TOM:
I set Voyager in orbit around the planet where we had found Jack, Mia, Riley and Daniel. I felt a pang of sadness as I watched the brown planet below me. Now that we were here, they would be leaving soon. And I didn't want them to leave. The crew had accepted them so completely, as had I, that they were all part of the family now. And they were my friends.
Jack, with his sarcastic sense of humour and streak of mischievousness. Daniel, with his earnest expression and caring nature. Riley, with her cheekiness and need to answer every challenge. Mia, with her quiet personality and keen observations. When they had first come here, I have to admit, I didn't like them. They appeared so cold and hard – trying to hide so much pain. But I had got to know them and seen them change. And now I wanted them to stay with us.
On the other hand, if what Seven said was true, I couldn't really stop them from going. They were going to see their loved ones again, and I wouldn't keep them from that for anything. I know what it feels like to be separated from the one you love – as did everyone on Voyager. No one wanted to keep SG-1 from that.
I sighed and turned to the Captain. "We're in orbit, Captain." I said.
"Thank you, Mr. Paris." She replied.
I grinned as I turned back to the helm. Everyone was trying to politely ignore the Captain and the Commander today – pretending, like we didn't see the glances they kept shooting at each other and they way they had arrived on shift together...with smiles on their faces. I bit my lip. It was so obvious. But no one I knew would ever complain that our Captain and Commander had finally admitted their feelings for each other...well, they might complain how long it had taken. But not that it had finally happened.
"Mr. Kim, call the night shift. I want to see all the officers in my ready room."
"Aye, Captain." Harry replied.
I felt the Captain get up from behind me. It seemed it was time for SG-1 to leave. I got up as Madison entered the bridge, wondering how I was going to say goodbye.
JANEWAY:
I smiled at Chakotay, trying to keep my mind on what I was doing. I tried not to blush when he grinned back, slightly wickedly. I was a Starfleet Captain! I did not blush! I felt my cheeks heat as I remembered the night before – not that I could really keep it from my mind. Chakotay, it seemed, had a knack for knowing just how to distract me from what I was supposed to be doing.
"We're in orbit, Captain." Tom said.
I dragged my thoughts back to what we were doing. We were now orbiting the planet where we had found Jack, Daniel, Riley and Mia. It was time. My mind filled with the details of what we were about to attempt, planning and double checking everything. "Mr. Kim, call the night shift." I said. "I want to see all the officers in my ready room."
"Aye, Captain." He replied.
I got up and left the bridge, Chakotay following me. I walked into my ready room and sighed. "Is everything alright?" Chakotay asked me.
I turned and smiled at him. "I'm fine." I said. "I'll just be sad to see them go, that's all."
"So will I." he said softly, just as the first of the officers entered.
Soon everyone was here: Tuvok, Neelix, Tom, Harry, B'Elanna, Seven, the Doctor and SG-1. I looked at the faces around me, and saw their expressions of curiosity and hope. "So how are we going to do this?" Jack asked.
Seven looked questioningly at me, as if asking for permission to answer the question. I nodded at her. "As soon as we engage the 'stargate', we will send the first charge through." She began. "This will be the antimatter charge, which should realign the two halves of your reality when detonated. I have equipped it with a small matter charge that will detonate halfway through the journey. If my calculations are correct, this should be enough to cause it to jump dimensions."
"Unfortunately, this technique cannot be used with living matter, so we cannot detonate a charge while SG-1 is travelling through the wormhole." Seven continued. "So we shall have to destroy the 'stargate' about halfway through your journey, which should be enough to cause you to jump dimensions again."
Jack nodded, looking thoughtful. "What are the risks?"
"The charge we set to destroy the 'stargate' could destroy you as well. It would also completely destroy the 'stargate', so there will be no second chances." Seven replied.
I watched the emotions flicker across Jack's face: the slight fear as he looked at his team, weighing the advantages and disadvantages of the plan; the momentary pause and then the look of steely determination as he turned to me. "Let's do it." He said.
I nodded. "Tom, prep the Delta Flyer. I want to leave as soon as possible."
"Aye, Cap'n." he replied.
"Seven, B'Elanna, are those charges ready?"
"Yes, Captain." B'Elanna said.
"All right." I said. "We leave in twenty minutes."
Twenty minutes later I walked into the hanger bay and was surprised to see just how full it was. I was struck at that moment by the way that the crew had accepted and befriended the lonely strangers we had found not so long ago. Everyone, it seemed, wanted to say goodbye and wish them good luck.
As I looked about at my crew, I noticed something else as well. There was an air of determination to the gestures and words that hadn't been there before. SG-1 had given them hope. A hope that perhaps home wasn't so far away after all.
"Are you ready?" Chakotay asked from behind me, as he laid a comforting hand on my shoulder.
I leaned back into the gesture for a second as I accepted the comfort. Then I turned, and my heart did a funny little somersault in my chest at the sight of him. "As ready as I'll ever be." I said.
He smiled. "I think we'll all miss them." He said. "They've become part of our family, despite the short time we've known them."
I didn't have to ask who he was talking about. "I know." I agreed.
We stood in silence for a moment, watching the goodbyes. Harry looked so sad. He had become very close to Daniel while he had been here, and they had surprised each other by the way they were so alike. Neelix was his usual enthusiastic self, but he seemed a little subdued. Even Tuvok and the Doctor seemed sad when they said farewell. I sighed. "You'd better say goodbye." I told Chakotay. "We'll be leaving soon."
Chakotay was staying onboard Voyager, simply because we didn't have enough space in the Delta Flyer for everyone to come with us. It would already be crowded with Jack, Daniel, Mia, Riley, Seven, B'Elanna, Tom and me in it – in face I still wasn't sure we would all fit. He nodded and walked off to join the crowd around SG-1.
All too soon, everyone had said what they wanted to say and were only delaying the inevitable. With a final glance at everyone, SG-1 climbed into the Delta Flyer, followed by Seven, B'Elanna and Tom. Jack paused for a moment, then turned back to the assembled crew.
"Thank you." He said simply. "I don't think any of us will ever forget you. Because you gave us all back the hope we had lost. I won't wish you luck in finding your way home, because I know you won't need it."
He smiled softly, and then climbed into the Flyer. I felt touched at his words, and deep down I was also reassured. I knew everyone had faith in me to lead them home, but to here Jack say it, knowing he knew just how hard it could be, reassured me more than anything else. I climbed into the Flyer behind him and shut the door. Minutes later, the crew had left the hanger and the Flyer was ready to go.
As we flew out of the hanger bay, I caught Jack looking wistfully out of the window. "You know, I think I was born a century too soon." He said. "I would love to fly one of those."
Tom looked at him, from where he was sitting in front of the controls. "You're kidding, right?" he said. "I would have thought flying fighter jets and gliders was a whole lot more fun than flying a starship."
Jack flashed him a grin. "You might have a point." He said. "There is nothing like a fighter when you fly."
The rest of the flight passed in comfortable silence, everyone seeming to be lost in there own thoughts. For some reason time seemed to pass all too quickly, and before I would have liked we were standing in front of the stargate on the dry, dusty planet. Although I shouldn't be so surprised, I reflected as I drew in a breath of hot, dry air. Thinks always seemed to pass more quickly when you didn't want them to.
I felt the sweat begin to prickle on my skin as B'Elanna and Seven carefully brought the charges off the Flyer. "I guess this is it then." Jack said, coming up to stand next to me.
He was dressed like he had been the first time I had seen him. He looked like something out of an old holovid or holodeck program. He wore black cargo pants tucked into the tops or army boots, a black jacket under a back vest covered in pockets. And he was well armed, even if the weapons did seem a bit old fashioned and strange to me. "I guess it is." I replied.
"Thanks." He said. "For everything. I meant what I said back there. You've given us hope. And I don't just mean this whole thing with the split reality. You taught us that life goes on."
"So does hope." I added. I smiled at him. "And you've given us hope too, Jack. Hope that we can get home if we believe in it enough."
"You can do anything if you believe in it strongly enough." He said, and grinned. "I've found that out many times."
We both turned back to the stargate and to where Seven and B'Elanna were setting up the charges and detonators. "I also wanted to thank you for giving me that final push." I said softly.
I saw him smile out the corner of my eye, but he never took his eyes from the stargate. "No problem." He said. "I know what it's like."
I would have replied, but at that moment Daniel walked over to the small mushroom shaped device beside the stargate and glanced at Jack. "Should I dial home?" he asked.
"Yeah." Jack replied.
I watched in fascination as Daniel pressed a series of symbols on the device and watched them light up with a soft orange glow. When he had finished, he pressed the large button in the middle and I almost jumped at the sound it caused. My eyes jumped to the stargate as it began to spin. I noticed B'Elanna and Tom were also staring at it in fascination, and Seven was busy taking readings with her padd.
The ring set into the stargate began to spin, and as I watched, each of the arrows set into it lit up as a certain symbol hit it. Within minutes all seven arrows were lit up and the most interesting thing happened. What looked like a wave of water rushed out at us, before settling down into a rippling blue surface. It looked like the surface of a small lake, except for the fact it was standing vertically in the air.
Seven quickly sent the first charge through and detonated it almost instantaneously, because of how fast it would be travelling through the wormhole. We saw a faint ripple through the surface before it disappeared. "Is it supposed to do that?" I asked Jack, hoping the charge had been successful.
"Yeah." He replied. "That's just the gate shutting down."
"Wow." Tom said. "That was amazing."
"I have to agree." Seven said.
As did I. It was amazing. I had never seen anything like it, and I doubted I ever would. Jack smiled. "It is pretty amazing, isn't it?"
Then I saw him sigh. "I guess it's time to go, kids." He said to the rest of his team.
He walked towards the gate, before turning back to look at us. "What can I say?" he asked. "'It was nice meeting you' doesn't seem to have the right ring to it, does it?"
I smiled softly at him. "How about 'safe journey'?" I asked.
He smiled back at me. "Well then. Safe journey. I hope you and Voyager see Earth again one day." He said.
"And I hope you find the ones you love." I told him.
I watched as Daniel dialled the gate again, and it was just as interesting the second time. I saw Seven walk towards the charge at the base of the stargate as SG-1 stepped towards the wormhole. "Goodbye, crew of Voayger." Mia said formally.
"Yeah." Daniel said, smiling. "And don't ever stop trying to save the Universe. You never know, one day you just might do it."
Riley grinned at B'Elanna. "Don't get into too much trouble." She said.
"Same to you." B'Elanna shot back.
Jack just smiled at us. Then he turned to his team. "Here we go guys." He said. "Let's go show everyone we're still alive and kicking."
I watched as the four members of SG-1 step through the stargate and disappear. They were gone. Really gone. A second after Jack had gone through, Seven detonated the charge and I watched the stargate disappear too. As the smoke cleared and I saw the pile of rubble that was left I sent a prayer that it had worked. That Jack and his team had gotten through okay.
Then I smiled. They had. I could feel it.
I set Voyager in orbit around the planet where we had found Jack, Mia, Riley and Daniel. I felt a pang of sadness as I watched the brown planet below me. Now that we were here, they would be leaving soon. And I didn't want them to leave. The crew had accepted them so completely, as had I, that they were all part of the family now. And they were my friends.
Jack, with his sarcastic sense of humour and streak of mischievousness. Daniel, with his earnest expression and caring nature. Riley, with her cheekiness and need to answer every challenge. Mia, with her quiet personality and keen observations. When they had first come here, I have to admit, I didn't like them. They appeared so cold and hard – trying to hide so much pain. But I had got to know them and seen them change. And now I wanted them to stay with us.
On the other hand, if what Seven said was true, I couldn't really stop them from going. They were going to see their loved ones again, and I wouldn't keep them from that for anything. I know what it feels like to be separated from the one you love – as did everyone on Voyager. No one wanted to keep SG-1 from that.
I sighed and turned to the Captain. "We're in orbit, Captain." I said.
"Thank you, Mr. Paris." She replied.
I grinned as I turned back to the helm. Everyone was trying to politely ignore the Captain and the Commander today – pretending, like we didn't see the glances they kept shooting at each other and they way they had arrived on shift together...with smiles on their faces. I bit my lip. It was so obvious. But no one I knew would ever complain that our Captain and Commander had finally admitted their feelings for each other...well, they might complain how long it had taken. But not that it had finally happened.
"Mr. Kim, call the night shift. I want to see all the officers in my ready room."
"Aye, Captain." Harry replied.
I felt the Captain get up from behind me. It seemed it was time for SG-1 to leave. I got up as Madison entered the bridge, wondering how I was going to say goodbye.
JANEWAY:
I smiled at Chakotay, trying to keep my mind on what I was doing. I tried not to blush when he grinned back, slightly wickedly. I was a Starfleet Captain! I did not blush! I felt my cheeks heat as I remembered the night before – not that I could really keep it from my mind. Chakotay, it seemed, had a knack for knowing just how to distract me from what I was supposed to be doing.
"We're in orbit, Captain." Tom said.
I dragged my thoughts back to what we were doing. We were now orbiting the planet where we had found Jack, Daniel, Riley and Mia. It was time. My mind filled with the details of what we were about to attempt, planning and double checking everything. "Mr. Kim, call the night shift." I said. "I want to see all the officers in my ready room."
"Aye, Captain." He replied.
I got up and left the bridge, Chakotay following me. I walked into my ready room and sighed. "Is everything alright?" Chakotay asked me.
I turned and smiled at him. "I'm fine." I said. "I'll just be sad to see them go, that's all."
"So will I." he said softly, just as the first of the officers entered.
Soon everyone was here: Tuvok, Neelix, Tom, Harry, B'Elanna, Seven, the Doctor and SG-1. I looked at the faces around me, and saw their expressions of curiosity and hope. "So how are we going to do this?" Jack asked.
Seven looked questioningly at me, as if asking for permission to answer the question. I nodded at her. "As soon as we engage the 'stargate', we will send the first charge through." She began. "This will be the antimatter charge, which should realign the two halves of your reality when detonated. I have equipped it with a small matter charge that will detonate halfway through the journey. If my calculations are correct, this should be enough to cause it to jump dimensions."
"Unfortunately, this technique cannot be used with living matter, so we cannot detonate a charge while SG-1 is travelling through the wormhole." Seven continued. "So we shall have to destroy the 'stargate' about halfway through your journey, which should be enough to cause you to jump dimensions again."
Jack nodded, looking thoughtful. "What are the risks?"
"The charge we set to destroy the 'stargate' could destroy you as well. It would also completely destroy the 'stargate', so there will be no second chances." Seven replied.
I watched the emotions flicker across Jack's face: the slight fear as he looked at his team, weighing the advantages and disadvantages of the plan; the momentary pause and then the look of steely determination as he turned to me. "Let's do it." He said.
I nodded. "Tom, prep the Delta Flyer. I want to leave as soon as possible."
"Aye, Cap'n." he replied.
"Seven, B'Elanna, are those charges ready?"
"Yes, Captain." B'Elanna said.
"All right." I said. "We leave in twenty minutes."
Twenty minutes later I walked into the hanger bay and was surprised to see just how full it was. I was struck at that moment by the way that the crew had accepted and befriended the lonely strangers we had found not so long ago. Everyone, it seemed, wanted to say goodbye and wish them good luck.
As I looked about at my crew, I noticed something else as well. There was an air of determination to the gestures and words that hadn't been there before. SG-1 had given them hope. A hope that perhaps home wasn't so far away after all.
"Are you ready?" Chakotay asked from behind me, as he laid a comforting hand on my shoulder.
I leaned back into the gesture for a second as I accepted the comfort. Then I turned, and my heart did a funny little somersault in my chest at the sight of him. "As ready as I'll ever be." I said.
He smiled. "I think we'll all miss them." He said. "They've become part of our family, despite the short time we've known them."
I didn't have to ask who he was talking about. "I know." I agreed.
We stood in silence for a moment, watching the goodbyes. Harry looked so sad. He had become very close to Daniel while he had been here, and they had surprised each other by the way they were so alike. Neelix was his usual enthusiastic self, but he seemed a little subdued. Even Tuvok and the Doctor seemed sad when they said farewell. I sighed. "You'd better say goodbye." I told Chakotay. "We'll be leaving soon."
Chakotay was staying onboard Voyager, simply because we didn't have enough space in the Delta Flyer for everyone to come with us. It would already be crowded with Jack, Daniel, Mia, Riley, Seven, B'Elanna, Tom and me in it – in face I still wasn't sure we would all fit. He nodded and walked off to join the crowd around SG-1.
All too soon, everyone had said what they wanted to say and were only delaying the inevitable. With a final glance at everyone, SG-1 climbed into the Delta Flyer, followed by Seven, B'Elanna and Tom. Jack paused for a moment, then turned back to the assembled crew.
"Thank you." He said simply. "I don't think any of us will ever forget you. Because you gave us all back the hope we had lost. I won't wish you luck in finding your way home, because I know you won't need it."
He smiled softly, and then climbed into the Flyer. I felt touched at his words, and deep down I was also reassured. I knew everyone had faith in me to lead them home, but to here Jack say it, knowing he knew just how hard it could be, reassured me more than anything else. I climbed into the Flyer behind him and shut the door. Minutes later, the crew had left the hanger and the Flyer was ready to go.
As we flew out of the hanger bay, I caught Jack looking wistfully out of the window. "You know, I think I was born a century too soon." He said. "I would love to fly one of those."
Tom looked at him, from where he was sitting in front of the controls. "You're kidding, right?" he said. "I would have thought flying fighter jets and gliders was a whole lot more fun than flying a starship."
Jack flashed him a grin. "You might have a point." He said. "There is nothing like a fighter when you fly."
The rest of the flight passed in comfortable silence, everyone seeming to be lost in there own thoughts. For some reason time seemed to pass all too quickly, and before I would have liked we were standing in front of the stargate on the dry, dusty planet. Although I shouldn't be so surprised, I reflected as I drew in a breath of hot, dry air. Thinks always seemed to pass more quickly when you didn't want them to.
I felt the sweat begin to prickle on my skin as B'Elanna and Seven carefully brought the charges off the Flyer. "I guess this is it then." Jack said, coming up to stand next to me.
He was dressed like he had been the first time I had seen him. He looked like something out of an old holovid or holodeck program. He wore black cargo pants tucked into the tops or army boots, a black jacket under a back vest covered in pockets. And he was well armed, even if the weapons did seem a bit old fashioned and strange to me. "I guess it is." I replied.
"Thanks." He said. "For everything. I meant what I said back there. You've given us hope. And I don't just mean this whole thing with the split reality. You taught us that life goes on."
"So does hope." I added. I smiled at him. "And you've given us hope too, Jack. Hope that we can get home if we believe in it enough."
"You can do anything if you believe in it strongly enough." He said, and grinned. "I've found that out many times."
We both turned back to the stargate and to where Seven and B'Elanna were setting up the charges and detonators. "I also wanted to thank you for giving me that final push." I said softly.
I saw him smile out the corner of my eye, but he never took his eyes from the stargate. "No problem." He said. "I know what it's like."
I would have replied, but at that moment Daniel walked over to the small mushroom shaped device beside the stargate and glanced at Jack. "Should I dial home?" he asked.
"Yeah." Jack replied.
I watched in fascination as Daniel pressed a series of symbols on the device and watched them light up with a soft orange glow. When he had finished, he pressed the large button in the middle and I almost jumped at the sound it caused. My eyes jumped to the stargate as it began to spin. I noticed B'Elanna and Tom were also staring at it in fascination, and Seven was busy taking readings with her padd.
The ring set into the stargate began to spin, and as I watched, each of the arrows set into it lit up as a certain symbol hit it. Within minutes all seven arrows were lit up and the most interesting thing happened. What looked like a wave of water rushed out at us, before settling down into a rippling blue surface. It looked like the surface of a small lake, except for the fact it was standing vertically in the air.
Seven quickly sent the first charge through and detonated it almost instantaneously, because of how fast it would be travelling through the wormhole. We saw a faint ripple through the surface before it disappeared. "Is it supposed to do that?" I asked Jack, hoping the charge had been successful.
"Yeah." He replied. "That's just the gate shutting down."
"Wow." Tom said. "That was amazing."
"I have to agree." Seven said.
As did I. It was amazing. I had never seen anything like it, and I doubted I ever would. Jack smiled. "It is pretty amazing, isn't it?"
Then I saw him sigh. "I guess it's time to go, kids." He said to the rest of his team.
He walked towards the gate, before turning back to look at us. "What can I say?" he asked. "'It was nice meeting you' doesn't seem to have the right ring to it, does it?"
I smiled softly at him. "How about 'safe journey'?" I asked.
He smiled back at me. "Well then. Safe journey. I hope you and Voyager see Earth again one day." He said.
"And I hope you find the ones you love." I told him.
I watched as Daniel dialled the gate again, and it was just as interesting the second time. I saw Seven walk towards the charge at the base of the stargate as SG-1 stepped towards the wormhole. "Goodbye, crew of Voayger." Mia said formally.
"Yeah." Daniel said, smiling. "And don't ever stop trying to save the Universe. You never know, one day you just might do it."
Riley grinned at B'Elanna. "Don't get into too much trouble." She said.
"Same to you." B'Elanna shot back.
Jack just smiled at us. Then he turned to his team. "Here we go guys." He said. "Let's go show everyone we're still alive and kicking."
I watched as the four members of SG-1 step through the stargate and disappear. They were gone. Really gone. A second after Jack had gone through, Seven detonated the charge and I watched the stargate disappear too. As the smoke cleared and I saw the pile of rubble that was left I sent a prayer that it had worked. That Jack and his team had gotten through okay.
Then I smiled. They had. I could feel it.