Reunion
Disclaimer- I don't own Voyager, Naomi, Icheb, etc.! They belong to Paramount.
Chapter 1: Prologue
(Icheb's POV)
"Green, 8." Naomi said after she put the last green piece right where it should be, with a smug look on her face. Only one more move and she would win, in two different areas. I already lost. I let out a sigh, and put a piece in one of the two areas. Of course I was letting her win; I could have stopped her from doing that 3 turns ago.
"Red, 12."
"Kadis-kot!" Naomi exclaimed, excited she won.
"Indeed." I said, pretending to be a little disappointed.
"Don't worry; you'll win next time, Icheb..." Naomi replied, observing my facial expression.
'Noted' I thought, while saying "Computer, what is the time?"
"1149 hours."
"We require nutrition soon. We should report to the Mess Hall."
"Yeah, then we can go see Neelix!" She said, smiling as she got up. I uncrossed my legs; I was unsure why they had a tingling sensation. We exited the Cargo Bay and headed to the turbo lift.
"Deck 2" I tell the computer, a chirp sounded. As soon as we leave the turbo lift, Naomi clasps my hand and run toward Mess Hall- for me it's a brisk walk. Neelix was busy in the kitchen preparing lunch for various crew members. "We will order from the replicator, Neelix is occupied" I said, but I look down at Naomi and she looks unsatisfied with my suggestion. "Fine, we will wait." She smiles again, and I smile too- her joy is contagious. Sooner than I predicted, we reach the front of the lineup.
"What will it be? We have Leola Root soup, roasted Chadre'kab, and oh- some French Onion soup I whipped up a few hours ago."
"Leola soup, please!" Naomi requested, and it was hard to understand why she enjoyed it. I sometimes ate it- taste is irrelevant, but the majority of the crew grimaced at the thought of it.
"French… that's a culture on Earth, correct?" I asked Neelix.
"Yes… their food is most delightful! I'll get you a bowl!" He exclaimed, reaching in the back for our meals. "Here we are…" he says as he passes us our bowls and spoons. "Enjoy!"
"We will." Naomi remarks, then turns to find a table. "There's Seven!" She whispers, and we go over to sit with her. "Morning, Seven!"
'Good morning…" Seven mumbles without looking up from her padd.
"What are you working on?" I ask.
"I am studying Astronomical data…" She replied.
"Find anything interesting?" Naomi asked.
"A subspace instability… several light-years from here." She said, concerned.
"Are you implying there's a wormhole near?" I asked.
"Perhaps… I need to report to Astrometrics."
"Bye…" Naomi said as Seven sped out of the Mess Hall.
"Naomi… what do you think of returning to Earth?" I asked her.
"Well… let's just say I hope that's a false alarm." She said, obviously referring to the possible wormhole. She added "Voyager's my home… I don't understand why everybody's crazy about Earth…"