Title: Taking Advantage (from "Voyager Virtual Season 7.5")

Author: DianeB

Rating: G

A/N: This story was written for the "Voyager Virtual Season 7.5" fanfiction endeavor, and is part of a much larger story from VVS7.5's Season Two, Episode 28b, titled, "In the Arms of Family (Part II)." Taking place on Deep Space Nine, it describes a plan Colonel Kira Nerys cooks up to turn the sensationalized return of Voyager into a press event of another stripe entirely. Originally written in July, 2002, and revised in May, 2007, for posting on this site.

I highly recommend you Google Voyager Virtual Season 7.5 and start reading from the top. It's a mighty impressive piece of work and deserves your eyes.

"Bloody hell," Colonel Kira muttered, using one of the epithets so favored by the station's former Chief Engineer, Miles O'Brien. By the Prophets, she missed Miles! He'd only returned to Earth a short while ago, but it seemed like decades since she'd seen him or his family.

Instead of succumbing to musing about the past, she gave herself a mental shake and dragged her eyes back to the vidscreen on her desk, to the list of messages waiting there for her, the top one flagged "high priority" and blinking rapidly.

Pointedly ignoring the screen, Kira grabbed Sisko's baseball off its little stand, leaned back in her chair, and began tossing it into the air and catching it, now musing about the Large Current Event.

The docking clamps were barely secure around Voyager and already it was chaos on her station. Subspace communications were off the scale, Quark's was standing-room only, and in an astonishingly short period of time, the press had descended in their usual predatory fashion, trying to get the scoop on the mighty starship that had returned from the dead. Not that she wasn't glad to see Voyager back, but her cynical mind couldn't help but grouse about the timing. "You had to wait until after the war, huh?" she said, speaking aloud as she usually did when alone in her office. "You couldn't have made it a few years earlier?"

Sighing, Kira returned to the no-longer-avoidable task at hand, reluctantly opening the first message, which was a terse recording from one Commander Claude Jean Craig. She recognized the shops in the background as those near the wall of public vidphones on the Promenade, and there were people just everywhere. The ID line on the message named him as Press Liaison for Starfleet's Department of News & Information, which she already knew. He was supposed to be the guy in charge of containing the press, but from what she could see, he wasn't doing a very good job of it.

"Colonel Kira, this is Commander Craig, with the Starfleet Department of News & Information," he began, identifying himself unnecessarily. "You should know that Voyager crewmembers have been ordered not to speak to the press. While I cannot order you or anyone else on Deep Space Nine not to talk to the press, I would suggest you take it under strong advisement, since I'm sure you know as well as I do how rumors and innuendo can too often be mistaken for truth. Thank you." The screen froze.

Yeah, right. Like she could stop Quark – or Harry Kim's mother, for that matter – from talking to someone from the FNN or even the Risian Ribald Daily.

"Bloody hell," Kira said again, leaning forward and whipping the baseball across the room. It hit the door with a satisfying thump and flew immediately back toward her. She snatched it from the air in a well-practiced move, placed it reverently back onto its stand, and stood, addressing the deaf and dumb vidscreen.

"Commander Craig, Mister Press Liaison, I wish I had ten minutes to explain to you just what it is we're trying to do around here – which is not playing wet nurse to some prodigal ship that didn't even have the decency to be around when we needed her—"

Kira stopped abruptly and blinked at the screen. What in the Nine Orbs was she going on about? She didn't have to explain anything to Craig, nor did she have to pay any attention to his precious "suggestion." The station was crawling with media of every size and species! This was her chance to explain to the entire Federation (and then some) just exactly what it was they were trying to do around here. She slapped her commbadge.

"Kira to Ro."

:::Yes, Colonel?:::

Ears less trained than Kira's might not have picked up the moment's hesitation that could not be explained as a communications delay. Ro, as the station's Chief of Security, was preoccupied, something Kira well recognized from her days working with Odo.

She hated to disturb the Lieutenant, given the way things were progressing on the station, but she needed her. Not for the first time, she felt a stab of sympathy for what Sisko had had to go through as captain. "You got a minute?"

This time there was no hesitation. :::I'll be right there.:::

Kira barely allowed Ro to gain the office before she started talking. Now that she'd had the idea, she felt the clock ticking.

"Is the lecture hall on the habitat ring available now? You know, the one with the newly upholstered seats? How fast do you think you can set up an unofficial press conference?" She paused for a breath and noticed with some chagrin that Ro was still standing by the door. She waved her in. "Sorry, Laren. Come in, sit down."

Amused, but obviously curious about her superior's line of questioning, Ro fell into the chair opposite Kira's desk and answered her, without having to check the calendar. "Yeah, it's available. An "unofficial" press conference, huh?" She eyed Kira suspiciously. "I've been hearing we're not supposed to be talking—"

"No," Kira cut her off. "It's been suggested that we not talk to the press about Voyager, and, believe me, that's about all the closer Starfleet better come to ordering this station to do anything. But the way I see it, there's no reason we can't talk to the press about other things. Prophets, Laren, don't you see? We can use the hell out of this! We can tell the whole quadrant what's been going on out here, starting with the twice-rotten conditions on Bajor and how the damn Cardassians are using up resources that should rightfully belong to Bajor for the damage they did during the Occupation! The press'll eat it up."

Ro nodded, obviously in complete agreement. "Sounds like a plan to me, boss."

Kira's voice softened. "And we're not going to stop there. We're also going to remind them about the Maquis – not just the ones on Voyager, but all of them. Remind them the Occupation is over, the war is over, and that these people need to have their lives back, that children need to have their mommies and daddies back."

Ro shifted in her chair, but did not say anything. Kira pretended not to notice.

"We can use this whole mess to our advantage, but we've got to move quickly if we want to be heard. The instant Starfleet sends for Voyager, we're screwed."

Ro leaned forward in the chair and huffed derisively. "Funny you should mention that, Colonel. It's possible we've got plenty of time for a press conference. There's been no word from Starfleet about getting Voyager's crew back to Earth. I mean, there's been lots of subspace communications, but it's all personal, mostly Voyager crew talking to family. I noticed one communiqué to Janeway from Hayes, but that's been it. And since Janeway didn't turn around and give us a departure date, I guess that wasn't the summons to return. You got any idea what's going on?"

Kira paused a moment to consider Ro's words, and then shook them off. She stood, and Ro stood with her. "No, and it doesn't matter. Get out of here and grab as many press reps as you can on the way to the hall. Tell them you've got a story for them. Oh, and Laren," Kira paused and smiled wickedly, turning the vidscreen around so Ro could see it. "Be sure to keep clear of our pal, Commander Craig. I have a feeling he won't take kindly to what we're doing."

Ro glanced at the screen and snickered. "I have a feeling you're probably right." She turned to leave and then turned back, pausing uncharacteristically. Kira recognized the move.

"Something more, Lieutenant?"

Another hesitation and then, "Ah…no."

Kira knew whatever it was, it was probably far from "Ah…no," but she wasn't about to press her. If it was station business, Ro would advise her whenever she felt it was time. And if it wasn't, then it wasn't any of her business. Either way, she trusted Ro and that was all that mattered. "All right then. I'll meet you in the hall in ten minutes."

END

End Notes: 1. If you want to know what was causing Ro's hesitation, you'll need to read VVS7.5! 2. This writer extends a challenge: Since VVS7.5 was all about Voyager, the press conference arranged by Kira and Ro was never documented. If you think you have it in you, I invite you to write out this conference. Be sure to let me know if you post it.