SINNERS AND SAINTS
By Rocky

San Francisco

Once again, the select group of admirals was gathered in a small, nondescript room. However, their number was not the same as it had been three days earlier. Owen Paris was absent.

Hayes cleared his throat, as a way of getting started. "After our last meeting, it's clear we have a number of issues we need to clear up." Although it was patently to clear to everyone what the topic was, he added, "About Voyager."

Ross coughed slightly. "I was scanning the news reports from the last 72 hours, looking specifically for items related to Voyager. There's been a lot on how the ship is once more spaceborne, a brief mention of their layover at the Vordai space station, even a 'human interest' feature on some play the crew put on for their hosts. But there hasn't been a single mention of the slipstream drive. Or the fact that they're once more looking at an ETA within the year."

"Well, that's not surprising," Cobum said, perhaps displeased that Ross had spoken first. "Surely you can see the wisdom, from a security standpoint, of not divulging what will surely be classified technical information. As the only AQ power with a drive far advanced beyond standard warp-"

"Oh, please," said Necheyev, rolling her eyes. "It's fairly obvious why no mention has been made-the slipstream, for all intents and purposes is still unproved as far as being an effective means of propulsion." She bestowed a sardonic glance on Cobum. "Voyager already had one experience with this type of drive three years ago-an unsuccessful experience. Adapted alien technology is notoriously unreliable. There's no guarantee that this time will be any different." She smiled, but it was not a pleasant expression. "In all fairness, I should point out that the reasons behind the first slipstream failure were lost in the details of yet another time-travel experience."

"Now that's unfounded speculation if I've ever heard it. Why do you assume time travel was involved?" demanded Cobum. "Nothing in Janeway's official report would lead one to believe that it was anything other than a mechanical failure. Which they've obviously figured out how to get around."

Necheyev's expression left no doubt as to her estimation of Cobum's analytical prowess, but she didn't deign to reply.

"You know, the Vulcans used to b-b-be adamant that time-travel was impossible," Gelb said reflectively.

"That was a very long time ago," answered Teller. "Since the early days of Starfleet, quite a few of our ships have had not one, but several trips through time. As I recall, Kirk alone had five such experiences," she gave a self-deprecating smile, "though none of them occurred during my tour of duty with him."

Necheyev inclined her head. "Of course, as the timeline is invariably reset at the end, we really have no way of knowing if any of these accounts are authentic or not."

"I assume you're speaking from a philosophical stand point," said Blanc somewhat irritably. "Otherwise, we wouldn't need a Temporal Prime Directive, or a department of Temporal Investigation."

Hayes drummed his fingers impatiently. "We're getting off track here, people." He turned to Ross. "Yes, you're correct, Bill. The omission of any mention of the slipstream on the newsvids was deliberate, but it was purely for PR purposes-why get the public's hopes up prematurely? Not to mention the families'. We've had dashed hopes before, as recently as the transwarp. When we heard the ship had an emergency crash landing, that was a real disaster."

"Not to mention from the perspective of the Voyager crew," Teller muttered. Next to her, Gelb made no sound, but his gill slits twitched, signifying his displeasure.

"The families themselves must know something," objected Ross. "I'm sure some mention was made in at least a few of the crew's messages."

"Not necessarily," said Necheyev, "And for the same reason-not to raise false hopes." She tapped the PADD in front of her, and scrolled down till she found what she was looking for. "Janeway's report was very clear: they were going to implement the slipstream for the first time shortly after their departure from the Vordai station. Preliminary test results were good, but there was no way of knowing for sure how the system would react in real-time." She folded her hands together primly. "It's quite possible that none of the crew spoke about the slipstream in their letters home."

"You mean we don't know that for a fact if any of them included it or not?" asked Blanc. The others turned to him in surprise.

"The content of personal letters-" began Cobum.

"The Federation clause stipulating the right to privacy for personal communiqués does not apply to messages in the datastream," cut in Blanc. "Not since the security breaches last year, when the outgoing datastream was tampered with on more than one occasion." He didn't go into any further details, but his listeners knew exactly what he was referring to: the deranged Bajoran Vedek who had implanted a subliminal message, stirring the Maquis crewmembers to stage a brief mutiny, as well as a short time later when some Ferengi mercenaries managed to intercept the Barclay-hologram.

Hayes exhaled impatiently. "Yes, all incoming or outgoing messages are now scanned before entering the datastream. But it's strictly a subfrequency analysis, making sure that all the transponder signals match. We don't scan the content of the messages themselves, let alone search for keywords."

"But the capability does exist," Blanc insisted. "It could be done." He stared challengingly at the Commander in Chief, who looked away uncomfortably.

"Yes, it could be done, given due cause," Hayes admitted finally. "But I highly doubt we have to worry in any case." He leaned back in his chair. "So what if a few family members know about the slipstream attempt? They're not going to go around spreading the news. Why would they? Besides, after the first flurry of 'human interest' articles when regular contact was established, the media has been more or less ignoring the relatives. We don't have to worry about a leak from there."

"I agree," Necheyev said decisively. "Worrying about it would be a waste of our time. All major news concerning Voyager comes through the Starfleet Department of News & Information. Commander Craig has been doing an admirable job as Press Liaison, dispensing the regular Voyager updates. We can decide if and when we want to go public with this latest development. But I personally think we should hold off for at least another few months. At least let's see if it the drive works."

Teller shifted in her seat, obviously still perturbed at the earlier exchange. Her eyes glinted dangerously. "Not to mention that keeping the news under wraps a bit longer gives you the opportunity to decide on the official response to Voyager's return in the comfort and privacy of your own private cabal."

"As you are one of the 'cabal', I don't think you really have any cause for complaint," Cobum said somewhat nastily. His implication was clear-that if she didn't like it, she could leave. "Do you really want to see this kicked around in the General Assembly?"

Teller flushed angrily but before she could say anything, Hayes interrupted.

"Exactly. So let's get on with our meeting. First of all, do we have a consensus of how we're going to treat the Voyager crew-do we consider them returning heroes?"

No one was surprised when Cobum spoke up first. "In the eyes of the media, they certainly are. God knows that in this post-war climate, after the beating we took from the Dominion, we need heroes, need something to feel good about. Voyager's survival alone-"

"Yes, after the Dominion war," said Ross, leaning forward. "What about all the commanders and ships and crewmen who were lost in that war, valiantly defending our quadrant against invasion? What about the ones who survived? Fighting against insurmountable odds? Are they any less heroic? In so many battles our forces were outnumbered-"

"Voyager was outnumbered as well, and fighting b-b-battles in a quadrant not our own," reminded Gelb gently. "And no one expected them to survive."

Ross had the grace to look embarrassed. "I don't mean to take anything away from Voyager's success; but neither should we hold them any higher than the crews who took their lumps closer to home." He coughed nervously. "That's all I'm saying."

"There's also something about coming back from the dead," observed Necheyev dryly. "Two years after they were lost, we declared them officially dead. Remember the memorial service? Not since Wolf 359 was there such a general outpouring of sympathy-"

"Too bad they didn't have the decency to stay dead or lost after that?" asked Teller archly.

"I didn't say that," Necheyev said, an edge to her voice. It had been on Necheyev's orders that Voyager had been dispatched to the Badlands in pursuit of the Maquis vessel in the first place. "I don't think there was anyone happier or more relieved than I when we received that first communication from Voyager, when they sent their EMH through that alien communications array."

Hayes permitted himself a small smile. "No one except their families, of course."

Cobum jerked his head up suddenly. "One thing's for sure, it's certainly a unique event. Other ships have been lost under mysterious circumstances, never heard from again. Good people, too. The Hera under Silva La Forge, to name just one."

"And the Equinox under Ransom," Blanc said casually. "Mustn't forget them-they vanished not too long after Voyager did. But notice where all the attention was focused."

Hayes rubbed his face tiredly. "Considering how Ransom's bunch ended up, I for one am not complaining. But that's neither here nor there. Equinox was just a small survey ship on a research mission. Voyager was the latest and most advanced of the Intrepid class vessels-and on a mission to capture a terrorist cell."

But Blanc wasn't finished yet. "It's still curious, especially when one considers the obvious similarities between Ransom and Janeway."

Gelb said, "B-B-Both scientists, you mean?" His tone was carefully neutral, yet still managed to convey a note of warning.

All waited with bated breath to hear if and when any details of Janeway's 'rogue' career in the Delta Quadrant-well documented by her own ship's logs not to mention her senior officers'-would come up.

However, after a long pause, Blanc turned away from Gelb's unblinking stare and said, "Of course, what did you think I meant?"

Gelb's gill slits twitched, but otherwise his expression remained unchanged. "Nothing. Other than the fact that Ransom was a noted exobiologist, b-b-but didn't have the command experience that Janeway did."

"Nor was he the special protégé of some of the Admirals sitting here today," observed Necheyev, with a look at the Nereid.

"I was referring to her military record," Gelb said quietly. He had been one of Janeway's instructors in Command School. "There was a very g-g-good reason why Janeway was g-g-given command of Voyager, our latest technological marvel of a ship. Not to mention sent on such an important mission."

Necheyev leaned forward. "Her chief of security was on that Maquis ship, if you recall. If I hadn't assigned Janeway to that mission, she would have been angling for it anyway. As it is she argued for pushing up the launch date by a month."

"After it was clear that the Maquis ship had already disappeared," countered Gelb.

"All right," Hayes began, but Cobum interrupted.

"The facts are as follows: Voyager was sent out, we lost contact with them, a great deal of play was given to their disappearance and then four years later, after they were long since forgotten, we heard from them again. Just the fact of their survival was enough for a nine day wonder and then some. Even if regular communication hadn't been established in the last two years, anything related to Voyager would still be a major focus of the media attention."

"So you're saying we should allow the media to dictate our policy, how we treat our ships and crew?" Blanc charged.

"No, you stubborn old coot, that's not what I'm saying at all," Cobum said, struggling to control his temper.

"It's not like the Voyager crew is a homogenous whole, you know," Ross interjected. "You're got career Starfleet officers, but also former ter-, I mean, civilians."

Teller eyed him with distaste. "Some of the Maquis were former Starfleet officers."

"And some were not Starfleet," Ross said, "or even Academy dropouts."

"And there are a few civilians on b-b-board that ship who aren't even from the Alpha Quadrant!" said Gelb. "What does this have to do with anything?"

Ross said stiffly, "Just that there are differences among the crew of that ship, so perhaps there should be differences in how we handle their cases when they return. Maquis, DQ natives, Starfleet-"

"The Starfleet contingent isn't one unified whole, either," noted Blanc. "You've got former Equinox officers on board Voyager as well."

"Everybody's favorite whipping boys," Teller said, shaking her head. "Really, those five have more than paid for their-"

"Perhaps this is a side issue," said Cobum, raising his voice to be heard, "but there's something else we'll have to consider as Voyager's return is imminent. You've got a bunch of officers on that ship that haven't been promoted in over seven years. We'll have to fast-track them all to bring them in line with their peers in the Alpha Quadrant."

"You could scarcely expect Janeway to stick to a regular promotions schedule," said Gelb chided, though he clearly welcomed the change of topic. "If it had truly taken them 70 years to get b-b-back, it'd b-b-be with a shipload of captains."

"Forget about promotions for a moment," put in Necheyev, "but that does beg the question of those field commissions Janeway granted."

Ross nodded emphatically. "That's right. There's been a tacit acceptance of the Maquis field commissions all these years, but what happens now? Do we allow those to stand? Before we can even discuss that, we have to decide what we're going to do about the Maquis themselves." His tone left no doubt what his opinion was.

Teller sighed. "For all that they started out as criminals, they have since more than made up for it by their service aboard Voyager. There's a strong case for saying they've been 'redeemed' in light of their heroism." She looked at Ross challengingly. "How many of the Voyager Maquis have died in the line of duty?"

Ross didn't look away. "So they agreed to throw in their lot with Janeway, and became members of her crew. What else would you expect? It's not like they really had a choice, if they ever wanted to get back home."

"I suppose it's fair to ask if we really want them as part of the 'Fleet afterwards," said Cobum, clearly unable to stay out of the conversation for long.

Necheyev pursed her lips. "I'll leave that for others to decide, but I would like to point out one thing. The Federation signed a treaty with Cardassia in 2370. After years of tensions, peace was finally at hand. Perhaps there were areas where the treaty wasn't perfect-" she smiled, knowing they knew full well who was the architect of this treaty-"But we had a signed agreement. Now consider that maybe, just maybe, the Cardassians wouldn't have been so quick to disregard that treaty, to ally themselves with the Dominion, if the Maquis hadn't sprung up to be a thorn in their side."

"That's a load of targ manure," said Teller heatedly. "The blame for that fiasco lies squarely on Gul Dukat, and his desire for power." Ross opened his mouth, but Teller swung on him angrily. "I know *you* don't agree with me, Bill, but you don't exactly have any lost love for the Maquis, do you? You'd like to blame the entire Dominion War on them, if you thought you could make it stick."

"Michael Eddington," said Ross, struggling to control his temper. "Cal Hudson. I could go on and on-do you know just how much damage the Maquis inflicted-and on Starfleet itself, not just Cardassia? To what extent they set back Cardassian-Federation relations?"

Hayes reached out and held Ross' arm. "Hold on, both of you. You're both right. Yes, Dukat was out for power and later turned out to be a full scale psycho, but you can't lay the blame entirely at his door." He turned to Teller. "The Maquis were also a major part of the problem, just as Alynna said-they threatened the existence of the treaty." He sat back tiredly. "Otherwise why would we have sent Voyager out to arrest that cell in the first place?"

Ross was far from mollified. "Yes, Voyager was sent out to arrest the members of a cell headed by a Starfleet renegade-Chakotay. Even if he did bother resigning his commission first, he still betrayed Starfleet when he joined the Maquis."

"There is a difference b-b-between Chakotay, and Michael Eddington or Cal Hudson," said Gelb.

"Just a difference of degree," Necheyev retorted. "When you come down to it, they all still turned around and stabbed the Federation in the back, undermining our position."

Teller said tiredly, "They felt that we abandoned them first...but that's all water under the bridge by now." She addressed her remarks to Hayes. "The few Maquis who survived the war have since been released from prison. The Maquis crewmembers aboard Voyager have served valiantly-without them it's doubtful Voyager would have ever survived, let alone been able to adapt such varied alien technologies as to allow us to speak of their imminent arrival. That should count for *something*."

There was an uncomfortable silence as all eyes fell on place usually occupied by Owen Paris. His daughter-in-law-the brilliant engineer who had kept Voyager intact and who was also the key to understanding all those new technologies- was a Maquis. For that matter, Paris' son also had a stint in the Maquis to his discredit. Though the younger Paris' situation was slightly different, as he had been offered a deal to cooperate with Starfleet in return for a possible mitigation of his prison sentence. And he had unquestionably kept his side of the bargain.

Blanc sourly pointed out, "Janeway has already made it damn clear she is going to fight for her Maquis officers."

"Which just brings up problems with Janeway herself," Hayes said grimly.