll
come to this one."
"It's such a shame. She is the only one who doesn't attend. Why is
that?"
Janeway didn't answer the question. Instead, she turned to him. "Alright,
I'm ready."
Music and laughter echoed around a luxurious complex where a reunion
party was being held for the surviving Voyager crew. A young girl with
a tray of champagne approached Janeway. Janeway thanked the girl
as she took a glass and smiled warmly at her. She then turned to her companion
and the young girl went on her way.
"So, Harry," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder as they began
to walk. "What have you planned for your next adventure?"
The once youthful ensign was aged now. His black hair was speckled
snow white and his complexion was a maze of lines. "I'm heading an exploration
mission into deep space."
"Congratulations. How long will you be gone?"
"Ten months. I'm still new to command so I think they're testing
me out before they give me longer missions." He paused. "How's B'Elanna
these days?"
"I don't know," Janeway said sadly. "She still wants nothing to do
with me."
Harry stopped walking and turned to her. "I can't believe the way she's
treated you all these years. She has no right to blame you for what
happened."
Janeway averted her eyes and gazed into the golden bubbles of her champagne.
"Some people need someone to blame. If it helps B'Elanna to blame me, then
so be it."
"But it's wrong. You were our anchor, our strength. Without you
I don't think any of us would have got through those months after the disaster.
You were going through hell too and yet you inspired and encouraged us
all to keep hoping, to keep living."
"Don't judge B'Elanna, Harry," Janeway said looking up at him. "She
needs our help, our compassion." She paused. "Perhaps you should go and
see her before you leave."
"I don't know," Harry said sadly. "She's so angry and bitter that it's
hard to be around her. We've all lost people we love, all suffered."
"Please, Harry," Janeway begged. "She has no one but Ayala. She needs
to know we all still care."
Harry hesitated, but then relented. "Alright, I'll go for you. But
it won't be until next week as I'm going to stay with my parents before
I leave for deep space."
Janeway smiled warmly. "Thank you."
A tall young woman with jet black hair swept up from her face in a
plaited bun, approached them from the rear. Her eyes were a deep
brown and a tattoo was emblazoned on the left side of her temple.
She crept up behind Janeway and put her hands over her eyes.
"Guess who..."
Janeway laughed and wheeled to face her. "Shannon?"
The girl smiled, her eyes glowing. "Surprise."
Janeway swept the girl into her arms. "I wasn't expecting you until
next week."
"I got early leave so I could be here."
She drew away and Harry smiled at her. "Shannon Janeway, how you've
grown. I would never have recognised you."
Shannon grinned. "Lieutenant Shannon Janeway now, if you please."
"Some people get all the luck," Harry teased. "Your mother kept me
an ensign for years and years."
Janeway smiled and poked his stomach. "But you're a Captain now, so
don't complain."
She turned back to Shannon. "I'm so glad you're here, Shannon, but
what of your research?"
"I got everything done that I needed too. I won't need to do any more
research for at least six months."
Janeway smiled, but there was a sadness in her eyes.
Barclay interrupted, hitting his glass. "Ladies and gentleman, if I
could have your attention please..."
Everyone turned to him.
"Ten years ago tonight, this crew returned home from the longest away
mission in Starfleet's history. Twenty-three years together made you a
family. One I'm proud to have been adopted by. So, let's raise our glasses...to
the journey."
"To the journey," the crowd said in unison.
"And to those who aren't here to celebrate it with us," Janeway added.
Soft light cast a warm glow around Janeway's living room. Janeway took off her jacket and sat on her inviting couch and instinctively rubbed her neck. The party had left her exhausted and her body ached. Shannon approached her and Janeway smiled as she took a cup of hot milk with honey her daughter offered her.
"Thankyou, darling."
Shannon sat beside her on the couch. "Are you sure there's nothing else I can get you? You look very pale."
"I'm just tired. The party took more out of me than I thought it would."
"You work yourself too hard, Mom. You need to slow down, take things easy."
Janeway smiled. "Is this the 'it's time for you to retire' talk?"
"Yes. You know you should. You need to rest."
"I need to work, Shannon. I need to be active. And you know how much I love my job. I need to work as long as I can. They won't keep me forever, you know. One of these days I'll be given the word and there'll be retirement parties and all the usual ceremony. I'll have plenty of time to take it easy then." She took Shannon's hand. "It's you I want to talk about."
"Me?"
"I was talking to Admiral Carter the other day. He told me you were offered a position as science officer on the USS Orient, but that you declined."
Shannon averted her eyes. "The USS Orient is going on a three year exploration of deep space. I couldn't possibly leave you that long."
"Of course you can. This is a wonderful opportunity, something you've always dreamed of doing. Captain Hargreaves is keeping the place open for you for two weeks, hoping you'll change your mind."
Shannon stood up. "It's out of the question."
"But think how this will further your career. You have a lot to offer. You have an incredible mind. Admiral Carter says you're the most promising scientist of your generation. You can't waste your life working on the ground with only the occasional exploration mission just because you don't want to leave me."
Shannon turned to face her mother, tears wetting her eyes.
"You're dying!"
She turned away, but the die was cast.
Janeway put down her drink, went over to her, and took her in her arms. "Shannon, my darling, there's every chance I will live for years yet. We have some of the best medical scientists in the Federation working on a cure and the new medicine they've given me has slowed down the progression of the disease immensely." She paused. "I know my illness influences you too, but I want it to have as little impact on your life as is possible. I don't want to be an albatross around your neck, don't want to stand in your way. I want you to be happy, to live life to the full."
Shannon drew away from her. "Then let me make my own decisions about my life. It's up to me whether I want to go on this exploration mission and I don't. There will be other missions, other opportunities, but there will never be another you. I'm happy working on the ground and going on routine missions. I don't have to go to space to fill my potential as a scientist. There are plenty of projects I can work on from the Academy, very exciting projects. I'm content, Mom, truly. Since Father died, we've only really had each other, and we need each other now." A tear ran down her cheek. "I love you so much, Mom."
Janeway drew her close again and held her tight. "I love you too."
Glass doors that lead onto a balcony opened as Janeway and Deanna Troi
came through them.
"I just called by to see how the reunion went," Deanna said as she
sat down in a wicker chair. "I know they are always difficult for you."
Janeway sat beside her. "They say things are supposed to get easier
with time but the reunions seem to get harder every year. For a moment
last night I didn't even think I could go."
"There's been a lot of interest in this reunion, a lot of public attention.
That would make it harder."
Janeway looked out across the San Francisco skyline that stretched
out beneath her. "I can't believe it's only ten years since we returned.
It seems an eternity ago." She paused.
"I'll never forget the way everyone cheered, the way fireworks lit
the sky, so much jubilance. To those millions of people watching it was
a real triumph. Against all odds we had made it home. It didn't matter
to them that it had been a crew of 153 that had left all those years ago
to chase a Maquis ship into the Badlands, but only a crew of 24 that made
it home. I felt nothing when we reached the Federation, felt nothing
when I saw Earth on the view screen for the first time, and felt nothing
when Voyager landed and we all disembarked. I still feel nothing."
"You still blame yourself for what happened, don't you?"
"I was captain of the ship. It was my responsibility to keep the crew
safe."
"Sometimes things happen that are beyond our control. I thought you
had accepted that."
"I've tried, Deanna, but it doesn't matter from what angle I view the
whole, I always see the same picture."
The glass doors opened again as Shannon appeared. "Do you think we'll
need winter sleeping bags or summer?" She stopped when she
saw her mother had company and flushed a little. "Deanna, I'm sorry. I
didn't realise you were here."
Deanna smiled. "Going somewhere?"
"Shannon has a week vacation so I've taken a few days off so we can
go on a camping trip to Indiana."
"Camping, adventurous. When are you leaving?"
"In a couple of hours."
"And here's me trespassing on your time," Deanna said, getting up from
her chair.
"Not at all," Janeway protested, "Please, sit."
"I think I'd better leave you get organized." She put her hand on Janeway's
shoulder.
"Remember, I'm always around if you want to talk."
Janeway smiled warmly. "Thank you."
Deanna began to walk towards the doors. "Goodbye, Shannon."
"Goodbye."
Janeway accompanied Deanna to the door and Shannon followed them inside.
When Deanna had left, Janeway went over to her daughter. "What was it you
asked me?"
"Which sleeping bags we should take, winter or summer."
Janeway smiled. "There's an easy answer to that, we'll take them both."
She walked over to the couch and, as she sat down, took a grape from
a bowl on her coffee table. Shannon hesitantly approached her. "You will
be alright, won't you, Mom? This trip won't be too much for you?"
Janeway looked up at her, trying to hide the frustration she felt at
the concern her illness caused her daughter. "I'll be fine. The fresh air
and exercise will do me good."
Shannon was about to speak when the computer told them they were receiving
an incoming transmission. Janeway sighed. "On screen."
A distorted image appeared on screen, but she was able to see that
it was Ayala. The sound cracked when he spoke, making it difficult to understand
everything he said.
"Got to help...B'Elanna...She's got a temporal deflector...She's taken
the Delta Flyer...wants to change history...wants you to accept the Zyranth
offer...Got to stop her... Can't tell Starfleet...suffered enough...Tried
to stop her... won't listen...You've got too..."
The transmission ended abruptly.
Janeway stared at the screen as the meaning of Ayala's words sank in.
Shannon turned to her mother. "Where would B'Elanna get a temporal
deflector?"
"I don't know," Janeway replied. "But there's no way the Delta Flyer
could withstand the force of a temporal rift. If she tries to use it, tries
to enter a rift, the ship will just explode."
She took a deep breath. "Come on, we don't have a moment to lose."
Shannon piloted her mother's shuttle while Janeway tried to locate the
Delta Flyer on sensors.
"Once we're clear of Federation ships," Janeway said, studying the
screen before her, "bring the cloak online. We don't want B'Elanna to detect
us."
"How can you be sure she's heading for deep space?"
"Because if I was going to create a temporal rift, that's where I'd
be heading."
She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her side and clutched it a moment.
Shannon turned to her anxiously.
"It's alright, Shannon," Janeway replied. "The pain will pass."
She tried to ignore the stabbing sensation and turned back to the console.
The bright colours blurred before her eyes but she forced herself to focus.
"We're clear of the ships," she said. "Engage the cloak."
Shannon brought the cloak online.
"I don't understand."
"Don't understand what?"
"What Ayala meant about the Zyranth offer, about accepting it. You
did accept it."
Janeway tensed and was a moment in answering. "By the Zyranth offer,
Ayala didn't mean the day the Zyranth helped us return to the Alpha Quadrant."
"Then what did he mean?"
"We'd encountered the Zyranth before...two years before the disaster.
They weren't as advanced then, but still they had some impressive technology.
They offered us a way home, but we declined it, thinking it was too dangerous."
"And was it?"
Again Janeway hesitated. "I thought it was a risk worth taking, but
everyone except Harry was against it, even your father."
"Do you wish you had accepted the offer?"
Tears welled in Janeway's eyes. "Yes. I should have followed my instinct.
But I... I was afraid. For seven years I had blamed myself for stranding
Voyager...not for destroying the array...but for stranding the crew in
the process. I thought I should have discussed the matter with the crew,
tried to find a way of both destroying the array and using it to get Voyager
home. I didn't want to make an alone decision again." She paused. "But
it wasn't until after the disaster that I realised I had been right the
first time...right in following my instinct and making a decision for everyone.
We were under attack from the Kazon, no time to debate things, no time
to launch escape pods, shuttles, and try and use the array to transport
them across the galaxy. When the Zyranth offered us a way home, I should
have accepted it, made that decision for the crew, taken that responsibility
upon myself as all captains need to from time to time. For seven years
I had saddled myself with unnecessary guilt and all it achieved was saddling
me with a greater one..." She was interrupted from thought as she saw a
ship on sensors. "We have something..." She worked the console, tried to
determine if the ship ahead was indeed the Delta Flyer. "Yes...it's her...it's
the Flyer."
"What shall we do now?"
"There's no point hailing her as she won't respond. I'll have to transport
to her ship. She's going to need a lot of energy to generate a temporal
rift. It's unlikely she's wasting it on shields." She stood up. "Keep in
close pursuit." She put her hand on Shannon's shoulder, kissed her forehead,
and then went over to the transporter pad. Shannon initialised transport
and then watched as her mother dematerialised.
It had been almost a quarter of a century since Janeway had last been
in the Delta Flyer, but it was just as she remembered it. Time had not
touched it. She saw B'Elanna sitting at the helm and a lump gathered
in her throat as she remembered the caring and vivacious young woman she
once had been. Time had touched her too harshly. Her former Chief Engineer
was oblivious to her presence and Janeway slowly walked over to her. She
stood behind her, not too close. When she spoke, her voice was gentle,
compassionate.
"If you try and take this vessel into a temporal rift, neither you
or the ship will survive."
B'Elanna jumped to her feet and span to face Janeway. Her eyes were
hard, cold. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Ayala told me of your plan."
"He did, did he? Damn traitor!"
"He was concerned about you."
"And you? What are you concerned about? It sure as hell isn't me. You're
just concerned that my plan will succeed!"
"The Delta Flyer won't be able to hold structural integrity inside
a temporal rift because of the pressure. Another ship, perhaps, but not
this one. It's not built for time-travel. If you take it into a temporal
rift, it will explode."
B'Elanna stepped away from her. "No, Kathryn. There's a chance it might
explode. Who's the engineer here? And unlike you, I'm willing to take chances."
"It was a shared decision to refuse the Zyranth offer."
"Only because you were too gutless to make the decision you know you
should have. By refusing that offer, you sent over a hundred people to
their deaths." She paused. "But you've never cared, have you? As a result
of what happened, you got a lover and a damn miracle baby!"
"I understand that you need to blame me, B'Elanna, but don't think
for a minute think that I've never cared, that I haven't suffered. Not
a day has gone by when I haven't tortured myself over what happened. You
can't imagine the burden of guilt that I carry."
"And you expect me to believe that? You expect me to believe you thought
about all those people who died when you were making love to Chakotay?
That you were thinking of them when you held your daughter in your arms
for the first time?"
"That isn't fair."
"I'll tell you what isn't fair. It isn't fair that the only one who
benefited from the disaster was the one responsible for it. It should have
been you who died. Not Tom, not Miral, not anyone else, but you, just you.
But then, you always did land on your feet, didn't you? The great Captain
Kathryn Janeway, goddess of Starfleet, heroine of the Delta Quadrant. Even
after all the blood you shed, they still decorated you when we got home
and made you a God damned Admiral!"
"I would gladly have given my life in exchange for the lives of the
crew, you know that."
B'Elanna shook her head. "All I know is that their suffering, all our
suffering, is your fault. And if you cared, truly cared, you'd let me do
this. You'd let me go back in time and change things for the better."
"Even if you did survive the rift and made the changes you wanted to,
you don't know it would be for the better..."
"I know it couldn't be any worse!"
"And what of the temporal prime directive? What gives you the right
to change a timeline that effects millions and billions of lives? What
gives you the right to judge what is better? Better for who? Better for
you, better for humanity? Just one change in the timeline could have catastrophic
consequences. We don't have the right to change things, to judge who lives
and who dies."
"And that's the real reason, isn't it? Spit it out, Admiral, tell me
the truth. You're afraid that if I succeed, your daughter won't exist..."
"That's not what I meant..."
"Yes it is. It's all about her. Who are you to say your daughter has
the right to live but mine doesn't? What's your answer to that? Come on,
Kathryn, you're so full of answers. Why does your daughter live and mine
doesn't?"
Janeway reached out to her. "I wish I had answers, B'Elanna, I..."
B'Elanna shook her off. "Don't touch me. Don't come near me! If it
was your little girl dead, you'd be doing this. You'd have got the deflector
and killed me to get hold of it."
"You have to grieve, B'Elanna, you have to let go of all this anger,
this resentment..."
"No, I know what I have to do. I have to make things better." She began
to work the console. "And not you or anyone else is going to stop me."
Janeway swallowed. "What are you doing?"
"I'm sending you back to your shuttle."
"No, B'Elanna...please..."
But it was too late, she was already dematerialising.
Janeway rematerialised in her shuttle. Shannon was still at the helm,
pursuing the ship before her.
"We're going to have to disable the Flyer," Janeway said, making her
way to the front of the cabin. Shannon turned around at the sound of her
mother's voice. "What happened?"
"She wouldn't listen," Janeway said, taking her seat. "We're going
to have to disable the Flyer so she can't enter the rift."
"But we might hurt her."
"If she enters the rift, it will kill her, now just do it!"
Shannon did as she was told and fired at the Delta Flyer. There was
no effect.
"She's enhanced shields," her mother said. "Keep trying."
Suddenly a blue ball of light appeared in the distance.
"She's generating the rift," Janeway cried. "Take us in closer, increase
weapons fire."
The rift grew larger and larger as they drew closer and they were almost
upon it.
"Fire now..."
Shannon aimed and fired, but still the Flyer's shields held.
"Again," Janeway cried, "again."
Shannon tried, but the console wouldn't respond.
"Controls aren't responding," Shannon cried. "I'm locked out..."
Suddenly the computer voice began to speak nonsensically and the ship's
lights flashed and dimmed.
"We're heading straight for the rift," Shannon yelled, "nothing I can
do..."
On the viewscreen before them they saw the Delta Flyer fly into the
rift at maximum warp. Seconds later, they too were inside it. Blue
waves swirled around them, growing whiter as they reached the centre. They
were pushed back against their chair by a crushing force and it seemed
as though all air had been sucked out of the cabin. Janeway struggled against
the overbearing pressure to reach for her daughter's hand. She felt Shannon
clutch her hand tight. The white light was strong now, the pressure suffocating.
On the view screen the Delta Flyer exploded into a billion pieces. Janeway
squeezed Shannon's hand tighter as they soared through the flames into
the heart of the temporal rift. The white light blinded them and then the
ship span out of control.
Shannon stirred awake. When she moved, pain surged through her body
and when she opened her eyes, there was nothing to see but a pale blue
light drowned in mist. She didn't know where she was, what had happened.
But as the mist cleared from her eyes and she recognised the inside of
the shuttle, it all began to come back to her.
Her mother.
Panic rose inside her as she remembered that her mother had been with
her. With supreme effort she managed to sit up. She looked around. Her
mother was lying awkwardly on the floor a few feet away from her. Ignoring
the pain, Shannon dragged herself over to her. Janeway was unconscious
and there was a deep gash on the left side of her head that was bleeding
quite badly. With trembling fingers, Shannon frantically felt for her pulse.
Frightened tears welled in her eyes when she couldn't find it. "No," she
cried, "no, Mom."
She lay beside her mother, rested her head on her shoulder, and wept
softly.
"Computer," she said after a while, "where are we?"
This vessel is in the Delta Quadrant.
The Delta Quadrant. No, it was impossible, they couldn't have made
it all the way through the rift... But if they had, if they were
in the Delta Quadrant...
Shannon sat up a little.
"When are we?"
The year is 2378. The stardate is 54973.4
Then they had. They had made it through the rift and had travelled
through time.
We were brought to this space and time by a temporal rift that has
now collapsed. We sustained heavy damage but all primary systems are operational.
Shannon's tears ebbed. If they were in the past, the future hadn't
happened yet. If it hadn't happened yet, it could be changed. All this
wouldn't have to happen. So much that had caused her mother pain wouldn't
have to happen.
"Computer, can you detect a ship, the USS Voyager?"
Vessel detected.
"How far, how far away?"
O.9642 light years.
"Is our cloak still online?"
Affirmative.
"Then set a course, maximum warp."
She touched her mother's face and a tear ran down her cheek.
"I'm going to make it better, Mom, going to make it better."