Spirits
Disclaimer - Paramount and Viacom own the characters from Voyager, although they didn't often treat them right. The story line belongs to me.
A special thanks to: My friend and editor of all my stories, Mill3rs.
Chapter 1 – Voyager Revisited
The four girls walked out of the turbolift onto Voyager's bridge. No other tourists were there and the interactive display was off. Sherry, a tall red headed girl, sat down in the pilot's chair and punched the button on the display in front of her. The metallic voice of the ship's computer came through the speakers. "Voyager, which was only supposed to be on a two week mission, returned from her seven years in the Delta Quadrant. Lieutenant Tom Paris, the chief helmsman, had guided the ship through the Borg wormhole to safety only one light year from Earth. As they exited the transwarp conduit they were met by a flotilla of Starfleet vessels. Captain Janeway and her crew had successfully brought the starship home."
Dara, a petite Bajoran cadet looked back to the two girls standing at the railing. "Tom Paris? Miral, isn't your father's first name Tom? Was he in Starfleet? Is he the same Tom Paris that piloted Voyager?" She asked in her quiet rapid fire manner.
"Yes, my father is the same Tom Paris who brought Voyager home." Miral answered with some embarrassment. She always tried hard not to advance at Starfleet Academy through her family's fame. Miral wanted to be treated the same as all the other cadets so she never talked about her parents or her Grandfather, retired Admiral Owen Paris.
Sherry stood up slowly and moved towards Miral. "Then, you're the baby who was born as Voyager came through the conduit." The other girls looked at Miral in awe. They had all read about Voyager's exploits and triumphant return to the Alpha Quadrant twenty years ago. Now, the quiet girl in their dorm turned out to be a minor celebrity.
"Wow! You're famous, Miral." Dara spoke up, moving into a rapid-fire monologue. "What was it like growing up with the crew always visiting you? That means that Owen Paris is your grandfather. I heard that when he taught here that he was one of the toughest instructors ever. I even read that he almost failed your dad in his survival course." Barely pausing for a breath, she continued. "That also means B'Elanna Torres is your mother. I understand that she's a wiz at fixing a warp core with almost no new materials. No wonder you're so good in the pre-engineering classes."
"Hey, Dara. Give Miral a break." T'Ral said quietly as she noticed her roommate backing slowly off the bridge. "Miral doesn't need to answer any questions if she doesn't want to. When she's ready, I'm sure she'll tell us about her family."
Miral sighed and turned towards the helm. "My dad brought me in here once when I was about nine years old. He let me sit at the controls and he explained what each one did." She looked at her friends. "He told me how difficult those seven years were for the entire crew. They lost many friends along the way back from the Delta Quadrant. He also told me how sad he was that he couldn't be with my mother in sickbay when I was born. He had to be here on the bridge, piloting the ship. They weren't really heroes; just a group of people trying to get back home." Miral walked back up the steps and headed for the turbolift. "I think I'd like to see some other section of the ship. How about it?"
As the four girls moved towards the turbolift, Miral looked at the helm one last time. She thought she saw the chair move slightly, almost as if someone was sitting in it and was turning to look at her.
"She has his smile. I'm telling you it's her." A faint whisper reached Miral.
Miral shook her head as she looked about her. Perhaps some other tourists had come onto the bridge. "Did you hear anything?" She asked her companions.
Sherry and the others shook their heads. "No, Miral. Must be your memories coming back to you." She grabbed her friends arm and pulled her into the turbolift. "Let's go to the mess hall. I want to see where your 'Uncle' Neelix used to work. I can't believe how bad everyone says Leola Root was."
The four friends laughed at that thought as the doors slid shut.
* * * * *
The entered the mess hall noisily. Dara moved to the counter and activated the holoimager.
"Good evening. We have some delicious Pleeka Rind soup, Leola Root stew and some Dragalian soufflé. Of course there's a large pot of my latest coffee substitute." The smiling face of the Telaxian cook and morale officer appeared behind the counter.
Sherry stared at the Telaxian morale officer. She had seen pictures of him in her history vids about Voyager's journey. He had met some fellow Telaxians and left Voyager while they were still in the Delta Quadrant. Communications had been established and Neelix became the first Ambassador from that sector of space and had traveled to Earth several times in the past twenty years.
The girls wandered about the mess hall looking at the small groupings of tables and tried to imagine the crewmembers spending years here, hoping to get back home to their families.
Looking out the viewport, T'Ral saw the Golden Gate Bridge gleaming in the afternoon sun. "It must have been difficult for the crew, especially the humans, to be so far from their families for so many years.
"Yes, my parents talked about the loneliness out there. They were lucky to have found each other." Miral answered as she moved towards the exit doors. "Let's go down to engineering. I can't wait to see your reactions to the Warp core. I remember the first time I saw it. It was rather impressive for it's time."
"I'm telling you, Lyndsey, it's her. Kaplan wouldn't be mistaken. She had a crush on him when she first met him." Miral heard a whispered voice.
"Until he met the twins." An answering giggle caused her to turn rapidly towards the table in the corner of the room. Once again, no one was there.
Feeling a slight chill come over her, Miral turned towards the exit. "Come on, let's get out of here. It's getting late."
The others joined their friend; concern for her behavior was on Sherry's face.
* * * * *
The group of girls moved into Engineering, in awe of the replica of the Warp core. It glowed with a soft blue light, dominating the room. Miral couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. She walked slowly to the Chief Engineer's office. Then she held her breath as she looked down at the desk where her mother had spent many hours during the seven year journey from the Delta Quadrant. Suddenly, she turned as she heard a whispered comment from the doorway.
"Of course it's her, look at her ridges and the same dark brown eyes. I'd recognize the Chief's daughter anywhere. She's even the same stature; kinda short but with that same 'don't mess with me' bearing." She distinctly heard a soft male voice but when she spun around there was no one standing there.
Shaking her head to clear it, Miral approached her friends. "Hey guys, I feel a headache coming on. Let's get back to the dorm; I think I want to turn in early. We do have that Astrometric mid-term tomorrow."
Sherry looked at Miral's pale face and quickly moved to her side. "Hey, girl. Are you sure, you're alright?" Turning to the others, she motioned them together. "Miral's right, we should be getting back to study."
The girls left engineering and entered the turbolift. They walked back onto the bridge; just as a blond haired boy came tearing out of the Captain's ready room. He ran into Dara, nearly knocking her to the floor.
The cadet looked down into bright blue eyes and noted the slight forehead ridges. "And just who are you, young man, racing through Voyager?" Dara asked with a slight grin. She had two younger brothers and really enjoyed children.
Drawing himself up to his full height, the boy stood at attention and looked straight into Dara's eyes. "I'm Joseph Thomas Paris, I'm eight years old and I intend to fly a starship one day just like my dad." At that moment, Miral stepped out of the turbolift and the boy spotted her. "Miree!" He squealed as he threw himself into her arms.
"Hey, Squirt." Miral answered as she grabbed the squiggling child and set him down on the deck. Looking up she saw her father exit the ready room with a stern look on his face. "Hi, Dad." She said quietly.
Tom's face lit up as he saw his oldest child in her cadet uniform. "Miral, I'm glad we ran into you. Joey wanted to make sure you were coming for dinner on Sunday." He gave a half-hearted glare at his son who still clung to his sister's arms.
The other girls stood in awe of the legendary pilot. Tom stood tall and still had the good looks that had caused many a female cadet to fall for him when he was at the Academy. His hair was a little thinner, with a touch of gray, but his blue eyes still sparkled. There were tiny lines at the corners of his eyes and mouth that remained when he stopped smiling.
"Dad, these are my friends from the dorm." Miral motioned her friends forward. "This is Sherry, she's from Indiana just like Admiral Janeway, Dara's from Bajor, and T'Ral hails from the Generian Colony on Mars. Ladies, this is my father, Tom Paris and the squirt is my little brother, Joey."
The girls smiled as Tom graciously shook their hands. They each expressed their joy at meeting him and made some comments about Miral being a great friend and diligent student.
Tom grinned at his daughter as he sensed her embarrassment. "Well, I'll leave you ladies so you can get back to your studies. Joey wanted to try a turn at the helm."
The girls bid the two Paris men goodbye and Miral gave her father and brother a quick hug before leaving the bridge.
Tom placed Joey in the pilot's seat and patiently explained the different controls as his son looked up with adoration in his eyes. B'Elanna continually accused Tom of spoiling their son and he readily agreed. After several minutes, the two stood and turned to leave the bridge. Tom turned back as he thought he heard a voice from near the Ops console.
"He's back and the little one looks just like him. Did you see those blue eyes? I could never forget them and how awed he was when he first saw the ship on DS9." A soft voice said.
Tom shook his head as Joey grabbed his hand and pulled him off the bridge.
to be continued….