II.

The Janeway family home at Lake George was a combination of old traditions and new technology. The property had been in the family for several generations. The house had been rebuilt with each successive technological advance, but had always maintained the same rustic feel it had had when Kathryn Janeway's great-great-great-grandparents had built it. The home sat up on a hill about twenty meters from the lake and had a large front deck overlooking the water. It was neither grand nor tiny, and with its cabin-like design, it fit perfectly among the surrounding trees. No one had lived in the house full-time since Kathryn's grandparents had passed away, and during the winter, the house sat vacant. Her arrival in early June made her the first one in the house this year. She found the cleaning and maintenance duties that had been required after the long winter were a welcome distraction from her worries about Garrett and her efforts to decide what she should do next. She pinned a towel to the outdoor clothesline and breathed in the sweet-smelling Lake George air.

It had been over a week since the beginning of her leave of absence. She had, as she had promised Admiral Paris, stopped to see her mother before coming to Lake George. She'd told Gretchen only that she was coming to the lake house for solitude and contemplation, and mentioned nothing of her troubles with Garrett or doubts about Starfleet. Since then, she had been in self-imposed exile, willing to see no one. Many of her senior staff from Voyager had contacted her when they heard about her extended leave of absence. She had assured them all that she was fine and simply needed some quiet time for herself. She had received a concerned message from Chakotay, and had replied with a text-only answer, not trusting herself to speak with him and risk revealing information that would endanger him or Seven.

She spent her days engaged in menial chores, but found them strangely satisfying. She had taken down her grandmother's pottery from the kitchen shelf and washed it and cleaned the shelves. She had weeded the garden and planted new flowers. She had hauled wood from the wood pile to the garden shed, mowed the lawn, and touched up the paint on the deck. She was currently making her way through all the sheets and towels that had been kept in the damp basement all winter, washing them and hanging them out on the line to dry in the fresh air. She'd been swimming every day and had gone into town to the local tennis club to revive her tennis game. When she was able to put aside the worries that were plaguing her and focus on the moment, she felt refreshed and relaxed. Then she remembered what she knew about Garrett's plans and spent hours wracking her brain, trying to figure out how she could stop him. Short of breaking Garrett's injunction and telling her crew what she knew, she had arrived at no conclusion. Several times, she had been on the verge of calling Chakotay and asking him to come to Lake George, but each time, something had stopped her. The fear of Garrett following through on his threats was foremost in her thoughts. But also in the back of her mind was the fear of intruding on Chakotay's relationship with Seven and damaging their chance at true happiness. So she remained at Lake George, alone.

She finished pinning up the last towel on the line and headed back up to the house. She was famished. She walked in through the porch, and the screen door banged shut behind her. There was no replicator in the kitchen, at the insistence of her mother, so she put together half a sandwich and a cup of coffee and took it with her into the office.

The office had been installed by her father, Admiral Edward Janeway, so that he could spend time with his family at the lake but still be able to keep up with the demanding work schedule of a Starfleet admiral. The room contained a full computer console, communications equipment, encryption abilities, and anything else an admiral would need to be able to work from home. Kathryn had been making good use of it, trying to anticipate Garrett's next move, formulating possible strategies he might use to create his drones from the technology aboard Voyager, and creating counters for each strategy that would not endanger the lives of her crew.

She had taken one bite of her sandwich when she saw the communications console was blinking. She had made her desire to be alone clear to everyone, and she wondered who might be contacting her and why. She accessed the message. "Voiceprint confirmation required," the computer stated.

"Captain Kathryn Janeway, authorization Janeway pi one one zero," she replied.

"Identity confirmed," said the computer.

The message appeared on the screen, and Janeway gasped. "Braxton."

"Captain Janeway," the timeship captain said. "Don't worry. I'm not here to prosecute you or your future self for changing the timeline. In fact, we purposefully allowed Admiral Janeway to succeed. That's why I'm contacting you. I know that you've stumbled onto Vince Garrett and his work."

Janeway took a sip of her coffee, not sure whether to breathe a sigh of relief or be more concerned by Braxton's statement.

"You see, in Admiral Janeway's timeline, Admiral Garrett succeeded in his project thirty-five years from now. Admiral Janeway never met him and never became aware of his plans. In that timeline, Garrett didn't have Seven of Nine or access to Voyager's technology. He was an old man by the time his project succeeded, and even had Admiral Janeway not gone back to rescue you, she would have been dead by then. There was no one to stop Garrett, and the results were disastrous. I don't think I need to tell you why. "Garrett managed his operation from a cloaked space station. It's located near his last posting before San Francisco. Once you arrive at that planet, set your sensors to detect high concentrations of tetryon particles. This will lead you to Garrett's secret base.

"I allowed Admiral Janeway to bring Voyager home early even though it's given Garrett access to future technology and put Seven of Nine at risk. I believe this is the only way to put a stop to Garrett's work. I'm enclosing an encrypted file in this transmission. It contains everything I can send you on Garrett's project. You must do everything you can to prevent him from succeeding. It is vital to the survival of the Federation.

"No matter what you do, you must reveal my part in this to no one, or we risk further contamination of the timeline. I know that we haven't always seen eye to eye, but you're the only one who can stop Vince Garrett. Good luck, Captain Janeway. Braxton out."

Janeway finished her sandwich and contemplated the message. Was Braxton manipulating her? It certainly wouldn't be the first time. On the other hand, she had wondered why he hadn't shown up to stop Admiral Janeway from altering the timeline, and his message provided an explanation. Either way, she was curious what he had sent her about Garrett's project. She took another sip of coffee and felt the thrill of exhilaration fill her. Finally, she could take action.
She opened the encrypted file and began to read. As she did, a cold fear filled her. Braxton had said the result of Garrett's work was disastrous; this was an understatement. If Garrett succeeded, he could wipe out the individuality of the entire human race.

"Thank you, Chakotay. That was a wonderful meal." Seven of Nine wiped the corners of her mouth and placed her napkin on the table.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Chakotay replied, standing up to clear the dishes.

"I will clean," Seven offered. "You prepared dinner."

"I have an idea," Chakotay replied, a twinkle in his eye. "We can both clean up, and then it will be done twice as fast."

Seven cocked her head to one side and gave him a smile. "A very efficient solution."

They cleared the dishes from the table and cleaned up the mess Chakotay had made while cooking. They were both living, as was much of the Voyager crew, in apartments furnished by Starfleet. Tonight they had decided to meet at Seven's place, but while her culinary skills were constantly improving, Chakotay had wanted to make dinner. It was their two month anniversary, and he wanted to celebrate with something special.

Chakotay reflected on the last two months as he cleaned the cutting board and knives. He never would have imagined himself with someone like Seven. He had always thought he would need someone more mature, but he found that he was enjoying showing Seven the ropes and being a part of her exploration of dating. He had not stopped to think about where their relationship might go; he was simply enjoying living in the moment for the first time in over five years.

They finished the clean-up, and Chakotay wiped his hands on a dish towel. "How about a walk?" he suggested. "We could go to Golden Gate Park."

She nodded. "An acceptable activity."

He chuckled and leaned down to kiss her.

"Why are you laughing?" she asked.

"I never have to wonder what you really mean, Seven. I appreciate that."

"I understand. I have found the tendency of many humans to exaggerate or understate their opinions in order to spare someone's feelings quite confusing at times."

"I'll try never to do that to you."

She reached out and grabbed his hand. "I was not speaking of you."

He squeezed her hand. "Shall we go?"

It was a beautiful June San Francisco evening, just warm enough for them to be comfortable walking outside without jackets. They walked hand in hand past several other Starfleet apartment complexes. Most of Voyager's crew was living there, and it had made keeping in touch and supporting each other through the transition from shipboard life easier. Harry was staying with his parents, who lived in San Francisco, and Samantha Wildman had reunited with her husband. Sam and Greskrendregk had also offered to take Icheb in, knowing that he would have support and friendship from Naomi as well as from them. A few of the former Maquis had taken their freedom and run, resigning from Starfleet and heading back to wherever they had come from to look for their families and assess the state of their homes post-war.

Chakotay and Seven frequently spent time with the other crew members who were living in the Starfleet apartments, meeting up for a meal, a game of velocity, or an evening on the holodeck in Sandrine's. Now that they were no longer in a command structure, their meetings were much more relaxed and casual than they had been on Voyager.

Chakotay felt Kathryn's absence keenly. He felt that she should be with her crew, enjoying the fruits of her hard-earned labor, just as he and Seven were. He understood her desire to be alone to absorb all that had happened. Sometimes, he wished he could get away from everything and join her at the Lake George house he had heard so much about. But then, he wasn't sure that even he would be welcome. Her response to his message expressing his concern for her wellbeing had been met with a text-only response. Inwardly, he shrugged. While there had been some continued bright spots over the past two years, he had felt their friendship begin to fail under the strain of their responsibilities and their isolation in the Delta Quadrant. Still, she had been the closest friend he had ever had, and he missed the daily contact he was accustomed to with her. Fortunately, he had plenty of other thoughts to fill his mind, including the beautiful young woman at his side. As they walked past the final apartment building in the complex, he felt Seven tense beside him, and she dropped his hand. He looked down at her and saw her looking around nervously. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she replied hastily, but he noticed that her eyes continued to dart around until they were well past the building and nearly to the park.

"It's not nothing," he said after a moment. "You were uncomfortable when we walked by that last building."

"I'm fine, Chakotay."

"Oh, no," he said. "Don't give me that line. Not when I was just telling you earlier how much I appreciate your honesty."

"Really. I am fine. It's nothing."

"Did someone who lives in that building say something to you? Something inappropriate?"

"No, no, that's not it at all."

"Then what is it?" They had reached the park, and he stopped their walk, leading her over to a park bench. "That's the building where Tom and B'Elanna live," he realized. "Does this have something to do with them?"

Seven refused to meet his gaze. Finally, she said, "I just thought that if we happened to see Lieutenants Torres and Paris, that they might not want to see me holding your hand."

Chakotay was truly taken aback. "Why on earth would you think that?" He and Seven had socialized with Tom and B'Elanna on multiple occasions. Neither of them had ever expressed any problems with the relationship, and they weren't the types to keep their opinions to themselves.

"The other day, when we joined the crew for an evening at Sandrine's, you were playing pool with Lieutenant Ayala and I was conversing with Naomi Wildman."

"Yes, I remember that."

"Naomi left, and I was alone. I overheard Lieutenant Torres talking to her husband."

"And?"

"I do not believe that Lieutenant Torres approves of our relationship."

Chakotay sat back against the bench and crossed his arms over his chest. "What did B'Elanna say?"

"I am not sure it would be appropriate for me to repeat her words."

He leaned forward, anger bubbling inside him. "What did she say?"

"Her exact words were, 'I can't believe Chakotay is carrying on like this. If he had half a brain in his head instead of lower down, he'd see it's a terrible idea.'"

"She said that to you?!" Chakotay was incensed.

"No, she said it to her husband."

"In earshot?"

"Chakotay, please." She reached out and covered his hands with her own. She had surmised he would react in this manner, which was why she had not mentioned the incident. "Lieutenant Torres said it quietly to Lieutenant Paris. My Borg implants give me superior hearing. I'm sure that in her intoxicated state, Lieutenant Torres was not thinking about that."

Chakotay took a deep breath. Of course Seven was right. B'Elanna had been nothing but cordial to them, and he had no reason to believe that she would make such a statement within earshot of Seven on purpose. Still, it upset him that one of his closest friends would talk this way behind his back.

"It was an offhanded remark," Seven continued, "and one that she thought she was making in private. It was my misfortune that I overheard the statement."

"But it's made you uncomfortable. You let go of my hand when we walked past their building."

Seven removed her hands from his and shrugged, sitting stiffly beside him and not meeting his eyes.

"Seven," Chakotay said, sliding an arm around her shoulders, "I'm sorry you had to hear that. But I don't care what B'Elanna thinks about our relationship. This is between you and me, no one else."

"You don't think it's a terrible idea?" she asked, sounding more vulnerable than usual.

"Of course not. If I did, I wouldn't be here with you right now." He pulled back from her to take her face between his hands. "Okay?"

She nodded, covering one of his hands with her own. He pressed his lips to hers for a quick kiss. "Now, how about some ice cream? There's a great stand not far from here."

She smiled and nodded, slipping her hand into his again. They found the ice cream stand, chose their cones, and continued their walk in the park, their conversation turning to less serious subjects. They observed the other people in the park, commented on their behavior, talked about ideas for their futures. They watched the sunset and then walked back to Seven's apartment.

They stepped inside, and Chakotay pulled Seven into an embrace and kissed her. "I guess I should be going," he said reluctantly.

"No," she replied, grasping his hand as he attempted to pull away. "Please stay."

"Seven," he said, reaching up to caress her cheek, "I don't know if I…"

"According to my research," she said with a small smile, "two months into a relationship is an appropriate time for partners to begin spending the night together." He still hesitated, and she squeezed his hand. "I just would like you to… to hold me while we sleep. Would that be an acceptable activity to you?"

Chakotay grinned and leaned down to kiss her again. "More than acceptable, Seven."

That night, he lay down beside Seven, clad in t-shirt and boxers. He wrapped his arm around her, and she snuggled against his side, laying her head on his shoulder. She looked up at him and he leaned down to kiss her before ordering the computer to turn off the lights. As her breathing slowed and evened out, Chakotay smiled to himself. Seven still had to regenerate, but she could sleep normally a few nights a week and only had to regenerate for a few hours every three or four days. He felt contentedness wash over him as he lay there in the dark with her beside him. It had been years since he'd had a partner to share his life and his bed with.

His mind refused to quiet, however, and he lay in bed for a long time before falling asleep. He was thinking about B'Elanna's comment, about the strange series of twists and turns his life had taken over the past six weeks, and about Kathryn and the gaping hole her absence had left in his life, in spite of his contentedness with Seven. It was several hours before he fell into a light sleep, and then only a few moments before he was slowly roused from it.

"Someone else is here," a voice whispered.

"We'll have to take them both," another voice replied.

Chakotay tensed. There were at least two other people in the room. He realized his phaser was in the living room with his jacket. Slowly, hoping the intruders wouldn't notice, he started to move his feet and arms out from under the blankets, extricating himself from Seven.

"Are you ready?" the first voice said.

"Ready," the second voice replied. Chakotay heard a loud hiss, and he leapt from the bed in the direction of the voices. He made contact with a humanoid form.

"Computer, lights!" he shouted, but the computer did not respond. He started groping around in the dark, trying to find the intruders.

"Hey!" one of the voices shouted. "Look out!"

"Chakotay?" It was Seven's voice now.

"Intruders!" he replied. He heard another loud hiss, and he started to have trouble breathing. "Seven!" he tried to shout, but his throat was constricted. He reached out in the dark, trying to find something to grab onto, but his hands couldn't find purchase. He couldn't breathe, couldn't hear, couldn't see, and a moment later, he collapsed onto the floor, his body hitting the side of the bed. Then, there was nothing.

The gravel crunched beneath her feet as Kathryn walked along the dirt road near the Lake George house. She needed to step away from her computer terminal a few times a day to clear her head, so she frequently walked to the end of the road or went for a swim. The old road was quiet; she could hear the sound of her own footsteps, the chirping of birds, and the occasional buzzing of a bee or fly as it whizzed past. Not for the first time since her return home, she wished for the companionship of her dog, Molly. But Molly was old now, and she and one of her offspring lived with Mark and his family. Kathryn felt it would be unfair to take Molly away, even though Mark had offered. Maybe when all this is over, I'll get a dog, she thought, and then amended, If it's ever over.

She tried to push the thoughts from her mind, and breathed in the clean lake air. It smelled sweet, tinged with the scent of the wild flowers that grew nearby. The road, like the lake, had not changed since Kathryn's childhood. It was the same dirt path that she had played on with her sister and where she had picked blueberries with her grandmother. Everything about the lake house seemed to have stayed the same, and it was comforting to Kathryn to know that somewhere, something in her life remained constant.

She let her mind drift to what she had learned about Garrett's work from Captain Braxton. Garrett admired the Borg and their ability to perform multiple tasks simultaneously, and therefor adapt quickly to whatever situations they encountered. In the other timeline, he had used Borg technology in secret to create drones within Starfleet. Their physical appearance remained unchanged to the casual observer, but their minds were inexorably linked to a collective controlled by Garrett himself. Using modified nanoprobes that he had taken from a dead Borg drone, Garrett had assimilated a group of Starfleet officers against their will. His nanoprobes had rewritten the officers' neural pathways, replacing them with a myo-neural cortical array. Implants that were not visible to the naked eye provided Garrett's drones with enhanced visual and auditory acuity, and drugs developed by one of his doctors provided them with superior physical strength. Without revealing what he had done, Garrett introduced his drones back into the fabric of Starfleet. For his first test subjects, he had wisely chosen men and women who did not have close ties to friends or family. They moved onto their next assignments and performed their tasks well, and no one knew that they were functioning as Garrett's eyes and ears. Garrett's power grew by the day, and he was able to summon more and more officers to his secret operations center, where he linked them to his collective. The results were disastrous for Starfleet and for humanity.

After reading Braxton's encrypted files, Janeway had nearly gone straight to Chakotay and Seven, both to warn them that Seven might be in danger and to ask for their help with a solution. But Garrett's warning loomed in her mind, and she had done nothing. What was the old saying? Damned if you do, damned if you don't? That was how she felt. She shook her head. She would have to come up with a way to stop Garrett alone. She had enough information from Braxton to figure out how to sever one of Garrett's drones from his hive mind, and her simulations to that effect were already showing promise. She had an idea for a type of dampening field that might break the link between Garrett and his drones, and she planned to try a simulation as soon as she returned to the house. Of course, that was assuming that Garrett would use the same methods in this timeline that he had in the other one.

As she turned down the driveway of the Janeway house, Kathryn noticed a hovercar that did not belong to her family. It was a flashy model, purposefully designed to look like a 20th century Earth vehicle. She knew that it could only belong to one person.

"Thank goodness you're here," B'Elanna Torres exclaimed, rounding the corner of the house. "We thought you'd gone somewhere else."

"You're not an easy woman to find, Captain," Tom added, coming up behind his wife.

"Tom, B'Elanna, it's good to see you," Janeway said, and it was the truth. She realized as she saw them standing there how much she'd missed them. "But what are you doing here?"

Tom looked around nervously. "We need to talk to you, Captain. Do you have a few minutes?"

Janeway furrowed her brow. "Of course. Come inside. I'll make a pot of coffee." She ushered Paris and Torres in through the screened porch. "Have a seat," she said, gesturing to the comfortable chairs in the porch. "I'll be right back." She hurried into the kitchen, wondering what could have possibly brought Tom and B'Elanna all the way to Lake George uninvited. She returned to the porch a moment later with a pot of coffee and three cups. "Is everything all right?" she asked. "Is Miral okay?"

"Miral is fine," B'Elanna assured her hastily. "She's with Tom's mother today."

"Then what's wrong?" Janeway asked, handing them each a cup of coffee and sitting down across from them.

Paris looked at his wife and then back to the captain. "It's… well, we were hoping you could help us with something."

"Of course. Anything I can do."

"It's Chakotay and Seven," said B'Elanna.

Janeway pursed her lips. She wasn't going to interfere in the relationship, if that was what B'Elanna was about to ask. But, no, that didn't match the urgency of her tone. "What?"

"They're gone," said Tom.

"What?"

"We were supposed to meet them for a game of hoverball this afternoon. They didn't show. We waited over an hour for them. When we tried to comm them, there was no response. We went to both of their apartments, and they're both empty."

"What do you mean, empty?" Janeway asked.

"Empty," said Torres. "Everything is gone. No furniture, no clothes, no personal items."

"We contacted Starfleet Command. The person we spoke to told us they'd been reassigned."

"Reassigned where?" Janeway asked, starting to feel a dark suspicion forming in her mind.

"We don't have the clearance for that information," Tom replied. "I've been trying to contact my dad all day, but he's in some sort of meeting and can't be disturbed."

Torres was studying Janeway. "You didn't hear anything from them, either, did you?" she asked.

"No," Janeway replied. "And it doesn't sound like Chakotay or Seven to leave without saying a word to any of us." She stood and gestured to Paris and Torres to follow her. "Come on." She led them into the office and accessed her computer terminal. She pulled up Commander Chakotay's file and saw that he had received a new assignment a few days earlier, but there was no further information listed. She input her security clearance and pulled up the assignment details. The assignment was vague, some sort of top secret program. There was a clearance code attached to the assignment, the clearance code of whoever had put it into the system. Janeway's fingers flew over the keys as she traced the code back to its owner. She suspected she knew what she would find, but she wanted confirmation. After a moment, a name popped up on her screen.

"Tom, get Harry and the Doctor. Bring them back here." She paused. "It's time I told you all what's going on."

"Aye, Captain," said Tom, and he was out the door before she could say another word.

Janeway stared at the computer screen, the sinking feeling in her stomach growing worse. Chakotay and Seven had been "reassigned" by Admiral Vince Garrett.

An hour later, Paris, Torres, Kim and the Doctor were all seated around the fireplace in the living room at the Lake George house. Janeway had opened a well-aged bottle of whisky for the occasion and entered the room with the bottle and five glasses. She poured and passed the glasses around. Harry looked at his skeptically.

"Drink up, Harry," said Tom. "I think you're going to need it."

While Tom had been gone, Janeway and Torres had thoroughly checked the property for any surveillance equipment. Janeway had been running regular checks since her arrival and had not found any indication that Garrett was watching her. Still, they set up a dampening field around the house just to be sure.

"Captain, what's going on?" asked the Doctor.

Janeway pursed her lips. "What I am about to tell you does not leave this room. You should know that this information could endanger your lives as well as the lives of much of Voyager's crew. If any of you wishes to leave now, I won't hold it against you."

No one moved. "We're not backing out now, Captain," Harry assured her.

Janeway nodded and surveyed the crew members and friends who were around her. She took a deep breath and began to tell them what had transpired since she had first encountered Admiral Vince Garrett, her discovery of his 'project', his threats if she revealed what she knew to anyone, and, finally, her suspicion that he was behind Chakotay and Seven's disappearance. She did not mention Braxton or the information he had shared with her.

"They weren't really reassigned, were they?" asked Harry. "Admiral Garrett kidnapped them and then altered their personnel records."

"That's what I suspect, Harry."

"From what you say about this Admiral Garrett, it doesn't sound like Seven and Chakotay are very safe," said the Doctor.

"I'm sure they're not," said Janeway. "In fact, I overheard Garrett tell one of his people that Seven was instrumental to his plan. I don't know how he plans to use her, but I can only assume it won't be good for her health."

The Doctor stood. "We have to save them."

"Yes," said Janeway. "I agree."

"But we don't know where Garrett has taken them," said Paris.

"I think I have a pretty good idea," said Janeway.

"How?" Torres asked.

Janeway shook her head. "I can't tell you that. All I can tell you is that I received the information from a credible source."

B'Elanna crossed her arms over her chest. "Where are they?"

"Admiral Garrett has a secret base of operations near the Federation border."

"And you know where it is?" Tom asked.

"I know how to find it," Janeway replied.

"All right," said Tom. "When do we leave?"

"That's going to depend on you, Tom. Do you think you can get your hands on a ship?"

"Me?" Paris asked.

"I can't be involved, not officially. We found no evidence that Garrett is watching this house. I think he truly believes that I'm living in isolation here, and that his threats worked." She paused. "For a while, they did work. I should never have listened to him. I should have warned Chakotay and Seven immediately."

"If you had, Chakotay and I might be in a Cardassian prison right now, and Garrett would still have Seven," B'Elanna pointed out.

"But you are coming with us, Captain, aren't you?" Harry asked.

She nodded. "Of course. But no one outside of this room can know that. For all intents and purposes, it must appear that I'm still in seclusion here at Lake George. As I said, I don't think that Garrett is watching me too closely. He's confident that he has the upper hand, maybe too confident. We can use that. But if I return from my leave of absence, even quietly, and take out a ship, I'm sure it will get back to him. He has no idea we're coming; we want to keep it that way."

"All right," said Tom. "So I find a way to get my hands on a ship that we can use. We beam you up and head off to Garrett's secret base of operations to rescue Chakotay and Seven?"

"For a rescue operation, that leaves a lot to be desired," the Doctor quipped.

"We'll figure out the details during our journey," said Janeway. "I've been working on a way to stop Garrett from turning people into drones. I'll share all of it with you en route. Also, Tuvok sent me a message that his treatment is nearly complete. I think we can use his expertise on this."

"We can stop by Vulcan and pick him up," Kim said.

"We're going to have to ask the Parises to take care of Miral," said B'Elanna. "I don't know how we can keep that a secret."

"It's okay," said Tom. "I've got a solution that should take care of that and get us a ship."

B'Elanna looked at her husband and raised an eyebrow, then looked back at Janeway with a shrug.

Janeway looked around at all of them. "I was hoping not to involve any of you in this," she admitted. "It's a risky mission."

"Well worth the risk," said Harry, "to save Seven and the commander."

"We're with you, Captain," said the Doctor. "You don't have to do this alone."

Janeway lowered her gaze. "Thank you."

Tom raised his glass. "Here's to family," he said softly, "and all being together again soon."

Janeway looked up, and five glasses clinked together. "To family."