Hi everyone! Thank you so much for the great reviews, you all rock! Sorry I missed posting a chapter last week. Sometimes life happens, dang it! Here is the latest, hope you like :)


Harry Kim hunched over the table in the mess hall cupping a mug filled with cold coffee. The Ensign did not break his brooding focus on the black pit of flavored water the inside the glass, even when his long time friend Tom Paris took the seat beside him. Tom slapped Harry on the back playfully. Harry lowered his shoulders and glowered at his friend.

"Cheer up Harry. Earth is only six weeks away."

Harry continued to send Tom a warning glare that made obvious his discontent with the morning. Harry was tired, but he couldn't sleep. Earth was too close for sleep to be his companion. He was usually a morning person, but today he felt the urge to punch Tom across his slack jawed smile simply for being a morning person.

For all pretenses Tom seemed to be in a cheery mood, but upon closer study Harry could make out signs of something else. Tom's hair, matted in front and standing straight up in back, and his eyes, rimmed with red told a different story than the cock grin he wore. Harry guessed Tom must have been up all night with his new born daughter.

"Then why are we just standing still? Who cares if the Calypso wants to escort us in, we've already wasted a day of travel," Harry complained. Earth was so close he could almost taste the salty San Francisco air, and yet Captain Janeway for some reason had yet to fire up the engines. Granted, Harry had made lifelong friendships aboard the ship, and grown as a person...one might even say he changed from a boy to a man, but he was ready for the journey to be over. Done. Finished. End of story. He wanted to be home.

"Relax Harry, politics take time," Tom replied. Harry hunched his shoulders and went back to staring into the pit of the coffee cup.

"All this waiting around is driving me crazy," he grumbled without looking at Tom, "Janeway should just leave the Calypso behind. They are slowing us down." Yes, Harry felt sorry for himself and frankly, he didn't care who knew it. His shift on the bridge was due to start soon and he wanted to get all of his annoyance at the Captain out before he had to greet her face to face.

"If it makes you feel any better, Janeway isn't too popular out our house either," Tom offered. His tone was light and jovial and he rested his elbows on the table like an eager kid. Harry knew differently. He knew the implications of that statement.

"I heard about the blow up in Engineering," Harry finally looked up, offering his friend a glance of sympathy. Though he felt for his friend, he relished the fact his misery had found some company.

"You can imagine how B'Elenna has been. I spent the evening listen to her complain about Janeway's unfair treatment, not caring if she is, then decided she couldn't live without it. On top of that Miral was up half the night crying, and B'Elenna was MIA. I'll tell you Harry, the sooner we get home the better off my sanity will be," Tom ranted. Somehow Harry felt a little better about his problems. At least he hadn't been relieved of duty.

"B'Elenna is due for a shift in Engineering this morning. The captain still hasn't reinstated her?" Harry asked, letting his surprise show through. B'Elenna must have really pissed Janeway off this time. Tom ran a hand through his already messy hair.

"Nope."

The word hovered between them. Neither of them said anything, and finally Neelix, who had been making the rounds stopped at their table.

"Good morning, Ensign, Lieutenant," Neelix's voice was a bit too cheerful. Great, Harry thought, another morning person. He clenched his fist under the table.

"You both look a little down and with earth only 100 light years away," Neelix playfully scolded them.

The Talaxian leaned forward slightly as if trying to force his cheer through the air and onto them. Harry smirked, disturbed at having his moment of self pity with Tom disturbed.

Neelix opened his mouth, probably about to impart some ancient Talaxian words of wisdom, but a noise from behind made him stop and turn. Ensign Tal Celes jogged into the mess hall, and stopped just short of crashing into Neelix. She held a padd in one hand, and with the other used the table to stop her momentum. She rounded the chairs, stumbling slightly and then held out the padd to Harry.

"I am so relieved I found you," Celes said, in between breathes of air. "I forgot to give you these sensor readings from Astrometics yesterday, and I didn't want to have to face Seven this morning. If looks could assimilate..." she explained to Harry, waiving the padd in the air.

Harry tried to take it from her unsuccessfully. Finally she stopped talking, turned a shade of pink at the slightly rude comment and then with shoulders humbled handed Harry the information.

"Not like I need them. Janeway doesn't seem in a hurry to get moving," Harry grumbled, scrolling over the information.

"I doubt that," Celes mumbled almost too quietly to hear. Harry ignored the flighty, and in Seven's words, inefficient crew member, as did Tom. Neelix however, did not let the comment pass. Perhaps it was his Talaxian curiosity.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked with furry eyebrows lifted. The question seemed innocent enough, but Celes turned even more pink. This caught Harry's attention, he looked up from the padd to study her.

"Oh, nothing," she waived her hands and took a step backwards. Tom and Harry exchanged glances.

"Come on Celes, spill the beans," Tom said. Still, the young Ensign shook her head, refusing to speak. "That's an order," Tom added.

The tactic seemed to work. She looked between the three of them and then sat in the chair as if the action took a tremendous load off her feet.

"It's just…I mean…I thought I saw," she stumbled over the words like she had over the chair only moments ago.

"Thought you saw what?" Neelix encouraged. His friendly manager seemed to help draw the words from Celes.

"Last night, I saw the Commander going to the Captain's quarters," she finally said and sighed.

"So, what is so special about that?" Harry shrugged.

"He wasn't in uniform, and he had…" Celes looked almost guilty, like she was tattling on her best friend, "flowers."

Harry, Tom and Neelix all looked at each other. Harry dismissed the Bajorn's words right away. Obviously she was making mountains out of mole hills.

"What does that have to do with getting home?" Neelix questioned. Sometimes he could be as dense as the plasma in the warp core injectors.

Celes did not answer, but instead looked to Tom as if expecting him to make the reply.

"Nothing," Tom said. He turned to Neelix, "As Tuvok would say, the Ensign is jumping to illogical conclusions based on limited data. The flowers were probably from the crew of the Calypso, as part of the welcome," Tom said.

"And the Captain and Commander occasionally meet after hours to discuss personnel matters," Harry added.

"Probably talking about B'Elenna," Tom scoffed and then stood up. "And speaking of my wife, Harry we better get to the bridge before Janeway relieves us too."

Harry stood with padd in hand and gave one last glance to Celes. She had sunk down into the chair, and Harry had a hard time reading her expression. Somehow, despite their reassurances Celes looked unconvinced. Harry thought about mentioning the incident to the Captain, as unfounded rumors had a way of blowing out of proportions on a ship so small.

On second thought he dismissed the idea, concluding the fact was too insignificant to really do any damage. The thought of the Captain and Commander as anything more than co-workers and friends just wasn't plausible. Harry knew them both to well to think anything differently. He took one last sip of cold coffee and head to the bridge with Tom.


Janeway went to the briefing room about fifteen minutes before the Calypso crew was to arrive. She was anxious to get the ship moving again, and she was in enough in touch with her crew to know they were sitting on the edge of their seats. Harry especially seemed anxious to get back underway, though he tried to hide his irritation about the situation, she saw right through him on her way past his console.

Janeway should not have been surprised to see Chakotay already in the room when she entered. After their dinner last night, she knew getting home meant even more to the two of them now. Their future together depended on it.

Life for Captain Janeway would be at a close, and life for Kathryn could finally begin. She admitted to herself that idea was extremely appealing, and it helped her sympathize with the crew more than she would have liked. She wished Captain Taren had made the briefing for 0700 so they could start home all the sooner.

"Good morning," Chakotay said softly. He was standing next to the window, and looked over his shoulder at her. His dark hair caught faint flicks of light from the outside stars. It was a pleasant sight to be greeted with first thing in the morning. She found herself thinking she could get used to it.

"Commander," she responded, hoping to bring more of the professional into the room with the use of his title. The simple words he uttered came with an all too comfortable tone.

Janeway rounded the table and sat in the chair at the head of the room. She ignored Chakotay in favor of reviewing a padd. Not that she wasn't fully aware of Chakotay's presence. He sat in the chair next to her. His hand on the table. The smell of fresh rainfall she came to recognize as his fill the room. She was a little too aware.

They sat in silence for about ten minutes. The only sound was the scrolling of information across the padds they both read.

"After the briefing, I have something for you," Chakotay said, without looking up from the information he was reviewing.

Janeway let a small smile creep through, but did not dare a look at him. Given the circumstance he could be referring to any number of items. After the flowers last night, Janeway's curiosity got the better of her. She was about to try and pry the information from him, but the doors opened.

Captain Taren stepped inside, followed by Krell, Chancellor Sen and Dr. Crusher.

"Good morning," Dr. Crusher said as she rounded the table to the right. She sat next to Janeway and Krell followed her. Taren and the Chancellor came down the other side of the table and the chancellor sat next to Chakotay. Taren remained standing.

"Captain Janeway," he began and his official tone made Janeway sit up a little straighter in her chair. He wore a grave expression, and the wrinkles of his brow seemed to strain as he spoke.

"After long deliberation the senior staff has decided to brief you on the nature of our mission. You have Chancellor Sen to thank. She argued very convincingly that you should be told."

Chakotay's surprise was apparent when he looked from Captain Taren to her.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to dismiss your first officer," Taren continued.

Janeway nodded reluctantly and sent Chakotay a glance. He hesitated, obviously disliking the situation. She could not tell if his frown was out of concern for her or irritation at being left out. Within a few seconds he got to his feet. He sent a warning glare to the Cardassian and then left the room. Taren must have seen Janeway's uneasy with the situation.

"When you learn the nature of our mission, I think you will understand the need for secrecy."

"Maybe," Janeway replied, doing her best to resign herself to Starfleet policy on secret missions. Taren sent a glance to Sen, who inclined her head. Her dark eyes must have told him to proceed.

"As you probably guessed, our mission has to do with the Borg."

Janeway set her hands on the table, and squared her shoulders.

"Yes." She said simply. Taren looked to Crusher for an instant, then back to Janeway.

"Before I can tell you anything you must agree to let Dr. Crusher inoculate you."

Crusher pulled a hypo-spray from the medical kit she had brought into the room. Janeway narrowed her eyes.

"The entire crew of the Calypso has undergone this process. This will keep you from being assimilated, so the Borg can't gain knowledge of our mission," Taren explained. Janeway studied the hypo-spray in Crushers hand. The Captain of Calypso was playing the secret mission aspect mighty big.

"By killing the messenger? That is what happened to your crew. They weren't assimilated, they gave their lives to protect the mission."

Taren, as well as the other humanoids in the room, entered into a sort of trance of sadness. Janeway shook her head slowly with the realization the Calypso was on a suicide mission.

"Do it," Janeway ordered Dr. Crusher. Crusher faintly offered an expression of support and placed the hypo-spray to Janeway's neck. Once the task had been completed she returned to her chair. Taren continued to stand at the front of the room.

"Our mission has failed. It took many years, and advocates like Chancellor Sen to convince Starfleet to listen Krell's plan. But, they did not agree to supply the crewmen and resources until they learned of your Seven of Nine."

Janeway sent a surprised look to the Chancellor.

"I knew she was a Borg drone severed from the collective, I never bothered to look beyond that. Only in passing a few weeks ago did I learn her true origins," Sen explained. She must have been reading Janeway's thoughts again. Betazoids.

"What is the nature of your mission?" Janeway could not stand the unknown any longer.

Taren gestured to Krell. The Cardassian stood and the Captain sat next to Sen.

"A group of scientists gathered from all realms of the Alpha Quadrant devised a way to sever hundreds of Borg drones from the collective all at once, without out being detected." He paused, and Janeway was grateful. She needed a moment to let the information seep in. "Only myself, and due to unfortunately circumstances, Chancellor Sen possess the knowledge of how exactly to do so."

"You said the mission failed," Janeway interrupted, she directed her question to Taren. "Why?"

Krell answered.

"The Borg unexpectedly adapted to one phase of our plan. The consequences were…" he looked down burdened by the loss of life. "Tragic."

"Starfleet has ordered us home," Dr. Crusher interjected. "Our mission is considered a failure, and the chances of Starfleet attempting this again are almost nonexistent."

"And you think Voyager can help?" Janeway inferred. She had not yet decided how she felt about the possibility. Her crew had been through seven years of hell in the Delta Quadrant, a suicide mission did not seem like the fairest of welcome homes.

"The scientists with the necessary skills to perform the mission all perished. Of all crew members that went aboard the cube, only Krell survived," the captain said to Janeway. She lifted her eyebrows and looked to Krell. Perhaps Chakotay's paranoia was affecting her too, but she found his lone survival suspicious.

"I believe, with a few key crew members aboard your ship, this mission could succeed. We could free hundreds of Borg from the collective, and perhaps, in time, many more," Krell continued to stand, and there was passion in his words.

"That is the reason for the four medical bays, and all the storage space…" Janeway said more to herself than anyone else.

"I'm the only human doctor aboard, but we have six Mark 2's, enhanced with knowledge of Borg implants," Crusher added. "I was chosen for this mission because of my experience with the Borg. My son and Jean-Luc were not pleased, but I believe this mission can succeed."

Janeway took Dr. Crusher's words gravely. This was a woman who had served on the Enterprise, familiar with the dangers of the Borg, and an accomplished medical doctor. Still maintaining her perfect posture, Janeway looked to Krell.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked. He handed her a padd from across the table.

"I've selected three of your crewmembers to infiltrate the Borg cube, as well as you, Captain. You are an accomplished scientist, and I believe with your experience battling the Borg this mission has an even greater chance of success."

Janeway let her eyes scroll over the names on the list. Of course, Seven of Nine was there, as well as Tuvok and B'Elenna Torres.

"You realize this is a suicide mission. Last time eight of our scientists went aboard, along with twenty nine trained Starfleet soldiers." Krell clenched his fist. "They were all killed."

Janeway set the padd down and leaned back in the chair with her arms stretched in front of her.

"My crew has been through a lot. How can I ask them to do this, when we are so close to the end of our journey?"

Krell looked angry but Captain Taren is the one who answered.

"It is a lot to expect, Captain. And I wouldn't blame you for refusing, but, if we don't try again and succeed, we may never stop the Borg."

The Chancellor, who had not said a word up to this point, made eye contact with Janeway. Her dark eyes though still warm, burned with deep ardor.

"Borg attacks in the Alpha Quadrant have increased. Betazed is nearly on the front lines now. We must find a better way to fight back." The chancellor's words sent a chill down the length of the room. Janeway had no idea the situation was so dire. From the last accounts, the Enterprise had managed to push the Borg from the Alpha Quadrant.

Janeway considered the decision carefully. Even if she agreed, she was surely sealing the fate of three of her most trusted officers, not to mention, three very dear friends.

"I would like some time to consider the matter," Janeway said. Krell still did not appear pleased but he said nothing.

"Until you decide we ask you share this information with no one." Captain Taren said. She nodded and Taren got to his feet. The rest of the assortment of humanoids each followed his lead except for the chancellor. She waited until the last of the council had exited.

"Captain, I wonder if you might grant me permission to stay aboard," she asked quietly.

Betazoids normally made Janeway slightly uncomfortable, but there was something she liked about this one, though she could not pinpoint exactly what it was.

"Granted. However," Janeway gave her a hard stare, "Seven is a unique individual. Earning her trust is not easy."

The betazoid lifted her chin.

"We shall see."