Rendezvous in Sector 21503
By Christina and Rocky

This story marks the beginning of the Season 2 final arc. We hope you've enjoyed reading VS 7.5 as much as we've enjoyed writing it.

Thank you.

PS we ignored Nemesis completely.

Summary: The galaxy is extensive. Most of it is unknown by the many members of the Federation. One ship, the USS Voyager, has seen more of the galaxy than any other.

Now her mission is nearly finished, and Captain Janeway's promise to bring her crew home is about to be fulfilled.

Prologue
Somewhere in the Beta Quadrant

"I agree, Senator Ralurm," the Tal Shiar agent called Nolqira replied with a private smile. The female Senator had insisted upon this meeting, so Nolqira had picked the heart of the Romulan capital. Ralurm was overly worried, and just needed some reassurance. He could provide that. He leaned back in his chair just as the monitor signaled the arrival of an incoming message.

Senator Ralurm looked up expectantly. "Is that Sub-Commander Virapl?" she asked.

Nolqira nodded. "He is punctual, as usual." He cast a sidelong glance at her. "There is no need to let him know of your involvement."

"I agree," she said. He thought she seemed relieved. Nolqira was also pleased with her willingness to remain in the shadows-even though he knew full well she was doing it to protect herself if anything went wrong. Veteran of over a hundred covert assignments, he was accustomed to operating out of the limelight-so to speak. His plan was being conducted independently of the Tal Shiar. Only he knew the full scope of the plan-a plan that was about to come to fruition. The image of a Romulan officer appeared on his screen.

"Sub-Commander," Nolqira said. "I trust all is well?"

"All is proceeding as planned. We have just rendezvoused with the battle cruiser, Khellian."

"And our...allies?" Nolqira enjoyed the look of disgust on Virapl's face.

"Our *allies* are now onboard the Aehallh."

"Excellent. Both ships are to proceed directly to the operation site fully cloaked. Until you have successfully completed the mission, you are to maintain subspace silence."

Virapl acknowledged the order and the screen went blank.

"Two allies?" Ralurm asked.

"The two Ferengi brothers I met on ch'Harranth." Nolqira shrugged. "They were almost successful a year ago in waylaying Voyager. They have knowledge of the ship and its particulars my agents do not. They have been most useful, but they are also a liability to our plans and the Emperor."

She nodded. "I understand. Sub-Commander Virapl does *understand* that failure is not an option?"

"Yes, Senator, *they* all understand their duty."

Ralurm smiled. "Our alliance with the Federation should never have happened, but the Romulan Empire will not fade into the interstellar dust. The technology alone makes this mission worthwhile." Her voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper. "The Emperor wants this too, only..."

Nolqira nodded with more understanding than Senator Ralurm could possibly know. After the death of the Empress just a year ago, her cousin was trying to regain the power she had let slip away.

"Yes, Senator." He understood. The Emperor, like the Senator, could not publicly be seen to be involved. He looked up when she suddenly laughed.

"Virapl mentioned the Khellian, as in Sub-Commander Shopar's ship?" He'd wondered if she would understand the irony of his choice. "Senator Mykar will not approve. You have chosen well." She stood to leave. "I don't expect to hear from you again."

Nolqira waited until she'd left, before he permitted himself to smile at the joke at Mykar's expense. Sub-Commander Shopar had been married to Senator Mykar's sister until her sudden and mysterious death seven years ago. Shopar had quickly married his mistress. As a result, Mykar had made sure that Shopar had not been promoted. Mykar was also in favor of the Federation alliance, so choosing Shopar for this mission had been easy. Virapl's own family had fallen into disfavor, so he too had been passed over for higher command for many years. Both Romulan officers were ambitious, frustrated, and had readily accepted their assignment: the rewards would be generous.

The biggest reward would be freedom from the treaty. A treaty that should never have happened and wouldn't have-if the truth had been told. But no, the late Empress had forbidden the Tal Shiar from revealing anything about the Federation subterfuge that had lead to the treaty.

He picked up his scanner and swept the room. Not that he suspected the Senator would betray him, but he hadn't lasted twenty years in the Tal Shiar by trusting anyone. Failure or success, after this operation, 'Nolqira' would vanish. He would pick another alias.

Harry couldn't stop smiling as the lift started to move. This was it.

"Stop smiling," Tom said. "We're not home yet." Despite his words, Tom was smiling too.

"Only after you stop."

"Don't jinx us..."

"I have no intention of jinxing anything," Harry's grin grew. "Mom is expecting us for dumplings as soon as things settle down some. She wants to meet Marla." The banter stopped for a second as the lift door opened, depositing them on the bridge. "Knowing her, I bet she'll be on the first ship to DeepSpaceNine when our arrival is announced."

"Good morning, lieutenants," Chakotay said. He gave them a mock frown. "The bridge is no place for levity."

"Aye, sir," Tom said. Chakotay was grinning too.

Harry relieved Hugh Murphy at the ops station. "I'm jealous," Hugh said. "I'll trade you shifts."

"But you've just finished your shift," Harry said with a laugh.

"For this, I'll gladly serve four in a row. You wouldn't want to go back to bed, would you? Sleep in..." Hugh winked.

"Nah," Harry said. "And miss our final jump? You'll just have to watch from the mess hall with everyone else." Starfleet still had them jumping over three thousand light years. Janeway had asked for a delay of several days while they rechecked everything. Starfleet had agreed, there was no point in repeating the conditions that only a few months ago had flung them back to the Delta Quadrant and into the past.

"Well, I tried." Hugh stepped back. "Here's to home!"

Harry chuckled, then frowned when a light flashed. "Commander, we're receiving a message from Starfleet." This was the fourth message from Starfleet in the past two days. The first two had been changes in location, and the third had involved a change in arrival time.

"Another? I'll inform the captain." Janeway entered from her Ready Room a second later.

"Yes, Lieutenant," she said. "Display the message onscreen."

The image of Admiral Hayes appeared. "Captain Janeway."

"Admiral, we're ready to engage the slipstream." She smiled. "We'll be home in a few minutes."

Hayes frowned. "I'm sorry, but there's a slight change in plans. Due to security concerns, we want you to proceed to Sector 21503." The image flickered. Harry adjusted the incoming signal so they could maintain contact.

"21503?" Janeway said with surprise. "Sir, that's..."

"I know very well where it is," Hayes said tersely. "You have your orders, Captain Janeway. The Enterprise will rendezvous with you there. Starfleet out." The image vanished, leaving Janeway and most of the bridge crew shaking their heads.

Harry hesitated. "Sector 21503?"

"Double check that," Janeway said with a quick glance at Chakotay who shrugged.

"The transmitted orders confirm sector 21503. I've sent the coordinates to the helm," Harry said after a quick check through the file.

"Strange," she said. "Starfleet really must be worried to make such a drastic change in our destination. But why?"

"He said 'security concerns.' I guess we'll find out soon enough," Chakotay said. "It is ironic though-that they have us returning to the exact place where this journey began eight years ago."

"Course is plotted and laid in, Captain," Tom said.

She nodded. Harry thought she still looked puzzled. "Commander Tuvok, are the proper authorization codes embedded?"

"Aye, Captain," Tuvok responded. "The message appears to be authentic..." While Tuvok spoke, Harry reran a piece of the message then shook his head. There was nothing wrong with the codes that he could see, or the transmission itself- except for that brief flicker, not at all unusual considering the distance the message had traveled.

"Ship's status?" Janeway asked.

"All departments report ready," said Chakotay. "Well, this is it."

Three thousand light years in mere minutes...and they would be home in time for Christmas and Prixin.

"Lieutenant Paris, adjust our destination coordinates to one hundred kilometers from the Badlands. Prepare to engage the slipstream," Janeway said. "Open a ship-wide channel." Harry responded quickly. "I want to thank everyone for a job well done. For nearly eight years we have worked together-we've become more than just a crew, but a family as well." She smiled. "In less than three minutes we'll be back where this odyssey began: the Badlands. Not the calm arrival I'd expected. Everyone prepare for a rough ride, but we're going home." She motioned for Harry to cut the link. "Take us into the slipstream."

A light blinked on his console, "Captain-" Voyager was already entering into the slipstream tunnel. "-we're receiving another message..." He tried desperately to maintain a lock on the signal, but as Voyager's speed increased the lock destabilized.

"What does it say?" Janeway asked.

"'I'm sorry, Captain, but all I could get was the greeting. It was possibly a 'sensor echo' of Admiral Hayes' recent message." Voyager shuddered.

"We're approaching maximum velocity," Tom announced as the familiar white network of the slipstream conduit formed and enveloped them. "We'll be exiting the slipstream in two minutes ten seconds."