The Ties That Bind
by jamelia
The Wormhole bloomed into being. Petals of light swirled open, much like the flowers his mother always grew in her garden in San Francisco. Morning Glories, that was what they were called. Some were white and some "as blue as your brother's eyes," Mom always said. That was an exaggeration, but his brother's eyes, unlike his own, were very blue. The Wormhole flowering before his eyes glistened with all the colors of the visible spectrum, glowing against a star-spattered black backdrop.
As he watched, a miniscule ship disgorged itself from out of the throat of the illusory flower, sailing into normal space. Seconds later, the petals of energy collapsed in upon themselves, swallowing up what the Bajorans knew as the Celestial Temple into apparent nothingness. It was still there, of course, hidden, ageless, and mysterious, despite all that had been learned about the aliens who dwelt there. Amongst them was the Emissary, who at one time commanded this station as Captain Benjamin Sisko.
Lieutenant Commander Icheb Paris leaned against a handrail on the upper level of Deep Space Nine, contemplating his existence. He smiled as he recalled the phrase. Seven of Nine, his first "foster mother," had used the term frequently. Born Annika Hansen, a name she had reassumed after moving permanently to New Pojzan with her spouse Axum, Seven had spent much time when she first arrived on Voyager while regenerating in her Borg cubicle "contemplating her existence." Eventually, the lessons she learned through this mental exercise helped her find her way back to becoming an individual. Icheb had never been connected with the Borg as completely as Seven had been, yet he found that the contemplation of one's existence was a worthwhile exercise nonetheless.
Eventually, Seven had become more his big sister than his mother. Before he had been formally adopted by Admiral and Mrs. Paris, Captain Kathryn Janeway mothered Icheb the way she did all of her crew on Voyager, especially Seven. Kathryn Janeway and her husband Chakotay now had a son of their own, about twelve now, Icheb recalled. Unsurprisingly, their son was an extremely intelligent youth, pleasant, but with a quirky sense of humor. Eddie, as he was known to his friends, had not yet begun his youthful rebellion to any major degree, but Icheb thought it likely it would come fairly soon. A beloved only son would need to pass through such a stage to become his own man. His parents were too wise not to understand this and deal with it, hopefully well, when the time came.
On his last mission to the Delta Quadrant, Icheb had finally been able to visit with the family on New Earth in person, instead of only through Faster Than Light video transmissions. His former captain, who currently was in her first term as the President of the United States of New Earth, had been just as warmly welcoming to Icheb as she had been on the days she had rescued him from the Borg. Former Commander Chakotay was now white-haired, but he was as energetic and as involved as ever with New Earth University, which he had helped found. Icheb thought he was more relaxed and open than he had been when Icheb first knew him. His wife teased Chakotay, saying it was because he was "captain of his own ship now" as president of the university. Perhaps that accounted for his demeanor. It might simply be that Chakotay, who told Icheb he used to be the Angry Warrior, had at last learned to feel comfortable in his own skin.
Icheb sighed. He wondered if he would ever achieve anything close to self-acceptance. It was certainly not the fault of his parents if he did not. Admiral and Mrs. Owen Paris had lavished much love and praise on him ever since they had adopted him. When he arrived from the Delta Quadrant, the only Brunali known to live in the Alpha Quadrant to this day, Icheb met his mom Alicia for the very first time on this station. He smiled at the memory. Icheb felt she loved him as much as she loved her natural son Tom Paris and two daughters from the very first. Now Icheb's siblings' families had grown, giving Alicia and Owen Paris seven grandchildren. He knew his mom would welcome more, if Icheb was ever in a position to provide her with any.
That was why he'd decided to come to Deep Space Nine. He needed to know if such a blessing might be part of his future.
He noticed the ship he'd been watching, so tiny in appearance when it first exited the Wormhole, had grown in size. It was a Federation ship of the line, one of the largest. The U.S.S. Federation Accord was Paramount Class, like the new flagship, the Enterprise NCC-1701F. The ship would dock in less than thirty minutes, if Icheb had calculated the distances and speed correctly. He almost always did.
Time to walk down to the lower levels to await the docking of the Federation Accord. It might be a while before he could meet with the person he hoped to see. He could not be sure Shore Leave would be granted to her immediately. Perhaps ordering a snack at the Klingon restaurant, the Qapla',would be a better use of his time than loitering on the Promenade, hanging around for the girl he'd been waiting for, it seemed, for most of his life.
Lieutenant Naomi Wildman was annoyed. She was forced to remain on board the FedAccord (as all of her shipmates called it) instead of going off with the first group of officers scheduled for Shore Leave, as she had expected.
Two of her subordinates failed to complete their weekly Scientific Research Reports on time. Ensign Bextan had "sort of" an excuse. He'd landed in Sickbay because he failed to complete a thorough tricorder reading before performing a "taste test" on flower buds collected from Severis V. From the initial scan, he thought they were "just like Talaxian pepper pods." They were almost like them, except they were laced with just enough caparacin, masked by the capsaicin, to make the Talaxian thoroughly sick from eating them raw. Cooking would have destroyed the toxic substance, but Bextan, a little like her beloved Uncle Neelix, sometimes leaped before he looked. She'd given him an extra day to finish his report, since she insisted he include a well-researched digest documenting the reasons why one never ever performed a "taste test" on an unknown ingredient until completing a detailed analysis, down to the molecular level, of which species might find the substance indigestible or dangerous to consume.
This report, because of the assigned addendum, would not have been held against her, and she could have left with the others. Ensign Crol Th'fevran, however, had no such excuse. The Andorian had become so involved in a Parisses Squares match, he had forgotten he hadn't turned in his report. It finally appeared on Naomi's terminal an hour after it was due, exactly thirty minutes after the first group of officers left the ship for leave.
Naomi contacted Icheb as soon as she realized she wouldn't be able to meet him for at least another twelve hours. She suggested he might want to visit her on the FedAccord, since she was technically off-duty, if not free to "go ashore." Icheb had declined her invitation. He said he would go to his lodgings to take a nap. They could meet at Quark's at 1945 hours.
As her thoughts turned to Icheb, Naomi's mood mellowed. She hadn't seen her old friend for almost four years. Icheb had looked so handsome standing up as Best Man for Griff Harley at his wedding to Valentina Novotnova. Icheb had danced several slow dances with Naomi. They'd gotten on so well together that night, she thought maybe, this time, what they'd once felt for one another would be rekindled.
It was not to be. Two days later, Icheb was summoned to his father's office at the Admiralty and presented with his promotion to Lieutenant Commander. Icheb Paris was on the fast track now, and his new assignment proved it. He was attached to Captain Geordi La Forge's deep space mission, to an area of the Delta Quadrant that was still virtually unexplored because it had been held by the Borg. Icheb, as one who had once had ties to the Collective, was considered an ideal choice as Astrometrics Chief and Second Officer on this mission.
Naomi had been terrified for his safety the entire time Icheb was gone, even though the Fluidians placed more than a dozen of their people on board the task force's flagship, the U.S.S. Concordia, in what they called their Ocampa "garb." The Fluidian's favored way of appearing to those living in Non-Fluidic Space was the look they'd assumed on the day the Delta Quadrant Confederation was formed. Their bodies looked like those of the Ocampa, but with purplish skin, to let others identify the species to which they truly belonged.
Having completed several exploratory missions in the region, the Fluidians were confident the Borg no longer presented a major threat. Unfortunately, they'd failed to detect several pockets of Borg in the sector who were trying to reestablish their dominion over the region. More than half a dozen serious battles took place before it was secured for the United Federation (Alpha, Beta, and Delta Quadrant branches).
Icheb had served with distinction, receiving several commendations for bravery. Thankfully, unlike many given out after that mission, they had not been posthumous. Captain La Forge was offered the post of admiral upon his return. Like his mentor Jean-Luc Picard, he declined the honor, preferring to remain a captain for the immediate future.
Now Icheb was back in the Alpha Quadrant, as was Naomi, a mature, just-turned-twenty-one-year-old woman, well-established in her own Starfleet career. She had much to look forward to in her profession, but she longed to resume her personal life. Her youngest sister Carolynna had still been a toddler when Naomi left for her mission to the Gamma Quadrant on the FedAccord eighteen months ago. Naomi wanted to get to know her, as well as reestablish her friendship with Ruthannika, who had been accepted for entrance to Starfleet Academy later this year. And, of course, speaking with her parents via an FTL transmission could not take the place of being in their presence, to speak with them in person, to hug or be hugged by them.
And there was one more thing missing from her personal life. She wanted a husband, badly, and Naomi hoped he was waiting for her on Deep Space Nine at this very moment, taking a nap.
She wished she could be with him now.
At promptly 1940 hours, Lieutenant Wildman approached the entrance to Quark's establishment on the Promenade. Since she was no wet-behind-the-ears Academy graduate, she laughingly waved away the proprietor at his saucer-eyed approach. The subject of her search was sitting at the bar, next to Morn (who for all intents and purposes lived in Quark's). As Icheb stood up and gave her a warm, enthusiastic hug, she heard Quark's sad sigh of resignation as he muttered, "Why do they always go for the tall, dark, and handsome Starfleet types? What do they have that I don't have?"
Naomi turned back and answered, "History, Mr. Quark. Sorry, but I've known this guy for years. It's time to catch up."
They had drinks at Quark's but went to dinner at Jake's, the restaurant owned by Jake Sisko. He wasn't in residence, but Jake's grandfather in New Orleans, on Earth, had trained the chef . The food was Cajun, as authentic as a dinner at the original Sisko's would have been. Icheb had lots of questions about the FedAccord's mission, since the Gamma Quadrant was where he'd spent the least amount of time. Naomi was happy to answer them. Their mission had been the one preferred by Starfleet officers: the exploration of a relatively unexplored region. Thanks to transwarp drive, they were able to travel in a straight line, far deeper into the quadrant than any other mission to date.
When she asked similar questions of Icheb, he was a little more circumspect. "There's a lot that's still classified, so I can't say much. We've established that the Borg are still fragmented. They've never been able to reestablish their centralized system under one Queen."
"Is that because of your . . . weapon?"
"It appears so, although there are other factors operating. The Fluidians have been very active in the area in which we were traveling, so - I think it's okay to tell you this - the Borg groups that do survive are separated from each other by Borg-free corridors. Like the ones Voyager found around the time Annika first came on board the ship, when you were still a baby. The Fluidians still do not trust the Borg. Since Fluidian technology is biologically-based, the whole idea of a mechanized, singular organism seeking 'perfection' is anathema to them. The Fluidians want us to know they trust us, with all of our multiple species' imperfections. They say it's 'natural' for biological species to be like that, now they've had a real chance to study different species in our space. That whole 'perfection' thing of the Borg is just unattainable, they claim. Anyone who insists it is possible is either insane or can't be trusted. Exploring that part of the Delta Quadrant was really important for all of us, but I think the real purpose of our mission was to cement the Fluidian-Federation Alliance. "
"There have been some doubters in the Admiralty, so I've heard."
"I heard that too, but since our mission, the doubters are in the minority. I'm glad. Every one of the Fluidians I met is a great person. Three Fluidians on our ship were killed in one Borg attack, you know. They received their share of posthumous commendations for valor, too."
Naomi nodded her head and tried to smile at him, but the enormity of all of those losses finally got to her. Tears filled her eyes. She choked out, "Icheb, I was afraid for you!" Naomi thought she had whispered it, but several of the other diners looked in their direction.
Icheb grabbed her hand and squeezed it to comfort and quiet her. "I'm here now, Naomi. I came through okay. Not even a scratch," he said, revealing his shy smile.
"I'm so glad. I've missed you so much, Icheb."
He looked into her eyes, her expression open and unguarded. Icheb saw something there he had not seen for many years. He was almost afraid to hope it meant what he wanted so desperately for it to mean. He answered, "I've missed you, too, Naomi."
