The Last Commission
The ships from Section 31 which were captured were examined carefully by Starfleet's Engineering Corp and then placed into service patrolling the Bajoran sector after they had joined the Federation. Although the Dominion had long since been defeated, the Gamma Quadrant was still an unexplored place and new and powerful species were found – making the need for powerful ships a must to defend the Wormhole. Of the Defiants formally under the agency's control, most were repaired and placed into regular service. The remaining three were eventually repaired and one was turned over to the Academy for training cruises – much like the Valiant had been. The other two were turned over to the Advanced Tactical school and used in the training of crews in the operations of Defiant class ships. The Sovereign was repaired, given a proper crew and went on to have an extraordinary career. Amongst its many battle honours, it participated in the defence of the Klingon homeworld from the House of Duras. Although its Captain had been ordered not to interfere with what was an internal Klingon affair, Naomi, on the ship because Voyager was in dry-dock for repairs and was getting a ride to the Klingon homeworld anyway, pulled rank and assumed command of the vessel after Martok's vessel issued a general distress call. Because it mentioned any ships, Naomi engaged and protected the Rotarran until more Klingons could arrive. The ceremony Naomi was attending in the first place was to induct her into the House of Martok as a full member. Naomi had been honoured at that, and she had spent time on the ceremony's phrasing. The High Council was therefore surprised when they spoke English for Naomi, that she replied in Klingonese the ceremony should be in Klingon, and she would be more then happy to take on anybody who disagreed with a Bat'leth.
# # # # #
It was decided by Starfleet that Voyager should be retired to the Fleet Museum, and so Command sent it on a goodbye tour of the Federation and all allied states, unions and empires. The Romulans awarded the group with the Romulan Star Empire Medal 1st Class for their help in finishing the Dominion War. Naomi and friends decided not to comment it was a little bit late. The next stop, the Klingons, ended with seventeen hours of drinking bloodwine and telling more and more unbelievable stories. Naomi therefore took the bridge with a slight headache and hangover. However, all things must come to an end and Voyager disembarked most of her crew, leaving only Naomi and her command crew aboard, as well as her father. He had been cured in the intervening years, of his illness and decided to take this final cruise of the ship with his daughters and their friends.
"Captain on the bridge" Icheb called as Naomi walked out of the turbolift.
"Status report?" Naomi asked, slipping into the Captain's seat. She could feel the spirits of both her mother and Captain Janeway through the arm rests. The girl lovingly felt the very much worn padding and fingered the groove that had been made by different people putting their elbow at the same spot on the left arm rest.
"Starbase 375 has cleared us to depart" Azan said.
"Lets get under weigh" said Naomi. "Mezoti, set course for the Return – Warp 5" she ordered.
"Course is set" her friend replied.
"Take us out" and with that simple order, Voyager headed away from the station and off towards the location that Voyager had returned from the Delta Quadrant. After the war was over, the allies redrew the borders of the Cardassian Union so that the location now fell inside Federation space. Once clear, the four hour trip began with the jump to warp.
"Sickbay to the Bridge" the Doctor called.
"Go ahead" Rebi took the call.
"We are just about to leave the secondary Sickbay for the last time. I just wanted to put it in the log" the hologram said.
"Logged" Rebi said.
"Understood" the hologram replied, and he closed the channel without further comment.
#
A few hours later, Naomi and her friends returned to the bridge for a solemn marking.
"Approaching the Return" reported Cannon, rising from the centre seat. With few torpedoes aboard, and only a skeleton crew aboard there was no need for the Tactical station to be manned. Cannon therefore let it run under automatic computer control for the rest of the trip. She was remaining on board until they put in at Deep Space Nine for de-storing before heading back to Spacedock and entry to the Fleet Museum. Out of Voyager's final compliment of just over 150 people, only 25 remained onboard as a skeleton crew. Most of them were an engine room crew – keeping an eye on the warp core and all systems. Whilst on the goodwill tour, they had been fixing broken systems all over the ship. If the vessel was going to be decommissioned, then they wanted it going down on record as Starfleet having decommissioned a service ready starship. Apart from Cannon and the engineering crew, only Di'et and the two medical technicians remained aboard plus one person who was getting a lift on the ship as far as Deep Space Nine.
"Bring us out of warp, and put it on the main screen" Naomi said, taking the vacated chair. Millions of stars burst forth on the bridge simulscreens.
"Confirm clear of encroachments, Lieutenant" Icheb ordered. Cannon checked the readouts as she'd been taught.
"An encroachment, Captain! Course one three five, distance twenty thousand kilometres!"
"That'll be the beacon" Mezoti said. After a time Rebi seemed affected; and he fiddled with the magnification until suddenly he caught the lettering on the beacon's side. He spun up maximum magnification, and the letters "NCC 74656 – USS Voyager" filled the screen. Di'et manoeuvred the ship to within a half kilometre the beacon. Naomi looked at the flashing beacon taken from Voyager's own stores years before and spoke to the crew, who would be crowding, no doubt, the portholes for a view of the beacon
"Attention all hands, this is the Captain. We are now at rest relative to the arrival point of the USS Voyager, returned to the Alpha Quadrant three years, two months and three days ago. Many of us will never pass this place again. It has become custom, for this ship sailing this road, to pause to pay our respects to the memory of those lost on the journey home. We will shortly launching the wreath. Should all crew members wish to attend the service, then they should put their stations on automatic and be at the mess hall in fifteen minutes. Captain, out" and with that, Naomi cleared the channel and looked around the bridge. "I'll be in the ready room" and with a few tears falling from her face, she left the bridge under Icheb's charge and walked off.
"Should I go in?" asked Mezoti.
"I would leave her for the moment" said Greskrendtregk. "Today she is mourning not just the loss of her mother, but shortly the loss of her first home" Naomi's father said with a heavy tone.
"I'll get a suit ready for her" said Di'et. "Every year after the wreath is laid; she goes out and uses the entire oxygen limit up. The kid doesn't do anything, she just sits there with her comm off"
"Although there is no evidence to say she is" began Icheb, "I would guess she is communicating with the crew" and it was clear to one and all he was not referring to the current number of people onboard.
# # # # #
"Set course for Deep Space Nine" Cannon said to Di'et.
"Course set and laid into the computer" came the reply.
"Engage" and Cannon made a shooting motion with her fingers.
"Chanelling a bit of the ol' Picard are we, Denise?" Di'et said with a laugh.
"You should talk" retorted Cannon. "I saw that holodeck program you was running the other night. 'Wonder Wildman' wasn't it?" and Di'et went a brilliant shade of red.
"I… was just running it out of curiosity" Di'et said. Cannon kept laughing until Di'et made the ship shake enough to knock her counterpart off her feet.
"Captain to Bridge"
"Bridge here" Di'et said.
"Please don't do that again, Rankush. And stop winding Rankush up, Denise" Naomi's voice said. "Otherwise I'm coming up there and banging heads together"
"How does she do that?" whispered Di'et.
"Because I am standing right behind you" Naomi's voice made the pair turn around, and sure enough, the girl was standing there at the rear of the bridge.
"Oh, Captain" said Cannon. "We had a little imbalance of the warp drive, but it is right out of the system now" but Naomi didn't believe that for a moment.
"I relieve the pair of you from duty for the rest of the shift" she said. "Just get a room, will you please?" and the other two officers rapidly rushed for the turbolift. "I seriously don't get paid enough…" Naomi muttered, and slipped into the Captain's chair to commune with her ship alone for a little while. It was indeed a little while as the Operations console began chiming for attention. "Computer, report" she requested.
"There is an incoming message from the planet Bajor" the computer said dryly.
"Open a channel" Naomi ordered, and the viewscreen changed from the stars streaking by to the face of a smiling Saghi.
"Afternoon, Captain Wildman" said the young Bajoran girl.
"Drop the bull, Saw" Naomi said. "How are you doing?" she enquired.
"I am doing well. This year's Kava berry crop might well be the making of us" Saghi replied.
"Well we're heading your way" Naomi said. "Send a couple of bottles up to the station, would you?" and the Bajoran nodded.
"I was going to call you to pass on my regards and regrets for Voyager's decommissioning" Saghi said. "But I was going to call you for an entirely different reason" and this piqued Naomi's interest.
"What do you mean?"
"Naomi… The Prophets sent somebody to see me in my sleep last night" Saghi said.
"While I'm pleased you are speaking to me about it, shouldn't you call a Vedek or somebody" Naomi said.
"It was your mother" Saghi said.
"Mommy?" Naomi said.
"I think you better get down here, and meet me at the temple containing the Orb of Time" Saghi said.
"Well we have three days docked at DS9, so I suppose I could take the Flyer and head over" Naomi said.
"You should come over as soon as you can" said her friend. "The vision was quite… insistent about meeting you. I couldn't speak for a long time, because of some higher reason the Prophets decided not to tell me, but I know it is your mother from all those pictures. I got the impression there were a few others who wanted to speak as well, but your mother was the strongest connection they could make" Saghi smiled. "And I'll have some Uttaberry pie ready for you on the table" and Naomi smiled right back.
"I'll be there in a few hours" she said.
"Meet you there then. Bye" and Saghi waved as Naomi did the same.
"Computer, increase speed to Warp 9 and recompute ETA" Naomi ordered.
"ETA at Deep Space Nine now at 15 minutes"
# # # # #
A quarter of an hour later, Voyager dropped out of warp close to the station, and Naomi exchanged pleasantries with Colonel Kira as the ship docked. Despite hating all of the trappings, the Bajorans had still mounted an honour guard at the airlock. They were always grateful to her for rescuing Saghi from the destroyed transport ship. After exchanging some small talk, Naomi left Deep Space Nine and headed on the short trip to Bajor aboard the Delta Flyer – alone per her request. She went through orbital approach with little trouble, and made a textbook landing in the field behind the home Saghi lived in. It had been left to her by her parents after they had died from an epidemic. Voyager had nearly blown herself to pieces as she rushed with the vaccine, but it was too late for Saghi's parents.
"Hi Naomi" said the girl in question. Naomi hopped off the rear of the Delta Flyer and hugged her. Although she was supposed to meet her at the temple, there was not a large enough clear space to take the unique shuttle. They went in and chatted for a while before using the transporter on the Flyer to go over to the Temple.
# # # # #
The pair of them walked down the stone passage of the temple, and Naomi was still awed by the artwork displayed on the walls. She and Saghi were stopped by a Vedek at the entrance to the inner temple.
"I can not allow you to pass" he said.
"She is here to see the Kai" Saghi said.
"That may be so, but only you may enter. Your companion is not of the faith, and so can not enter the inner temple" and Naomi looked at Saghi.
"Its alright" she said. "I'll just wait outside here for the Kai. Be sure to mention that it was me that saved you from certain death. Oh, and tell her the Emissary says hello" Naomi added, then watched the brain in the tall and elderly man jump to impulse. The Emissary was not of the faith, but the Prophets had chosen him in their divine wisdom. The man decided that the Prophets had asked Sisko to deliver a message. What had actually happened was that Sisko had appeared to Kira in a dream and had given her instructions.
"Wait here" he said, and turned around walked into the temple. He came back several minutes later with permission for Naomi to enter the inner temple. The pair were led to the Kai who was stood waiting for the girls.
"I trust you had no problem getting here?" asked the Kai. She was a portly woman, but had a smile that could rival a few dozen warp cores.
"There was a little bit of a misunderstanding entering the Inner Temple. The Vedek did not realise who Naomi was, Your Eminence" Saghi said, kissing the Kai's hand.
"You are the great Naomi Wildman?" asked the woman.
"I am, Your Eminence" Naomi replied.
"I have wanted to meet you for some time, but all this praying and talking really eats up my free time" the Kai laughed. Saghi couldn't believe that the religious leader of Bajor was joking like that!
"If time permits, I would be glad to take you on a tour of Voyager" Naomi said. "We arrived ahead of time, so we have an extra day docked at Deep Space Nine. After business here, we could take you in the morning in the Flyer and drop you back off here on our way home. We're heading homeward bound for decommissioning and conversion into a museum" the girl added. "In fact" Naomi continued, "I extend an invitation to you for a tour aboard Voyager" and the Kai smiled and accepted the invite.
"I thank you, my child" the woman said. "Now I believe your friend has told you about the reason for your visit here today" and Naomi nodded.
"She said the Prophets have allowed her to speak to me, but as my mother wasn't a follower of the Bajoran faith I don't understand how" she finished.
"Ah..." the Kai spoke sagely, "High powers work in mysterious ways" and with that she led both Naomi and Saghi to the room where the Orb of time was contained.
# # # # #
The first thing Naomi noticed was the whiteness of everything around her.
"Hello?" she called.
"Naomi..." a very familiar voice called back. Naomi turned in the direction of her name and saw her mother 'moving' towards her.
"Mom?" Naomi whispered.
"Yes, Naomi, its me" her mother said.
"But how...?" she breathed.
"The Prophets decided that as you had done a lot for the side of good, they would let me and some of the crew speak to you. Ceres did a lot of begging as it turns out. I'm here because, although I believe... believed in God, it is the only way to communicate with you. I can only do this once though, so we must make the best use of time that we can" Samantha Wildman said.
"Mom? What is death like?"
"Death? Its like being on holiday with a bunch of Germans" Samantha smiled at the thought before speaking it. Moments later, the whiteness vanished and was replaced with the image of the Mess Hall on Voyager. All of the crew she knew so well were there, with the girl spending what seemed like hours and hours going from one to another. Everybody told her that they were proud of her for getting herself, her friends and her ship back to the Alpha Quadrant safely. It was also pleasing to see that she had slapped down Starfleet when they had wanted to scuttle the ship because of the damage sustained. The most surprising was that Seven was smiling openly, and proclaimed that 'Death was irrelevant' in only the way the former drone could get away with. However, Samantha told her daughter they had only a few minutes left to speak.
"I don't want to go" Naomi sniffed through the tears that fell from her eyes and down her cheeks.
"We have to" said her mother. "Honey. I know you're feeling sad right now but, I want you to listen to me very carefully, okay? First of all, I love you. Second, I want you to know that I'm proud of you. How smart you are, how funny, how kind you are to other people, and I know that you are going to grow up to do extraordinary things. Last, and I know this is a hard one, try not to be scared" and Naomi nodded in grim acceptance.
"Do you think I could have one last thing?" the girl asked.
"If we have time" her mother replied.
"Can you put me to bed?" she begged. "I want to see your face as I go to sleep one last time" and her mother nodded, and the rest of the crew waved Naomi goodbye before they and the scenery changed and they stood in the Wildman quarters. Everything was just as it was when Samantha had been alive, and they went through the familiar routine of getting ready for bed, before Naomi was covered by the blankets, kissed goodnight and her eyes drooped down in sleep.
"Goodnight, Naomi" her mother's whisper was just about heard by the girl before she fell asleep.
# # # # #
"Are you alright?" asked Saghi.
"I am now" Naomi replied. "I think I just need to be on my own for a few minutes" and Saghi and the Kai left Naomi alone for a few minutes. The girl came out and she arranged to pick up the Kai the following morning before she headed back to Deep Space Nine. A quick call to Voyager was made and Icheb said that tours were ongoing to everyone on the station. Naomi asked him to tell Kira that she would be bringing the Kai onboard Voyager the next day. Saghi and Naomi went back to Saghi's house where Naomi received a Bajoran style massage. However, as Saghi was kneeding oil into the space between Naomi's legs, Naomi accidentally had an orgasm which had thoroughly mortified and embarrassed her.
#
The tour went well, but time caught up with the ship and Naomi personally escorted the Kai and Saghi off the ship and back onboard Deep Space Nine – a slight change of plans due to an emergency - before heading up to the bridge. She stepped off the turbolift to see every remaining crewmember on the bridge.
"Report" she said.
"Work crews have completed de-storing of all supplies and munitions" Icheb said. "The rest of the crew have disembarked" he added.
"All decks not in use have been secured" Mezoti said.
"Engineering is under computer control" put in Azan.
"All stations are fully operational" Rebi finished the report.
"Thank you all" Naomi said. "I wish we could keep on going, but at least this ship isn't going to be scrapped" the girl looked around at the bridge and her friends. "Lets get this over with. Departure stations" and they took their places on the bridge.
"Incoming message from Starfleet" Azan said.
"On screen" and the image of Deep Space Nine was replaced with the face of the new Federation President – a Trill.
"Captain Wildman" the Trill greeted her.
"Madam President" Naomi replied.
"I know you must be busy, however I wished to speak to you before you started your homeward leg" the dark haired woman replied. "Thanks to what you brought back with you, you helped to end a terrible and costly war. You brought back scientific data that nobody in the Alpha Quadrant could think of, returned medical advances that saved countless lives and you have earned the gratitude of the entire Federation"
"Thank you, Madam President. We were just doing our job, and this ship's primary purpose" Naomi said.
"At your discretion, no authority will supersede your own on the final cruise of the starship Voyager" the President said.
"Understood" Naomi replied.
"I look forward to meeting you in, this one last time" and with that she vanished from the screen.
"A little abrupt, don't you think?" asked Icheb.
"What do you expect?" asked Mezoti, "She is a politician" and there was a little laughter at that. Azan's console chirped once more as another message came in.
"This is Colonel Kira. I wish you and your crew a safe journey home, Captain Wildman"
"Thank you, Colonel" Naomi said.
"Voyager is number one on the list, and is cleared to depart" the Bajoran said.
"Understood. Voyager is cleared to depart" Naomi said. She wanted everything to go by the book on this one last undocking.
"May the Prophets smile upon you" Kira voiced a good luck saying.
"And on you, Colonel. Voyager, for the final time, out" and with that Naomi closed the link and sighed to herself. "Shall we be off? Azan, detach umbilicals and standby to unlock the airlock" and Azan confirmed everything.
"Standing by for your order" he said.
"Unlock the airlock. Mezoti move us away from the station – 50 KPH" Naomi said, and there was a slight shudder as the airlock was released and Voyager floated free of the station.
"Holding at 50 metres" Naomi said.
"Slow ahead, and do a complete circuit of the station" Naomi said. The ship took a victory tour of the station it had set out from so many years before, and Mezoti brought the ship back to its original heading.
"The station is arming weapons" Icheb said from tactical.
"What?" Naomi was surprised, and they all watched as the station fired torpedoes in a group of seven, then a group of four, then one of six, then one of five before a final volley of six. It had fired the torpedoes in the ship's registry code as a salute.
"That was nice of them" said the Doctor, leaning on the handrail to the right of the bridge.
"Set course for Earth" Naomi ordered, "Warp 5" and with a few pushes of a few buttons, the ship jumped to warp once more. "Do what you want" she ordered, "We're not doing anything important. Icheb, you have the bridge" and with that she and Mezoti departed the bridge together.
"Is Naomi alright?" asked her father.
"She is losing a part of herself in a short while" the Doctor said, "I don't think she wants to leave at all" and he watched as Greskrendtregk hurried off to speak to his daughter.
# # # # #
Greskrendtregk had talk to Naomi about seeing his wife and her mother in the vision, and he was pleased that his daughter finally had some closure from the whole events surrounding her death six years before. The last few days were filled with a kind of morbid cheer. They were of course happy enough to be returning to Earth, but sad to know this would be the last time their ship would move under its own power, and to feel the solar winds on its hull. They had a meal together in the mess hall, and everyone tried to put on a brave face. A number of messages came in from other Starfleet ships, bases and officers and crew alike. Entire planets sent their best wishes to a ship only one iota less well known then any of the Enterprises.
"So, Icheb" Greskrendtregk said. "Have you any idea where you are going after we dock?" he asked of the Brunali.
"I have three weeks leave , then I am to report to the USS Dragon as Chief Astrometric Officer" he replied. "It will… not be the same though" and they knew he meant working in Astrometrics on Voyager.
"What about you two?" Greskrendtregk asked of the twins.
"We have been asked to take part in the year's symposium on Costa III" Azan said.
"A number of people will be coming to hear of our discoveries" added Rebi.
"I've got a job working at Starfleet Academy" Mezoti said. "I'm doing some teaching until I am old enough to enter the Academy. What about you, Naomi?" she asked her friend.
"Starfleet has offered me a number of courses to take alongside this year's final year of Cadets" Naomi said. "I thought it might be fun to see what goes on there, and make new friends and stuff like that" and they finished the meal on a happier note.
# # # # #
Azan held the watch on the deserted bridge, and only the helm, science and operations consoles were lit up and working. He liked it when it was a little quiet, and so he used the time to go through his notes for the presentation he and his twin were to give. To his surprise, the science console twittered for attention, and he crossed over and studied the readout. According to sensors, they were picking up a distress call from a freighter under attack by Orion pirates. Warp and impulse drives were out, and they had limited weapons. Hull integrity was down to below fifty percent, and they didn't know how long they could last for. Azan spent a few moments to think about his decision, and then acted upon what he knew to be the right choice.
"Computer, alter course to intercept the location of the distress call. Increase speed to Warp 8. Red Alert. Bring shields up to full power" and it was a few moments after when Naomi called the bridge.
"Whats the idea, Azan?" she asked.
"We are picking up a distress call from a freighter under attack by pirates. We are the only vessel within range to assist. The ship has lost warp and impulse, has limited combat capability and has not gone long left in it" Azan said.
"You did the right thing" Naomi told him. "I am on my way" and she closed the channel.
"Red Alert" intoned the computer over the alarms. "Red Alert, Red Alert. This is not a drill. All hands on deck. Man your battlestations. All hands on deck. Man your battlestations. Red Alert. Red Alert. This is not a drill" and seconds later the others poured out of the cramped turbolift and took stations.
"Time to intercept?" Icheb asked.
"Seven minutes" Azan replied.
"What are we going to do?" asked the Doctor. "This ship doesn't have anything to shoot with. The torpedoes were offloaded back at Deep Space Nine, and Starfleet put locks on the phasers while we were at Starbase 375" he added.
"Well we better have something to shoot with" Naomi said. "Icheb, you go with Azan and Rebi down to phaser control and remove the safeties. Doctor, take Operations. Mezoti, take tactical. Dad?" Naomi looked up at her father. "I want you to take the helm please" and Greskrendtregk nodded sharply before rushing off and sitting at the console. Mezoti took a few moments to power up the shut down tactical station, but reported she had a working station once more.
"Coming up on the location" said the Doctor.
"Drop us out of warp" Naomi said.
"Aye" said her father. On the viewscreen, the stars blured as Voyager dropped out of warp smoothly and saw the damaged freighter being pounded by the Orion pirate vessel.
"Open a channel" Naomi said.
"Channel open" said the Doctor.
"This is Captain Naomi Wildman of the Federation Starship Voyager halt and stay where you are. Do not attempt to escape, or you will be fired upon. I order you to surrender your vessel and prepare to be boarded" but the only reply was for the Orions to fire upon the ship. "Bridge to phaser control. Have we got those things off yet?" Naomi asked.
"Just getting the last one off" said Icheb.
"Have Azan and Rebi divert battery power to the phasers. We can get a quicker charge rate that way" Mezoti said.
"Aye"
"Orion vessel is turning towards us" Mezoti said.
"Do we have phaser power?" Naomi asked.
"Not yet" came the reply, and at that moment the Orions launched a barrage of weapons fire at Voyager.
"Hard to starboard" Naomi called. "Evasive pattern Naomi 2"
"Right" Greskrendtregk said. Voyager turned to port and then began a series of complicated turns and rotations in a cone shape. This distracted the targeting computers on the attacking ship, and was a practice adopted by most starship commanders within Starfleet.
"Phasers coming online" Mezoti said. "Estimate three minutes until power is sufficient to effect damage" she added.
"Doctor, status of the freighter" Naomi asked.
"They have suffered decompression in sections. I am reading multiple casualties in the sections still holding atmosphere. Warp drive is offline, impulse drive is down and hull integrity is down to 30 percent. Sensors show a radiation…" the ship shuddered as the shields absorbed another set of impacts. "… a radiation leak in the aft section due to a damaged throttle assembly. Forcefields are containing it though for the time being" the hologram said.
"Dispatch a message to Starfleet" Naomi ordered, "And inform them of the situation and request instructions" and the Doctor nodded and set to work sending the message.
"One minute to half phaser power" Mezoti said.
"Dad, bring us about and put us on a direct course for the Orion ship. By the time we have got to within optimal damage range, we'll have enough phaser power to shoot back" Naomi said, and her father could see what his daughter was thinking of.
"If I may suggest something?" Greskrendtregk said. "We should wait until they fire another load of torpedoes at us. When they hit, we cut main power and started drifting. To them it will look as if they got a lucky shot in, and they'll close in for the kill. At that point, we'll restore main power and fire at a surprised vessel" and Naomi grinned.
"Father, I like your style…" and she passed the idea on to Icheb.
"I may be able to get something more then phasers for you" he said.
"Oh?" the entire bridge wondered what Icheb was going to pull out of the hat.
"Although all of our torpedoes were offloaded back at Deep Space Nine, we still have a number of probes aboard. Given enough time, I believe that I, with the help of Azan and Rebi, could bleed off a little material from the Matter and Anti Matter tanks. I should be able to give you two torpedoes" and the half human girl smiled.
"Icheb, I could kiss you" she said.
"Could you save it until later?" Icheb asked dryly, and then closed the channel quickly.
"Phasers now at 50%" Mezoti said.
"Target Orion vessel and fire" Naomi said, and the phaser lanced out from the ship for the first time in the engagement. The Orion's shields flared as they absorbed the phasers with little effort.
"What the hell…?" Naomi swore gently.
"Incoming torpedoes" the Doctor said.
"Now!" Naomi called, and main power was cut and Greskrendtregk slowly spun the ship to appear as if it was out of control.
"Orion pirate vessel closing in" Mezoti said. "25,000 kilometres and closing. 20,000… 15,000… they have entered transporter range for their class of ship" she said. "They are lowering shields for transport" she said.
"Shields up!" Naomi ordered. "Lock phasers on and fire at will" and the ship took the Orions hook, line and sinker into the deception. Phasers lashed out at the unprotected hull of the pirate vessel, and deep scorching appeared in the hull plating.
"Miss Wildman, I have noticed something odd about that ship. It appears to have the same hull plating that the Section 31 Defiants had" the Doctor said.
"What?" Naomi and Mezoti were both scandalised at that. Had the group sold the Orions the hull plating? Or was the ship led by the last of the rogue group?
"Composition matches exactly to what was on the hulls of the ships. They are carrying the same ablative armour as they did" the Doctor said. "Further more, I am reading a lot of modern Starfleet equipment onboard the ship. Type XII phaser banks, Quantum torpedoes, Borg derived shielding…" and Naomi wondered what Nechayev had been doing all that time.
"Tactical analyis" she said. "Dad, get us outside phaser range for Type XII phasers" Naomi added.
"52 phaser strips and phaser cannons, 12 photon torpedo launchers, 24 Quantum launchers, Borg derived shielding, Klingon disruptor banks, Romulan plasma torpedoes…"
"She's a predator" Greskrendtregk said softly.
"Bridge to Icheb. Icheb, we really need those torpedoes" Naomi said.
"I need two more minutes to transfer the material"
"Well I hope that you have been listening in to our discovery" Naomi said.
"I have" Icheb replied. "Two torpedoes will not do enough damage against that armour" he added.
"True, but they might think that there is more from where they came" Naomi said.
"Message from Starfleet" the Doctor said. "They have dispatched three Akira class vessels to our location. We're to continue to distract the attention of the Orion pirate vessel until then" and Mezoti shook her head.
"What do they think we've been doing?" she asked.
"Icheb? Did Starbase 375 leave the Borg weapons intact?" Naomi suddenly realised they had extra firepower.
"They put several locks on" he replied. "They were installed for the museum so they could not be fired accidentally"
"When are you ready with them torpedoes?" asked Naomi as the Orion vessel raked Voyager with a mixture of phaser and torpedo fire.
"Right now" came the reply.
"Launchers 1 and 2 loaded and ready to fire" Mezoti said.
"Icheb, take the twins and get down to Engineering and remove the safety packages from the Borg weapons" Naomi ordered.
"Understood. Icheb out"
"Shields down to 64%" Mezoti said as they were hit again.
"Dad, bring us about and put us on a direct course to ram the Orion pirate vessel. Doctor, scan the ship and determine the weakest point of the shields. Mezoti, once you have that location, target every last firecracker at that spot. Hopefully they will stay at range. Status of the freighter?" Naomi snapped off one thing after the other.
"They have ejected the damaged throttle assembly" the Doctor said, then switched sensors to the Orion pirate vessel. "They have suffered no deaths at all. I suspect that the Orions were trying to take the crew alive to use as slaves" he added with disgust.
"Phaser power now at 100%" Mezoti said.
"Target that vessel and fire a continuous beam until it leaves the current arc" Naomi said. It was a tactic that they had used fighting the Norcadian vessels years ago in the nebula in the Delta Quadrant. It was generally used as a last resort by Captains because it normally burned out the phaser bank more rapidly and often led to burst EPS lines.
"I have located the weakest part of their shields" the Doctor said. "Despite their use of advanced technology, they are using an older system of impulse drive. It requires them to lower their shields every 15 minutes to release the built up plasma. Otherwise if they fired aft weaponry, then they risk setting off an explosion which would cripple that entire section of the ship" he explained.
"When will they lower it again?" Naomi asked him.
"In four minutes" replied the hologram.
"Dad, get us behind the Orion vessel and stick to their backsides like piles" Naomi said.
"Right" he smirked as he thought that particular order had never been given on the bridge of starship before.
"Mezoti, the moment they lower those shields, fire everything we have" and Mezoti targeted the impulse manifold three times just to be certain it was going to be a good shot.
"Engineering to Bridge" Icheb called up.
"Bridge. Go ahead" Naomi said.
"I don't know how to explain this, but the entire power transfer system has been removed from the Borg weapon conduits" Icheb said, sounding completely confused.
"What? How?" exclaimed every member of the bridge.
"It seems as if somebody removed them with a plasma torch. We can see the burnt edges clearly" Azan said over the link.
"But why…?" wondered Naomi.
"Captain, we've been sabotaged" Rebi added his contribution.
"Is there anything that you can do?" Greskrendtregk asked.
"It would take some time to replicate new parts and install them. I am more concerned as to how this was done. I can only assume the weapon discharge network was disabled somehow" Icheb said. The ship shook as another volley hit the ship, and Greskrendtregk brought the ship round to keep station aft of the pirate vessel.
"Never mind that" Naomi said at last. "Stay there and get our shields up to more power"
"Shields at 43% Mezoti said.
"And do it quickly" added Naomi.
"Shields are beginning to change formation on the enemy ship" the Doctor said.
"Aft shields are lowering on the Orion" Mezoti said.
"Reconfirm target and fire" Naomi said. The phasers fired at full power and the lone pair of torpedoes burst from the launchers and impacted on the impulse engines. They caused a terrific explosion, blew the engines out and knocked the Orion vessel off kilter a great deal. The lights seemed to blink as power was disrupted for a few seconds.
"Phaser malfunction" Mezoti said.
"Three vessels entering sensor range" Greskrendtregk said. "They have a Starfleet signature" he added.
"Orion vessel is powering up her warp drive" the Doctor said.
"They can't get away" Naomi said.
"We should jump to warp" Mezoti said. "If we pass right over them as we pass the light speed barrier, then our warp field would graze their shields and knock off their main power"
"Do it" Naomi ordered. "Just set course as this one and engage at Warp 1" and her father nodded and jumped the ship to warp for a few moments. It went exactly as Mezoti said it would have done, and the hulking Orion pirate vessel was left floating with minimal life support. They couldn't even use their auto destruct device because that had been knocked out as well. "Damage report" Naomi called.
"Shields are recharging to full strength, phaser malfunction has cleared" Mezoti said.
"Apart from the sabotage in Engineering, we are otherwise fully operational" the Doctor said.
#
The three Starfleet ships arrived minutes later to take the Orions into custody and to begin the rescue of the crew of the freighter. Naomi remarked that despite Voyager being made weapons inactive, they still were able to put up a fight. Greskrendtregk commented that the ship had wanted to bow out after a victory against impressive odds. After handing over the Orions, Voyager swung around and resumed her journey home. With the helm on automatic, everyone pitched in to replace the damaged power systems, and then just jettisoned the damaged parts into space. After that was done, Naomi was told that she wasn't allowed near the shuttlebay for a while, and the girl wondered what was going on in there. All she knew were Mezoti's assurances it was a tribute unit. Naomi had then consulted the computer for more information, but it couldn't give her any clues.
"Cosmic thoughts, my daughter?" Greskrendtregk asked Naomi. They were in the quarters that Naomi and her mother had shared, and latterly home to Naomi and Mezoti.
"The ship doesn't want to stop" Naomi said. "She is fully operational and combat capable. This is still a state of the line starship…" she trailed off. Her father put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently.
"I am sure that is the case, but this is a ship of legend and legends. She can be of more use in helping to teach millions of people all about the work the crew did, plus your adventures and exploits in getting her home. She has earned her retirement and rest, Naomi" he said, and the girl nodded.
"Bridge to Captain"
"Naomi here"
"We are just about to drop out of warp. We thought you might want to be present for that" said Rebi.
"We're on our way, Naomi out". She looked around her quarters for what she thought would the final time. "Bye, Mom" and with that she picked up the last few bags of hers and walked out the quarters with her father holding her hand.
"Remember this, Naomi" Greskrendtregk said as they waited for the turbolift. "No matter what you have said and done, you have done your duty. You should take pride in that" and they boarded the car that would take them to the bridge.
#
"CAPTAIN ON THE BRIDGE!" Icheb called loudly, and he, Mezoti and the twins snapped to attention. They knew well the significance of the event, and they wanted to do things as they should be. It had involved studying Starfleet protocols once more, but they had enough time on the goodbye tour they had completed. They had taken the stations to which they were used to: Mezoti at Tactical, Azan at Ops, Rebi at Engineering, the Doctor was at the aft consoles but Icheb was standing in front of the Captain's chair however.
"As you were" Naomi said. "Status report" she asked Icheb.
"We are proceeding on course to Spacedock. Decommissioning is expected to take place at 14:30 this afternoon. Warp and Impulse are working at optimum levels. All systems and all stations show a green board" Icheb said.
"I relieve you"
"I am relieved" Icheb replied.
"Mr Icheb, the helm if you please" Naomi indicated Tom Paris's old station that had formerly been filled by Di'et.
"Standing by for your order" Icheb said as he sat at the console.
"Drop out of warp" Naomi said, and she thought she could sigh as the ship slowed to normal space. "Secure Warp drive and disengage nacelle controls" and Rebi took the drive offline.
"Deploying tribute" Azan said without bidding, and the viewscreen flashed up to show an view looking over the aft of the ship. Voyager was trailing a massive decommissioning pennant from just after of the bridge.
"We thought it was fitting" Mezoti said.
"I love it" Naomi said. "Thank you very much" and a tear slid down from one eye.
"Your orders, Captain?" asked Icheb.
"One half impulse until we approach Spacedock" Naomi said.
"Aye, Captain" and Icheb pushed the ship on. Voyager should have been heading in under full impulse, but he knew that Naomi wanted to let the ship have her head as long as possible. Besides, he was only following the orders the she gave to him after all. "Estimate Spacedock in four hours, present speed" Icheb added, looking at the console to check.
"Indulge yourself, Icheb" Naomi said, and Icheb nodded before taking the ship round the entire system, and then heading in towards the gigantic space station that dated all the way back to the time of the original Enterprise.
"We are being hailed" Azan said.
"Open a channel" said Naomi.
"Voyager, this is Spacedock control"
"Control, this is Voyager. Request permission to dock" Naomi said.
"Permission granted. You are cleared for entry, and you have clearance to pilot your ship manually" the unseen male voice said.
"Understood"
"Doors opening in 30 seconds. Be advised that traffic is in operation across your docking path. Welcome home, Voyager"
"Voyager confirms" Naomi said.
"Would you care to take the helm?" Icheb turned in his seat to look back at his friend.
"I relieve you" Naomi said, moving to take his seat.
"I am relieved" Icheb said, and moved to stand to the right of the helm. Naomi piloted the starship through the doors and skilfully avoided the small flitters and shuttles that danced around like fireflies. Azan rotated the viewscreen through multiple different views of the various viewing ports – filled with Starfleet officers and crew plus a large number of civilians.
"500 Metres from docking port" said Mezoti.
"Umbilicals are standing by" Azan reported. Naomi slowed Voyager down to nearly a crawl as she lined up with the target on the airlock.
"200 Metres" Mezoti said.
"All stop" Naomi said, tapping her console to cut power to the impulse drive. "Our inertia should do the rest" and the computer played the traditional whistle noise when a ship left or arrived at a dock. With barely any noticeable effect, Voyager mated airlocks with the station and came to a rest.
"Attaching umbilical supports" Rebi said, and tapped his console three times.
"Secure all drive systems. Power down the main deflector and set the SIF to stationary" Naomi said. She got a chorus of affirmatives as they completed the last few tasks.
"Ready to switch over to Spacedock power supply" Rebi said.
"Very well. Do the switch" Naomi said, and as Rebi did so, the lights on the bridge flickered off and on again. The girl had the sudden feeling that she had felt Voyager dying. "Secure all stations, and transfer all remaining data over to the Spacedock mainframe" Naomi said, fingered the helm and got up to face her friends and her father. "It was an honour to sail with you. Clear the bridge please" and they nodded and took two turbolifts off the bridge. Naomi was the last one off, and her final sight was that of the lights going to minimum levels.
# # # # #
The empty USS Voyager lay in the docking bay a few dozen metres from the gathering in the airlock bay. Naomi was wearing one of her mother's old uniforms to mark the occasions, her father, Mezoti, Azan and Rebi wore formal clothing whilst the Doctor and Icheb wore the current uniform.
"Permission to get started" Naomi asked Admiral Paris.
"You have my permission to start" replied the Admiral. He held no problems with what Naomi had done during the fight with Section 31 the previous year. During the Dominion War, he had not seen combat outside visual records. Having been put slap bang into not just a fight, but a situation where he had to order ships to fire on their own side, had caused his mind to cease working useful thoughts.
"Aye, Aye" Naomi said, and turned back – mindful of the many news network cameras hovering around the enormous bay. "Crew, Attention To Orders. Pursuant to Starfleet order 5012616, we have been directed to decommission NCC 74656 – USS Voyager. All departments report department status" the girl ordered.
"The sails have been removed and rigging tied up" Icheb said.
"The cannons have unlimbered and spiked" said Mezoti.
"The decks have been secured" Azan said.
"The Sick berth has the saws locked away" the Doctor said.
"All lamps and running lights have been extinguished" Rebi said.
"Captain, all departments have reported their status" Icheb said. "We are ready to decommission the ship" he went on.
"Very well, XO" Naomi said. "Carry on" and Icheb reached out to a small bell and struck eight bells.
"Secure the watch!" he called. Naomi turned back to Admiral Paris and saluted in the old Earth naval style.
"Admiral Paris, the lights have been put out and the watch has been secured. Permission to carry on" she asked.
"Granted" Paris said.
"Admiral Paris. Please accept the USS Voyager's log book as token of proof she is now decommissioned" Naomi handed over a real leather hardcopy of every Captain's log made, as well as those made by the acting captain and the first officer's. It was made from actual paper and leather, and it had been made by a small company that made books in the old style before PADDS became the normal. It normally dealt with those who liked real books, history buffs or museums, but Naomi had given them the task to created an actual copy of the log. The leather was a scarlet red with gold edges on the front, spine and back. In the same gold colouring bore the legend:
Captain's Log
USS VOYAGER
NCC 74656
No matter where you go, there you are
"I accept this token of proof" said Paris, taking the log from her and putting it under his arm tightly. "You may dismiss your crew" he informed her.
"Aye, Aye, Sir" Naomi said, and spun on her booted heel to face her friends. "Crew, about your duties… Dismiss!" and there was applause at a successful ceremony. Four weeks ago, they had retired the USS Adelphi but when transferring from the ship to the station, the computer had concluded it had an atmospheric loss and refused to open the inner airlock. They had to use the transporters to beam the crew off the ship until the computer could be reprogrammed. As the group were swallowed up by the invited senior officers, Naomi turned back once more to look at Voyager sitting in the bay. Across from her was one of the brand new Legacy class ships. From the angle she was viewing them from, it looked as if Voyager was speaking towards the newer ship.
'I've been out there, fought, battled, loved, lost, explored and done things you can't imagine. Now it is your turn"
"If you don't hurry up" said the Doctor gravely, "Then Icheb will have finished the cheese and crackers by himself" and with a shared laugh, the pair of them left the viewing window and went to join the throng of guests, holocams and tables with food and drink on it.
# # # # #
The Intrepid class starship, USS Voyager, completed her final cruise on Stardate 59174. During her eleven years of service she took part in hundreds of major engagements, discovered new species, conducted surveys into nebulas and gas clouds, charted the path it took along through the Delta Quadrant and overcame the odds and, although most of her compliment was murdered, brought her remaining crew home in more or less one piece. Since the day she docked, Voyager never moved an inch but became a museum piece, with tours given everyday to anybody who requested to be in one. The ship became a legend in its own right. And people queued for ages to look at Captain Janeway's ready room, the heart of the ship down in Engineering, Mess Hall, crew quarters, Sickbay… all over the ship.
Icheb took his leave and then went to his next posting on the Dragon and made a name for himself as part of the first ship to chart the former Dominion held territory in the Gamma Quadrant. His assignment lasted three long years, but he never missed the annual broadcast of the wreath laying at the Return.
Azan and Rebi became talented engineers, and they soon became a well respected pair of names in the design and testing of advanced systems for starships. Because of innovations they created using their detailed knowledge kept from their days as Borg drones, they designed new and better ways to refit starships for the best value for money.
The Doctor spent years working on using the cures he had developed in Delta Quadrant. Terminal illnesses could now be solved within a matter of days. The hologram launched the first medical ship to have an entire medical department made up of holograms – though not made for self awareness in this case. He eventually married a Betazoid woman, and the couple adopted a boy and a girl because they could never have children because of the Doctor's holographic nature. According to his wife, the Doctor had chatted her up and then, with lust filled eyes asked "I bet you can't tell what I'm thinking, can you?" to which she had replied, "You're a hologram, and I still know what you are thinking, and the answer is yes" but a night of passion was interrupted when his wife had accidentally switched off the EMH in the middle of a rather enjoyable activity.
Mezoti went on to become a talented planetary specialist and a renowned target shooter with any number of weapons. She did a few years teaching at Starfleet Academy before taking a long holiday with her wife, Naomi Wildman. After they had returned, Mezoti entered the Academy and graduated at the top of the class.
Naomi did a year at the Academy, before taking a post at Utopia Planetia's First Flight team. Her job was to lead a skeleton crew on the first flight of a new starship to see what needed adjusting or outright replacing before the ship was put into service. Since Mezoti's revelation that she loved her, they had stayed good friends indeed. However, Naomi's feelings did change as she hit the human age for puberty and she came out to her father that she was bi-sexual and fancied her best friend. Gresnedik, putting a lot of family teachings behind him, told his daughter that he didn't mind or care whom she was with, so long as she was safe and happy in the relationship. Their first night together was a little awkward, but they soon fell into a deep and loving relationship that lasted through the years. However, one thing that Mezoti could not get her wife to do, was step onboard the ship. As she grew into her teenaged years, Naomi kept her stubborn streak, and kept turning down invite after invite to conduct some of the tours.
It would be 15 years before Captain Naomi Wildman stepped foot on the decks of Voyager again.
A/N:
And yes, before you ask, that does leave the door ajar for a 4th in the series.
Well I hoped you liked the final chapter of this story – I know I've worked long and hard on it. At least I can (at time of writing) go on my trip. Of course, by the time you've read this I will have most likely gone on it already.
Now before people flame me, I think you will see the point that I was taking a little headache relief. I also wanted to put that someplace in the story, but was never able to until now.
Well then, now the story is complete your best bits please.
For the final time in this story, your reviews please –
Regards
Pixel
