The Return
"REPORT!" Naomi yelled over the alarms sounding over the bridge.
"We have been thrown out of Transwarp space" Icheb said. "I believe there was an unpredictable failure, and the computer simply disengaged the drive from the main systems" he added.
"Where are we?" Naomi asked.
"Checking…" Mezoti was at Tactical as always, and she called up the star charts as Icheb and the twins worked on compiling a damage report. "We are inside Cardassian space" she said after a few moments.
"Damage report" Azan said. "We have hull breaches on most decks, but forcefields are in place at most locations. The outer hull has partially collapsed in seven places on Decks 3 through 7, Active sensors are down, Transwarp is offline, life support is damaged, holographic systems are down, main power is offline…" the boy stopped as he knew a full list would take hours to report. "Warp power is failing, but we can get Warp 3 for five minutes precisely" he added.
"I'll take that" Naomi said. "Computer, lay in a course heading of 132 mark 332 and engage at Warp 3" and Voyager groaned as she turned slowly round and leapt to Warp speed. The entire time it felt like it was breaking apart at the seams, and Naomi wondered if she should order everyone to Abandon Ship.
"I am detecting a vessel nearby" Rebi said. "I believe it is moving to intercept us" he added.
"What? Here? Can you identify?" Naomi asked.
"Not at the range and with passive sensors only" Rebi said.
"Time to intercept?" Naomi asked.
"One minute"
"Time to federation border?"
"Thirteen minutes"
"What do we have that actually works on this ship?" asked Naomi. She was running through every possible situation in her mind.
"Not much" replied Icheb. "But we do have one Borg disruptor beam still in operation, although it is only at 28% power" he added.
"Azan, cut all power except to the engines, our only weapon, bridge consoles and the lights. I think we can go without everything else for a while" Naomi made a quick decision based on the facts she had at hand.
"You hope that our reduced power use will extend the life of ourselves at warp" Mezoti said to her best friend.
"Every second we can last at warp will get us closer to the Federation" Naomi nodded.
"I have managed to gain another minute of warp travel" said Azan, "But we will be on battery power only until we can get assistance from a Federation starship" he added.
"Vessel coming into firmer contact range" Rebi called out from the helm. "It is a vessel unfamiliar to me. I am running it through the computer" and there was a pause which was filled only with the moans and groans as the mighty ship attempted to make it over the border and into federation space.
"Do you have an identification?" asked Icheb after a moment too long.
"Affirmitive" Rebi called. "The computer identifies as a Jem'Hadar Battleship" and Naomi went cold as she realised that they were the Federation's, Klingons', Romulans' and just about every other race in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants enemies.
"Maintain course and speed" she ordered. "Standby to drop out of warp. Power up the Borg disruptor" and the lights on the bridge dimmed so that the consoles seemed brighter then normal.
"It was the only way to keep our velocity going as long as possible" Azan offered as an explanation.
"Distance of the Jem'Hadar vessel?" asked Naomi.
"30,000 kilometres off our stern" Mezoti said. Naomi looked at the read out of her console at Science, and suddenly came up with a plan.
"Mezoti, target the disruptor on the warp engines of the ship and prepare to fire. Rebi, I want you to take us out of warp on my signal" the girl ordered.
"May I ask what you plan to do?" asked Icheb.
"We are going to slam on the brakes and let them fly right past us" Naomi explained. "And when they fly right over and past us, we…"
"…open fire with the disruptor" finished Icheb. The former drone was greatly impressed with the tactic devised by his young friend.
"Target located and locked" Mezoti said.
"Distance now 25,000 kilometres" Azan said.
"ALL STOP!" Naomi said, and she was thrown from her seat as Rebi dumped the warp speed and brought the ship to a jarring halt. It shook a second time as the Jem'Hadar vessel skimmed the dorsal hull of Voyager and passed over and by them.
"I have a shot" Mezoti said.
"Reconfirm targeting and fire!" Naomi yelled as she regained her seat once more. Mezoti verified the targeting, and fired the single working weapon on the ship. It blasted through the shields of the battleship, tore into the starboard nacelle and caused huge explosions in the enemy ship which brought it out of all stability. The green beam shot forth from the Starfleet vessel several times until it hit an Anti-Matter tank and blew the entire ship to pieces.
"Target destroyed" said Mezoti.
"Naomi Wildman" Icheb intoned solemnly, "I regret to inform you that we now have no weapons, our warp drive is completely inoperable and the best we can manage is half impulse" and he seemed rather apologetic.
"What is the condition of the ship?" asked Mezoti.
"Did I not just say such?" Icheb sounded a little confused.
"I think she meant about the actual structure of the vessel" Rebi said.
"I believe Mr Paris would have said that things were terribly in the shi…"
'Atmospheric loss has been detected on Decks 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9 and 11. Recommend evacuation of these decks' voiced the computer.
"Do we have communications?" asked Naomi. "We have to let Starfleet know where we are, and what are situation is. We've done a good job, but this is more then what we can handle" she said.
"I think long range communications are online" Azan said, "However I maybe experiencing false display readings" he added.
"Record the following message, and then transmit on all Starfleet emergency frequencies" Naomi said.
"Ready" said Azan after a moment.
"MADAY! MAYDAY! MAYDAY! This is the Federation Starfleet vessel USS Voyager returned from the Delta Quadrant and under my command. We are severely crippled and almost uncontrollable. We are badly damaged, several decks have been demolished and request immediate assistance and rescue. Our coordinates are 4159.26 by 81921 by 312. Our heading is 212 mark 35. Our hopeful destination is Deep Space Nine. I repeat: This is the federation starship USS Voyager to any Starfleet personnel. We have returned from the Delta Quadrant and are in need of urgent basic support and medical assistance. Voyager out" Naomi indicated to Azan who sent the message out. "Best speed for Deep Space Nine, Rebi" she asked.
"I will attempt to comply" said the boy. He managed to get the badly wounded ship crawling towards what they thought was safety. "Estimate Deep Space Nine in three weeks" he said.
"Lets hope they can get to us a lot sooner then it takes for us to get there" Naomi said. "Azan, get me a view of the hull please. Doesn't matter where, I just want to take a look" and the viewscreen flickered to a kind of static filled screen and showed the hull.
"What the hell…?" Naomi smiled at Mezoti's offering. Nearly all of the outer hull had been torn off from midships on the dorsal section, cabins, corridors and compartments could be seen through the huge gaping holes in the vessel, and everyone could see the Oxygen escaping from the ship like blood from a dying animal.
"We are not going to make it" said Rebi as he sat at the helm.
"We'll try our best, and then we'll abandon ship and use the shuttles – assuming we can get to them" Naomi added. Power down everything except the bridge consoles, engines and life support. Keep communications online as well. The same goes for sensors. I want to have some idea as to what is going on outside" and she and her friends hurried to shut down and save as much power as was possible. It was fortunate that they had taken the precaution of storing rations and their old sleeping bags in the ready room should they all need to be in the one location. A few medkits also had been placed in the room because they feared being caught without the Doctor – much like the crisis now.
# # # # #
USS Enterprise
Patrolling near the Biranu Sector
"You can not be serious, Admiral!" Picard said.
"I am, Captain" replied Admiral Hayes. The man on Picard's screen nodded off screen and he looked back at Picard. "We're sending you the transmission now, but that is all we have. Do what you have to in order to save those survivors" Hayes said. "An SCE vessel will meet up with you as you head to the system. Hayes out" and the Admiral vanished from the screen. Picard sat and sipped his tea and thought for a long moment before heading out to the bridge – a hive of activity.
"Ensign Winton, lay in a course for the Pythia system – warp 9" he ordered, and the Enterprise swung round and hurtled through the stars. "All senior officers report to the bridge. Lieutenant McKnight, you have the bridge" and with that Picard went to the conference room to await his senior staff.
#
"Is Starfleet sure about this?" asked Beverley Crusher, one of Picard's closest friends.
"Very" Picard replied. "Computer, playback the recording of Voyager's transmission" and the computer chimed before playing Naomi's voice.
'MADAY! MAYDAY! MAYDAY! This is the Federation Starfleet vessel USS Voyager returned from the Delta Quadrant and under my command. We are severely crippled and almost uncontrollable. We are badly damaged, several decks have been demolished and request immediate assistance and rescue. Our coordinates are 4159.26 by 81921 by 312. Our heading is 212 mark 35. Our hopeful destination is Deep Space Nine. I repeat: This is the federation starship USS Voyager to any Starfleet personnel. We have returned from the Delta Quadrant and are in need of urgent basic support and medical assistance. Voyager out'
"Do we know who sent the call?" asked Riker.
"Starfleet does not have a voice file that matches" Picard said. "However, it could be a member of the Marquis that Captain Janeway took aboard. Regardless of the situation, they are in need of desperate help. Their coordinates put them inside Dominion controlled space, and this was sent at least two weeks ago. If they got to Deep Space Nine, then they would have found the Dominion waiting there for them. They may have seen them and gone silent, and headed out of the system – the reason we are dropping out so far from Bajoran space. Beverley, I want all of your sickbays ready to receive heavy casualties" Picard ordered his crew to be ready to lend any and all assistance to Voyager's crew.
#
It had been just over three weeks since their dramatic arrival to the Alpha Quadrant, and it had showed on the group. Clothes hung loosely on them, and each of them had taken to sleeping when not taking a turn manning the bridge. They had managed to get within Bajoran space before picking up all the Dominion fleet at Deep Space Nine, and they had turned away and headed out the system – but putting the sun behind them so that the shadow of the Bajoran sun would shield them from sensors for a while.
'Vess… proac… nabl… tify' said the computer. It had been steadily failing for the previous week, and there was no possible way that any of them could go down and repair the computer core.
"Anybody care to guess what it just said?" Naomi asked as she roused herself from her sleeping bag.
"I believe the computer was attempting to alert us to two incoming ships" Icheb called from the bridge.
"Dominion ships?" asked Naomi.
"I can not tell" replied Icheb. "Sensor resolution has fallen another 26%" he added. Naomi knew this was it, and she shook Mezoti and the twins awake. The four of them headed out into the bridge and assumed their stations for what they thought would be the final time. Naomi verified that the Auto Destruct was still working, and then looked at the barely functional display. The damage to the rest of the ship had hit the bridge, hard, and broken panel, bits of cabling, pipes and circuitry littered the deck. The group had given up hope of fixing it, and so had let the vessel slowly die.
"Do you want me to evade?" asked Rebi, seating himself at helm.
"No point" said Naomi. "We're not going anywhere, but perhaps we can take them with us. I want you to ram them, Rebi" and there was a hushed silence on the bridge.
"Understood" he said simply.
"We are being boarded" Azan said, and several beams of light appeared on the bridge. Naomi was about to hit the button to blow up the remains of Voyager when she noticed them forming into Starfleet officers. She recognised them as mostly from the Enterprise. The arrivals sniffed the air and could both smell and taste the stale air. it had been like that for a couple of days since life support had gone to the rapidly drained batteries.
"I am Commander Riker of the starship Enterprise" Riker said. "Where are the crew?" he asked as he looked at the group occupying the bridge.
"They are all dead" said Mezoti simply. Riker's hand went down to his phaser, and Naomi put herself between them smoothly.
"When did this happen?" he asked.
"A little over two years ago" Azan said. "There was a virus transported onboard this ship which killed the crew. Only ourselves and the holographic Doctor survived" he said in a crisp tone.
"I suppose you are in charge" Riker asked Icheb.
"No, that would be my Captain" Icheb replied.
"Captain Janeway?" Riker was confused. "I thought you said she was dead" and Naomi couldn't help but smile at the confusion in the man's face.
"I suppose introductions are in order" she said. "That is Icheb, the other two boys are twins named Azan and Rebi and the girl is Mezoti. Oh, and my name is Naomi Wildman. I am laughably called Captain of this mess. Welcome aboard the starship Voyager" Naomi watched as that information appeared to go through Riker's mind.
"I would like to get these children to Sickbay" said the Doctor among them. She had been using her tricorder to scan each of them. "They need urgent medical attention. I'll have Troi speak to them as well" and Riker nodded at her.
"I'll start getting a survey done on the ship, and see if it is capable of being towed to the nearest Starbase" he said. "It might just be that Starfleet orders us to get anything of use and then scuttle the ship" and the children gathered in the middle of the bridge. Just as they beamed off Voyager, Naomi turned to Riker.
"You have the bridge, Commander" and then she was whisked away.
#
"Well you are all done now" said Crusher. She had given each of them a bowl of soup, some tea and then sent them to use the sonic shower in their temporary quarters on the Enterprise. She was amazed at the level of health they had kept up despite being on their own for over 2 years. The last few weeks though had taken their toll on Naomi as her friends had been eating as little as possible so that she could not be hungry.
"Should I go to my quar… where are they taking my friends?" asked Naomi. She saw them being led out of Sickbay by a squad of security officers.
"Starfleet has ordered them escorted" Crusher said. "A lot of people lost family and friends at both Wolf 359 and the fight in Earth orbit" and Naomi's forehead wrinkled as she thought about it.
"Can I speak to Captain Picard now?" she asked.
"He is very busy to speak to you right now, but I am sure he will get round to speaking to you soon" said the Doctor. "You may go now" she added, and Naomi hopped off the biobed and left Sickbay. Deciding to cut out the wait, she asked directions to the nearest turbolift and went to see Picard.
#
"Come!" and Naomi entered Picard's ready room with the bridge crew all looking at her. "Is there something I can do?" asked the Captain. He was surprised that a child had entered the bridge, but he sensed something mature about this girl.
"Captain Picard, I was wondering you could tell me the latest news about Voyager. When we left, we were on the point of breaking up" Naomi said.
"It is amazing how it is still flyable" Picard said. "According to the engineering staff, they should be able to make the ship safe to travel at low warp in a few days time. The main thing is to get all of the data out of the computers for safety. The only problem is that the computer is not recognising any of the work crew's codes" and Naomi nodded in understanding.
"I encrypted the computers in case we were taken over by the Dominion. If the Auto Destruct had not worked, then I wasn't going to give them the ship without a fight. I'll beam over and release computer control" the girl said.
"Before you do, Miss Wildman, I would like to know what happened to you after you was put in charge of Voyager" Picard said, and got the girl a drink from the replicator.
"I did make a report during our trip through transwarp space" Naomi said calmly, and Picard nearly spat his tea out at the casual mention of the lair of the Borg. "Oh you better warn your people that there's a Borg Transwarp Drive installed in engineering – might want to be careful around it" Naomi added.
"I'll tell them in a little while" replied Picard. "Perhaps you would like to visit the former drones in their quarters? I shall inform security you may have a ten minute visit, and then we'll arrange some counselling sessions for you" but Naomi shook her head.
"I can vouch for them, Captain Picard. I have known them for over 4 years now, and I would trust them with my life. If I had had any problems with them, I would have left them on a planet or confined them to quarters" Naomi finished her milkshake and looked at Picard with eyes far older then her years. "If you do not set them free, then I won't release the computer" and she sat back and folded her arms in wait.
"Your friends will be set free, and they will be allowed almost total access over the ship, but they will have an escort because of the ill feelings of some of the crew" Picard wondered why he felt so frightened of a 12 year old girl when he had faced the Borg.
"Okay…" Naomi was halfway to the door when she turned back. "Exactly what is going to happen to Voyager? And please be honest" she requested.
"From the reports I have read already, I believe that the ship will be decommissioned and scrapped" Picard replied honestly.
"WHAT?" Naomi shouted so loud, the bridge crew was thinking of coming to their Captain's aid. "You can't do that" she said with a look of fury on her face she had once seen B'Lanna Torres do. "Voyager is the only place I have ever called home" and with that she left the ready room. Picard thought long and hard about what had been said. He thought his reaction would be the same if someone told him that the Enterprise was going to be cut up for scrap.
#
"At least there was always somebody on duty on Voyager…" Naomi muttered. She worked the console for a few moments and then stepped on the pad to beam over.
"What are you doing here?" asked a technician as Naomi materialised.
"I'm here to unlock the computer for downloading to the Enterprise" Naomi said, and went to the rear bridge consoles. They had cleaned up the bridge somewhat, and the hanging pipes and wires had been secured to what remained of the ceiling. The debris had been piled to one side, but it seemed as if they had not managed to close the doors as she could see into both the ready room and the conference room. "Computer, request unlocking of library computer"
'Wequairst ore throw is heytion kode' the computer had been patched, Naomi figured, but speech had not been a high point of the repair lists.
"Authorisation code Flotter T Water the Third" and the other bridge consoles flickered to life.
'Kurlearence grar tid' the computer replied.
"What do you think you are doing?" asked Riker from the turbolift.
"Captain Picard asked me to beam over and unlock the computers so you could begin downloading the information" Naomi said, then she looked back at the technician. "Reenergise the uptronic data link" she told him. The man was surprised to hear such technical knowledge coming from a young girl, but did so which solved the computer's voice issues.
"I think you should go back to the Enterprise now" said Riker.
"I think otherwise" Naomi said, and at that moment her friends beamed over with more engineering personnel.
"Well I am in charge here, and I am ordering you to return to the ship" Riker said.
"I believe that Naomi is in charge of this ship" Icheb said calmly.
"I don't have time for this" Riker muttered, and grabbed Naomi by the wrist and pulled her away from the console.
"Release her at once!" said Mezoti – voice echoing in the nearly silent bridge. Riker was surprised by the tone to let go, and Naomi rubbed her aching wrist and then saw her bracelet was broken – a gift from Icheb several days before they had arrived at the wormhole.
"I heard that there was some commotion" a deep voice boomed. Worf – the only Klingon serving in Starfleet – was standing with one hand on his phaser.
"Commander Riker physically assaulted me" Naomi said. "Arrest him" she added.
"I think they need those sessions with Troi, Worf" Riker said. "She thinks she is in charge, and so do her friends" and Naomi shook her head.
"I warned you" she told him "Computer, who am I?" she asked.
'Naomi Wildman'
"Who is the current commanding officer of the USS Voyager?"
'Captain Naomi Wildman' the computer replied. Azan and Rebi shared knowing looks, Mezoti grinned at what was to come whilst Icheb was hard pressed to not break into a smile himself.
"Commander Worf, I want you to place Commander Riker under arrest for assault of a minor, incitement to mutiny, attempted mutiny, assault of a superior officer…" Naomi looked down at her broken bracelet. "… and wilful destruction of federation property. Take him back to the Enterprise, place him in the brig and then report what has happened to Captain Picard. I shall speak to him in ten minutes – dismiss" and with that she turned and walked back to the amazed technician and started speaking to him about the damage to Voyager.
#
Word had spread about Voyager's return from the Delta Quadrant, and a number of starships had arrived to help shepherd it back to the federation fleet. It had taken four days at Warp 1 to reach the Starbase, and although the group was physically and mentally exhausted, they stood on the bridge as an experienced crew slid the ship into a parking position around the Starbase. There was the issue of a nearly twelve year old girl commanding a starship – albeit a badly smashed up on – but Naomi had solved it by ordering the course to Starbase 375 and then turning over the ship to the senior engineer from the Da Vinci. Crusher had the group on a couple of hyposprays a day because of the wasted muscles and below normal weight from eating just emergency rations for four weeks. The newly restored EMH was taking good care of them as the five had wanted their own Doctor when it could be helped. This had been granted as it was then made part of their rehabilitation program. Naomi's father had been located, and he was being shipped to the base aboard a brand new Defiant class vessel at that very moment.
"We have arrived" said the officer at helm.
"Hail the Starbase" ordered Naomi.
"They're responding" said the Ensign. "On screen" and the partially repaired main viewscreen flickered, died and then came to life.
"Admiral Ross, This is the Starship Voyager returning under my charge. Mission complete" Naomi said, standing at parade attention like she had seen Tuvok and several of the other Vulcans do. The crew as a whole had done it, but Naomi had always been in awe of the Vulcans in their preciseness.
"Understood, Captain Wildman. Report to my office at 17:30 this evening"
"Aye, Admiral. Voyager out" and the screen went dark again. "I want full reports sent to the station" Naomi said. "I'll be returning to the Enterprise" and the crew stood respectfully as Naomi was beamed off the bridge. It was the least they could have done for the girl whom had helmed Voyager home after facing so many odds. The engineering crews set to work shoring up the damage until a decision could be made about the ship's future. Scuttlebutt had it that it was to be decommissioned and scrapped – the damage being too great. Even though it was a temporary assignment for them, the men and women felt it was not a fitting fate for the ship that had rightfully earned a place alongside James Kirk's Enterprise-A, Hikaru Sulu's Excelsior and other ships given an honourable retirement in the Fleet Museum. However, if Starfleet ordered the Voyager to be cut up and her parts reused, then that is what they would have to do.
A/N:
Just face it – I AM A FANFICTION LEGEND! Another exciting chapter of the story that has been long overdue in being updated.
Next chapter we'll be dealing with the debriefings, the meeting between Naomi and her father, what is going to happen to the former drones and the EMH plus the fate of Voyager. Well after a small incident on the way to Earth that is…
Now I have to admit to a little moving around of the universe, and mention that the coordinates Naomi gives are actually for the planet Bynus in the Beta Magellen system – simply because it was the only position described fully which was in the Alpha Quadrant.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and can't wait to see what you think of it.
Regards
Pixel