Ghosts and Shadows
Story: Andra Marie Mueller
Authors: Andra and Christina
spoiler: It has been rough, so many died. Can Janeway put her ghosts behind her—and can Torres put together a mismatch of parts and create a working Transwarp Drive. And now is the right time for the baby shower.
"Every difficulty slurred over will be a ghost to disturb your repose later on." - Frederic Chopin
Prologue
We are the Borg.
"Reroute all available power to the shields!"
"Evasive pattern Omega Eight One!"
"That was a direct hit to starboard, Captain; casualty reports are coming in from decks nine, ten and eleven."
You will be assimilated.
She felt her throat drying and closing up to avoid inhaling the acrid smoke from burning power relays and charred computer panels. She heard the screams of her officers as they fell under the barrage of weapons fire from the Borg vessel. She could smell the blood as she arrived in Sickbay to receive the Doctor's casualty report.
Resistance is futile.
"Nooo!"
Her shout of denial awakening her from her nightmare, Janeway bolted upright in bed. Her heart was pounding almost audibly, and her sweat drenched nightgown and sheets were tangled around her.
"Damn," she muttered aloud. "You'd think I would be rid of these nightmares by now."
After allowing her breathing to return to normal, she extricated herself from her bedding and wandered into her bathroom, depositing her nightgown in the recycler along the way. Opting for a water shower, she stepped under the warm spray only long enough to wash the perspiration from her skin. Pulling on a robe, she wandered back into her bedroom and stole a glance at the chronometer on the far wall.
"Oh five hundred," she observed. "Only an hour until Alpha shift."
The captain crossed over to her closet and pulled out her uniform, then quickly dressed before exiting her quarters. She made her way to the Mess Hall, and discovered Voyager's resident Talaxian preparing for the first round of breakfast diners.
"Good morning, Mister Neelix," she greeted.
He flashed her a friendly smile. "Good morning to you as well, Captain," he greeted, his still healing throat giving him a hoarse voice. "Off to an early start I see."
"Actually I just stopped in for some fresh coffee before I head to the Bridge," Janeway said.
"One cup of coffee coming up," Neelix declared.
Neelix bustled about the kitchen preparing the coffee as Janeway glanced around the darkened room, trying to ignore the remnants of her nightmare floating around her brain.
"The warp drive is off line and shields are down to seventy-five percent."
"Additional casualty reports coming in from decks four and five."
"The cube is powering its weapons again, Captain."
"Captain?"
Neelix's voice broke Janeway out of her reverie and she shifted to face him, accepting the mug he proffered with a grateful smile.
"Are you all right, Captain?" Neelix asked. "You seemed to be a million miles away just now."
I couldn't be that lucky, Janeway thought bitterly. To Neelix she said, "I'm fine, Neelix, thank you. Just a little preoccupied."
"Well if you need a friendly ear, you know where to find me."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Have a good day, Captain."
"You do the same, Mister Neelix."
Bidding him farewell, Janeway exited the Mess Hall and the ghosts haunting her there.
Act 1
Letting loose a rather profane expression of her displeasure, Voyager's half-Klingon Chief Engineer slammed a fist against the control panel in front of her.
"I certainly hope you don't plan to teach that to your daughter when she arrives," a voice said wryly from behind her.
B'Elanna spun around to confront her unexpected visitor and found her commanding officer standing a few feet behind her. "Captain," she greeted. "I didn't hear you come in."
"I just stopped by to see how you're feeling," Janeway replied, and gestured at the remnants of the control panel spewed across the console and at her feet. "How's the project coming?"
"Badly," B'Elanna said. "At the rate I'm going – or rather not going – I think I'm going to have to enlist some outside assistance."
"It's about time," Janeway said. "Where are you going to need assistance?"
"I've been trying to redesign the Zornon cloak specifications to provide tachyon shields that are in phase with the transwarp coil and together can protect the warp core from the resonance frequencies created by the tachyon burst," B'Elanna revealed. "I need to eliminate the resonance or at least lower it by a factor of a thousand."
Janeway's eyes widened in surprise. "That's quite an ambitious idea," she remarked. "I had no idea you'd come that far."
B'Elanna snorted. "I haven't come that far. I was certain that if I had some time to really study it and make some adjustments, I could come up with a way to bring all the technologies together into a working transwarp."
"What seems to be the trouble?"
B'Elanna sighed. "I can't get the computer to accept the integration of the Borg components into the gel packs," she explained. "The nanoprobes are recognizing the bio-neural circuitry as organic and trying to assimilate it. The computer's internal safeguards are recognizing the Borg technology as 'hostile', for lack of a better word, and are rejecting any attempt to install the new energy relays into the system. And the Zornon specs aren't compatible with either system. If we can't find a way to make the three systems compatible, the transwarp coil will be useless."
"So in other words, the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, but it knows it doesn't like it," Janeway paraphrased.
"Yes." B'Elanna sighed, and gave the captain a sheepish smile. "As much as I hate to say it, I could use Seven's help about now."
Janeway smiled back. "Maybe Icheb could be of some assistance," she suggested. "Seven taught him quite a bit."
"He has his hands full working with the Doctor on all of his projects," B'Elanna said.
"I'm sure he can spare some time to help you," Janeway countered. "I'll talk to Chakotay and have him rearrange the duty roster so you can borrow Icheb until you solve this problem."
"I'd appreciate the help, Captain. Thank you."
"You're welcome. I'm on my way to the Mess Hall for dinner. Would you care to join me?"
"Thank you for the invitation, but I'm not really hungry," the younger woman declined. "I'm going to call it a night pretty soon, so I'll just replicate something when I return to my quarters."
"Fair enough, but just remember that you're eating for two."
B'Elanna smiled. "Have a good night, Captain."
"You do the same."
Bidding B'Elanna farewell, Janeway exited Engineering.
Lost in thought as he strolled the ship's corridor, Chakotay did not hear his name being called, and it wasn't until he stopped at the turbolift that his pursuer was able to reach him.
"Hey, Chakotay, hold up!"
The First Officer turned at the voice to see Tom Paris approaching him, and smiled in greeting. "Evening, Tom."
"I apologize for shouting, but I wanted to catch you before you got into the lift."
"What's on your mind?"
"I need your help," Tom said. "We're throwing B'Elanna a surprise baby shower."
"That's sounds like fun. What can I do to help?"
"In order to avoid her finding out about it, we're having it at Chez Neelix."
"The Mess Hall from the Doctor's colonization program?"
Tom nodded. "It's one of the few programs I know she won't suspect. I was hoping you could find a way to get her to the holodeck around 1900 hours the day after tomorrow. I'd do it myself, but I'll be helping Neelix with the decorations and the menu."
"I'm sure I can manage something. You realize, of course, that I'm going to have hell to pay tearing her away from Engineering."
"Tell me about it. Having her work sixteen hour shifts was bad enough before she got pregnant, but now it's taking an even heavier toll on her."
"Have you tried talking to her?" Chakotay asked.
Tom gave him an even look. "Have you ever tried talking to a Klingon who's beyond the mellow phase of pregnancy?" he asked. "I'd rather chew on broken glass while walking barefoot over molten rock."
"I see your point. Well, I suppose I could rearrange the duty rosters to make sure she works shorter shifts, and assign a few extra crewmen to Engineering. Discreetly, of course."
"Of course."
"I'll talk to the captain about the duty rosters, and I'll make certain your lovely bride arrives at the shower on time."
"Thanks, Chakotay, and remember to keep it hush-hush."
"I'm not the one who loses a dozen replicator rations weekly trying to keep on top of the ship's rumor mill."
"Ouch. That hurts, Commander."
"Good night, Tom."
Tom retreated in the direction he had come from just as the turbolift doors opened and Chakotay found himself face to face with Janeway.
"Good evening, Commander."
"Captain. Going my way?"
"Depends where you're headed."
"I was on my way to the Mess Hall to see what Neelix has invented for the evening meal," Chakotay clarified. "Would you care to join me?"
"On one condition," Janeway answered. "No talk about ship's business allowed."
Chakotay hid his surprise behind a smile. So it's going to be that kind of night, he mused silently. Aloud he said, "Sounds good to me."
Janeway smiled back and stepped aside as Chakotay stepped into the lift.
