Title: Captain, My Captain
Fandom: Star Trek: Voyager (Sorta)
Pairing: Harry/Other Unrequited
Spoilers: None
Author's Note: This story takes place in a Alternate Universe where another ship, rather than Voyager was stranded in the Delta Quadrant. Some of the Voy characters are there, some aren't. This story popped in my head during the [info]multifandom1000 Unrequired Love challenge but with the ficathons I had due, I didn't have time to write it. So I did it tonight just to get it out of my head. As for the title, well I couldn't resist. ;-p
Rating: G
Word Count: 831
Notes: For the Unrequited Love challenge on the LJ community Multifandom1000
"Captain, My Captain"
by M.
---------
It's not surprising that he's in love with her. At least, that's what Harry tells himself every day. He's not the first ensign to fall for their captain. In his defense, his captain is particularly extraordinary, at least to his eyes she is. Captain Ziering is one of the legends produced by Wolf 359. Harry has read the account of her ship, the USS Abernathy, during the battle. Read how the captain was killed, thrusting the then Commander Ziering, his first officer, into command of a ship that was barely holding it together. The Abernathy had arrived at Wolf 359 swiftly, was among the first ships to engage the Borg, and took heavy damage, losing a quarter of her crew during the fight. Some to the Borg, some to the ship's own damage. The commander and the remaining crew had held their ravaged ship together by sheer force of will, holding out until the battle's end when the USS King had been able to rescue the crew.
Harry can remember hearing about the stories of Wolf 359, of the crews lost, and the legends made that day. Serving under one of those legends, he can't help but idolize her. Can't help but love her. Amanda Ziering is a beautiful woman and a born leader. The comparisons to another legendary captain have followed her throughout her career despite her best attempts to shake them. Harry thinks they are comparisons well deserved. He's never seen anyone better suited to the captain's chair than Captain Ziering. Thinks that, if he had to be lost in the Delta Quadrant then there was no better ship than Phoenix and no better captain than Captain Ziering to be lost with. The captain's focus is to get them home but she holds to the ideals of Starfleet. She is, at heart, an explorer and in a time when the role of exploration has lessened, she is in her element in the Deltra Quadrant. He can see that in First Contact situations, when they meet a race no one in the Alpha Quadrant has ever heard of, he sees her posture change. She becomes more alert, more aware, excitement racing through her every cell. She thrives on those moments. Blossoms in them. He loves watching her in them. Loves accompanying her on landing parties. It's a chance to see her at her finest and he loves it.
But, he knows there's a darker side to command. Phoenix is all alone in the Delta Quadrant. Amanda is the highest ranking Starfleet officer in this unknown space and the responsibility of that weighs heavy. Harry watched the Captain age a decade in the first month. The stress of pulling two crews, conditioned enemies, together under her command in an environment none of them is familiar with and without the support of Starfleet has taken it's toll. But he thinks, even with the stress, the Captain won't buckle under the pressure. It's forcing her to become streamlined, hard under the weight, coal becoming a diamond and he can practically watch the edges burn away. She's hardened and the crew follows her example. Harry follows her example. They survive here because they have to and she will do her best to see them through. It is as it was in that fateful battle where she tried to keep the Abernathy going. The ship and the crew hold themselves together by sheer force of will. She needs them and they need her. In a way, they are all in love with her. All awed by her. The captain is more than just their commander. She is mother, friend, fantasy lover, protector and healer all roled into one. She is, to each member of the crew, what they need her to be. Their view of her shapes their time aboard Phoenix. Their love of her and their new home, their ship, drives them to succeed, to perform their duties, to keep going.
If Wolf 359 did not make her a legend, she has become one now, the crew's own personal legend. The junior ranks of the crew, Maquis and Starfleet alike, are in awe of her. Some do not like her, some resent her, but all are awed by her. She is a personable commander, she stops and speaks to crewman, inquires about their life, knows their names. She makes sure she does. Makes sure she walks the ship at least once in the day. She may not see it all but she will see some. She knows the crew needs to see her. Their legend cannot remain in the ivory tower that is the bridge. She is their rallying point and the knowledge that she is commanding the ship is not enough. They need to see her and she needs to see them.
It's not surprising that Harry loves her...not surprising that many of his fellow crewmates love her too. They can't help themselves. She is their captain and she is their strength.
Finis
Fandom: Star Trek: Voyager (Sorta)
Pairing: Harry/Other Unrequited
Spoilers: None
Author's Note: This story takes place in a Alternate Universe where another ship, rather than Voyager was stranded in the Delta Quadrant. Some of the Voy characters are there, some aren't. This story popped in my head during the [info]multifandom1000 Unrequired Love challenge but with the ficathons I had due, I didn't have time to write it. So I did it tonight just to get it out of my head. As for the title, well I couldn't resist. ;-p
Rating: G
Word Count: 831
Notes: For the Unrequited Love challenge on the LJ community Multifandom1000
"Captain, My Captain"
by M.
---------
It's not surprising that he's in love with her. At least, that's what Harry tells himself every day. He's not the first ensign to fall for their captain. In his defense, his captain is particularly extraordinary, at least to his eyes she is. Captain Ziering is one of the legends produced by Wolf 359. Harry has read the account of her ship, the USS Abernathy, during the battle. Read how the captain was killed, thrusting the then Commander Ziering, his first officer, into command of a ship that was barely holding it together. The Abernathy had arrived at Wolf 359 swiftly, was among the first ships to engage the Borg, and took heavy damage, losing a quarter of her crew during the fight. Some to the Borg, some to the ship's own damage. The commander and the remaining crew had held their ravaged ship together by sheer force of will, holding out until the battle's end when the USS King had been able to rescue the crew.
Harry can remember hearing about the stories of Wolf 359, of the crews lost, and the legends made that day. Serving under one of those legends, he can't help but idolize her. Can't help but love her. Amanda Ziering is a beautiful woman and a born leader. The comparisons to another legendary captain have followed her throughout her career despite her best attempts to shake them. Harry thinks they are comparisons well deserved. He's never seen anyone better suited to the captain's chair than Captain Ziering. Thinks that, if he had to be lost in the Delta Quadrant then there was no better ship than Phoenix and no better captain than Captain Ziering to be lost with. The captain's focus is to get them home but she holds to the ideals of Starfleet. She is, at heart, an explorer and in a time when the role of exploration has lessened, she is in her element in the Deltra Quadrant. He can see that in First Contact situations, when they meet a race no one in the Alpha Quadrant has ever heard of, he sees her posture change. She becomes more alert, more aware, excitement racing through her every cell. She thrives on those moments. Blossoms in them. He loves watching her in them. Loves accompanying her on landing parties. It's a chance to see her at her finest and he loves it.
But, he knows there's a darker side to command. Phoenix is all alone in the Delta Quadrant. Amanda is the highest ranking Starfleet officer in this unknown space and the responsibility of that weighs heavy. Harry watched the Captain age a decade in the first month. The stress of pulling two crews, conditioned enemies, together under her command in an environment none of them is familiar with and without the support of Starfleet has taken it's toll. But he thinks, even with the stress, the Captain won't buckle under the pressure. It's forcing her to become streamlined, hard under the weight, coal becoming a diamond and he can practically watch the edges burn away. She's hardened and the crew follows her example. Harry follows her example. They survive here because they have to and she will do her best to see them through. It is as it was in that fateful battle where she tried to keep the Abernathy going. The ship and the crew hold themselves together by sheer force of will. She needs them and they need her. In a way, they are all in love with her. All awed by her. The captain is more than just their commander. She is mother, friend, fantasy lover, protector and healer all roled into one. She is, to each member of the crew, what they need her to be. Their view of her shapes their time aboard Phoenix. Their love of her and their new home, their ship, drives them to succeed, to perform their duties, to keep going.
If Wolf 359 did not make her a legend, she has become one now, the crew's own personal legend. The junior ranks of the crew, Maquis and Starfleet alike, are in awe of her. Some do not like her, some resent her, but all are awed by her. She is a personable commander, she stops and speaks to crewman, inquires about their life, knows their names. She makes sure she does. Makes sure she walks the ship at least once in the day. She may not see it all but she will see some. She knows the crew needs to see her. Their legend cannot remain in the ivory tower that is the bridge. She is their rallying point and the knowledge that she is commanding the ship is not enough. They need to see her and she needs to see them.
It's not surprising that Harry loves her...not surprising that many of his fellow crewmates love her too. They can't help themselves. She is their captain and she is their strength.
Finis