Heroes On Ordinary Days

Part 1

"So Uncle Jack decided not to disturb anyone else. He made the six month journey back to Earth all by himself."

Harry Kim paused to make sure that he had everyone's full attention. The Captain, Neelix, Seven, Tom, they were all looking his way. Harry grinned in anticipation of their reaction to the punch line of his story. "When he woke the rest of the crew from stasis, they asked why he had woken them up when they hadn't even left orbit yet."

Lounging in his favorite chair from the days of secret planning to expose the spy on Voyager, Tom smiled affectionately at his friend's enjoyment of his moment in the sun. With his quiet manner, Harry didn't seem to get many of these. There was a definite family resemblance between Harry and the many-times-great Uncle Jack who had kept his low-keyed, unassuming manner while pulling off an extraordinary feat.

Harry's time to hold center stage was cut short by an unexpected beep at the Captain's door. The EMH entered with a lame excuse about a report and it took less than a minute for him to invite himself in and assume control of the conversation. He took over the spotlight so quickly that Tom couldn't resist teasing him.

Undaunted, the Doctor shot back with a line of his own and Tom nodded his approval. 'His cousin the prize winning chess program.' Good one!

Seven frowned at this apparent levity at the Doctor's expense. She really didn't 'get' banter yet. "Ensign Paris, you have yet to elaborate on your family origins."

'Ooops!' Tom thought. Not his favorite topic. Still, he supposed he'd better take his turn. He wasn't about to talk about his family's Starfleet history, though. Let's see, further back his family members were more down-to-earth. "Well, they were a pretty ordinary bunch…" he began. Oh wait, wasn't there that pilot on Mars? Tom's face brightened and he unconsciously shifted forward. "There was this one. He was a pilot…"

Kathryn Janeway observed the change in Tom's expression with some satisfaction. Usually when Tom spoke of his family, it only underscored how much of an outsider he always felt himself to be. In his view, he could never fit in with the unending Paris line of captains and admirals. He was clearly delighted to recall that there was one other Paris who loved to fly. It was good to see him realize that he was not an anomaly in his family - that being a Paris and loving to fly was not an inherent contradiction in terms.

Kathryn's own parents, her cousins, uncles and aunts and especially her father's Aunt Martha with her wonderful family stories had created a supportive village in which Kathryn and her sister grew up. Even though her younger sister was very different from Kathryn, both she and their mother were people Kathryn knew she could count on to stand with her against the rest of the universe. Family mattered to Kathryn. She could only imagine what it must be like to live without the surety of that kind of support.

Tom finished his story with a huge grin on his face. Kathryn smiled warmly. At this moment she thought she recognized the easygoing officer Tom might have been if he hadn't been so weighed down with family expectations and with guilt. Coping with Caldik Prime and subsequent events had given him a greater resilience and strength than he might otherwise have had, but at a great cost. He was now showing more of the sunnier disposition that was probably always meant to be a part of his nature. It was good to see.

From his chair near the Captain, Neelix eagerly drank in every detail. Although these stories could never replace the memories of his Talaxian family, they helped to cushion the ache of the abrupt end to his personal stories with his family's violent deaths.

Neelix was listening so intently to Tom that he easily picked up on his reference to Mars. The Captain had recently told him about one of her ancestors who had played a prominent role in the early Mars projects. "Your ancestor must have known the Captain's," he remarked to Tom.

Kathryn also recognized the connection. "Looks like we go way back, Mr. Paris." She maintained formal titles in this otherwise informal gathering.

Tom was immediately intrigued. "What's the name?" he asked.

"Shannon O'Donnell!" she announced proudly.

"O'Donnell?" Tom racked his memory, trying to find a match. It was no use. He could remember everyone of importance on all the Mars projects and there was no one by that name. He wished there was a way to avoid telling that to the Captain. She had sounded so pleased. But he couldn't lie, especially not to her. "Um, I don't think so," he said carefully.

Kathryn was taken aback. This was so unexpected that she couldn't even react. Tom's impressive knowledge of the period didn't leave much room for doubt about his facts. The coffee in her cup suddenly tasted like ashes. The need to be a good hostess prompted her to put her private feelings aside. After an awkward moment, the conversation resumed. The rest of the evening passed uneventfully.

Most of her guests left together. Tom and Neelix stayed to help clean up. There wasn't a lot of cleaning to do and they quickly finished. Neelix picked up a tray and prepared to leave. Tom held back. "Neelix, you go on ahead," he said. "I'll be along in a minute."

Neelix nodded. He had seen the Captain's face too. "I'll be in my kitchen. Good night, Captain."

"Good night, Neelix," she said. She waited for him to leave and allowed Tom to remain.

"Captain, maybe I spoke too soon. I might have missed something about Shannon O'Donnell," Tom told her, offering a way to cushion the blow without sacrificing the truth.

"That's not very likely, is it?" she said, shaking her head. Seeing his concern, she tried to assure him that she wasn't bothered by his information. "I'm fine. Don't worry. If it really matters to me, I can always search the records myself." He didn't look convinced so she decided to distract him. "Remember that we have a meeting tomorrow. I hope you have your next review of Starfleet protocols ready."

"An Analysis of the Duties of a Ship's First Officer: Crew Assignments and Morale," Tom quoted the title of his assignment. "It's all finished." Privately, he thought that the length of the title bore a direct relationship to the dryness of the topic. He'd done his best to try to alleviate that dryness without blatantly overstepping the bounds of protocol.

"I look forward to reading it," she said with understated irony. She was all too familiar with the dull but necessary reports that were the bane of those in command, and those in training for command. She was also familiar with the hidden subtext that Tom worked into many of the duller reports that she had assigned.

Despite her words, Kathryn's disappointment had touched her deeply and she was suddenly very tired. "You'd better go now," she told Tom. "Neelix is waiting for you."

After he left, Kathryn sat back down on her couch. She leaned against the cushions and closed her eyes. She had rested like this many times over the years, eyes closed, calling up memories of home. They were always a deep source of comfort to her. She returned to them time and again whenever the road ahead threatened to stretch out too far for her to bear. Last week had been her Aunt Martha's birthday. One of her favorite memories had always been about the family's summer visits to her aunt. Aunt Martha would sit out on her porch swing in the early afternoon. Kathryn, her sister Phoebe and all their cousins would gather around on the wooden steps near her feet. She would tell them story after story about Shannon O'Donnell while the light from the afternoon sun inched its way up the steps and the insects buzzed around the flowers in her garden.

That porch suddenly felt so much farther away, lost with all the family birthdays and the meaningless seasons of a planet a half a galaxy away.

Down in the mess hall's kitchen, Tom and Neelix put away leftover food and empty plates. Neelix edged his way to the topic on his mind. "Well, that was certainly a surprise about the Captain's ancestor."

"Yeah," Tom agreed, placing a serving platter in one of the upper cupboards. He felt bad about being the one to deliver the news.

"Maybe we should do something to cheer her up," Neelix suggested.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Neelix. She likes to handle these things herself. Captain Janeway is one strong lady."

"We're family. I don't see why her family can't help." Neelix insisted.

Tom couldn't argue with that. The people on Voyager had become special to him. He knew for sure that how they felt about him had nothing to do with what kind of position he or any other Paris held in Starfleet. Unlike back in the Alpha Quadrant, no one here turned away from him when he lost his rank.

"Maybe you're right," Tom conceded. "I tell you what. She said she'd check the records on Shannon O'Donnell. Let her do that first. If it doesn't work out we can talk again."

"Good idea," Neelix said, clapping Tom on the shoulder.

The next day Kathryn discovered that instead of being the indispensable hero of the Millennium Gate Project, Shannon O'Donnell had been a minor player in the whole affair. Kathryn tried to make light of her disappointment. She even made a joke about it.

As she had done so many times in the past, she pushed aside her personal needs to focus on her duties. Sitting in her ready room early that afternoon, Kathryn read through the PADD that Tom had dropped off during his morning break. He would be along soon and she wanted to finish entering her notes on the PADD before their meeting. His latest report was another thorough analysis with insights that challenged a few of their accepted practices. She expected nothing less from him. The detours into levity that were scattered throughout his report were sufficiently disguised inside Voyager specific references so that no one at Starfleet could ever pick up on them. The hidden jokes were meant for her eyes only. Even though she'd snorted coffee up through her nose more than once, she let them be. She made one final entry then added a copy of Tom's report to his file.

After his time in the brig and reduction in rank, Tom could have given up. He could have allowed resentment and self-pity to undermine the cohesion of the command structure. Instead he gave her his best and even spent many of his off hours setting up activities to bolster crew morale. Kathryn made sure to thoroughly document all his good work. When the time came to restore his rank, there would be ample evidence that he had indeed earned his reinstatement.

In due time the signal on her door beeped. "Come," she instructed.

"Captain," Tom said to formally announce his arrival.

"Mr. Paris, " she replied, matching his formality. "I read your report." She caught his eye to acknowledge that she had picked up the humor, and then continued on as if nothing outside of regulation had just occurred. "I've made some notes for you to discuss with Commander Chakotay." She handed a PADD to Tom so he could look them over while listening to her.

Tom suppressed a triumphant smile. He'd noticed a small splatter of coffee on the sleeve of the Captain's uniform. He turned his attention to the PADD she'd handed him and had no trouble maintaining a sober facade. The PADD held an alarmingly long list of discussion points.

"Mr. Chakotay can give you a practical perspective on how these protocols impact day to day operations. You'll find what he has to say useful in developing a better understanding of the role of First Officer."

Sensing a new assignment coming, Tom made a halfhearted attempt to head it off. "I'm only an ensign," he reminded her in a joking tone.

She knew that he wasn't being entirely serious. Still, she didn't like the idea of him getting too used to thinking of himself as an ensign. "Right now, yes. But, Tom, you have to know that I expect you to work hard and earn back your lieutenant rank. I know you can do it."

"Couldn't I just save the ship from some disaster?" he asked, still half joking.

"You've already demonstrated your command abilities in crisis situations. You've proven that you have initiative and considerable tactical skills."

This was the simple truth. With help from two Voyager crewmen and a small group of Talaxians, Tom had retaken the ship from the Kazon and rescued the stranded Voyager crew. Back in the Alpha Quadrant, a feat like that could get you fast tracked to the rank of captain.

"Been there, done that?" Tom asked.

Kathryn smiled at the wording. "Something like that. What you need to demonstrate now is how well you handle the hard work and the discipline needed to look after a ship's daily business."

"Hard work and discipline. Great!" he muttered unconvincingly.

The Captain sympathized. However, she had seen cases where officers made an impression on the Admiralty and were pushed up through the ranks. Some never did master the skills needed to effectively manage a ship. They ended up flying outdated ships in quiet Federation backwaters. Even in the Delta Quadrant, she had no intention of setting Tom up to ever join the ranks of that kind of officer. When he was ready for command, he really would be ready. "I've asked Chakotay to meet with you after your bridge shift. Starting tomorrow, I want you to work more closely with him so you can learn more about the ins and outs of keeping the ship and crew operating at peak efficiency."

It seemed to Tom that the Captain had already had him review and report on every possible subsection of Starfleet regulations. He was beginning to wonder just how many more assignments she could come up with. However, there was nothing in the assignments that he couldn't handle. So he might as well forge ahead with the reports and protocol thing without complaining. "Yes, ma'am," he answered aloud.

Kathryn nodded her dismissal and picked up another report.

But Tom couldn't leave. He recognized a person in trouble and it wasn't in him to just walk away. "Captain?" he asked and stood his ground, waiting for her to acknowledge him again.

She looked up, somewhat surprised that he hadn't gone. "Was there something else, Mr. Paris?"

He mentally navigated his was around the obstacles in the way of what an ensign could say to a captain and chose his words. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry that I couldn't recognize Shannon O'Donnell's name from any of the Mars missions."

Kathryn honored the concern that motivated him, but switched to a lighter tone to fend it off. "That's all right, Mr. Paris. You just told the truth, I don't shoot the messenger."

"I," he began, and didn't get any further when he realized that there was nothing that he could say that would help.

"I'm fine, Tom," she assured him, even though he still didn't look convinced. "Dismissed," she reminded him gently.

With nothing else that he could see to do right now, Tom left the Captain alone in her ready room. He returned to his station at the helm, leaving an empty feeling nagging at both of them.