A/N: I don't own "Voyager."
"Senior officers to the bridge!"
Tom wasn't sure why Chakotay was giving that order, because as far as he could tell, everyone was on the bridge. Tom certainly was. He was sitting at the helm, like always. Spinning in his chair, he saw Harry at ops as usual. Captain Chakotay and Commander Tuvok were both in their command chairs. Chakotay was speaking to Tuvok, even as his own voice bellowed the order over him. How many Chakotays were there aboard Voyager? Was this a dream? Tom checked the bridge for anything out of the ordinary. Chakotay and Tuvok were there, Harry was at ops, Tuvok was at tactical…wait a minute, there weren't supposed to be two Tuvoks—
"Tom!" Laura was shaking him awake.
"Yeah!" Tom shot up in the bed. "Yeah, I'm coming!"
They were in Tom's quarters. This was the second time he and Laura had—what was the polite, Starfleet phrase—been intimate. The first time, they'd done it on the holodeck, at a hotel in 1920s New York. But after doing the deed that time, they hadn't just gone to sleep; they couldn't, due to Laura's "condition." Tom had taken her home like a gentleman, as if it were any ordinary date. He couldn't remember how he'd wound up falling asleep this time. Or, more importantly, why Laura hadn't gone home to regenerate.
"Laura," Tom said, sliding out of bed. "I hope you're not missing your regeneration cycle to watch me sleep."
"I have tomorrow off," she reminded him. "I was just laying here thinking. Trying to come up with ideas for 'Captain Proton.'"
A week ago, she'd discovered his forgotten project. As of last tonight, they'd agreed to finish the holo-program, together.
As Tom changed into his uniform, he saw Laura slipping back into her silver biosuit. For a moment, he paused to look at her bare back. The silver web that ran down her spine, the elongated Borg wheel (or "Borg oval" as he called it) on her shoulder blade. Laura and Annika wouldn't die if they took their suits off for a short while; but like a 20th century back-brace, they had to wear them for the specified number of hours each day, until their bodies finished healing from years as drones.
"You headed home?" Tom asked.
"No," Laura tossed on her black and gold jacket. "I'm headed to Engineering. I know I'm not a senior officer. But whatever's going on, I don't want to miss it."
Chakotay's voice came on once again. "Senior officers, to the bridge."
Tom muttered, "I heard you the first time, you stupid Indian."
Laura bit her lip in silent laughter.
"Tom, you do realize that the com channel is opened when I say 'senior officers to the bridge.'"
Tom and Laura both froze. Laura's eyes were as wide as saucers.
"What else did you hear, Captain?" Tom asked nervously.
"Nothing important. Just get down here Tom, please." Chakotay sounded very tired.
"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."
Tom was relieved to see only one Tuvok on the bridge, sitting in the first officer's chair. The Vulcan held his compare perfectly; no one would suspect he was on the bridge half as often as usual these days, and in Sickbay twice as often. Neelix was at tactical, and Harry was at communications. Amelia Jenkins, the nightshift pilot, was facing the turbolift, waiting for Tom to relief her.
Behind the two command chairs, at a tiny consol attached to the railing, stood Jenarro Xin. Since becoming joined, Jenarro had transformed overnight into an invaluable advisor for the Captain, with several lifetimes and the entire Collective's knowledge at his aid, and was now a regular bridge member. It was remarkable, how Jenarro looked the same as always, yet completely different. He was still a lanky, pale young man, with flaming red hair that seemed to resist hair brushes, and freckles that rivaled his Trill spots. But that lanky body didn't shift or fidget as it once had, and those pale green eyes were fixed and alert. He now said and did everything with the wisdom of a centuries-old Trill and the control of a Borg drone (despite having no implants or nanoprobes anywhere in his body).
"What've we got?" Tom asked, taking his seat.
"A distress call," Chakotay answered. "A shuttle, or small ship, crashed on that asteroid."
He fixed his eyes on the view screen, which displayed a magnified image of a shuttle crashed on the asteroid. The asteroid was one of the larger ones, complete with an atmosphere and a few sparse plants. The ship was clearly damaged, bur in-tact. Tom couldn't place the origin of the ship's sharp, dagger-like design, and assumed it was just another new humanoid species.
"I'm picking up two life signs," Harry confirmed from his station. "Hang on, I think I'm getting a third. It's primitive—no, no wait it's not primitive, it's fetal."
Chakotay turned sharply in his chair. "A pregnant woman?"
Tuvok raised an eyebrow. "Since we do not know the nature of this species, we cannot assume that the pregnant individual is female."
Tom loved it when Tuvok was hilarious without trying. "A seashores species maybe?"
"No," Harry's eyes widened at the readings. "No it's not a seahorse. Captain, I don't know if I'm reading this correctly. But I seem to be getting a combination of Human and Klingon life signs."
Now it was Tom's turn to look at Harry in disbelief. Harry grimaced, and quickly looked away from Tom. He clearly regretted saying anything that reminded Tom of B'Elanna.
"That vessel is Klingon, sir," Xin confirmed. "A scout ship by the looks of it."
The ship didn't have the "Bird of Prey" design that one normally associated with Klingon vessels, but it's jagged, knife -like appearance was believably Klingon.
Harry continued, "I can't beam any of them out Sir. The shuttle's shields are still up."
"Can you contact them?" Chakotay asked.
Harry made several attempts to hail the vessel, and failed.
"I'll take a team." Chakotay rose from his chair. "You have the bridge, Tuvok."
Tom turned hopefully in his seat. "You'll need a pilot—"
"No, Tom." Chakotay said, more forcefully than he meant to. "Getting there will be the easy part. What I will need is the Doctor. Chakotay to Sickbay: Doc, I'm taking an away team down to that asteroid. Can you join us?"
"Affirmative Captain. I'll leave Nurse Linnis in charge of Sickbay."
"Pardon me sir," Xin's prim-and-proper manner clashed with Jenarro's youthful voice. "But if the ship's shields are blocking transport, how do you expect to get inside?"
"That," Chakotay said, "will be the tricky part."
The away team consisted of Chakotay, Dr. Van Gough, Lt. Neelix, Lt. Vorik, Ensign Laura Kovacs, and Crewman Annika Hanson. Neelix, Chakotay had brought for security purposes. (The Talaxian wasn't his first choice in a covert mission, like that one to the Borg cube; but on a regular ground mission, Neelix's military training always served him well). Chief Engineer Vorik and the two former drones had come to help devise a way into the locked Klingon ship.
"Do you think your Borg force-fields can cut through that Klingon shield?" Neelix asked Vorik, as they approached the Klingon ship.
"We shall see," the Vulcan replied coolly.
"So what exactly have you done?" Neelix asked. "You've programmed Laura and Annika to cut through this shield, like full Borg drones?"
"In essence." Vorik replied.
Dr. Van Gough provided some detail. "Laura and Annika are normally just as susceptible to force fields as any of us, since a severed drone's nanoprobes no longer have the energy to create that force throughout the drone's body that allows it to pass through force fields. What I've done is increased the number of nanoprobes in Laura and Annika's bodies, allowing them to—hopefully—pass through this force field. As soon as this mission is over however I'll be returning them to their usual state, since the long term effects could be…undesirable."
Chakotay watched the two former drones approach the Klingon ship with caution. He didn't like the idea of sending them into that ship without a security guards or a doctor. The plan was for them to disable the Klingon ship's shielding from the inside, so the rest of the team could get in. Laura walked towards the ship with a cool trained confidence, provided no doubt by her years of experience with Starfleet. Annika was clearly trying to mimic that, but her apprehension was showing.
Chakotay caught himself staring at Annika's figure, visible even in that green science uniform. Annika still wore the silver biosuit underneath. Her gold hair was swept back into a practical but elegant ponytail, fully displaying the Borg wheel near her right ear. He liked the implants, he decided. They brought her natural features out to their fullest.
He put a lid on his thoughts, as the two women reached the ship. Laura and Annika exchanged a glance, before walking on. They strode easily through the Klingon force field, with a quick green hum. It had worked. They turned back to exchange a nod with the captain. Annika locked eyes with Chakotay just a moment longer than necessary, before proceeding onward. All entrances to the ship were locked or fused shut. They'd have to force their way in. They found a spot on the oddly-shaped ship that wasn't touching the ground, and together, burned a hole in it with their phasers. Annika, the younger and apparently more limber of the two, climbed up first, then helped Laura up into the ship.
After several tense minutes, Laura's voice finally came over the comm. "Kovacs to Chaktoay. We've found the pregnant woman. She and the baby are both in stable condition. I'd say she's about nine-months pregnant—at least measuring in human months. Our scans say she's half Klingon."
"Did you say half-Klingon?" Chakotay repeated.
"Yes sir."
Despite being in the Delta Quadrant, Voyager had managed to run into two Ferengi, one Romulan, and a few humans, due to various space anomalies. So finding a ship containing humans and Klingons had been a surprise for Chakotay, but not a major shock. A Klingon-human hybrid on the other hand, those were rare even in the Alpha Quadrant.
Could it be?
Enough Starfleet officers had returned from the dead, or met parallel universe counterparts, that it wasn't completely out of the question. But if it was…
"Is she awake?" Chakotay asked.
"Negative. She's unconscious."
"Laura," Chakotay said. "This may seem like an odd question. But can you tell me what she looks like?"
Dr. Van Gough shot the captain an odd look. Vorik and Neelix were also staring.
After a pause, Laura replied, "She looks…quite a bit like B'Elanna Torres."
The Doctor's face contorted in confusion. Neelix also looked lost. Vorik showed as much surprise as the Vulcan emotional rage allowed.
Chakotay recalled how Laura and Annika had "met" B'Elanna in Unimatrix Zero. No doubt they'd also found pictures of her in the database, and heard stories from Tom.
Annika added, "But this woman looks a bit older. And her hair's different. She could be a relative…."
"Describe her to me." Chakotay ordered.
Laura replied. "She's uh, about five feet tall, with shoulder-length brown hair. Forehead ridges are present but less pronounced….you want me to check for Klingon teeth?"
"What's she wearing?" Chakotay asked. "Is she wearing a—a uniform of any kind?"
"No Sir, she's in a red top and pants…sleeping wear possibly."
"Captain," Annika said urgently. "We still haven't located the other Klingon. And we still can't get the shielding down, or the transporters up."
Chakotay sighed inwardly. Without taking down that shield, there was no way to get that injured woman and her unborn child out of there. Nor to get the Doctor in.
"Captain," the Doctor said, almost whispering. "You don't actually think—?"
"Not now Doc," Chakotay said. "Let's focus on getting into that shuttle."
Dr. Van Gough eyed the Klingon ship, then muttered, "It's a shame my mobile emitter can't become transparent with the rest of me. Otherwise I'd be through that shield and at my patient's side before you could say 'irony.'"
This gave Chakotay an idea. "Kovacs, Hanson, would it help for you to just focus on getting the Doctor in there?"
"Possibly," Laura replied. "But without transporters we can't get his mobile emitter through the shield. We could try downloading him into this ship, but I doubt his program is compatible. I don't think this ship is even equipped with holo-emitters."
"It's not," Annika confirmed. "We can't download Dr. Van Gough here, there's nothing to download him into. Wait! Wait a minute. What if we download him into our shuttle craft?"
There was a pause, before Laura apparently caught on. "Yes! And then he'll be able to walk through the shield, because he won't have to take the mobile emitter with him!"
"Vorik," Chakotay began.
"I'll get started Sir," the Vulcan replied before Chakotay even give the order.
"Wait, what about my medical kit?" The doctor lifted his kit for emphasis. "It's not holographic." The hologram rolled his eyes. "I can't believe I forgot about that."
Chakotay cursed. "Vorik, I don't suppose Kovacs or Hanson could bring that kit through?"
"Why not?" Neelix asked. "They brought the clothing on their backs, and the phasers on their belts, didn't they?"
Vorik explained, "A Borg drones' shielding is comparable to a thin cloud around its body. Items small enough and close enough may be brought through the shield."
From the other line, Annika proposed, "Let's get down there and put the supplies the Doctor needs on our belts, or in our pockets. Hell I could probably stick something in my sock."
Annika and Laura's way of wording things was very similar, Chakotay thought. But then again, they'd spent ten years in Unimatrix Zero together. It made some sense.
Laura stayed with the unconscious Klingon-Human hybrid, while Annika came back down for the Doctor's medical supplies. Then, with a medical tricorder and a dermal regenerator on her belt, and half a dozen other medical supplies scattered around her body via pockets, socks, and the crevice created by her belted shirt and biosuit, she returned into the Klingon ship. The Doctor followed, having been programmed into transparent form, and passing through the force field like a ghost. Annika tried to help him up into the hole, but his hand passed right through hers.
"One moment," Vorik said, hurrying back into the shuttle.
A moment later, the Doctor flickered back into solid form, and followed Annika up into the Klingon ship.
"As soon as you treat that woman," Chakotay said over the comm., "I want you to find the other Klingon."
The team members acknowledged the order.
After several moments, the Doctor's urgent voice came over the comm. "Van Gough to Chakotay!"
"What is it Doctor?"
"The pregnant woman!"
"Is she alright?"
"She's fine," the Doctor said. "But I've no idea how. Captain, it is B'Elanna Torres! Or at least that's what my tricorder is telling me! She looks a bit different than I remember, but genetically it is her, and she is recognizable. B'Elanna didn't have an identical twin she failed to mention to me, did she?"
"No." Chakotay's mind raced in a thousand different directions. "Wake her up!" he said finally. "If anyone can figure out how to shut down that ship's shields B'Elanna can!"
"I'll inject a hypospray that should bring her back to consciousness, once I'm certain it's safe." There came a pause, as the Doctor presumably scanned her.
In the background, Laura's quiet voiced asked with surprising calm, "B'Elanna Torres…that's…the former chief engineer of Voyager?"
Oh hell, Chakotay thought. This was going to make things very awkward for Tom and Laura.
"Captain," the Doctor said. "I've got more surprising news. The child she's carrying belongs to Lt. Paris."
Chakotay could only imagine the look on Laura's face. Down here, even Vorik's eyes were wide with shock. Neelix on the other had was just squinting in bafflement.
Suddenly, a deep male voice demanded, "Who are you? How did you get in here?"
The Doctor calmly replied, "I'm Dr. Van Gough of the Federation starship Voyager. We're responding to your distress call."
"How did you get through my shields?"
"It took a lot of creative effort. I'll be glad to give you the full story, perhaps while I treat that head injury of yours. I don't know whether you've noticed or not, but you're bleeding rather ba—"
"Voyager!" the Klingon interrupted. "I might have known I should run into you here."
"You…know us?" the Doctor asked.
"Doctor," Chakotay cut in. "Let me speak with him, if you don't mind."
"Not at all Captain."
Chakotay never liked speaking to someone through a third party's com badge. But he was short on options at the moment.
"This is Captain Chakotay of the Federation starship Voyager. I apologize for not being able to greet you in person. Perhaps if you lowered your shields we can have a proper introduction."
"Captain…Chakotay?" This seemed to puzzle the Klingon. But he quickly cut off his own musings, and added, "I don't have time to socialize, Captain. I must repair my ship and resume my course."
"Hold on a minute," Chakotay said. "Your ship happens to contain one of my crewmembers!"
"If you're referring to Lt. Torres, she is not your crewmember.
The bizarreness of the situation gave Chakotay an uncharacteristic loss of patience. "Look, I don't know how you know B'Elanna, or my ship, or where you found her, but she's definitely my crewmember! Do you think a captain doesn't know his own—"
"Scan her body for tachyons, chronotrons and dark matter."
Chakotay froze for a moment, then hissed, "What?"
"Not you, you're hologram doctor!"
Dr. Van Gough's voice came back on, timidly. "Captain…?"
"Do it," Chakotay ordered, his eyes darting in confusion.
After a moment, the Doctor exclaimed, "…I'm picking up all of those!"
The Klingon sneered, "How can she be a member of your crew, if she isn't even a member of your universe?"
A/N: This fic fudges the timeline, just barely. According to Memory Alpha, Kes's death in the "Before and After" timeline co-coincided with the "real universe" events of the film "Nemesis" …meaning that the real Voyager should be home already, when this fic is taking place. That doesn't work for this story though, so I'm fudging the years just slightly. Since that "fact" about the years is never confirmed onscreen (except perhaps through very careful observations of stated stardates), it can be excused as a very minor plot-hole. And since the "Star Trek" saga is packed with blatant plot holes, I like to think that this one is excusable.
Okay, I have to acknowledge the You Tube video I totally ripped a line from. ("She's alive, but I don't know how! It's _!") It's a brilliant fan trailer made for TNG, that features Tasha Yar returning from the dead. Data says basically that same line. I copied it here because I couldn't resist. Consider it a homage, rather than copyright. (That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it.)