Disclaimer: Just borrowing a swing on Paramount's playground.
The Renaissance
The pastoral setting vanished from around them the instant they passed by the beacon. They were standing in a sterile white room, filled with sundry intimidating dials, buttons, levers, and gauges… the room that, Kathryn guessed, resided behind the door when the device was not activated toward Gentarra.
There were two Gentarrans in the room, conferring intently over a series of readouts. Kathryn and Harry exchanged glances with each other, their hands still tightly clasped together. Neither scientist had noticed them as yet, and Kathryn stepped forward slightly.
"Lurtak?" She inquired simply, eyebrows raised. The aura of command had fallen over her as easily as a garment.
Both men started, and one, the younger of the two, swore almost inaudibly.
"I am Lurtak," the other spoke cautiously.
"Prastin sent us," Kathryn chose her words carefully. Lurtak darted a sideways glance at his colleague, and dismissed him with a gesture.
"Say nothing," Lurtak admonished him in a guarded tone, his lips barely moving. The underling made no visible response, but turned crisply and left.
"Retorran is discreet. He will not speak out of turn. You are the ones missing from that Earth ship during the last cycle?"
"We are," Kathryn replied. "Are we in danger here?"
"You are. You hold much knowledge that has long been kept secret. Most native Gentarrans dismiss it as mere myth. It is safer that way. If it is known that off-worlders have returned from … there, your lives will not be worth a Charelian ubak."
"What are you going to do with us?" Harry finally ventured.
"Prastin is a good man."
"That is what he said about you," Kathryn interjected.
"If he has sent you to me, he must believe you to be worthy of trust. What are your plans?"
"He sent us with some items for trade. He gave us this," Kathryn tossed the leather bag to Lurtak, while Harry made an involuntary movement of alarm. Lurktak hefted the weight of it in his hand, but did not loosen the drawstring.
"A farip?" he wondered. Kathryn nodded. "It is a princely gift."
"We wish to buy a ship, outfit it for deep space travel, and continue on our journey home. We have no desire to stay on Gentarra Prime longer than necessary."
"Just the two of you? It would be a perilous journey," Lurtak observed.
"We are determined to try," Harry replied. Lurtak looked at their hands then, which had been brushing together softly, Harry's thumb absently curling around Kathryn's. He looked at both of them with a curious glance and a small smile, but said nothing.
"I am no fan of Chancellor Yegran's policies. This was an accident that was no fault of yours. If the door had been properly secured, it would not have happened. I will do my best to conceal your whereabouts until you are ready to depart."
"Lurtak, we d--" Kathryn began to speak, to voice her trepidation about possibly placing him at risk, but a wave of dizziness swamped her, and her words trailed off, as she groped blindly for some kind of support.
"Kathryn?" Harry looked at her in concern, but was then forced to grab for the edge of a console to prevent falling over as well. "What's going on?" He asked, as Lurtak helped Kathryn to a chair.
"It is the Travel Sickness. Unfortunately, it strikes all those who travel through the portal. It will pass in a couple of days."
Kathryn had rested her head in her hands, to keep from looking at the room swimming around her. "We weren't sick when we arrived on Gentarra."
"For some reason, it is always worse on the return trip, as you realign yourself to the universe you were meant to be in. We haven't figured out why yet, but it seems fairly mild and transient."
"I think I'm going to be sick," Harry mumbled, and Lurtak passed him a small receptacle quickly. "Mild, you say?" he asked with some irony, after retching violently.
"Is there somewhere we could go… and lie down?" Kathryn asked, still not looking up. Lurtak looked apologetic.
"I'm afraid we'll need to wait until nightfall. We can proceed back to my house under the cover of darkness. It is not far away. You will probably have to stay concealed," He directed this part of his speech to Kathryn. "Hair that color will be noticed and remembered. He could probably pass for Gentarran at a glance, with his hair the way it is." He jerked his head in the direction of Harry, with his Gentarran ponytail at the nape of his neck. "He will be able to transact your business for you, and I will help in any way that I can."
"Do you know what became of our ship?"
"I'm afraid not. They did not stay in orbit long. Yegran probably told them you were dead."
"They'll be long gone by now," Harry noted.
"We expected no different," Kathryn said in her best Janeway voice. She smiled then, but kept her eyes cast downward. She stroked the back of her hand down his cheek, and he kissed her fingertips as they glided by. "We're going to be all right, Harry."
He leaned his face towards the warmth of her hand.
"I know."
Lurtak waited until the sun had sunk completely below the horizon and the foot traffic on the streets had died down. The street immediately outside was in the restricted area, of course, but Lurtak's house was a few blocks further away. Kathryn and Harry were both cloaked, and Kathryn's hair was covered.
In the twilight, the trio hardly garnered more than a glance from most passers-by, who were intent on their own business. Kathryn was inclined to be optimistic. It has been two years, and Gentarra Prime has an enormous amount of interstellar trade. Nobody will look twice at us.
"I'm sure you are both tired," Lurtak said, as he keyed in the code that unlocked his front door. "Kilata, my wife, has a meal prepared, if you feel like eating."
Both Kathryn and Harry turned slightly pale at the unwelcome thought of food.
"If you don't mind, Lurtak, we'll just go on to bed. We've had a long day, with a lot to process, and we don't feel well."
Lurtak nodded in sympathy. "I understand." He led them down a corridor, and around a corner. "The guest suite is just through here." He showed them a set of rooms, with a sleeping area, a common area, and a bathroom. "Please ring if you need anything." He gestured to a small keypad near the door, and silently left the room.
"Ring for whom?" Harry said, examining the pad with his eyebrows raised.
"The head of the most top-secret scientific project on Gentarra Prime is probably well-paid. He probably has a staff," Kathryn said, tiredly. The tone in her voice drew Harry's attention to her.
"You look terrible," he said, without thinking, and winced when Kathryn closed her eyes and chuckled.
"Thanks."
Harry opened his mouth to clarify, but then made a gesture waving his explanation away, as if to say what's the point?
"Here, lie down," he helped her over to the bed, and pulled back the coverlet. As he gently took her shoes off, he asked, "Is it the Travel Sickness?"
Kathryn nodded, "Mmmmm. That… and too much…too much happened today. It happened so .. fast."
"We barely got to say good-bye to Prastin and Kariva and Rasila," Harry agreed reflectively.
"We didn't get to see Prascor at all," Kathryn added.
"I'm sure Rianah was dancing in the streets when she found out we were gone," Harry teased.
"Why didn't she like me? I never figured that out, but it was immediate. I felt it in the Council Hall that first time."
"She probably disliked you because it meant she was no longer the most beautiful woman in the village." Harry smiled tenderly, and Kathryn's heart flipped. Still, she marveled.
She snuggled down into the mattress, and smiled. "I would say that flattery would get you everywhere, Mr. Kim, but not tonight. I'm too tired." Her eyes closed. "I still can't believe we're back."
"We didn't get to say good-bye to Hyral and Harana either," Harry observed, still thinking about Gentarra.
"Did I tell you she was going to have a baby?" Kathryn asked, her eyes opening again, her tone conveying interest.
"No, really?" Harry had genuine excitement for his friends in his voice. "When did you find out?"
"Yesterday." Harry narrowed his eyes curiously.
"Hyral didn't mention it to me. We were at the forge all day yesterday."
"He probably didn't know. I ran into her at the… she had just found out," Kathryn blundered to a stop, and then finished hastily.
"Well, that's nice for them. I wish we could have seen the baby." Harry said, and got up to go around to the other side of the bed. He turned out the lights as he went, and crawled under the covers, snuggling up to Kathryn's side and planting a kiss near her ear.
There were a few seconds of silence. Kathryn felt her body beginning to relax.
"Where did you see Harana yesterday?" Harry's voice floated from the darkness, innocently.
Kathryn's spine tensed up. Damn.
"At the medical building," she said slowly, as if the words had been forced from her.
"What were you doing there?" His voice was so innocent, too innocent. Kathryn's eyes narrowed in irritation.
"It sounds like you know good and damn well why I was there."
Harry sat up, and turned the light back on. His smile was brilliant.
"Are you really?" he asked, grinning like a child. She couldn't help but smile back.
"Yes."
"Why didn't you want to tell me?" He leaned toward her, and kissed her softly on the mouth.
"I was trying to, today at the forge. Then Prastin… and we… It all happened so fast. And now, I'm not sure… having a baby here? Nobody knows us here. Or all alone out in space? I thought we would have a little more time." She leaned into the comforting solidity of his chest, and felt his warmth envelop her. She yawned.
"We'll be fine, Kathryn. Didn't you say that to me earlier?" He let his hand trail down to her stomach and linger there. "I can't believe it," he said with laughing wonder, half to himself.
Kathryn smiled sleepily, and laid her hand on top of his, lacing her fingers through his. "I love you," she murmured.
He dropped a kiss on top of her head. "I love you too."
"Do we have everything in place?" Chakotay asked Paris, as they strode quickly and purposefully down a corridor.
"The anti-grav equipment has been set up, and Ayala's got the pulleys in position," Paris replied in a business-like tone.
"Will the pulleys hold?"
"Tuvok has scanned and re-scanned them, sir. He's satisfied with them, but there's no way to know until we try. I guess there's never been a nacelle reattached quite like this." Tom shook his head, a disbelieving smile on his face.
"There are other ways I'd rather be in the record books," Chakotay said dryly. "How's the weather?"
"Clear and holding. Tuvok is finishing up with the evacuation now." Chakotay nodded somberly. They had decided to remove everyone from the ship, as well as the two shuttles and the Delta Flyer, just in case a disaster occurred. If the nacelle hit the ship, while they were trying to reattach it… well, it just didn't bear thinking about.
Chakotay slapped his commbadge with an open palm.
"Computer, how many lifesigns are currently aboard Voyager?"
"There are two human biosigns aboard Voyager," came the computer's flat emotionless voice.
"Good. That's it then," Chakotay said, as he and Tom strode in sync in the direction of the open airlock. "Let's go."
The crew of Voyager stood in scattered clumps, at what was deemed a "safe distance" by the ship's First Officer. Large pulleys hung over the ship like giant carrion birds, with tritanium cable fastened around the nacelle at precise intervals. On the ground, at angles and distances determined by Seven of Nine's exact calculations, anti-grav panels were set up, to aid in the reattachment procedure.
The wind began to whip up. Chakotay glanced at the sky anxiously, but it was still clear, a faint blue tint to it, with the sickly white sun hanging like a bleary eye. The weather was clear, but we may not have time in abundance, he thought.
"Let's do it!" he commed Tuvok, who responded with a crisp
"Understood." He gestured to the crewmen operating the pulleys to pull the lines taut, and then signaled those on the ground responsible for the anti-grav devices.
There was a faint hum, as the equipment activated. Slowly, the nacelle crept upward, and began to move toward the drive section of the ship, swaying gently. A creaking was heard, as the pulleys realized the full weight of the nacelle. It rocked back and forth, closer and closer to the attachments.
There was a metallic clang as the nacelle settled into position, and B'Elanna and Joe Carey floated into place on anti-grav carts, and began the final connections. The tritanium cabling was holding.
"Running nacelle realignment test level 1," B'Elanna's tense voice echoed over an open commlink.
A whooshing noise reached their ears, and blue light flashed, as the nacelle came to life briefly, and then deactivated.
Chakotay let out a breath that he had been unaware he was holding.
"B'Elanna to Voyager," came the engineer's tremulous voice, and it sounded like she might be half-laughing, half-crying. "Nacelle attachment is complete."
There was a moment of complete and utter silence….
…then, pandemonium. Whoops and cheers bounced off of the rolling hills that surrounded Voyager, as various crewmembers danced and embraced and shouted. Chakotay grinned from ear to ear, as B'Elanna jumped the final six feet off of her anti-grav cart, into her husband's arms.
The pilot picked her up, twirled her around twice, and then pulled her close to him for a long kiss.
The happy shouts of the crew seemed to fade away, and Chakotay's smile wavered on his face, as if he'd forgotten about it. He watched the embracing couple, and felt his heart being crushed again in a vise of loneliness and grief. Kathryn… He would give almost anything just to see her again.
But then he pushed away the lingering wraith of his lost love, and forced himself to move down to the engineering team and congratulate them. There were many diagnostics and trials to conduct before deeming Voyager spaceworthy, but they had overcome one of their chief obstacles. It was a time to celebrate.
"Harry, she's beautiful!" There was awe in Kathryn's voice. "I can't believe she's ours!"
"She's ours!" Harry confirmed, beaming proudly. They stood in happy silence for a while, letting the significance of the moment wash over them.
"What are we going to call her?" Kathryn finally asked.
"Well, I was thinking…" Harry's voice trailed off, and he blushed, looking shy.
"What? You can tell me," his wife said softly.
"Well, I was thinking that since our … our dreams – the opportunity – of getting home have been.. well, resurrected, really… what if we called her the Renaissance?"
"The Renaissance." Kathryn let the word roll off of her tongue, as if she were testing it, and took a slow lap around the little ship, looking at it from all angles.
"This is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation ship Renaissance." She tried it out, and then stopped suddenly as a thought occurred to her. "Are we Federation? Maybe we should just say 'the Earth ship Renaissance'?"
"I think we should still use 'Federation'. If we run into anyone that's heard of Voyager, they could give us news about them."
"I guess that's true," Kathryn mused, now completely distracted.
"I guess that means you like the name," Harry teased, his arms snaking around her waist to clasp over her rounded abdomen.
"It fits her," she said, running one hand over the shiny silver hull. It was not a big ship, but was the biggest one they thought they could manage by themselves. Just comprised of three decks, it had a tiny bridge, engineering, mess hall, weapons bay, and 4 crew bunks, with a larger room that was obviously for the commanding officer of the ship. They were planning to make enhancements to the engines, weapons, and shielding, and hoped for a top speed of at least warp 8.
They had used a good supply of what money they had left over after the purchase of the ship to buy something similar to a cloaking device that was of somewhat dubious legality. Harry had been unsure, but Kathryn had talked him into it.
"Look, it's just us on this little ship. We have no allies and no back up. It's best if people pass us by without ever knowing we're around." He had finally conceded her point.
The remainder of their money went to medical supplies, odds and ends necessary for a miniature aeroponics bay, foodstuffs, and items that would be desirable for trade.
The odds against them would be enormous.
"Do you really think we have a chance?" Kathryn murmured, leaning against Harry, and looking at their new ship.
"I have to believe that, Kathryn," he rubbed one hand idly over her stomach, and felt a small kick in response. "For a small precious reason, I have to believe that we'll make it."
She looked into his dark eyes, and smiled at him crookedly.
"When will she be ready to fly?"
"As soon as you two are," Harry teased. "I was going to knock down the walls between the bunks, to make two larger rooms, instead of four. The captain's quarters are big enough for us, but not what you were used to. And we're going to need some kind of family space. Do you think the mess hall is big enough to do double duty?"
"I think so," Kathryn agreed, thinking of the laughter of small children resounding around the corridors of their little ship. "We'll only need one table."
"How was your visit with Retorran today?" Harry asked abruptly, as he had just remembered. Lurtak's assistant was actually a medical doctor, and Kathryn had been seeing him about the pregnancy. Retorran was extremely capable, even with some of the guesswork that came with an alien pregnancy, and was absolutely fascinated by the differences between Gentarran and human reproduction.
"It was fine. He says it looks like I have about two more weeks."
Harry buried his face in her neck and breathed in her scent. He still had trouble believing his good fortune. He had trouble believing that he thought his fortune had been 'good', having been left behind by his crewmates, stranded on an alien world, in another dimension…
"I wouldn't want to be any other place in the universe, but with you, right here, right now," he murmured.
Kathryn knew the direction his thoughts had wandered; it was a well-worn path for both of them. She let her body relax against his.
"Neither would I," she said huskily.
Three weeks after the emotional high of the nacelle reattachment being successful, frustration was running rampant on Voyager. B'Elanna was tyrannizing the entire crew, conducting endless tests and diagnostics. Tuvok was holding detailed security drills in between times, stating placidly that Voyager's two-plus years in drydock could not have been helpful for the reflexes and reaction time of the crew.
Lieutenant Paris and Ensign McKay had been working together non-stop on various flight simulations, with Ayala joining them frequently for tactical maneuvers.
Chakotay tried to hide in the ready room, hoping no one would come after him with stones. He was drowning in reports, as all departments feverishly tried to prepare for the return to space.
He could really understand their near-frenzy. It had been two long years of hard and tedious work. They could see the light at the end of the tunnel now, and it was almost too much to bear.
Even so, it took him by surprise when B'Elanna approached him in the ready room during late Beta shift.
"Am I interrupting?" she asked softly. He gestured to the disorderly piles of PADDs on his desk with a wry smile.
"It would be welcome. I don't know how many more astrometrics reports I can read, and still hold on to my sanity."
"Seven is very… thorough," B'Elanna said diplomatically, and Chakotay laughed, more at the way she spoke that at what she said.
"So, how's it going?" Her captain asked casually. B'Elanna took a deep breath, with her lips pressed together, and then smiled.
"Better than expected. She's passed all her diagnostics with flying colors." She paused a moment to let the import of her news sink in. "I think we're ready for an orbit… maybe even a run around the sun and back, later."
Chakotay drew in his breath sharply. It was almost too much to take. The prize… it was dangling there in front of his fingers, and all he had to do was reach out…
"When can we leave?" was the short breathless question he asked.
"If everything goes well, I figure we can break orbit permanently within a month or two."
Chakotay's eyes slid shut, and B'Elanna wondered if he was thanking the spirits. In truth, he was thinking of Kathryn.
We did it. I promised you we would, and we did. I'm going to get them home, Kathryn. I swear it, by all my ancestors held holy.
"Does everyone know?" he asked, looking back at his chief engineer.
"No," she said simply. "I wanted to tell you first. You've had it harder than anyone."
He must have looked at her quizzically, because she continued.
"You lost the one," she said with a half-shrug, hoping she wasn't out of line. "You lost your one, and had to take her place, and didn't even feel free to tell anyone of your feelings for her." Chakotay stared at her, sorrow mirrored in his dark eyes, but he did not speak. "Am I right?"
Chakotay chuckled then, and it had a note of bitterness in it.
"Maybe I should give you the ship's counselor position."
"Kahless, no!" B'Elanna declared. "I can't imagine sitting around all day, listening to other people whine, and …" She realized what she was saying and stopped. "Sorry."
Chakotay grinned, and the mirth was more genuine now.
"No apologies necessary, B'Ela."
"You can come whine to me any time you want. You know that?" Her last sentence was more of a question.
"Consider the offer reciprocated," was Chakotay's answer. "Do you want to make a shipwide announcement?"
"Oh, I was going to let you do that."
"No, I think you should do it. You've worked harder than anyone else on this ship, by far."
She smiled crookedly, and for a moment, reminded Chakotay so much of Kathryn that it was nearly physically painful. "Thanks."
A few moments after she had exited the ready room, he heard the dulcet whistle of the shipwide hail.
"Lieutenant Torres to Voyager…"
Kathryn Janeway shifted uncomfortably on the bed. The two weeks Retorran estimated had stretched into more than three. Harry had finished the adjustments to the Renaissance four days ago. And still there was no sign of the new arrival that everyone was so eagerly awaiting.
She groaned at the ache in her back, and tried to heave herself over from her right side to her left.
"You okay?" Harry's voice was heavy with sleep.
"I can't get comfortable," she grunted, as she finally rolled over. "It feels like I'm never going to have this baby."
"It can't be too much longer," Harry offered helpfully.
"Really? Well, thank you for that," she said sarcastically. Then, in a more civil tone, "How is the ship?"
"She's fine. Ready to go."
"Me too." Kathryn sighed. There was a silence, and Harry thought she had fallen asleep, but he heard her let out a long, slow breath.
"Kathryn? You okay?" he asked again.
"I think I just had a contraction." Her tone was detached and curious, as if she were a scientist examining a phenomenon happening to someone else.
"Should I call Retorran?" Harry's voice sounded anxious.
"No, it could be hours. Hell, it'll probably be days," she said grumpily.
A frenzied banging on their door brought them both upright in bed.
"Harry! Kathryn!" came Lurtak's urgent voice. "Wake up!" Dim light filtered into the room, as he opened the door.
"What's going on?" Kathryn asked, her voice low and efficient.
"I told you that the lab was examined by government agents this morning?" Lurtak said hastily. "Well, that's a bit unusual, but nothing new. Get dressed!" he interjected. "Kilata told me she saw strangers loitering around the house earlier today, as well. Someone's found out about you. A friend in the government just called me. They're on their way. You've got to leave. Now."
Harry and Kathryn had been throwing on clothes, and Kathryn was quickly putting on her shoes. She grimaced in pain, and sat down on the edge of the bed, waving off both Harry and Lurtak.
"I'm okay," she said at length, breathing a little more heavily than normal.
"Was that another one?" Harry asked darkly.
She nodded, by way of response.
"That wasn't even five minutes."
Another nod.
"If I can get you to your ship, I think you can get away. They have not spread the news of your presence here. I assume they are hoping to catch you unawares," Lurtak persisted.
"We can't go anywhere now!" Harry burst out inelegantly. "Kathryn's going into labor."
"Don't talk about me in the third person when I'm right here," Kathryn said in a warning tone.
There was a faint ruckus in the street, which escalated in volume. There were muffled shouts and frantic footfalls.
Kathryn and Harry looked at each other in alarm.
"We have medical equipment on board the ship," she said quickly. "I think I can make it that far."
"And what if something goes wrong?" Harry looked stricken.
"Retorran said I was fine. We can do this," her voice was confident; Harry looked far less certain.
"We really must go!" Lurtak said forcefully. "Out the back." He stood aside to let Harry and Kathryn pass. Kathryn paused for a moment, and appeared to be waiting for something. Her eyes closed, then she straightened slightly and nodded.
"Let's go."
They slipped out the back door of Lurtak's home, and headed for a back gate that opened into a isolated alley.
"You know the way," Lurtak said. It was a statement, not a question. Harry nodded. This was the route he used to get to the Renaissance in the docking bay, and was very seldom frequented by others. "Here," he handed Harry a small chip. "This is one of my clearance codes. It should buy you enough time to break orbit and go to light speed."
"Will it get you in trouble?" Kathryn asked worriedly.
"Don't worry about me," Lurtak brushed aside her concern. "I'm far too valuable to kill. But go! Swiftly!"
Kathryn captured him in a brief, hard hug, and said only, "Thank you." Lurtak nodded, smiling slightly.
Hand in hand, Kathryn and Harry hurried toward their hope of home.
TBCNext: Across Eternity
Please review. It keeps me going! I hope this update was a little more timely!