Notes: First of all, thank you to everyone that has stuck with me this far, and thank you for all the wonderful feedback you've been giving me. I truly appreciate it.

Secondly, I have no patience, so I hope you don't mind if I post more than one chapter a day.

Ch. 14

"To the Captain."

"To the Captain," echoed four voices.

Tal Celes' hand shook as she downed the glass of Bajoran ale, but she managed a small smile for her four comrades. What a motley crew the five of them made. Three Bajorans and two Terrans, or two Starfleet misfits and three former Maquis.

Five Voyagers.

A fitting tribute to honor their fallen captain. Celes felt sure Janeway would approve. After all, what was family for?

Billy watched her with concern as a single tear escaped and rolled down her face. She wiped it away before squeezing his hand in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. He'd only just arrived after a two week transport trip to visit her on her home planet of Bajor. It was such a sweet gesture from him; she wished it could've started on a better note.

The news of the Captain and Madelyn's deaths had reached them all yesterday. Dalby and Gerron had been scheduled to leave earlier in the morning, but they'd delayed their schedules so they could still be at Deep Space Nine when Billy arrived. The four of them and Tabor had all decided to meet at Quark's bar to give a salute to their fallen captain. They were the only Voyagers out this far, it seemed fitting that they acknowledge the captain's passing together.

She, Tabor, and Gerron had all returned to Bajor following the debriefings, wanting to visit their home planet while they decided what they wanted to do next with their futures. Having no family on Earth, Dalby had followed his friends soon after. Captain…Admiral Janeway had convinced them all to take some time before making any lasting decisions, encouraging them to give Starfleet due consideration before opting out. Celes and Billy each had a few different non-starship options available to them within Starfleet, but neither had decided whether or not to remain. Tabor, Dalby, and Gerron had been granted provisional ranks so long as they completed certain courses at the academy first. But now, with the Captain gone, something almost tangible about the appeal of remaining in Starfleet seemed to vanish, and Celes had no idea what she wanted to do.

"You know, I really hated her in the beginning," Tabor commented.

"You weren't the only one," Dalby agreed.

"She was just so…'fleet back then."

"Well, it wasn't just her you hated in the beginning," Telfer said with a nervous smile.

"No. It wasn't. But she represented it for me. She took on the embodiment of everything I hated and wanted to hate," Tabor said, refilling his glass. "It wasn't until after that incident when the Kazon left us stranded that I really started to change my mind about her."

"Why then?" Gerron asked quietly.

"It was after we were back on the ship. You remember all those repairs we had to make?" They all nodded. "Lieutenant Torres assigned me to replace some blown relays. This was on the second or third day; everyone was tired from the planet and running on fumes. I really didn't want to crawl through all those Jeffries tubes, but there wasn't much to be done about it. About half-way there, I came across the Captain coming from the opposite direction." He smiled, laughing softly. "She was a mess. I'd never seen her before with her hair so out of place. Her jacket was hanging open, and even with the smudges of sweat and dirt on her face I could tell it was slightly bruised. I'd never seen her look quite so human."

"Let me guess," Billy offered. "She'd been fixing broken relays."

"Yeah. She took the PADD from me with the list of relays that needed fixing, checked off about half of them that she'd already done, and then took half of the ones remaining to fix, leaving me with only three to do. When she started crawling off in another direction, I finally managed to say thanks." He nodded as though he was in the Jeffries tube, seeing her again in that moment. "She just turned back to me and said 'it's good to be back isn't it?'".

Tabor shook his head, bringing himself back to the present. "It was only later I found out the bruise on her face was from one of the Kazon slapping her on the bridge. She'd never gone to sickbay for it."

"I never hated her," Celes said quietly. "Scared of her? Yes. Terrified. But I never hated her."

"In the beginning, I just couldn't figure out why Chakotay was so willing to follow her," Dalby said somewhat ruefully. "You know, aside from the obvious." Gerron smiled at the comment, his cheeks turning slightly red. "Then when we had to go those few months without either of them, and all we had was Tuvok."

They all groaned.

"He was capable, yeah, but she just had…something." Dalby took another drink of his ale. "I guess Chakotay was just able to see it a lot sooner than I was."

"What is with all the melancholy over here? I am trying to run a business," Quark said, approaching their table, "not make everyone that enters feel like they're attending a funeral." Five sets of saddened eyes turned to stare at the Ferengi. "Oh. Well in that case, I'll give you this round at a discount. For every two drinks you buy, I'll give you one for half price."

"You're too generous," Dalby remarked dryly.

"Don't go spreading it around." Quark poured a new round of ale for all of them. "Who are we commiserating?"

"Admiral Kathryn Janeway."

"Really?" Quark actually looked surprised. "I hadn't heard that."

"I'm sure by tomorrow it'll be news across the Alpha Quadrant," Celes said glumly.

"I could set up a dom-jot tournament in her honor," Quark said, thinking out loud.

Tabor and Dalby both stood up menacingly with Gerron following. Telfer stood up a little more hesitantly while Celes eyed Quark with disgust. "You would do that?"

"That woman beat me in three straight sets," Quark said, backing away from them. "It would be more of a testament to her skill. A way for people to connect to her."

"Admiral Janeway played dom-jot…with you?" Tabor asked. "I find that hard to believe."

"She was really good at pool," Billy commented, earning a frown from his friends.

"And when did this game supposedly take place?" Dalby asked, more out of curiosity than disbelief.

"Before she was an admiral, I tell you that," Quark said, regaining some of his poise. "It was before that ship of hers went missing."

"Before the mission? I don't think so." Celes dismissed his story entirely. "She would have been way too busy."

"No, no, it was. Even captains have to take breaks, you know." Dalby and Tabor retook their seats as Quark kept talking. "She came wandering through here in the middle of the night. I just happened to still be here, counting profits. New captains are ridiculously easy to spot. Thinking they have to do everything themselves. They haven't quite learned to delegate those menial tasks yet. They feel everything is their responsibility." Billy glanced at Celes. Quark really did seem to have met her. "So I challenged her to a game. Told her the best officers use a friendly game to clear their heads all the time. She was reluctant, of course, which I chalked up to not being a very good player. She didn't have the look." Quark shook his head slowly. "Five bars of latinum later…I never saw it coming."

They were all grinning now. The wistful look on Quark's face was priceless.

"She promised me a rematch when she returned in a couple of weeks," he sighed. "Guess I'll never get that latinum back now. Ah, well, here's to Janeway, the finest Starfleet hustler I've ever had the pleasure of losing to."

"Janeway," they chorused.

"Janeway…pah," a voice behind them slurred disdainfully. "I wish I'd never laid eyes on her. That…hew-man cost me everything!"

"Ignore him," Quark said nervously, casting a look at the Ferengi sitting at the table behind them. "He's a little bitter about a lost business venture." To the man in question, he muttered, "Shut up, Frek."

"You knew Admiral Janeway?" Celes queried, her expression indicating she didn't believe the eavesdropper who'd entered into their conversation. Her companions all tossed similarly dubious looks at the table behind them.

"Unfortunately. And it cost me everything, too! If only she hadn't looked like she could give a decent oo-mox…" Frek shook his head mournfully. "Women. They're just bad for business. I wasn't even going to help her…crossing Cyronius usually doesn't bode well for profit, but it didn't matter. He cancelled my contract, anyway."

"Dealing with characters like Cyronius never bodes well for profit," Quark muttered. "And I did warn you, didn't I? A man who holds nothing sacred is a man that can't be bested in any transaction. Rule of Acquisition number–"

"Don't quote rules of acquisition at me!" Frek retorted. "It was Janeway's fault. Everything would have been perfect if she hadn't ruined it all."

"Let me guess," Dalby smirked, "you tried to take her on in a game of Dabo because you thought she would be an easy mark, and she cleaned you out, instead."

"I wish it had been that simple!" the Ferengi lamented, letting his disproportionally gigantic head rest pathetically in his small hands. "But no. Janeway ruined what was going to be my most profitable business venture yet."

Quark looked nervous about the way the conversation had turned. It wasn't a good idea to talk about people like Cyronius in the company of Starfleet types. But they did appear to be regarding Frek only with disbelief and pity, not suspicion. Besides, he was anxious to hear just how the venerable Janeway had managed to muck up a less than notorious Ferengi's half-cocked business venture.

"It was a stupid scheme to begin with," Quark said, swiping an empty glass from Frek's table. "You were never going to make any profit with it."

"You don't know that," Frek said excitedly, lifting his head. "Our females are wearing clothes now. Why wouldn't they want lingerie? I could've had the corner on the market. All I had to do was make a few sales. Get my merchandise seen in a few places. But it isn't easy breaking into that market. If only Nemor could have known she was wearing a Frek exclusive-"

"Did you say, Nemor?" Dalby asked, his sarcasm from a moment before vanishing.

"–but instead, he'll have thought she was wearing something…replicated," the Ferengi continued, oblivious to the darkening mood of the officers.

Dalby, with Gerron close by his side, moved until he stood over the seated Ferengi. "You mentioned the name Nemor. Is he Cardassian?"

"Who? Nemor?" Frek waved offhandedly. "Of course he's Cardassian; what else would he be?"

Dalby wrapped his fists in the front of Frek's jacket, hauling him to his feet, practically upending the table and chair in the process. Slamming the Ferengi against the wall, Dalby growled into his face. "Nemor was the Glinn responsible for more than a dozen brutal raids against my planet. I rather hoped he'd gotten killed in the war, but since he's obviously still alive, I'd be very interested to know where I could find him."

"I don't know where he is," Frek shouted, throwing his hands up in submission. "I just know he was going to be at Cyronius's auction."

"Auction?" Quark asked, his voice carrying a hint of disbelief. "I thought Milo stopped having those."

"Of course he didn't stop having them. The sex slave industry is still one of the most lucrative profit making schemes out there," Frek explained, a note of disdain entering his voice. "He just stopped telling you about them because you were so cozy with the Federation types."

"What did you just say?" Celes and Quark asked simultaneously, both incredulous at what they'd just heard, but for markedly different reasons.

Celes pushed her way in between Quark and Frek. "What does this man Cyronius have to do with Captain Janeway?"

For the first time, Frek hesitated, finally realizing he'd said way too much. Dalby twisted his fists, tightening the hold he had on the Ferengi's jacket. Feeling duly encouraged, Frek capitulated, "She was there on his ship. She was going to be in the auction. Cyronius's crown jewel."

Tal Celes, considered quiet and meek by most, ripped Frek out of Dalby's grip and bodily threw him back into his chair. Startled, the Ferengi tried to get up, but she pushed him back down, bracing her hands on his shoulders and leaning into his space. "Are you telling me that Kathryn Janeway was being held against her will, and that she came to you for help?" Frek nodded nervously. "And you turned her away because you were more concerned about your profit?"

Celes didn't even wait for an answer to her last question before she slapped the little Ferengi. She slapped him again and was about to a third time before Billy and Gerron managed to pull her back. Tabor took her place, leaning into Frek's face. "Let's talk."