May 10th - 2376
"I'm just saying. Sometimes it seems like the federation isn't living up to their full potential when dealing with legitimate threats. I get that they're all for peaceful exploration, but the galaxy isn't exactly a field of flowers. It's dangerous out here, enough that the federation is lucky it's super science keeps pace with it all." I swear, it's like they're oblivious to all the crap they pull out of nowhere just to solve problems. I've been trying to convince the chief engineer that voyager needs additional power storage for an increased burst of energy towards engines, weapons, shields, whatever needs it. But it's a tough sell.
"Super science? I mean, I guess it could seem that way for someone from over three hundred years ago."
"B'Elanna, you deflected a space/time anomaly by polarizing and inverting the polarity of your energy shields. I get that it's effective against charged objects, but where I come from we have a term for that, Technobabble. It doesn't always make sense to throw random science at something and hope it sticks without proper theoretical testing." I'd paused trying to give her time for that to sink in, it was kinda crazy the stuff they were doing out here.
"Aren't you the one who modified an outdated tool just to make it easier to work on something?"
"Tell that to your engineering staff, who appreciate having a tool that doesn't rely on a power source and can work anywhere. Look, my point is, the threats out here are seriously dangerous! You guys haven't even encountered a real Borg fleet since you rescued seven. And then there was that incident with the Hirogen, the Dreadnaught missiles, heck there was that telepathic space born thing which was leading people to their doom inside it's gaping maw like sirens guiding ships into Charybdis" I could see the gears turning as she started really thinking about the past few years out in the delta quadrant and all the crazy stuff they'd encountered flying in a mostly straight line.
"Okay point, but I'll need to have the captain okay it before I go dedicating the engineering staff to adding additional energy storage. Though the fuses definitely helped with the anomaly. I found half a dozen of them had blown to protect key systems when that tachyon burst hit us."
"To be fair, that might have been partly my fault, I was absorbing the tachyons to protect Chakotay and was trying to re-direct energy away from anything that could explode before re-routing it to the shields to bleed off into the anomaly. The alternative was an extra crispy first officer and a nearly dead spacecraft."
"Still proved the idea was sound. I've had my team working on improvements in their off time to see if we can help make them less prone to failure."
"Breakers, they're like a fuse, but it trips a switch which cuts the circuit. You put them inline with the fuse, that way, the fuse is your overflow and the breaker should stop most of it. Then you just check the system and if it doesn't trip the breaker again after you flip it back on, you're probably good. Better than exploding control panels on the bridge, anyway." I'd been discussing this while making my way towards the Astrometrics lab to do some routine adjustments when I heard seven talking about a micro wormhole near the ship. I wasn't sure if I should secure myself in my quarters or steal a shuttle and try to leave the ship, since this meant they were about to make contact with Starfleet command after several years.
"Crap, I knew things wouldn't last. Starfleet finally made contact with voyager"
"What makes you say that?" She paused as events unfolded exactly as I predicted moments before and giving me that look of curiosity she had when I'd mentioned them getting home back in sick bay a few weeks ago.
"There's a message coming through, on a Starfleet emergency channel"
"Let's hear it"
"This is lieutenant Reginald Barkley" I raised my eyebrow as B'Elanna and I had walked into the room and were listening. The message was brief, but the captain sent sensor logs, crew reports, etc. And Starfleet sent some comms upgrades and new communication technology specifications.
"Starfleet doesn't exactly like augments and unlike the Maquis I'm not a criminal, they can't just wave the charges or give me a pardon or something. I may need an escape plan if we make it back to earth." It may sound paranoid, but Julian Bashier is a model example of an incredibly well-adjusted augment who put his skills to use but nearly lost everything once the truth was out. I really didn't feel like being a lab rat or being isolated to some remote outpost simply because of the Dark matter infused Mirakuru cocktail I'd been hit with. I just wanted to get home.
"There are plenty of ways to disappear from Starfleet. If it comes down to it, I think Chakotay might know somebody who can help you."
"Thanks" I'd gotten the interest of seven of nine who'd been watching us closely, I guess it was kind of hard to hide the panic and fear at suddenly being known by an uber-phobic polity. Then again, she likely had some of the same concerns, given her former Borg status. Speaking of, now might be a good time to broach the subject of a certain transwarp network to the captain. Let her know what lays ahead and hope the lead time gives her an edge without the time travel shenanigans. That is, if the slipstream drive doesn't work, I had some ideas for that too.
