A/N: Thanks to everyone for reading and also to murphycat and Penguinfantoo for their reviews. Hope you all enjoy this next instalment!

- The 37s -

Kathryn was stood with Harry at the operations terminal looking at the readings of the strange compounds that he had detected in the space ahead of them.

"Rust?"

"That's right, Captain. High levels of ferric oxide, corroded iron particles."

The discovery was lost on Kathryn. "Would you mind telling me how iron could rust in space without oxygen?"

Harry sighed. "I wish I could."

"Mister Paris, alter our course to follow that trail of rust. One quarter impulse."

"Aye, Captain."

A short while later Kathryn is back in her chair conversing with Chakotay over the space between them.

"Captain, look at this."

Both Kathryn and Chakotay shift their attention to the small console between them, looking at Harry's new readings as he spoke.

"I'm picking up traces of complex hydrocarbons in the rust. Benzene, ethylene, acetylene."

Tom swiveled his seat to look at the command duo. "That sounds like gasoline."

Chakotay frowned. "Gasoline?" He couldn't quite place the word that was ringing bells.

Tom automatically explained. "It's a liquid fuel that was used centuries ago on Earth. They burned it to drive internal combustion engines."

"How did it get out here?" Kathryn was quickly running through everything she knew about ancient Earth but came up empty handed when it came to deep space exploration.

Tuvok interrupted the history lesson. "I'm detecting a small object. It appears to be the source of the rust and hydrocarbons."

"Put it on screen." A small dot appeared on the view screen and everyone squinted, trying to make it out. "Magnify." Tuvok did so until it was clear that it was an ancient Earth vehicle floating before them. "Beam it aboard. Cargo bay two."

"Aye, Captain."

When it had been confirmed that it was safely in the cargo bay, Kathryn handed the Bridge to Chakotay and left with Tom, Harry and Tuvok. Chakotay watched the small group leave, having not wanted to take his eyes off Kathryn as she seemed to glow at the human discovery. He shook his head to himself and turned his focus to the padd that had been resting in his lap for the past few hours in the hopes of pulling his mind away from the dangerous territory it was about to step into.

Down in the cargo bay the group was joined by B'Elanna who provided them all with tricorders. They slowly walked around the large object scanning every inch.

"Apparently it is a ground vehicle from a mid-twentieth century Earth." Tuvok read from his tricorder.

"It's a 1939 Ford, actually." Tom felt smug at correcting the Vulcan.

"Mister Paris?" Kathryn was intrigued.

"That was the manufacturing date, 1939. Ford was the name of the company that built it. Antique vehicles are a hobby of mine." He rounds to the front of the truck and 'pops the hood', whistling at the sight of the old engine. "Internal combustion engine, a reciprocating piston cylinder design, fuel source was a refined petroleum. Gasoline."

Kathryn looked over at the engine from another side while Harry got into the truck.

"So this is an early hover car?"

"No." Tom looked up as he closed the hood, making eyes contact with Harry through the window. "You're about a century too early for that. This is about one step ahead of the horse-drawn carriage."

B'Elanna was looking at the back of the truck. "Traces of potassium nitrate, ammonium and methane back here."

Kathryn smirked. "I think you'll find that's manure." She chuckled at B'Elanna's disgusted face. "Horse manure, if I'm not mistaken."

B'Elanna took a step back and Kathryn started walking around the truck explaining herself as she did so. "Judging from the mud on the wheels, and the alfalfa seedlings stuck in the metal frame, I'd say this vehicle belonged to a farmer, or at least someone who lived in a rural area. But the question is, how did it get here? I doubt there are many twentieth century farmers driving around the Delta Quadrant."

"There are no signs of any wormholes or temporal anomalies in this region of space." Tuvok reminded Kathryn who was smiling along with the other crewmen that were with her.

Tuvok's statement did however bring everyone back to work, lessening the excitement but not completely riding it from the room.

"Let's run a metallurgical analysis of the vehicle." She went and stood at the console and started conducting the analysis. B'Elanna was quick to join her.

Tom had popped open the hood again, unable to stop his fascination. "There's still oil in the crank case, water in the radiator. I wander if the battery's still charged." He slammed the hood shut, bounced over to the drivers' side of the truck and climbed in, sitting next to Harry who was still sat in the other seat. "No, let's see. This is before voice command activation, so there should be something in here called a key." He searched the cabin.

"What are you doing?" Harry hadn't been paying any attention to Tom, nor had anyone else for that matter.

"Trying to bring this beauty back to life. Now where are the keys. Ah ha! Here they are. Okay, choke out, clutch in, give her a little gas, turn the key and step on the starter."

The engine ground to life with a series of bangs and puffs of smoke from the exhaust sending everyone but Tuvok for cover. Tuvok just stood there with his phaser trained at the vehicle.

Tom cringed at everyone's reactions. "Sorry!"

Kathryn slowly stood from behind the console where she and B'Elanna had ducked to at the sound of the banging. "Next time you might give us a little warning, Mister Paris."

"Aye, Captain."

"I suggest we increase the ventilation in the cargo bay before we are asphyxiated."

Kathryn nodded and did so, this time keeping one eye on Tom and an ear on the conversation.

"What's that?"

"That's an amplitude modulation device. AM radio. Not sure we'll pick up much out there."

A repeating series of three beeps came through the speakers. "Whoa. What was that?" Tom had never heard about such noises coming through an AM radio. His question caused the whole group to turn their full attention to the pattern.

"What is that?" B'Elanna voiced what they were all thinking.

Harry leaned towards the device listening intently. "It's too regular to be random interference."

"I'm running the signal through the ships' database." B'Elanna got a hit almost immediately. "It's an ancient Earth distress call known as an S.O.S."

Kathryn was both proud and slightly sad at the teamwork that the guys were doing without her input. "Let's go and find out where it's coming from." She strode from the cargo bay heading straight to the Bridge with her loyal yet seemingly independent crewmen following behind.

"I've located the source of the S.O.S signal. It's coming from a planet in a star system bearing three one zero mark two one five."

Kathryn nodded her acknowledgement from her seat where she had automatically made herself comfortable, leaning to the left, her legs crossed in front of her. "Mister Paris, lay in a course."

"Aye, Captain."

"Why didn't we pick up the signal earlier?"

"This isn't one of the standard frequencies we monitor. Messages on this channel only travel at the speed of light. Too slow for interstellar communications."

"Course laid in, Captain."

"Warp six. Engage." Kathryn fully relaxed into her seat, this was turning out to be a day of learning, and so far she had consumed only one cup of coffee. Chakotay must have heard her thoughts as he tapped her shoulder from his seat and passed her a cup of her favourite hot beverage, delivered with his irresistible dimpled smile. Kathryn smiled widely at the man as she accepted the silver mug.

"Thank you," she whispered before taking a sip and turning to look at the view screen, watching the stars fly by.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Commander." She turned to look at him. "Why'd you ask?"

"You seemed miles away."

"Just letting my mind wander with the stars." She smiled reassuringly at Chakotay before turning back.

Chakotay picked up a padd and pretended to read it, but he actually sat and watched Kathryn relax or rather watch the stars, it was a soothing way to pass the time until a planet system came into view, which for Chakotay was too soon. Kathryn sat up straight.

"Bring us out of warp. Full scan, Mister Kim."

"The S.O.S signal is coming from the third planet. It's class L, oxygen argon atmosphere."

"Any life signs?"

"There's a great deal of trinimbic interference in the upper atmosphere. I can't get a clear reading of the surface."

Chakotay could see Kathryn's mind turning and he wanted to gain more information from Harry before they made any decisions. "Can you pin point the coordinates of the distress call?"

"Yes, here it is. It's coming from a continent in the northern hemisphere."

"We won't be able to transport through this kind of interference. I might be able to take an away team in a shuttlecraft."

"That would not be wise, Commander, as the atmosphere is charged with trinimbic turbulence. A shuttlecraft could not safely navigate the currents."

Chakotay saw a spark ignite a fire in Kathryn's eyes. "We could land the ship." Her excitement was palpable as she stood.

"Are you sure that's necessary?" Chakotay asked as he stood next to her, and even though he liked the idea of landing a starship, his job was to keep Kathryn anchored providing her with other ideas, making sure she knew was she was asking.

Kathryn turned to look at Chakotay challengingly. "Someone on this planet is sending out a distress call."

"If that someone is as old as the truck in the cargo bay, they're long dead by now. This might be an automated distress call."

"Possibly." She took a step forward closing the gap between them, to the amusement of the Bridge crew. "But something brought that truck half way across the galaxy, and that something might be down on that planet."

"And if it brought the truck here, it might be able to take us home too."

"I'd say it was worth a look."

Chakotay relented admitting his agreement and they both turned to look at Tom.

"Mister Paris, prepare the ship for landing."

Tom spun his chair around quickly, looking up at his Captain. "Captain, I think I should tall you I've never actually landed a starship before."

Kathryn let her lips curl. "That's alright, Lieutenant, neither have I. Bridge to Engineering. We're going to land the ship, Miss Torres. Take the warp core offline, vent all plasma from the nacelles and standby to engage atmospheric thrusters."

"Aye, Captain." If B'Elanna was surprised the only indication was the slight hesitation before her reply.

Kathryn looked up at Tuvok and nodded.

"This is Lieutenant Tuvok to all decks. We are preparing to land the ship. Go to blue alert and report to code blue stations."

Kathryn and Chakotay took their seats once more, shooting small smiles at each other.

"I've plotted a descent course. How close do you want to land o the distress coordinates?"

"No closer than two kilometres."

"Okay. Atmospheric controls at standby. Landing mechanisms online. Inertial dampers at maximum."

"Put her down, Mister Paris." She planted both her feet on the floor and wrapped her fingers over the end of the arms of her chair. She was a little nervous now that the sequence had been started.

"Status."

"We're on the glide trajectory. Altitude one hundred kilometres, speed ten thousand kph. Encountering some trinimbic turbulence. Compensating."

The ship shuddered and a console on the far side of the Bridge exploded.

"We have an EM discharge in the lateral relays. I'm rerouting the ODN conduit."

Kathryn tighten her grip and husked "Come on," under her breath.

"Another EM discharge. I think we're alright, though."

"Twenty kilometres to the landing site. We should be able to see it now."

A sight similar to that of countryside Earth greeted them through the view screen. Kathryn couldn't take her eyes off of it, even as she gave her next orders. "Extend landing struts. Prepare to release inertial dampers and adjust them to match the planet's gravity."

"Landing struts down and locked."

"Standing by environmental controls."

"Here we go," Tom warned.

Voyager touched down gently.

"Disengaging engines, securing exhaust. We're down."

Kathryn finally sighed and relaxed. "Not bad, for a beginner."

Chakotay chuckled at Tom's face, as did Kathryn. The landing had seemingly lifted a weight from the shoulders of the command team. Kathryn was quick to gather an away team and headed for the surface. Kathryn smiled, it felt good to have solid ground beneath her feet. Chakotay took a step forward, standing just a hair widths away from her, a hand on the small of her back.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Looks a lot like home."

Chakotay started to move his thumb in gentle circles. "It's a nice day."

"Yeah, it is."

"Captain, I've locked onto the distress signal. It's one point five kilometres on a bearing of two four six."

Harry pulled Kathryn and Chakotay away from their hushed conversation, at the same time Chakotay's tricorder started to bleep. He pulled it from his belt.

"Wait a second, I've got something else. There's a high concentration of trianium particles bearing two two five, a little over a kilometre away. Look like some kind of power source."

Kathryn nodded. "Two teams. Chakotay, yours investigates the power source. Tuvok, Kim, you're with me." As much as she didn't want to split the group up' she had to put some distance between Chakotay and herself as she could feel their closeness feeding the embers of her attraction to him. She stalked off in one direction with Harry and Tuvok quickly following behind her.

Chakotay continued to stand in the shadow of Voyager for a long moment, his eyes travelling the path that the Captain had just taken. He took a deep breath, stopping his brain from wandering why she made a quick departure, and led his team towards the power source.

Kathryn stopped in her tracks as she and her duo came over the top of the hill they had been climbing.

"My God," she whispered.

There, at the bottom of the slope was an apparently intact twin engine Lockheed Electra monoplane. Kathryn had to physically stop her jaw from dropping in surprise and wonder at the airplane that sat on the ground below them.

'This is going to make a great log entry.'

She glanced back to Harry and Tuvok before making her way down the slope, they each had their tricorders already in hand and started scanning the plane as soon as they were close enough.

"The metal is an aluminium alloy. It appears to be an ancient Earth aircraft."

"The S.O.S call is coming from inside." Harry called as he climbed in, Kathryn followed.

"I've found the AM transmitter. From what I can tell, it's sending out an automated S.O.S."

"What about the power source? Somehow I find it hard to believe the battery on this aircraft has been running for four hundred years."

Harry rummaged around. "I don't recognise the power signature. Hold on." He followed a set of cables. "Captain, I've found what appears to be an alien fusion based generator. It's hooked up to the AM transmitter."

"Chakotay to Janeway."

Kathryn touched her comm badge. "Go ahead, Ch – Commander." She hoped no one had heard her slip up.

Chakotay had heard, but chose not to comment, at least not then. "We've located the source of the trianium readings. It appears to be some sort of mine shaft. I'd like to bring out another security detachment before we go inside."

"Good idea. I'll join you. Janeway out." She knew she should probably stay and analyse the aircraft she was climbing out of. A light bulb went off in her mind and she looked at Tuvok. "I want the two of you to analyse the alien generator. Then see what you can find out about the S.O.S call."

"Aye, Captain, but may I ask where you are going?"

She smiled lightly noting the worry in Tuvok's eyes. "I'm joining Commander Chakotay and an extra security team to investigate the power source."

Tuvok nodded and joined Harry in the cabin. Kathryn looked back at the aircraft before briskly making her way to Chakotay.

"I'm picking up something directly ahead. Some kind of power signature, fusion based."

Kathryn nodded at B'Elanna and headed into the tunnel system first. Chakotay rolled his eyes and caught up with her, everyone else following behind. He brushed his hand against her back drawing her attention.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"You nearly called me 'Chakotay' over the comm." There was a hint of laughter in his voice.

Kathryn raised an eyebrow at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You know, you don't have to be so formal with everyone. I – "

"I'm the Captain, Commander," she hissed. "I can't afford to get personal with anyone."

"Does that mean you're going to stop our weekly dinners?"

"No. Chakotay, look, can we finish this later when we don't have an audience."

He nodded and she knew that he wouldn't let this drop for long. The pair continued to walk side by side through the tunnels in silence. Thankfully, for both parties, they came across a high-tech room with eight vertical cubicles along the walls, the insides lit.

"This looks like some kind of cryostasis chamber." Torres walked into the room.

"How many bodies are there?"

"Eight. And the equipment is still functioning."

Kathryn walked up to the first cubicle and wiped away dust. "He's human. And from the clothes I'd say he's from the same era as the vehicle we found." She let her eyes take in every detail from his oriental appearance to his cap that held a single gold star.

"His life sign readings are minimal, but he's alive."

Chakotay had put a little distance between himself and Kathryn, looking down at his tricorder. "Captain, according to these readings there are five other cryostasis chambers nearby. No life signs in any of them. This appears to be the only one with people inside."

"There's another male over here." B'Elanna was now at the other end of the chamber.

Kathryn moved over to the next cubicle and wiped dust off that one too. "This one's a female. She's wearing some sort of leather jacket and a pair of gold wings. Wait, there's a tag here." She wiped some more dust away. "I think it's A period T… Earhart… A Earhart… Amelia Earhart!" She spun on her heel smiling widely.

The excitement in her voice caused Chakotay to stat to question who she was but Harry beat him to it, "Who's Amelia Earhart?"

"She was one of the first female pilots in Earth History. In the mid twentieth century she became quite famous for flying across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1937 she attempted to fly around the world. According to the records of the time, on July 2nd 1937 Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, took off from New Guinea and they were headed east, around the Equator. But somewhere in the South Seas they vanished and their disappearance became one of the most celebrated mysteries of the twentieth century."

Tom, who had insisted on coming asked, "Why didn't they think she'd just crashed?"

"That was the most commonly held theory. However, numerous searches of the area failed to produce the wreckage of an aircraft, so people began to speculate. Some thought she'd been shot down and captured by the Japanese Navy. Others thought that she and Noonan had flown off together on some sort of romantic adventure. Of course, the most ridiculed notion was that she had been abducted by aliens."

"Well, it certainly looks like that's what happened." He felt, rather than saw, Kathryn's eyes on him. "From what we can tell all eight of the people in that stasis chamber were taken from Earth in the 1930's and brought here."

"The question is, why?" and where are the aliens who did this?" Harry was asking a lot of questions.

"Scans of the region show no alien life signs." Tuvok had made his way to a console in the far corner.

"Continue the scans. They may not be here now, but once they detect our presence, they might return. In the meantime, we'll have to get some answers on our own." She looked at Tuvok. "Have you had any luck tapping into the computer system in the cryochamber?"

"Not as of yet. We are having difficulty decoding the operating system."

"There's one way we could find out what happened. We could wake those people up and ask them."

Kathryn smirked. "I've had the same thought myself."

B'Elanna raised her brow in question. "Is that wise? We don't know how these people are going to react when they wake up in an alien world in the twenty fourth century."

"True, but I'm not willing to just leave them in stasis for another four hundred years. And if we can find out how they were brought here, we might be able to use that method to get home. We'll just have to be very careful how we handle this."

Chakotay had joined Kathryn and B'Elanna in front of the cubicle holding Amelia Earhart. "I suggest that only human crew member be present when we revive them."

Kathryn nodded. "Agreed. Mister Kim, I want a complete analysis of those cryostasis tubes. Find a way to deactivate them safely."

"Aye, Captain."

"Commander, appraise the Doctor of our situation. Tell him to instruct Kes in the proper procedure for reviving someone from Cryostasis. She can be made to look human easily enough. In the meantime I suggest we all brush up on ancient Earth. We're about to meet a bit of our history."

The group headed back to Voyager to make preparations for the following day.

"We're ready, Captain."

"All the cryo-tubes are linked by a common power source, so we've decided to revive everyone simultaneously."

She nodded. "Proceed."

"The power's offline. Deactivate locking mechanisms."

The doors to the cubicles slide upwards, dry ice pouring out. Kes handed out hyposprays to Tom and Harry. They stood in front of the cubicle on the right.

"Captain, this one's armed with some kind of weapon."

"Disarm him, just be on the safe side."

Tom took the gun from the Japanese soldier then gave him the hypo while Kes revived Amelia and Kim did both Noonan and the farmer. They started to wake and Kathryn went to stand in front of Amelia with a wide smile on her lips and a sparkle in her eye as the others awoke the others. As soon as everyone was awake and had taken a step down from their cubicles, Kes started scanning them, checking their health.

"I know this must be very strange for you."

"Who are you? What is going on here?" Noonan demanded from his place causing the Voyager crew to gather behind Kathryn who was in the middle of the room while the newly awakened people gathering behind Amelia who was stood in front of Kathryn, with just a few feet between them.

"I demand you release me immediately."

Kathryn held her hands up in a calming manner. "Please, if you'll just listen for a moment, I'll try to explain."

"You are all speaking Japanese."

"Sounds to me like you are speaking English." The farmer.

"It's because of a device we have. A universal translator. It allows us to talk to each other even though out languages aren't the same."

Amelia frowned. "Who are you people?"

"Look, just let us go home. We won't tell anybody." The farmer was anxious.

"The hell we won't! I'm going to let the world know what you people have done." Noonan was taking the aggressive stance. "Do you know who you've kidnapped here? Amelia Earhart. I'm her navigator. This is going to be headline news. You people are in trouble."

"Fred, let her talk." Amelia hadn't removed her eyes from Kathryn's and had decided that she was worth listening to.

Kathryn smiled at Amelia in thanks briefly before starting to speak. "What I'm going to tell you is going to sound hard to believe. Even preposterous. We think you were abducted from Earth in the 1930's and brought millions of miles through space to a planet on the other side of the galaxy. You were put into a kind of deep sleep for a very long time. It's not the 1930's anymore. The year is 2371, over four hundred years from the time you were abducted."

"You must think we are awfully gullible."

"Tell me, what's the last thing you remember before waking up here?"

"We were over the Pacific, running low on gas. We were looking for an atoll to set down. We tried to send out an S.O.S and suddenly there was this huge light in back of us. And the plane stopped, dead. And then it started moving backward towards the light. I must have blacked out. And I woke up here, just now." Amelia was trying to logically understand the situation, calmly.

"That's just the way it was with me! I was in my truck heading into town. I was just about to get onto the black top, when this big light came down from the sky. Just about blinded me. Next think I know the whole truck is lifted up off the ground." A look of shock over the similar experience crossed over not only the farmer's face but also everyone else's too.

"I believe what happened was that you were abducted by aliens and if we can find out how they got you here, we might all be able to get back to Earth." Her voice was reassuring as were her hand movements which she made a minimal as possible, not wanting to come across as aggressive or threatening.

Noonan obviously wasn't impressed at all by Kathryn as he withdrew a revolver from under his jacket. "I want some real answer, now."

If Kathryn was phased by being on the receiving end of the revolver, she didn't show it. "I assure you, I am telling the truth."

"You!" Noonan pointed to the farmer. "Come on down here and get those funny looking guns of theirs." Hayes does so and Noonan turned to Kes who was standing to one side of the room, away from everyone else. "You, get over there with the others."

Kes moves towards Kathryn, feeling slightly out of her element, but stops when Amelia snatches her tricorder from her hands.

"What is this?"

"It's a medical device. I'm just trying to make sure that everyone is alright."

Amelia nodded and Kes when to stand behind Kathryn who squeezed her thumb as she passed, silently giving her support. Kes was thankful for it.

Noonan had ignored everything around him. "Now, how do we get out of here?"

Kathryn didn't answer as she was too busy watching Amelia open the tricorder and stare at it as it started beeping.

"Chakotay to away team."

Kathryn didn't take her eyes from the others in front of he who were looking around for the source of the new voice. She tapped her comm badge. "Janeway, here."

"Captain, I'm picking up some energy displacements on the surface. I think it might be alien humanoids. It looks like they're using some kind of deflection system to trick our sensors. I think you'd better get up here."

"Who's that talking?"

Kathryn was happy to answer any questions Noonan had to try and keep him fairly calm. "That's Commander Chakotay, on our ship." She had left the line open.

"Commander, huh?" He looked up to the ceiling. "Okay, now hear this, Commander. There's a gun pointed at the lay's head right now, so you call Washington and you tell them we're holding your people prisoner, and they're not going anywhere until I personally talk to J Edgar Hoover. You've got one hour."

"Captain?" Chakotay's heart had started thumping in his chest a little quicker at the threat to her.

"It seems we're being held hostage, Commander. I suggest you pay attention to what the gentleman says."

Chakotay was willing to do anything to get her back unharmed. "I understand. Chakotay out." He stood with Tuvok and immediately started to plan a rescue mission.

Meanwhile in the cryochamber Amelia has seemingly taken charge of her group.

"The compass isn't working."

"I know what we've told you sounds hard to believe, but there was a time when no one believed that a woman could fly across the Atlantic. Now, people are able to travel between the stars. The galaxy is full of many species. For instance, this young woman isn't human." Kathryn stood next to Kes. "She's an Ocompa." Gently, she pushed back Kes' hair, allowing her finger tips to brush her cheek as she revealed her pointed ears.

"I've been on expeditions all over the world, and I've seen people do all kinds of strange things to their bodies. That doesn't mean that Martians have invaded Earth." She tried to find the logical answer to everything once more.

"Actually it was the other way around. Mars was colonised by people in 2103."

Kathryn raised a brow at Harry.

"That's enough! All of you just go over there and sit down and keep quiet."

The Voyager crew did so, sitting close together at the far end of the room while the newly awakened people huddled a little closer to Noonan while Amelia continued to stand where she was, watching Kathryn comfort her crew silently. Noonan took a drink from his hip flask.

Amelia caught him out the corner of her eyes. "Now is probably not the best time for that, Fred."

He shrugged. "Just a little pick me up."

Amelia and Noonan got into a hushed conversation allowing Tom to talk to Kathryn.

"He's had a few nips from that flask, Captain. We could probably rush him, get the gun."

Kathryn shook her head, not wanting to turn to violence. "Let me try to talk to Earhart first. She seems reasonable. Maybe I can get through to her." She stood and took a step away from her people but staying protectively in front of them. "Miss Earhart." She paused as Amelia walked over to her. "I want you to know you've always been an inspiration to me. Because if you, generation of women have become pilots."

"Generations. What's your name?"

"Kathryn Janeway."

"I heard the Commander call you Captain. What exactly do you Captain?"

"The Federation Starship Voyager." There was a hint of pride in her voice.

"Starship. That supposed to mean it flies through space?"

"That's right." She inclined her head.

Amelia shook her head a little. "That isn't possible. Only in books. H G Wells, Jules Verre."

"Maybe if you saw it you'd think otherwise."

"Saw it? Where is it?"

"On the surface. We're actually about a hundred metres underground now. If you'd come with me to see Voyager, you'd realise that what we're telling you is true."

"And risk a trap? No, you could have hundreds of reinforcements up there."

"I assure you, we have no interest in harming you. We took you out of stasis to help you."

"Put yourself in my shoes, Captain. If you were me, would you believe your story?"

She thought for just a second. "Maybe not. Let me tell you some of what happened after you disappeared over the Pacific. No trace of you or your place was ever found, in spite of a massive search. Over the years there was a lot of speculation about your flight, including the rumour that it was financed by the government and may have been part of an operation to gather information about the Japanese."

"Where did you hear that?"

"It's somewhat common knowledge. You see, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1914, drawing the United States into a massive world war. In retrospect, your journey was seen in a different light, perhaps as part of an intelligence mission devised by a government deeply concerned about Japanese war plans."

Amelia looked shocked. "No one was supposed to know about that."

"Maybe not in 1937, but now it's part of history."

Noonan had been ignoring everything. "Hey, I've got an idea. Why don't we stick them in these things? Put them to sleep like we were. No fuss, no trouble."

"Mister Noonan, that will accomplish nothing. Please, let us take you to our ship. You'll see that everything we've told you is true."

"Show me how to operate this thing." His train of thought hadn't moved on any, almost like the conversation between Amelia and the Captain wasn't happening and this pissed off Amelia.

"Hey! Last time I looked, you were working for me. And I think we should listen to these people. They just might be telling the truth. What's the harm in seeing if maybe they do have this starship? Beats being cooped up in here trying to figure out what happened. How about it? Anyone want to come along?" Amelia turned and posed the question to those standing behind her.

"I wouldn't mind taking a long." Hayes, the farmer, who seemed to be the only other person listening to Kathryn agreed.

Kathryn allowed her lips to turn up slightly at the ends. "Anyone else?"

"You're not leaving me behind."

"Kes and I'll stay with the others, Captain."

She nodded at Tome. "It'll take about ten minutes to get to the surface. Stay close to us. Mister Kim."

Harry nodded and followed at the end of the line, right behind Noonan. Amelia was almost next to the Caption with the farmer in the middle of the group. Kathryn led the silent group up through the caves, stopping only briefly when she heard phaser fire.

"This way." She led them to the mouth of the cave.

"What's all the racket?" Hayes asked as they stepped outside.

Kathryn stepped forward, her legs slightly apart as she looked around, an energy bolt passed through them. "Take cover!"

"I told you it was a trick!" Noonan was a little sluggish in moving and got shot for it.

"Fred!"

Harry ran out from the cover and dragged Noonan back. Kathryn spotted their attackers but also noticed Tuvok and Chakotay hiding behind a nearby rock. Relief flooded through he knowing that she not only had a little backup, but backup that she could work alongside. But worry for his safety also made itself known.

"Janeway to Chakotay."

"I'm here, Captain. We're pinned down."

"I can see you from here. Lay down phaser fire. I'm going to circle around to your left, try to come at them from the rear."

"Right!" Chakotay looked at Tuvok and nodded as they uniformly started shooting at the attackers allowing Kathryn to move off.

"Chakotay to Voyager."

"Torres here, Commander."

"Can you give us some help down here?"

"I don't think so. The targeting scanners are still useless. I can't risk laying down weapons fire if I don't know where it's going."

"Keep trying to get them online."

"Aye, Commander."

All the while Chakotay is trying to keep an eye on Kathryn making sure that she didn't need a helping hand, and that she was unharmed, it wasn't just adrenaline keeping his heart thumping hard and fast within his chest.

Kathryn managed to get behind the three attackers without making a sound, that was until she miss judged her footing and stepped on a twig causing one of the three standing in front of her to turn around. She shot his shoulder causing him to fall to the ground.

"Hold your fire. Drop your weapons. Turn around slowly."

"You're not Briori."

"No, I'm human."

"Human?" The pair turn to look at each other, one nodding to the other, silently communicating before drawing down their hoods, revealing themselves to be a man and woman.

"We're human. You're working for the Briori. They have ships like yours."

"I'll answer any questions you have, but first we must take care of our wounded." She indicated to one third of the trio who was still unconscious on the ground. "Can we agree to end this?"

There was a slight hesitation before the answer of "Yes" passed through their lips.

Kathryn nodded, lowering her phaser but keeping it in hand. "I'm Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager."

"John Evansville. This is my colleague, Karen Berlin."

They all nodded to each other in acknowledgment of their introductions. And as the pair turned to sort out their wounded, Kathryn left, this time in full view of everyone, heading straight to Voyager, her thoughts on a strong cup of coffee.

That afternoon Kathryn was joined in the briefing room by John Evansville, and he had started talking the moment he had stepped into the room.

"You've taken the 37s. Why?"

Kathryn (who was stood at her usual end of the room, having been gazing out of the window at the landscape), turned at his voice and frowned. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

"You went into the shrine. You stole the 37s from the sacred alters, and you disturb the radio signal that we have been so careful to preserve."

Chakotay, who was standing just off to the side, saw that Kathryn hadn't caught on to what John was talking about and that worried him. "Captain, I think he's talking about Earhart and the others."

She inclined her head just the slightest so that Chakotay knew she had heard him. "Tell me more about the 37s? Are you one of them?"

"I'm one of their descendants. The 37s were brought here over fifteen generations ago by the Briori."

"Who are the Briori?" Chakotay asked, seeing that Kathryn was allowing her mind to churn for a while.

"They're an alien race. They abducted over three hundred people from Earth in the year 1937, brought them over here, turned them into slaves. But those slaves revolted, killed the Briori, took their weapons and their technology and survived. And no there are over one hundred thousand of us. The Briori never came back. Now, you answer me. Why did you steal the remaining 37s from the shrine?"

"We didn't steal them. We simply revived them." Kathryn was slightly defensive, but she was unsure if she was defending the actions of herself and crew or the 37s.

"Revived them? They're dead."

"No, they were simply in a state of what we call cryostasis. That's a form of sleep that appears very much like death."

"Do you mean they're alive." Pure shock showed through his voice and body language.

"Yes."

"My people have come to regard the 37s as monuments to our ancestors. Nobody had even entered the shrine for generations."

"Mister Evansville, we were having to find the ship that brought your ancestors here. Possibly use it to get back to Earth a little faster." She swiftly moved the conversation on, drawing the attention away from the shrine.

"I'm sorry." He shook his head. "The Briori ship was destroyed in the slave revolt. There's nothing left. Captain, I'm sorry to hear about your long journey home, but you should know that life on this planet is good. We live in three beautiful cities only fifty miles from here."

Her eyes lit up. "Oh, I'd like to see your cities." Her voice had lost its authority but had dipped into awe.

"And I'd like to show them to you." He smiled.

Kathryn took a few steps forward and gestured for Evansville to the door that led to the Bridge. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at Chakotay as he followed her and Evansville to the Bridge. Kathryn looked at her Bridge crew who had looked at her as she and the two men entered.

"Mister Evansville has offered to take us on a tour of the settlement. He's extended the invitation to the entire crew, and the 37s, or course."

Evansville didn't even notice that Kathryn had just extended the invitation which he had intended just for her as he was looking over at Amelia =.

"You, you're a 37?"

Kathryn nodded.

Amelia shrugged one shoulder. "I guess you could call me that."

"It would be an honor to show you our cities."

With Amelia's nod, Kathryn and Chakotay joined Evansville and a few of the other 37s as well as an away team to tour the cities. They were gone well into the evening.

Kathryn sat in her ready after having arrived back at Voyager doing her Captain's log.

"Captain's log, stardate 48975.1. Evansville wasn't exaggeration when he said they have a lot to be proud of here. It was an amazing experience, but it's left me a little disturbed…and wishing even more so for home…"

The following morning Kathryn was still in her ready room having not stopped working, the door chime bringing her from the padd she was reading.

"Come in."

"Here's the damage report you asked for."

"Thank you." She thanked Chakotay as she placed the offered padd on her ever growing pile. She started to turn back to her reports when she heard Chakotay speak again.

"Is something wrong, Captain? You've seemed a little distracted ever since we came back from the cities. Weren't you impressed?"

Kathryn sighed, heavily placed the padd on her desk before standing. "A little too impressed."

"What do you mean?" He asked as he followed her to the couch where she sat down. He sat down too, leaving a little space between them.

"There's a thriving, sophisticated culture on this planet. Of human being. In some ways walking around those cities was almost like being back on Earth."

"It was a little eerie. It reminded me of home, too."

"Evansville has offered to let any of our crew stay."

Chakotay could see the conflict already showing in her eyes. "What will you do about that?"

Kathryn sighed. "Maybe this is one of those decisions that the Captain has to make for the entire ship."

"You may have a problem if a lot of people want to stay."

"I know that, but at the same time I can't take a vote every time there's a major decision to be made. And yet," she sighed, "we're a long way from Starfleet and a lot of the rules and regulations I've learnt to uphold seem distant as well." She looked up from her lap and to Chakotay. "Am I the only one who's so intent on getting home? Is it just me? Am I leading the crew on a forlorn mission with no real hope of success?"

Chakotay, wanting to comfort the woman beside him, slid a few inches closer and grasped Kathryn's petite hand within his own larger one, his thumb automatically rubbing circles on the back of her hand. Kathryn allowed herself the small comfort and held onto Chakotay's hand as if it was the only thing grounding her.

"You're not alone, Kathryn." He whispered. "I want to get home, too. And there's not a day that goes by when I don't hear someone mention Earth."

"The people here have built a new Earth. We could stay, help them build a human civilization in the Delta Quadrant. Isn't that an exciting prospect? Shouldn't we be grateful for the opportunity they're giving us?" in that moment Kathryn felt so lost and alone she was starting to question herself, Chakotay wouldn't allow her to do that, she didn't need to.

"It is a tempting prospect, but when I hold it up against the prospect of seeing the sun rise over Arizona desert, or swimming in the Gulf of Mexico on a summers day, there's no comparison. I want to go home."

The thoughts of home brought a smile to both their faces causing each other to smile wider when they saw the other smile. Being with Chakotay cleared Kathryn's head a little but also made her realise that just perhaps she wasn't as alone as her captaincy felt like. For Chakotay, being with Kathryn strengthened his resolve to get home as quickly as possible so that the parameters between them would disappear. He would do anything for her, and she for him.

"We have one hundred and fifty two men and women on this ship. What happens if half of them decide to stay on the planet? Could we operate Voyager with seventy five crew members?"

"I doubt it. In fact I don't think we could operate the ship with fewer than one hundred. If too many of the crew choose to stay behind, we could all be stranded here."

Kathryn nodded. "Tell all hands to prepare for an announcement from the Captain at fourteen hundred hours. They deserve to make the choice for themselves."

"Aye, Captain."

Even though Chakotay had acknowledged the order, neither let go of the other, savoring the moment for a little longer.

After speaking to her crew, Kathryn escaped from Voyager, going to stand a short way off in the bright sunlight, her thoughts fully focused on Chakotay and home, where it had been since visiting the cities. Her thoughts however, were broken by Amelia who came to stand next to her.

"Captain, I was told I'd find you here. Am I intruding?"

Kathryn shook her head. "Not at all. Please, join me."

Amelia smiled lightly in thanks. "I wanted to let you know that the group you brought out of stasis, we've all decided to stay here on the planet."

"I understand."

"I must admit the thought of travelling through space, maybe even learning to fly this ship, was very appealing to me." Amelia smiled widely.

Kathryn smiled back. "And I looked forward to getting to know you better. I suspect we have a lot in common."

"At first I didn't know what to do. We talked about it for quite some time. Finally I realised the people here on this planet are a part of is. We're their ancestors in a way. It made us feel close to them."

Kathryn looked out to the vast landscape, as did Amelia.

"The remarkable thing about the humans on this planet is that they evolved very much like the people on Earth. Tens of thousands of light years apart, both civilisations managed to create a world they could be proud of. One where war and poverty simply doesn't exist. I certainly can't blame you for wanting to be a part of it, any more than I can blame members of my crew if they make the same decision."

Amelia enjoyed listening to Kathryn talking about Earth, she made it come alive, but not wanting to make the other woman uncomfortable, she focused on her last sentence. "When will you find out?"

"In half an hour. Anyone who wants to stay behind is to report to the cargo bay at fifteen hundred hours."

Amelia nodded, placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder before taking her leave, allowing Kathryn to go back to her thoughts. She wasn't alone for long however, as Chakotay silently joined her, placed a hand on the small of her back.

"We should be heading to the cargo bay."

Kathryn nodded and after one last longing look at the scenery around her, headed back to Voyager, Chakotay by her side. The pair stayed silent until they reached the corridor leading to the cargo bay where Chakotay hoped that conversation would relax Kathryn a bit.

"I expect Jarvin will stay on the planet. In fact, I'd bet on it."

"Why Jarvin?"

"He's been more uncomfortable about being on a Starfleet ship than most of the Maquis, and he's gotten involved with a young woman in Quantum Mechanics. I think they'd like to settle down, raise a family."

She nodded. "The person I expect to see is Baxtor."

"Baxtor? Walter Baxtor?" Chakotay didn't think he'd leave.

"He's adventurous, a risk taker. I can see him wanting to take on the challenge of building a new life on this planet."

"I'd hate to lose Baxtor. He's a good man."

"I'd hate to lose Jarvin." She stopped outside the closed cargo bay doors and looked up to Chakotay. "I don't want to lose anyone. We've all been through so much together, it just wouldn't seem right. But I couldn't blame anyone for staying behind. I'm not sure I want to go in."

Chakotay laced their little fingers together. "No matter what happens we'll make it. Remember that."

Kathryn nodded, gently separated their hands and took a deep breath before opening the large cargo bay door. The room is devoid of people, causing tears to spring to her eyes. Chakotay placed a hand on the small of her back, making the most of what she was allowing as he knew it would last for long. Eventually, Kathryn turned to Chakotay with a small smile gracing her lips.

"I think it's time we left for home, Chakotay."

"I think so, Kathryn," he relied with a small smile of his own appearing.

Putting the smallest of gaps between them, the command due headed back to the Bridge.

"Captain on the Bridge." Tuvok announced as Kathryn and Chakotay stepped off the trubolift.

The Bridge crew snapped to attention and Kathryn sent a proud smile out to them.

"All stations prepare for departure. Condition blue, Mister Tuvok. Miss Torres, anti-grav thrusters online." Kathryn walked to the middle of the room with Chakotay as she gave her orders, remaining standing as Chakotay took his seat.

"Thrusters enabled." Her voice held a hint of excitement. "Mister Paris, inertial dampers to flight configuration. Impulse drive to stand by."

"Yes Ma'am." Kathryn could hear the smile in his voice.

"Then let's do it." She finally sat in her chair, legs crossed, hands braced. "Take us up."

Tom nodded and did so taking Voyager back up into space.

"Lay in a course for home."

"Aye, Captain."

Kathryn and Chakotay smiled at each other, their eyes sparkling at the thought of home.

To Be Continued...