Angela's Perspective

Slipping into a pale coloured shift dress, I thought about what I had achieved. I had not only succeeded in getting to the delta quadrant, but in the whole mass of space, I had managed to find my mother and the ship. I had yet to tell mum exactly how and why I got here, but I guessed that would have to wait. I scanned the average looking visitors quarters and realised they were a whole lot smaller than I remembered them being. Although, I thought, the last time I was here, I was checking out the ship at Dry Dock, with mum, and I was only about 5 at the time. I walked to the foot of the bed, where the replicated pair of small heeled shoes lay waiting to be slipped into.

The door chimed, announcing the presence of another on the other side of the door. As I sat on my bed to do up my shoes, I called "enter". Immediately, the doors released to reveal the short, auburn haired Captain, still in uniform and with her hands clasped together in front of her. She smiled and entered.

"Captain, what can I do for you, Ma'am?" I said, standing up and placing my hands behind my back like I had been taught to do when a senior officer walks or talks to you.

"At ease." Captain said, entering and holding her hands, palms facing me. I relaxed and proceeded to tie my shoes.

"I was wondering…"

"If now would be a good time to fill you in?" I finished. She nodded. I took a deep breath, realising the amount of stuff I had to explain.

"Well, when you left, dad went mad. Seriously, he flew us up to the Dry Docks and demanded to know where you were. Obviously he had to steal a vessel to do that. So there's one count against him. When I was 6, he left me in the care of old Professor Bairl, do you remember him?" I paused. Mum thought about it, and then nodded.

"He's the old helm and pilot instructor, isn't he?" I smiled.

"The best" I added, before continuing; "well, Bairl took me under his wing and I used to attend classes with him, and eventually he taught me, at age six. I know, kinda irresponsible of him, but I picked it up and by the end of it, I could control the helm with my eyes closed…believe me, I tried." I took a deep breath

"One day, I heard Bairl talking about this strange new prototype; a shuttle meant for long distance journeys and strong enough to survive in a wormhole. I asked Bairl about it but he shut me down pretty quickly, obviously didn't want me getting my hopes up too early. And he was right. Three weeks later the shuttle was declared unsafe and was to be shut away. No one realised I had access to a key…"

"You didn't!" mum implored. I raised my eyebrows

"Would you like me to skip that part?" I asked. She tisked and rubbed the bridge of her nose. I remember how she used to do that when she was annoyed with me, so I quickly pressed on. "Anyway, the shuttle broke down about 5 lightyears away from the wormhole, so I arranged for some help from a nearby settlement. Little did I know they were actually the violent race I was talking about before. But, I did get away with the help from a friend of mine, whom I met in prison. We organised the escape and he took me to his planet."

"You're not telling me how you managed to shave ten years off your life" Janeway said. I rolled my emerald eyes.

"I'm getting to it….I would have explained It now if you hadn't of interrupted me." I rebutted. She scowled at me, but allowed me to continue

"The planet I was staying on was out of phase with real time. Ever day of this time was a year for them. I only stayed on that planet for ten days, but I became accustomed to their time frame so I grew ten years older in ten days."

"What did you do in those ten years?" Janeway said, sitting next to me on the bed.

"Well, I spent a year recovering…malnutrition, scars, the works; then another 2 years repairing and basically rebuilding a shuttle I could use to be on my way. I then spent a year helping out my new home, the Thew, who were suffering a bad harvest. I thought it was the least I could do. Finally I spent a few years getting the counsellor and engineer degree's. The engineering was for the shuttle, which had its own engine, hence the thing planted in your shuttle bay. The counsellor was for the fun of it, while I had time to kill, while the final additions were put on this rust bucket. The rest of it, you know." I finished. There was a silence for a while, while Janeway sunk it all in. I bit my lip, while watching her think. I could almost see the cogs turning, as she processed the information.

"So, you're telling me, that you're actually eight, but your not." She sighed again, "Now I remember why I hate time paradoxes."

"Well, I am actually eighteen. I felt those ten days go by as years, so I didn't technically lose ten years of life, I gained them. Does that make sense?" I muttered, more to myself. However, she didn't let it slide.

"Not at all" she said, "but Neelix will have us both locked in the brig if we are late to your party." She smiled at me, and hugged me once, whispering in my ear "I'm so glad you're here" before turning on her heel, straightening her uniform, and walking out, strictly the Captain rather than a mother. I smiled at that, before following her.

Little did I know that the days that would follow would be, as mum would say, Hell.