Chief Helmsman's Personal Log, Stardate 55479.9
We're getting there on the Delta Flyer project. The main reason we're not ready for production yet has to do with the change made in the propulsion systems. The brainiacs at Utopia Planitia have been improving on some of the exotic drive technologies we brought back from the Delta Quadrant. The space-folding one from Steth's ship seems to be very workable for vessels as small as the Delta Flyer. Incorporating that drive meant changes were also necessary in the structural integrity and inertial damper systems. We're very excited about this, as it will make the Flyer series really fast. Standard impulse, thrusters, and warp drives are all included, too. Sorry to geek out, Personal Log, but it really is a cool little ship. And what do you know, my retro pilot's controls are actually better at controlling the folding space drive than the LCars touch system. It has to do with the feel of the navigational system. I felt pretty cocky when Admiral Har'vien okayed those controls.
There's nothing new to report on our co-worker relationship fronts, as far as I can tell. Seven is still living with Chakotay, but she never talks about her home life. When I ask, all she'll say is that both of them are doing "well." I never even get a "very well." Harry still hasn't set a wedding date with Libby, although that's good news from my point of view. I'd rather they split up to give both the chance to be happy. They're "mok'tah," as B'Elanna told me. "Bad match."
My little Miral is blooming, but she's exhausting, too. She's getting into everything! We have to watch her constantly. We brought her to the lab today because we were bringing her to Doc at lunchtime for her checkup (since he hasn't been at our apartment for a couple of weeks - and that's another story). One of us had to keep Miral within arm's length the entire time. She was chattering away incoherently and wanted to examine every single piece of equipment she could reach. She wasn't destructive, but our lab hasn't exactly been baby proofed. She's barely five months old, but she is part Klingon. Miral can already pull herself to a stand, and she moves really fast when she crawls. So, even though she's not actually walking yet, my baby can get into anything if she spots it from the floor. After her appointment with Doc, we brought her over to my mother's to stay for the rest of the day. From now on, she'll be with Mom before AND after any lunchtime appointments.
About the Doc. He's dating, which isn't a surprise. Charlene and his family program are part of his past now. He says he's been dating organics exclusively lately. (I accused him of being prejudiced against photonic women. He was not amused.)
His latest is a statuesque blonde who's a ringer for Seven of Nine. He met her at the opera. Of course. She sings in the chorus. Her voice is very pretty (they sang a duet for us), but I'm sure her overall look is the main attraction for Doc. I didn't speak with Miranda long enough to find out if her personality is like Seven's, too. For Doc's sake, I hope not.
End Personal Log
Chief Helmsman's Personal Log, Stardate 55662.7
Mike Ayala visited us today. He'd been searching for his wife and sons ever since we got back from the Delta Quadrant. Over a month ago, I mentioned it to Mom, and she asked me for names, birthdates, etc. A day later, she contacted me to let Ayala know where his family has been living. After Mike disappeared and things were going downhill fast for the Maquis, Maria changed her name to the nondescript Mary Smith, and her sons became Michael and John Smith. When Mom met them a while later, she helped them move to a small station on the outskirts of the Valdian Expanse, in the Beta Quadrant. Maria had heard of Voyager's return, of course, but not the details. She never realized Mike was aboard. The last she knew, her husband was reported lost on the Val Jean. She missed that was the name of the Maquis ship we'd met up with in the Delta Quadrant. I know Mike had been upset when he never heard from her through the datastream. Now he knows why he never heard from her. She didn't know he was alive.
Fortunately, she hadn't completely made over her life. She was raising her sons by herself. When Mom contacted her via subspace, she broke down completely and kept on saying, over and over, "I can't believe he's alive." Mike spoke to her over a subspace connection the same day, but even though Mom immediately booked the family onto a vessel headed to Earth, it's taken all this time for them to get here from such a remote location.
Mike said he's grateful to me for my tiny bit of help in reuniting him with his family. I told him the thanks go to my mother, who was the one who actually did the research. His boys think it's cool their father was on Voyager. They'd followed our story more closely than their mom, but they were so little when their mom changed everyone's name, even they never made the connection their father's was on the published list of survivors.
I'm happy for Mike. He switched over from Tuvok's Security unit to mine just before Voyager's dramatic return to the Alpha Quadrant. Now he may switch back to Security so he can find a billet where he can be stationed with his family. He says he's done with deep space cruises. I can relate. We've heard so many tragic stories about lost Maquis family members since we got back home, it's terrific to hear about one that's been reunited and whole, even if it took a while to get everyone back together.
End Personal Log
Chief Helmsman's Personal Log, Stardate 55680.9
John Torres, B'Elanna's Dad, just left after his latest visit. Miral was especially charming tonight, batting her long lashes and flirting with him. He says she looks just like B'Elanna did when she was a baby. He had more presents for her, of course. Showering his granddaughter with gifts won't make up for all the ones he failed to give his daughter for so many years, but he does seem to be making a real effort to work on their relationship. Until tonight, he didn't touch on why he left the way he did, or why he never tried to get in contact for all of those years.
But after we finally managed to get Miral to sleep, we sat around the kitchen table for another hour or so, talking. Just talking. A serious one, at last. I think this may prove to be a real breakthrough. If this doesn't do it, nothing will.
It started in such a simple way. John was sharing some stories about B'Elanna's precociousness, and how cute she was when she was trying to imitate her mother's Klingon words and phrases - petaQ was one of the first Klingon words B'Elanna could pronounce perfectly (why am I not surprised?) - but she could switch to Spanish or English with ease. At one point, he called B'Elanna "Querida."
And she burst into tears.
Now that was a surprise. B'Elanna only cries occasionally, and it's always over something so big, like the time she learned her mother really was dead because of a casual offering of condolences in a letter, that it was immediately understandable why she would break down. Her dad's calling her by an old pet name didn't seem like that big a deal to me, although I immediately put my arms around her to comfort her. Her sobbing didn't let up, however, until I turned her over to her dad. That's when I saw he was crying, too. "I'm so sorry, Querida. Maybe I haven't earned the right to call you that anymore, but I want to. You are my dear one, you know that? Just like your mother was, until I couldn't live up to my promise to be her warrior. I wasn't strong enough. My mother was right. I wasn't strong enough for your mother, but I'll never regret marrying her, because you, Querida, are the result. I was a coward, running away like that. I should have stood up to her and stayed, no matter what. I should have kept in touch with you, no matter what. Forgive me, B'Elanna! My Belle Anna."
Words of wisdom from a failed husband. Wisdom, and a warning. I'm not going to ever run away from my family, the way John did, but it could get tough sometimes. Fortunately, I like to scrape shields with B'Elanna every now and then. I AM a warrior in my own way. I was bred and trained to be one. I'm getting to love my Klingon studies more and more every day. I'll never become a true Klingon warrior, of course. Don't have the genome for it, for one thing. But I'll hold my own against anyone who wants to challenge me. I was doing it long before meeting B'Elanna encouraged me to explore the culture so I could understand her better.
I decided John Torres either never thought of doing that, or failed when he tried. I didn't want to ask him which it might be right in front of my wife. I thought I'd do that another time, instead of putting him on the spot. As the conversation went on, I think he answered my question without my asking it.
When both of them had calmed down, wiping their eyes and even chuckling a little bit about how they both "lost it" for a few minutes, I came up with a question I thought he could answer, I hoped, without everyone dissolving into tears again. "John, couples break up all the time. My own parents' marriage was broken for a while, and they're still working on mending it. But why didn't you keep in touch with B'Elanna? It would have meant so much to her."
He looked up at the ceiling and shook his head before answering. "I know your mother wouldn't've really cut my heart out with a rusty bat'leth if I contacted you, B'Elanna, but when it all broke down so suddenly, all I wanted to do was go away somewhere and lick my wounds for a while. I gave notice at my job and jumped onto a starship for Earth the next day. I knew the letter I left for you wouldn't be enough, but since I left all my credits behind for you and your mother, once on board the ship, I really couldn't afford the subspace communication charges. I told myself I was going to call you when I got to Earth from my mother's house. I hated to stick her with the charges, though, so I decided to wait until I'd gotten another job, so I sent another letter. And then, of course, I never heard from you after that. I figured you were so mad at me for leaving, which you deserved to be, and . . ."
"You wrote me letters." B'Elanna's voice was the merest whisper.
He'd written her a dozen letters in the first year after he left. B'Elanna never saw any of them.
Then B'Elanna told him she hadn't been mad at him, she was devastated because he left right after she told him to leave.
"What are you talking about?"
"On the camping trip. Remember? When I ran away, and then you tried to talk to me, I told you to just leave if you couldn't live with two Klingons."
"The camping trip? Oh, God. That had nothing to do with my leaving! That only made me more determined to try to understand Klingon culture, but your mother had had enough by then. I'd failed her as a warrior. My honor was too compromised for her to ever recover her own. She went on and on about it. You know how she was, B'Elanna. Your mother was wonderful, and exciting, and a complete hardass if either of us didn't live up to her expectations. I don't want to speak ill of her to you, dearest, but your grandmother L'Naan warned her against marrying me, just as your grandmother Torres warned me I wasn't going to be strong enough for Miral. I'll never forget L'Naan saying to us we were 'Mok'tah.' Bad match. I'm afraid both of your grandmothers were right. But everyone loved you, B'Elanna. I wish my mom was still here to give you a big hug, but since she isn't, may I?"
Of course, they did, and then B'Elanna turned to me and gave me one. Actually, she held on to me for quite a long while.
We spoke a little while longer about what happened. He tried to contact B'Elanna through subspace several months later, but that was after she and her mother had moved away from Kessik. Miral had put B'Elanna in the monastery to "learn Klingon ways," and once he heard that, he thought it would be better to wait until B'Elanna left it before trying to reach her. He admitted he just drifted along, intending to touch bases with her, but somehow he never did. He blames himself totally for this, because he never even wrote her after he learned she was in Starfleet Academy. Then he heard she'd dropped out, and he never knew where she was until her name appeared on the listing of "Missing, Presumed Deceased" members of the Maquis ship Val Jean. B'Elanna's cousin Elizabeth was the one who told him B'Elanna was alive on Voyager, months after she'd been advised of it by Starfleet. That's when he said he knew he was going to grovel to let him be a part of her life, if he ever had a chance to speak with her again.
After John left, B'Elanna had some more pain to get off her chest. "I guess there was another reason for Mother to be bound for Grethor besides my 'lack of honor' and misdeeds. How honorable was it for her to hold back the letters written to me by my own father?"
I asked her if she wanted to take back everything she did on the Barge of the Dead to get her mother into Sto-Vo-Kor. Of course she didn't. She admitted her own honor had needed some brushing up, since she was going to try to cheat her mother into Sto-Vo-Kor. I told her I hoped my own lack of honor wasn't going to be a problem for B'Elanna and our daughter. She shook her head and laughed. "I don't think you have to worry about that, Flyboy. You've done plenty to atone for your own stupid mistakes. Just keep up the good work."
None of this is word for word, Personal Log. I know that. But it's close, and I wanted to make sure to remember what we said here tonight. Her dad doesn't have to worry about me punching him in the nose, the way I wanted to when first I heard about the way he left. Obviously, B'Elanna never had the story straight. It would have been easier on her if her father had pushed his way into her life, no matter what his ex-wife had told him. He wasn't strong enough, and he's paid a heavy price. I can see that now.
There's a lesson for B'Elanna and me in what he said tonight, too. It's never easy to rebuild a relationship. It's better not to let it fall apart in the first place.
End Personal Log
Chief Helmsman's Personal Log, Stardate 55762.1
Captain Janeway and Captain Chakotay visited our Delta Flyer project today to see how we were doing. Everyone congratulated him on accepting his promotion to Captain. He had to go on several vision quests before finally deciding it was the right path for him to take. He's mulling over several offers, but most of them are on starships. He could be sent anywhere, and Seven once told us he never wanted to live so far away he could transport to where she was. B'Elanna thought it was romantic. I thought it was way too mushy, even for me. Anyway, I guess they're happy. Whenever I seem them together and Captain Janeway is around, he still seems closer to his former captain than his current lover. Again, maybe I just want to see what I want to see.
We showed both of them around before taking a nice long lunchbreak. We were talking business with superior officers, so it was okay. That's what I told everyone afterwards. With all of their experience with the Flyer, both of them were appropriate consultants. They were most interested in the extra propulsion system, and how we managed to squeeze in the instrumentation needed for it to work in the limited space we had after all the other systems were installed. Testing the folding space drive will be tricky, I know, since Steth had trouble with it. (Or maybe it was just the criminal inhabiting Steth's body at the time who had trouble with it. I'm not sure to this day what the problem really was.)
Anyway, after Steth's name came up, we began to reminisce about our "tour of duty" in the Delta Quadrant. It's hard not to laugh at that term, but as our time on Voyager fades away in the rear view mirror, maybe we'll all accept that that's what it really was. Harry was the one who said it first. "You know, sometimes I'm sorry I'm not back there. It's so boring now." Amid all the laughter, he went on, "It's true. We would have had this shuttle operational months ago if we were still alone in the Delta Quadrant, without any admirals to hassle us! Every now and then I would actually like to have a red alert blast me out of bed. Some excitement in my life!" I was tempted to respond, but then I thought better of it. Harry didn't realize he'd let us all know more about what his life was like now than we really wanted to know.
Instead, I listened to everyone else chiming in. We all agreed it was sometimes difficult to reconcile our current lives with our life on Voyager, never knowing what was coming next or when the weirdness quotient was greater than we ever anticipated. In those days we lived through one crisis after another, but even in the Delta Quadrant, I reminded everyone, we had time to have parties in the mess hall, or spend time on the holodeck in fun programs like Captain Proton. I complimented Captain Janeway about her "Queen Arachnia" performance, and she agreed "that was so much fun." Harry and I loved to bedevil poor Tuvok by tweaking his programs. Harry mentioned Tuvok's promotional dinner, when we admitted we'd programmed his security console and replicator to say "Live long and prosper" every time he activated either device. Harry received a vintage "Janeway glare," but everyone was laughing so hard, even our captain, that no one was offended. Honestly, I don't think Tuvok was even offended most of the time. He put on the act of being miffed (totally inappropriate for a Vulcan, by the way) as part of the joke. He knew we could have a serious morale problem if we didn't keep up the spirits of all the non-Vulcan crew members - and maybe the few Vulcan ones on board, as well.
Seven asked Captain Janeway (can't just say "the captain" any more, if Chakotay is around) how Tuvok is doing. "Very well. His treatment is in its final phase. Since his daughter Asil is the one who is most compatible with him, she's working with him on his cure, under the direction of a master who is an expert in the process. He expects to be cleared for duty again in about a month." (We've never been told exactly what he has. It sounds a lot like Bendii Syndrome, but that disease usually is diagnosed in Vulcans who are twice as old as Tuvok. Perhaps some of what happened to him in the Delta Quadrant, such as becoming and unbecoming Tuvix, or when he was assimilated by the Borg, caused a very early onset of the condition. It might be another related disorder, too. I doubt he'll ever let us know what it is.)
B'Elanna asked if he was going to come back to Voyager. Captain Janeway had to admit she doesn't know yet. No one knows if Voyager will ever fly again, although technically all of us are still listed as her crew. "A museum! What a waste of a fine ship!" Captain Janeway grumbled. "In Admiral Janeway's timeline, that's what Voyager became. A museum, sitting on the grounds of the Presidio. With a view of Alcatraz - on a clear day." And she harrumphed again, like it was a future she couldn't bear to contemplate.
B'Elanna and I looked at each other. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Harry and Seven sharing the same exchange. Captain Chakotay stared down at his hands, his brow wrinkled in concentration. I realized that this is the first time Captain Janeway had shared any personal conversations she'd had with her counterpart, in my hearing, at least. In fact, I thought it was the first time I'd heard her talk about her at all since she visited our quarters to meet Miral for the first time. When my father was talking about the Borg's status after Neelix's wedding, I can't remember if Captain Janeway said anything at all.
I don't think anyone knew what to say after that for several moments. Then my mouth took over from my brain, as it still sometimes does. I brought up "Woolgathering Night," when we were talking about temporal anomalies and how we still don't know why Captain Braxton let us keep the Doc's mobile emitter and didn't wipe away our memories of the incident. As soon as I said this, I looked around and saw Captain Janeway glance at Seven, and then Seven glanced at Harry, and Chakotay was sitting there with that dimple of his showing in a grin, and I remembered all of them probably knew about more temporal anomalies than I did. I shut up, not sure of what I should say next.
B'Elanna gave me that "What the heck are you talking about, Flyboy?" look. Other than the trip to the late 20th century and our confusing incident with Kes in Neelix's resort, B'Elanna probably has had the least number of experiences with temporal excursions - that any of us know about, that is. Who knows what other things were hidden from us by a changed time line?
Finally, Captain Chakotay said we probably haven't heard from Captain Braxton because getting home with Admiral Janeway's help was part of the Temporal Police's grand plan. Somehow I doubt it, but at that moment, I didn't feel like saying anything more. Maybe we'll never know. One thing I do know: I'm enjoying this time line I'm in right now. We've all found out there are worse things than boredom.
End Personal Log
Chief Helmsman's Personal Log, Stardate 55873.3
We received a birth announcement today via Operation Watson. Neelix and Dexa proudly shared a new family portrait. Dexa was holding their new daughter Alixia while big brother Brax looked on. He had the biggest grin on his face. In an attached text message, Neelix revealed that the first family portrait which they'd taken a week ago, right after Alixia was born, showed a different expression on Brax's face. His smile was so forced, Neelix said, that with one look, you could read his mind. "Is this new person going to ruin my life?"
Now that he's had an opportunity to get to know his little sister, and he sees his mom and Neelix still love him the way they always have, he's started to relax and "enjoy the journey." I know Neelix will always miss the family he lost on Rinax, but now he's got a lovely new one to care for. We wish them all the very best.
End Personal Log
Chief Helmsman's Personal Log, Stardate 55981.2
My daughter is going to be spoiled rotten. It's true. Between all of our Voyager crew mates, who consider Miral their unofficial little niece; three grandparents, who positively dote on her; and the entire population of Starfleet Command, Miral is going to expect a big celebration and fireworks to mark her birthday for her entire life. And maybe she'll get them, too, since Miral happened to be born on the day when Voyager burst out of an exploding Borg sphere and returned in glory to the Alpha Quadrant. How can mere parents beat that by having a clown AND a pony at her birthday party? Never going to happen!
This year is the first anniversary of our return, as well as our little missy's first birthday. We had the kid party that afternoon at my parents' house. It was really big, with Tommy and his parents visiting from Bajor, my sister Moira with Jason and Kathleen with newborn Astrid, Aimee Gilmore, Icheb, first year cadet Naomi Wildman, and a bunch of our crewmates' kids. There were more of them than we originally thought. When we were in the Delta Quadrant, our crew often held back speaking about their kids because it hurt so much to be so far away. Joe Carey's two sons stopped by for a while with their mother and brought a present for Miral, too. Ann hadn't attended any of the "welcome home" events over the past year, but she said this was different. Joe had spoken about Miral's impending arrival during their one and only Operation Watson contact. She never felt up to coming by before, but she wanted to mark Miral's birthday. "Joe would have wanted us to be here."
This evening was the big anniversary dinner. Very few of our crew missed it, and those that did, like Jenny Delaney on Deep Space Nine, were too far away to make it back for one night. A very healthy-looking Tuvok and his regal wife T'Pel were there. He made a point of introducing her to me and whispered, "Notice her ears, Mr. Paris." I swallowed a snorting laugh. She turned to me with eyes that were extremely bright for a Vulcan matron, and I knew she was quite aware of what her husband said to me. She took my hand gently in hers (and for touch telepaths like T'Pel, that's a very big deal). She said, "It is the essence that counts, Lieutenant Paris. I know you did your best to capture that, although we had never met in person." Then she squeezed my fingers. I basked in her approval, more than I ever have when receiving praise for my regular holodeck programs. That one was special, because it helped save Tuvok.
There were speeches, dry and dull, naturally. A few sparkled, but not enough to make me stay quiet when I was sitting between B'Elanna and Harry. We swapped sarcastic remarks more than once, drawing a glare from our captain on several occasions. We let everyone think it was the wine and synthehol talking. Right.
Actually there was an excellent wine on the dais. Captain Picard was one of the attendees, and he made sure a supply of one of the select vintages from the Picard Winery was supplied to anyone who could appreciate the "good stuff." I don't care how good replicated wine is. The real thing will beat it every time, and I told Captain Picard so. Harry accused me of angling for Picard's staff, and I just smiled. Unless my family could come with me, it's an honor I know I can decline any day of the week. But the wine was REALLY good.
After the speeches were over and the party was winding down, a group of us drew chairs around the big round table where my parents, Libby, and T'Pel were seated. We chatted for quite a while, keeping company with one another in a way we seldom have the chance to do, since our ship is still up in Utopia Planitia and we're all planetside. The refit is done, according to Captain Janeway. There's still no word on whether we'll be going out on any more missions in Voyager, or if the museum idea will be put into operation. Dad said the chances were 50/50. If we do go on another "mission," it will probably be in convoy with Enterprise on diplomatic missions for a year or two before Voyager is landed on the Presidio permanently, as a museum. While it helped explain Captain Picard's presence, and hanging out with the Enterprise people would be nice, I'd prefer a real mission or two before the mothballs are pulled out.
Captain Janeway confirmed she's been offered a promotion to admiral. Again. I asked Picard why he's never accepted any of the promotions offered to him. He replied he's still happy in the captain's chair. He said, in essence, that he prefers to act rather than pass judgment on the acts of a captain when he hadn't actually been there to observe the myriad of minute details which influence a captain's decisions.
My dad made it clear he'd be pleased if his protégée became an admiral, but it was her decision. "An admiral wields a lot of power, but so does the captain of a starship. What kind of power do you wish to exercise, Kathryn? You're as eminently qualified to be an admiral as Jean-Luc is, even though he keeps turning us down! We're enjoying your presence at Starfleet Academy. The cadets are all very appreciative that you're sharing your experiences and expertise with them. But do you want more? What do you wish to do with your life?"
Captain Janeway mused for a few minutes before saying, with that twisted smile we remember so well from our days in the Delta Quadrant, "What do I wish for? Well, as a captain, I can always look forward to advancement to admiral. As an admiral, all I can look forward to is retirement!"
Everyone laughed. Almost everyone. Harry's seemed a bit hollow, and I admit mine wasn't as hearty as I tried to make it. We all remembered the Admiral Janeway we met. I don't think I'm alone in hoping my Captain Janeway never accepts that promotion, even though the first Admiral Janeway's time line has been changed so radically, who knows what path the life of another Admiral Kathryn Janeway might take?
As the party was breaking up, Harry suggested some of us get together for a dinner at Sisko's in New Orleans in a couple of weeks to mark the anniversary in our own way. He said he'd be happy to make the reservations. B'Elanna and I accepted provisionally. My mother's birthday is around that time, and we couldn't attend her party last year because we were sequestered on Voyager. Chakotay and Seven agreed to join Harry and Libby that night, too. None of the others could make it and politely declined.
Since there aren't going to be any admirals present for Libby to suck up to, I thought I might be able to make it through the meal. I'd like to say I'll be looking forward to it. For Harry's sake, I'll put on my Paris game face and do my best to enjoy myself.
End Personal Log
Chief Helmsman's Personal Log, Stardate 55996.8
We decided to come home early. Libby was even more insufferable than I expected, and I'd expected her to be obnoxious. She clearly didn't want to hang out with underlings like us - and we hadn't even finished the appetizers yet. Seven was a little late. When she arrived, she was alone and told us Captain Chakotay couldn't make it this evening.
B'Elanna shot me a "get us out of here" look, and I was happy to oblige. I'd already paved the way by explaining that Miral was fussy with teething, and I wanted her to get a good night's sleep so she wouldn't be too difficult at Mom's birthday party tomorrow. It wasn't a lie, Personal Log, but we could probably have lasted out the main course if Libby had been more agreeable. We ordered a couple of Jambalaya dinners "to go" and left a rather unhappy threesome behind.
I'm feeling a little guilty now. Libby despises Seven, and Harry will try to placate both of them. An impossible task! I'll follow up tomorrow to find out what happened. Commiserate with Harry, if necessary. I've got plenty of practice doing that!
End Personal Log
Chief Helmsman's Personal Log, Stardate 55999.7
I do hate being right sometimes. Harry's evening was a total disaster. There's only one real bright spot, or maybe there's two.
Harry broke up with Libby. And Chakotay and Seven have broken up, too. Chakotay has moved out of the home they'd shared. I'll have to call Icheb in for a little chat. He'll know some of the details, even though he's been living at the Academy. From passing comments Seven has made during down time we've had on the project, I know she confides in her son. Maybe I'll ask B'Elanna if she knows anything, too. She's been friends with Chakotay for years, and she'd been getting on well with Seven even before we started on the Flyer project.
After B'Elanna and I left Sisko's with our dinners, Libby went into a snit and flounced home. She expected Harry to meekly follow her. Instead, Harry FINALLY showed that backbone everyone knows he has that he'd avoided showing to Libby. He and Seven had a pleasant meal after the Libby fireworks were over. Harry said they "cleared the air" about misunderstandings which have interfered with their "friendship" for several years. I'm not sure what he means by this. I'm still not positive Seven is the woman for him, but she's a major upgrade over Libby. If Harry's relationship with the widow Byrd really is over, at least he and Seven can find out if anything could ever develop between them, or if they really are to be "just good friends" for the rest of their lives. As long as Libby's in the picture, that can never happen.
After Seven went home, Harry brought the dinner Libby had ordered but never consumed back to their apartment, intending to bury the hatchet. Libby only wanted to bury it into Harry's back. Harry told me this morning he suddenly realized he'd been living a lie for the past year, trying to recapture a past life he should have left behind long ago. When it comes to Libby, the destination wasn't the one he expected it to be. It was a mistake for him to ever take up with her again; they aren't a good fit anymore. And on and on.
And I finally said, "Alleluia! My Harry is back!" and patted him on the back. B'Elanna gave him a great big kiss. (Vorik and Lieutenant Myers shrugged their shoulders and went back to work. We weren't ready to explain it all to them at that moment.)
Harry's moved in with his parents temporarily, to his mom's chagrin. His father told him, "I wondered how long it would take before you saw through her." Obviously, he was not a Libby fan any more than I was.
Seven called out sick this morning. Seven. Called. Out. Sick. First time ever. I checked.
Maybe that's a great sign, too. She told us once about the "fail safe" Borg implant Doc removed, which held her back from experiencing any strong emotions. She did it so she could fully explore her relationship with Chakotay. Now she's experiencing the opposite side of love and ecstasy: loss and heartache. It will make a better human being out of her. A more complete human, as Captain Janeway has always wanted for her.
I wonder if this will change the relationship between our captains, too? Harry indicated Seven's breakup with Chakotay was due, in great part, to Seven's perception that he's more attached to Captain Janeway than he is to Seven. That's an interesting observation, something I've thought for a long time. They're both captains now. They're both teaching at the Academy as co-workers, so there's no chain of command issues to get in their way.
Even if it doesn't turn out to be for "always" like B'Elanna and me, I'd love to see the two of them explore a real relationship with each other. They've always seemed so right for one another, but something (usually Starfleet protocols) has gotten in their way. We'll see.
Or maybe we won't. Kathryn Janeway and Chakotay have always been very careful about how they show their "do they or don't they" relationship. I don't see them changing that just to satisfy my "prurient interest," as B'Elanna says.
End Personal Log
Chief Helmsman's Personal Log, Stardate 56024.7
We've been enjoying our lunch hours more lately. At first, when Chakotay came with Captain Janeway, Seven was clearly discomfited. That seems over now. She's as cordial to Captain Janeway as ever. How could she not be? Our captain has always treated her like a daughter, and that hasn't changed, even if the relationship between the two captain seems to be closer than ever. They're both maintaining their own apartments, but we always see them together. Maybe they switch between them when they want to change uniforms or something?
Harry calls Seven Annika all the time now. I can't quite get used to it. Maybe someday. Her human side really is showing more now. Maybe it's true you have to have some sad times to appreciate the good things you have. For Seven, those bad times were always Borg-related. Now, she's had the experience of getting over her "First Love," as she said to B'Elanna the other day. I wonder if she classifies what she felt for Axum in Unimatrix Zero as love, too? Her "fail safe" chip was still intact then. Maybe she doesn't have a way to compare the two.
She's experiencing one love, though. She speaks often of Icheb with great pride. He's doing very well at the Academy. Now that she's not trying to be the lover Chakotay wanted her to be, she'll have more time to spend with Icheb when he's free to visit her. Icheb's been loosening up, too. He called me and asked if he could come along on some Delta Flyer test flights, if he's around when we do them. I think he wants a few more lessons in evasive maneuvers. The kind of evasive maneuvers he may need to learn are how to handle attention from his fellow cadets. I understand several of the female variety have been swooning over him. They all love his "face jewelry." So much for worrying about people showing prejudice against an ex-Borg!
End Personal Log
Chief Helmsman's Personal Log, Stardate 56034.7
We're packing up our apartment for our transfers to Utopia Planitia. I'm probably going to have to retitle you, although I really don't want to. I think in my mind I'm always going to be Thomas Eugene Paris, Chief Helmsman of Voyager. It won't matter what my actual rank will be, or my duties, or where I'm actually posted. Voyager will always be my home.
I'm glad a lot of people survived who would have died if our journey had taken as long as Admiral Janeway's did in her timeline. (Captain Janeway won't tell us how many there were in that other timeline, or who. It's possible the admiral didn't recite the entire list, only the names of the people who'd pack the biggest punch.) And of course, destroying the transwarp hub may have been our greatest accomplishment. Still, I wouldn't have minded if B'Elanna and I had spent a couple of years more on Voyager, raising our daughter. The crew had taken such a proprietary interest in Miral. They deserved to see more of her, just as they did our other from-birth Voyager babies, Aimee Gilmore (from a maturation chamber birth) and Naomi Wildman (born in an alternate universe).
Come to think of it, maybe Miral is the only true from-birth Voyager baby.
It's scary to think that Naomi has passed the Starfleet Academy exam already and has started classes this term. She's seven years old! Not your run-of-the-mill seven-year-old, of course, but she's passed all her exams. She demanded her parents Sam and Gres allow her to attend immediately, so they finally agreed she could enroll this term. In a way, it's unthinkable, and yet everyone on board Voyager expected this of Naomi when we saw her shooting up a few centimeters every few months.
I think she's bucking to be a captain by age twenty.
So, do you think you'd like me to have your headings read "Lieutenant Thomas E. Paris, Personal Log, Stardate XXXXX.X?"
Didn't think so. I'm going to hold off for a while yet.
I'll hold onto the title of Chief Helmsman of Voyager until Starfleet gives it to someone else. Right now, that doesn't appear too likely. Our ship's refit was completed six weeks ago, but no move has been made to move her out of Utopia Planitia to Spacedock to receive any crew. She may be ready to sail off into new adventures, but it seems more likely she's destined to remain forever near Earth. Or on it. Those plans to park Voyager on the Presidio are apparently still in play, and maybe more likely every day she's not accepting her current or new crew members on board. Clearly, Starfleet is reluctant to let go of our historic journey, or of our ship.
So, until our formal and permanent transfers come through, I'm not changing your name, Personal Log.
End Personal Log
Chief Helmsman's Personal Log, Stardate 56036.6
B'Elanna and I were contacted by Captain Janeway this morning. My speculation that Voyager will never journey through space again now seems a bit premature. All of our crew who remain in Sector 001 and have not yet received permanent orders to another posting are being called back to active service on Voyager immediately. We're to get our butts up to Spacedock ASAP. Spouses and children are not welcome unless, like B'Elanna and me, we're both assigned to Voyager. It's a good thing we'd finished packing what we were going to take to Utopia Planitia.
I called my mother and asked her if she could keep our precious Miral with her while we were "on a sudden new assignment." That's when I saw my mom's eyes were red. Dad's going with us on whatever venture it is we're heading out for. In fact, he's chosen to ride with us on Voyager. For the first time, I'll be serving on the same ship as my old man. I guess I'm really going to need to bring my "A" game for this mission.
After we dropped off Miral and kissed Mom goodbye - make that au revoir - we transported up to Spacedock with Dad, Harry, and Seven. The place is a total zoo. Obviously, something big is happening, because every ship in the sector is being amassed into a task force. Some will meet us at the rendezvous point later this week. Harry and I estimate there will be at least forty ships in the task force, of various classes and complements. Since Voyager needs between a hundred twenty to a hundred fifty crew for optimal function, some slots are being filled by officers who had their shore leave on Earth cancelled by whatever is happening. We're also getting a company of fifteen cadets, led by third year cadet Icheb. That's a plus, since Icheb knows Voyager so well, or at least did. I don't know what the refit has done to it. We won't know until we get there.
Harry and I will be piloting prototypes of the new Delta Flyer series to Utopia Planitia tonight. That's where Voyager is still berthed. We were expecting to start our final tests on the new Flyer this week. It looks we'll be doing more than testing protocols, so we'd better have done our job well. These little ships will be needed immediately, if not sooner!
End Personal Log
Chief Helmsman's Personal Log, Stardate 56038.1
When we arrived on Voyager, we were momentarily shocked to see a couple of familiar faces we never thought could be there: Marla Gilmore and Noah Lessing. Both officially resigned their commissions, retaining their "benefits," per their agreement with the Board of Inquiry. Apparently, their benefits include the right to be called up as reservists if needed. Actually, Dad told me in confidence he'd told them they had the right to decline the "honor" if they wished, under the circumstances. Their recall is a sign Starfleet's efforts to keep the Equinox "incident" totally secret has been successful. Starfleet Personnel had no reason to believe they wouldn't be welcomed back. After what we'd told him about how they'd acted as members of our crew during those last two years of our journey, Dad wasn't surprised when both said they'd serve.
Aimee is with Marla's sister. Marla is concerned, of course, but she's resigned to whatever happens. "The adoption is official, and my sister is her guardian if anything happens to me. I'm ready for my destiny, whatever it may be. It's already been so much better than I expected, you know?" I did know. She'll be in Engineering with B'Elanna. Noah will be in Astrometrics with Seven and Icheb. Most of their staff will be cadets, although some of the youngsters will serve in other capacities throughout the ship. The Sciences, other than the Stellar Cartography and Astrometrics units, will be thinly staffed. It doesn't look like we expect to do much in the way of exploration on this trip.
Personal Log Addendum
Captain Janeway held a senior staff meeting as soon as all the officers she expected from the Sol system had arrived on board. She introduced Captain Chakotay as "acting first officer," because of his abundant experience in the position. We all smiled, but we knew better than to chortle. Most of our staff is the same as the one we had on our journey. Harry's at Ops, B'Elanna is Chief Engineer, I'm Chief Helmsman, the Doc is Chief Medical Officer, Seven is the head of Astrometrics and Stellar Cartography, and Ayala is acting Security Chief until we meet up with Tuvok at the rendezvous point. Since it's between Earth and Vulcan, Tuvok is traveling on a ship stationed near his home planet. The captain emphasized that Tuvok stated he was very happy to be back, and that his leave time is now "over." That's code to all of us in the know that the treatment for his medical condition was successful. Captain Janeway then introduced my father and asked him to brief the crew on our mission.
"I'm sure you're all curious about what is going on here. I'd like to say it's another 'Welcome home Voyager' celebration, but it is not. Sensor readings have revealed a lot of activity in the area of our rendezvous point. Space is thinning there, and a rift of some sort is forming. We're not at liberty to speculate at this time exactly what kind of rift it is, other than to confirm it has nothing to do with temporal matters. The opening appears to be between two areas of space in our own time continuum.
"Voyager will be positioned next to Captain Picard's flagship, Enterprise. There is a reason for this. Voyager has experienced phenomenon while in the Delta Quadrant that no other ship in the fleet ever has. Starfleet Command wants that experience where it will do the most good, in the thick of the action. Admiral Hayes is on Enterprise. I'm here, of course. Other admirals from Starfleet Command are in place on other ships in this group.
"But make no mistake, every person who ever served on Voyager during their journey from the Delta Quadrant may be able to provide more insight into what is happening than anyone in the admiralty. Make sure every Voyager veteran on your respective staffs is aware of this. None of us should be afraid to speak up if we perceive something which may be pertinent to our mission. Keep the lines of communications open. Earth, the Federation, even the entire galaxy, may depend upon the actions we take in the next few weeks. Thank you all for your attention."
I've heard a lot of Dad's speeches over the years. Most of them were directed at me, trying to motivate me into being the "best that I could be." This time, I was glad to be on the receiving end of one of his professional speeches. When he was being my dad, I usually though he was annoying and petty. Today I understood how he got to be an admiral.
I know you're wondering how I managed to quote Dad so extensively. I copied his speech from the official logs. I wanted to remember it.
End Personal Log
Chief Helmsman's Personal Log, Stardate 56040.5
We've been sweating out drills almost constantly for the past two days. The first one was the worst, because we weren't used to the changes which had been made to Voyager during the refit. There weren't as many as there could have been, and we noticed almost all of the "Borg" improvements are still in place. B'Elanna said she checked out the armaments. While that wonderful ablative shielding has been removed (probably for further study before becoming a permanent part of Starfleet's standard equipment), she said the ship is equipped with transphasic torpedoes. I guess the armament research guys work more quickly than the shield brainiacs. Frankly, I was glad to hear we had some available. They make things go "boom" really good. I hope we won't need them, but . . .
We all hoped Admiral Janeway's sacrifice had ended the Borg threat during our lifetimes, at least. From these orders, and judging by the armaments on our ship, I have to think it did not.
End Personal Log
Chief Helmsman's Personal Log, Stardate 56045.1
We've reached the rendezvous point. Tuvok's aboard and is back at Tactical. Ayala wavered a bit when I asked him whether he wanted to stay with Tuvok or come onto my Navigation team. He's decided to stay at Tactical and Security, to continue as Tuvok's second in command. Under the circumstances, that's probably a good idea. We have enough people in unfamiliar positions. It's good to have someone steady, like Ayala, backing up Tuvok. His condition may be cured, but it won't hurt to have an experienced backup serving under him.
We're continuing to perform tactical drills on a regular basis, but not with quite the intensity we did during our first few attempts. In just a few days, everyone has become much more familiar with the ship, whether they're a Voyager veteran getting used to the subtle changes of the refit or one of the cadets getting real life training on a ship for the first time. Our reaction times have steadily improved. Even Seven, the former "efficiency monitor," says she's impressed.
It has been fun to meet our shipmates. Marla and Noah weren't the only surprises. Sam Wildman is here, but this time, her husband Gres is on board with her. Naomi is not. As a brand new cadet, as much as she begged to be allowed to come, her parents and her superiors at the Academy told her she was not ready. Sam said she could see Naomi wanted to argue, but then she realized this was a test of her maturity. She may have passed her entrance exams, but Naomi still must show she's ready for the Academy experience, given her age. Wisely, Naomi showed her true mettle and acquiesced to her parents' and superiors' orders.
B'Elanna's biggest shock was finding Mortimer Harren working at one of the terminals in Engineering. He had taken a short vacation from the Institute of Cosmology on Orion One to visit some of his friends on Earth. Wouldn't you know, Mortimer's timing is as bad as ever. He told B'Elanna he's resigned to his fate. He'll still work on his Big Bang Cosmology theories, but he assured her it will only be during off duty hours until he's free to get back to his institute.
And there's one person I cannot wait to tell you about, Personal Log. Guess which "adopted" Voyager crew member will now be able to claim he's actually been assigned to Voyager, if only temporarily, and (one would hope) only in the Alpha Quadrant. Yes, that's right. Lieutenant Commander Reginald Barclay has finally achieved his ambition to serve on Voyager as an organic, rather than a photonic, person.
Some faces around here are glum. Some are resigned to their fate, like good old Mortimer. And then there's Reg Barclay, the happiest guy in Starfleet. He's finally gotten to the place he's wanted to be for the past four years. Bravo, Reg!
End Personal Log
Chief Helmsman's Personal Log, Stardate 56047.7
Our formation currently consists of thirty seven ships. Ten more are expected to arrive within the next two days. Whatever is going to happen here might actually be over by then. We'll see. We're all in a state of readiness. Watchful waiting, I believe one of my professors called it. Right now I don't remember her name. Laren would probably have remembered. I remember I didn't like that professor too much. She reminded me of my father.
Although no one has officially said what it is we're doing here, Seven told us all we need to know. The spatial anomaly forming is a familiar one to all who were on Voyager in the Delta Quadrant, especially Seven. All indications are that the rift is opening between Fluidic space and ours. We're waiting for representatives of Species 8472 to arrive. We know what happened to the Borg when they fought against them. We can only hope things will go better for us. Since Chakotay's visit to their training facility, I'd always hoped we'd end up as friends.
Personal Log Addendum
The rift has opened. I counted ten bioships entering our space. They immediately spread out into a line, but it doesn't seem to be an aggressive formation. Once in place, the ships made no effort to attack us, or even move away from their positions once they'd taken them. It seems they're doing exactly the same thing we are. Waiting for something. Or someone.
End Personal Log
Chief Helmsman's Personal Log, Stardate 56048.3
Another large bioship has appeared, followed by two smaller vessels which definitely are NOT bioships. They're spherical and covered with a multitude of mechanical attachments.
At first I thought the Borg spheres were either chasing or being chased by the large bioship. Then I realized all three were traveling in formation, eventually assuming the central position within the line of other bioships.
We were hailed, and Harry put them on screen. Familiar faces appeared. Boothby. Valerie Archer. Admiral Bulloch. These aren't the original people from the Alpha Quadrant, of course. The real Admiral Bulloch is on the Australia right now. These are Fluidians, in humanoid dress. A few seconds later, the screen split into three sections. The Species 8472 images were in the center. On one side, I saw another face I recognized. Commander Korok, one of the leaders of the Borg resistance movement, was on the left. A lot of his implants have been removed, but with the scars and eyepatch over what had once been his mechanical eye, he actually looked a lot more Klingon than most Klingons I've ever met. He looked pretty good, and I couldn't keep the grin from my face. He grinned back at me. "Paris! It's good to see you again, and under better circumstances, I trust."
Since this was news to everyone on our bridge, I heard several gasps behind me, including one I was sure from my father's throat. Then I heard not only a gasp, but a murmured name. "Axum!"
The face on the right bobbed his head and said, "Annika, it is also good to see you once again." The voice had the husky vibrato of a subvocal processor. I'd heard of Axum, of course, the drone Seven had met with in Unimatrix Zero while she was in the Collective. I'd never seen him before. I didn't recognize his species, but if he's from the far reaches of the Beta Quadrant, that's to be expected. He appeared older than I'd imagined he would be from Seven's description of him. He also bore many scars on his face. Both of his eyes were organic, as far as I could tell, but he still had several metallic implants on his cheek and forehead. From my point of view, they were exotic pieces of face jewelry. Of course, I was used to seeing Seven's and Icheb's remaining implants. I'm not sure everyone else can see them in quite the favorable light that I do. That mention of "better circumstances" made me hope they weren't here to pick a fight with us after all. I could barely wait to find out what was going to happen.
During the next several minutes, Boothby proved to be in the central position of our discussions as well as on our view screen. The representatives of Species 8472 and the Borg Resistance Movement want to hold meetings with the Federation. They have important intelligence they wish to share with us.
But their primary purpose for calling on us is to meet with a select group of admirals and captains to discuss terms. Peace terms. They've come to make peace, not war.
End Personal Log
Chief Helmsman's Personal Log, Stardate 56049.8
Boothby requested our first meeting to be held on Voyager, since he'd been in our conference room before. This session was to set up the parameters for future meetings. "We've seen enough of you Dry Space people to know that can be complicated enough," Boothby remarked. He said they have created space with an atmosphere and furnishings suited for "you humanoids" on their bioship. After the first two meetings, the talks will alternate between Enterprise's conference room and the bioship. Clearly, someone from Fluidic Space has been studying diplomatic procedures in "Dry Space."
Extra chairs were provided for the first meeting on Voyager, but there wasn't space for me at the table. I was fine with that. Dad requested I attend as his attaché, so I stood behind him. Seven, at Captain Janeway's request, was present and standing behind her. Admiral Hayes, the "real" Admiral Bulloch, my father, Captain Picard, Captain Chakotay, and several other representatives from the major ships of the line were crowded around the table. The Fluidians sent Boothby, Archer, and Bulloch. It was surreal to see two Admiral Bullochs eyeing each other suspiciously from either side of the table. I hadn't noticed how well the Fluidian version matched up with the original when the Fluidians came aboard Voyager in the Delta Quadrant. I'd forgotten how officious Bulloch could be. Korok and Axum each had ex-Borg attachés sitting with them, too. I knew I'd have to keep my sense of humor in check or I'd get thrown out of the meeting. I resolved to control myself. This was one diplomatic negotiation I was determined to see.
After everyone was introduced, the initial item on the agenda was to determine what to call our visitors from Fluidic Space as a group. "Don't much like that Borg designation Species 8472. Being a number is demeaning," Boothby said. "Since we're all one people in our realm, we never needed a name to identify ourselves before learning about Dry Space."
Axum admitted, "We know they don't like it. Most of the time we've been able to say 'you' and 'us' when we speak. That may be difficult now with so many people of different species together. Would the rest of you like to use the Borg designations? We could let you know what they are if you do."
Just about everyone shook their heads at this. Even Axum didn't seem to think it was a good idea. There was a lull in the conversation. I filled it by raising my hand. Admiral Hayes acknowledged me, and I said, "When I've referred to the people of Fluidic Space in my personal logs, I've used the term 'Fluidians'. You might find it easier to say than 'People from Fluidic Space' all the time."
Boothby shot me the same look I'd seen many times on the grounds of the Academy when I said something clever to the real Boothby. "So, young Paris, isn't it? You're not just a pretty face, are you? Got a head on those shoulders, too. I approve. Does everyone else agree?" Everyone did, so I have one claim to fame. I gave the Fluidians their designation in Foundation Standard. Dad was smiling broadly, so I think I did good.
The next few minutes were rather boring, as the group decided on the times and locations of the next week's meetings. Once that was all agreed upon, there was a noticeable change in the atmosphere. We had arrived at the real reason we were together.
The Fluidian Admiral Bulloch spoke up. "We've been studying your people for several of your Federation years now, ever since we met up with this ship in the middle of our conflict with the Borg. You'd call it spying. We call it getting to know our neighbors, because they might be coming to invade us at any time. I was certain you people were preparing an invasion. When we met up with Commander . . . now Captain Chakotay, I see, and with Captain Janeway at one of our training stations, they told us you had no such intentions. They explained they'd invaded us because a person on their ship told them our intention was to eradicate all life in your Dry Space. Nonsense! We were defending ourselves from the Borg invasion of our realm. The Borg failed to mention that when they allied with Captain Janeway. After he'd had a chance to speak with you, Boothby here thought I was wrong to be so suspicious of you. I'm still suspicious. I thought your people were lying to us. However, in our observations since then, we've seen war preparations, but we were never mentioned as a target. Our agents told us you've never mentioned us at all until recently. I admit I might be wrong. Prove to me that I am."
Admiral Hayes ceded the floor to Captain Picard. "Sir, you are correct in stating that many of our people have been preparing for war. We must prepare for our defense. Some of our 'neighbors' can be contentious, but none of us here, and the vast majority of people in the entire galaxy, have any wish to invade your realm. In fact, until the return of Voyager last year, we never even knew Fluidic Space existed. In this quadrant we have been trying to recover from a conflict which cost many lives on both sides. Innocents were caught in the middle of battle and died along with the combatants. We assure you, the last thing we wish to do is to become involved in any wars at all, with anyone. The aim of our United Federation of Planets and our allies is to resolve all disagreements before they turn into armed conflicts. We welcome this chance to meet with you and, it is to be devoutly hoped, add the peoples of Fluidic Space, or the Fluidians, as Mr. Paris has suggested we call you, to become allies or even members of our Federation."
Murmurs, mostly positive ones from what I could tell, came from all around the table. Korok squinted his one eye at Picard and finally said in a voice that would be sotto voce for a Klingon, but was at full volume for just about anyone else, "I recognize you, I believe. You are Locutus?"
Picard sighed. "I was Locutus, briefly. I was assimilated to become a 'spokesman' for the Borg Queen. Fortunately, my assimilation had not taken complete hold before the crew of the Enterprise succeeded in disconnecting me from the Collective. By that time, however, many thousands of our people and the bulk of our fleet had been destroyed at a place called Wolf 359. Thousands of individuals were assimilated by the Borg at that location as well. Perhaps you were one of those, Korok?"
After Korok nodded to indicate he was, Picard continued, "Our people are still wary of the Borg. They have caused great harm to many. I am extremely concerned for the future of individuals throughout the galaxy, since the former Borg Seven of Nine, now called Annika Hansen, has revealed the breadth of their penetration into the Milky Way galaxy. We know the transwarp hub system was severely damaged by Voyager in the course of that ship's return to the Alpha Quadrant. Are you able to confirm the extent of the damage? What is the state of the Borg at the present time, to your knowledge?"
Axum responded, "We have what I believe you would consider good news on that score, Captain Picard. The transwarp hub has been completely destroyed everywhere. Since Fluidic Space touches approximately 90% of your galaxy, they have been helping us search for any Borg activity. Only a few Borg ships we've been able to locate appear to be operational as Hive minds, but the ships themselves are not linked with one another in any way. Those few are located in one of the outer arms of the Milky Way, in what you designate the Gamma Quadrant. In the rest of the galaxy, if a drone had not already been disconnected from the Collective when the Borg Queen and Unimatrix Zero One were destroyed, they died. Ships like ours which had already been taken over by the resistance, along with a few small scouts operated by drones who had the Unimatrix Zero mutation, appear to be the only other Borg vessels to survive. We do not know how you accomplished it, but we thank you for our freedom to exist as individuals."
"Do you know how many drones were controlled by the Queen when she . . . died?" Captain Janeway asked.
"The Queen would have known, but we are not certain. As far as we know, they numbered in the trillions," Korok stated.
"And how many have survived who were part of the resistance?" Captain Chakotay asked.
"At least one hundred thousand. We are still discovering survivors," Korok answered.
Captain Janeway had a pained expression on her face. "I had hoped we'd saved more. "
Axum replied, "We hoped there would be more, too, but those who were saved would not have been, if you and your crew had not freed us before Unimatrix Zero was destroyed."
"I never thought I'd ever feel sorry for any Borg," Boothby said. "That Borg Queen has much to answer for."
Admiral Hayes looked grim. "This is something we needed to know, but I can't say this news is pleasant to hear. The toll of individuals who were enslaved and now are dead is staggering. From what you say, it's possible the Borg could rise again from that isolated area in the Gamma Quadrant that you mentioned, or perhaps from others you haven't been able to find."
"Only if they can unite under a new Queen. We don't know if they even know how to create one. That knowledge must have been centered at Unimatrix Zero One. We've gone there to investigate. There's nothing there but debris and dust," Axum said.
"Now that we've got that grim story out of the way, what must we do to create a treaty of some sort?" Boothby asked. "We'll need to learn more about each other if we're going to cooperate with you. We've got a head start on that, thanks to our 'listening stations,' as my colleague has told you. We've got to set things up so my superiors in Fluidic Space, and yours in your Federation and elsewhere, can all get on board."
I heard several voices, one after the other, speaking about the logistics of peace talks and all the minutiae of a diplomatic conference before any progress can be made. It might be a boring part of talks like this, but a necessary one. My mind wandered, and suddenly, a swirling spatial anomaly which resolved into Captain Braxton's time ship came to mind. I shivered. I knew the reason I remembered this now. I'd thought destroying the Borg was the reason he'd sent us back to where we were in the Delta Quadrant. That was certainly one of the reasons, but now, I realized, there was much more. This was the moment we were meant to reach.
I must have said something aloud, because my father was staring at me, and Captain Picard asked me if I had something to contribute to the discussion. For a moment I was tempted to apologize and say I did not, but then I looked at Captain Janeway and Captain Chakotay and saw their matching expressions of puzzlement. I couldn't let them down, or my father, either, by looking foolish. It would reflect on them.
"I'm sorry for interrupting, but I do have something to say. Captain, how many times have we experienced some sort of déjà vu or other sort of temporal anomaly, or we made a joke about Captain Braxton coming to tell us we were going to be destroyed if we didn't fix something that affected the future? But I'm looking over my shoulder now, and there's no sign of him yet. This really is the something we can't mess up. It's the nexus of everything that will assure his future as well as ours. We not only need to make peace here and now, we also have to learn how to keep it, with the help of everyone here and people from planets we may not even know about yet. We have to bring stability to our galaxy and Fluidic Space, so we can create that future. I won't take the time to explain it more now. Our official logs will tell the story of when we met Henry Starling and his stolen ship from the future, for anyone who wants to know more.
"But our logs will also tell you what happened when we met all of you. Because we had to meet all of you before any of this could come about. We had to meet the Fluidians, and create the resistance movement with the drones of Unimatrix Zero, and destroy the Collective the way we did, or the galaxy would have been overrun by the Borg. That's why certain . . . actions of a temporal nature were allowed to stand. And that's why we had to remember what happened when we were sent back to the Delta Quadrant from Southern California, even if it was against the 'Temporal Prime Directive'." I stopped to take a breath. So many of the faces around that table were looking at me in confusion or astonishment. "I don't want to take up any more of your time. You've got really important negotiations to complete, and this is just the beginning. But I need to add one thing. The future isn't preordained. I think that was Captain Braxton's ultimate lesson. We have to make it, and we have to make it right, so all of our children will grow up in a galaxy that gives them the best chance for happiness. "
I sighed and leaned against the wall. At that moment I would really have liked to have a chair to sit on. I was weak in the knees, wondering if I was going to get my head handed to me in the next five minutes for speaking out the way I did. After all, I'm only an attaché. I wasn't supposed to say anything at all, and now I'd spoken up twice!
From across the room, a gravelly old man's voice stated, for the record, "So, he really does have a good head on those shoulders, doesn't he, Admiral Paris?"
My father didn't have to tell me he was proud of me. He was beaming.
End Personal Log
Chief Helmsman's Personal Log, Stardate 56074.3
The last meeting is about to take place. The diplomats have arrived from Earth and from Fluidic Space for the dotting of the "I's" and crossing of the "T's." It was a jolt to see the humanoid persona adopted by the Fluidians' "superior." A lot of folks at the peace conference inquired if Ben Sisko, the former Starfleet Captain and the Bajoran's Emissary, has always been a Fluidian. They assured us he had not been. The Fluidians aren't any more sure of what kind of entity he is than we are, but "he seemed to be a good choice for a face-to-face meeting with you." The Bajorans were certainly thrilled; the Cardassians, less so.
The Romulans showed up a week after the conference began. They didn't want to be left out when they heard we were discussing the Big Topics. I don't think the Fluidians like them that much. The Fluidians are much more relaxed around Klingons. I heard Valerie Archer took part in an epic drinking contest one night and won. Well, what do you expect? Fluidians breathe liquid. She literally drank them all under the table.
B'Elanna and I are eager to get back to Miral. We've had subspace com visits, of course, but I want to hug my little baby. I miss her, but what we're doing here is important for her future, so we'll stick it out. I've attended some of the meetings as Dad's attaché, but Reg has accompanied him for many of the others. I've had a lot of down time. There's not a lot for a helmsman to do when a fleet is hanging in space. I've spent some of my time designing a new holodeck program. This one is designed for kids just a little older than Miral. I'd like to get it up and running by the time we get home so we can test it out together. It's a variation of the Fair Haven program, with a hint of Flotter thrown in. If it comes out well, I think I'll submit it to a publisher. T'Archand and Noble has expressed some interest in "The Adventures of Captain Proton." Maybe I'll work on brushing up that program, too.
We've had a couple of social evenings with our guests from Fluidic Space. The first time one of them "reverted" was pretty scary, but it was probably a good thing for those who didn't know to see what they really look like. They were very apologetic for the disturbance.
I've enjoyed mixing with the former Borg. Korok is a trip. He was delighted to finally meet B'Elanna, since he knew she had been on the Borg cube he'd helped us attack in order to rescue our away team. Axum has become very chummy with all of our crew, too. Doc has already given him a couple of "treatments" to improve his appearance and his functioning. Seven, or Annika, as she now wishes everyone to call her, is an excellent advertisement for Doc's abilities in plastic surgery and "implant modification." Doc's appointment calendar is filled every day. The most popular procedure: removal of the emotion inhibiter from cortical implants. When Korok had his removed, he REALLY became the life of the party.
Axum said his species name was the Ioroni. As far as he knows, he's the last one. They lived in the Beta Quadrant, and the entire population was assimilated at the same time. As they had just begun developing space flight, they were only living on one planet when the Borg came calling. He believes they were assimilated for his species' physical properties and adaptability. Now that he's no longer a drone, he's looking for a "place to call home." From the way Annika looks at Axum, I think we know the answer to the Harry and "Seven" question. They're going to be very good friends for the rest of their lives. Annika confided to B'Elanna that she was glad she had the opportunity for "First Love" with Chakotay, because now she knows what love truly is.
Harry doesn't seem to mind Annika's relationship with Axum as much as I thought he would. He's been spending a lot of time with Marla lately. B'Elanna keeps telling me to "butt out, Cupid," when I mention them in the same breath.
Noah and Marla both seem to be more relaxed than I'd ever seen them before. That "mistake" by the Personnel Department was one of the best they ever made. The entire time Noah and Marla were with us on Voyager on the trip home, they were sad about what had happened in the past and worried about what the future might bring to them. Because they served on this mission, they doubt they'll have to worry about any future repercussions from "that ship," as they now refer to their former assignment. They both say they can return to civilian life feeling better about their resignations from Starfleet. They only wish Jim, Brian, and Angelo had had the opportunity, too, but all of them were far away on their merchant ships. When they contacted them through subspace, all three indicated things were going well for them. So, as terrible as their lives on "that ship" were, life has gone on for them all.
End Personal Log
Chief Helmsman's Personal Log, Stardate 56084.7
Some of the fleet's younger members expressed disappointment that they hadn't had a chance to "blow up anything real good" on this mission, since it turned out to be a peaceful one. I know it had a better outcome than I could ever have imagined, and, as you know Personal Log, I can imagine quite a lot. As we proceeded through the Solar System, however, we were greeted by a bunch of deep space "firework" displays that warmed the hearts of even our most jaded crew members. Icheb was at his station at Astrometrics with Annika. They've seen plenty of beautiful interstellar phenomenon, sparkling nebulas, and exotic star systems on that view screen. Both of them said they found the display "impressive." That's Borgspeak for "spectacular."
There will be more such displays in the atmosphere to celebrate the signing of the "Interdimensional Peace Accord," as it's been dubbed (at my suggestion - you may hold your applause until the end of the entry, Personal Log). Every problem throughout the galaxy hasn't been resolved. The Romulans haven't signed on yet, although our sources say the Fluidian's power and weaponry have them rethinking their position on joining up with us. It's simple self-interest. The Romulans have always been good at that. Once the Cardassians caved in and signed on the dotted line, the likelihood most of the other races will eventually join in has increased exponentially.
There are many races in the Delta Quadrant which have no idea any of this is going on. When I consider how powerful the Hirogen can be, as well as many others we encountered, I have to wonder how the races we never had the chance to meet on our journey will react. I'm hopeful things will work out in the end, though. We have some really powerful allies now in the Fluidians, who have access to almost as much of the galaxy the Borg did with their transwarp hub. Now that they understand we Dry Space folks are a widely varied bunch who really aren't out to get them, they accept they must adapt to get along with us. They can provide a lot of stability and continuity for us all.
End Personal Log
Chief Helmsman's Personal Log, Stardate 56088.8
As soon as Voyager arrived at Spacedock, Mom showed up with Miral in her arms. Dad was there, too, chucking his "little missy" on the chin and looking as happy and content as I've ever seen him. It was a very happy family reunion, which will be complete when we see my sisters' families and John Torres tomorrow, after we disembark from Voyager. B'Elanna and I will be on leave for three weeks before we'll have to report to our next posting.
Axum is remaining in the Sol System for the foreseeable future as an Ambassador to the Federation from the Interdimensional Peace Accord Group. That's his title for now. The former Borg haven't decided on terminology for themselves yet. They're looking for a planet with an environment amenable to the majority, one which they can all call Home. Some, like Korok, will return to their home worlds, but most don't know if any of their people survived after the Borg got through with their planets. All the Dry Space signatories are searching for one that isn't already occupied and will fit the Borg survivor's specifications. Failing that, terraformers will work on changing the environment of an unoccupied world to fit the former Borgs' needs. Once they've settled on one, Axum says they'll decide on a name for it. Then he'll be the Ambassador from the Whatever-It-Is planet.
As of tomorrow, I will be assigned officially to Utopia Planitia as a test pilot. B'Elanna and Annika will both be assigned there as well as Propulsion Researchers. Since the final flight tests for the Delta Flyer series were completed while the peace talks were taking place, production on a major scale for the new shuttles will commence as soon as next week. Harry has been assigned Production Coordinator. After that is up and running to everyone's satisfaction, he'll request a posting to a starship. Harry's been promoted to Lieutenant Commander. So have I. Marla and Noah are returning to their civilian jobs. Icheb and his fellow cadets are returning to Starfleet Academy to be educated in classrooms instead of on starships. Reg is returning to Pathfinder. He's already working on ideas to create a system to communicate with the Fluidians in their own realm more easily. The rest of the crew of Voyager will also be returning to the positions they'd held before this last mission came up, or they will request new postings.
Yes, Personal Log. It's time. I'm going to have to say goodbye to your heading. Not to you! Never to you! But you'll be the Personal Log of Lieutenant Commander Thomas E. Paris from now on.
Voyager has finally flown her last mission. Tomorrow, I'll land Voyager on the Presidio and we'll disembark from there. In about three months, they say, she'll reopen as a museum, with exhibits scattered throughout the ship. We'll have a major one in the conference room, which will be fitted with holoemitters so that the group that came together for the first session of the peace accord conference can be immortalized. Dad will be there. So will I. An image of B'Elanna will work in Engineering. At her insistence, Joe Carey will be in the background. Quite a few who never made it home will be memorialized elsewhere in the museum's exhibits. Neelix will be holding court in the Mess Hall. I understand Kes will be there working next to him.
It will be difficult to visit for the first time, but after a while, I think I might enjoy strolling through the corridors again, remembering the good times we had on board, as well as the friends we made and those we lost.
It will all mean even more to me than most of my crew mates. Not only did I meet the love of my life on board this ship, but I became a new man on the journey home. I finally accepted I was the one person who was mucking up my life, and I decided to make some changes. Of all the people who served on Voyager, I owe it the most. It gave me my life back. The people I served with helped give me my life back. I will always be grateful.
End Personal Log
Personal Log Addenda: Significant Dates in History:
Stardate 56447.3: Opening of the Voyager Museum of Space Exploration, the Presidio, San Francisco, California, Earth, Sol System
Stardate 56980.3: The Delta Quadrant 2371-78 Campaign Ribbon was presented to the crews of Phoenix, Equinox, and Voyager (including the entire roster of the Val Jean) in recognition of their sacrifices as representatives of the Federation. An announcement was also made that no other commendations will be awarded to any but the crew of Voyager, in deference to the fact only the senior staff of that vessel is available to nominate a person for an award for valor.
Stardate 58848.5: Date of official settlement of Accordia, the world chosen by the former Borg who wished to reside with those who shared the "assimilation experience," or who were unable to locate any of their own people for repatriation. On this date, Axum became the Ambassador to the Federation from Accordia.
Stardate 59789.3: Birth of Kathryn Alicia Paris on the USS Enterprise, during the second year of the posting of Chief Engineer Commander B'Elanna Torres and Chief Helmsman/Second Officer Commander Thomas E. Paris.
Stardate 62647.6: Births of John Korok Paris and Owen Booth Paris on Klingon Homeworld, to Federation Liaison B'Elanna Torres and Commander Thomas E. Paris, Embassy Attaché.
Stardate 69554.7: Marriage of Lieutenant Naomi Wildman to Commander Icheb on the Delta Voyager, while taking part in the first convoy to trace the journey of the original Voyager. During its four year mission, peaceful relations were established with many of the worlds visited by Voyager, as well as others which had not been encountered during that journey.
Stardate 77447.4: Marriage of Lieutenant j.g Miral Paris to Lieutenant j.g. Thomas Riker, AKA Rikaar Thomas II, at the House of the Prophets on Bajor. Both sets of parents and the siblings of the bride and groom were in attendance.
Partial Bibliography
The Delta Blues, 19th edition; James Wright; Sacramento, 2457
Jammer's Reviews, 22nd edition; Jamahl Epsicokhan; London, 2457
The Personal Logs of Thomas E. Paris; private collection (family)
The Star Trek Chronology, 15th edition; Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda; New York, 2433.
Tom Paris: Holodeck Programmer Extraordinaire; Mark Lewis Zimmerman; San Francisco, 2447
The Voyager Companion, 21st edition; Paul Ruditis; San Francisco, 2453.
The Voyager Papers: the Historic Journey of the USS Voyager through the Delta Quadrant, Newly Updated with Material Declassified under the Freedom of Information Act; Rick Berman, Kenneth Biller, Brannon Braga, Jimmy Diggs, Robert Doherty, Bryan Fuller, Mark Gaberman, Raf Green, James Kahn, Lisa Klink, Harry Doc Kloor, Joe Menosky, Ron D. Moore, Michael Piller, Andrew Shepard Price, Nick Sagan, Phyllis Strong, Michael Sussman, Jeri Taylor, Michael Taylor,et. al.; Los Angeles, 2447.
Addendum to Afterword by Miral's editor, jamelia
From my first viewing of "The Caretaker," Star Trek: Voyager became my favorite version of Star Trek. It wasn't just the fact that Kathryn Janeway was the first female captain, although that certainly helped. All the characters impressed me. I immediately loved them all (yes, even Neelix), just as much as I loved Captain Kirk and company. I was in the television audience the night the original series premiered on NBC in 1966, and I continued watching all the iterations of Trek through Star Trek: Enterprise (which expired three years too soon). I can't say my love of Voyager was due to the fact it was always the "best." I believe "The Caretaker" was the best of all the premiere episodes of the various series, but many episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine were equal to or better than the best of Voyager.
However, when it comes to fanfic, I find Voyager provides the most fertile source material. For one thing, the overlap with both TNG and DS9 means that characters from both those series can appear in Voyager fanfic very easily. In fact, during the course of the series, TNG's Reg Barclay and Deanna Troi both became recurring characters on Voyager.
The heart of Voyager was always "the journey." For this reason, the writers never followed up on many promising storylines. While writing this piece, I went back and watched almost all of the episodes again. (After all, the show's finale aired fifteen years ago. I remembered a lot about them, but not well enough to write anything like this.) Virtually the only ones I skipped were the ones in which the reset button was pushed so that no one on the ship knew a change in the timeline had taken place. This was unfortunate in the cases of "Before and After" and "The Year of Hell Parts 1 and 2;" as those are among my favorites. However, by the parameters I'd set for the writing of this story, Tom had to either experience an event, observe it happening, or learn of it from someone else. Otherwise, he couldn't record anything about it in his logs. When I could, I "hinted" about some of those other episodes (as I did with Kes' encounter with B'Elanna in "Before and After"), but that's all I could do.
My primary reason for presenting this opus, however, is that many storylines never had their proper follow-up. I must confess I was upset with "Endgame" when it aired originally, since nothing had been said about how the Maquis and, especially, the Equinox Five, were handled. I now see why they didn't address some of these questions. It would be tough to do, especially as a follow up to all those big booms in "Endgame." From the "party scene" in Admiral Janeway's apartment, we were to draw certain conclusions. It was a subtle kind of continuity I missed the first time. I suspect many others did, as well. In fact, by binge-watching, I realized the producers had slipped in more continuity than was apparent when the series was viewed on a week-to-week basis. But what was the reason everyone remembered the events of "Futures End?" Why did Braxton let the Doc keep that mobile emitter with its 29th century technology? The lack of mention of the Equinox Five after that two-parter was over, not to mention the little Borg baby who wasn't even mentioned at the end of "Collective" so we knew what had happened her, truly rankled. I wanted explanations, people! The books that came out afterwards didn't cut it for me.
Because I'm not subject to the restrictions of episodic television, I can provide continuity where I wish and say, "and this is also what happened." Whenever I could, I stuck to the canon of the show, even if I was unhappy with it (Mezoti, I wish we'd seen more of you). When elements of my own fanfic could be shoehorned into the logs to my satisfaction, they're in there. As for relationships, I'm sure rabid J/Cers or C/7ers won't be happy that neither relationship was confirmed, although there's more for the J/C fan (since I was one of them from the beginning of the show). I actually surprised myself that I didn't end up putting Harry and Seven together, but by the end of this journey, I didn't think they would have been a couple in this universe. Most of the relationships have been left open-ended, other than P/T, of course. If there's one thing I'm happy about, it's that Paris and Torres did become a couple who'd married and had a baby by the end of the series. The relationshipper in me is very grateful for that.
My "bibliography" is meant to provide thanks to the series' writers (the "et al" is for the writers who were credited on three or less of the scripts) and to others who provided resources I used to supplement my viewing of the episodes on DVD (plus a joke at the Doc's expense).
I also wish to thank my co-writers on the "Voyager Virtual Season 7.5" project. Some of what I contributed to that group has filtered into this work, but as is true in every collaborative effort, I would have handled a few things differently than the group ultimately did in writing that project. I've had the chance to include some of what I would have preferred in this story. Brainstorming with that group, especially Christina, Penny, Juli, Rocky, CyberMum and Diane, was a wonderful process and a beautiful memory. And last, but not least, thanks are due to Constable Katie, Tex, pjs, pjinnh, the people of PTFever, and the PTCollective message board for all your support and encouragement during my many years of fanfic writing. Thanks, all of you!
This afterword would not be complete without the following disclaimer: Paramount and the producers of Star Trek: Voyager are the sole owners of these characters and storylines as presented on the series. I don't own them, never will, and won't ever receive a penny for this work of fanfiction. I just hope there are some people left out there to read and enjoy it.
April, 2016 - jamelia