"Gretchen?" said Janeway questioningly, in response to Chakotay's summons to the Bridge.
"I can function," came Gretchen's voice, breathing in slowly and deeply and attempting to compose herself, "If Voyager needs me."
"It does," said Janeway, putting a hand on her upper arm and guiding her back out to the Bridge.
"Report," said Janeway, as they entered the Bridge.
Chakotay was standing, and answered, "We've slowed almost to a stop Captain, the warp drive is still technically working, but we've dropped nearly to thruster level speeds."
"Harry, is there any sign of the photonic aliens, or any other life forms?" said Captain Janeway.
"None," said Harry, "I'm not receiving anything that could be a message as we know it. And I'm not reading any ships or planets in the area."
"So far it does seem to be another layer of unstable subspace," said Seven, "But the readings are different than last time."
"Are they showing Gamma radiation?" asked Gretchen.
Seven hit several buttons, "Yes, levels are between 7.77 and 8.4 Becquerel per millimeter."
"I should be able to alter the engines to work again," said Gretchen to Janeway, "This happened all the time on my ship."
Janeway looked at her and nodded, "Go down to Engineering and give B'Elanna the alterations. If she approves, help her make them. Harry," said Janeway, addressing him, "Go down to Engineering and assist Gretchen,"
"You look awful," said Harry, as he and Gretchen rode the turbolift down to Engineering, "I'm sorry you got stuck in Captain Proton."
"I wish that was the worst thing that happened today,"
"Don't worry," said Harry, catching her eye, "The Captain will get us out of this. She always does."
"You always were an optimist," said Gretchen tiredly.
"You know, when I'm….sad…." continued Harry, taking in her mannerisms, "I play my clarinet….I know it sounds silly…..but it always makes me feel better….like I'm a little closer to home…..you must have something like that….." Harry smiled at her, "Everyone on Voyager needs something to keep them sane,"
"I like to dance," said Gretchen, letting him lighten her mood, even if just a little, "I still do it, don't tell Janeway though."
"I won't," he said, still smiling, "But those schedule restrictions will get lifted any day now, and then you won't have to hide it."
Gretchen shook her head, "No, she banned me from dance lessons when I was 9, I won't give her the chance to take it away again."
"Why would she do that?" said Harry in confusion.
"I had a recital just before…and I sucked…or at least I didn't meet her standards. So she took it away from me…" said Gretchen, breathing in.
"The Captain banned a 9-year-old from dance lessons because she had a bad recital?...Are you sure?...That doesn't sound like the Captain Janeway I know…..at all."
"I should know Harry," said Gretchen petulantly, as the doors to Engineering opened, "I was there. I would remember."
Four hours later Gretchen and the rest of Voyager's senior staff were seated in Janeway's Briefing Room.
"Gretchen," said the Captain, "You're the only one who has dealt with this area of space before. Give us your report."
"As you know we're heading at a normal speed again," said Gretchen, "And altering the engines in future should be simple. We have the better shielding and the enhanced replicators from my Voyager…..I would say survival wasn't a problem," she added, breathing in deeply, "Except for the fungus that killed Voyager's original crew….."
There was a collective gasp around the table, though the Doctor looked grim, but not surprised.
"All of us died at once?" said B'Elanna in shock.
"Yes….except for my father…." said Gretchen, not looking at Chakotay, "….and the Doctor," she said, nodding at the EMH, "As you would expect."
"Did it target the crew based on age?" asked Janeway.
"Why was your father spared?" asked Seven at the same time, "Was he immune?"
"No to both," said Gretchen evenly, "My father was one of the first infected. The other two crewmen died, one before and one during treatment, but my father….lived."
"As to the other," she said, looking down, "That was a Command Decision, once the Doctor devised a cure….he realized it involved a substance that we had in very limited supply and that couldn't be replicated…..the infection was so contagious it had spread to the entire crew in that time, it was very deadly, and quick acting…..there was no way to save everyone… the more that could be given to an individual, the higher their chance of survival."
Gretchen gulped, "Voyager's Command Staff made the decision to prioritize the survival of their children…..We were old enough to survive on our own…they picked officers from among us….and put us in stasis for treatment…..the two youngest died…..but the rest of us lived…...we used to call ourselves the Final Eight."
There was utter silence in the room.
"Gretch….that's…..that's awful," said Tom in shock.
"I never imagined it was that bad," said Harry sadly.
"Did you think I came from the 'bad future' because it was a party?" said Gretchen heatedly, setting back in her chair, and glaring slightly at Harry, "I'm sorry," she whispered a moment later, looking away.
"Obviously this is a fate we wish to avoid," said Tuvok dispassionately, "It is logical that we prevent exposing ourselves to this disease, and that we stockpile the necessary cure in case exposure cannot be prevented."
"Those are incompatible goals," said Gretchen, "The substance only exists in The Rift. It's on some of those planets…..which is also how Voyager got infected in the first place."
"And the Doctor never found out another way to cure it? Or a vaccine of some sort?" asked Janeway.
"No," said Gretchen, "In fact the cure was incomplete in my father…..two years after the rest of Voyager's crew was killed….it recurred in him…..and somehow jumped species…..The Doctor came down with it too…..He had to delete himself….and destroy Sickbay….in order to stop it spreading from the rest of the ship."
The crew sat in grim silence.
"So what can we do?" said B'Elanna, "Other than avoid planets?"
"Almost all of the files on the disease were destroyed in that incident," said the Doctor coolly, "So they didn't get handed down to us by Gretchen's Security Officer. But I've been working for months, at Ensign Kincaid's insistence, on identifying the fungus in some way….and finding a way to prevent infection."
"How far have you come Doctor?" said Janeway.
"I've narrowed it down….but without an actual sample….it would take years for me to properly run the simulations of possible genetic makeup…..The best I can say is I should be able to respond a little faster….if it does crop up on the ship."
"This is your top priority," said Janeway firmly, "Pull whoever can be spared from day-to-day operations to help you."
"What about Gretchen?" said Tom, "Doesn't she show signs of the cure? Antibodies or something similar? Could we create a cure using her blood?"
"I've already tried that," said the Doctor, "There are signs of damage from the fungus….but no antibodies. Apparently the drug did all the work."
"I am immune," said Gretchen, "All of us were exposed to the fungus in one way or another after our initial treatment, but none of us came down with it again. Our Doctor never figured out exactly why, but the other species we encountered said the same thing."
"What about those other species?" said Janeway, "And what about contacting the creatures actually in The Rift. What happened in your time?"
"The other species are very spread out and none of them could really help us. As for the creatures in The Rift," Gretchen shuddered, "We had multiple run-ins with them over the years, each time they killed at least one crew member. The first time they killed five, but we got more and more cautious, and learned how to prevent them slipping past our security."
"I want you to confer with Tuvok as soon as possible," said Janeway, nodding.
"I had almost forgotten," said Gretchen, staring at her folded hands on the table, "My father was the only one of the Away Team to recover consciousness…..and he was….never cognizant again…..but he blamed 'the demons' for causing the fungus plague on ship."
"Well, this is like some horror movie," said Tom, sitting back in his chair, "I say we stay off those planets….and use Gretchen's schematics for mobile emitters to give the Doc some helpers who are specialists in this field."
"Good idea," said Janeway, nodding, "Do it. I want an identification and a preliminary cure, within a month. We'll keep our shields up and our noses clean until then."
The staff looked up and each one of them nodded at her, the air in the room already becoming more active and less tense.
"Gretchen," said Janeway, as they started to file out, "Evaluation, tomorrow 0900. And I want you under the Doctor's medical supervision tonight."