Letters Home

Voyager has been in the Delta Quadrant for just over ten years now. They have been in contact with Starfleet via Pathfinder for four years, thanks to Reg Barclay. These are the letters members of the senior staff wrote to their families.

Usual disclaimers apply; I just can't be bothered writing one at the moment.

Dear Mom,

Wow. I've been captain of Voyager for over ten years. It's amazing, but scary at the same time. It is times like these that I'm glad I didn't condemn Chakotay to the brig at the beginning of our journey. I wouldn't be able to last a day without him any more, especially with our growing crew.

The day I realised I love him was one I'll never forget; it's an event I hope I'll have the chance to tell my children, grandchildren, and even great grandchildren, should I have the opportunity. I remember like it was yesterday, but of course, it wasn't.

We had been in the Delta Quadrant for seven years, and the Borg had annoyed me one last time. And, to add to my stress, we were visited by Admiral Janeway, my future self from an alternate timeline. I'll just say that she and I made a plan, and her timeline was destroyed, but so were the Borg. The whole ship watched through viewports, on viewscreens or just on their monitors, as a Borg transwarp hub was destroyed, taking the Queen with it.

As I stood, in the middle of my bridge, it dawned on me. Admiral Janeway had said she had only one regret. She told me to treasure my time on Voyager, and to let Kathryn out more; that the Captain's mask should only be in place during diplomatic missions, not when interacting with my own family.

Suffice to say, I took her advice. I let Kathryn out for the first time in a fair few years. One year later, I was married. Our wedding was beautiful, in the holodeck, but perfectly planned and executed. Chakotay and I have never been happier, and the crew feel like they have parents on board; parents that only fight when it really matters.

Have I told you yet? You have two beautiful granddaughters. Taya Elizabeth and Kimberley Hope Janeway are now 18 months old. I know you probably can't believe it; I could hardly believe it when the Doctor told me I was pregnant, with twins, at my age!

But Taya and Kimmy have settled in well on Voyager, they are growing nicely, walking, very close to talking, and toilet training… well, I suppose that comes with age. At least they have lots of friends, having grown up mainly with the Paris children, Miral, Imogen and Ryan, and Harry Kim's little boy James, along with every other child on the ship.

I can't believe how much my crew have adapted and adjusted to their new lives over the last ten years. I mean, now it's when we get home, not if, like it was when we started.

But the crew have grown, not just together as friends, but as a family. Many of the crew have paired off, that much is evident. Tom Paris, Owen's youngest, is married to a half-Klingon… and has never been happier. He is even determined to name his next son after the admiral, and somehow incorporate B'Elanna's family name, Torres, into another child's. I really can see them, many years from now, surrounded by all of their numerous grown children, and even their grandchildren, if not great grandchildren! Tom and B'Elanna will have as many children as possible, then spoil every child their own children have.

Harry Kim, my 'ensign eager' straight out of the academy, is now married. Alright, he is 'lieutenant loyal', after a very well-deserved promotion two years ago. I was jumping for days when Admiral Paris authorised my list of promotions, which included almost all of my senior staff, and many other members of my crew, too. Harry was the fourth on the list.

When he told Chakotay and I of his intentions to propose to Annika, who had retaken her human name not long after Miral was born and the Borg were destroyed, I cried with joy. In my eyes, the children I never had were growing up. I have helped Annika to regain her humanity; wounded Tom's ego so many times in Sandrine's he still hasn't learnt not to challenge me in pool; and watched Harry grow as he learnt the ins and outs of starship operations (he will make a fine captain one day).

I was there for B'Elanna as her captain, her friend, her sister when she needed me, especially during long away missions when our husbands were on the other end; counselled Tuvok and hid his outbreaks of 'Tarkalian Flu' cough Ponn Far cough from the rest of the crew, especially Tom Paris; I was named godmother of Naomi Wildman, the first child born on Voyager, and who is now engaged herself to Icheb, my only other remaining ex-Borg I have rescued.

I feel like a mother, a sister, a friend, a grandmother even, not only a captain.

If another veteran captain, Jean-Luc Picard for instance, had told me my crew become my family on my first command, I wouldn't have believed him. But now, even after communicating with him and Captain Riker, his former first officer, I believe every crew of a Federation starship serving together for a long period of time develops into a family. Picard's Enterprise did, on both ships, and I think Riker is well on his way to making a family on Titan too. In every way, I don't think we could have survived if we didn't love each other this much.

Even though I am surrounded by my extended family all day, every day, I miss my own family. Mom, I miss you more than anyone else. I wish you were here to help me with the twins, hell, I just wish you can meet your granddaughters while they're young and cute! And I miss Phoebe, having someone to argue with that can't mutiny against me, not that B'Elanna ever would, but something like that was planned in our second year. Or so we thought.

But most of all, I miss Earth. I miss walking around in fresh, not recycled, air; the feel of real grass between my toes, sunshine on my skin and changing weather. I miss Starfleet Command, having to argue for my crew, my family, to negotiate for every possible thing my crew can come up with. I miss our home in Indiana, having pets run around. I miss being free.

The one thing I will make sure that happens when we reach home is that Chakotay, the kids and I will move into a house on Earth. No more commanding starships for me, no more fighting in wars for Chakotay, though he can have a command if he wants one. I'd stand for a boring desk job at command, as much as I'd hate it, just as long as I never miss a minute of them growing up.

I think my days of command are ending, but Voyager's captain's chair will always be mine as long as I am alive and well enough to command her.

That much is for sure.

Mom, I love you with all my heart, and I'll see you when we get home.

Love always,

Kathryn.

Gretchen Janeway wiped the tears from her eyes as she finished reading the letter her daughter had finally sent her. She was a grandmother! So what if Phoebe had already given her children, these were Kathryn's kids she could spoil to death the moment she met them.

Gretchen only hoped that moment would come sooner rather than later.