Prologue

I hate doing laundry, she thought, taking wet, soppy clothes that reeked of bleach out of the clothes washer and throwing them into the adjacent dryer. I really don't understand why Mom insists on using these archaic devices when the laundromat a block away has newer machines...

Allucia threw the last of the clothes in the dryer. She stood on her tip-toes and took a fabric softener sheet out of a box on the tall dusty shelf above the two machines and threw it in the dryer. She slammed the door, then slammed her fist on the button to start the cycle.

As the young woman began to put the next load of clothes in the washer, the dryer suddenly stopped. It gave a high-pitched whine, then a low-pitched one before breaking down with an unhealthy rattle.

"Shit." she muttered. Stupid trap must be backed up... After finding the lint trap lint-free, she decided to check the other end. She opened the dryer and peered in, and put her upper body in the opening, since she could fit somewhat comfortably being as petite as she was. She tried to open the vent; but it seemed to be stuck.

As she went to pull at the vent again with more force, the dryer began to turn. Allucia cried out as the dryer began to turn faster and faster, her small frame getting injured inside and outside the dryer. She thought she saw a bright light before being rendered unconscious...

Chapter One

Meanwhile, on the USS Voyager...

It was a quiet, boring day on the Bridge. The Intrepid-class ship was traveling at half-impulse through a planetary system. Captain Kathryn Janeway was talking to Commander Chakotay about nothing in particular, and every once in a while, Lieutenant Tom Paris, her pilot, would throw in his smart-ass two cents. To which he would receive a rebuttal from Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres (chief engineer of Voyager and also Tom's girlfriend). Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, chief of security, merely raised an eyebrow at the emotional beings.

Ensign Harry Kim, at Operations, frowned over the sudden flux in his sensor readouts. "Captain, a wormhole just opened directly in front of us! Approximately 470 kilometers away from the deflector dish."

Kathryn immediately turned around from where she was sitting in her chair towards Harry, an intrigued but shocked expression on her face. She turned back around. "Mr. Paris, full stop," she said, standing up. She turned back towards Harry and walked up the few stairs towards his station. "Can you tell where it originates?" she asked him.

"Retuning sensors... judging by the chroniton particles and the oxygen dissipation I'd say it's a wormhole between time and space, five feet in diameter—" Harry's eyes widened at the incoming readouts. "Captain, something's emerging from the wormhole!"

Kathryn turned away from Ops and strode back down the steps to stand in the middle of the Bridge as Chakotay called "On screen!" as he arose to stand next to Kathryn.

The image of the wormhole, swirling blue and purple, appeared on screen. The Bridge was silenced as the unmistakable silhouette of a humanoid form drift out of the wormhole and into the blackness of space. The wormhole winked shut behind it. Kathryn swirled around to face the ensign at Ops once again, her actions in themselves asking for an explanation and demanding it. Harry looked up from his console, an expression of shock on his face. "It's human..."

"Beam that person directly to Sickbay!" she ordered.

Harry pressed the necessary controls. "Done."

"Tuvok, you have the Bridge. Chakotay, you're with me. You know where we'll be." Kathryn said as she and her first officer made their way to the turbolift.

"Doctor to Janeway," came the EMH's voice over comm.

The captain stopped in her tracks, lifting her hand up as if to stop Chakotay behind her. "Janeway here."

"Bring Mr. Paris with you to Sickbay," he said, knowing she would be on her way. "I require his assistance."

"Acknowledged. Janeway out." Kathryn said as Tom quickly got up from helm to join his commanding officers in the waiting turbolift.


"Mister Paris, get me 50 cc's of tri-oxine," the Doc ordered Tom immediately upon his entering of Sickbay. "She has been exposed to the vacuum of space and is currently not breathing." Without skipping a beat, Tom was almost immediately at the Doctor's side with the necessary hypospray, and the Doc administered it just as quickly as an alarm went off on the bed.

"My God Chakotay, she's just a child..." Kathryn whispered, putting her hand on her first officer's arm.

On the diagnostic bed lay a teenage girl. She had an alarmingly large bruise on her forehead and evidence of frozen blood along her jaw line, having originated from her eyes and been frozen in space and some other signs of the effects of decompression in space.

A second alarm went off on the bed. "She's flat-lined!" the Doctor called. "I need a cortical stimulator!" Tom quickly handed the appliance to the Doctor, who in turn attached it to the girl's forehead. He nodded to the pilot, who pressed a control on a nearby console. The young girl's body convulsed as electricity coursed through her body. The alarm continued to sound.

"Again!" the hologram called, looking up from the girl and to Tom. Her inert body once again trembled, and there was again no response. "Again!" the Doctor called, and for a third time the girl's prone body on the surgical bed lurched, but this time the alarm stopped; she now had a weak pulse, and took an involuntary gasp for air.

Everyone in Sickbay, biological and holographical alike, collectively breathed a sigh of relief. The Doc patted Tom on the shoulder. "Good job, Mr. Paris," he said to a visibly shaken and pale pilot who had just been through his first major emergency. Tom nodded, and stepped aside to catch his own breath.

"Doctor, what is her condition?" Chakotay said walking over, Kathryn joining him from where they had quietly been observing throughout the whole emergency. Kathryn went to the girl's side, Chakotay at the head of the bed, and the Holo-Doc on the other side scanning her with a tricorder. Kathryn looked at the girl worriedly for a moment before looking back up as the Doc began his report.

"She's lucky to be alive. If we had delayed any longer in getting her aboard she'd probably be dead. As it stands, it seems she was unconscious before exiting the wormhole, otherwise her lungs would have collapsed in the vacuum. However, she is breathing now, and on her own, although her pulse is weaker than I would like it to be," he said, running the medical sensor over her. "Once I take care of the rest of her injuries, I can wake her."

"Is there anything else you can tell us?" Chakotay inquired further.

The Doc nodded and went on with his analysis. "Seventeen years old, human, female. I could tell you more after a more complete physical."

Kathryn shook her head. "Let's not worry about that now. Treat her injuries and inform me of when you're going to wake her—I want to be here." She put an index finger on the console of the diagnostic bed to make her point. The Captain's mind was reeling. How could a young human girl just pop into open space unprotected in front of the only ship in the quadrant that just happened to have members of her species on it? This and many other related thoughts began to run at warp speed through Kathryn's brain.

The Doctor nodded. "Aye Captain. I'll contact you." he said as he turned back to his patient.

"Captain, could I have a word with you?" a slightly less pale Tom asked as she and Chakotay turned to leave Sickbay.

Kathryn stopped in mid-stride, nodding curtly to Chakotay to let him know to go on without her. "What is it, Lieutenant?"

"Did you happen to notice the clothes our young patient is wearing? Not exactly twentieth-fourth century attire, wouldn't you say?"

Kathryn had noticed, and was, quite frankly, baffled by the girl's attire. Tight fitting, shiny black pants, low cut so the girl's belly button was showing and a neon green shirt that seemed to be made from the same shiny material. She also had a small tattoo wrapped around her upper right arm and purple hair! And several metal objects in her ears... one in her nose... and one in her belly button. Her eyes widened at the girl's attire and as she realized where this was going, and moved a hand to her mouth, then moved it down to her chin. "You don't mean..."

Tom nodded. "I know this sounds far-fetched, but I think she's from the past. Harry did say it was a wormhole through time and space. I know I'm jumping to conclusions Captain, but those clothes remind me of our little excursion to Los Angeles two years ago." Tom explained. "Don't you think so?"

Kathryn nodded back, then turned back towards the Doctor. "Doctor, how long before you can wake her?"

"At least five hours," he responded. "She needs to rest."

The captain nodded her agreement again, and motioned to the pilot to leave. "I'll be on the Bridge." she said as she and Tom exited Sickbay together.


"Doctor to Janeway."

"Janeway here." Kathryn said, immediately sitting up straight. She had been attempting to relax in her Ready Room with a cup of coffee and a Mark Twain novel.

"I am ready to awaken our young visitor." he said.

"I'm on my way!"


Kathryn nodded to the Doctor; he in turn pressed a hypospray to the unconscious girl's neck, who was now in the standard blue Sickbay gown. All traces of makeup and jewelry were removed. What remained was a pale girl with purple hair. She had since been moved to one of the biobeds.

Her eyes fluttered open, revealing bright cerulean blue eyes, one might say even unnaturally so. Once they focused on her immediate surroundings, they widened and she bolted upright to a sitting position, startling captain and physician. She let out a frightened squeak and backed up on the biobed until she hit the end of the bed, making a loud crack as she made contact with the console. She drew her knees to her chest, whimpering.

"Now, remain calm," the Doctor said, reaching one hand out to the petrified girl. "You are all right."

"No I'm not, no-I'm-not-I'm-dead-or-dreaming-or-hallucinating..." she finally spoke at last, nearly too quickly to be understood. She buried her head in her hands and started to shake. After unsuccessfully trying to keep herself from sobbing, the shock must have become too great for her; the girl started to hyperventilate.

Kathryn looked to the Doctor with an alarmed look on her face. "Look, Miss, please calm down, we're not going to hurt you," she said, also attempting to calm the girl down.

But she only gazed back with those big frightened blue eyes, darting from the Doctor to Kathryn, and the Sickbay beyond, as though searching for something.

"Captain..." the Doctor began.

"Do it." Kathryn affirmed.

The hologram quickly applied another hypospray to the girl's neck. She promptly relaxed, collapsing onto Kathryn who had quickly moved to the head of the biobed to keep her from falling off. The Captain helped the Doctor lay the girl back down.

"That did not go well." the Doctor said.

"I'll say. I want to try again tomorrow." Kathryn said. "Contact me when you deem appropriate."

"Aye Captain," the Doctor said, nodding. Kathryn nodded back, quickly glanced at the cracked console, and turned and left Sickbay.


"Go ahead Doctor," Kathryn said, nodding. It was the next morning.

The Doctor nodded back, and again pressed a hypospray to the girl's neck. Her eyes slowly opened, widened as she saw the two concerned faces looking down at her, and tightly closed her eyes again as she began to tremble.

"Please tell me I'm dreaming," she said, taking a deep breath and clenching her hands into fists.

"I'm afraid not," said the Doctor.

"You're not going to hurt me, are you?" she whispered, her voice shaking.

The Captain and the Doctor exchanged a worried look. It was the hologram who spoke first. "Miss, I'm a doctor, and the only thing I am concerned with is your health." he said, trying to sound as reassuring as he could. This seemed to calm her somewhat, and she managed to stop shaking.

"May I speak with her alone, Doctor?" The Doc nodded and walked off. "What's your name, Miss?" Kathryn asked, helping the young girl to sit up.

She took a deep breath to calm herself. "A-A-Allucia. Allucia Banks."

"My name is Kathryn Janeway, Captain of the Starship Voyager." Kathryn got a blank stare in return, reinforcing Tom's theory that this girl wasn't from the 24th century.

"Um, starship?"

"I believe the Doctor is releasing you from our Sickbay later today. Why don't you come to my Ready Room then and we'll have a nice long chat?" Kathryn replied with a smile and a pat on the shoulder.

All the young girl could manage was a nod.


Later on that day, Allucia made her way to the Bridge, with directions given to her by the computer. She exited Sickbay and went down the hall where the turbolift was located.

In the turbolift she was thankfully alone. She was absolutely steaming and ready to blow. The Doctor, who she had come to realize was some type of projection, had tried to make her wear a dress. A dress. Thankfully, she'd figured out how to deactivate him and keep him that way for a while. She had always been a quick learner with computers. She donned her former outfit and jewelry and was still extremely pissed because she didn't have any makeup.

As Allucia went to brush an errant strand of hair behind her ears, her finger grazed the large faded bruise on her forehead. She flinched a little; but knew it didn't hurt as much as it would have without some treatment. Although she had no way of knowing that it would have been completely healed if she hadn't turned him off. The nearest the teenager could figure, she was in some super-secret government hide-out that was holding her prisoner and was just trying to make her believe she was in space.

The turbolift door opened, startling her out of her conspiracy theory. She jumped slightly, took a deep breath, and walked onto the Bridge.

The teenager's eyes widened. It was huge. Nearly forgetting herself to nervousness, she quickly walked down and to the left, her hands tightly balled into fists.

She made care not to make eye contact with anyone, so she looked at the floor. She knew all eyes were on her, so to speak. She knew if she looked at anyone, or anyone at her, she might lose her temper. Even though she had a foreboding feeling she was going to lose it regardless.

And they were. All of the Bridge crew was casting sidelong glances at her. What they saw, much to their surprise, was a teenage girl, about 5'3". She was quite pale, with circles under her large blue eyes, and a large faded bruise on her forehead. And wearing one of the most outlandish outfits they had ever seen.

After what seemed like an eternity, Allucia reached the door to the Ready Room. She pressed the sensor. She heard a muffled "Come," and the doors swished open. Allucia quickly went in.

"Hello Allucia," Kathryn said. She was standing by the replicator. "Would you like anything to drink? Pick anything."

Allucia shook her head, it was more of a quick jerk, she was tense. "I'm fine," she said through clenched teeth, trying to ignore the fact that the stars she could be streaking by through the large bay windows looked oddly realistic, but then reminded herself she could probably do the same thing on her computer at home. She just didn't have high-definition plasma monitors to make it look realistic.

Kathryn frowned. "Surely, there is something you would like."

Allucia sighed, and cast her eyes towards the ceiling. "Kiwi strawberry cocktail—ya know, juice?" she said, wondering if this woman was going to pull a drink out of thin air.

"Of course." Kathryn turned to the replicator. "Computer, two drinks: one coffee, mocha, hot, and one juice, kiwi strawberry, chilled." The requested beverages appeared in a swirl of molecules. Kathryn picked up both drinks, and handed the tall glass to Allucia, who was gawking at how the beverages had appeared out of thin air, then gestured at the nearby couch. Kathryn sat down. "Please, sit down."

"I'm fine." There is no way whatever just appeared is real... I ain't drinking that stuff.

The Captain thought for a moment; there was so much she wanted to know, but Miss Banks was being difficult. She decided to start out simple. "Why don't you tell me about who you are and where you're from?" she suggested, taking a sip of her coffee.

Allucia sighed. This Janeway sure was persistent. "I was born in the U.S., in Montana, in 2023. Then when the parents split, I went with my ma to Brooklyn, that's in New York."

Kathryn quickly did the math in her head. "So you're from the year 2040..." Kathryn said quietly, intrigued.

The teenager crossed her arms and leaned against the wall next to the replicator, moving the glass in her hand so that she was holding it by the upper rim. "Last time I rememba." She sighed. "Youz gonna send me home, right?"

The older woman sighed. This adolescent was reminding her of Seven when she first came aboard. Except that her attitude was worse than Seven's. Not that the former Borg had an attitude problem, it was more that she did not want to adapt at first. "Truthfully, Miss Banks―"

"Call me Lusha."

"As you like," Kathryn said, nodding. "Truthfully, Lusha, I don't think it's possible unless we are able to reopen the wormhole. And if we can't, then I'm afraid you are stuck here with us." And I don't know who is going to be worse offus or Miss Banks. First Seven, now possibly her?

Allucia's face twisted into a scowl. "Stuck here? And what the hell is a wormhole?" She made a dismissive gesture and started pacing the room, her temper beginning to let loose. "Youz jus' like everyone else, assuming I'm somebody I'm ain't, and that I can jus' accept dis?!" she said, her voice rising with everyone word. "I don't think so! I don't even believe I'm on a spaceship! So why don't you lemme out of your top-secret bunka an' send me da hell home!"

Kathryn's eyes widened as she both realized her mistake and went to apologize but also at the girl's ludicrous imagination; but Allucia cut her off. "Miss Banks—"

"Don't 'Miss Banks' me!" Allucia threw her glass of juice and it shattered on the large bay window behind the Captain. "Get me da hell home! Mah Daddy is inna military and I can make sure he can put youz away for a long time for kidnappin' me once he finds out about this!"

That did it. Kathryn Janeway's Patience ran out. She stood up and fixed Allucia with one of her glares. "You are out of line, miss, and I am not going to take it." Before the teenager had a chance to respond, she tapped her combadge. "Tuvok, report to my Ready Room immediately." Kathryn glared at the teenager for a moment before Tuvok walked in.

"Yes, Captain?" he inquired, emotionless as usual. He nor Kathryn noticed Allucia's momentary astonishment at seeing an alien with pointed ears until she buried herself in denial again. But it didn't last long as the Captain's next statement got her temper up again.

"Escort Miss Banks to the brig. She is out of line and is becoming increasingly hostile."

"What!?" Allucia said, half-shrieking. "I knew you wanted to lock me up!"

Tuvok nodded. "Aye, Captain." He walked over to Allucia and took her by the arm. She didn't budge, and tried to twist her way out of the security officer's grip. But it was of no use; his arms were like steel. Tuvok merely raised an eyebrow. Allucia tried another tactic. She went to punch the Vulcan, but he easily caught her fist in his hand. She decided to try one last thing. She went to kick him in the knee cap, but had hardly raised her foot when everything went black.

Tuvok picked up the unconscious teenager whom he had nerve-pinched, and left the Ready Room without a further word.


"As you all know, we have a young visitor aboard," Kathryn began the meeting about an hour later, a grim look on her face. "I spoke with her, and she was a bit difficult... to say the least. I called this meeting to discuss our options; what are we going to do with this child? Do we try and integrate her into the crew?" Kathryn couldn't help but glance at Seven as she said this. "Or do we look for a way to send her home?

"Here is some background on her; what I was able to find out before her excursion to the brig. Her name is Allucia Banks; she is a teenager, from Earth, from the 21st century; more specifically, the year 2040. And she thinks she's in some top secret government bunker on Earth and refuses to believe her current situation."

"Seven years before Apollo Racer was frozen," Tom commented. At the Captain's bemused glance, he explained further. "He was a pilot as well; I would visit the museum where his ship, the Starfighter 1 was housed and basically press my face against the forcefield in awe." Tom blushed to the tip of his ears at this admission while B'Elanna smirked behind his back. Kathryn threw a smile at Chakotay; it was easy to see him doing that.

"I believe Mister Kim may have an explanation as to how Miss Banks came to us," she said, motioning to Harry, then sitting down as the Ops officer stood. He walked to the small viewscreen in the corner of the room, a PADD in his hand. Pressing some buttons on the pad, he then pressed a button adjacent to the screen and a wire diagram of the wormhole appeared.

Harry cleared his throat. "I've found that the wormhole that brought Miss Banks here was indeed through space and time." he said. "However, I cannot determine how the wormhole formed or if it is artificial or not. If it's not artificial, I believe the formation of the wormhole was a random occurrence and cannot be recreated," he continued, his statement causing surprised looks and raised eyebrows around the room.

Kathryn had a thoughtful look on her face, resting her chin in one hand. "Are you sure that it is not possible to send her home?"

"Very sure, Captain. If it's artificial, it's beyond our technology to duplicate. If she's from the 29th century, she's hiding it very well. If she's not, well, I'm really at a loss to explain how she got here without help."

The CO sighed. To her right, Chakotay spoke. "It seems as though we have no choice; she'll have to stay with us." he said.

Kathryn cast her eyes over to Tuvok. "What do you think, Commander?"

"If she were from this quadrant, I would have suggested we attempt to locate her home. However, the Commander is right. If Earth is truly all she knows, then she should stay on board. Her denial seems pretty sincere and is comparable to reactions from less-advanced cultures exposed to similar situations. As I recall, government paranoia was quite common in her time period, so her reaction is not all that surprising. Other than that, all that is needed is to teach her some discipline."

Kathryn gave a curt nod, then stood up. "Then it's decided then. She's here for the duration. Dismissed."


Later that day, the Captain escorted Allucia to her quarters. She was out of the brig on the condition, in the Captain's words, "That she didn't mouth off to anyone." "Welcome to your humble abode," Kathryn said as she turned around, holding her arms out to the side and bowing slightly.

"Sure is humble." Allucia mumbled, and got a mock death glare in reply. In truth, it was about the same size as her own room at home, except the extra space where she had a bathroom. The perimeter in the room was about three meters squared. On the far wall there was elevated bed in with a desk underneath, against the left wall was a small sofa with a low table. On the right wall was the entrance to the bathroom. Unsurprisingly, there were no windows, so the teenager felt they were still deceiving her. But after regaining consciousness in the brig, she decided to cooperate with these 'starship' people...for now.

"I'm sure the past few days have been strange and exhausting for you, Allucia." Kathryn said evenly, mentally counting to ten, then smiled. "Consider yourself under orders to get some rest. Tomorrow, I've arranged for you to take a short jaunt about the ship in a small shuttle with my pilot, Lieutenant Paris, so you can see how big it really is."

Allucia merely nodded, crossing her arms, deciding she'd pick apart at that particular deception when the time came. "Rest is a luxury virtually un-be-knownst to me."

Kathryn frowned. She thought that only applied to starship captains, not teenage girls. She had to be joking. But she had noticed the dark circles under her blue eyes, her pale complexion augmenting them. "You're a young girl," Kathryn began, but Allucia cut her off.

"You try sleeping when you spend half your nights on the streets of Brooklyn," Allucia replied tersely. "I'd be lucky to get more than five hours of sleep a night."

"Goodness," Kathryn said. "How do you function like that?"

Allucia shrugged. "Caffeine, stimulants, drugs, whatever."

"I see..." Kathryn responded. She recalled the EMH telling her of all the narcotics he had to purge from her system, and how much other medication he had to put her on to keep her from going into withdrawal. "Well, you'll be able to sleep as much as you like for the next few days. If you need anything, use the computer to contact me or the Doctor."

Her only answer was a nod, as Allucia sat down on the couch. Kathryn turned to leave.

"Thank you," the captain heard as the doors opened.

She turned around. "You're welcome," she replied. Quirking a smile, she nodded to her new ward and left the room.

After Kathryn left, Allucia let a few minutes pass and then decided she was going to test the door. It hissed open as she approached. This made her paranoid, so she decided to stay put. She was pretty sleepy anyway. In fact, she was getting pretty close to being forced to admit she was exhausted.

She explored her room a little more and discovered a small closet built into the right-hand wall, which already had some pajamas in her size... as well as what looked like some casual clothes, except this time no dresses. The teenager smirked to herself. At least they were fast learners. She grabbed a sleeveless tee and a pair of matching boxers. She might as well change. She'd been in her vinyl pants and shirt so long she was really beginning to smell.

After peeling off her clothing and putting on the less-sweaty cotton pajamas, she crawled into bed and was asleep sooner than she would have cared to admit.