Nine Months – Voyager 4
By Kudara
Disclaimer: Star Trek Voyager and all who sail in her belong to Paramount/Viacom and no infringement of copyright/trade marks is intended.
Rating: Mature
Feedback: Always welcome, feedback is what encourages me to keep writing. Please let me know what you like and what you dislike about the story.
Revision History: 01/09/06; chapter added 01/31/07
Summary: The former captives meet up with Voyager.
Chapter 41 - Stardate: 53010.59 (Jan 4, 2376 9:03 pm)
"Ok, I know this is getting late for some of the children to be up, so we will try to wrap this up quickly." Elizabeth said as she stepped back up to the podium after the thirty minute voting break. "We have counted the votes, and it seems that we are unanimous, everyone voted for colonization."
Spontaneous cheers had started breaking out as soon as she said the word unanimous, they grew in number and volume when she finished. B'Elanna looked around at the women in the room, feeling an odd mixture of pleasure, excitement and seriousness as she realized that she would be spending the rest of her life with these women. They would be her coworkers, neighbors, her daughter's, or rather daughters', in-laws as she and Seven planned on having at least three children.
She finally noticed that Seven was watching her, and impulsively she captured the full rose colored lips with her own. She resisted the urge to growl possessively, Seven would be her wife, they would raise their children together, she would have the blonde's love and support, and be able to give all the love she felt for Seven in return, for the rest of their lives. They would build a home, a society, for themselves and their children, one that would hopefully be as tolerant and accepting of its people as humanity claimed to be.
"What would you say to us marrying before Voyager goes through the wormhole," she blurted as soon as their lips separated. "Instead of waiting until we reach Amazonia."
Seven blinked once in surprise, then smiled, "You wish to invite members of Voyager over for the ceremony."
"Harry, Chakotay, Tom if he will," B'Elanna said.
Seven nodded, "I would like to invite the Doctor, Nelix and Naomi as well, and I have a distinct feeling that Captain Janeway will apologize to us tomorrow. If not for her beliefs, then at least for her choice of words, would you object to me inviting her?" she asked uncertainly.
B'Elanna looked at her dubiously, "Why do you think that?"
Seven raised one brow, "The brief Elizabeth sent was…brief. We gave much more information to the Doctor than was contained in it about our treatment and the details of the psychological conditioning Trya attempted. As well as informing him of our wedding and my pregnancy. And you took great delight in informing him of how we fell in love with one another." The last was said in a slightly disapproving tone.
"He kept hovering over you," B'Elanna explained moodily, "I just wanted to make it clear that you were taken."
"You succeeded," Seven said, and then went quiet as Elizabeth started speaking once again.
B'Elanna tuned out Elizabeth as she made the connections Seven had been explaining, the Doctor of course would tell Janeway, and Janeway… B'Elanna groaned quietly, drawing an inquisitive look from Seven. "Janeway's going to feel guilty and apologize," she whispered in the blonde's ear.
Seven smirked.
B'Elanna raised an eyebrow at the blonde in reply, and then refocused her attention on Elizabeth speaking at the front of the room.
"I am planning on asking Captain Janeway to take some information back to Earth with her. The names of those who did not survive and what little we know about them, as well as our information. If any of you would rather we not include your information please let us know, I will be asking her about it tomorrow." Elizabeth finished. She was quiet for a second before bringing up the next point.
"Now, since the robots were made in the same body shape as the Ilanar, Diplomat Mryayh is going to use a humanoid holographic projection to discuss the settlement with us as he doesn't wish to upset the children." Elizabeth broke off as a glittering humanoid shape materialized in an open space to the left of the podium.
"He has used the actual appearance of his exoskeleton instead of skin," noted Seven with interest.
B'Elanna nodded, glancing around them. Everyone knew basically what the Ilanar looked like, Elizabeth and Tanya had done their best to describe them, but seeing the glittering crystalline form, even if it was vaguely humanoid, was another matter. If there had not been the children present, B'Elanna would have wished that the Diplomat would have transported over in person, just too actually see one.
"Greetings, I am Diplomat Mryayh," the Ilanar introduced himself, "We did not wish to have any influence on your final decision, but may I say that I am pleased that you have chosen to colonize instead of returning to Earth. It makes it much easier for us to arrange for the transfer of appropriate goods and services in equal value to the settlement you are now entitled to receive. It is not a small amount, the Kryayh family was a highly successful one, and the others who participated in the games who knew of your circumstances were also successful." He paused for a moment.
Interestingly his color shaded just barely towards blue, "I am embarrassed to admit that we cannot determine how to express to you the valuation of the settlement. The Federation uses Latium and credits, but those units have no meaning to most of you. None the less I can assure you that it is quite enough for us to offer you our services. We cannot give you technology or let you see it in use, but there is no rule preventing you from benefiting from our technology where it leaves no trace of itself, as in the wormhole we are opening for the other human ship."
Everyone waited curiously wondering what exactly he could be talking about besides the wormhole.
"We are offering to terraform the planet you have chosen, into one more suitable to your needs and uses. And to provide stocks of plants and animals with which you are familiar, as well as building the initial core of your settlement, to include a medical facility, food preparation and basic living shelters." He managed to get out before the reality of what he was saying became clear to everyone.
The planet they had chosen was of course an M class planet, but they had not chosen only on habitability, but also on the likelihood of the Borg finding it, the amount of metals present for the future needs of their children, as well as the richness of resources available in it's solar system. Amazonia was not a bad planet to settle upon, but it certainly hadn't been the nicest planet of all the ones suggested by the Ilanar. They had known that they would have to work to improve the planet some to get it up to earth standards, and they had accepted that fact.
Now with just a few words the Ilanar had just turned over all the tentative plans they had made. Instead of spending the first few years fighting with the planet, it seemed like they would be able to begin building their settlement as soon as they arrived.
Chapter 42 - Stardate: 53011.98 (Jan 5, 2376 9:15 am)
"Captain, the Artemis just contacted us. Elizabeth Janeway is requesting a private conversation with you." Ensign Kim informed her, lively curiosity apparent in his eyes.
"I'll take it in my Ready Room," Captain Janeway answered, and stood up. It only took a minute until she was seated in the chair at her desk.
"Captain Janeway, good morning," Elizabeth greeted her politely.
She murmured in reply, "Good morning." The information the Doctor had given her last night had left her more than slightly frustrated with the briefing Elizabeth Janeway had sent over. She would have went into the meeting with a different set of expectations had she known what she did this morning, and she wouldn't have formed such an erroneous impression of the reason behind B'Elanna Torres and Seven of Nine's reactions.
"First I'll state that I'm sorry my briefing included so little information about what happened to us, and about the Ilanar. But we needed your honest reaction to our questions and we weren't certain we would get it if you were in possession of certain facts." Elizabeth Janeway informed her calmly.
She straightened, "And what facts would those be," she asked somewhat coldly.
"That we were about to make the final decision on whether to go to Earth or colonize, and were just waiting for more information. Information you provided us yesterday." Elizabeth answered, her expression kind but unrepentant.
Kathryn Janeway resented it, she knew perfectly well what that expression meant, she had used it often enough when explaining a difficult decision to someone. It said I'm sorry I had to do that, but I'm really not because I would do it again in the same circumstances. "And your decision?" she asked.
"Unanimous to colonize, we can't take the chance that the Federation will uphold the Genetics Laws." Elizabeth answered.
Janeway was not surprised, "The Doctor still hasn't given up, you don't need to make that decision yet."
"He won't find a way. I think you already know that from his preliminary results." Elizabeth responded.
She shifted uncomfortably, "He's surprised us before."
Elizabeth shook her head and smiled. "Anyway," she continued, "The Ilanar government has agreed to open a wormhole to the Alpha Quadrant for either ship, we won't need it, but I assume you might have some interest in it." Elizabeth Janeway sat back in her chair and waited.
"A wormhole to Earth?" she repeated numbly, "Where? When?"
"A few days' time, there were a few things I wanted to work out with you first," Elizabeth stated.
"Such as," Kathryn Janeway asked on automatic pilot as her mind tried to wrap itself around the fact that it seemed they would be headed back to Earth in just a few days.
"Literature, music, history, I'd like for our children to know where they came from. And we would appreciate it if you would take back a list of those who didn't survive, and a list of those who wish whatever relations they may have on Earth to know what happened to them." Elizabeth requested quietly.
"I think we can do that for you," Captain Janeway replied, after a moment of consideration.
"Oh and one last thing," Elizabeth smirked.
"Yes?" she responded warily.
Elizabeth grinned, "I have some wedding invitations for the 7th of January at 1700 hours for the nuptials of B'Elanna Torres and Seven Hansen. I was wondering if you would deliver them for me."
Chapter 43 - Stardate: 53015.32 (Jan 6, 2376 2:36 pm)
Her head whirling from her recent conversation with Tom Paris, B'Elanna stared out the viewports in Voyager's messhall. Artemis dominated the view, the graceful curves and lines of her hull gleaming white against the absolute black of space. Though designed and built by the Ilanar, Artemis looked as if it had come right out of Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards. As with most Starfleet designed vessels, the elongated oval of the main hull swept forward and above the engineering hull to which were attached the warp nacelles. Like Voyager, Artemis' nacelles were mounted on variable-geometry pylons to minimize damage to subspace, but instead of two nacelles, the Ilanar made vessel had four. Much larger than the ship B'Elanna was currently aboard, Artemis was 3 times the size the Intrepid class ship, allowing it to generously accommodate the former captive's 300 families.
"She looks like Starfleet ship," Kathryn Janeway's distinctive, husky voice commented from just behind her, eerily echoing her thoughts, "Do you know if she looks like other Ilanar vessels?"
B'Elanna turned her head just enough to see her former Captain's profile. "I have no idea, their vessels are either cloaked or are to far away for us to detect them. They transported us approximately 200 lightyears in just 2 hours to catch up to Voyager, but I have no idea how, our sensors were inoperable during that time."
Janeway nodded her acknowledgement of the statement, "They take their non-interference directive seriously then."
"Yes," B'Elanna replied briefly, old habits made her want to say Captain, but she stopped herself, this was not her Captain Janeway, not anymore.
Neither woman said anything more until B'Elanna finally broke the increasingly, at least to her, uncomfortable silence. "Tom's much quieter than I remember him. I'm glad you let him out of the brig to help with the search effort." The two statements didn't really have much to do with one another; they were just the two things from her recent conversation with Tom that stuck in her mind the most.
Janeway turned away from the viewport to look at the half-Klingon, "I was concerned that he would never believe that he couldn't have found you if only given the chance." Her grey eyes met B'Elanna's brown ones unflinchingly, "I know you thought I was being unduly harsh on him, but I needed him to understand that my friendship with his father and with him did not mean that he could disobey orders, especially one as important as the Prime Directive. His actions then showed me that he still didn't realize that there are some lines you just don't cross. Now I'm sure that he does finally comprehend that." She hesitated briefly before finishing, "And I needed him to understand that because I never again want to be put in a situation where I'm forced to fire upon him."
The two women stared at one another for a long moment until B'Elanna finally dipped her head in brief acceptance of the Captain's reasoning. She didn't like it, but she remembered how Tom believed that he could get away with occasionally breaking the rules because of Janeway's fondness of him and his father, and quite a few times the Captain had let him.
Abruptly, jarring B'Elanna out of her thoughts, the Captain said in a low tone, "I thought we knew each other well enough for you to know I'm not some unfeeling monster," hurt flashed briefly in Janeway's grey eyes.
The statement and brief show of emotion surprised the half-Klingon who was still contemplating the Captain's earlier words. "No you're not," B'Elanna acknowledged slowly. "You're just determined no matter what objections anyone has in the end your opinion is the only one that counts. As Captain that's your right, but I just can't do that anymore." She said the words calmly, she didn't want to hurt Kathryn, but she did need the Captain to understand that her insistence that everyone do as she ordered was one of the reasons she and Seven had decided to stay with their fellow former captives.
The Captain tensed, and for a moment B'Elanna was certain Janeway would argue with her. "You wouldn't have to for long," Janeway finally responded, her face an expressionless mask, "with the wormhole the Ilanar are opening, our return to Earth is just a few days away. I know the legal standing of the Maquis is uncertain, but even if they choose to press charges then your time on Voyager will be counted as time served. I've seen your Maquis record; you have nothing to worry about."
B'Elanna hadn't expected that particular response, she stared at the auburn haired Captain in silent surprise before marshaling her thoughts to form a reply, "I know, but it's not just that. We have the future of our daughter to worry about. If we go with the others and colonize then our daughter will be normal, she will be no different than all the other children. If we go to Earth, she will always be singled out as a genetically enhanced human. Seven and I have to do what's best and safest for our daughter, and choosing to go to Earth is neither."
The Captain's grey eyes searched B'Elanna's face, finally the severe expression softened and she sighed softly, "There's nothing I can say to counter that, Elizabeth told me the planet is well away from any other inhabited systems, and that the Ilanar are terraforming it as well as building the core settlement buildings."
B'Elanna nodded, "I suspect if the Ilanar divided out the settlement from the civil suit among us, we would all be very rich by Federation standards. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of the terraforming, I suspect Amazonia will be nicer than Earth is now after they are done."
Janeway looked surprised, "Did the Ilanar ever tell you a Federation credit equivalent?"
"No," B'Elanna answered, "But it's enough to pay for Artemis, terraforming a planet, and building a settlement base, so it must be several billions of credits."
The Captain raised one eyebrow at the figure, then after thinking about it for a moment she commented, "I guess it would have to be wouldn't it." Janeway regarded her former Chief Engineer thoughtfully, the perusal stretching out long enough to make B'Elanna uneasy. Unexpectedly changing the subject, she said finally, "Thank you for the wedding invitation."
B'Elanna met the Captain's grey-eyes, "It wouldn't be right not to have you there, after all, you're the sole reason she had the chance to become an individual. The rest of us saw her as only Borg drone, and would have put her off the ship at the first chance whether the Borg were close enough to retrieve her before she died or not," she said frankly. "You're the one who saw her something more than Borg."
Janeway acknowledged her words with a short nod, "I knew none of you understood, but it was all of that anger and fear that showed me there was a human being there, even as she was shouting at me to return her to the Borg. I had read Enterprise's records of their experiences with a young Borg drone they named Hugh. It took Hugh days to show any signs of individuality, any hint of emotion. Seven," the Captain paused, smiling wryly at the memory, "Seven took only seconds to start angrily demanding that we return her to the Borg. There was certainly no mistaking that she was furious with us, with me. I couldn't do as she asked, not when the very passion with which she was asking made me was certain that given time away from them she would come to appreciate being an individual."
There was a human saying, 'there are two sides to every story', and right now B'Elanna was sharply reminded of that fact. "She does," she reassured the Captain.
"I know," Janeway chuckled, "I think Seven took so long to confess that simply because she didn't want to admit I had been right." The smile fell away; the Captain sighed, "And because she was angry with me, perhaps even still is."
B'Elanna debated for a moment, she wasn't certain what she wanted to say was hers to say or not, "She's not anymore," she finally decided to say knowing that Seven wouldn't mind her reassuring Janeway. Before the Captain could ask the questions she was certain were forming in the woman's mind, she said, "If you want to know more you need to ask Seven."
Janeway pursed her lips and glared at the half-Klingon in irritation, but B'Elanna only stared resolutely back at her. "Alright," the Captain finally yielded.
'Some things never change,' B'Elanna thought to herself as she regarded her former Captain in amusement. The half-Klingon debated internally for a few moments, ever since she had discussed what friendship was with Seven she had pondered this question, and had come up with a few reasons for Janeway's choice, but she didn't really know and wouldn't know for certain unless she asked her. "Why did you choose the Doctor to help Seven?"she inquired simply.
Janeway was surprised by the question, "Who else could I have chosen?" she asked incredulous. "You? You saw her as a threat and an enemy, remember."
B'Elanna grimaced at the reminder, "I was wrong, and I've apologized to her for my behavior. She's an incredibly loyal, honest, gentle, loving person once she lets you see beyond that protective Borg shell."
Something in the half-Klingon's tone, the expression on her face, or look in her eyes caught Janeway's attention. In wonder, Kathryn said, "You love her; you're not just getting married because of her pregnancy."
It didn't really surprise B'Elanna that Janeway had thought that, "I've been in love with her for months now. As much as I hate the bastard for what he did to us, Kryayh's psychological profiles and the matches he made from them were incredibly accurate. All the couples he put together fell in love with one another; Seven and I are no exception."
Kathryn smiled; it was the crooked smile, the one that allowed the woman's natural compassion to show through. "I'm sorry for how it occurred, but I'm happy that you both finally looked beyond the protective facades each of you present to the world, and saw the wonderful person underneath them. You and Seven deserve to be happy."
"Thank you Captain," B'Elanna finally managed to reply once she had recovered from her surprise.
Dropping the subject of their marriage, Janeway briskly said, "Now back to your question. It should have been Chakotay's duty as First Officer, but he couldn't see beyond the fact that Seven was blonde and Borg and therefore would betray us just like Ripley and the Cooperative." As she was speaking the Captain's tone became sharper, revealed her continuing irritation with the Commander and his behavior.
"Tuvok?" Janeway continued, "He was probably the best choice to help her, but he was simply too busy, the ship and I needed him performing the duties he already had not taking on yet another. The time he was spending helping Kes with her abilities, and helping you with your anger, was impacting on his duties as it was. Besides I was certain that Seven would seek him out if she felt she needed his viewpoint."
Before Janeway could continue, B'Elanna interrupted her, "That was what I didn't understand, why you didn't have Tuvok help her. It seemed to me as if he would have been the most appropriate choice, but I didn't realize that it was because he just didn't have the time."
He would have," the Captain replied, "But as it was he regularly spent seven to nine additional hours each day performing tasks for me and assisting the crew. I couldn't ask any more of him, he barely had time to eat, meditate and sleep as it was. I guess you don't need for me to tell you why not Tom, Harry or Neelix?" she asked dryly.
B'Elanna made a face, "No I think I can guess those reasons on my own. Tom was too interested in what was under her biosuit, Harry was too attracted and intimidated by her, and Neelix…" she paused trying to find the right words, "they just don't have compatible personalities, I think his talkativeness would have really irritated her."
Janeway's mouth twitched in amusement, "That's one way of putting it." The smile faded and she sighed, "I was already taking too much time from the ship and crew to help her as it was, and I knew she needed much more help than I could find the time to give. I know the Doctor wasn't the ideal choice, but he was the only suitable person that had the time available. I believed at the time that he wouldn't use the opportunity to take advantage of her, but I never anticipated that he would develop feelings for her."
B'Elanna shook her head, "I don't think any of us could have foreseen that complication, you can't blame yourself for it."
"Perhaps not," the Captain allowed.
B'Elanna stared at her former captain for a moment, then looked at the time and grimaced, "I really need to get back to Artemis, I've got some engineering classes to teach this afternoon." She paused, "Thank you for telling me that Captain, and both Seven and I look forward to seeing you at the ceremony tomorrow."
"I wouldn't miss it," Janeway smiled.
B'Elanna was almost to Voyager's transporter room before she realized she had called Kathryn Janeway, Captain.