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Summary: After a year of being home, Voyager's scattered crew gathers together for one last battle~ but it's not the jolly reunion one might expect… Janeway, Chakotay, Tuvok, Tom, B'Elanna, Harry, Seven, Celes…and some new characters. Enjoy!

Past Re-Visited

By Erin and Rebecca

Chapter 15:

Alone

Usually Janeway enjoyed her frequent staff meetings. There was a sense of productivity among her confident crew. Plans were hatched and operations set into motion. But in a room full of men and women who hadn't served together in months and couldn't fathom what to do next, well to Janeway, it was a silent as it had been when they were gone.

            "It seems that some extra scans and investigations are in order here," Tuvok offered, breaking the silence."

            Janeway looked up, "Scans of what? Empty space?"

            "I believe Captain that with Tuvok's help, I may be able to modify the arrays," Annika said. "We may be successful in finding…something.

            She looked at Tom, staring right through her at the stars creeping by the window, and nodded. "Chakotay, assign them your best team, preferably crews that can handle 'round the clock hours."

            "Lt. Potter to Captain Janeway," the comm sounded.

            "Go ahead Lieutenant."

            "There's some activity off our starboard bow. It appears to be a spatial distortion of some sort."

            "We're on our way."

            "On screen," she said, returning to her seat.

            "Good evening Captain."

            Kathryn's heart seemed to leap into her throat as she rose slowly again from her chair. Staring back at her was a face she never again expected to see. It was Suspiria, the second of the Delta Quadrant Caretakers. "Suspiria."

            "I see you have made it back home, and in record time it seems."

            "Yes," she answered warily, "We were able to-"

            "Use Borg technology to your own advantage and destroy them at the same time."

            Janeway was silent.

            "You think I haven't been watching you? Watching your every move and decision? You have always underestimated the higher beings, ever assuming that the Delta Quadrant existed for one purpose, and that was to present you with obstacles specifically designed to keep you from your precious home."

            She didn't like where this was going. The sardonic look upon her face was more frightening than a fleet of species 8472.

            "You think the Borg were conceived to help you defeat 8472? Or that that Kazon enjoyed having to deal with your kind for several long months?

            "Suspiria-"

            "Do you think my partner pulled you into the Delta Quadrant intending to trap you here? Your selfishness has clouded your judgement for years Kathryn. Everything exists for your own virtues or vices. Just look at yourself. A warning from 8472 and you've assembled the entire drudgery of Voyager officers. And why? Because you were lonely without them. Your entire existence is based upon your own selfishness and my partner had to suffer for it. Before it was easy to sit by and watch your friends die under your command. It was sufficient punishment for killing the first caretaker."

            "Killing! Suspiria-"

            "But now you've made it home, and I don't feel any longer that you deserve the pathetically easy luck you've had with your Voyager crew. You will live the rest of your life paying for my partner's life."

            "But Suspiria, I didn't-"

            "Do not attempt to negotiate Captain. I am not a simple-minded species for you to toy with. You will live the rest of your existence searching for the crew you fought oh so valiantly to return to their homes. The crew you decided to reassemble for this mission, the crew you missed so much, you will spend eternity missing."

            "What are you talking-"

            "Look around you Captain. You're completely alone."

            Janeway's heart fell to her stomach as she realized that she was the only person on the bridge. She looked around frantically. Tom, Harry, Chakotay, Annika, Tuvok. They had vanished.

            "Your worst fear Kathryn. Your own living nightmare. Your crew…your family. Without them, you feel empty. Alone. No one around to understand you is there?"

            The Captain could no longer find the strength to argue or reason with the being. All she could to was stare at her empty bridge.

            "Now you know the way I feel without my counterpart. If I have to suffer with him being taken away from me, you will suffer the same. Enjoy the silence."

            Suspiria disappeared from the viewscreen. She was so stunned the tears didn't even come. Slowly, she lowered herself back to her chair and watched as the stars crept by.

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Author's Note: Soooooooooooo sorry it took so long to update this. Hopefully all our faithful readers will come back because we've so enjoyed your reviews. It's what's kept us from giving up on this completely. It won't be so long next time between updates…scout's honor! Enjoy!