In the Arms of Family
Story by Janet and Christina
Written by Janet, Christina, Cybermum, Diane, Julie,Mary, Penny, and Rocky
Compiled by Janet
Alynna Nechayev seemed perpetually peeved whenever Picard had to deal with her. Perhaps he brought out the worst in her - although he sincerely doubted it. Her expression was even sourer than usual as she considered the ramifications of any actions that could be taken at this point. Finally, looking grim, Nechayev pronounced, ::We shall allow this stopover.::
"I'm sure the crew of Voyager and Captain Janeway will be most grateful to you, Admiral."
::Two hours on Jelzin, Picard. Not a second more. And make sure your ETA is the same as it would have been without the stopover. Don't make me regret this.::
The Federation logo appeared abruptly, leaving Picard to wonder again about Starfleet politics. Perhaps Will's contention that Voyager had returned two years too early was spot on.
Fortunately, Admiral Nechayev apparently had not been told of Michael Ayala's acceptance of the Bajoran offer of political asylum. Ayala may have done it for the best of reasons in the galaxy: to keep his already sadly truncated family as intact as possible for the rest of his children's youthful years; but Picard doubted Admiral Alynna Nechayev would see it that way. With any luck, Picard and the Enterprise would be off on another mission before she learned of it.
Thinking of family matters reminded him of an impending loss in his own "family" on the Enterprise. Two losses, in actuality, with Deanna's pending transfer onto Riker's ship. Picard wasn't looking forward to losing either of them, not to mention that he still had to find a wedding present. The task had proven more difficult than anticipated.
Well, then, perhaps he should take up Beverly Crusher on her offer of helping him choose something which would coordinate with the present she was planning to buy the couple.
Picard arose, a slight smile lighting his face. He was not entirely conscious that he tugged the front of his uniform automatically to straighten it on his body when he stood to signal his chief medical officer: "Picard to Crusher."
::Yes, Jean-Luc?::
"About that tea service you were thinking of buying for Will and Deanna..."
A crisp breeze whipped Ro's hair around her head, jangling her earring like a miniscule wind chime. While her snugly-fitted Bajoran militia uniform defied the wind's chill pull, it tugged on the clothing of others standing near her. Some gusts were strong, the flapping they caused were loud enough to momentarily drown out Vedek Capril's voice as he intoned prayers of remembrance for those buried beneath the cairn of large stones. Ro shivered as much from *deja vu* as from the cold.
The sun was low on Jelzin's horizon, although it was still fairly early in the afternoon. The autumnal equinox soon would bring very short days and extremely long nights to this arctic region. If the planet weren't so near its sun, the climate in this subarctic region would be unbearable, a frozen waste. As it was, the land was raw and bare in many spots. Sparse vegetation struggled to reclaim its hegemony over scarred hillsides and stream banks clogged with boulders, many marked with the tell-tale fissures and burns of blaster fire.
The last time she'd been here it had been high summer, but far less vegetation had been visible then. In the intervening years since a meager handful of Maquis warriors had slipped back to this world to raise rock cairns over those bodies that could be retrieved, Jelzin had followed the pattern of many worlds throughout the quadrant. Within the rhythm of seasons, the cycle of growth from one year to the next, Mother Nature - or the Prophets - had begun repairs to the damaged land, bringing forth new life to replace that which had been lost.
Humanoid life could not be replaced the way the plants had reclothed the hills and valleys, of course. Those souls were gone forever from this plane of existence, to live on only within the memories of those who had known them.
Each of the bodies she had helped carry to their final resting place, not to mention those which had been totally erased by the awesome power of plasma weapons, had once been a unique individual, with thoughts, dreams and hopes for the future. They all had been crushed because of the inability of other beings to learn the simplest of lessons: live and let live.
The cairn before Ro matched four other piles of stone in other locations. There was one for each of the destroyed Maquis camps, along with another on the northern continent. A group of reptilian bipeds indigenous to Jelzin had inexplicably suffered the same fate as the their uninvited Maquis neighbors hiding far to the south. Although no contact had ever been made between the technologically advanced visitors at the pole with the native nomadic beings, the rain of fire had descended from the sky and destroyed their encampment, too. A simple sensor-sweep would have shown the Cardassians and Jem'Hadar they were not the enemies they sought, but the Dominion warriors apparently had not bothered to find that out. They attacked and killed them anyway.
Earth had its stories of ancient deluge; Bajor, its legends of the Pah-Wraiths. Ro idly wondered if the survivors of the attack upon that northern camp might tell stories of the day the sun reached down to scorch the land, killing those who must have done *something* wrong to have been punished in that way. It was not something she would live long enough to find out. After today, Ro Laren would never step foot upon Jelzin again if she could help it, although she knew she could never forget this planet.
Nor would she forget this day. One hundred seventy-three people, standing in an irregular circle around the large pile of stones, bowed their heads in respect for people that virtually none of them had ever met. Some held the hand of a significant person, others remained solitary and alone, as if to touch another would bring pain rather than comfort. All listened as Vedek Capril blessed the stone they had brought to Jelzin to be erected upon this mass grave. There were names engraved upon it, those of the known dead such as Ayala Marit, but these were pitifully few in number. Most of the slain could be commemorated only with the words, "and those whose names are known only to the Prophets."
The entire crew of Voyager was here. Picard and Riker had sent volunteers from the Enterprise to man Voyager's stations so that everyone could go down to the surface. Picard, Riker, Troi, Crusher, and a handful of other officers from the Enterprise were there. Surprisingly, after having kicked up a fuss about the stop at Jelzin, Commander Craig had also chosen to beam down to the cairn. He stood a little apart from the others, but from the shocked look upon his face when he first surveyed the site upon his arrival and his chastened visage now, the scope of the massacre had affected him deeply.
The civilians traveling back to Earth on Voyager were also all present. Alicia Paris held her granddaughter Miral in her arms; Mrs. Janeway stood between Mary Kim and Anne Carey and her sons. Kira held an arm around the shoulders of Kajee Narel and her daughter Kajee Lajen.
The most significant of all the "civilians" stood in front of Vedek Capril. Luis and Raul Ayala flanked their father Michael, Luis to the left; Raul to the right. The former Starfleet officer and former Maquis had his arms over the shoulders of his sons as they all remembered Ayala Marit, wife and mother, who had never fought in any battles but lost her life in one, killed along with thousands of others who had been massacred simply because they had been related to those who had. As they stood with their father, both boys looked a little stunned by the rapid chain of events that had brought them here as a reconstituted family, although it could never be completely whole again.
Ayala had given them the choice of whether to transport down to the surface to the cairn or not for the service. They had been there before; terrible memories of the day their mother had died could be rekindled by going there again. Both boys had chosen to go. At least they achieved some closure this way, knowing what had happened to every member of their family. Ro shuddered to think of how many families - or even whole settlements - had been so completely wiped out that no one remained to mourn the lost. As bad as things could be in this post Dominion War era, at least *that* was no longer happening - at least, not that Ro had heard.
After the Vedek spoke the closing words of the simple memorial service, finishing with the traditional words, "Walk with the Prophets," he walked over to the family Ayala Marit had left behind, lightly touching the heads of the three in blessing before pacing back through the crowd. The circle broke up then, with the crew of Voyager backing up to form an aisle through which Ayala and his sons could walk.
After a few more minutes of silent prayer the Ayala family turned away from the cairn, walking gradually up the pathway created by their shipmates. The pace was slow, for every person they passed had a word of comfort to share, a hand held out for shaking, a pat for a shoulder, or arms held wide for a hug. Ro shook her head in wonder as she watched the spontaneous outpouring of affection for the tall, quiet man and his boys.
Caught up in the moment, Ro was startled when a resonant, very familiar voice spoke in her ear, "Remarkable, isn't it? It's more like a family than a starship crew."
Ro steeled her resolve and met the eyes of her former captain. "Not when one considers what they went through together."
"You would know quite a lot about that yourself," Picard noted.
"More than I ever wanted to know," she agreed.
"From what I hear, you're still helping out your former Maquis."
"You heard about Ayala, then?" Ro asked.
"Taking up the offer of asylum? Yes, it's the main topic of conversation on Enterprise, just as it is on Voyager. I must say, I'm rather surprised he's the only one of Janeway's crew that did so, under the circumstances."
"I'm not. They're all fiercely loyal to her, and they want to stand with her and their crewmates until the very end. It's only different for Ayala because he has his boys to think about. When we were heading to Bajor to see Raul, he told me he never wanted to be separated from them again. If he goes on to Earth, who knows what may happen?"
Picard smiled slightly. "So you offered him a job?"
Ro's smile matched Picard's. "Yeah. He's a tough guy when he needs to be, but most of the time he's a very gentle giant. That's not a combination that's easy for me to find. And I like his style. I was really impressed by the way he treated Raul at Kajee's. He didn't force him to come to him, just waited until he'd stopped hugging his big brother and allowed Luis to bring him over for an introduction. He was very sensitive to Kajee and her daughter's feelings, too. So when we were returning to the station, I offered him a post with station security."
"He has abundant experience as Commander Tuvok's second in tactical."
Ro snorted back a laugh. "The references he gave Ayala were so glowing, I was amazed they came from a Vulcan."
"Richly deserved, I hear. So, thanks to you and the Bajoran government, Michael Ayala will follow a different path in life from the rest of the crew of Voyager."
"I might be able to make a few more job offers, if anyone is really interested."
At that, Picard laughed out loud. Ro's heart lightened at the sound. She could never have imagined being able to laugh with Jean-Luc Picard a few years ago, not after the way she had disappointed him. It seemed the right time for something she had longed to do for quite a while.
"Captain Picard," she gulped. "There's something I want to say to you, about that time I...left Enter..."
He put a hand on her arm and stopped her stumbling address, his eyes piercing deeply into hers. "There's nothing more to be said, Lieutenant Ro, than for *me* to tell *you* how very glad I am you helped build this cairn rather than be one of those buried beneath it."
Ro could find no words with which to respond. Accepting the hand he offered her, she squeezed his fingers as tightly as he did hers. Perhaps he needed her forgiveness for what had transpired at the time of her defection as much as she needed it from him. Although Ro could never imagine Jean-Luc Picard hugging her the way Kathryn Janeway was fiercely hugging Ayala good-bye in the center of the crowd at that moment, the clasping of Ro's and Picard's hands may have soothed the two of them as well as any embrace.
After several seconds Picard cleared his throat, although he did not release his hold upon Ro's hand. "I know Admiral Nechayev will be *extremely* unhappy with Captain Janeway and me if our ships don't get underway very shortly. And if I'm not mistaken, Colonel Kira and you will be missed if you don't return to Deep Space Nine soon. It's time we all got underway. Shall we offer our own farewells to Ayala and the others?" Picard asked.
Ro nodded her head. "Yeah, I think so. It's time."
Epilogue
After the memorial service, no one seemed ready to disperse. Perhaps the solemnity of the moment simply demanded more time, or perhaps, Kathryn thought, it only served to remind everyone that their time as a single crew was coming to an end and they wanted to stay together as long as possible.
She wanted to stay there with them as well, but she had an appointment to keep. After whispering her intention to Chakotay, she slipped away and returned to Voyager. As she entered her ready room, Kathryn said, "Computer. Engage privacy lock. No interruptions." The command was sufficient to assure that no one would barge in for anything less than a full scale attack on the ship or the station. She wanted privacy for this transmission.
Sitting at her desk, she activated the computer and punched in a few quick commands. Almost immediately, she found herself looking at the logo for the United Federation of Planets, and then Owen Paris appeared. "Captain," he said evenly. "It's good to see you again. Are you alone?"
"I am. And you?"
He relaxed into a smile. "Yes. My God, Kathryn, it is good to see you. I wish I were there to give you a proper hug."
She smiled. "You'll have a chance soon. We're scheduled to leave for Earth in less than an hour."
"I know." His happiness faded. "I can guess why you're calling."
"You probably can. Admiral-" she paused and leaned forward - "Owen. *What* is going on? Why won't anyone tell me what's going to happen?"
He cleared his throat, and then folded his hands together in an oddly formal pose that was, even for Owen, stiff and unnatural. "I can tell you what will happen in the short term. Enterprise will escort Voyager back to the Sol system, where you will be given final instructions. So far, they can't decide whether to have you disembark at Spacedock or at HQ. Whichever, you will receive the red carpet treatment and full honors - bands, color guards, even the President of the Federation will be there. The speeches will last at least an hour. Your crew will then be asked to report to Starfleet Medical for a once-over before letting everyone meet their families. Apparently there is still some fear that your EMH might have missed something and you are carrying some Delta Quadrant germ. I know, I know - it doesn't make sense to do medical clearance after you shake the President's hand. You've all been checked out by your own physician and at Deep Space Nine. The exams here are just perfunctory.
"After medical clearance, all of your crew except you and your senior staff will be given two weeks leave. They want about three days of preliminary de-briefing with your top people before they release you for the holidays."
There was something about his voice, a flatness in his tone, that alerted her. He knew something he hadn't told her - something he didn't like. "What happens after that? What happens to Chakotay and the rest of the Maquis?"
"I don't know, Kathryn, and that is the God's honest truth." He paused, and she realized how much he had aged in the years of Voyager's absence. For the first time, he looked old to her. He went on, "The reason I'm here and not there is that I have been trying to find out. I don't think anyone knows for certain yet."
She frowned. "That's hard to believe."
"Only because you've been away for so long. It's an odd time. We're at a political crossroads, in my opinion." He shook his head. "If you'd made it home two years ago, there would have been no doubt. Your Maquis would be facing certain conviction and prison time. If you hadn't shown up until two years from now, I think nobody would care that they once opposed the Federation and you all would simply be welcomed home. But at the moment, things are in flux."
"We came home too soon?" She glared at him, not caring about his rank. "Do you have any idea how outrageous that is?"
"Yes, I do." His face hardened a little, a sign that he was displeased. "But I have no voice in this. Everyone knows I'm conflicted. Kathryn, you do realize that you've done a great thing, getting back in only eight years?"
She shook her head, and waved a hand in the air to brush off his words. "My crew did a great thing."
"We don't need modesty between us. A crew lives up to its captain's expectations. Wasn't that one of the first things I taught you?" He glared at her so fiercely that for a moment she felt like a green ensign again. "And greatness is best appreciated in the history books. In real time, it has a tendency to make people uncomfortable."
"I don't think of myself as a hero-" she began.
"Just listen," he snapped, teacher to student. "In his day, James T. Kirk was called a renegade, a one-shot wonder and just plain lucky. It wasn't until decades after his death that he received the respect he deserved. Jean-Luc Picard spent virtually all of the Dominion War patrolling the Romulan border. The Romulans were our allies. Do you know why they wasted the flagship of the fleet? Because greatness scares the snot out of the little people who know they can never be great themselves."
"I don't understand," she said slowly.
Owen leaned toward the screen, his gaze intent on her. He was in full professorial mode, just like the days when he had been her thesis advisor at the Academy. "There are plenty of people back here who feel threatened by you. Some because they see independent thought and courage as a threat to the chain of command. They will call you maverick and unreliable. Others fear you because they know they could not have made the hard decisions or endured the privations that you did, and they don't want to be eclipsed by you. Still others don't understand the agony of deciding how far to compromise morals in the name of survival. They've never been in a situation more hazardous than a clogged toilet and tend to see things in black and white."
He paused, arching his eyebrows for emphasis. "And some of these people are admirals."
"Oh." She settled back in her chair. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"
"I don't know." He looked frustrated. "That's the hell of it, Kathryn. I don't know. But I think so. Those damned scandal sheets haven't done you any good."
She looked away from the screen, drawing a long, slow breath. "I did the best I could. I wasn't perfect, but I never gave it anything less than my best."
"You did great," Owen said with surprising force. "For what it's worth, I'll tell anyone who asks that I couldn't ask anything more of any of my students. You have become a remarkable commander, and if I had any small part in that, I am proud."
If her own father had said that, she could not have been more grateful. Owen Paris had been her advisor, her first commander, her mentor and her role model. For all his flaws and mistakes, he was still the officer who, after Edward Janeway, had influenced her the most. Her heart swelled. "Thank you. It's worth a lot."
"If things go badly, I won't be much use to you except as moral support, but you've got that," he said. "Even if we didn't have as much history as we do, I would owe you my life for what you've done for my son."
"It wasn't me," she said, struggling to keep her emotions under control. "Tom turned himself around."
"Yes, but he had a lot of help from you and that rather intimidating young woman he married." Owen grinned suddenly, and it made him look a decade younger. "I do have a bit of good news, if you wouldn't mind passing it along. I finally heard from the New Zealand outmate board, and it's set to rule on Tom's status. They have to wait until he's back on Earth, but they are going to declare he has served his time and is free to go."
Her smile threatened to split her face. "That is good news. I'll tell him right away."
"And tell him that we'll have a birthday party for Miral as soon as we can. I want to see that little miss blow out her candle."
Kathryn started to tell him that there would be a party on Voyager on Miral's actual birthday, while they were en route to Earth, but caught herself in time. Owen probably knew that and didn't care - he had every right to throw another party if he wanted. Despite all the reunions, she was still operating in Delta Quadrant terms. She had to get used to being home again, and remembering that family beyond the ship's bulkheads were once again active participants in their lives. "Of course you do. Don't worry. I'll tell him."
"Damn, the timer is blinking at me." He touched some control, then looked at her again. "Kathryn, stay focused on what's important. If they start picking on the minutia, don't lose sight of the big picture. You have done something no other Starfleet captain has ever done and they can't take that away. Don't forget that."
"I won't." She nodded. "See you at HQ, Admiral."
"Count on it, Captain. Count on it."
His image was replaced by the UFP laurel wreath, and then the screen went dark. She sat still, thinking. For some reason she had always thought things would be clearer when they got back to the Alpha Quadrant, that the future would sort itself more quickly and she could plan her strategies with confidence. It seemed that was a pipe dream, and life was just as unpredictable here as in the Delta Quadrant.
"Well," she said aloud, "if there's one thing we've learned in the past eight years, it's how to prepare for the unexpected." Then she stood and smiled. If the here and now were all she could control, she'd do so - including (finally!) having a nice quiet dinner with her mother and Chakotay. Whatever else was waiting for them, it was waiting on Earth.
It was time for Voyager to go home.
CREDITS
Prologue:
- Kira and Ro meet with Voyager relatives on DS9- Jamelia
Act One :
-Kira and Ro greet Voyager's crew on DS9- Jamelia
-Harry's mother comes to meet the ship- CyberMum
-The view from the top level of DS9's Promenade- CyberMum
-Harry calls Earth to deliver a message for Seven- Julie
-Janeway talks to Admiral Hayes- Christina
-Samantha, Naomi, and Gres Wildman call- Rocky
-Darren Pierce calls home- Rocky
-Telfer and Marla call home/Angelo talks about Tal's family- Jamelia
-Harry and his mother discuss Marla- CyberMum
-Noah calls home- Diane
-The two Ferengi brothers case Quarks- Christina
-Chakotay calls his sister- Penny
-Tuvok and Neelix speak of T'Pel and Sarexa- Rocky
-Megan and Jenny Delaney call "Robbie the Phud"- Christina
Act Two:
-Janeway and Riker talk- Christina
-At Quark's and Vic's/Reunion on the docking ring- Jamelia
-Holographic Reunion- Mary
-Ro asks Tom a favor, B'Elanna talks to Tom about his father- Jamelia
-Craig complains about the media- Christina
-Mariah Henley calls Ken Dalby's brother- Rocky
-A Memorial Service at DS9's Shrine- Rocky
Act Three:
- - -Kira and Ro decide to use the media for their own ends - Diane
- - -Janeway/Chakotay worry about status of Maquis and E5 - Christina
- - -Chakotay and Gretchen talk - Christina
- - -Angelo and Tal Celes talk about their futures - Jamelia
- - -The Ferengi brothers interview of Sarexa and Neelix - Christina
- - -Commander Craig talks to Admiral Nechayev
- - -Chakotay and Gretchen talk - Christina
- - -Angelo and Tal Celes talk about their futures - Jamelia
- - -Commander Craig complains to Janeway - Christina
- - -Chakotay, Tom and other crew see the "Ribald Risian" - Christina
- - -Alicia's dinner with Icheb/talks with B'Elanna and Tom - Jamelia
- - -The brawl in Quark's bar - Christina
- - -KJ chews out her brawling crew in the constable's office - Jamelia
Act Four:
- - -Ro tells Ayala about his family - Jamelia
- - -Commander Craig comes to see Janeway - Christina
- - -John Torres contacts his family - Julie
- - -A call from Admiral Nechayev - Christina & Jamelia
- - -On Jelzin II - Jamelia
Epilogue:
- - -Janeway and Admiral Paris speak via subspace-Penny