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 Aunt Irene

I do not know what I wish to say, what I can say. All I know is when Captain Janeway informed me that this composition for this datastream is compulsory, no matter how much I wish to 'get out of it', as Tom Paris would say.

I have never been comfortable with confessing my emotions, though the removal of my failsafe device many years ago has improved my ability to experience these emotions. I have not yet come to terms completely with these emotions, but since my marriage and the birth of our son, dealing with my emotions has become considerably easier.

As you may or may not know, three and a half years ago, I chose to retake my human name, Annika Hansen.

Now, my full name and title, as I have been told not to use the term 'designation', is Lieutenant Annika Hansen-Kim, though I do not use my hyphenated name often.

My husband, Lieutenant Harry Kim, has become the love of my life. With his help, I have learned to love, to act on my emotions, to suppress them if need be, he has helped me to understand life on a greater scale.

I no longer think of life as a day to day situation, but on a long term scale as well. Our two year old son James Harry Kim, an inverse version of Harry's name, is the primary focus of my life. His future is important to me, as is the future of our children to come.

Aunt Irene, though I know it will be many years until Voyager reaches the Alpha Quadrant, travels towards the Sol system and Earth, I sincerely hope you will be in San Francisco to greet us, and meet my family, as large as it is and may become.

I await your return letter in anticipation,

Yours truly,

Annika

Irene Hansen finished reading the correspondence from her niece wiping the tears from her eyes. She knew expression of emotion would be hard for a woman who had grown up in a society devoid of it; a society devoid of individualism and every element of society free humanoids took for granted.

"I await your return in anticipation," she whispered as the letter disappeared off her screen.