Hi all. This isn't my first story, but it is my first submission in the Star Trek fandom. This series was inspired by the scene in Shattered with the adult Naomi and Icheb, along with the stories on this website by Lady Dudley, Tiamat100, MavFan, and dalaire.
Protection
Bright lights flashed erratically as the majestic ship shuddered with every detonation of the enemy weapon.
"Red Alert. All hands to battle stations," the computer droned in her metallic voice.
Icheb scowled crossly as he proceeded though the hallways, methodically dodging sprinting crewmen rushing to their posts. If he had been allowed his own post at a station he would be using the best of his abilities to defend the ship he called home. With all of the cumulative knowledge of the Borg collective accessible to him, and what was he doing? Being sent to the cargo bay like a scolded child.
Seven had cited his immature age despite his high intellect as an impediment to his usefulness. Just because he needed a few more years in a maturation chamber didn't mean he was a hindrance on a battleship! He was thankful for a place in the ship, honestly he was, but what he really desired was a purpose.
The alarms blared again, and the spacecraft gave another violent jolt. Icheb struggled to maintain his footing. Only his Borg enhanced exoskeleton kept him from falling flat on his face. It was becoming dangerous to remain in the corridors. He picked up the pace to make it to safety, but his thoughts wandered.
If he had a role on the ship…
Maybe he would be assisting the doctor with a life-saving medical procedure. Or in engineering milking every neutrino in the warp core for an iota of power to escape an enemy. Or on the bridge itself advising the captain on strategic maneuvers. What a purpose that would be!
He walked with a brisk stride, not a run, of course, because a respectable crewman does not run.
A small noise picked up by his enhanced cybernetic hearing gave him pause. It sounded like a cry. Was someone injured?
The ship shook again with turbulence. Thinking quickly Icheb knew he had to access the situation before the crewman and his own situation got too dire. He peered around the corridor only to see absolute chaos. A fallen bulkhead had completely blocked off the corridor with plasma venting in thick clouds.
"Hello?"
Icheb took a quick scan of the area. The blaring klaxons and venting bulkhead made concentrating difficult, but months of Tuvok's Vulcan meditation practices allowed him the extra life altering second. A flash of brown hair, so familiar amongst the small, close knit Voyager crew met his eyes.
"Naomi!" he called out.
She was not supposed to be here in danger! Either her godfather, Neelix, or her mother, Ensign Samantha Wildman, was supposed to take care of her during emergencies. Did something happen to them?
"Icheb!" Her face was white with fear, though she struggled not to show it. She would not cry! Future captain's assistants do not cry!
"Icheb! I tried to go to my quarters, but the bulkhead collapsed!"
The Brunalian gave a sharp nod quickly assessing her dilemma. It was illogical and dangerous for her to squeeze through any gap to make it to her standard safe locations. So what do you do when both ways were closed?
You take a third option.
"Come with me!"
The ship gave another sickening lurch. The gravity stabilizers must be taking a beating today.
He scooped her up in his arms, taking long steps as he made his way through the empty corridor. It was fortunate he had taken this pathway and discovered Naomi. Would she have been stuck in this empty hallway all alone while bedlam loomed around her?
Hot tears soaked through the shoulder of his uniform as the stress of her ordeal caught up with the little half-Ktarian. "I thought you were a hunting Hirogen or macrovirus."
Icheb rolled his eyes. He knew how doting a godfather Neelix was, but the Talaxian's stories often went too far, especially with a child with Naomi's exceptional imagination. Even with her rapid growth and half-alien DNA, she was still a little girl.
He turned a final corner until the welcomed sight of Cargo Bay Two met his eyes. The bay doors opened with a soft hiss. Both breathed a sigh of relief as the reinforced doors closed, muffling the shrill alarms and warnings. Icheb released his light burden to the ground.
Naomi peered around her surroundings. It was as sparse and blank as before Icheb and Seven came on board the Federation ship, except for the addition of their regeneration alcoves off to the side, and a Kadis Kot board ready for action.
Icheb gave a glance at the shaken girl. There was no way she would be in the mood for a game. She had sunk to the ground leaning against the wall with arms wrapped around knobby knees.
The former-Borg knew it was time for his regeneration, but he couldn't leave his friend alone until she and the ship were safe. He took the same position as her, but instead stretched his long legs straight in front of him. To Harry Kim's chagrin, the young former drone was already surpassing the ensign's height.
He felt Naomi shiver beside him. How idiotic of him! It was a full three degrees colder than the rest of the ship, in order to keep the alcoves functioning at peak efficiency. He drew her into his side, figuring it was logical to share body heat. Naomi sighed as she sank into the warmth of Icheb's body.
They sat together in silence calming their racing hearts. Their minds, on the other hand, were filled with concern for their crewmates and loved ones.
"Megan Delaney asked me if I was excited to be closer to home," Naomi said, breaking the quiet. She liked the twins. They often joked with her, and were willing to join in a holoprogram if she asked.
Icheb was surprised at the girl's statement. "But Voyager is home."
"Exactly!" Naomi's agitated voice carried throughout the empty cargo bay. She clearly had been mulling over the statement for a long time.
The young man had long ceased to think of the Brunali world as his home. Not being welcomed by his own parents did little to endear him to the agrarian society. The few years he spent with the Borg after assimilation (thankfully being unconscious during the ordeal) consisted entirely of being suspended in a Borg maturation chamber. It wasn't until his rescue by Voyager that he really began to live – to be his own self and not as a tool for or against the Borg.
He drew Naomi closed to him, subconsciously, glad that she had been surrounded all of her life by people who loved her. All around her would fight tooth and nail to protect her.
He realized in the prolonged silence that he had been mulling over their conundrum for too long. "Home is where those who care about you are. Voyager is only a ship. It's the people within that make a difference."
His companion gave a soft little sigh. "Everyone talks so much about how glad they'll be to get back."
Icheb glanced at the girl shrewdly, slowly voicing his thoughts. "I believe the closer we travel to the Alpha Quadrant, the more the crewmembers speak of it. It is approaching the saturation point." He revised his statement, seeing her confusion. "Remember how disappointed I was at our last meeting with Flotter? You built up how great the ending to Flotter versus the Volcano was to me in great excess prior to our time at the holosuite."
She flushed to the tips of her spikes. It wasn't her fault he figured the solution so quickly!
He gave her a small smile, one that only a few close crewmembers could coax out of him. "You'll enjoy Earth when we get there, through your own eyes. You'll see your father, and where your mother grew up."
It was her turn to turn inquisitive eyes towards him. "You don't know anyone on Earth!" she realized.
Even Seven had an aunt and a few relatives back in Sector 000, and the Doctor had his creator, cranky as the man could be. Icheb shrugged carefully watching Naomi's head bob up and down with the movement.
"I know Earth through everyone's stories. I'm looking forward to seeing my adoptive homeworld with my own eyes."
There was Starfleet Command, the Academy, the great rainforests that Chakotay talked about. If not Earth, even Vulcan and the Klingon homeworld, lands that Tuvok and B'lanna's spent their youth on were only a short spaceflight away.
"I'll introduce you to my father! He's stationed on Deep Space 9." Naomi chattered on telling Icheb everything her mother had told of her father, eventually wearing herself out to sleep.
He pulled her more comfortably against his side. Secretly he tucked Naomi's story away into his eidetic memory. Hers perhaps more so than the other crew members was special to him. The two children were similar, with no memories of a homeworld held so dear to their fellow crewmembers. He stared off across the bay unable to sleep without his regeneration chamber, but unwilling to wake his companion.
Icheb could picture it. If… When Voyager reached Earth, and everyone was reunited with their friends and families, a persistent little Naomi would drag him by the hand to see her much beloved father. She would know that home wasn't a flying ship, or a blue and green planet.
The bay doors opened with a hiss. Seven of Nine walked in with long strides.
"You should be regenerating," the blonde drone scolded him, but the words died upon seeing Naomi Wildman curled up beside him. She gave her mentee an arched look, accentuated by the Borg implants above her eyebrow.
She tapped her combadge, "Seven to Ensign Wildman. Naomi is in cargo bay two."
"Naomi? I'm on my way," was the answering response tinged with worry.
In no time at all, the young mother entered the bay with relief. She listened to Icheb's tale with horror. She had no idea the fallen bulkhead had cut off all access to Naomi's safe havens. The woman gave her daughter's rescuer a grateful look.
"Icheb, could you watch over Naomi if this happens again? I don't want her sitting all alone in her quarters when the ship is in danger." In an event like an evacuation, it would help if her little one had a guide to the escape crafts.
Icheb contemplated the Ensign's request. It would be a great responsibility. Not as lauded as being on the bridge or in Medical Bay, but a responsibility nevertheless.
"I will, Ensign Wildman. I'll look after Naomi."
The grateful woman gave her thanks again carrying the sleeping girl in her arms and out of the cargo bay.
Seven gave him a sharp nod of approval, as the two entered their alcoves. It was high approval coming from the formidable woman.
As Icheb prepared for his rest, he final thoughts too rested with the girl. He would protect Naomi, even if her mother hadn't asked. It would guarantee seeing her smiling face when they landed on Earth. Together, they were sure to find a definition of home off of Voyager.
There will be about seven chapters setting throughout Naomi's childhood to adult life. It will definitely be a romance with mention of Chakotay/Janeway and Seven/Doctor pairings.
Please review,
Grignard