Sailor Trek: Voyager by Bill Harris
Epilogue
"...and imagine yourself in the place where you've been the most
at peace with yourself."
Raye tried to relax and comply with Chakotay's urgings, but it
wasn't easy. Even discounting the recent events surrounding their visit
to Voyager, there had been many factors in her life that had discounted
her feeling relaxed in any manner. Especially since she had gotten that
vision of utter devastation. After a moment she sighed. "I don't think
this is..." she began, but her voice trailed off when she opened her
eyes and got a good look at her surroundings.
Instead of being in Chakotay's quarters, she found herself somewhere
on the temple grounds. No mater how carefully she looked, she couldn't
tell the difference between this and reality. "Whoa. This is weird."
"Don't worry about it," she heard Chakotay's disembodied voice tell
her. "You should see your animal guide somewhere nearby. Just remember
not to tell me or anyone else what it is, or you'll offend it."
"I heard you the first time," Raye grumbled while looking around
the grounds. At first she thought the chuckling she heard in the
background was from Chakotay, but she soon realized that the voice was
much too deep to be that of Voyager's first officer. Turning towards
the source, she found herself confronted by a large gray wolf. The
wolf looked her over very carefully, and then seemed to grin.
"Greetings, cubling. I've been waiting for you."
Though she had been told the animal guide would be able to
communicate with her, the sight of a talking wolf proved very startling
for Raye. She gasped in surprise, and then blinked as she suddenly
found herself back in Chakotay's quarters.
"Something wrong?" Chakotay asked, still seated on the floor in
front of her.
"It spoke to me!"
Chakotay smiled. "I did tell you they would be able to
communicate."
"I know, I know," Raye conceded. "Still, it was really weird
hearing..." Chakotay opened his mouth to warn her again about speaking
of her animal guide, but his fear proved to be groundless. "...an
animal speak like that."
"I understand," Chakotay assured her. "The first contact is always
the hardest one, depending on the individual, of course. On one hand,
Captain Janeway's went relatively smoothly. On the other extreme,
there's B'Elanna."
"Oh?" Raye cocked an eyebrow in a very Tuvok-like manner. It was
all Chakotay could do to keep from grinning broadly. "What happened?"
"B'Elanna's the only person I know who tried to kill her animal
guide."
Raye's other eyebrow went upwards. "Fascinating." This time
Chakotay did grin, and Raye flushed red and tried to hide her face with
one hand. "I don't believe I said that."
"I wouldn't worry about that too much. It's only a side effect of
the mind link, and Tuvok did tell you it should fade soon enough.
Besides, I think Tuvok finds it a little more distressing sounding like
you."
Raye felt her temper flare, and she glared at Chakotay. "What's
that supposed to mean?!?"
"Only that a Vulcan is even more embarrassed acting like a human than
you should be for acting like a Vulcan," he reassured her. He gestured to
the akoonah on the floor between them, "If you want, you could try to
re-establish contact."
"I don't think there's time for that right now," she answered. She
stood up and Chakotay did likewise. "I think Neelix's party is about to
start. But I should be able to make contact with it on my own later,
right?"
"That's right," Chakotay confirmed. "And if what you tell me about
your fire readings, you won't need an akoonah either. The fire reading
ritual itself should be more than enough to induce the proper mental
state."
Raye nodded. "Okay, maybe I'll try it after I get back home.
Thanks, Chakotay."
"Anytime," he responded as she left the room. After she had gone,
Chakotay sat done on the floor once more, and rearranged the contents of
his medicine bundle in front of him. He had a few things to work out for
himself after recent events, and there was no time like the present. He
picked up the river rock and, cupping it in both hands, closed his eyes; trying to clear his mind. When he felt ready, reached out with his right
hand and placed it atop the akoonah. "A-koo-chee-moya. I am far from
the sacred places of my grandfathers. I am far from the bones of my
people. I come here seeking guidance..."
When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a forest glade much
like what one would find in North America. All was still about him except
for the sounds of birds chirping in the distance.
Then there was a rustling in the bushes on the far side of the
glade, from which emerged large gray wolf. Though he did not know it,
Chakotay had the same animal guide as Raye, and it was here to greet him
as always.
Sensing his need for answers, the wolf turned and headed for one of
the many trails leading from the glade. Chakotay hurried to follow the
guide.
It seemed as if he wandered about the forest for hours, though it
may well have been minutes. Time was hard to tell on a vision quest.
But eventually trail led to the mouth of a cave. It was impossible to
see what was within, for the inside was as black as pitch. Still the
wolf unerringly went inside, not bothering to see if Chakotay followed.
Pausing at the entrance for only a fraction of a second, the first
officer went into the cavern...
...and emerged into a sea of white.
Yet not entirely white, for the background swirled about him,
hinting at colors he could not perceive directly. And the was a large
structure nearby, one that resembled a large door or gateway if nothing
else. He looked around it carefully, but he could not tell where it led
too, only that there was a mass of pulsating energies within the frame of
the door. "What is it?"
"It is a gateway," a voice answered him. Chakotay whirled about to
face the source. It was a humanoid female, dressed in attire that was
similar in form to the Sailor Scouts. She also bore a staff which had a
vague resemblance to a large key. "The Gateway of Time, to be exact.
But what are you doing here?"
"I was brought here, by my animal guide."
"I see," she replied, then paused in contemplation. "I wonder why
the old wolf brought you here?"
Chakotay was shocked that she knew what his animal guide was, but
he struggled to conceal it. "Who are you?"
"I am Sailor Pluto, the guardian of this realm," she answered,
staring sternly at him. "I trust you have a good reason for coming
here, Commander."
'Sailor Pluto?' Chakotay thought. So far this was turning out to
be one of the stranger vision quests he had ever been on...
B'Elanna took a moment to wipe off the sweat that was accumulating
on her brow. "I can't believe I let you talk me into this."
"I don't know what you're complaining about," Lita replied. "I
think this is fun."
"Some fun." B'Elanna took a moment to look at her surroundings
once again. She and Lita were in the middle of the standard Klingon
calisthenics holoprogram, and as before, she was having a miserable time
in it. "If I wanted to be hot and sweaty, I'd create a program for
somewhere on Cardassia Prime."
Lita's brow furrowed, showing the puzzlement she felt. "Cardassia
Prime? Where's --"
Before she could finish, a loud cry echoed around them and various
holo-monsters charged the two of them. Lita heard B'Elanna cry out
followed by a loud splash, but she was too occupied with the assorted
creatures to do anything about it. Handling the bat'leth as if she had
been born to it, she block the incoming attacks and disabled the
creatures one by one. When the last of the holo-creatures hit the floor
and dissolved, she turned and looked for the Voyager engineer.
Finding her wasn't hard. B'Elanna was a few meters behind her,
sitting waist deep in a pool of marsh water and looking as if she was
getting angrier by the second. Lita choked off a laugh, but enough
escaped to send B'Elanna flying into a rage. "That does it!' she
exclaimed, standing up and trying fruitlessly to wring the water out of
her clothes. "I have had *enough* of this ridiculous program!" She bent
down and picked up her own bat'leth before slogging her way out of the
water. "Computer: end program!"
The scenario dissolved around them, revealing the hologrid. Still
enraged and thoroughly soaked, B'Elanna started storming for the exit.
But Lita grabbed her before she got to the exit. "B'Elanna --"
"Let me go, Lita," she retorted flatly.
Lita complied but not before she said, "I'm sorry."
B'Elanna's anger started dissolving as quickly as it had formed.
"It's not your fault," she told the tall girl. "It's just that these
type of activities don't appeal to me."
"Yeah, I can tell," Lita said. "It just... I had so much fun
going through this program with Worf back on the Enterprise, I wanted to
take the opportunity to enjoy it here with someone." She smiled
apologetically. "I guess I assumed that since you were half Klingon..."
"Big mistake," B'Elanna told her gently. "But an understandable
one. I've never been too comfortable with my Klingon heritage."
"Done already?" They both turned to see Tom Paris approaching.
"I just got off watch from the bridge, and I was hoping to catch a little
of the action."
"I'm afraid you're a little late, Tom. We just finished," B'Elanna
said.
From the state her clothing was in, Tom had a feeling just how it
had gone for B'Elanna. But he still couldn't resist getting a little
jab in. "So, is that a bat'leth I see in your hand, or are you just
happy to see me?" he quipped.
Lita couldn't help but giggle at the joke, but B'Elanna was not
amused. "Very funny, Tom." She raised the weapon up threateningly.
"In case no one's ever told you, you should never tease a woman holding
a sharp blade," she warned him. "Especially one who's soaking wet, and
very angry."
Tom carefully put his hand on the flat of the blade. "I see your
point," he said as he gently shoved the weapon away.
Lita wasn't sure if she should intervene or not, but she was saved
the effort of deciding by the timely arrival of Harry and Mina. "Hi!"
the blonde said brightly. "Is the holodeck free?"
"Yeah, we just finished," Lita replied. She glanced over the
attire both Harry and Mina were wearing. "What are you guys up to?"
"Parrises squares," Harry answered, hefting the ball that was used
for that particular game. "Care to join us?"
"No thanks," Lita answered, while both Tom and B'Elanna indicated
negative answers as well. "I thought you were going to help Neelix
finish things up?"
"He said he could handle things from there," Mina said. "And I
figured it was like you said when you decided to head here -- there's no
telling if we'll ever get a chance to try out one of these holodecks
again." With that, she and Harry entered into the holodeck.
"I better get going then," Lita observed. "Even if he said he can
handle things, I bet Neelix wouldn't mind having some help."
While Lita walked away, B'Elanna glanced through the open holodeck
doors and shrugged. "If nothing else, Harry keeping Mina occupied in
there reduces the odds of any of us getting food poisoning," she said
quietly as she and Tom walked away from the holodeck door.
Evidently not quiet enough, for Mina quickly appeared in the still
open doorway. "HEY! What's that supposed to mean!" she challenged the
Klingon engineer. But before B'Elanna could reply, both she and Tom
heard Harry shouting "Look out!" just as the ball came soaring out of
the holodeck, scoring a direct hit on the back of Mina's head. The
dazed blonde staggered slightly before she crumpled onto the deck.
Pluto sighed. Chakotay had left the Gateway not long ago. She
hoped she had been able to help him find the answers he was looking for,
but she even more fervently hoped that the Gateway was not going to
become Grand Central Station to those on vision quests. The last thing
she needed was to become a cosmic counselor.
Almost in response to her thinking about unwanted guests, a flash
and ripple of sound to her right announced the arrival of Q. The
entity seemed somewhat amused, but it was soon apparent as to what.
"Well, I see you'll let just about anybody here nowadays."
"Now Q, I didn't just 'let' Commander Chakotay in here. He was
brought here by another."
"Another?" Q scowled at her. "What do you mean by that?"
"There are more things on heaven and earth than are dreamt of in
your philosophy, Q," she replied, paraphrasing a quote from Shakespeare.
Q snorted. "I ask a simple question, and I get a Vorlon-esque
answer. Fine, be that way." Turning from her, the entity seemed to
sulk.
Pluto sighed. For all his supposed age and omnipotence, the
entity still persisted in some very petulant behavior. "You did as I
asked?" she asked.
"Of course," Q replied. "Have I ever let you down?"
A small smile came to her face. Opportunities like this didn't
come very often. "Many times," she casually replied, causing Q's face
to fall suddenly. "But I'm mainly concerned about this instance."
"Well I don't know what you are worried about," Q said. He
snapped his fingers and a videocassette appeared in his hands. "Here's
all the evidence of Voyager's little sojourn to your world. Now all
they have is another UFO mystery on their hands."
Pluto nodded. "Good."
"Now what's all the fuss about? After all the odd events that
have occurred in Japan in the last couple or three years, I would've
thought a sighting of Voyager in the Arctic would cause nary a
ripple."
"Just making sure, Q."
Darien stepped out onto the bridge but after a quick glance it
was evident that Serena was not here, despite what the computer had
told him earlier. But before he could make a discrete exit, "If
you're looking for Serena, I believe you'll find her in the mess
hall."
He turned towards the mid-bridge station, where Seven of Nine stood
watching him intently. "How do you know..?"
"The celebration Neelix is planning is scheduled to commence
shortly," she replied. "Undoubtably, Neelix is already setting out the
various food plates he has been preparing. Given Serena's eating habits,
the rest is simple deduction."
"I guess you would know," Darien said with more than a little venom
in his voice. "After all, the Borg did make her part of that collective
of theirs for a while."
Seven continued her work, but she still replied. "Her assimilation
was not an easy task for the collective. Serena's... unique personality
destabilized several parts of the collective. It was some time
afterwards before the irrational impulses were completely eradicated.
Were it not for her biological distinctiveness, the collective would not
be interested in reassimilating her."
"The Borg still want to assimilate her?" Darien repeated, shocked.
"Yes," Seven replied matter-of-factly. "Along with yourself and
the other Sailor Scouts."
"Not that I think they'd succeed, but it's probably just as well
that the Borg are from another universe," Darien observed.
Now Seven stopped and looked evenly at Darien. "Do not take too
much comfort in that fact," she stated. "The Borg possess
transdimensional technologies, and are quite capable of crossing over
to your universe."
"They can do that?" Darien breathed.
"Yes, once they have the correct dimensional coordinates. You and
the others should remain vigilant at all times. The Collective has
placed a high priority on assimilating the six of you... along with
the future city of Crystal Tokyo."
As Seven had predicted, Serena was in the mess hall, eagerly eying
the assorted food trays that Neelix was setting up. Though the forms of
most of them were decidedly unfamiliar, the smells were thoroughly
enticing. Besides, she reasoned to herself, if Lita had a hand in the
creation of most of these, they were sure to be fantastic.
For his part, Neelix was taking great delight in explaining to
Serena just what each dish was and what went into creating it. He was
expecting a good many of the crew to attend at some point, so he had
prepared a wide variety of foods using assorted recipes from both the
Delta and Alpha Quadrants. "...and in honor of the Sailor Scouts being
on board, I even got your friends to help prepare a couple of selections
from your world. Such as this one," Neelix said as he placed the try down
on the counter.
"Do you mind if I try it?" Serena asked.
"Of course not. There's plenty for everyone," Neelix replied. As
Serena popped one into her mouth, he went on, "I tried it myself earlier,
and I must say I thought Mina did an excellent..." The Talaxian's voice
trailed off as he watched Serena's face turn a bright shade of red.
"Um... Is something wrong?"
"Water!" Serena managed to get out over the burning sensation in her
mouth. Someone thrust a glass into her hands and she eagerly downed the
contents. "Thank you!"
Immersed as she was in her task, Janeway didn't hear the door chime
at first. But the second chime break through her concentration. "Come."
The door slid open, allowing Amy to enter the ready room.
"You wanted to see me, Captain?"
"Yes, Amy, I did," Janeway answered. "Sorry for keeping you waiting,
but I was..." She motioned to the datascreen on her desk.
Amy nodded and smiled. "I understand. I've gotten engrossed with
something like that before."
"I'll just be a moment." While Janeway returned her concentration
to the terminal, Amy took a moment to idly look about the room. Her
gaze briefly flit upon the floor where she had half expected to see the
hole the Negarans cut in it during the siege of the bridge. But since
the ship had been completely restored by the Silver Crystal, the floor
looked as if it had never been damaged.
"There you go."
Amy jumped slightly. Captain Janeway had come from behind the desk
to stand next to her, and was offering her... "An isolinear optical
chip?" Puzzled, Amy took the chip and examined it. "Why are you giving
this to me?"
"Because I need a favor from you," the captain answered. "I'm not
sure that I have the right to ask, not after deceiving you all like I
did. And especially after you and your friends helped restore Voyager."
"We'd gladly do it again, Captain. And as for your keeping silent
about Dr. Dehner, your reasons for doing so were correct. If Mitchell
had known about her, he might have been more aggressive in trying to
stop us. If that had happened, we might have lost everything." She
held up the data chip again. "But that doesn't tell me anything about
this."
"That chip contains an assortment of Voyager's log entries since
we came to the Delta Quadrant," Janeway began. "And it also contains
personal messages from my crew to their families and friends back home."
She placed both hands upon the desk and leaned back against it.
"You've already had three encounters with Starfleet that we know of --
Kirk's Enterprise, Picard's and now Voyager -- so it's entirely
possible you'll have others at some point in your future. If you do,
and provided they're from a point in time after our current stardate,
then give them this data chip. Even if Starfleet Command can't do
anything to help get us home, it will let our families know that we're
alive... and that we're coming home."
Amy didn't even take a moment to ponder this. Producing her
computer, she opened it up and placed the isolinear chip inside it.
"No problem, Captain."
Now it was Janeway's turn to smile. "Thank you. Now unless I'm
mistaken, Neelix's victory celebration should be getting underway right
about now. How about we head down to the mess hall?"
Neelix greeted them with his customary enthusiasm when they got to
the mess hall. "Captain, Amy, come in! I was wondering if you two
were going to be here."
"My fault, I'm afraid Neelix," Janeway told him. "I wanted to
discuss something with Amy before things got going." She took a moment
to survey the mess hall, which was already rather crowded. It seemed
that a good part of the ship's company was already here, including most,
if not all, of the senior staff. Over on the far side of the room she
could see Tuvok engaged in a conversation with Raye, while nearby Mina
was discussing something with Harry. In the center, she could see Serena
and Darien listening to Tom expound on their adventures in the Delta
Quadrant. "I see you wasted no time in getting things started."
"There's no use in procrastinating when a celebration is in order,"
the Talaxian told her while urging her and Amy towards the buffet table
he had erected. "Now come on in and join the festivities."
Janeway looked in amazement at the assorted dishes. "You must
have worked all night on this, Neelix."
"The work load wasn't as bad as you might think, Captain. It
helps having a couple of very eager assistants. In fact, I haven't had
this much help since..." He paused, thinking. "Well, it must have been
since before Kes started working in Sickbay. Now help yourselves." With
that, Neelix hustled back into the kitchen area, where Janeway could see
Lita still working on something.
Glancing back, he saw that B'Elanna had come up to the table. "Don't
be afraid to try anything," he heard her say, "Most of is actually
edible." Neelix smiled to himself and continued on his way into the
kitchen.
Lita glanced up from the pot she was tending. "Doesn't that bother
you?"
"Doesn't what?" Neelix asked, puzzled.
"B'Elanna's comments about your cooking. At first I thought it was
just her Klingon side showing itself, but I'm beginning to think that
she's just being mean."
"You couldn't be further from the truth," Neelix told her. "It's just B'Elanna's way of blowing off steam."
"But why does she always chose you to do that?"
"Because I told her to."
That comment threw Lita off her stride. "Huh? You told her to?"
"Yes," Neelix confirmed, nodding. "Being half Klingon, B'Elanna has
a very volatile temper, but she can't afford to lose control in front of
her staff. So I told her that she could come here and use me as a target
of her temper. I don't mind." Picking up a wooden spoon, the chef gave
the pot a couple of good stirs.
Not knowing what to say right off, Lita just watched him tend to the
leola root stew for a few moment. You can be a strange guy, Neelix, but
you've got a big heart," she observed, patting him on the shoulder.
"That must be why so much of this crew likes you."
Neelix turned to respond, but in doing so he noted the mess hall
doors opening again and Chakotay enter through them. "Ah, a late
arrival. That accounts for all of the senior staff."
Neelix wasn't the only one to note Chakotay's arrival. Janeway
threaded through the crowd and made her way over to her first officer.
"Finally decided to join the fun?"
"Sorry for being late, but I was on a vision quest," he said
apologetically. "A very unusual one, I might add."
"Oh?" Janeway was intrigued. "Anything you care to talk about?"
Chakotay hesitated before answering. "Maybe later, after I've had
some time to think about it."
Things were still in full swing two hours later when a beep sounded
from the comm system. "Seven of Nine to Captain Janeway."
"I wonder what she wants?" Mina mused.
"One way to find out," Janeway said. However, she had a feeling
that whatever Seven was going to say, it would be of extreme importance.
The Borg was not of the habit of making casual interruptions to ship
activities. "Go ahead, Seven."
"Long range sensors have detected Borg transwarp signatures. They
should be able to scan the system within the next twenty minutes."
A collective groan went up through the room. "Talk about bad
timing," Lita grumbled.
"Leave it to the Borg to be gate crashers at a perfectly good
party," Serena added, equally disappointed.
"I couldn't agree with you more," Janeway said. "Unfortunately, it
means we better be on our way." Speaking loud for the benefit of the
assembled crew, "If you have any goodbyes to make, I suggest you do so
now."
"Take care, Tuvok," Raye said. "I hope the personality traits you
got from me don't prove too embarrassing to you."
"I shall endure it," Tuvok assured you. "However, I think the logic
and emotional control you gained from the mind link could prove to be of
great help to you."
"Don't bet on it," she grumbled.
"Goodbye, Amy," the Doctor told her. "But I hope you don't take
any offense when I say I'm glad I don't have to exist inside your
computer anymore."
"None taken, Doctor, she assured him. "I can certainly see why you
would think so."
"Good," the hologram responded. "I wish I could be there to help
you on your way, but even without my assistance, I'm sure you'll make
an excellent physician."
She colored slightly before responding. "Thank you for thinking
so, Doctor."
"I'm not just saying so," he noted. "Besides, it's not just my
opinion. Remember, my program is based on the logs of some of
Starfleet's finest Doctors. And I can say without any doubt whatsoever
that both Doctors McCoy and Crusher share the same opinion that you
will be among the finest Doctors your Earth has ever seen."
Well, I guess this is goodbye," Harry said somewhat lamely.
"Take care of yourself, Mina."
Mina ignored tentative hand Harry offered, choosing instead to
give the young ensign a very affectionate hug. "Just doing my job as
the Scout of Love," she told him in answer to the unspoken question
on his face. "Hopefully Seven will hear about this and realize that
if she doesn't do anything, she might lose to someone else."
Harry blinked, too shocked to say anything as she walked away.
"Are we talking about the same Seven of Nine?" he finally managed.
"Take care of yourself, B'Elanna," Lita told her. "And try not
to be too hard on Neelix." Before the half Klingon could answer,
Lita moved off to say farewell to another member of Voyager's crew.
"What was that all about?" Tom asked.
"I'm not sure," B'Elanna replied as she watched the girl move away.
"I just wished she could have stayed longer," Tom said wistfully.
"I was hoping she could show Neelix how to make a good pizza."
"Thanks again for you're help, Serena," Janeway told the girl. I
don't think I can ever thank you enough for what you've done for my
ship and crew."
"I didn't exactly do it all by myself, Captain. You and Dr.
Dehner helped."
Janeway turned to Neelix. "Neelix, why don't you escort our guests
to Transporter Room One," she suggested. "Everyone else, I'm afraid
it's back to work."
"Of course, Captain. Ladies and sir, if you'll follow me,"
Neelix said, leading the way out of the mess hall. One by one, the
five girls and Darien followed him out, each pausing momentarily to
make a last wave to the crew.
"It's a pity they have to leave this abruptly," Chakotay commented,
as the door closed behind the last of them.
"Well, I'm just glad we met them when we did," Janeway said.
"Otherwise, I doubt we would have survived this little encounter."
Tuvok nodded, agreeing with his Captain. "Indeed, they were
instrumental in helping us defeat the Negasleaze on Negara."
The others turned to stare at the Vulcan security officer.
"Negasleaze?" B'Elanna asked, smiling slightly.
Tuvok shifted uncomfortably. "It would seem that there is still
some personality overlap from my mindlink with Raye. It should fade
with time, and in fact be gone within two weeks."
Tom smiled. "I think I'm going to enjoy the next couple of
weeks."
"Well, here we are," Neelix said as the group entered the
transporter room. "If you just take your positions on the pads, we
can get you started on your way home."
"Just a moment, Neelix," Mina said. "Negara may have been cleansed
by Sailor Moon, but we should transform before we beam down, just in
case."
"Good idea, Mina," Amy said as she took out her transformation
wand. Seconds later, the small room echoed with the assorted
transformation cries.
Neelix watched in awe at the display of light as the five girls
changed into the Sailor Scouts and Darien also transformed into Tuxedo
Mask. "Wow!" he exclaimed when the light show was over. "That was
just... just..." He struggled for a moment to find the right words,
but finally just reiterated once more, "Wow!"
"Thanks, Neelix," Mercury said as they took their positions on the
transporter platform. "I think I can safely say we all have felt the
same way about Voyager."
"Oh, before I forget," Jupiter spoke up, and tossed Neelix a padd.
"From one chef to another."
The Talaxian caught the padd and quickly examined it's contents.
"Recipes!" he said, beaming with delight. "Thank you, Li- er, Sailor
Jupiter."
The tall Scout gave him a broad smile. "Anytime."
Not knowing what else to say, Neelix turned to the transporter
operator. But before he could give the command, Sailor Moon spoke up,
"Hold it, Neelix!"
"Yes?"
"Let us say it this time."
Neelix nodded. Whenever you're ready."
"Energize!" they cried out simultaneously.
On a bluff overlooking what had once been Metallah's citadel, six
columns of white energy shimmered into existence and then resolved
themselves into the forms of the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask.
Venus gazed at the sky above them in awe. "Wow, I can't get over
how different this planet seems than when we first landed here."
"Crash landed, you mean," Mars corrected her. "But you're right.
That sky is a much deeper blue than what we would see back home."
"Due to the differences in the atmospheric composition," Mercury
pointed out. "But there are other differences to our last visit to
the surface." She pointed to the ruins of the citadel not far from
their position. Among the toppled stones they could see that the
local plantlife was already moving in.
"Talk about fast growing plants," Jupiter said. "It's only been
two days, but it looks like that stuff's been growing for a year."
"The plantlife here must be extremely aggressive," Mercury observed.
"A place like this could be a botanist's dream."
"Or a farmer's," Tuxedo Mask said. He pointed down into the
valley. Though it was still in it's early stages, they could see the
beginnings of a village being constructed by the surviving Negarans,
along with the outlines of crop fields.
"It looks like they're trying to put their lives back together,"
Sailor Moon said.
"Yes," Mercury confirmed. "I'm detecting the remains of a
previous village in the same area. Undoubtably the Negarans were an
agrarian and peaceful people before Mitchell came here."
"And they're getting back to that lifestyle now that he's gone,"
Sailor Moon said.
They stood watching for a bit before Mars shook herself. "We better
get going. Captain Janeway said they'd wait for us to leave before they
broke orbit, and that Borg ship is on the way."
There weren't any protests to Mars' urgings, as they all were
anxious to get home. They quickly formed up into a circle, and after
a moment's concentration, teleported from the surface.
Harry looked up from the sensor readouts. "We've lost sensor
contact with the Sailor Scouts. It looks like they've teleported."
"We are picking a slight distortion effect in the quantum flux,"
Chakotay confirmed, glancing at his own panel. "It looks like they
made passage through it." He settled back in his chair and looked at
Janeway. "Should we try to close it before the Borg get here?"
"You mean like the Enterprise did?" she asked. After the first
officer nodded, "I don't think that's a good idea, Chakotay."
Chakotay frowned. "Why not?"
"Because the procedure they used didn't close the quantum flux as
they thought it would," she explained. "If you take a look at the
subspace signature of the flux, you'll see that it's identical to the flux
the Enterprise D traversed before they attempted closing it."
"So that means that this is the same flux," Chakotay said after he
had a moment to check the readings for himself.
"I'm afraid so. It's been redirected twice so far as we know -- first
to Delta Vega, and then to here. If we try redirect it, who knows where
in time and space it'll end up. We could just end up making things worse."
"We can't just leave it here for the Borg to find," Tom protested.
"We might as well just leave them a sign, 'This way to Sailor Moon'."
"I have no intention of doing that, Tom. Harry, set up an
anti-proton burst from the main deflector. That should scramble any
readings the Borg might take of it."
A universe away, a black cat perked her ears and looked about the
courtyard. Nothing was visible, but she was sure that something was
about to happen. She cast a baleful glare at the sleeping form of
Artemis before nudging him. "Wake up, Artemis." When the white cat
seemed reluctant to do so, she cuffed him roughly on one ear. "I said,
'Wake up!'"
"I'm awake, I'm awake," he muttered, rubbing the ear painfully.
"What's so important?"
"Can't you feel it?"
"The only thing I'm feeling right now is a headache," Artemis
retorted.
Luna opened her mouth to respond, but in that moment the Sailor
Scouts and Tuxedo Mask materialized. Seconds later, they had reversed
their transformations, returning to their normal identities. "Thank
heavens you're back," Luna said. "You've been gone for hours. What
happened? What did you find?"
"Hours?" Serena asked, focusing on Luna's first statement. "But
I thought we spent a couple of days on Voyager?" She turned to Amy for
confirmation.
Artemis gave a catlike frown of puzzlement. "Voyager?"
Amy was already checking her computer. "I supposed there could
have been a temporal variance when we teleported from their universe
through the quantum flux."
Now Luna was puzzled. "Quantum flux?"
"Cool. We don't have to try and cover for where we've been the
last couple of days," Mina noted.
Amy nodded. "Yes, and we didn't miss any school either."
"You would think of that, wouldn't you Amy?" Lita teased her.
Before Amy could respond, Luna spoke up, "Excuse me, but will
somebody please tell me what's been going on!"
"Sorry, Luna," Amy apologized, then launched into a quick account
over the events since they had teleported to the Arctic. Though they
remained silent, both Luna and Artemis were wide eyed in amazement.
"Nuts!"
All eyes turned to Serena. "What's wrong, Serena?" Darien
inquired.
"I just remembered I've got a math test tomorrow!" she complained.
"I thought I'd gotten out of it, too."
Amy shook her head. "You'd just have to make it up later, so
it's just as well."
"You're not much help. Amy."
"If you'd just study ahead of time, you wouldn't have any problems
in math or any other subject," Raye commented calmly. "It's simply
logical." The others stared at her for a moment before she belatedly
realized just how she sounded. "Not again!" she muttered.
"Logical?" Mina asked. "Where you taking Vulcan lessons back
on Voyager?"
"Odd, I thought Chakotay was showing her how to contact her
animal guide," Darien remarked.
"Maybe she snuck in a couple of sessions when we weren't looking,"
Lita suggested.
"Amy, I think you better give Raye a quick scan. She's getting
a greenish complexion," Serena said, getting into the action. Amy
nodded, and produced the small device.
Raye glared at all of them, but chose to focus her ire on Serena.
"I am *not* turning green!" she snapped.
Serena's only reaction was to raise an eyebrow in a distinctly
Vulcan manner. "Really Raye, your attitude is... most illogical. What
would Tuvok say?"
"I don't *care* what he would say!!"
"Have you always been this emotional?"
"Can it, meatballhead!"
"Don't call me meatballhead!!"
The others watched as the argument quickly escalated into another
one of their infamous tongue wars. "Well, it didn't take them long to
fall into old habits," Darien remarked.
"If I were you, Darien, I'd be more worried if things *didn't* get
back to normal," Amy told him.
"True," he conceded. "Things are probably getting back to normal
back on Voyager too... At least as normal as it gets for a ship so far
from home."
"Do you think they'll make it back home?" Mina asked. "I mean...
they've got a long ways to go."
"Yeah, like sixty thousand light years," Lita chimed in.
Amy looked down at her open computer. Attached firmly to the
inside of the lid was the isolinear chip Captain Janeway had given her.
After making sure that it was secure, she closed the computer and put it
away. "It may not be any time soon, but I think they will eventually
get home." She smiled at the others before continuing. "Besides, we
all know that when all is said and done, Starfleet crews usually manage
to accomplish their mission."
"We've got the star between us and the Borg ship," Tom reported.
"That should be more than enough to obscure our warp signature,"
B'Elanna said. "They won't know we were ever in the system."
"Good," Chakotay said. He half turned to the operations station.
"Harry, are you sure that anti-proton pulse from the main deflector
will keep the Borg from spotting the flux?" The pulse had seemed to
scramble readings from the flux when they had released it over Negara,
but it didn't hurt to be certain. The last thing anyone on the ship
wanted was for the Borg to discover the passageway to the Scouts'
world.
"Positive, Commander," the ensign replied. "I been scanning for
myself, and even I can't tell it's there. It should be at least a year
before it's discernable as a quantum flux."
"The collective should lose interest in that world long before
then," Seven said. "There is not technology worth assimilating, and
the alien's biological distinctiveness is not remarkable enough to
warrant the effort."
"Since we seem to have covered our tracks as best we can, it's
time for us to be on our way," Janeway noted with a smile. "Tom, let's
resume our course for the Alpha Quadrant. Warp six."
Tom had already made the necessary course computations, but he
made a quick check of the helm nevertheless. "Course and speed ready,
Captain."
"Engage."
Outside, the warp nacelles elevated into their flight positions
and the ship accelerated into warp. Voyager was once more on course
for the Alpha Quadrant.
And home.
Then end of the Sailor Trek saga.
Notes:
Comments, critiques and questions are welcome. Just email me at
Soton@aol.com.
As before, thanks to Gene Roddenberry and Naoko Takeuchi, for
creating their respective genres. Additional thanks to Rick Berman,
Michael Piller and Jeri Taylor for creating "Star Trek: Voyager."
(Personally, I think the series is a lot better than some people give
it credit for.)
I would also like to add a special thank you to Will Wolfshohl,
who has patiently provided a lot of critical commentary along the way,
and for pointing out a serious plot hole I had left open during
chapters 5 & 6. That gave me enough warning to craft chapter 7 in a
way to cover up my mistake. Credit to him as well for suggesting
that Chakotay should introduce Raye to her animal guide.
Additional thanks to Mike Stancel for his own remarks and
suggestions along the way, including Neelix's little quip in chapter 7
that Tuvok and Mercury might be related.
I would also like to extend my thanks to each and everyone of you
that have taken the time to send me comments regarding the stories.
This marks the end of the Sailor Trek saga, a series of stories I
began working on more than two and a half years ago. It's been a wild
ride getting them finished, but one that I've enjoyed.
One common question I get is "Are you going to write any other
Trek/SM crossovers?" At present I don't have any plans for a story in
the same vein as four Sailor Trek stories, but as Spock has said,
"There are always possibilities." I do have other stories in
development which would involve elements of the Trek universe, such as
on that centers on Q and Sailor Pluto and another that brings the crew
of the Enterprise E to Crystal Tokyo, but those are still in the
future. There are also some possible stories about the Sailor Mercury
who ended up going to Deep Space Nine at the end of "Sailor Trek DS9".
Next up: the fanfic I actually started first but was set aside so I
could complete the Sailor Trek saga, "Highlander Moon"
He is Immortal, born in the highlands of Scotland in 1592.
For four hundred years, he has battled the forces of darkness,
with Holy Ground his only refuge.
He is Duncan MacLeod, the Highlander
Preview snippet:
His train of thought was broken by something landing on his
shoulder. As tensed up as he had become in the last few hours,
MacLeod's combat trained reflexes kicked in, sweeping whatever it was
off his shoulder towards the bench and settling himself into a defensive
stance. A loud "Ow!" came from the bench.
Realizing that the offending party was a white and very familiar
cat, Duncan relaxed. "Artemis," he sighed.
"Yeah, I'm glad to see you too," the feline grumbled as he got back
onto his paws. Rubbing his head painfully, the cat eyed him. "So what
brings you to Tokyo, Highlander?"
Epilogue
"...and imagine yourself in the place where you've been the most
at peace with yourself."
Raye tried to relax and comply with Chakotay's urgings, but it
wasn't easy. Even discounting the recent events surrounding their visit
to Voyager, there had been many factors in her life that had discounted
her feeling relaxed in any manner. Especially since she had gotten that
vision of utter devastation. After a moment she sighed. "I don't think
this is..." she began, but her voice trailed off when she opened her
eyes and got a good look at her surroundings.
Instead of being in Chakotay's quarters, she found herself somewhere
on the temple grounds. No mater how carefully she looked, she couldn't
tell the difference between this and reality. "Whoa. This is weird."
"Don't worry about it," she heard Chakotay's disembodied voice tell
her. "You should see your animal guide somewhere nearby. Just remember
not to tell me or anyone else what it is, or you'll offend it."
"I heard you the first time," Raye grumbled while looking around
the grounds. At first she thought the chuckling she heard in the
background was from Chakotay, but she soon realized that the voice was
much too deep to be that of Voyager's first officer. Turning towards
the source, she found herself confronted by a large gray wolf. The
wolf looked her over very carefully, and then seemed to grin.
"Greetings, cubling. I've been waiting for you."
Though she had been told the animal guide would be able to
communicate with her, the sight of a talking wolf proved very startling
for Raye. She gasped in surprise, and then blinked as she suddenly
found herself back in Chakotay's quarters.
"Something wrong?" Chakotay asked, still seated on the floor in
front of her.
"It spoke to me!"
Chakotay smiled. "I did tell you they would be able to
communicate."
"I know, I know," Raye conceded. "Still, it was really weird
hearing..." Chakotay opened his mouth to warn her again about speaking
of her animal guide, but his fear proved to be groundless. "...an
animal speak like that."
"I understand," Chakotay assured her. "The first contact is always
the hardest one, depending on the individual, of course. On one hand,
Captain Janeway's went relatively smoothly. On the other extreme,
there's B'Elanna."
"Oh?" Raye cocked an eyebrow in a very Tuvok-like manner. It was
all Chakotay could do to keep from grinning broadly. "What happened?"
"B'Elanna's the only person I know who tried to kill her animal
guide."
Raye's other eyebrow went upwards. "Fascinating." This time
Chakotay did grin, and Raye flushed red and tried to hide her face with
one hand. "I don't believe I said that."
"I wouldn't worry about that too much. It's only a side effect of
the mind link, and Tuvok did tell you it should fade soon enough.
Besides, I think Tuvok finds it a little more distressing sounding like
you."
Raye felt her temper flare, and she glared at Chakotay. "What's
that supposed to mean?!?"
"Only that a Vulcan is even more embarrassed acting like a human than
you should be for acting like a Vulcan," he reassured her. He gestured to
the akoonah on the floor between them, "If you want, you could try to
re-establish contact."
"I don't think there's time for that right now," she answered. She
stood up and Chakotay did likewise. "I think Neelix's party is about to
start. But I should be able to make contact with it on my own later,
right?"
"That's right," Chakotay confirmed. "And if what you tell me about
your fire readings, you won't need an akoonah either. The fire reading
ritual itself should be more than enough to induce the proper mental
state."
Raye nodded. "Okay, maybe I'll try it after I get back home.
Thanks, Chakotay."
"Anytime," he responded as she left the room. After she had gone,
Chakotay sat done on the floor once more, and rearranged the contents of
his medicine bundle in front of him. He had a few things to work out for
himself after recent events, and there was no time like the present. He
picked up the river rock and, cupping it in both hands, closed his eyes; trying to clear his mind. When he felt ready, reached out with his right
hand and placed it atop the akoonah. "A-koo-chee-moya. I am far from
the sacred places of my grandfathers. I am far from the bones of my
people. I come here seeking guidance..."
When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a forest glade much
like what one would find in North America. All was still about him except
for the sounds of birds chirping in the distance.
Then there was a rustling in the bushes on the far side of the
glade, from which emerged large gray wolf. Though he did not know it,
Chakotay had the same animal guide as Raye, and it was here to greet him
as always.
Sensing his need for answers, the wolf turned and headed for one of
the many trails leading from the glade. Chakotay hurried to follow the
guide.
It seemed as if he wandered about the forest for hours, though it
may well have been minutes. Time was hard to tell on a vision quest.
But eventually trail led to the mouth of a cave. It was impossible to
see what was within, for the inside was as black as pitch. Still the
wolf unerringly went inside, not bothering to see if Chakotay followed.
Pausing at the entrance for only a fraction of a second, the first
officer went into the cavern...
...and emerged into a sea of white.
Yet not entirely white, for the background swirled about him,
hinting at colors he could not perceive directly. And the was a large
structure nearby, one that resembled a large door or gateway if nothing
else. He looked around it carefully, but he could not tell where it led
too, only that there was a mass of pulsating energies within the frame of
the door. "What is it?"
"It is a gateway," a voice answered him. Chakotay whirled about to
face the source. It was a humanoid female, dressed in attire that was
similar in form to the Sailor Scouts. She also bore a staff which had a
vague resemblance to a large key. "The Gateway of Time, to be exact.
But what are you doing here?"
"I was brought here, by my animal guide."
"I see," she replied, then paused in contemplation. "I wonder why
the old wolf brought you here?"
Chakotay was shocked that she knew what his animal guide was, but
he struggled to conceal it. "Who are you?"
"I am Sailor Pluto, the guardian of this realm," she answered,
staring sternly at him. "I trust you have a good reason for coming
here, Commander."
'Sailor Pluto?' Chakotay thought. So far this was turning out to
be one of the stranger vision quests he had ever been on...
B'Elanna took a moment to wipe off the sweat that was accumulating
on her brow. "I can't believe I let you talk me into this."
"I don't know what you're complaining about," Lita replied. "I
think this is fun."
"Some fun." B'Elanna took a moment to look at her surroundings
once again. She and Lita were in the middle of the standard Klingon
calisthenics holoprogram, and as before, she was having a miserable time
in it. "If I wanted to be hot and sweaty, I'd create a program for
somewhere on Cardassia Prime."
Lita's brow furrowed, showing the puzzlement she felt. "Cardassia
Prime? Where's --"
Before she could finish, a loud cry echoed around them and various
holo-monsters charged the two of them. Lita heard B'Elanna cry out
followed by a loud splash, but she was too occupied with the assorted
creatures to do anything about it. Handling the bat'leth as if she had
been born to it, she block the incoming attacks and disabled the
creatures one by one. When the last of the holo-creatures hit the floor
and dissolved, she turned and looked for the Voyager engineer.
Finding her wasn't hard. B'Elanna was a few meters behind her,
sitting waist deep in a pool of marsh water and looking as if she was
getting angrier by the second. Lita choked off a laugh, but enough
escaped to send B'Elanna flying into a rage. "That does it!' she
exclaimed, standing up and trying fruitlessly to wring the water out of
her clothes. "I have had *enough* of this ridiculous program!" She bent
down and picked up her own bat'leth before slogging her way out of the
water. "Computer: end program!"
The scenario dissolved around them, revealing the hologrid. Still
enraged and thoroughly soaked, B'Elanna started storming for the exit.
But Lita grabbed her before she got to the exit. "B'Elanna --"
"Let me go, Lita," she retorted flatly.
Lita complied but not before she said, "I'm sorry."
B'Elanna's anger started dissolving as quickly as it had formed.
"It's not your fault," she told the tall girl. "It's just that these
type of activities don't appeal to me."
"Yeah, I can tell," Lita said. "It just... I had so much fun
going through this program with Worf back on the Enterprise, I wanted to
take the opportunity to enjoy it here with someone." She smiled
apologetically. "I guess I assumed that since you were half Klingon..."
"Big mistake," B'Elanna told her gently. "But an understandable
one. I've never been too comfortable with my Klingon heritage."
"Done already?" They both turned to see Tom Paris approaching.
"I just got off watch from the bridge, and I was hoping to catch a little
of the action."
"I'm afraid you're a little late, Tom. We just finished," B'Elanna
said.
From the state her clothing was in, Tom had a feeling just how it
had gone for B'Elanna. But he still couldn't resist getting a little
jab in. "So, is that a bat'leth I see in your hand, or are you just
happy to see me?" he quipped.
Lita couldn't help but giggle at the joke, but B'Elanna was not
amused. "Very funny, Tom." She raised the weapon up threateningly.
"In case no one's ever told you, you should never tease a woman holding
a sharp blade," she warned him. "Especially one who's soaking wet, and
very angry."
Tom carefully put his hand on the flat of the blade. "I see your
point," he said as he gently shoved the weapon away.
Lita wasn't sure if she should intervene or not, but she was saved
the effort of deciding by the timely arrival of Harry and Mina. "Hi!"
the blonde said brightly. "Is the holodeck free?"
"Yeah, we just finished," Lita replied. She glanced over the
attire both Harry and Mina were wearing. "What are you guys up to?"
"Parrises squares," Harry answered, hefting the ball that was used
for that particular game. "Care to join us?"
"No thanks," Lita answered, while both Tom and B'Elanna indicated
negative answers as well. "I thought you were going to help Neelix
finish things up?"
"He said he could handle things from there," Mina said. "And I
figured it was like you said when you decided to head here -- there's no
telling if we'll ever get a chance to try out one of these holodecks
again." With that, she and Harry entered into the holodeck.
"I better get going then," Lita observed. "Even if he said he can
handle things, I bet Neelix wouldn't mind having some help."
While Lita walked away, B'Elanna glanced through the open holodeck
doors and shrugged. "If nothing else, Harry keeping Mina occupied in
there reduces the odds of any of us getting food poisoning," she said
quietly as she and Tom walked away from the holodeck door.
Evidently not quiet enough, for Mina quickly appeared in the still
open doorway. "HEY! What's that supposed to mean!" she challenged the
Klingon engineer. But before B'Elanna could reply, both she and Tom
heard Harry shouting "Look out!" just as the ball came soaring out of
the holodeck, scoring a direct hit on the back of Mina's head. The
dazed blonde staggered slightly before she crumpled onto the deck.
Pluto sighed. Chakotay had left the Gateway not long ago. She
hoped she had been able to help him find the answers he was looking for,
but she even more fervently hoped that the Gateway was not going to
become Grand Central Station to those on vision quests. The last thing
she needed was to become a cosmic counselor.
Almost in response to her thinking about unwanted guests, a flash
and ripple of sound to her right announced the arrival of Q. The
entity seemed somewhat amused, but it was soon apparent as to what.
"Well, I see you'll let just about anybody here nowadays."
"Now Q, I didn't just 'let' Commander Chakotay in here. He was
brought here by another."
"Another?" Q scowled at her. "What do you mean by that?"
"There are more things on heaven and earth than are dreamt of in
your philosophy, Q," she replied, paraphrasing a quote from Shakespeare.
Q snorted. "I ask a simple question, and I get a Vorlon-esque
answer. Fine, be that way." Turning from her, the entity seemed to
sulk.
Pluto sighed. For all his supposed age and omnipotence, the
entity still persisted in some very petulant behavior. "You did as I
asked?" she asked.
"Of course," Q replied. "Have I ever let you down?"
A small smile came to her face. Opportunities like this didn't
come very often. "Many times," she casually replied, causing Q's face
to fall suddenly. "But I'm mainly concerned about this instance."
"Well I don't know what you are worried about," Q said. He
snapped his fingers and a videocassette appeared in his hands. "Here's
all the evidence of Voyager's little sojourn to your world. Now all
they have is another UFO mystery on their hands."
Pluto nodded. "Good."
"Now what's all the fuss about? After all the odd events that
have occurred in Japan in the last couple or three years, I would've
thought a sighting of Voyager in the Arctic would cause nary a
ripple."
"Just making sure, Q."
Darien stepped out onto the bridge but after a quick glance it
was evident that Serena was not here, despite what the computer had
told him earlier. But before he could make a discrete exit, "If
you're looking for Serena, I believe you'll find her in the mess
hall."
He turned towards the mid-bridge station, where Seven of Nine stood
watching him intently. "How do you know..?"
"The celebration Neelix is planning is scheduled to commence
shortly," she replied. "Undoubtably, Neelix is already setting out the
various food plates he has been preparing. Given Serena's eating habits,
the rest is simple deduction."
"I guess you would know," Darien said with more than a little venom
in his voice. "After all, the Borg did make her part of that collective
of theirs for a while."
Seven continued her work, but she still replied. "Her assimilation
was not an easy task for the collective. Serena's... unique personality
destabilized several parts of the collective. It was some time
afterwards before the irrational impulses were completely eradicated.
Were it not for her biological distinctiveness, the collective would not
be interested in reassimilating her."
"The Borg still want to assimilate her?" Darien repeated, shocked.
"Yes," Seven replied matter-of-factly. "Along with yourself and
the other Sailor Scouts."
"Not that I think they'd succeed, but it's probably just as well
that the Borg are from another universe," Darien observed.
Now Seven stopped and looked evenly at Darien. "Do not take too
much comfort in that fact," she stated. "The Borg possess
transdimensional technologies, and are quite capable of crossing over
to your universe."
"They can do that?" Darien breathed.
"Yes, once they have the correct dimensional coordinates. You and
the others should remain vigilant at all times. The Collective has
placed a high priority on assimilating the six of you... along with
the future city of Crystal Tokyo."
As Seven had predicted, Serena was in the mess hall, eagerly eying
the assorted food trays that Neelix was setting up. Though the forms of
most of them were decidedly unfamiliar, the smells were thoroughly
enticing. Besides, she reasoned to herself, if Lita had a hand in the
creation of most of these, they were sure to be fantastic.
For his part, Neelix was taking great delight in explaining to
Serena just what each dish was and what went into creating it. He was
expecting a good many of the crew to attend at some point, so he had
prepared a wide variety of foods using assorted recipes from both the
Delta and Alpha Quadrants. "...and in honor of the Sailor Scouts being
on board, I even got your friends to help prepare a couple of selections
from your world. Such as this one," Neelix said as he placed the try down
on the counter.
"Do you mind if I try it?" Serena asked.
"Of course not. There's plenty for everyone," Neelix replied. As
Serena popped one into her mouth, he went on, "I tried it myself earlier,
and I must say I thought Mina did an excellent..." The Talaxian's voice
trailed off as he watched Serena's face turn a bright shade of red.
"Um... Is something wrong?"
"Water!" Serena managed to get out over the burning sensation in her
mouth. Someone thrust a glass into her hands and she eagerly downed the
contents. "Thank you!"
Immersed as she was in her task, Janeway didn't hear the door chime
at first. But the second chime break through her concentration. "Come."
The door slid open, allowing Amy to enter the ready room.
"You wanted to see me, Captain?"
"Yes, Amy, I did," Janeway answered. "Sorry for keeping you waiting,
but I was..." She motioned to the datascreen on her desk.
Amy nodded and smiled. "I understand. I've gotten engrossed with
something like that before."
"I'll just be a moment." While Janeway returned her concentration
to the terminal, Amy took a moment to idly look about the room. Her
gaze briefly flit upon the floor where she had half expected to see the
hole the Negarans cut in it during the siege of the bridge. But since
the ship had been completely restored by the Silver Crystal, the floor
looked as if it had never been damaged.
"There you go."
Amy jumped slightly. Captain Janeway had come from behind the desk
to stand next to her, and was offering her... "An isolinear optical
chip?" Puzzled, Amy took the chip and examined it. "Why are you giving
this to me?"
"Because I need a favor from you," the captain answered. "I'm not
sure that I have the right to ask, not after deceiving you all like I
did. And especially after you and your friends helped restore Voyager."
"We'd gladly do it again, Captain. And as for your keeping silent
about Dr. Dehner, your reasons for doing so were correct. If Mitchell
had known about her, he might have been more aggressive in trying to
stop us. If that had happened, we might have lost everything." She
held up the data chip again. "But that doesn't tell me anything about
this."
"That chip contains an assortment of Voyager's log entries since
we came to the Delta Quadrant," Janeway began. "And it also contains
personal messages from my crew to their families and friends back home."
She placed both hands upon the desk and leaned back against it.
"You've already had three encounters with Starfleet that we know of --
Kirk's Enterprise, Picard's and now Voyager -- so it's entirely
possible you'll have others at some point in your future. If you do,
and provided they're from a point in time after our current stardate,
then give them this data chip. Even if Starfleet Command can't do
anything to help get us home, it will let our families know that we're
alive... and that we're coming home."
Amy didn't even take a moment to ponder this. Producing her
computer, she opened it up and placed the isolinear chip inside it.
"No problem, Captain."
Now it was Janeway's turn to smile. "Thank you. Now unless I'm
mistaken, Neelix's victory celebration should be getting underway right
about now. How about we head down to the mess hall?"
Neelix greeted them with his customary enthusiasm when they got to
the mess hall. "Captain, Amy, come in! I was wondering if you two
were going to be here."
"My fault, I'm afraid Neelix," Janeway told him. "I wanted to
discuss something with Amy before things got going." She took a moment
to survey the mess hall, which was already rather crowded. It seemed
that a good part of the ship's company was already here, including most,
if not all, of the senior staff. Over on the far side of the room she
could see Tuvok engaged in a conversation with Raye, while nearby Mina
was discussing something with Harry. In the center, she could see Serena
and Darien listening to Tom expound on their adventures in the Delta
Quadrant. "I see you wasted no time in getting things started."
"There's no use in procrastinating when a celebration is in order,"
the Talaxian told her while urging her and Amy towards the buffet table
he had erected. "Now come on in and join the festivities."
Janeway looked in amazement at the assorted dishes. "You must
have worked all night on this, Neelix."
"The work load wasn't as bad as you might think, Captain. It
helps having a couple of very eager assistants. In fact, I haven't had
this much help since..." He paused, thinking. "Well, it must have been
since before Kes started working in Sickbay. Now help yourselves." With
that, Neelix hustled back into the kitchen area, where Janeway could see
Lita still working on something.
Glancing back, he saw that B'Elanna had come up to the table. "Don't
be afraid to try anything," he heard her say, "Most of is actually
edible." Neelix smiled to himself and continued on his way into the
kitchen.
Lita glanced up from the pot she was tending. "Doesn't that bother
you?"
"Doesn't what?" Neelix asked, puzzled.
"B'Elanna's comments about your cooking. At first I thought it was
just her Klingon side showing itself, but I'm beginning to think that
she's just being mean."
"You couldn't be further from the truth," Neelix told her. "It's just B'Elanna's way of blowing off steam."
"But why does she always chose you to do that?"
"Because I told her to."
That comment threw Lita off her stride. "Huh? You told her to?"
"Yes," Neelix confirmed, nodding. "Being half Klingon, B'Elanna has
a very volatile temper, but she can't afford to lose control in front of
her staff. So I told her that she could come here and use me as a target
of her temper. I don't mind." Picking up a wooden spoon, the chef gave
the pot a couple of good stirs.
Not knowing what to say right off, Lita just watched him tend to the
leola root stew for a few moment. You can be a strange guy, Neelix, but
you've got a big heart," she observed, patting him on the shoulder.
"That must be why so much of this crew likes you."
Neelix turned to respond, but in doing so he noted the mess hall
doors opening again and Chakotay enter through them. "Ah, a late
arrival. That accounts for all of the senior staff."
Neelix wasn't the only one to note Chakotay's arrival. Janeway
threaded through the crowd and made her way over to her first officer.
"Finally decided to join the fun?"
"Sorry for being late, but I was on a vision quest," he said
apologetically. "A very unusual one, I might add."
"Oh?" Janeway was intrigued. "Anything you care to talk about?"
Chakotay hesitated before answering. "Maybe later, after I've had
some time to think about it."
Things were still in full swing two hours later when a beep sounded
from the comm system. "Seven of Nine to Captain Janeway."
"I wonder what she wants?" Mina mused.
"One way to find out," Janeway said. However, she had a feeling
that whatever Seven was going to say, it would be of extreme importance.
The Borg was not of the habit of making casual interruptions to ship
activities. "Go ahead, Seven."
"Long range sensors have detected Borg transwarp signatures. They
should be able to scan the system within the next twenty minutes."
A collective groan went up through the room. "Talk about bad
timing," Lita grumbled.
"Leave it to the Borg to be gate crashers at a perfectly good
party," Serena added, equally disappointed.
"I couldn't agree with you more," Janeway said. "Unfortunately, it
means we better be on our way." Speaking loud for the benefit of the
assembled crew, "If you have any goodbyes to make, I suggest you do so
now."
"Take care, Tuvok," Raye said. "I hope the personality traits you
got from me don't prove too embarrassing to you."
"I shall endure it," Tuvok assured you. "However, I think the logic
and emotional control you gained from the mind link could prove to be of
great help to you."
"Don't bet on it," she grumbled.
"Goodbye, Amy," the Doctor told her. "But I hope you don't take
any offense when I say I'm glad I don't have to exist inside your
computer anymore."
"None taken, Doctor, she assured him. "I can certainly see why you
would think so."
"Good," the hologram responded. "I wish I could be there to help
you on your way, but even without my assistance, I'm sure you'll make
an excellent physician."
She colored slightly before responding. "Thank you for thinking
so, Doctor."
"I'm not just saying so," he noted. "Besides, it's not just my
opinion. Remember, my program is based on the logs of some of
Starfleet's finest Doctors. And I can say without any doubt whatsoever
that both Doctors McCoy and Crusher share the same opinion that you
will be among the finest Doctors your Earth has ever seen."
Well, I guess this is goodbye," Harry said somewhat lamely.
"Take care of yourself, Mina."
Mina ignored tentative hand Harry offered, choosing instead to
give the young ensign a very affectionate hug. "Just doing my job as
the Scout of Love," she told him in answer to the unspoken question
on his face. "Hopefully Seven will hear about this and realize that
if she doesn't do anything, she might lose to someone else."
Harry blinked, too shocked to say anything as she walked away.
"Are we talking about the same Seven of Nine?" he finally managed.
"Take care of yourself, B'Elanna," Lita told her. "And try not
to be too hard on Neelix." Before the half Klingon could answer,
Lita moved off to say farewell to another member of Voyager's crew.
"What was that all about?" Tom asked.
"I'm not sure," B'Elanna replied as she watched the girl move away.
"I just wished she could have stayed longer," Tom said wistfully.
"I was hoping she could show Neelix how to make a good pizza."
"Thanks again for you're help, Serena," Janeway told the girl. I
don't think I can ever thank you enough for what you've done for my
ship and crew."
"I didn't exactly do it all by myself, Captain. You and Dr.
Dehner helped."
Janeway turned to Neelix. "Neelix, why don't you escort our guests
to Transporter Room One," she suggested. "Everyone else, I'm afraid
it's back to work."
"Of course, Captain. Ladies and sir, if you'll follow me,"
Neelix said, leading the way out of the mess hall. One by one, the
five girls and Darien followed him out, each pausing momentarily to
make a last wave to the crew.
"It's a pity they have to leave this abruptly," Chakotay commented,
as the door closed behind the last of them.
"Well, I'm just glad we met them when we did," Janeway said.
"Otherwise, I doubt we would have survived this little encounter."
Tuvok nodded, agreeing with his Captain. "Indeed, they were
instrumental in helping us defeat the Negasleaze on Negara."
The others turned to stare at the Vulcan security officer.
"Negasleaze?" B'Elanna asked, smiling slightly.
Tuvok shifted uncomfortably. "It would seem that there is still
some personality overlap from my mindlink with Raye. It should fade
with time, and in fact be gone within two weeks."
Tom smiled. "I think I'm going to enjoy the next couple of
weeks."
"Well, here we are," Neelix said as the group entered the
transporter room. "If you just take your positions on the pads, we
can get you started on your way home."
"Just a moment, Neelix," Mina said. "Negara may have been cleansed
by Sailor Moon, but we should transform before we beam down, just in
case."
"Good idea, Mina," Amy said as she took out her transformation
wand. Seconds later, the small room echoed with the assorted
transformation cries.
Neelix watched in awe at the display of light as the five girls
changed into the Sailor Scouts and Darien also transformed into Tuxedo
Mask. "Wow!" he exclaimed when the light show was over. "That was
just... just..." He struggled for a moment to find the right words,
but finally just reiterated once more, "Wow!"
"Thanks, Neelix," Mercury said as they took their positions on the
transporter platform. "I think I can safely say we all have felt the
same way about Voyager."
"Oh, before I forget," Jupiter spoke up, and tossed Neelix a padd.
"From one chef to another."
The Talaxian caught the padd and quickly examined it's contents.
"Recipes!" he said, beaming with delight. "Thank you, Li- er, Sailor
Jupiter."
The tall Scout gave him a broad smile. "Anytime."
Not knowing what else to say, Neelix turned to the transporter
operator. But before he could give the command, Sailor Moon spoke up,
"Hold it, Neelix!"
"Yes?"
"Let us say it this time."
Neelix nodded. Whenever you're ready."
"Energize!" they cried out simultaneously.
On a bluff overlooking what had once been Metallah's citadel, six
columns of white energy shimmered into existence and then resolved
themselves into the forms of the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask.
Venus gazed at the sky above them in awe. "Wow, I can't get over
how different this planet seems than when we first landed here."
"Crash landed, you mean," Mars corrected her. "But you're right.
That sky is a much deeper blue than what we would see back home."
"Due to the differences in the atmospheric composition," Mercury
pointed out. "But there are other differences to our last visit to
the surface." She pointed to the ruins of the citadel not far from
their position. Among the toppled stones they could see that the
local plantlife was already moving in.
"Talk about fast growing plants," Jupiter said. "It's only been
two days, but it looks like that stuff's been growing for a year."
"The plantlife here must be extremely aggressive," Mercury observed.
"A place like this could be a botanist's dream."
"Or a farmer's," Tuxedo Mask said. He pointed down into the
valley. Though it was still in it's early stages, they could see the
beginnings of a village being constructed by the surviving Negarans,
along with the outlines of crop fields.
"It looks like they're trying to put their lives back together,"
Sailor Moon said.
"Yes," Mercury confirmed. "I'm detecting the remains of a
previous village in the same area. Undoubtably the Negarans were an
agrarian and peaceful people before Mitchell came here."
"And they're getting back to that lifestyle now that he's gone,"
Sailor Moon said.
They stood watching for a bit before Mars shook herself. "We better
get going. Captain Janeway said they'd wait for us to leave before they
broke orbit, and that Borg ship is on the way."
There weren't any protests to Mars' urgings, as they all were
anxious to get home. They quickly formed up into a circle, and after
a moment's concentration, teleported from the surface.
Harry looked up from the sensor readouts. "We've lost sensor
contact with the Sailor Scouts. It looks like they've teleported."
"We are picking a slight distortion effect in the quantum flux,"
Chakotay confirmed, glancing at his own panel. "It looks like they
made passage through it." He settled back in his chair and looked at
Janeway. "Should we try to close it before the Borg get here?"
"You mean like the Enterprise did?" she asked. After the first
officer nodded, "I don't think that's a good idea, Chakotay."
Chakotay frowned. "Why not?"
"Because the procedure they used didn't close the quantum flux as
they thought it would," she explained. "If you take a look at the
subspace signature of the flux, you'll see that it's identical to the flux
the Enterprise D traversed before they attempted closing it."
"So that means that this is the same flux," Chakotay said after he
had a moment to check the readings for himself.
"I'm afraid so. It's been redirected twice so far as we know -- first
to Delta Vega, and then to here. If we try redirect it, who knows where
in time and space it'll end up. We could just end up making things worse."
"We can't just leave it here for the Borg to find," Tom protested.
"We might as well just leave them a sign, 'This way to Sailor Moon'."
"I have no intention of doing that, Tom. Harry, set up an
anti-proton burst from the main deflector. That should scramble any
readings the Borg might take of it."
A universe away, a black cat perked her ears and looked about the
courtyard. Nothing was visible, but she was sure that something was
about to happen. She cast a baleful glare at the sleeping form of
Artemis before nudging him. "Wake up, Artemis." When the white cat
seemed reluctant to do so, she cuffed him roughly on one ear. "I said,
'Wake up!'"
"I'm awake, I'm awake," he muttered, rubbing the ear painfully.
"What's so important?"
"Can't you feel it?"
"The only thing I'm feeling right now is a headache," Artemis
retorted.
Luna opened her mouth to respond, but in that moment the Sailor
Scouts and Tuxedo Mask materialized. Seconds later, they had reversed
their transformations, returning to their normal identities. "Thank
heavens you're back," Luna said. "You've been gone for hours. What
happened? What did you find?"
"Hours?" Serena asked, focusing on Luna's first statement. "But
I thought we spent a couple of days on Voyager?" She turned to Amy for
confirmation.
Artemis gave a catlike frown of puzzlement. "Voyager?"
Amy was already checking her computer. "I supposed there could
have been a temporal variance when we teleported from their universe
through the quantum flux."
Now Luna was puzzled. "Quantum flux?"
"Cool. We don't have to try and cover for where we've been the
last couple of days," Mina noted.
Amy nodded. "Yes, and we didn't miss any school either."
"You would think of that, wouldn't you Amy?" Lita teased her.
Before Amy could respond, Luna spoke up, "Excuse me, but will
somebody please tell me what's been going on!"
"Sorry, Luna," Amy apologized, then launched into a quick account
over the events since they had teleported to the Arctic. Though they
remained silent, both Luna and Artemis were wide eyed in amazement.
"Nuts!"
All eyes turned to Serena. "What's wrong, Serena?" Darien
inquired.
"I just remembered I've got a math test tomorrow!" she complained.
"I thought I'd gotten out of it, too."
Amy shook her head. "You'd just have to make it up later, so
it's just as well."
"You're not much help. Amy."
"If you'd just study ahead of time, you wouldn't have any problems
in math or any other subject," Raye commented calmly. "It's simply
logical." The others stared at her for a moment before she belatedly
realized just how she sounded. "Not again!" she muttered.
"Logical?" Mina asked. "Where you taking Vulcan lessons back
on Voyager?"
"Odd, I thought Chakotay was showing her how to contact her
animal guide," Darien remarked.
"Maybe she snuck in a couple of sessions when we weren't looking,"
Lita suggested.
"Amy, I think you better give Raye a quick scan. She's getting
a greenish complexion," Serena said, getting into the action. Amy
nodded, and produced the small device.
Raye glared at all of them, but chose to focus her ire on Serena.
"I am *not* turning green!" she snapped.
Serena's only reaction was to raise an eyebrow in a distinctly
Vulcan manner. "Really Raye, your attitude is... most illogical. What
would Tuvok say?"
"I don't *care* what he would say!!"
"Have you always been this emotional?"
"Can it, meatballhead!"
"Don't call me meatballhead!!"
The others watched as the argument quickly escalated into another
one of their infamous tongue wars. "Well, it didn't take them long to
fall into old habits," Darien remarked.
"If I were you, Darien, I'd be more worried if things *didn't* get
back to normal," Amy told him.
"True," he conceded. "Things are probably getting back to normal
back on Voyager too... At least as normal as it gets for a ship so far
from home."
"Do you think they'll make it back home?" Mina asked. "I mean...
they've got a long ways to go."
"Yeah, like sixty thousand light years," Lita chimed in.
Amy looked down at her open computer. Attached firmly to the
inside of the lid was the isolinear chip Captain Janeway had given her.
After making sure that it was secure, she closed the computer and put it
away. "It may not be any time soon, but I think they will eventually
get home." She smiled at the others before continuing. "Besides, we
all know that when all is said and done, Starfleet crews usually manage
to accomplish their mission."
"We've got the star between us and the Borg ship," Tom reported.
"That should be more than enough to obscure our warp signature,"
B'Elanna said. "They won't know we were ever in the system."
"Good," Chakotay said. He half turned to the operations station.
"Harry, are you sure that anti-proton pulse from the main deflector
will keep the Borg from spotting the flux?" The pulse had seemed to
scramble readings from the flux when they had released it over Negara,
but it didn't hurt to be certain. The last thing anyone on the ship
wanted was for the Borg to discover the passageway to the Scouts'
world.
"Positive, Commander," the ensign replied. "I been scanning for
myself, and even I can't tell it's there. It should be at least a year
before it's discernable as a quantum flux."
"The collective should lose interest in that world long before
then," Seven said. "There is not technology worth assimilating, and
the alien's biological distinctiveness is not remarkable enough to
warrant the effort."
"Since we seem to have covered our tracks as best we can, it's
time for us to be on our way," Janeway noted with a smile. "Tom, let's
resume our course for the Alpha Quadrant. Warp six."
Tom had already made the necessary course computations, but he
made a quick check of the helm nevertheless. "Course and speed ready,
Captain."
"Engage."
Outside, the warp nacelles elevated into their flight positions
and the ship accelerated into warp. Voyager was once more on course
for the Alpha Quadrant.
And home.
Then end of the Sailor Trek saga.
Notes:
Comments, critiques and questions are welcome. Just email me at
Soton@aol.com.
As before, thanks to Gene Roddenberry and Naoko Takeuchi, for
creating their respective genres. Additional thanks to Rick Berman,
Michael Piller and Jeri Taylor for creating "Star Trek: Voyager."
(Personally, I think the series is a lot better than some people give
it credit for.)
I would also like to add a special thank you to Will Wolfshohl,
who has patiently provided a lot of critical commentary along the way,
and for pointing out a serious plot hole I had left open during
chapters 5 & 6. That gave me enough warning to craft chapter 7 in a
way to cover up my mistake. Credit to him as well for suggesting
that Chakotay should introduce Raye to her animal guide.
Additional thanks to Mike Stancel for his own remarks and
suggestions along the way, including Neelix's little quip in chapter 7
that Tuvok and Mercury might be related.
I would also like to extend my thanks to each and everyone of you
that have taken the time to send me comments regarding the stories.
This marks the end of the Sailor Trek saga, a series of stories I
began working on more than two and a half years ago. It's been a wild
ride getting them finished, but one that I've enjoyed.
One common question I get is "Are you going to write any other
Trek/SM crossovers?" At present I don't have any plans for a story in
the same vein as four Sailor Trek stories, but as Spock has said,
"There are always possibilities." I do have other stories in
development which would involve elements of the Trek universe, such as
on that centers on Q and Sailor Pluto and another that brings the crew
of the Enterprise E to Crystal Tokyo, but those are still in the
future. There are also some possible stories about the Sailor Mercury
who ended up going to Deep Space Nine at the end of "Sailor Trek DS9".
Next up: the fanfic I actually started first but was set aside so I
could complete the Sailor Trek saga, "Highlander Moon"
He is Immortal, born in the highlands of Scotland in 1592.
For four hundred years, he has battled the forces of darkness,
with Holy Ground his only refuge.
He is Duncan MacLeod, the Highlander
Preview snippet:
His train of thought was broken by something landing on his
shoulder. As tensed up as he had become in the last few hours,
MacLeod's combat trained reflexes kicked in, sweeping whatever it was
off his shoulder towards the bench and settling himself into a defensive
stance. A loud "Ow!" came from the bench.
Realizing that the offending party was a white and very familiar
cat, Duncan relaxed. "Artemis," he sighed.
"Yeah, I'm glad to see you too," the feline grumbled as he got back
onto his paws. Rubbing his head painfully, the cat eyed him. "So what
brings you to Tokyo, Highlander?"