Colonization 101
author: Juli17

Act Four:

Harry entered Voyager's mess hall for breakfast and immediately spotted Tom sitting at a corner table. B'Elanna wasn't with him and Harry remembered that she was in the colonization program for the first rotation today. He hadn't seen Tom outside of the bridge over the past couple of days, and though they'd traded a few casual greetings there, Harry knew that last conversation in the program was still between them.

Neelix was busy, so Harry poured himself a cup of coffee, and walked toward Tom's table. Tom looked up as he approached and smiled. "Hey, Harry. Have a seat."

Harry accepted the invitation, and looked at the half-eaten pancakes on Tom's plate as he sat down. "That actually looks pretty good."

"It is. Neelix outdid himself today, apparently in honor of the final day of the colonization drill. I'm sure you're glad that's almost over."

There was no rancor or derision in Tom's voice. Harry shrugged. "I guess it hasn't been too horrible as holoprograms go."

Tom looked surprised. "Really?"

Harry grinned. "Well, it certainly isn't Captain Proton."

Tom grinned back. "Hardly."

"But it's been...educational. I learned a few new skills." Skills Harry sincerely hoped he'd never have to use, but he didn't have to tell Tom that. He took a sip of his coffee, and set it down. "Tom, I'm sorry. I know I was out of line the other day-"

"Forget it. I understand."

"I know it's just a holoprogram. It's not like we're really colonizing, or-"

"Giving up?"

Harry smiled sheepishly. "I didn't mean that exactly either. I know you've always been ambivalent about returning to the Alpha quadrant, and seeing your father and all."

"It wasn't just him. I left the Alpha quadrant persona non grata, and I could name dozens of people who wouldn't have shed a tear if I'd died."

"No one thinks that anymore!"

Tom smiled. "Probably not. If we get there-and I'm sure we will-that's fine with me. There are some fences I'd like to finish mending. If for some reason we have to stop short somewhere though, I can't lie and say I'll be completely devastated. That doesn't mean I want to stop right now and find a planet to colonize-"

"I know. It just means that you've already got everything you want, whichever happens."

Tom stared at Harry thoughtfully for a moment. "You're right. It took a while for me to figure it out, but I have got everything I want." He smiled ruefully. "I even appreciate it for a change."

Harry smiled back. He couldn't help but be happy for his friend, even if he felt a small twinge of envy.

"Seven of Nine to Lieutenant Paris. Report to Astrometrics immediately."

Harry's eyes widened as the comm line closed with a click. "Wow, she didn't even wait for a reply. What did you do?"

Tom grimaced and pushed his chair back. "I'm a day late delivering my navigation reports. I'll just blame it on the colonization drill."

Harry smirked. "Like Seven will buy that."

"Well, it is partly true. I'll also thrown in some roguish charm and sincere remorse."

"I'm sure that will work too," Harry said sardonically, though knowing Tom it just might.

Tom shrugged. "Hey, it's worth a shot. By the way, enjoy your last day in the program. At the very least, I can promise you it won't be raining."

Harry's eyes narrowed at mischievous gleam in Tom's eyes. "You altered the doctor's program, didn't you?"

"Who, me?" Tom asked innocently. "Nope. I just kept watch."

It took only a moment for Harry to recall how much B'Elanna disliked rain. "I sure hope the doctor never finds out."

"Harry, Harry...this is B'Elanna we're talking about."

"Right." If anyone could conceal sabotage completely it would be B'Elanna. Harry grinned. "Guess I'll enjoy the sunshine then."

Tom grinned back. "You do that. I'll see you later...Lieutenant."

Harry watched Tom stride out of the mess hall. He had to admit he really liked being addressed by his new rank-and Tom did it often, partly in his typical Paris teasing manner with that drawled delivery, and partly because he knew Harry liked hearing it, even if being a lieutenant hadn't turned out to be everything he'd thought it would be. It was *almost* everything, but he'd realized soon enough that achieving lieutenant rank hadn't improved every aspect of his life. It didn't keep him from missing his family back home, or from sometimes being lonely among a hundred and fifty other people he now considered his second family.

He definitely envied his best friend. In his early days on Voyager Tom had insisted that there was no one he wanted to ever see again back home. He'd changed on that score, but Harry knew that wasn't the issue for Tom anymore. It was just as Harry had recognized, and as B'Elanna had said. Here or in the Alpha quadrant, Tom already had exactly what he wanted. And so did B'Elanna. To Tom, "home" was B'Elanna and the baby, and vice versa.

It was so easy for them.

Harry frowned, chasing away that ungracious and slightly bitter thought. He knew better than anyone that it hadn't been easy for them. Tom and B'Elanna had worked hard to get where they were. They'd stuck it out together through the toughest times, when most people would have just quit. But Tom and B'Elanna certainly weren't most people. They deserved their happiness. If he had what they'd found with each other, he might not care where he ended up either, as long as that one other person was there with him.

Unfortunately that hadn't happened for him, not yet, and perhaps it never would on Voyager. Despite his attraction to Seven, which had evolved into a simple if solid friendship, his brief fling with Tal, and even his strong feelings for Lindsay Ballard-which he'd later admitted to himself had perhaps been a little idealized-when he woke in the middle of the night it was still Libby he sometimes missed-their easy conversation, their shared history and experiences, their laughter over the same jokes no one else understood. There'd never been anything official between them, but there would have been, in the neat, clearly defined life he'd planned out before he'd ended up in the Delta quadrant. Now she'd gone on with her life, as he had with his.

Harry sighed. Maybe he and Libby hadn't had the kind of fireworks that Tom and B'Elanna had, but he was the type who could be very happy in a relationship based on easy conversation and comfortable companionship, with someone like Libby. Or like Marla...

Lately, that was just where his mind had been wandering. To Marla Gilmore. When it did, he cut that speculation off ruthlessly. Or at least he tried. He couldn't deny his attraction to her, but he was tired of appearing desperate for love-and he knew that's how the crew saw him. He was wise to be wary of his feelings, considering his abysmal track record. And why should anything change now-

"Lieutenant Kim, you're looking particularly solemn. Can I cheer you up with some banana pancakes? Well, its posha fruit actually, but according to Lieutenant Torres the flavor is quite similar to bananas."

Harry looked at Neelix's smiling face and couldn't help a smile in return. Maybe breakfast would take his mind of his numerous failures at romance. "Sure, Neelix. Why not?"

Neelix set the plate of steaming pancakes on the table. "What rotation are you on today?"

"Second."

"Ah, me too. It's been an experience, hasn't it? The settlement is shaping up to be quite livable. A bit crowded certainly, but with plenty of room for growth. Of course, you can't have more room for growth than an entire uninhabited planet, can you?"

Harry supposed not, though he was saved from replying as Neelix rambled on.

"I've been working on some great decorating ideas for my restaurant, and a marketing campaign-"

"Neelix, you'd have the corner on the market," Harry pointed out dryly. "Besides, you're planning for something that will be gone tomorrow."

"Oh, I know," Neelix replied. "Planning for contingencies is something we Talaxians do by habit. We learned long ago to be ready to adapt to whatever circumstances may face us."

"I guess you'd adapt pretty easily to colony life, huh, Neelix?"

"I can adapt to anything if I have to," Neelix said, without any false modesty. "But I must admit I've gotten used to having the stars outside my window. I'd miss that, and I'd miss Voyager. Besides, from all the stories the crew has told me, I'm very eager to see Earth and the Alpha quadrant."

Harry didn't know if Neelix was really as eager as he claimed, but he appreciated the Talaxian's unerring ability to boost his spirit. "Keep those plans for your restaurant, Neelix, because you might get to open it in the Federation one day. You'll have the corner on the market there too, since I can assure you no other restaurant will be serving Delta quadrant cuisine."

Neelix nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly my plan, Lieutenant. Though right now I have to get back to flipping pancakes, since I see a new group of arrivals. See you in the program later."

Harry watched Neelix hurry back to the kitchen. He thought of the Pojzan as he dug into his pancakes, and he wondered how they were faring in their safe haven. He hoped they were doing well. Certainly colonizing a planet, especially one with beautiful vistas and plenty of resources, could be a great thing for some, if they no home and no place else to go, like the Pojzan. But Voyager had some place else to go, and the crew had a home waiting for them. And he was exactly who and where he wanted to be in the interim, a lieutenant on a ship in Starfleet.

Even if colony life wasn't something that interested him, Harry decided he might as well enjoy the program today. Maybe he could join one of the food foraging teams. He hadn't done that yet, and he'd heard it was quite scenic by the river. He might as well get a look at it before the program was over for good. And while it wasn't raining.

It was the end of the third rotation, and the sun was about to set over the settlement. Tom had just left with Mario Gennaro and Gerry Culhane, after finishing a test pilot run on the "revamped" Sacajawea. Amanda Lang and Will Peterson were completing their inventory of the tools in the storage building and then they'd be gone. A handful of others were moving around, finishing whatever tasks they'd been assigned before the program ended and the settlement they'd built over the past six days faded away and existed only as a file among thousands in the computer's holodeck subdirectory.

Chakotay had just finished conferring with U'Lanai and Brian Sofin about the windows they'd installed in the infirmary. That building had been finished today, the last one to be built during their six day plan. He was about to follow them out of the program when he spotted another person who hadn't left yet. She was sitting on the steps in front of the mess hall, her attention focused on the western hills in the distance.

Chakotay watched Kathryn Janeway for several seconds, then changed course and walked in her direction. They hadn't talked much beyond official duty concerns over the past couple of days. They'd had different rotations in the program, and different bridge shifts to compensate, so there hadn't even been the opportunity for one of their frequent working dinners. He wasn't sure if his perception that she had become more receptive to the program recently was accurate, though her presence here when she could have already left was probably a good sign.