Disclaimer: All characters, vessels, and science belong to Paramount with the exception of Sarah Janeway, the U.S.S Perry, and anything else that I made up.

Author's Note: Well, I was going to hold off on another chapter until I got more reviews, but since I got four very nice reviews and I was in an inspired writing mood, I got a jump-start on the next chapter. Also, just to let everyone know in advance, I'm going episode by episode, occasionally adding in one of my own. These past two chapters are an example. In addition, before I get an inbox swamped with e-mails asking the same question, I'll put the answer right here: You will NOT find out who Sarah's father is UNTIL towards the end of second season so please be patient. Just wanted everyone to know. :)

Also, I apologize for any mistakes in regard to Janeway's career timeline and/or child growth and development. I've had to make some changes in order to fit all my new ideas in.

Anomaly

'Mission'

Kathryn positioned the camera carefully and set it to time delay. "Ready?" she asked Sarah. Her daughter nodded excitedly. "All right then. Here we go!" She depressed the shutter button and ran quickly to her daughter's side, where she knelt down and the two of them put their arms around each other. They both smiled widely as the flash went off and their image was captured.

They both got up and ran to the camera on the ledge to see the picture. "Mama, it's wonderful!!" Sarah exclaimed.

"It certainly is," Kathryn replied. "And it's not just the view."

Sarah grinned up at her mother and impulsively hugged her. "Thank you for bringing me to the Grand Canyon mommy. I love it here!"

Kathryn held her daughter's hand and walked over to the observation area. "You're welcome sweetie. I love it here too." The two of them took in the awe-inspiring vista. "Earth's biggest ditch. That's what your grandpa called it," she said a little wistfully.

Sarah peered up at her mother and held back the bangs that the breeze tried to blow into her face. "You really miss him." It wasn't a question.

"Yes I do."

The little girl sighed. "I wish I could have met him."

"Me too baby." She paused for a moment, remembering when her father had brought her here as a girl. "But there's no use being sad. We're here to have fun, right?"

Sarah nodded. "I think he'd want that, mommy." She paused, then asked shyly, "Can we take a hover car to the bottom?"

"Of course! Let's go!" Kathryn took her daughter's hand and the two of them scurried off to find the hover car line.

Taking a year's leave had been so good for both of them. They had been able to connect like never before. Eager to get as much as possible out of this time off, Kathryn had been taking Sarah everywhere she could think of. She had asked her daughter to make a list of places she wanted to go and was surprised to see the list's length. It had included Hawaii, Ireland, Gettysburg, Kentucky, Japan, Antarctica, Utopia Planetia, Mars, Poland, Denmark, and the list when on and on. All the books that she had been reading had given her an itch to see the places she had read about, and it also provided an opportunity for the two of them to get closer.

Sarah was blissfully happy to spending so much time with her mother—her face glowed and she bounced about with an everlasting smile on her face. Kathryn was thrilled as well. Her daughter was such an amazing child. Almost four years old, she had already become a voracious reader and was also astonishingly proficient at math. She had advanced far beyond other children in her age group and often seemed like an adult trapped in a child's body, but still with that childish innocence.

"Mama?"

Sarah's voice brought Kathryn out of her reverie as they made their way back to the transport that would be taking them home after their amazing hover car ride. "Yes Sarah?"

"Will you listen to me recite a poem?"

"Of course sweetie."

Sarah brushed her hair back from her face and cleared her voice, then started to recite:

"The Raven, by Edgar Allen Poe

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore--
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door--
only this and nothing more."

Kathryn listened, fascinated, and with every repetition of "Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore.'", she grew more and more proud of her daughter's passion for literature. It wasn't Kathryn's forte, but she held people with the knowledge of the written arts in highest regard. It wasn't very popular now in the 24th century, but the few who knew its ins and outs were of an elite class.

Sarah recited the final verse and took a bow when Kathryn applauded. "Excellent Sarah! That kind of dedication deserves a reward. How would you like to go on a solar system tour?"

Her daughter's eyes widened and her mouth fell open. "Really mama? Do you really mean it? I only learned 'The Raven' for fun."

"You still memorized all those lines. And I think I can get us passage on a tour ship that leaves within the week. I'll have to leave you with Aunt Phoebe tomorrow so I can pull some strings with a friend of mine."

"Oh mama thank you!" Sarah hugged her mother.

Four weeks passed quickly and suddenly it was June 24. Sarah's fourth birthday. In the time preceding, the two of them had made many more trips together, the highlight of which was the solar system tour. Now they were going to spend the day at home, or at least in Indiana.

The day started off with a pleasant morning breeze blowing through Sarah's bedroom window. It stirred the hair of the still-sleeping child and brushed gently against her cheek. Stretching sleepily, she tumbled out of bed and walked out to the kitchen, still rubbing sleep from her eyes. When she reached the kitchen table, she looked up in surprise to see her mother and grandmother standing by the table. "Happy birthday, Sarah!" they exclaimed, and they moved away to reveal a huge stack of waffles--her favorite breakfast food.

"Oh mama, grandma, thank you!!" she said, delighted.

"I have something else for you," Kathryn said, smiling, and she pulled a small brightly wrapped box, topped by a shiny gold bow, from behind her back. "Go ahead—open it."

"But my party's not until later."

"I know. But this is something special I want you to see right now."

Sarah assented and tore the paper from the box eagerly. "Oh, mama," she breathed as she lifted the gift from its box. It was a book, a real book. More specifically, it was a compilation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories.

"I heard you were looking for it when Aunt Phoebe took you shopping the other day. I managed to find a copy."

Sarah ran to her mother and threw her arms about her neck. "Oh mommy, thank you so much! I love it!"

"You're welcome. Now, how about those waffles?"

All three of them sat down to a very satisfying breakfast of waffles and fruit. Sarah piled hers high with whipped cream and peaches, getting as much or more of the whipped cream on herself as she enjoyed her birthday breakfast.

The morning passed quickly with a flurry of party preparations and slightly before lunch, a few of Sarah's close friends showed up at the house, along with Aunt Phoebe. They had a picnic lunch on the lawn, then the little girls played some games and Sarah opened her gifts. She got a book of Shakespeare from Grandma Gretchen, a box of art supplies from Aunt Phoebe, a silver charm bracelet from her friend Rachel, two PADDs with different games on them from her friend Ce'Larin, a camera from her friend Teless, and her friend Peike got her a brown stuffed horse with wild paint markings. This last gift was because of Sarah's increasing obsession with horses. She had seen some on a trip out west with her mother and now couldn't get them out her mind—they fascinated her.

The most amazing gift was from her mother. Sarah pulled an iridescent bow from a flat rectangular box and lifted the lid. Her friends gasped in unison as she pulled out a Starfleet uniform in command red. It was exactly her size. "Oh, you're so lucky!" Peike sighed, fingering the collar.

"Mama…" Sarah was nearly speechless.

"I assumed you were still interested in a career in Starfleet some day. I know it's been a while since you've said anything…"

"Of course I'm still interested!" She hugged the uniform to herself. "I love it! Thank you!"

After the opening of the gifts, the little girls ran around on the lawn, shrieking and bouncing from too much sugar, until their parents arrived to pick them up. After goodbyes, Sarah, Kathryn, and Gretchen had supper on the porch and talked for a while.

Shortly thereafter, Sarah retired to the hammock strung between two trees in the front lawn with her book of Shakespeare and her book of Sherlock Holmes. Gretchen headed off to bed, and Kathryn sat watching her daughter in the porch's big rocking chair. She didn't know how long she was asleep, but what seemed like one second later her mother was urgently shaking her shoulder and calling her name. "Kathryn, there's a communication for you." Her face was troubled.

"Who is it?"

"Admiral Hudson. It doesn't sound good, whatever it is."

Kathryn looked over at the hammock where her daughter was laying with her books, her skinny arms holding up the thick Shakespeare collection.

"Go. I'll keep an eye on her."

"Thanks mom," Kathryn said as she dashed into the house to her small office. She found Admiral Hudson patiently waiting for her on her computer screen. She rubbed sleep from her eyes as she greeted him. "Admiral."

"Captain. I hope I didn't wake you, though I thought twenty-hundred hours was far too early for anyone to be sleeping."

She smiled. "Ordinarily it would be, but my daughter's birthday party was today."

"Ah, I see. How old is she?"

"She turned four today."

"Tell her happy birthday for me." His face darkened. "Captain, we have a problem."

"What is it?"

"The Val Jean's gone missing."

Her tired mind had trouble connecting the dots at first. Suddenly, it hit her. "The Maquis ship Tuvok's on?"

"Unfortunately, yes. He hasn't reported in in four days."

Kathryn felt her heart sinking. "What are you going to do?"

"Actually, that's what I contacted you for."

Twenty minutes later, Kathryn crossed the lawn to where her daughter lay sleeping peacefully in the hammock. The stars sparkled in the heavens and crickets chirped calmly as a gentle breeze tousled the leaves of the trees. It would have been an idyllic scene if her heart weren't leaden with indecision.

Sitting carefully next to her daughter's still form, she placed a gentle hand on her forehead. Sarah stirred and wakened, blinking sleepily. "Mama?"

"Sarah, I just got a message from Admiral Hudson. He wants me to cut my leave short to command a mission." Her face betrayed her guilty feelings.

"Mama, we've spent lots of time together. I don't feel deprived. You can go. Your career is important too."

"You always come first."

"I know, but this sounds important. You should take the mission." Sarah gave her that winning little smile of hers. "Really. I'll be fine."

Kathryn sighed. "All right. It is an important mission—you remember my friend Tuvok, don't you?"

Sarah nodded.

"He was undercover as a spy on the Maquis ship Val Jean. He hasn't reported in for four days. Starfleet is going to have me command the new Intrepid class starship, the U.S.S. Voyager, on a mission into the Badlands to find the Val Jean."

The words 'Voyager' and 'Badlands' exploded in Sarah's mind for some unknown reason and she found herself sitting bolt-upright in the hammock and shrieking "I have to go with you!"

Startled, Kathryn asked, "What?"

"I have to go with you on Voyager!" Sarah repeated.

"I can turn it down… And besides, this could be dangerous. I don't want you in harm's way."

"No! It doesn't matter. You have to command this ship and I have to go with you!"

Kathryn was shocked. Her daughter never threw fits, yet here she was, pitching one over a command assignment. She had to ask, "Why?"

"I-I-I don't know exactly. I just know I have to go with you." Sarah stuttered.

Her mother sighed. "Sarah, that would take a lot of work. I would really have to pull some strings for them to allow that."

"Please, mama. I have to."

"You'd probably have to go in front of a board of admirals again."

Her daughter's eyes flashed. "I can do it."

Under that kind of adamancy, what could Kathryn do? "All right. I'll see what I can do."

Sarah hugged her. "Thank you mama. They'll say yes."

Kathryn hugged her small daughter back. "I hope you know what you're undertaking."

"I do," Sarah whispered. "Just not consciously."

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry it took so long to write. Also sorry it's such a long chapter—I had a lot of basic information to convey that will help form plots in upcoming installments. Look for some real action in the next chapter! A big thank-you to all the loyal readers!!