Author's Notes: And so we have come to the end of another exciting series of adventures here aboard the Starship Voyager with my OCs; I hope you've all been enjoying this series of stories, so much so that perhaps you've gone back to read my Xena stories, which started it all for Alain... Who knows; perhaps you'll love the character so much you'll follow him into his next eciting adventure after his trip through the Omniverse resumes.
You may notice something; this chapter is really long, well that's because I didn't feel like breaking it up, so that I could share the final moments of peace and tranquility in the Delta Quadrant before changing settings if you will and returning to the very real threat of Omnibus. So without further ado; I present the final Chapter of War Against the Collective, please if you haven't done so already at any point in this series I urge you to Read & Review, I'd love to hear from my readers on their thoughts surrounding everything that's happened so far.
I was startled awake by the door chime; with a half groan of enter I turned over to fall back asleep; Amy had been expecting Naomi after all.
"See; I told you he'd have enough room." The unmistakable voice of Jenny Delaney stated; I immediately sat back up in bed. Much to my surprise both Delaneys and Ensign Wildman were present; Amy looked a little fearful at this.
"Daddy what's going on?" She wondered; I groaned as a stray memory chose that moment to surface.
"The Klingons." I muttered flopping back onto the pillow.
"Exactly." Megan agreed with a small shake of her head. "And since you're one of the few crewmen with large enough quarters; we've all decided to bunk with you." She continued unrolling a sleeping bag; Jenny began packing spare clothing away for the lot of them in the drawers I'd never got around to using.
"You mean; we have to share a room with all of you?" Amy asked worriedly.
"It'll be fun Amy." Naomi piped up. "And it won't be for too long." She added smiling.
"Amy wasn't kidding; you've done some redecorating since our last sleep over." Samantha remarked picking up my replicated Devastator and eyeing it curiously, she was probably wondering how all six of them stayed together since their linking mechanisms weren't in plain sight.
"Knock, knock." Serenity suddenly called striding purposefully into the room. "Well; I see I'm not the only one who pulled for Ensign Desrochers." She added with a smile. "Shall we draw lots or would you prefer to all sleep with him; I'm sure the bed will hold us." She teased; I let out a very obvious sigh.
"This is just Prime." I muttered before rolling over and pointedly closing my eyes. "I'm exhausted, considering its twenty-two hundred ship's time; kindly settle yourselves quietly if you please." I stated. "I seriously need to regenerate." I added before managing to quiet my mind; still my breathing and attempted to fall back asleep, the bed shook and I felt Amy's uncertainty waving off her in spades.
"It's ok little one; they're all friends." I whispered reaching out a hand and stroking her hair, she enjoyed the sensation of being petted; most likely due to her feline nature.
"I know Daddy; it's just…" She trailed off and instead curled up next to me. "Never mind you need sleep; I'll be ok." She stated brushing her tail over my exposed leg; it tickled the hair there and felt odd against my skin, I smiled in gratitude and promptly fell asleep.
"Looks like you spoke too soon Serenity." Jenny whispered with a tiny smirk; the Goddess in disguise merely smiled and briefly rubbed her belly, which in this form gave no appearance to having swelled.
"He is an excellent father." She agreed; still I know he is not meant for me or this unborn son, I have long sensed greatness in his future and I know we will never be a part of it; though part of me does feel saddened by that.
"There's only one couch." Naomi suddenly complained breaking the Goddess from her inner thoughts.
"You can have my bed; I'll share Daddy's." Amy offered; Sam looked somewhat alarmed by that.
"It's ok." Serenity soothed. "The regeneration function has an off switch." She informed with a tiny smile.
"That leaves the couch for you then Sam; me and Jenny are ok with the floor." Megan added patting the couch in question.
"Is there a particular reason we all chose this room again?" Sam wondered with a tiny knowing smirk.
"I don't know; Al is just about the only male crewman on this ship I don't think we have to worry about." Megan quipped.
"The trouble of being so beautiful." Jenny added with a giggle.
"Speak for yourself; I'm married remember." Sam countered with a laugh; Naomi was too busy examining Amy's bed to pay much attention, it was a lot different from hers and she was a little uncertain about it.
"Besides; it's all for a good cause right?" Serenity chimed in. "I just can't believe the Captain approved." She added with a mischievous smirk.
"Who says she does?" Megan returned with a wink.
"You two wouldn't have any designs on my boy toy would you?" Serenity asked in mock outrage; it was hard not to burst into raucous laughter at that remark.
"Of course not." Jenny countered in a reprimanding tone of voice. "I'm not entirely sure why we all decided on sharing his room like this." She added thoughtfully. "But… Well; we just did." Serenity grinned knowingly; when close friendships were born on a vessel such as this, more often then not the people involved preferred each others' company. This was why the Captain and most of her senior staff rarely interacted personally with every member of this crew; and perhaps she had done a little meddling, she was after all a little tired of being alone in this room with him, she missed having other women around for girl talk. And besides; with the number of Klingons aboard she had a feeling there were some crewmen a little put out at the moment, rumor persisted that Crewman Tal Celes and Ensign Bristow were seeing each other.
"Aunt Serenity; where are you going to be sleeping?" Amy wondered breaking the woman from her thoughts; she smiled and moved to stand beside the bed.
"Right here with you and your daddy, if you don't mind." She returned; Amy smiled happily and shook her head.
"I don't mind Aunt Serenity, good night." She returned before promptly falling asleep herself; the room was soon utterly quiet, save for the continuous soft purring of the Catarian girl.
Samantha smiled as Amy and Naomi zipped about the room making fake laser sounds; they were playing with Al's Transformers again, though the disconcerting aspect was having the holographic Ravage online watching over both girls while Al was on duty. He really wasn't needed, but Al had a fondness for the Holo-'Cons as he dubbed them; and so he sometimes activated one or two when he was in a mood. Megan and Jenny were getting lunch leaving Sam alone with the girls and the silent guard; because Serenity was off doing something she wouldn't say what.
"Mommy; are those Klingons going to be gone soon?" Naomi asked pausing in her play; it had been a few days now and she was getting a little fed up with being cooped up in these quarters with everyone.
"Soon honey." Sam returned with a small smile. "Now why don't we put the Transformers away for now and go get lunch?" She suggested; Naomi reluctantly agreed, she was actually very hungry, Amy smiled revealing her fangs.
"Come on Ravage; I'm hungry too." Amy called before dashing out of the quarters; Ravage let out a tiny growl and shook his head almost as though exasperated with his new lot in life, he shimmered briefly and vanished knowing that it was better to remain cloaked rather then reveal that he still existed to the entire crew.
I sighed as I removed the article of female attire from the sonic shower's door; over three hundred years since my own century and women still had a nasty habit of leaving things lying about. If it wasn't Sam's shoes, it was Jenny's shirt or Megan's bra… Which surprisingly still looked relatively the same in this century. Well; at least now I knew what it was like to have sisters; still better then my brother, at least they didn't leave the toilet seat up or punch me in the arm for no damn reason.
"Sorry." Megan suddenly apologized from behind me causing me to jump; I passed the article of clothing to her my face flushing slightly.
"It's not the end of the world." I returned with a small indifferent shrug and turning to leave; I'd forgotten what I wanted anyway.
"The Klingons will be gone soon." Jenny pointed out as we both returned to the main room. "They're starting to transport down now." She added.
"Hey; I never minded having you here you know." I returned with a warm smile. "It was kind of fun actually; it does get kind of lonely around here after Amy's gone to bed and Serenity's on duty shift." I admitted; Jenny nodded in agreement.
"I know the feeling, Megan and I share quarters." She reminded; I chuckled lightly and proceeded to head off to my duty shift.
"See you tonight; unless your quarters are free." I called before the door shut; Jenny shook her head and resumed reading her data pad while Megan stashed her bra.
"He's used to having a big family around." She pointed out. "A shame we can't stay here all the time." She added with a tiny smirk.
"You notice how he's managed to avoid coming in contact with any of the Klingons though?" Jenny wondered; Megan nodded.
"A little gun shy I bet after all that time he had to spend with B'Elanna when he first got here." She returned her smirk widening into a grin. "Shall we attempt to break him from that?" She wondered.
"Oh do let's." Jenny returned with a mischievous smile; and together the two sisters began to plot.
Samantha's Personal Log; Hey honey, I know now we have the chance to talk to you and I've really been meaning to, but it's just so busy around here of late. A lot of the crew tends to take up much of my time when I least expect it; just the other day we almost lost three sub-systems because of some test or something, I'm not entirely sure what those people in Engineering were really up to.
We can't really get in touch with anyone in the Alpha Quadrant right now anyway; we're stuck in another dismal void, Al mentioned it was about to happen, that man's future knowledge can be quite irksome at times when he inadvertently let's something slip out. Though I'm certain he doesn't mean to; Naomi is growing quite well and really excelling at her work thanks to Seven of Nine and Al, oh drat… I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut this short honey; I'm late for duty… End Recording.
Amy sighed as she glanced out our bedroom window; I couldn't blame her for her dissatisfaction at the loss of stars, the last void we'd been in hadn't been a picnic.
"Will you be alright here while daddy's on duty?" I asked; my adopted daughter smiled cheerily up at me.
"I'll be just fine Daddy." She replied leaping into my arms and smiling as she hugged me tightly; I ruffled her hair as I put her back down on the decking, then I headed off to my current duty shift longing for just a hint of starlight in this vast bleakness.
"Report lieutenant." The Captain ordered as she and Commander Chakotay entered engineering shortly after my initial arrival.
"We're using power at almost ten times the usual rate." B'Elanna informed switching duty stations as she spoke.
"While we're standing still?" Chakotay wondered curiously.
"The same graviton forces that pulled us into the anomaly; seem to be draining the warp core." Our intrepid chief engineer stated; I worked around the core in question and came up alongside her inputting a few commands necessary for my current task. "At this rate our Deuterium will be gone in about ten days." She added ignoring my hovering presence; she'd gotten used to my odd patterns and constant presence whenever I was on duty, keeping track of everything I did to further the upkeep of our home wasn't easy. As long as I didn't interfere with ships' systems she didn't truly mind; I studied the readout and nodded, it was possible, but not recommended.
"Shut down all non-essential systems." Janeway ordered walking away from the console; Chakotay was quick to follow her with his eyes at least.
"Where are you going?" He asked.
"To find a way out of here." She informed before taking her leave; I cleared my throat to get their attention.
"Commander; I may be able to offer you a short term solution." I spoke up.
"I'm listening." Chakotay returned; he hadn't lost his cautious nature around me, but at least he spoke with me cordially whenever I had something to say.
"I can interlink with the ships main computer for eighteen hours a day and supply a constant source of renewable back up power." I stated sub-consciously clasping my hands behind my back. "After each regeneration cycle; it's not much, but it could prove the difference between life and death." I added.
"Is there any chance of problems?" Chakotay asked "System failures; energy loss, physical harm?"
"I've run all the calculations and variables; there is a point zero three percent chance of the lights flickering on and off, but ultimately no permanent damage to the ship." I informed; B'Elanna shook her head with a slight snarl.
"And what about you Ensign?" She demanded; I sighed openly.
"Sixty-nine percent chance of critical systems failure and synaptic overload, but it's a risk I'm willing to take." I stated argumentatively; Chakotay shook his head firmly.
"Sorry Ensign; I appreciate what you're willing to do, but we can't accept, no life on this ship is worth that kind of risk." He returned somberly; I sighed dejectedly as he patted my shoulder briefly, at least I'd tried. Returning to my duties I began to consider alternatives; it wasn't easy, I was seriously beginning to hate spatial voids.
"What ever happened to that hyper drive system you proposed?" Chakotay wondered turning to B'Elanna questioningly.
"It flopped; all our simulations ended with us either blown to smithereens or lost forever in hyper space." She returned with a sigh. "There just wasn't enough data on the theories of that type of space travel or engine design to be adapted properly." She added.
"Sorry." I spoke up. "But I did tell you I'd never heard of any detailed schematics on my Earth, let alone read them; it was a fictional universe after all." I added; B'Elanna smiled and patted my shoulder.
"Not your fault Ensign; it was an unusual and highly unstable means of travel if you ask me anyway." She added; I shook my head at that having a feeling that the real Luke Skywalker or Han Solo might say the same thing about anti-matter warp cores and light speed, but I had work to do still, maybe if I just did what they did on the episode… Then again the Captain was already getting along with that contingency; we needed something short term to get us through, hmmmm I wonder if I could figure out how to create Energon…
"Daddy I hate the dark." Amy complained cuddling next to me in our quarters much later that night; I sighed slightly and ruffled her hair.
"It'll be ok little one; besides we're capable of seeing better in the dark." I reminded; Amy nodded and wrapped her tail around my waist, soon she'd fallen asleep.
"I can't believe we're sharing quarters again." Megan remarked from the darkness of the room; I chuckled slightly and regarded her form on the couch.
"Not so surprising; the duty roster for bunk mates was still semi-ideal for our current situation." I pointed out. "Besides I don't think Tuvok or the Captain got around to erasing it." I added conspiratorially.
"At least we don't have to worry about Klingons going through our things." Jenny retorted; I chuckled along with the women and gently stroked my daughters' hair as she slept one good thing about being a human battery… At least I could give her the proper nourishment; by supplying my own personal energy for the replicator she still got three square meals a day.
"Your daughter is so cute." Samantha remarked suddenly. "I just had to say that; her purring is just so adorable." She added smiling in the darkness.
"As much as I enjoy this time we're spending together; it is late, perhaps we can talk more in the morning." I strongly suggested; then I grinned. "And thank you for the compliment." I added softly before silence fell upon us; though the soft purring of my sleeping child filled the room with a pleasing and soothing atmosphere, soon we were all asleep.
"Do me a favor; don't leave my toys on the floor." Al groaned rubbing his back; Amy whimpered slightly by way of apology and nuzzled his chest briefly.
"Sorry Daddy; I forgot where I left Skywarp." She whispered; her father chuckled lightly.
"Perhaps we should leave the black Decepticons and Autobots on the shelf until we get full power back." He suggested; Jenny poked her head in from the refresher.
"Al; you're back… Is it true; is the Captain preparing to leave?" She asked hopefully; Al nodded smiling as he did so.
"She is; and I have a feeling this one will work out." He reported with a brief warning glance at Amy; she giggled and promptly took Skywarp from his hands. She put him away while Jenny emerged fully and fetched a change of clothes wearing nothing more then a towel around her. Al had surprisingly gotten used to women in his quarters in towels and so the natural urge to blush; as well as other urges that remain nameless no longer plagued him.
"I can't wait to get full power back." She exclaimed with a huff. "It's hard to tell if I'm co-coordinating my outfits properly in the dark." She added with a slight pout before slipping back inside the refresher to change; Al shook his head exasperatedly at that, and proceeded to pick up the other Transformers Amy had left on the bed. Personally he couldn't wait either; despite the fact that he had optic sensors who could recalibrate to compensate for the dull lighting he was getting a little tired of barely discerning one crewman from the next… Just the other day he'd mistaken Celes for someone else; of course it wasn't hard when the person had your back to you and was halfway down the corridor, she was more surprised then him though and quite embarrassed as well after all he'd thought he'd been sneaking up on Serenity.
"Ah well; no sense reminiscing about past mistakes, or should I say dwelling upon them; I'd better prepare for my next duty shift." He muttered to himself; even though his next duty shift was almost twenty-four hours from now.
Icheb glanced over Ensign Desrochers' shoulder at the readouts being displayed; it had taken them a long time to manage to find the ship after evacuating it, of course the way the Ensign had been flying he had felt it would have taken a considerably longer time.
"There appears to be substantial damage." He noted.
"Indeed." Ensign Desrochers returned. "I'm approaching the docking bay; I just hope there's somebody home." He added.
"Reinitialize the sub-space transponder." The Doctor ordered the computer as I did my best to facilitate repairs; it was not easy and I was seriously getting frustrated with this slow pace.
"Warning; main computer is failing." The computer called out with a jerking static filled voice; both of us sighed as one.
"Switch to back up processors." The Doc ordered; I snapped my panel shut at last and examined the progress; it seemed to be working again.
"Main computer stabilized." The computer informed; I let out a groan as I moved onto the next sub-system.
"Good." The Doc stated in a soft tone. "Now lets' try this again." He added climbing back to his feet. "Reinitialize the sub-space transponder." He ordered.
"Unable to comply." The Computer returned; I rolled my eyes.
"Why not?" He demanded.
"Insufficient power." She returned; I couldn't help thinking of it as feminine with that voice, it didn't care one way or the other of course.
"And they say I'm difficult." The Doc muttered eliciting a smirk from me. "Reroute power from the replicator system." He ordered.
"Unable to comply." The Computer returned yet again; I'd only been back less then four hours and already I was getting frustrated.
"Clarify." The Doc snapped.
"Relays to the transponder are fused." She stated.
"Any suggestions?" The Doctor wondered aggravated.
"Please restate the inquiry." The computer requested causing the Doc to sigh yet again.
"Can the power relays be bypassed?" He spoke up after allowing himself to calm down slightly.
"Negative." She simply responded.
"Then I suppose I'll have to replace them by hand." He muttered more to himself then me; that's when the alarm went off bringing us both up short.
"Warning; intruder alert." She alerted; I glanced briefly at the Doc, but he wasn't looking at me.
"Where?" He asked slightly fearful.
"The Bridge." She returned.
"How many?" He asked next; I suddenly recalled who it was and relaxed slightly, Amy, Naomi and Serenity would be ok.
"Two humanoids." She clarified; Man I gotta stop doing that, the computer is not a person or a woman. Though I bet Kirk would contradict me considering what happened to him that one time the ship's computer fell in love with him. I smirked at that before refocusing my attention to what was going on around me.
"Can you identify them?" He inquired semi-hopeful.
"Negative; sensor resolution is below twenty percent." The Computer returned; now he shot me a look and I shrugged no sense in giving anything away.
"I'll check it out; you continue work here." He ordered before heading out of Engineering.
"Suits me just fine; these damn life support systems are really getting on my nerves though." I grumbled under my breath double checking the amount of oxygen in my suits' supply. "It'd be easier if I didn't have to wear this cumbersome environmental get up." I added annoyed before resuming my work.
"Icheb to Ensign Desrochers; I have managed to return the regeneration alcoves to proper working order." The young former drone called over our internal coms.
"Great work Icheb; how much air do you have left?" I asked.
"Approximately three point nine hours." He returned.
"Then please join me in engineering; the life support systems are pissing me off and you're going to need to regenerate soon." I requested; though I couldn't see it I bet Icheb had nodded.
"Understood Ensign." He returned before falling silent.
"Whistle while you work." I whispered to myself trying to suppress the urge to kick the console.
"Stop what you're doing and turn around." The Doctor ordered after slipping onto the bridge; the two humanoids in environmental suits spun around.
"Take it easy Doc it's us." Harry returned revealing to the hologram that he was among friends.
"It's good to see some friendly faces." He admitted striding across the bridge to join his friends. "For that matter it's good to see any faces at all." He added with a wide smile. "I'm sorry I haven't gotten life support back online yet, but since I've been the only one aboard until recently it hasn't been a priority." He added by way of apology.
"What the hell happened?" Chakotay demanded; the Doctor's expression changed slightly.
"We ran into some; problems." He replied semi-elusively.
"I can see that." Chakotay observed. "Can you be a little more specific?" He requested.
"Of course." The Doctor returned; he moved to his left slightly and steeled himself for what was to come next, and so he began to inform the two crewmen about the near disaster. They were clearly shocked and slightly stunned by the revelations, but before they could say anything something unexpected happened.
"Doctor." A voice cut in breaking through the silence and startling both Chakotay and Harry.
"I thought you said no one else was aboard." Chakotay pointed out; the Doctor shrugged.
"Ensign Desrochers' shuttle only found me a few hours ago; I didn't feel it necessary or vitally important to mention him just yet." He defended before tapping his com badge. "Go ahead Ensign."
"If you've finished your little debriefing with Commander Chakotay and Ensign Kim could you get them down here?" Al requested. "These systems are seriously starting to tick me off even with Icheb to help and the ladies are extremely tired of being cooped up in our shuttle." He elaborated with a snarl as the unmistakable sound of someone punching a useless console could be heard.
"We're on our way." The Doc returned with a smile.
"I keep forgetting he knows more about our future then I'd care to like." Harry muttered as the trio made their way off the bridge.
Jenny and Megan Delaney were most pleased that they had managed to find a job with someone that at least looked like them; the woman's name was Samantha Wildman, and she always seemed to have a joyful expression when it came to describing the workload to her employees… And yet all three women had this nagging sensation; as though something in their lives was missing, Sam was often found crying as though at some great loss when she wasn't on duty; Megan and Jenny offered to comfort her, but to no avail, whatever she was missing it was very dear to her and the wound cut deeply. Still they knew not what they could do; save try to cheer her up, that's all anyone could ask for, but why then did all three of them have this strange feeling? And why did the name Al hold a great significance to them?
"Power to the secondary propulsion systems has been restored." The Computer alerted; I smiled right alongside the Doctor, it had been time consuming, but we did it.
"Kim to the Doctor; report to astrometrics." Harrys' voice floated out of the com.
"On my way." He returned before taking his leave; with a sigh I got back to work.
"So tell me Ensign; why the shuttle?" Neelix asked as he worked on his station; I sighed, going over my reasons with Chakotay had been bad enough and he still avoided me for not telling the Captain or thinking of bringing her along.
"Because of what I knew was going to happen; I tried to get Sam and a few others to come too, but we all got separated in the massive confusion of abandoning the ship." I revealed. "Naomi, Icheb and Serenity were the only others to get aboard with us; fortunately I knew a few tricks to avoid pursuit." I added with a smirk as the system I'd been working on finally registered.
"Joy; Serenity will be pleased, I just got the sonic showers back." I crooned happily; it was good to make some progress for a change.
"Don't you know where the crew is though?" Neelix wondered; I shook my head.
"I know what's happened to them; I know they're on a planet and I know what they're going through…" I trailed off with a sigh. "Unfortunately I don't know the specific coordinates of where the planet is; and as for the rest well, let's just say I'm under strict orders not to share that with anyone." I revealed.
"Aha; that's got it." Neelix exclaimed as his station beeped; I smiled at that.
"Slowly and surely we get this ship up to specs once again." I stated thoughtfully; Neelix nodded and moved to his next task.
"That's the spirit Mister Desrochers; keep it up and we'll be done in no time." Neelix professed with a smile; I shook my head yet again at the Talaxians' hopeless optimism and got straight back to work, my next agenda… Return power to the toilet systems, which for some reason were always more complex then the sonic showers.
"I can't penetrate their shields." Harry exclaimed as I raced onto the shaking bridge; this was just great, I'd just fixed up most of the damn ship and now they want to blow out all the systems again.
"Maybe we don't have to." The Doc mused as I slipped behind Tuvoks' tactical station to give Harry a hand; two hands were better then one after all, though it still felt strange to be taking orders from the Emergency Command Hologram. "The battle of Orkada; it's in my tactical database." He began to explain. "A Romulan Captain; disabled two attacking vessels by creating a photonic shockwave between the two ships." He revealed; I didn't like the delays here, every second our shields continued to get dangerously low.
"How'd he do that?" Harry wondered.
"Watch and learn." The Doc returned inputting the commands into the helms' station. "I don't think they'll be bothering us again." He stated confidently once the ships were disabled.
"Good work." Harry complimented. "Lets' go back for Chakotay." He added.
"Five more ships on an intercept course." I spoke up stealing the Docs' line as the computer alerted us to what sensors had just detected.
"What's your tactical database telling you now?" Harry wondered in an ever so slight sarcastic frame of voice; at least it seemed that way to me.
"Transporters are damaged; shields are failing, we have to retreat. Come up with a new plan." The Doc stated from his assumed station; I groaned under my breath at the damage assessment now popping up on screen.
"Agreed." Harry stated for no practical reason I could discern.
"And after all dat hard work." I grumbled in a Scottish bur. "Captain; permission ta give Commander Chakotay a stern lecture after we get'im back?" I asked in jest.
"Permission denied." The Doc returned with a slight grin easily recognizing who I was both honoring and spoofing at the same time.
"Ah well; 'tis a fine ship, and a fine crew, we'll get her shipshape in no time." I remarked having no clue why I was trying so hard; Harry eyed me warily and I shot him a wink, it was at least fun to pretend to be Scotty, even if I was only doing it to help lighten the somber mood around here.
Samantha sat at her usual table going over the daily reports that her job entailed; Jenny and Megan spotted her and came over with a smile of false cheer, they had found their friend crying in her office again this morning. They really didn't know how they could help her, but they aimed to try; the twins ignored the appreciative gazes shot their way and instead joined their friend and boss.
"Hey Sam; what's up?" Jenny asked.
"Nothing." Sam replied with a sigh as she lowered her data pad. "At least I keep telling myself that." She added in a low whisper.
"You've been miserable since we met you, can't you tell us what's been bothering you?" Megan asked hopeful that this time Sam would break down and admit something was wrong.
"I don't know." She admitted. "You don't know anyone named Naomi do you?" She asked; both women shook their heads.
"Should we?" Jenny wondered.
"It's just… I keep feeling as though someone has ripped my own flesh and blood from me, like I'm supposed to have a daughter… And the name Naomi keeps haunting my dreams." Sam revealed in a hushed tone. "But that's insane right? Who would want to kidnap my own daughter and then erase all knowledge of her from my mind?" She asked with a laugh; the kind of laugh that felt hollow even to the user.
"Oh Sam." Megan returned equally softly; she reached out and clutched the other woman's hand in a show of encouragement. "We know someone… So to speak, we'll ask them if they've ever heard of a girl named Naomi ever coming to this planet." She added with a strong conviction.
"If anything's going on we'll help you figure it out." Jenny offered with a warm smile; Sam thanked the both of them with a simple expression of camaraderie and together the women turned their conversation to happier things.
"When are we going to get my mother back?" Naomi asked worriedly; I sighed wistfully and patted her briefly on the head out of habit.
"Don't worry little bit; we'll get her back." I assured softly; Amy nodded and shot her an encouraging smile.
"I hope so; I'm scared, and I miss Seven." She revealed sadly; I offered her a smile in turn and knelt down to give her a hug.
"It's ok to be sad Naomi; rest assured however we will get her back." I stated firmly; Naomi cheered up a little and gently returned my hug. "Well I'd better get back to repairs, the faster its' done the faster we can get your mom back." I encouraged before grabbing my ever present repair kit of late and heading out swiftly to get some work done.
I growled as I raced down the corridor to main engineering; someone had to monitor the systems down here, the ship shook again and I stumbled into a bulkhead.
"I've got a bad feeling about this." I grumbled before racing into main engineering. "Bridge; this is Ensign Desrochers, anything I can do down here?" I wondered.
"Just make sure the containment isn't lost." B'Elanna ordered; I nodded and assumed a post near the warp core, Icheb startled me by joining me at that moment.
"Understood, but make certain you dampen my life signs as well as Serenity and the kids." I called out; I could tell that confused them, but they'd understand in about three minutes or so.
"And donna' worry about yer engines; I'll take good care of'em lassie." I added slipping back into my Scotty impression out of some sudden and strange reflex; I could hear B'Elanna's groan clearly over the com channel, and I chuckled before cutting the link. "Well laddie; looks like we're in charge of these here engines for the duration of this confrontation, care to place your faith in a semi-insane Technorganic Borg?" I asked Icheb; the young former drone quirked an eyebrow in imitation of Seven or perhaps Spock considering what he said next.
"Highly illogical Ensign, but most apropos given our current situation." He remarked smirking slightly.
"There ye are laddie; ye just got to learn to have a little fun every now and then." I returned with a laugh; Icheb nodded.
"Indeed." He stated before placing all focus on the task at hand; ah me, I'd corrupt the kid yet.
"Mommy!" Naomi exclaimed as she rushed into Samantha Wildman's arms joyfully; Sam was in tears at being reunited with her daughter, Al smiled at the joyous sight and picked Amy up ruffling her hair playfully as he approached the women he called friends.
"Good job." Jenny Delaney whispered coming up beside him; he smiled further at the compliment.
"It's what I do best." He returned softly even as Amy happily rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her tail around his waist; she and Al were made for each other.
"Thank you so much." Sam exclaimed graciously; Al shrugged slightly careful not to upset Amy from her perch.
"What can I say; I like being a parent." He returned with a wide almost obnoxious grin; Sam beamed at him and offered a light kiss on the cheek, a sign of her gratitude and their friendship.
"Come on let's celebrate." Megan exclaimed joining her sister opposite Al; the two of them then began to lead him towards the mess hall, he smiled tiredly, yet graciously.
"Good idea; I've had enough of repairs and being one of the sole crewmembers on this ship to last a lifetime." He remarked allowing them to lead him onwards; fortunately he wasn't scheduled for any duty shifts for the next five days, the Captain in her wisdom decided to give him a sorely needed break… Although part of it was mostly because whenever he was in engineering he wouldn't stop roaring at the rest of his co-workers in Scotty's voice and B'Elanna was tired of being told… 'How many times do I have te say it, the right tool fer the right job!'
I sighed as I passed Q in the corridor; Tuvok was leading him to astrometrics again, at least Q hadn't bothered me when he and his son popped in. Then again it wouldn't have been a good idea for that omnipotent pest to be bothering me at the moment considering I had this nagging feeling Omnibus was watching me constantly now as the events of Endgame drew closer and closer.
"Daddy is it ok to go to the holodeck with Naomi?" Amy suddenly asked telepathically; I smiled briefly.
"Ok little one, but don't stay too long." I returned; Amy squealed internally with glee causing me to flinch slightly at the level she was projecting my teeth wound up rattling in their head. Feelings of apology flooded me, but I shot her a reassuring feeling in turn. "It's ok; you shouldn't be so upset by these things, I'll get used to these little outbursts eventually. And I'm sure you'll improve with more experience." I returned; Amy cheered slightly and took off from wherever she was, I shook my head briefly and resumed my trek to the bridge and today's duty shift.
"Ah joy; more fun with helm duty… Still at least it takes my mind off of this damn feeling of unease, the Alpha Quadrant is after all a lot closer then anyone else is aware." I mused to myself passing into the turbo lift; and of course once we got back there… Omnibus and loathed though I was to admit, I was not ready for him.
Neelix startled me by sitting down next to me in the mess hall a few days later; he smiled jubilantly at me and eyed the data pad I was working on briefly, I eyed him curiously.
"May I help you Mister Neelix?" I asked.
"Oh no, no, it's nothing like that Ensign." He returned hastily. "I'm afraid I might not be around much longer and I felt like giving you a proper farewell, we've been through quite a lot on this ship you and I." He remarked.
"You could say that again." I remarked with a half-smirk. "So; is she beautiful?" I asked; Neelix shot me a startled look, but then broke into a smile.
"Oh yes; and she has a son too…" He trailed off with a happy little sigh; I chuckled slightly and shook my head.
"The things we won't do for a damsel in distress." I remarked partially in jest; Neelix laughed at that and nodded in agreement.
"It's been a pleasure teaching you my trade secrets Ensign; and again I must express my greatest joy that you and Kes became such good friends… I will miss all of my friends here on Voyager, but we'll always be able to talk via sub-space of course." He noted reaching out to shake my hand; I smiled and returned the gesture.
"Perhaps, unfortunately I have a feeling I won't be here much longer my self; though I'd appreciate it if you kept that under your hat." I returned with a slight wink; Neelix raised a hand and shook his head in understanding.
"Good luck wherever the Omniverse takes you." He stated before rising to his feet and giving me one final shake of the hand farewell before taking his leave; I sighed, it just wouldn't be the same without Neelix aboard.
Personal Log; Supplemental, Things seem to have progressed rapidly of late; from the discovery of Friendship One to the Doctors' little espionage tract, it was the closest thing to avoid spilling the beans on him, but since Amy, Serenity and I have been spending as much time as we could together it proved easily enough. Now; events were… Or should I say are going to come to a head; soon we're going to be back in the Alpha Quadrant and then I must face the greatest evil I have ever known.
Omnibus… I'm not ready, but I'll try my damndest and with a bit of luck I'll come out on top; after all I did take down Callopias. I've decided to get intimately involved in this, the last true mission of the Starship Voyager here in the Delta Quadrant; for two reasons actually, the first being a divine curiosity and desire to witness these climactic moments from the other side of the television screen. And the second being my intense interest in discerning whether or not Admiral Janeway has any knowledge of my existence; call it professional curiosity, I was wondering if I even existed in that alternate timeline.
"The emissions are occurring at the center of the Nebula." Seven was saying as I quietly slipped onto the bridge. "There appear to be hundreds of distinct sources." She added.
"Which could translate to hundreds of wormholes." Harry pointed out exceedingly hopeful.
"The radiation is interfering with our sensors, but if Ensign Kims' enthusiasm turns out to be justified. It would be the most concentrated occurrence of wormholes ever recorded." Seven concurred; I smirked briefly, the Borg Transwarp hub was definitely not my idea of a good discovery. And yet it tipped the balance in favor of Janeway and meant at very long last, Voyager could return home.
"Any idea where they lead?" The Captain inquired.
"Not yet, but if just one of them leads to the Alpha Quadrant." Harry pointed out his enthusiastic hope filled tone proving most contagious.
"Who knows Harry; might take us right into your parents' living room." Tom quipped; a most improbable development indeed, spatial anomalies did not appear inside a planets' atmosphere… At least nothing as complex as a wormhole.
"Alter course Mister Paris." Janeway ordered; then she shifted gazes to Harry. "Ensign; when you speak to your mother tell her we may need her to move the sofa." She added furthering Tom's tasteless joke; this atmosphere was contagious, suddenly a stray thought hit me. Amy wanted me back in our quarters; I smiled slightly and quickly took my leave of the bridge.
Amy gave me a quick hug; now was the time to meet Admiral Janeway, she'd be arriving soon. Serenity eyed me warily; she alone was privileged to my advanced knowledge in this instance; she knew what was going to happen once there.
"Omnibus will not win." I stated softly belying my own sense of unease concerning the upcoming confrontation; she pulled me into a tight embrace and kissed me passionately.
"I hope so." She whispered; I adopted a confident expression despite the inner uncertainty I faced.
"I know so." I stated confidently before taking my leave; events were rapidly progressing now, it was only a matter of time… If only I had some convenient deux ex machina like the Autobot Matrix of Leadership to help me out.
"I don't remember ever having an Ensign Desrochers aboard this vessel." The Admiral remarked; I'd been silently observing certain key events while working selective duty shifts, most notably her briefing of Voyager crew on the new offensive and defensive systems.
"I thought as much; I was inserted into this timeline, therefore it stands to reason there wouldn't be any other version of me in your alternate timeline." I stated turning from my work.
"Are you a temporal operative then?" She wondered curiously, apprehension clear in her tone; I laughed and shook my head.
"Nonsense; I'm from an Alternate reality all of my own, I am currently aboard Voyager to undergo some kind of training regime to better serve the God of my Earth." I returned; the Admiral took that at face value and shook her head slightly.
"Temporal mechanics still give me a headache." She noted; I eyed her briefly before turning back to my duty station.
"I don't see any harm in letting you know the extent of my knowledge." I remarked thoughtfully. "You will succeed." I added discretely; making sure no one else could hear me.
"How do you know that?" She demanded; I smiled and tilted my head in Captain Janeway's direction.
"Ask her about my reality sometime; it might prove an interesting development." I suggested before finishing my task and dutifully striding from the bridge; Admiral Janeway never once took her gaze off me, I shot her a wink before the turbo lift doors closed. For once I could have a little fun thanks to my knowledge; and I intended to have as much fun as I could.
Megan's Personal Log: Supplemental; There's a charged air about the ship of late, we all can feel it no matter what some of us might claim. We're going home; there's no other explanation for all of these crazy alterations to the ship, no other way to say it, we're going home. Ensign Desrochers knew this all along of course, but he's still just as excited as the rest of us; he looks like a kid flitting about the ship and soaking in every moment of these events as he can, in point of fact I believe his intense interest in what's happening with this new Admiral Janeway around is what's making everyone feel this way.
Despite his attempts to hide it; people have noticed, Crewman Celes was whistling a happy little tune from one of Al's movie nights the other day on duty and I can't blame her… I can't wait to see the Earth again; to be with my family, and most importantly to get off this damn ship… I think Jenny and I are going to take a few turns of duty on planet for the next couple of years, we've both seen enough of space to last us a lifetime… Still that's not to say I'm not going to miss seeing new worlds and new civilizations; or the other friends we've managed to make here. I wonder though; what's going to come of Al once we're back?
"Bridge to Engineering." The Captain called from her seat.
"Go ahead Captain." B'Elanna returned.
"Deploy armor." She ordered.
"Yes mame." The chief engineer returned; I grinned from my position next to Harry, I wasn't on duty today, merely observing as was my prerogative at the moment.
"This is so cool." I muttered more to myself then anybody in general; it was a secret thrill to be here, we entered the Nebula and instantly the Borg responded.
"Armor integrity at ninety-seven percent." Tuvok reported after the initial volley; the Admiral appeared quite pleased, I had to stifle the sudden urge to cheer. Amy's emotions were pouring through our telepathic link; it was not easy, but it was most welcome.
"Tuvok." The Captain left her question unanswered; the Borg's attacks were doing minimal damage.
"Integrity holding at ninety percent." He returned; I examined a readout to my left curiously, I was quite fascinated with this ablative armor technology to be honest, it was so unlike the Star Trek mythos of the past.
"Maintain course." Captain Janeway ordered.
"They're looking for ways to adapt." Admiral Janeway spoke up as the three cubes initiated scans; I curled my lip slightly.
"Her majesty is in a particularly protective mood today." I remarked. "I wonder if she's forgotten about me yet?" I added with a twisted smirk; Amy sent me feelings of disapproval and I quickly sobered up.
"Port armor integrity down to fifty percent." Tuvok announced once the cubes began to step up their assault; I shot a glance to one of the monitors rapidly deciphering the information. "Forty percent." He added as the readings changed.
"Mister Paris; attack pattern Alpha one." Captain Janeway ordered; I smiled slightly, now the real fun began. "Target the lead cube and fire transphasic torpedoes." She ordered her tactical officer.
"From hells heart I stabeth thee." I spoke up startling the crew slightly; I was feeling a sudden strong sense of delight at the prospect of hurting the Collective once more; this time Amy did not object.
"Target the second cube." Captain Janeway ordered ignoring my indiscretion even as the initial targets' debris still smoldered in the void.
"Distance to the center?" Chakotay inquired after our lone remaining attacker fled.
"Less then one hundred thousand kilometers." Seven replied from her own station.
"This is going to be something else." I remarked as the ship drew ever nearer to what was in the center of this nebula; and I was not disappointed.
"What the hell is it?" Captain Janeway demanded; the sight was indeed quite breathtaking to behold, especially on the view screen of Voyager as opposed to the tiny screen of a television. I was so awed by the beauty that I missed the rest of the conversation between the bridge crew concerning this discovery.
"Alas; the Captain has a renewed sense of her own self-righteousness." I muttered as the ship turned around careful to modulate the vocal circuits of my implants to ensure no one else heard me.
"I thought you said I'd damn well succeed." Admiral Janeway demanded approaching me in the corridor; I smirked slightly and turned to regard her.
"And you will Admiral; however your plan merely needs a little modification." I returned knowingly; the Admiral eyed me critically, but chose to resume her course, she was going to Cargo Bay two to speak with Seven. I returned to my own destination; one last visit to Holodeck two for a little fun time with Amy before our trip back to the Alpha Quadrant.
Samantha's Personal Log: Supplemental; Oh honey, I can't wait until we get home; I want to share Naomi with you in person, I want to hold you in my arms again and smell your nearness. I want to get naked and go wild because damn the holodeck just isn't the same thing as being with you; maybe we can try for that son you were hoping for? Anyway; just a quick message today, it's now or never for us, and I'm confident that it will be now.
Jenny's Personal Log: Supplemental; Mom, Dad… I don't know what to say; I don't know where to begin, I love you very much, and if we don't make it this time… No; I'm not going to say it, Al wouldn't lie to us, he wouldn't tell us the truth, but he wouldn't lie purposefully to us… See you on the other end of this wormhole, I love you…
I stood on the bridge for this one last time; feeling for all the world like Darth Vader aboard the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer Excelsior as that vessel entered the asteroid field in pursuit of the Millennium Falcon.
"Take us in." Janeway ordered after all was said and done and the crew was now ready for the worst.
"Aye Captain." Tom returned inputting commands.
"Ready; willing and eager to do this again." I remarked thoughtfully. "Her majesty is going to be very upset." I added with a dark smile; I did so enjoy severely crippling that old cow, good thing Amy's asleep for now.
"Please try to keep comments like that to a minimum Ensign." Janeway requested regarding me briefly from the center seat.
"Sorry Captain." I returned.
"The Admiral succeeded Captain." Seven reported. "Conduit shielding is destabilizing."
"Now Mister Tuvok." She ordered in turn; the Vulcan nodded and opened fire, bye, bye Transwarp hub.
"Long live the Queen." I whispered sinisterly; or at least as sinister as I ever dared to allow myself to experience whenever she was concerned.
"Aft armor is down to six percent." Tuvok alerted as the ship rocked under Borg attack; I had to steady myself on Ensign Kim's station, for some reason I was humming the Duel of the Fates inside my mind.
"Hull breaches on decks six through twelve." He alerted.
"Should have kept a Decepticon for distraction." I muttered to low for the others to hear. "Starscream always was good at being the faithful lap dog." I added with a chuckle.
"I can't stay ahead of them Captain." Paris called from his station.
"The armor is failing." Tuvok added as the ship rocked once more and alert signals beeped incessantly from his console.
"Where's the nearest aperture?" Chakotay wondered moving from Tuvoks' station to Sevens'.
"Approximately thirty seconds ahead." She revealed. "But it leads back to the Delta Quadrant." She added.
"Mister Paris; prepare to adjust your heading." The Captain ordered.
"Yes mame." He returned; I bucked along with the decking and was catapulted over the railing onto the bridge deck proper.
"Talk about yer bumpy flights." I grumbled glaring pointedly at my broken arm as it began to heal. "Navigation; status, is this the right Quadrant?" I added in a soft whisper smirking slightly despite my nervousness.
"Mister Paris; what's our position?" The Captain asked as the bucking finally stopped; I'd failed to pay enough attention to my surroundings thanks to the pain and my own whimsical nature, and so I had missed a few minutes of what was happening around me. Thus I had missed hearing those crucial orders that the show had never allowed so as to build dramatic tension.
"Right where we expected to be." Paris returned; I scrambled back up off the floor and eyed the view screen, the sight wasn't very pretty; then again I hadn't been on the inside of one since it happened.
"The Transwarp network has been obliterated Captain." Seven reported; I smirked slightly and allowed a soft chuckle.
"Score one for the home team." I remarked jubilantly.
"We'll celebrate later." The Captain stated turning to Tuvok; my cheeks flushed slightly, I hadn't meant for the crew to hear me. "Mister Tuvok." She ordered; no need to say anything further, a strong sense of excitement shot through every ounce of my being like a jolt of electricity. The sphere erupted in a massive explosion that looked ten times more thrilling from the inside and everyone watched with baited breath as Voyager slipped out of its' fiery death.
"We did it." She spoke softly as the sight of the Federation assault fleet greeted us on the central view screen, my eyes were immediately drawn to the U.S.S Enterprise One Seven Oh One- Epsilon; the only ship I recognized amongst the host of unfamiliar ones.
"We're being hailed." Ensign Kim's voice alerted breaking the strong silence permeating the bridge.
"On screen." Janeway ordered and instantly the image appeared. "Sorry to surprise you; next time we'll call ahead." She addressed the men on the viewer; I recognized Admiral Paris and Lieutenant Barclay instantly.
"Welcome back." Admiral Paris spoke a twinkle in his eye and a great big smile on his lips.
"It's good to be here." Janeway returned.
"How did you?" Admiral Paris wondered.
"It'll all be in my report sir." She quickly returned; the rest of the crew were still remarkably silent, probably digesting the fact that they were finally, truly home.
"I look forward to it." The Admiral stated his eyes briefly being drawn to Tom's post at the helm. As the image vanished replaced once more with a shot of the fleet the Captain lowered her head, and I followed suit; honoring a reckless, perhaps foolish old woman determined to set right what once was wrong… Hey; kinda like Sam Becket on Quantum Leap.
"Thanks for your help Admiral Janeway." She whispered; suddenly the internal com line beeped open interrupting the quiet of the bridge yet again.
"Sickbay to the bridge." The Doctor's voice spoke up trailing off at the sounds of a newborn infant's cries; she sounded remarkably healthy and happy, I smiled at the sound of her voice. "Doctor to Lieutenant Paris; there's someone here who'd like to say hello." He added the joy in his tone indicative of a smile.
"You'd better get down there Tom." Janeway remarked with a smile.
"Yes mame." He returned leaving his post; I slapped him on the back as he past by me.
"Welcome to fatherhood Tom." I stated thinking briefly of my darling daughter asleep in our quarters.
"Thanks." He returned before vanishing into the turbo lift.
"Mister Chakotay; the helm." The Captain requested turning to her first officer; who appeared almost hesitant, as though he might not believe his own senses.
"Aye Captain." He stated heading to Tom's vacant post; now I turned to the Captain.
"I'll prepare to disembark; I have a feeling Admiral Paris would prefer to keep me aboard a different vessel while you're escorted to Earth." I stated the joy of the moment melting away as once again I thought of Omnibus' promise.
"Understood Ensign." She returned. "I have a feeling this is the last we'll get to see one another." She added; I smiled.
"It was an honor serving aboard your vessel Captain; I look forward to the next chance we'll get to meet, I have a bigger feeling we shall see one another again." I countered; the Captain and I shook hands and then I made my way off the bridge for the last time.
"Set a course; for home." I heard Janeway say after taking her seat just before the turbo lift doors closed on the scene.
Omnibus rose from his makeshift throne a smile on his lips; oh how he'd longed for this, but no sense in allowing the moment to slip away. Better to savor it for as long as possible; he had waited what seemed like an eternity, he could wait a few days longer.
We stood in the Transporter room that very afternoon; Amy, Serenity and I, our friends stood around prepared to wish us well. Samantha, Megan, Jenny, Naomi, Harry and for some odd reason Ensign Bristow; even the other senior staff members that felt the desire to see me off, even if I'd never truly grown close with the likes of Chakotay and Tuvok.
"We'll miss you." Megan broke the silence; I smiled and gave both twins a big hug.
"And I shall miss you." I returned softly.
"But we'll never forget you." Amy spoke up hugging her friend Naomi who was crying softly; I chuckled slightly and ruffled her hair.
"Your presence was not altogether unpleasant." Tuvok spoke up; I shook my head at the unexpected compliment.
"I hope we can see you again someday." Sam added. "I'd love for you to meet my husband." I shot her a startled look at that, but then swiftly hugged her as well; the others said goodbye one by one, most of them less memorable then others. Serenity and Amy stood patiently upon the transporter pad; our belongings having already been transferred to the other vessel intended to escort us to wherever we needed to go. Surprisingly the Captain joined us as I climbed up beside them; I hadn't been expecting to see her again after our brief farewell on the bridge.
"Try not to cause Jean-Luc too many headaches." She called out with a smile and a wink; I laughed out loud at that and waved her concerns aside dismissively.
"Relax; I'm not Q." I retorted.
"For which we'll be eternally grateful." Harry quipped; the rest of the crew present save Tuvok of course all burst out into laughter at that last remark and I was beginning to feel like we were truly ending a bad episode of the television series, since they always needed to go out on a laugh of some sort, for the most part. Turning to the crewman manning the transporter console I adopted a curious looking stance and smirked slightly as I mentally adjusted my vocal modulators.
"Energize." I ordered in perfect mimicry of Picard; and with a final look at my friends I dematerialized, leaving the Starship Voyager most likely forever and beaming across the vast distance between the two ships… At least vast in the sense that one couldn't simply walk between the two of them to reach one or the other; our destination… Enterprise, and the Fanboy within was most eager to meet and greet her crew; and perhaps make a new friend or two on this, the final leg of my journey in the Twenty-Fourth Century.
Q had watched all of this without interfering; he knew that the end had come and his young charge was going on to face a most difficult challenge indeed, but a part of him felt the sudden impulse to play up the importance of this man's journey for the sake of his silent partner from Earth Prime observing even now as she always did…
Space; the Final Frontier, these were the voyages of the Starship Voyager, her secondary mission… To explore new worlds and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before… Her primary mission; to ultimately find her way home, by any means necessary…
Now; these are the voyages of the Starship… Enterprise; it's primary mission to explore strange new worlds and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before… And ultimately; to lead one champion to his ultimate confrontation with destiny…
To Be Concluded…
That's right folks we're back to the Alpha Quadrant; yep the fight with Omnibus is forthcoming, but first a little bit of tieing up of loose ends and a meeting with the famous crew of the Starship Enterprise... Be here next time for the exciting conclusion to the adventures of Ensign Alain Desrochers in the Star Trek universe in the story aptly titled...
Star Trek: The Next Generation; Home and Heartache... Which naturally will be posted in the proper section of