It was quiet on the Bridge as Ensign Harry Kim sat down in the Captains chair, looking around at his Skelton crew. The bleeps and other normal noises from the consoles were more subdued than normal, but that was fine, he didn't want a busy night, he was too excited about being home; even if they were still lost. This would give him time to think about how they really got here. They had misjudged the parameters of the Trans-warp hub which blasted them more than 25000 light years, dropping them off on the edge of the Alpha Quadrant. This was an uncharted territory, no one had ever ventured this far from home before but he was excited anyway.
He sat there, wondering what he was going to do when he got his first look at Earth after 7 long years of being away. What was going to happen to everyone when they got back, limping into McKinley station, wearing the battle marks along the sleek hull, two large holes where the torpedo bays once stood proud and tall? He knew the debriefings were going to last forever, or it would seem that way to him at least. He could imagine his family, tears streaking down his mothers face as she ran up to him and engulfed him in a bone crushing hug; how his fathers face would shine with pride as he shook his hand, and how Lily…well he didn't know what was going to happen when he saw Lily. It had been too long, she would have been married to someone else by now and he would understand.
As the ship hung in space like a dejected cargo shuttle, he thought about the friends he made on Voyager; Tom and B'Elanna and their daughter Miral, Neelix who had decided at the last minute to stay with Voyager and come to Earth in hopes of starting a new restaurant; Doc and his quest to become more human-like everyday, would he be shut down once he finished his debriefing? Or would Starfleet let him continue to exist, allowing him to work along side the greatest doctors at Starfleet medical? And what about him? Would he get that long deserved promotion and be sent off to another ship? He wanted to stay with his friends, work along side Tom as he would no doubt be a shuttle designer. He shook off those thoughts and continued to gaze out into the view screen, clearing his mind and focusing on the task at hand.
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The hot steamy water nestled along her curves as she slipped gently into the bathtub, sighing with contentment. It had been a long, grueling week and all she wanted to do was sleep until they were home. She was tired of finding her ship stranded in an unknown galaxy, where anything or anyone could come and attack them. All she wanted now was a nice hot cup of real coffee, to sit in her comfy chair in her Indiana home and forget she was a starship captain.
Captain Katheryn Janeway shivered as the water began to cool around the edges, creating small goose bumps to appear on her delicate skin. She thought about what went wrong on the final mission, the one that had gotten them here, just a stone's throw from home. Everything was planned out perfectly, or so she thought. She didn't think that the Borg queen would come rushing out at her one last time before dying at her feet, or that the Queen has sabotaged the trans-warp hub to explode before it was supposed to, leaving them on the edge of the unknown. How was she supposed to know that her older self has secretly planned this? She felt the anger well up inside of her as she sank back into the steaming liquid, sighing as the trauma melted away. At least they were home she thought as she closed her eyes and let the sweet rose scent of the bath water wash over her, at least we are home.
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Commander Chakotay stood in front of his view port, staring out into the black void of the universe, thinking hard on what they would be doing now that they were home. He knew there would be an inquiry about his involvement with the Maquis, he may even get prison time, but he didn't care; he was home at last and could finally say goodbye to his long dead friends.
There was one thing that bothered him though, and as he stepped away from the viewport and stood in front of him replicator it hit him; why did Admiral Janeway do what she did? She knew how badly they wanted to get home, she was Kathryn after all, she should have known that after so long of being in an unknown part of the universe all they wanted was too see Earth again, to walk along the shimmering beaches and feel the warm sun on their skin. But no, she had to secretly plan with the Queen Borg, help the Queen sabotage the hub, which in turn destroyed itself too early, almost killing them all.
Luckily they weren't that damaged, the warp engine was offline until B'Elanna was back to her normal self and could fix it, they had impulse but one 1/4 and the weapons were offline ,due to the torpedo bays being blown off the ship as they were thrown out of the hub. He hoped it would be a smooth journey home, though how long it would take was another question.