B'Elanna wasn't a morning person—a most unfortunate thing because her father and brother were. And to add insult to injury, so was Jake.

"It must be the genes," she muttered, as she wandered around the hangar, trying her best to stay awake.

She may not remember anything from her past, but there was one thing she knew for sure: she could stay up longer than most people, but once she was down it was impossible to get her up.

She could hear Jake happily chatting with one of the pilots, detailing flight plans and maneuvers. They could be talking about leading a flock of chickens for all she cared. It was too early too talk about anything.

There were one or two adjustments that still needed to be made, so she squared her shoulders and neared the gleaming new shuttle.

Her hand reached out to the sea green hull, more to prop herself up than to touch the ship. The metal felt cool under her hands, smooth, and all at once she was suffused by the oddest sense.

At first she thought she was remembering, but the feeling was different. It was almost like déjà vu…

Suddenly her nose twitched as a distinct aroma filled the air. Ha! She knew that smell.

She was about to turn around when she felt a hand on her shoulder—

"Coffee?"

Tom snapped out of his reverie and found himself looking at the hazel eyes of the Talaxian.

He was a little disoriented at first, but then he set his sight on the steaming cup that Neelix was holding out to him. He took a few sniffs, making sure…

"Don't worry, it's replicated coffee" the Talaxian assured him "The Captain thought that you needed a little picker upper for this morning, seeing that you've been working so hard!"

Tom just sighed and took the proffered cup, wondering how in the world Neelix could be so damn cheerful at such an ungodly hour.

Looking beyond the forcefield of Voyagers shuttlebay doors, he could see the darkness of space and its perpetual starlight. The computer kept telling him it was already morning but he was convinced, with fond memories of his bed, that it was most definitely still night.

He was exhausted. With the day of the race so near, he'd started working double shifts in fixing and modifying the Flyer. His time on the helm had been significantly reduced, which he didn't mind because there was still a lot of work to be done in order to accommodate the race requirements.

A respite from his duties at the conn was just one of the few perks brought by this event. An increase in replicator allowance, engineers at his beck and call, more holodeck time so that he could relax, but not an increase in the one thing he needed most: sleep.

He leaned on the Delta Flyer for a bit and rubbed at his tired eyes. Maybe he'd take a nap this afternoon…

Or it could be just the morning. For some reason, he'd felt really…odd…since he'd entered the shuttle bay. Like he'd already done this, or had been here to do this…

He sighed. He didn't need to think about this, he was so tired. Maybe if he just closed his eyes for a while…

"Tom!"

The loud crash woke B'Elanna up.

Or semi-woke her up, as she realized that it was just a broken cup and nothing really important. She bent down and sluggishly picked the pieces up, the coffee already spilling in all directions.

"You alright, B'Elanna?"

She looked up at Aron, who was staring down at her with a worried frown on his face.

"I'm fine, it was just…I drifted off for a while and the cup slipped from my hand," she sighed. "This just isn't my morning."

"You never have any mornings," he joked. "I don't think you turn into a person until after 8am."

"Very funny. You wouldn't be feeling very chipper either if you had to stay up most nights for the past week just getting this ship-"

"—an already brilliant ship-"Aron interjected.

"-ready. It's annoying enough that we have to build this thing according to their specifications, but we have to reset everything once all this is over!"

"Which you'll probably love, seeing as you like to spend more time here than anywhere else."

Actually, she'd come to ride around Kiva Mountain on her hoverbike, much to Koran's dismay. For some reason, just cruising on those empty mountain roads relaxed her after being cooped up with engine parts all day.

It was like reuniting herself with something that she wasn't aware was missing…

"I just like working with my engines Aron, that doesn't mean anything: I'm not using it as a form of escapism, I'm not running away from Jake; I just want her to give her best performance, that's all."

Her hand slipped, and the jagged ceramic edge cut through her tender skin…

"Ow!"

Tom cursed and started sucking on his index finger, his eyes watering for a bit at the pain.

Neelix immediately came out the hatch to check on him.

"What happened?"

He sucked on his finger some more before pulling it out in a grimace, annoyed that he could be so clumsy.

"My finger got caught when I was closing one of the panels. It hurts, and it's annoying me."

Neelix merely chuckled, looking at the finger that was already turning a bit purple.

"First you fall asleep standing up and break your cup, now it's daydreaming then pinching your finger. You ought to pay more attention Tom," Neelix kidded. "Next thing you know, you'll be crashing the Delta Flyer into an asteroid field, and Baytart will be flying Voyager while you spend the rest of our trip scrubbing the shuttle bay floors."

"Thanks a lot for the support Neelix" he answered dryly "Although your right, I do feel a little light headed this morning. It's just…God, did the Captain have to schedule the spot check so damn early? Why couldn't she just have come down this afternoon, then I could have gotten up at a decent hour and provide her with a decent progress report. And not this-"

He yawned—hard.

"-This half-schlepped attempt at giving her a tour on the new and very much improved Flyer," he said. "Heck Neelix, I don't even think she's ever looked this damn good!"

He gave the side of the Flyer a nice pat, wishing somehow that B'Elanna could be here. The modifications were pretty good, but he knew that with her added input it could have been superb!

He could already feel the pain growing in his chest and shook his head. He didn't need this…not right now, certainly not this early in the morning.

"You know, I think this calls for a celebration Neelix. What about something good to drink to toast her off?" he said, "Rations on me, bring out the coffee!"

"Coffee? I admit it's my favorite drink, but I hardly think it's the proper drink for this celebration!"

Hearing the Captain's gravely voice in the shuttlebay woke him up more than any cup of coffee ever could.

"Captain!" he straightened up. "I thought you wouldn't be here for…another hour!"

His sleep-addled brain caused him to somewhat panic, wondering how he could explain to the Captain that she wasn't quite done yet…she could use a new coat of paint.

"She looks fine Tom," the captain told him. "I can't wait to hear what you've done with her."

"Hear? Why not experience? Give me until this afternoon and I can take you and some of the bridge staff out for a ride. I've got her so tuned up I could stop at a dime if I wanted to."

She laughed at Tom's colorful idiom. Her helmsman's creative 20th century language never ceased to amaze her.

"We'll try and schedule a test flight, Tom. In the meantime, why don't we have a drink?"

"A drink?" he asked.

As if on cue, Harry emerged from the other side of the Flyer, carrying a large bottle of champagne.

"Surprise!" he called out, with Commander Chakotay following behind him, his hand laden with champagne flutes.

"We thought we'd congratulate you on a job well done," Harry told him.

"Indeed. Your work with the Delta Flyer has increased her efficiency by 72.5 percent," Seven announced, appearing beside him. "I have no doubt that she will prove to be a worthy opponent in the race."

They all laughed at her observation.

The Commander started passing around the champagne flutes, Harry, Tom, the Captain—with the exception of Seven who didn't drink and Tuvok who was manning the bridge.

"Why don't you do the honors, Tom?"

"Who me?" he laughed, feeling somehow carefree for the first time in a long time.

He handed the Commander his champagne glass and took the bottle.

He wrapped his hands on the neck, giving everyone a grin.

"Okay, you guys, ready-"

B'Elanna winced as she heard the pop in the air.

A child cried somewhere in the background, lamenting the loss of her precious balloon.

Considering the short notice, the turn out was pretty good. The airbase was full of people. And from where she stood in the platform, she could see more than a few civilians and their families. All of whom came out to watch the naming and inauguration of the newest addition to the Maltan fleet, and the bearer of this year's peace treaty.

She wasn't much for parties and official functions. Most of the time, she left duties like this to Aron and her father, attending only when they needed an escort or the gathering was filled with engineers or was directly a science matter.

Either way, getting roused on an early Sunday morning with hardly any coffee didn't put her in a very sociable mood. Not to mention the fact that all the smiling was beginning to make her jaw hurt.

Her family was in attendance: her father, brother, Jake, his parents, various aunts, uncles, some cousins, and nieces and nephews.

She stood there, watching the festivities in her flightsuit bearing the Imperial Seal, trying to look like she was listening to the speech her father was delivering.

"At least try to look like you're enjoying it," Aron muttered next to her.

She turned to look at him. His eyes had never left the crowd, his open smile not having left his face since the ceremony started an hour ago.

"You look like an idiot, Aron," she said through her smile. "Anymore of this and my face will freeze this way."

"Could be worse, you could have been left with a frown," he countered. "But then, what change would that bring, seeing that you, dear sister, are always a grouch."

This time her smile was genuine. "A grouch? Where did you get that term?"

"I got it from you, along with most of your silly little words," he laughed.

B'Elanna said the weirdest things. The universal translators took care of communications, but sometimes he wondered if it was functioning correctly.

Like when she said things like "cool" to express that she's pleased or referred fixing her ships as "souping them up" or saying "That just sucks" when something didn't go her way.

Her people certainly had the oddest language…but he'd picked up on some of them anyway. Some of them were catching and rather…cool.

"Okay, now try and look serious," he said.

"I'm on it," she answered, leaning slightly into him as a flash went through her peripheral vision.

They both turned to their right as another flash went up. She was blinking out the lights just as the photographer smiled, mouthing "thanks" before moving on to take other pictures.

Behind him was a little girl, sitting on her father's shoulders, giving her a wide smile and a little wave.

B'Elanna waved back, smiling at her before looking at the man who so happily balanced his young daughter high up on his shoulders. All of a sudden, she couldn't help but have this sad feeling of wont and abandonment…

"He would have been proud of you."

Tom nearly jumped as the captain crept up beside him.

"Wha? I'm sorry Captain?"

"I said he would have been proud of you, your father," she told him, taking a sip.

"You think so?" his smile was rather wan, as if it were afraid to come out and just believe her.

"He's never been satisfied with anything I've ever done, why start now?"

"Because she is a brilliant ship; something like this doesn't come out of everyone's heads, as a pilot you should know how special she is."

"I know Captain, believe me I know."

There was a long pause as they stared at the Flyer, both remembering the same thing.

"But she's not just from me; she was born out of the crew. Harry, Tuvok, Seven…B'Elanna…" he said.

"I remember how the two of us would just…talk about her. We talked about creating our own shuttle when we got back home, and she had all these ideas…I thought I'd have to wait a long time in order to have a shuttle built after my specifications but here she is…right in front of me. She's come a long way from her original designs. Now she's all souped-up and B'Elanna can't even see her.

Tom tried to reign in his emotions as he looked around the shuttle.

"She always said that the Flyer was her ship just as much as it was mine. It was…it was our baby, I guess. Seeing the Flyer just…it reminds me of her. It was a marriage of both our skills and every day I see the marks she's left in this ship."

The Captain placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"And she's still there Tom, she's still there."

"She is a great ship," he concluded. "Funny isn't it? The Flyer's my best work and she was the best thing that ever happened to me. I would have loved for my father to have met her; I think they would have gotten along. Their both dedicated to their work, sticklers for honor, both stubborn… Now at least this way he'd get to see her work."

He felt the pressure increase on his shoulder, as the Captain lifted her glass.

"To the Flyer and To B'Elanna."

Tom lifted his own glass, his breath catching on the toast.

"To B'Elanna."

"To B'Elanna!" her father called out, the crowd erupting in cheers "Who built this wonderful ship! May she bring glory to Malta!"

There was a round of applause before her father motioned for her to approach him on the podium.

"And I think that it's only fitting, for her creator to christen her and lead her on her first flight!"Her father flashed a proud smile, and Jake was clapping so hard she knew that his hands must hurt. Beside her, Aron was nudging her to go on stage.

"Go on little sister," he urged. "This is payment for all those times that you drove the sentries mad for sneaking past them just to build your ship. Now they finally get to see both their mistress and the ship she's gallivanting around with."

One last push and she was going up on stage, lights flashing around her as she accepted the bottle her father handed her. Taking his place at the podium, she looked at the ecstatic sea of faces and decided that she couldn't wait either.

"I know that you've all been waiting for this so I won't keep you in any more suspense," she announced, and the audience laughed.

Her eyes swept over the anxious and excited faces, all staring in wonder at the ship. She'd never seen so many people looking at her like that before, and she almost wanted to close her eyes and just freeze this moment, capture it in her mind.

Yet something seemed missing, something that didn't quite make this win complete…

"I wish he could see it…"

The thought was sudden and fleeting, and she purged it out of her mind, focusing instead on the same girl who was now excitedly bouncing on her father's shoulders.

She felt a slight pang and looked immediately at her own father, whose eyes were shining as he looked at her and her achievement…

She took a deep breath and gripped the neck of the bottle, smiling at the crowd before turning to face the ships bulkhead.

"So without further delay," she raised the bottle. "May she give glory to Malta! I give you the Argo!"

The glass shattered as it hit the metal, spraying champagne all over her flightsuit. Corks popped around her as everyone cheered. She felt strong hands on her waist and looked to find Jake's openly happy face beaming down on her.

"I am so proud of you," he laughed, before leaning down and giving her a kiss. "You did it!"

Jake was about to kiss her again when they heard a cough, and B'Elanna felt a tap on her shoulder.

Aron was standing there with three champagne glasses and a smirk on his face.

"Here you go you two, save your other celebration for later, in private."

Jake merely chuckled while B'Elanna stuck her tongue out at him. The two took the champagne and all three looked at each other happily.

Clinking their glasses, they all laughed as they raised the flutes—

"Cheers!"

The mini celebration had moved to the bridge, so that Tuvok wouldn't miss out on anything.

Not that he would.

The Vulcan merely raised his eyebrow and drank the offered glass of champagne.

Their party at the shuttlebay had been cut short when Tuvok commed them from the bridge.

"Captain, we've researched the Azaran system and the planet is within range."

So the bridge crew—champagne and all—trudged up to the bridge to see the planet that they would be orbiting for the better part of two weeks.

The first thing they saw as they entered the system were the ships: there must have been hundred of them. They were milling about a space station much like DS9, which was situated right before the planet itself.

They saw cruisers, scouts, run-abouts, all from different races.

"I guess they weren't kidding when they said that this was a multi-cultural spectacular event in the brochure," Tom joked.

Tom's joke fell somewhat flat as Voyager rounded the massive space station and saw the planet.

"Wow." Harry blurted, seeing the blue green world

The planet was huge, and so similar to Earth that it was breath taking.

It was beautiful, the wholeness of it filling their screen.

Tom felt a twinge of pain in his chest as he wished, once again, that B'Elanna was here to see this.

"There she is gentlemen," the Captain said, equally captivated. "Azara."

And Voyager slowed down, achieving orbit, bowing to its magnificence.

B'Elanna felt a deep rush of sadness as the people milled around her, wanting to see the Argo.

This day was supposed to be a happy one, and yet she still couldn't seem to shake the feeling that something was missing…or that something was about to happen. Soon.

Her eyes looked past the sea of well-wishers and onto the hangers, locking on the oldest one, the farthest one at the back.

Later on, her family would gather in a smaller celebration for another christening, for another craft. And though she was proud of the Argo, this small ship was undoubtedly closer to her heart.

"Have you decided what to name her?"

Next to her, Aron was looking at the same place. He and his father had anticipated the day that they would see B'Elanna's ship fly. The Argo had seen several shakedowns before this, but B'Elanna's ship…this was her maiden voyage.

"Yes" she finally answered "I've found a name for her."

"Well, what is it?"

"Later," she smiled impishly. "You'll find out later."

Choosing a name hadn't been easy. This ship had been there for her, pulled her through all her toughest moments, seen through so much with her. It was almost a part of herself.

First lost among strangers, yet valiantly pushing through. Adapting to a family, and to a culture that even now seemed so foreign to her. There were countless of times that she just wanted to give up, and just mold herself to the life that she had made here. But no matter how much she wanted to ignore it, there was still a part of her that yearned for something, someone…that searched for home.

Because of that feeling the name just…came to her.

A band was playing and people were dancing. Firecrackers shot through the sky and B'Elanna watched their fiery splendor.

Her thoughts shifted as she trained her gaze to look past the light show and somehow beyond the lavender skies, knowing that she would find the dark expanse of space.

She hadn't been in space for months.

There was a bright flash as a ship dropped out of warp on their orbit. As she tried to imagine what it was like to once again be with the stars, she wondered if she would find that sense of completion that she longed for out there.