Voyager and Enterprise were both experienced in returning to Earth victorious.
Part of Sisko's after-action report was to recommend B'Elanna for the Christopher Pike Medal of Valor and her team for Star Crosses. Sisko's suggestions for decorations were approved. "That jewelry I'll wear," B'Elanna said. Tom laughed most, knowing full well who he'd married and how in-character this was for her. Annika and Icheb would be out of place at the Academy in a good way.
Starfleet made a production of awarding them, long-winded dinners being another thing the Voyager crew had developed familiarity with. Annika was relieved that it was to be conducted in dress uniform rather than civilian dresswear. "Shoes hard to balance in are inefficient," she pointed out. Kathryn had a little more tolerance for such inefficiencies, but did agree with that statement.
"The moisture and seasoning levels of this fowl are insufficient." Annika found no disagreement there either. The bottle of hasperat brine was similarly welcome by her tablemates.
Kim winced. "Not the first time she's lit your mouth on fire, eh, Harry?"
"Could you send that over here?" An Enterprise officer had migrated towards the Excalibur table and was wholly welcome there.
"Law 52, never underestimate a man's ability to make you laugh"
Volunteering for a damage control team of extreme danger, Acting Ensign Hansen participated in a sufficiently successful repair of the warp core ejection system, preventing a containment failure from causing the loss of the starship USS Voyager, instead causing the destruction of an enemy vessel which was threatening the USS Excalibur-A.
Lieutenant Torres' citation included her suggestion that Captain Chakotay orient the ship with its ventral side facing the enemy. Left out was that in the chaos, she had phrased it as an order to her superior to which he had responded with an overeager "Yes ma'am."
Some were calling the maneuver the Torres Torpedo, yet to her it almost felt like another day on duty after the chaos of the Delta Quadrant. Many times have we laid out, toil nor danger fearing.
Yet one of the subordinate decorations would be placed in a torpedo casing. Vorik's brother Taurik, assistant chief engineer on Enterprise, had survived the battle and accepted on the family's behalf. "Death is an inevitably, so to fear it is highly illogical, so my brother acted in the highest traditions of our people as well as of Starfleet. Yet it is a great sorrow for the journey of his life to end so soon."
Picard was inspired to do one of his favorite things, quote Shakespeare. "Be he ne'er so vile, this day shall gentle his condition … the Bard spoke at the very beginning of modern English, so a translation may be in order. However poorly regarded you were in society, you should be considered high-class for your actions this day."
"Let it be known that ex-Borg are not cowards," Annika responded.