Sorry it has taken so long to update this story, I am currently in the middle of writing atleast 6 different stories, two or three of which havent been published yet, so bear with me if the chapter isn't as long as the others or is longer!
Disclaimer: No matter how much we kick, scream, cry or throw temper tantrums, Voyager still belongs to Paramount, as do all the characters, except for the ones I invented, whom you will meet later. In other words, Paramount is too lazy to make a movie, so l think it is out duty as fans to play with them, manipulate them and speculate what should happen after Endgame.
The Offical Mission Chapter 4 - Back Underway
The installation of the transwarp drive on Voyager took the month set aside. Under the watchful eye of Lieutenant Commander B'Elanna Torres, Main Engineering, and the rest of the ship, had not been 'messed up' by the SCE installation team.
Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay were just about to depart Starfleet Command in the Captain's yacht, chiristened Asterie, when the happy couple were interrupted by Admiral Owen Paris, an old friend of hte Voyager family, and Tom Paris's father.
"Kathryn, Chakotay," he said in greeting, shaking the Commander's hand after kissing his wife's cheek lightly. "Sorry to delay your return to the ship, but before you left, I just have to introduce to you an old friend of mine, and your new nursery attendant, Ensign Isabella Crusher."
A young pair of Ensigns stepped out from behind the Admiral to stand infront of the couple.
"Crusher?" Janeway asked, recognising the name from the Enterprise.
"Yes, ma'am," Isabella said to her new CO and XO. "I am the daughter-in-law of Doctor Beverly Crusher, from Jean-Luc Picard's Enterprise." The young man standing beside her had a wide grin on his face, he was obviously very proud of the young woman.
"And you are?" Chakotay said to the male ensign, thinking his facial features looked strangely familiar.
"I am Ensign Wesley Crusher, sir, reporting for duty aboard the Starship Voyager as a pilot and engineering assistant. I believe you have been expectingme and my new wife..." his voice trailed off, waiting for recognition from his new commanders.
Kathryn and Chakotay looked at eachother with confused looks on their faces.
"But what about Ensign Adams, she's been our Chief in the nursery since commission. And Tom won't be happy with another equally skilled pilot at his helm..." Captain Janeway was worried. She had come to trust Ensign Adams, ready to leave her baby in the Ensign's care after the birth.
"Well, Captain, Ensign Adams put in a request for an assistant in the nursery, because of reasons I can't disclose to you yet..." Owen looked apologetically at his protege, knowing her emotions were fragile during pregnancy.
"And let me guess, you can't disclose Mr Crusher's new assignment either?" she asked, a challenging tone in her voice.
"Kath, shouldn't we be going back to Voyager now?" Chakotay was trying to calm his wife down before she exploded, or her stress levels rose to quickly.
"Yes, thanks Chakotay. And we'd better be letting Ensigns Crusher's report for duty officially on Voyager, when we return." The pair turned to head trowards the yacht, but not before bidding the trio behind them goodbye.
"Bye Owen, I'll contact you from Voyager. And Ensigns, I look forward to meeting you officially on the ship. See you at 2200 for the crew meeting, then."
Owen, Isabella and Wesley stood watching Kathryn and Chakotay leave on thier private vessel for Voyager, each thinking a different thing. But, one common thought amongst the trio was how strong the command team were going to be for this mission, this next many years.
Liuentenant Commander Tom Paris had once again overdone himself on a new holodeck program to fit the whole crew in one room. As he, his wife and young daughter walked into the holodeck, Tom could hear B'Elanna gasp at the magnificence of this creation.
A long, rectangular table stood at the head of the room, enough seats for the senior staff to occupy and address the crew. Rows and rows of comfortable chairs had been set up for the crewmembers to occupy, ready to be seated wherever they pleased, in family or friend groups. Smaller chairs had been placed at the side for parents to place their younger children in, to avoid interruptions.
"Tom," B'Elanna gasped in the general direction of her husband. "Is this what you've been doing while I've been in Engineering this past month? The Captain will be so proud of you."
Paris smiled at his half-Klingon wife and quarter-Klingon daughter, glad they had some pride in him for something other than his piloting skills.
"What time is it?" he asked his wife. "It must be close to 2200, that's when the meeting starts, doesn't it?"
"Don't ask me, ask the computer, flyboy," she said jokingly, using the nickname Q had chirstened him over 5 years ago.
Tom sighed, his wife normally knew everything. "Computer, what is the time?" he asked, directing his voice up.
"The time is 2126 hours," the computer asked in it's feminine, emotionless voice.
"Crew should be starting to arrive soon," B'Elanna said. "We'd better sit down."
"Aunt Kafwyn, Unca Kotay?" Miral asked her parents, wondering where her godparents were.
"They'll be here soon, darling," Tom said. "Come on, lets go to the officer's table before anyone else gets here."
The happy family strode to the head of the room to take their seats, all happy to be back home.
The transported room was deserted except for the presence of one person, Voyager's new transporter chief, Lieutenant Shaun Murray. He was standing, obviously bored being one of the very few people on duty while the remainder of the crew were waiting in the holodeck.
As the Captain and Commander rematerialised on the transporter pad, Shaun managed to stifle a grin. It was nice to finally meet his commanding officers, and being the one to bring them back to their home was a true privelage.
"Good evening Captain, Commander," he greeted them individually. "Welcome home."
Janeway smiled, first at her husband, then at the Chief. "Thanks, Chief. It's good to be back. Why aren't you on the holodeck with everyone else. I thought we were the only ones allowed to be late."
Chief Murray laughed at the comment. "Yes, Captain, I should be on the holodeck. In fact, I'm just leaving for there now. Plus, I'm allowed to be late as well, since Paris and Torres entrusted me in your safe arrival. Should I tell them you're on your way now?"
Chief smiled at the married pair, also directing a warm look towards the Captain's swollen and pregnant stomach. He was glad the pair were happy, and a family of their own was something they definantly deserved.
"No Chief," Chakotay said. "I want to surprise them. You go ahead, we'll be there soon." he kindly dismissed the new crewmember, one who obviously wasn't intimidated by their presence.
Chief Murray walked briskly out of Transporter Room 2 towards holodeck 1 for the crew meeting, relieved the Captain and Commander had finally arrived.
Back in the transporter room, Kathryn and Chakotay stepped dowm off the pad, hand in hand, and walked, Kathryn waddled, towards the holodeck, as fast as Kath's swollen legs could carry her enlarged figure. This crew meeting was going to be eventful. Very eventful.
Heads turned to look and see who the newest arrivals to the meeting were, though it was obvious only the Captain and Commander were absent. Nevertheless, a collective gasp circulated the room as the command team stepped slowly onto the hologrid together, their happiness radiating off eachother.
"Nice of you to join us," came a cheeky voice from the front of the room. Tom Paris, a man of many mysteries, a man who never missed a chance to pay out the Captain.
"Well, Mr Paris," Kathryn said, a slight chuckle present in her voice. "Being Captain of this ship, I am allowed to be late." A wide grin errupted on her face, showing the crewmembers she was totally happy, for the moment.
"Yeah, but what's the Commander's excuse?" someone else asked, also from the officer's table. B'Elanna Torres was sitting next to her husband, a cheeky grin also on her face.
"Should I need a reason, B'Elanna," Chakotay started. "When I am married to the Captain?"
The entire congregation laughed at the look on Commander Torres's face at that comment. Clearly, she wasn't expecting that response.
meanwhile, while the drew were laughing at the Chief Engineer's expense, Janeway and Chakotay had managed to take their seats at the slightly raised officer's table infront of everyone.
"OK, settle down, settle down," Kathryn said, standing up to address her new crew. "I think Commander Torres now knows not to question us this mission around." She gave a forgiving look to B'Elanna, receiving a stern but humourful glare in return.
"OK everyone, time to discuss business," Captain Janeway had taken up her 'command stance', ready to brief her new crew. "As you all know, our mission has been postponed for a month with the installation of our new prototype transwarp engine drive. Now, thankfully, the installation has been finished, and the team from SCE, under the watchful eye of Commander Torres, have deemed the drive and our ship spaceworthy."
Everyone could see the Captain was ready to start one of her long speeches again.
"Get on with it!" a rather game crewmember called from somewhere in the corwd, only to be laughed at promptly.
"To my new crew, welcome," she started again. "To my old crew, welcome back." In the audience, a few familiar faces smiled back almost lovingly at theor Captain's address. "This ship, just like her namesake, will become our home for the next four years atleast, while we fulfill our diplomatic mission back to the Delta Quadrant, this time to scout species suitable for Federation membership."
A collective groan from crewmembers of the original Voyager could be heard by everyone. Not all personell were eager to return to the place they had been stranded in for seven years.
Commander Chakotay took over the spotlight from his wife, ready to address the crew in an official pretense.
"I know many of you are not looking forward to returning to the Delta Quadrant, but you will be glad to know we will be avoiding the Kazon as much as possible."
A slight cheer from original crew was heard, but the confused mutterings from new crew echoed the room. They obviously didn't know how bad the Kazon had been to Voyager.
Suddenly, the doors to enter the holodeck opened, interrupting the conversation. Everyone turned to look at the pair of very late crewmembers.
Kathryn Janeway stood up to look at them, instantly recognising her interruption.
"Mr and Mrs Crusher, nice of you to finally join us," she said, a sarcastic tone in her stern voice.
At the recognition of the name 'Crusher', the assembled crew once again turned to talk to eachother, whispering about another famous person on their new ship.
"Crusher?" asked Security Chief Marman. "As in Wesley Crusher, the one who grew up on the Enterprise-D?"
Marman, Paris and Torres all looked to the Captain and Commander expectantly, the 'tell me what's going on' look on their faces.
A hurriedly whispered "Don't worry" came their way from Chakotay, who had already stood to announce their news to the crew.
"Everyone," Chakotay started, hearing the congregation instantly quieten at his voice. "Lieutenant Wesley Crusher and his wife Ensign Isabella Crusher have been transferred to serve on Voyager after the destruction of the Titan. Until earlier tonight, we were not briefed on their new assignments, which are to be helm/engineering officer and nursery attendant respectively."
Chakotay sat down to let his wife take over the introduction. "Though we have no idea why a new nursery attendant and helm/engineering officer are needed, it is expected that everyone," Kathryn turned to look at a very squirmy Tom and B'Elanna, Chief Helm and Chief Engineering officers, "Accept their integration into the crew without any complaints."
Paris and Torres squirmed in their seats a little more, before it became so annoying the Captain had to interrupt them.
"Tom, B'Elanna" she started. "Can't you two sit still?"
A slight chuckle from the officers could be heard by the scolded pair, who grimaced at their informal reprimand.
"Sorry, Captain," Tom said. "But B'Elanna and I have something to tell you..." he trailed off, nudging his wife in the arm to confess her side of the story.
"Yes, ma'am. Um... We requested to have Wesley and Isabella transferred to Voyager."
The Chief Engineers confession slightly shocked the rest of the senior staff, who never expected her to go behind the Captain's back for anything. Their collective gasp startled Lt. Commander Torres, who had almost expected this reaction anyway.
"And why, may I ask," Janeway started, "Did you have Lieutenant and Ensign Crusher transferred to my ship?"
Tom and B'elanna exchanged a silent look, as if they were doing a scissors, paper, rock game with their eyes to see who would break the news. B'Elanna won, so Tom had to confess their reasons.
"Well, Captain," the nervous Lt. Commander stopped himself from fidgeting in his seat to face her like a man. "Just after the crew left the ship for the transwaro installation, B'Elanna and I decided it was time to give our little girl a sibling," he was almost trembling under the Captain's highest level death glare.
"Since being an only child is not something I want Miral to experience," B'Elanna interjected.
"So, when we had our yearly physicals, shortly before the expected return of the crew, Doc told us B'Elanna was already three months pregnant. She's due about two months after you, late December this year."
The Captain was shocked, since quite a few reports of pregnant crewmembers had come to her attention the last few days of their shore leave. And the new baby Torres was expecting was not among those reports.
"And this explains the Crusher's reassignment how?" Chakotay asked, still unclear on how Wesley and Isabella were involved in this situation.
"Well," Tom started. "The Doctor also hinted this may be a difficult pregnancy, so I asked if someone with the qualities of both engineering and helm operation could be found in one person, someone we could both trust, so they could carry on our duties or special assignments if the need arises."
"And let me guess," Janeway said. "The extra nursery attendant couldn't be turned down, not with the reports of all the new pregnancies I have been alerted of recently."
"That's right," Paris said nervously. He really did not want to get in trouble more that night.
Before continuing the conversation, Kathryn noticed the rest of the crew were growing restless at the endless fight that seemed to be going on between the command staff.
"Sorry, everyone," she said, genuinely apologising for ignoring the needs of everyone else for the moment. "That's all we need to say for now. You all may return to your quarters, everyone if off duty tonight while the Utopia Planetia staff finish up with the ship and will stay in command tonight. I expect to see all of Alpha shift," stared at her senior officers, knowing they were all on that roster. "Ready to report for duty on time at 0700 tomorrow morning, when we will depart for the Delta Quadrant."
Cheers erupted from the bored crewmembers, who then stood to leave the holodeck to return to their quarters. It would take some time to unpack and decorate their living spaces.
Kathryn Janeway returned her attention from the junior staff to her senior staff, who knew her enough not to leave until she had told them to.
"Tom, B'Elannna, though I do not like the way you went behind my back, congratulations on the new addition to our large family," she looked genuine when she said that to the happy couple.
"Now, everyone can return to their quarters, and be on time for duty tomorrow morning, as we will be early," the lack of a cheeky grin on the Commander's face told them he was serious, and if they were later than them, a new betting pool will start. "Now scat!"
The senior staff rose from their seats and alsmost ran to the exit, cheerful grins on their faces. That first night home would be alot of fun.
Kathryn and Chakotay walked slowly, side by side, out of the holodeck and towards their new home in space. They had never truly felt comfortable on Earth, so Voyager had really become their home.
They were playfighting by the time they reached the holodeck doors, the Captain's swollen belly moving and dodging playful hits from the Commander's wild hands. Just before they exited, Chakotay turned around to say three words.
"Computer, end program."
The Bridge at 0630 the next morning was already bustling with activity. Though the Gamma shift was still officially on duty, they had given up their positions to the Alpha shift and were standing by to be officially relieved by the Captain.
The turbolift leading to the Bridge held only two passengers this particular morning, Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay. They were intentionally arriving at the Bridge 10 minutes late, just to see how annoyed Commanders Paris and Torres were.
Tom, B'Elanna, Harry, Scott, Abby and Annika were growing restless at their stations. The command team were already 10 minutes late, and every second after 0700 they were late would contribute to the new betting pool, slowly decreasing their new replicator rations. Tom Paris had already set up the topic, and that one would probably not be approved by the Commanding Officer.
Every person's attention turned to the turbolift doors as they opened at the rear of the Bridge, revealing the extremely late Janeway and Chakotay to the extremely early Bridge crew.
"Nice of you to finally show up," Paris said, his usual tongue-in-cheek humour amusing the hormonal woman. "Most of us have been here since 6:30, and now your replicator rations have very nicely fueled the bottom line of the new betting pool."
The entire congregation in the command centre, minus the two highest ranking officers, all laughed at the Chief Helm Officer's statement, and at his expense.
Janeway smiled warmly at the man she had liberated from a Federation penal colony over 8 years ago, then locked her 'Captain's face' firmly into place.
"OK, Gamma shift, stand down. Thank you for watching my ship, you can now return to drydock. Alpha shift," the command she barked at her senior staff and Bridge crew drew their sluping bodies to attention in their positions. "Report! Tactical!"
New officer Lieutenant Marman was the first to be picked on, in true Janeway fashion, just like her old friend Tuvok was.
"Ma'am, all decks and stations have reported condition blue, ready to depart drydock on schedule at 0800. All hatches and docking ports have been secured, just after the departure of the Utopia Planetia staff. We are ready to return to space."
A sigh of relief echoed through the Bridge, everyone was glad to be returnin to the one place they had comfortably called home for years.
"Thank you, Scott," Janeway looked at her new chief of security, a calm, warm look in her eyes. "Ops! Report!" she barked again, this time directing her command to Lieutenant Kim, a real veteran on her Bridge.
"Yes, Captain." Harry knew how much she hated the particular rule about addressing commanding officers. "The computer is working at full effieciency, all systems are at 100 per cent ad all crew have reported for duty. We are ready to depart drydock."
"Thanks, Harry. Conn! Report!"
Tom Paris turned around to guve the Captain a goofy smile. "All engines are powered and ready to go, transwarp drives are ready to be engaged. We are ready to head home."
Tom's final comment made the original crew let out a small cheer. They were returning to the place they had felt the most comfortable, the least judged, the place they truly called home.
"Tom, thanks for that, but next time, keep your comments to the holodeck." The Bridge crew once again laughed at the expense of the Conn officer. "Engineering! Report!"
The Chief Engineer stood at the engineering console to the side of the command deck, near to the ready room doors. "Captain, all engines and warp drives have been secured and been given the go for departure." B'Elanna had a huge grin on her face, as she too was returning to the one place she had been happy. "Kathryn, we're ready to go home."
Kathryn looked her senior staff in the eyes individually. First, her husband, her very reason for existence, then every other person she had come to trust with her life while on Voyager, plus the new people who had yet to prove their emotions.
While giggling like a schoolgirl, Janeway strode purposefully and confidently as fast as her body could handle towards her new command chair, the very chair which had been calling her name since the ship's commission. The entire Bridge crew smiled as their mentor, friend and commanding officer finally sat down in her chair, the one that truly belonged to her.
Smiling warmly at the assembled officers and crew, Kathryn Janeway gave the order the whole ship had been waiting for.
"Mr Marman, release final docking clamps. Mr Paris, take us out."
The crew of the USS Voyager-A were finally back underway.
