In the Trenches
By the vvs7.5 Writing Staff
Compiled and edited by CyberMum and Penny

Prologue

B'Elanna gripped her console in anticipation of their exit from the slipstream. She glanced around engineering, noticing that everyone had grown silent.

It wasn't that the exit would be rough, but that they were once again, if everything went right, going to be within about 3500 light years of home. Like they had been a month and a half ago.

"Well?" someone shouted as the ship came to a halt.

"Hang on," Joe called back. "Give the bridge a few minutes-the engineers are down here today, so we have to be patient."

She smiled. "Where ever we are, we need to bring systems back on line. Let's get to it."

There was a series of cheers. "We did it!" "Only two jumps and we're home!"

ACT ONE
(Day One - Voyager)

Captain Kathryn Janeway sat at the head of the conference table and studied her senior officers. The transition out of slipstream was no longer new to them, and they should have been quite comfortable with the routine. But no one, not a single officer, looked anything remotely like 'comfortable.' In fact, the mood around the table seemed to swing from overtly excited to oddly tense: Megan Delaney couldn't stop grinning, B'Elanna was smiling broadly, and Tom's eyes danced with anticipation. Neelix couldn't seem to remain still; his head was bobbing as he leaned first to his left to whisper to Tuvok and then to his right to say something to B'Elanna. In contrast, Harry Kim's shoulders were so tense from the effort to appear nonchalant that it looked like he really might strain something. Tuvok and Chakotay, the two most naturally stoic of her senior staff, looked at her so blankly that she knew they were both working at concealing their thoughts.

No, she might as well face it: this was not just another transition period. This was almost - almost - the *last* transition, and that made it unique. One more jump, two at the most, and they would be back in Federation space. She felt her own excitement begin to build and tamped it down firmly. There was a time for Captains to show their emotions, but this wasn't it. "Well, people, let's have it. Ensign Delaney, where are we?"

Megan almost bounced from her chair as she moved to the wall console. With a quick touch, it illuminated to show a standard grid map of space. It showed a binary star system with half a dozen planets, with a thick asteroid belt between the fifth and sixth planet. "We're about half a light year from this system. We're still trying for confirmation, but we think we are on the edge of the Taugan sector."

"The Taugan sector?" Harry repeated, his eyes opening widely. "But that's -"

" - only 3200 light years from Earth," Chakotay finished for him. He smiled. "Funny how our perspective changes. Remember when that sounded like a tremendous distance?"

"It's on the far side of Romulan space and that makes it a long way," Janeway said. "Does the Federation even have any maps of this region?"

"No," Megan replied. "We've never had an exploratory mission in this area. Everything we know is second hand - some from the Romulans, some from a few independent ships that made it in and out."

"All right." Janeway nodded with satisfaction. "More important than where we are, do we know *when* we are?"

Megan's grin, already seemingly at full power, managed to broaden. "We're right where - when- we're supposed to be, Captain. Thirty minutes later than when we entered the slipstream."

Janeway felt herself relax, and realized that she had been unconsciously worried about another temporal accident. They had made five jumps since leaving the Caephidians and returning to their own time, but each had been, in Paris's vernacular, a nail-biter.

She allowed herself a small smile. "Good. All right, people. You know the drill. Lt. Torres, where do we stand with our ore supplies?"

B'Elanna leaned forward, her eagerness showing on her face. "We've got enough for one more jump, Captain."

"Then we need more."

"Captain?"

"B'Elanna, the one thing we've learned is that the 'best-laid plans oft gang a-gley.'" When B'Elanna's brow furrowed at the unfamiliar reference, Janeway continued. "What if something goes wrong with the next jump but we can't find another source of ore? I want enough for at least two more jumps before we try again."

She watched as B'Elanna bit her lower lip and leaned back in her chair. Janeway thought that her Chief Engineer wanted to argue but apparently knew her Captain was right. That, or she had finally learned to pick her battles. "Mr. Neelix?"

"The replicators went offline with the jump again," he said.

That wasn't really a surprise. It had been a recurring problem with the slipstream. "B'Elanna?"

"Replicators aren't first priority. We'll have them up in three to four days."

"Well, then we're fine," Neelix said. "We've got enough foodstuffs for about two weeks, then we could break into emergency rations if necessary."

"And the status of rations is -?"

His eyes shifted around the table, a sure sign he didn't want to say what he had to say. "Uh, we're down to less than two weeks of rations. The ship was only stocked with a year's supply to begin with, and after eight years we've really eaten into that. Oh. No pun intended, Captain."

"I know." She considered. If all went well they wouldn't need any more emergency rations and probably not much more food. So far, the damage to the replicator system from the stresses of the slipstream had always proven minimal and repairs comparatively easy, once the Engineering staff had time to address them. But she couldn't rely on the past, not on this mission. "We need to lay in supplies. I want to have at least a month of fresh food available. B'Elanna, what's the rest of the Engineering report?"

"It's pretty routine, Captain," she answered. "Most of the major systems are down, but we should have the key operations functional in 48 hours or less. The usual secondary systems are also down but it shouldn't take more a week to be optimal again."

She nodded. "Doctor?"

"We had no casualties, unless you want to count my cellular regeneration experiment. Sickbay is at full capability."

"Very good. Tuvok, how did Security fare this time?"

"The torpedo and phaser systems are still down, although Lt. Torres assures me - " he cast a rather pointed look in her direction - "that will be rectified within eight hours. Shields have already been restored."

"Excellent. Harry, can we re-establish contact with Starfleet? They must be wondering what happened to us."

Harry, still looking tense, nodded. "It shouldn't take long. Once we confirm the vector between here and the MIDAS array, it's just a question of sufficient power to send the signal. We'll need a little more than usual because of the interference from that binary star."

"Get it done," Janeway said. "They haven't heard from us since before our little trip through time took us off course. We don't want to let them worry any longer than necessary."

She laid both hands on the conference table. "As I said earlier, you know the drill, people. Mr. Paris, I want you to take a scouting expedition into that planetary system. Our top priorities are kolander ore and foodstuffs. Ms. Torres, your people know what to do."

Then she stood. "I know we're all feeling somewhat … edgy. It is possible that one more jump will bring us into Federation space. But that *willnothappen* unless we all do our jobs, and do them the way we are supposed to. I'm counting on each of you to convey that to your departments.

"We are almost home, my friends. We can't let a lapse in concentration delay that any longer."

After almost eight years together, the staff knew when they had been dismissed. They stood and filtered out of the conference room. All of them, that was, except Chakotay. When they were alone, Janeway turned to him with an arched eyebrow. "Yes, Commander?"

"Nothing in particular. I thought you might have something else to say."

She glared at him for a moment, then smiled widely. With him, at least, she could show her true feelings. "Oh, Chakotay!" she said. "We're going to make it this time. I really think we're going to make it."

He opened his arms and she glided into his embrace. After a moment, she murmured into his shoulder, "This isn't very captainly."

"To hell with that," he said, tightening his grip on her. "It's okay to relax a little. You've got us almost home."

Something in his voice caused her to pull back and regard him. Lately, he'd been quiet when the subject of home came up and now he sounded distinctly unenthusiastic. "'Almost' isn't good enough. Did you see Harry? I think he's absolutely terrified something will go wrong."

"You can't blame him. Look how close we were before we were thrown back to the Delta Quadrant."

Her eyes narrowed, as she became certain she was interpreting him correctly. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were worried, too."

"Worried? No." He smiled at her, but it lacked conviction. "I'm just a realist. Who knows what we're going to have to cope with next."

His attitude irritated her, and she let him hear it in her voice. "You don't think we're close to home?"

"Of course we're close. We're just not there yet."

"I see." She walked until she stood across the table from him. There was no point in trying to cheer him up through logic; she had been trying that for days. Perhaps a different approach would work. "What would you say if I told you I am so sure we are almost home that I will not touch you, not so much as a pat on the cheek, until we land Voyager at Starfleet Headquarters?"

This time, his smile had genuine humor in it. "Kathryn, you spent close to eight years without touching me in any significant way. Why do we want to go through that again?"

He was right; they had waited too long to get together for her to make a game of their relationship, and she smiled wryly. "All right. Then I'll do something else … I won't have a single cup of coffee until we're home."

He considered. "You can't do it."

Pleased with his reaction, she said, "Try me. That's how much faith I have that we'll be home soon."

"You're on." He turned and began to leave, but just before the door opened, he turned. "No coffee, no espresso, no latte, no decaf, no Vordai blend?" When she nodded in confirmation, his eyebrows shot upward. "What do I get if - no - when you give up?"

"Never challenge me, Commander. If I can't keep this promise, you can name your prize." She pointed to the door and he turned to go. Just before leaving, though, he looked back and flashed a wicked grin.

Pleased that he seemed to be less gloomy, she sat down. Home. The idea was overwhelming. There was so much of the past to absorb, and so much of the future to shape. And so many debts to be paid. *Oh,yes,* she thought so fervently it was almost a prayer. *Doyourjobswell,people.We'retooclosenowtofail.*

(Day One - On the Delta Flyer )

"Take it easy going through these asteroids, Cadet," Tom Paris warned. "Don't depend upon your shields to take care of anything this size. They're big enough to cause some serious damage if they hit at just the right angle."

"Yes, sir," Icheb replied from the helm of the Delta Flyer. "What is the status of our shields, Cadet Wildman?" he added.

"They're at 94 point 7 percent efficiency and holding, sir," Naomi replied, after a short pause to check her console.

"Excellent," Icheb replied. He couldn't quite keep the grin off his face. Hearing Naomi call him "sir" was a thrill. This was the first time they were handling the Delta Flyer as "senior away team members." Lieutenants Paris and Carey, their instructors, were to intervene only if a problem the cadets couldn't handle became manifest. Tom, at the tactical station, and Joe Carey back at engineering were, in reality, the junior officers on board the Flyer. It was the cadets' mission to survey the system. The captain had been suitably impressed by their progress to approve their "command" of this mission.

Icheb tilted the attitude of the shuttle to avoid another asteroid heading lazily towards the Delta Flyer, barely slipping over its rocky surface.

"That was cutting it pret-ty darn close," Tom observed. "I'd watch that 'hot rodding' if I were you, Cadet."

"I'm flying the way you taught me, sir," Icheb said, with a self-confident air.

"And you may be able to drive that way, too, once you've got the same amount of experience I do!" Tom said flippantly, with one eyebrow raised Tuvok-style to soften the comment.

"Oh, please, children, behave!" Joe ordered, shaking his head and grinning. "You've got the sibling rivalry part down cold, even though you aren't officially the 'Paris brothers' yet!" Shrugging his shoulders, Joe turned towards Naomi and said, "What's a parent to do? Cadet Wildman, how about finding us some ore deposits so these two will have something else to squabble about besides who gets to use the family shuttle!"

Naomi stifled her laughter and assumed what she and her mother had agreed was the classic "Starfleet junior officer" voice. "I'm detecting large amounts of kolander ore in this asteroid field, but the deposits are widely scattered on different chunks of rock. There's not a concentration anywhere. Most are surrounded by a multitude of small asteroids. It could be difficult to get what we want out without damaging the 'family shuttles,' Lieutenant Carey."

Tom smothered a laugh of his own before asking, "What about the quality? We might be willing to take a few risks if we can obtain ores that won't take much processing."

"Not so good. I'm finding ores containing 5 to 10% kolander, at best. The remaining material is silica laced with trace metals. Using the transporter or tractor beam to bring out the ore might not be cost-effective. We'd use a lot of power to obtain a relatively small amount of material of the quality we need for the drive."

"We shouldn't be wasteful of our power reserves now. There's no way to know what other problems we may encounter during our final jumps to Earth," Icheb said.

Tom and Joe nodded their heads at the same time. "A fair appraisal of the situation from both of you. What action do you suggest we take, Cadet . . . Icheb?" Tom hesitated. He'd been on the verge of saying 'Cadet Paris,' but they had agreed that would be premature until they'd received word the formal adoption procedures were complete.

"We will maintain our course to the other planets, looking for richer lodes of kolander ore, as well as dilithium or other minerals we can mine quickly. We want to be prepared in case Voyager runs into any more 'glitches' with the slipstream," Icheb responded. "The positions of asteroids containing desirable mineral deposits have been recorded in our mission logs. We can always return if nothing better is found."

"I concur, Cadet," Joe said approvingly.

"What heading do you recommend, Cadet Wildman?" Tom asked.

"Long range scans indicate possibilities deeper into the system. The third planet looks particularly promising. It's on the other side of the star, but it's M-class, with an atmosphere of 18% oxygen; 68% nitrogen, with argon and trace gases. It has two moons. Neither one has an atmosphere.

"Then there's the second planet. It almost has a twin-the moon circling around it is about half the mass of the planet itself. Do you still call it a moon when it's that big?"

Tom thought a moment. "Probably. I'll bet there's a heck of a wiggle in their orbits. Almost like Seven walking down the corridor in those stiletto heels she always wore."

Once the laughter had died down, Naomi added, "I don't have enough data about the orbits yet, but the second planet is a lot like Venus in our solar system. The atmosphere is very dense. Lots of sulfurous compounds and other noxious gases. It's a Class K. I don't think we'll have the time to build pressure domes to do much mining there."

"What about the moon?" Joe asked.

"That one's Class L. The atmosphere is extremely thin, but at least it's almost half oxygen, with the rest argon and some more sulfur compounds, too -I'll bet it smells like rotten eggs down there. I'm detecting evidence of volcanic activity. It should be just barely habitable by Starfleet standards."