Christening

Notice: Thanks to all of you who wrote me reviews! I really appreciate it. I hope you all will see some improvement in this chapter.

Sorry it's taken so long to update. My brain works kinda slowly sometimes. I have introduced a a couple of new characters... well, not new, just haven't written their character before... anyways, I hope you all like the way I wrote them. Please let me know what you think. This is my first fanfic and I need all the help I can get!

Disclaimer: Paramount owns Star Trek: Voyager and all characters, names, titles, etc. used in the following short story. In other words, this story is worth less than the memory it takes up because the cool stuff isn't mine.

Chapter Two: Interruption

Seven of Nine stared transfixed at the Cryton Nebula for a moment. Her ocular implant whirred as she calculated the position and labeled each stellar phenomenon. The moment her scans were complete, she began to enter the positions and statistics manually from the consol. The Astrometrics lab would have been able to find the phenomenon for her to label and examine, but she found it more efficient to use her Borg knowledge to expedite the process. Of course, she never told anyone the secret to her amazing powers of analysis. The lab gave her all the sensor statistics she needed, and her memories from the collective supplied the rest. She remembered with a sense of melancholy satisfaction that she was a unique individual for her humanity, but much more so for her Borg background.

Names and numbers whizzed by as she copied her analysis into the ship's computer. She paused briefly each time she found something remotely curious. Two new stars were forming in the center of the nebula. Corona, gravity wells, gas pockets… a bright orb in the outer nebula caught her eye. She checked the coordinates of the mysterious light. Not in the nebula, but beyond it she thought, cursing the limited scope of a two dimensional screen. She changed the view. The orb spun around. It's distance from the nebula measured about 25 light years according to Seven's ocular implant.

Uncharacteristically curious, Seven commanded "Computer, magnify sector 457 Beta."

The view zoomed rapidly in on the large luminescent disc. What came into focus did not make any sense to Seven of Nine. A whirlpool galaxy sat spinning tranquilly before her eyes. Her ocular implant whirred furiously, but all queries for information on this spatial formation came up negative. Seven raised one eyebrow slightly. Truly undiscovered territory, very curious… she thought. She tapped her com badge "Ensign Kim to the Astrometrics Lab immediately," she said smoothly.

A beep preceded a most irregular reply. "Be there in a minute, Seven," Harry's voiced said, "I've got a bit of a situation on my hands in Holodeck Two."





B'Elanna struggled slightly as she pulled on her uniform. The maternity shirt fit modestly over her swollen abdomen. Though bending over was difficult, she threw on a pair of black maternity slacks and thick, heeled boots. She affixed her communicator on the left hand side of her chest, about two inches from her sternum and two inches below her collar bone. The Starfleet insignia blazed silver and gold over the black uniform. She remembered for a moment how, once upon a time, she'd despised this symbol. Now it stood for her link to a network of close knit brothers and sisters, a family of travelers and explorers whose fates were inescapably intertwined. She hoped she would make it back to the Alpha Quadrant and be able to prove her unswerving loyalty to the Federation.

A beep on her communicator broke into her uncharacteristic musings. "Doctor to Lieutenant Torres."

"Go ahead," she replied absently, gathering her tricorder and tool kit.

"I'm afraid there are some rather serious programming errors on Holodeck Two that need repair again. I'd do it myself, but there are injuries this time. Your immediate assistance is required. Oh, and you may want a parka."

A slight adrenaline shock ran through her system. "I'll be there right away," she said, "Torres out." She sighed in exasperation. When would Harry ever learn to lock his holodeck programs and leave the safeties on? Maybe this new fiasco would teach him a badly needed lesson.

B'Elanna grabbed her thermal jacket and all but jogged out the door, then down the corridor to the turbo lift. Choruses of "Good morning, Lieutenant," met her as she entered the small space. She exited some decks below and turned an immediate left. Holodeck Two's doors opened on cue as she walked in. Donning her jacket, she scrambled past holographic onlookers and found the doctor and Harry Kim attending to a few crewmen at the bottom of the ski lift. "Doctor, report," she ordered.

"Three crewmen have been injured. I turned the safeties back on before I came, but I was too late for Morrison, Lakewood, and Wang. Unfortunately, some self styled prankster turned the ski lift up to ten kilometers per hour, and I haven't had a minute to reprogram the matrix."

"I'm on it."



Chakotay arrived at the Captain's quarters at precisely o'seven hundred thirty hours. He pressed the call button at the right side of the door and waited for a reply from inside.

"Just a minute!" Kathryn called from inside as she set the slightly burned quiche onto the glass top table. She threw the pot holders into her closet, posed herself in front of the main door, and smoothed her hair before saying "Come in."

The hydraulic doors opened with a ceremonious woosh, and Chakotay stepped into the Captain's quarters. Table settings shone and the red Vulcan tulips glowed in the bright morning cabin lights. Most remarkable to Chakotay was Kathryn, dressed in a bright green sleeveless turtleneck sweater with black pants. Her short red hair was curled smartly under. A small Celtic cross pendant on a silver chain hung right next her com-badge. "Good morning," he said, looking straight into her green eyes.

"Good morning," she replied, returning the steady gaze for a moment, then turning away and indicating the chair nearest the door. "Please, sit down."

"Today's special," she continued as they walked toward the table and took their seats, "is quiche-a-la-replicator, my secret recipe." A smile and wink emphasized her sarcasm and Chakotay chuckled.

"It looks great, Kathryn," he said.

"Please help yourself, Chakotay," she returned, smiling and lifting the pan to pass it across the table. Their hands touched lightly as he reached for the quiche and their cheeks brightened slightly.

"Thanks, don't mind if I do," a familiar voice replied to Kathryn's left.

The Captain started. They both let go and the dish landed with a smack in the middle of the table, crushing the precious Vulcan tulips and throwing quiche everywhere. Chakotay muttered "What the…" under his breath as he turned to his right to identify the intruder. Both the First Officer and the Captain gaped at what they saw. Chakotay tapped his combadge on instinct.



Lieutenant Paris exited the turbo lift at a jog. Lieutenant Commander Tuvok turned, locked eyes with the tardy officer, and raised one eyebrow.

"Sorry I'm late," Tom apologized as he took the helm.

"You apology is noted," Tuvok acknowledged in his dry, Vulcan way, "Please commence the morning sensor sweep."

Tom's hands flew over the consol in front of him. He ran a scan and, after several minutes it completed with one satisfactory beep. "Nothing out of the ordinary on sensors," he reported routinely.

"Very good, Lieutenant," Tuvok replied, "Continue on our present course, warp 6."

"Aye sir," Tom sat back slightly and gazed out of the view screen. Blurred lines of light came and went in a varied pattern that he knew well. I hate it when I'm late on Tuvok's morning command, he thought, he always thinks I'm lazy. Good thing Vulcan's don't have emotions, otherwise he might be mad.

His thoughts were interrupted by Chakotay's voice over the bridge com. "Intruder alert. Security to…" but he was cut off in the middle of his message. Tom swiveled in his chair to look at Tuvok.

"Computer, locate Commander Chakotay." Not even a hint of nerves disturbed Tuvok's even-toned inquiry.

"Unable to comply. Internal sensors are offline," the computer chortled obediently.

"Lieutenant Paris?" Tuvok asked.

Tom was way ahead of him. His hands flew over the panel again. "Still nothing on censors. Maybe a cloaked ship?"

"Perhaps," Tuvok replied, "Continue scanning the area. Alert me if there are any changes." The Vulcan officer tapped his com badge, "Tuvok to Security, intruder alert. Meet in Engineering for a shipwide search."





The Doctor hastily repaired Ensign Lakewood's ankle. His bedside manner subroutines generated calming phrases which he uttered with practiced enthusiasm. "You're going to be just fine, Ensign," he said as his medical tricorder confirmed the regeneration of the ankle tendon.

"Thanks, doc," she murmured as he helped her up from the snow.

"My pleasure. Your tardiness for you duty shift has already been excused in the ship's log. Have a great day and remember not to ski without the safeties again!"

Ensign Lakewood walked away, only a slight favoring of her healed ankle showing in her stride. She shuffled past Lieutenant Torres who was mucking around in the matrix circuitry and walked out of the holodeck doors. The Doctor, his emergency duties now complete, checked his internal chronometer. Only o'seven hundred forty-five hours. His first appointment was with Lieutenant Torres herself at o'nine hundred. He decided to check in on her progress. Walking in Ensign Lakewood's snowy footprints, he made his way to the Chief Engineer's side.

"How's it coming, Lieutenant?" he asked tentatively. Now that he was here he could see how involved she was in her work. Maybe it was best to leave her alone.

To his surprise, the Lieutenant responded in a civil manner. "Not bad at all, actually. I set the ski lift back to the regular 5 kph. I'm working on locking the program now."

He watched her work for another moment, her hands and eyes working simultaneously on the panel before her. The humanoid mind and body interaction never ceased to amaze him. He never could understand how humans were capable of such intelligent and complex thought without subroutines, algorithms, and programming. What's more, they possessed the ability to implement those ideas in reality. Fascinating.

A slight tremor in her hands caught his eye. Her pinky and ring finger shook slightly as she shut the panel door. "Lieutenant, are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine, Doctor. Please, it's nothing," she insisted as the doctor held out a hand to escort her out the door, "I can handle it. I just want to know how my baby is doing. I'll meet you in sickbay at o'nine hundred."

"Alright, but be prepared to receive some nutritional supplement hypos again. Both you and your baby need proper sustenance in order to be healthy and strong," the doctor's caring broke through to his face in a concerned smile.

The Lieutenant returned his smile, "Thanks, Doctor," she said. Picking up her tools, she exited the holodeck, turned right, and was gone.

Simply fascinating, the doctor thought. "Computer, end program Kim107 and transfer Emergency Medical Hologram to sickbay."



"Chakotay to the bridge… can anybody hear me?"

"I'm sorry about your little toy, Chakotay, but those don't work when I'm around. I'd thought you'd have known that by now." A smug smile swept across Q's face. He always loved making grand entrances. "Hello, Kathryn," he said, reaching over the table for her hand, "lovely to see you, as always."

"Q!" Janeway scolded, pulling her hand away, "I thought I told you to stop dropping in like this. What is it this time? I'm sorry, but I have to insist up front that I won't do any more babysitting."

"Don't be ridiculous, Kathy. I came to help you. You're very near to a barbaric, backward world. I wanted to help you avoid it and possibly even speed you along your journey."

The Captain's eyes narrowed slightly, staring shrewdly at the omnipotent being before her. "In exchange for what?" she asked finally, her gaze ever steady.

Q's eyes glanced quickly at Chakotay before returning to the Captain's. "Get rid of this bum and come back to the Continuum with me. Married life is so lonely. To be honest, ever since I came up with the idea to let you have my child, marriage has not been able to satisfy my fantasy. I'll take you all the way back to the Alpha Quadrant if you do this for me. Please Kathy I'm desperate." By then he was kneeling before her. He pressed his head against her lap and she winced with the touch. She tried to pry his hands from around her thighs, but to no avail.

Chakotay stood and dashed around the table. "Let go of her," he shouted. Grabbing Q, he lifted him off of the Captain and pinned him against the wall. "If you touch her again, I will make you wish you'd never left the Continuum in your sorry eternity."

Q's smug smile was undaunted. "Ah, ah, ah… omnipotent being, remember? Don't force me to do something I'd regret."

Chakotay's head reeled with anger, "Go ahead and try it…".

"If you insist," Q said. He snapped his fingers.