Chapter 42

Interlude I: Shoot for the Stars

Date: March 25, 2381

Location: Star Trek Universe

Earth, San Francisco

Star Fleet Academy

A woman leaned against a pane of transparent aluminum in silent reflection as her eyes rested upon a crowd gathered in the courtyard below.

She was supposed to be in bed with a mild case of the Tarkalien flue, but that little lie had only been to get her out of the ceremony going on below.

Admiral Kathryn Janeway was giving a rousing speech about Voyager's journey through the Delta Quadrant and her crew's discovery of the Quantum Slipstream drive. The live feed was streaming through the console behind her so she heard the words while she watched from afar.

Her roommate hadn't been too happy that she was skipping out on the ceremony, but she'd swallowed the fib without hesitation.

She knew how to lie. Sarah Connor had taught her well.

Savannah Weaver wasn't the cute, innocent girl she was when they'd arrived in this universe 18 years ago. Both Kyle and Sarah had devoted over a decade raising her and training her for the trials and tribulations that would inevitably come their way.

When she was eighteen she applied to Starfleet under a tactical degree path, much to her adoptive parent's surprise.

As the speech drew to a close, Savannah turned away; unable to watch any longer. She hated lying to the people around her; the people she knew would be affected by Voyager's Quantum Slipstream test taking place later today.

Her roommate most certainly would. Naomi Wildman had been born and raised on Voyager.

The half-Ktarian was both Savannah's equal, and opposite, in many aspects. Yet, somehow they managed to forge a friendship out of their differences.

With a sigh, she climbed back into bed and stared at the ceiling as the feed continued to bounce off the walls and into her head. Her misplaced guilt continued poking at her until Seven of Nine replaced Janeway at the podium. Her sharp, commanding voice washed over her like a tidal wave and threw her back to a time long past.

These flashbacks happened sometimes, but lately, they'd gotten worse since Naomi insisted on Savannah meeting her 'family', i.e. Voyager's former crew.

For most people, memories from early childhood were spotty at best, and for Savannah, that was mostly true. However, the period from when the Connors had protected her from the Terminator to several months after arriving in this universe was clear in her mind.

Despite trying to forget her past, if only so she'd act normal around people, the reminders were too much to uphold the illusion.

Eventually, the live stream ended. With the room now silent, she pulled something out of her nightstand to occupy the time. It was an old, battered thing, but in actuality, it was cutting-edge tech. John Henry had sent a PADD with them all those years ago but was kept hidden until recently for fear of being discovered by some shady Federation branch-like Section 31 or Temporal Investigations.

Both Seven and John Henry had included short messages for them, but also programs for inserting false identities and histories into the Federation database upon their arrival. Unfortunately, the UDE had failed to send them to the right time. Instead of 2387, just after John Henry had taken Seven back with him, they'd ended up arriving in 2363.

Over the years Sarah and Kyle would watch the video clips with her so she'd never forgotten what had happened.

Once she'd turned sixteen, she'd politely asked them to stop. Most of that was due to her having a difficult time fitting in with fellow students, but partly because they'd finally explained to her that her mother was actually a T-1001 who may or may not have killed her parents to take control of their company.

Savannah knew Sarah partly believed it, but Kyle was more skeptical. She herself didn't know what to think, but she'd made peace with it years ago. Whatever the truth was it mattered little to her now. Sarah Connor was her mother now and there was no changing that.

The room doors slid open in the middle of her reverie, revealing her red-headed 'twin' skipping through the doorway.

Naomi flopped down on her own bed while giving her roommate a questioning stare and a disappointed frown. "You don't look very sick."

"Not anymore," Savannah responded while throwing her thumb at the hypospray on her nightstand, "The Admiral hasn't lost her touch."

The horned red-head frowned, "I still haven't gotten used to that. Rear-Admiral Janeway," she emphasized with air quotes, "She'll always be captain to me."

"Unofficially, I hope," she teased, "Imagine the look on her face if you did that in front of the other brass."

Naomi rolled her eyes, "I didn't get into Starfleet at 7 years old by being dumb," she sang with a satisfied look on her face.

"And that has nothing to do with being half-Ktarian and having a genius-level intellect, right?"

"Nope."

Physically, Naomi had the body of an 18-year-old and the mental maturity to match. Her scientific smarts had been apparent since she was three and had only grown since. Some considered her to be the next Katheryn Janeway, an assumption she intended to make a reality.

Savannah had no such aspirations. Her motivation was about gaining influence within Starfleet so that when the time came she'd have enough sway to convince them that Skynet was a very real threat. After that, she'd help bring about the Federation war machine to help destroy it forever.

It also helped that Starfleet wasn't a huge fan of sentient AIs anyway.

"When's the test?" She asked while hiding any emotion in her sky-blue eyes.

"A few more hours," Naomi informed, "Seven and B'Elanna wanted to run a final diagnostic before we light the fuse..." Her voice trailing at the end didn't go unnoticed by her friend.

"Nervous?"

The Ktarian's eyes snapped into focus once more, "Of course," she began, "But I trust they got it right...this time."

Clearly, doubt lingered in her mind, and she wasn't wrong. Voyager wouldn't be coming back, but not for the reasons Naomi and some of her former crewmates feared.

"Do you want me to go with you?"

Savannah regretted her offer the moment she gave it, but it felt like the right thing to do.

Naomi's eyes lit up, "It's better than studying for final exams!"

The older girl chuckled, "And here I thought you loved studying," she taunted, but Naomi stuck her tongue out instead. "If there is one thing I've learned since coming to the Alpha Quadrant is that I need to get out more."

"Unless you're a recluse like me," Savannah laughed but she was only half-joking. Sarah and Kyle homeschooled her until she was 10 to give her time to adjust to living on the Federation's version of Earth. As such, her social skills were severely hampered compared to other children. She'd been well into her teens before finding a small group of people she could relate with.

None of them had followed her to Starfleet, and she'd been grateful when she'd been roomed with the Ktarian hybrid.

Said woman tapped her chin in mock appraisal, "I don't know... I think I've managed to pull you out of your shell in the last two years."

Partly true, but Savannah didn't bother correcting her. She did go out with classmates now and again, and whenever Naomi dragged her along to some holo-suite party the upperclassman had dreamed up.

"I don't think I've ever thanked you for that."

"You can thank me by getting your butt out of bed," she challenged with her arms crossed and a humorous smile plastered on her pale skin.

Savannah sighed at her antics but obeyed anyway.

"While you freshen up, I'm going to grab dinner with Icheb. Meet us in the commons by the Kirk bust."

"Don't have too much fun," Savannah smirked as Naomi spun on her heel towards the doors. It was obvious the Brunali boy and Naomi had a strong bond, but whether or not it would end up in a relationship of some sort remained to be seen. She wasn't very good at reading people, not like Sarah, but she did a passable job with most.

Once her younger friend was gone, the cadet put the PADD away and stripped for her shower. She'd never gotten used to the sonic cleansers these people cherished. She'd grown up using an old-fashioned water-based one, and the adjustment to these fancy contraptions had been an uncomfortable one.

While the United Federation of Planets was a money-less society, but that didn't mean everyone got everything they wanted. Basic amenities were guaranteed, but like most other societies, you had to work to get anything more.

Few people sat around and did nothing with their lives. Cultural pressure to make something of yourself, to be productive, was rather intense.

Both Sarah and Kyle were natural hard workers and had little trouble finding menial work after they first arrived.

Even now those two still stuck to old-fashioned methods when off the clock, but it wasn't something they advertised.

As her uniform and underclothes fell to the bathroom floor, she moved toward the sonic cubicle they called a shower.

Despite Naomi swearing by its soothing effects on the body, Savannah always felt tingly after the acoustic bath, and not in a good way.

She stepped out with goosebumps on her skin and her face was sour as the tingles cascaded up and down her body. She reached for her robe but stopped upon catching the eye of her own figure in the full-length mirror Naomi had installed a week earlier.

Standing at 5 feet 5 inches, she was shorter than her mother had been, but their builds were the same. She had a slim, but not petite, frame, a medium-sized bust, and well-toned muscles encased by alabaster skin and topped with fiery red hair that just touched the bottom of her shoulder blades when dry. Her face was softer than Catherine Weaver's had been, but her blue eyes were as serious as the machine who'd replaced her.

Any scars from her childhood training were hidden by dermal regeneration, but had they not have been, she'd certainly have looked worse for the wear.

A fresh uniform quickly found its way onto her body before she left her dorm.

She'd taken her PADD with her and decided to do some work while she waited for Naomi.

There weren't many full-fledged statues in the gardens surrounding the academy, but there were a plethora of busts. Notable captains, war heroes, notable diplomats and politicians, and a few for impressive innovations like Daystom, who'd invented duotronics in the 23rd century.

Everyone knew where the Kirk bust was, though, despite it not being in the most obvious of places. She'd visited the bronze casting before, several times in fact, and it never ceased to amaze her how closely he resembled the actor who'd played him.

The bust of Star Trek's titular character depicted him during the glory days of his five-year mission. The hair was less curly and possessed a slimmer face than the one he wore when he died ten years previous.

Savannah sat next to it on one of the benches that lined it on either side. With her Academy-issued PADD, she began working on an assignment that was due in the comming weeks. She'd arrived early on purpose because she liked doing this kind of work surrounded by nature. The songs of the birds and the sounds of the foliage being rustled by wind helped her focus on tedious work.

Just as she was about to start her second page, a shadow crossed over her. She'd heard the steps approaching while she typed about efficient phaser turret placement and expected them to pass by.

When the shadow stopped in front of her, she realized she'd been wrong.

A glance revealed a surprise: Captain Picard.

He had a forlorn look on his aging face as he stood in front of the Kirk bust. She lowered her gaze to avoid being noticed, but it didn't stop her mind from speculating on the famous Captain's presence and mood.

She knew Picard's story better than most. Having access to the stories of Star Trek had helped her out on more than one occasion. This time, however, she was unsure. She knew he'd encountered Kirk years before in the Nexus and was part of the reason he'd never wanted to be anything more than a captain.

That had been 10 years ago, though, and Picard wasn't getting any younger. Perhaps he was having second thoughts about staying in the hot seat for the rest of his useful days.

He moved on after a spell, and thankfully without recognizing her. Why he might know her was a story for another time. For now, she was satisfied to write her paper.

Sarah Connor never imagined living long enough to see grey hairs pepper her raven locks, much less living a normal life without the threat of Terminators or government agents knocking down her door.

While her life was not normal per-say compared to the one she'd had before meeting John's father, it was as close as she'd ever get. It was nice being able to maintain acquaintances and some close friends versus the veritable solitude she'd adhered to in the past.

After 18 years they were nearly indistinguishable from any other Federation citizen living on Earth. Not once had they ever been looked at with enough suspicion to warrant investigation. It was a fact that Sarah was supremely proud of. The backstory Cortana, Seven, and John Henry had cooked up for them before blasting them here made it even easier for two worn-out soldiers and an innocent little girl to adapt quietly into a diverse 24th-century world.

It'd been a rough adjustment at first, especially when they realized they'd been sent back in time from when Seven had left. 2363 was the year they'd arrived in; an era of optimism and prosperity for the Federation. This was the time before the Borg, the Dominion, and the other threats that had popped up in the following years. Earth was lulled into a false sense of security like America right before 9/11.

None suspected their oddities or their sudden appearance. From there they'd played the part of disenfranchised refugees from some unknown colony on the outer reaches of Federation space getting used to the prestige of living on Humanity's cradle world.

With life so easy, she and Kyle had ample time to learn about the cultural norms of Federation society. It'd been easier for her than him, of course, but Reese boys were nothing if not adaptable.

Kyle's first job after coming here had suited his skill set nicely: security guard. The job was far from high risk, but it was a good place from which to build his resume. Once Savannah grew old enough, Sarah did the same.

By the time the Dominion War came to Earth, both were active in the Federation s as high ranking NCOs due to their exceptional experience in all things combat. Having dealt with physically superior enemies in the past, the Jem'Haddar proved to be the exact kind of challenge they were used to. It hadn't been without its consequences, however, and both of them sported scars they'd carry for the rest of their days. Most were mental scars piled on top of old ones from hardships endured on the battlefield and losing comrades they'd come to care for.

Sarah had lost an arm to a Jem'Haddar blade after she'd blasted his weapon. A bio-synthetic now took its place, as had several of Kyle's internal organs after he tripped one of the Houdini mines the Dominion were so fond of. The various burns and lacerations they'd received alongside all of that had disappeared with the wave of a dermal regenerator, but the memories remained.

It'd been a painful sacrifice, but worth it in the end.

The friends and contacts they'd made within the Federation had helped them keep up on current events and providing them with opportunities they'd not had before.

Even at 53, Sarah was in better shape now than she was John, Cameron, and herself had jumped to 2007. Federation medicine had cured her of damage done over the years fighting everything from abuse at the mental hospital to shrapnel and gunshot wounds. Despite the mental scars, her life was nearly perfect. If only she had her son around to share it with.

She'd often have to lie about John when interviewed by psychologists. Often it entailed him joining some colony or frontier expedition that carried high risk and no chance of communication with Earth.

It was close enough to the truth that no one had ever suspected it was a fabrication.

Kyle had the hardest time living a lie, but being a man of few words, it was easy for him to keep within character.

Speaking of her husband, Reese was currently on assignment, which left her home alone since Savannah spent most of her time at the academy.

Normally she could deal with the solitude and focus on things she liked to do. A chef was something she'd never imagined being, but this change of pace had afforded her the time, and patience, to learn how.

Sarah didn't fool herself into thinking could be a master chef, but she'd kill it during the holidays if her family was anything resembling normal.

Today she was making a special dinner for Savannah and herself to 'celebrate' a special event. They'd soon have an ally to share the burden of what was to come.

If all went according to plan, USS Voyager would unwittingly travel to another universe, and the risk of time paradoxes diminished greatly.

Seven of Nine and the Doctor were to be avoided at all costs, but other members of Voyager's crew were fair game.

They'd gone back and forth over the years on whether or not they should brief someone within the Voyager family just in case something happened to Sarah, Kyle, and Savannah. Starfleet needed to know of the potential threat once the time was right, and they couldn't do that if they were dead.

After Savannah had matured enough to put in her two cents on the matter, it was decided that they'd wait until after Voyager was gone to brief one of the natives.

Just who their lucky candidate would be was a topic they discussed for several years afterward, but as the time grew near, Savannah had finally convinced her adoptive parents of her choice.

After digging through the cabinets for a lid to one of her pots, Sarah set up a stasis field on the table where the food would be served. She wasn't entirely sure when Savannah would come home with the time differences and she wanted to make sure the food was fresh.

When the table was set and the hot food set upon it, she set the field and retired to her room for a much-needed shower.

Tonight would tell them if she and Kyle's faith in their adopted daughter had been well-founded.

Try as he might, Kyle Reese never got used to all the technological marvels he was surrounded by.

Skynet had taught him to respect anything more advanced than a calculator because all of it could be turned against you if wielded by a cunning enemy. At the same time, it fascinated him that some people spent their entire lives tinkering, experimenting, calculating, and figuring out new ways to manipulate and understand the world around them.

What really amazed him was how the Federation utilized their technology. Most of the people he'd known before coming here would have used such knowledge for war or personal gain. While those people existed here, they were the minority. Even fewer were the damaged psychos who just wanted to watch the world burn.

Despite war and weird anomalies, this was as close to a utopia he knew he'd ever experience. Fighting for the Federation during the Dominion War had been a labor of love. He was giving back to the universe that had given Sarah and him a new lease on life.

Now a veteran of two wars, Kyle was a highly sought-after commodity with his honed skills and even-tempered nature.

Right now he was stationed aboard Deep Space Nine earning decent pay guarding one of the Bajoran Orbs. It wasn't a long-term thing, just until it was moved back to Bajor. It was a good thing too; it'd turned out to be a high-profile target for various parties, all of whom failed thanks to him and the station's competent personnel.

One of those people was a Trill woman who was far more than her youthful appearance betrayed. Most would think it odd for a non-Bajoran to spend any amount of time in one of their places of worship unless you were like him and guarding the shrine's treasures.

Ezri Dax was an exception.

The joined Trill, now a commander in a red uniform had irregularly come by the shrine during his shift and meditated in the middle of the room for about an hour. For the three months he'd been here, she'd never spoken to him and he wasn't inclined to speak to her. Reese was fine with that arrangement because he knew any interaction with people he knew too much about could lead to uncomfortable questions that he didn't always have answers to.

Today, however, was different. Voyager's slipstream test was about to commence, and its destination was set for Deep Space Nine.

The station's security was being tightened and non-Federation personnel was being restricted to the habitat ring until the whole ordeal was over. This also meant that they were hurrying cargo vessels to depart lest one of them tried to covertly scan the top-secret prototype.

Having DS9's daily rhythm so thoroughly disrupted meant that upper-ranking personnel like Ezri were stressed out even more than usual.

With little to do, Kyle found himself glancing at the Trill occasionally as she struggled to meditate. Clearly, her mind was too preoccupied with the slipstream test to even come close to anything resembling a relaxed state.

A frustrated sigh escaped her lips and she shook her head in disgust. Her blue eyes opened with a trace of anger lingering in their depths before they snapped to steely ones.

"Am I bothering you, Mr. Reese?"

It still creeped him out how accurate fiction portrayed reality, and that uncomfortable feeling bloomed inside him again upon hearing her voice. Ezri Dax looked, and sounded, exactly like her actor.

While it had been 6 years since the end of Deep Space Nine, she'd barely aged in that time frame. Her hair was still short, but just a bit longer so it could be fanned out at the back. The style gave it the appearance of having tiny angel wings peeking out behind her head.

"No," he responded softly. He never spoke loudly when a whisper would do. "But something's bothering you, Commander."

The former counselor stood up and straightened her uniform, "Is it that obvious?"

Kyle chose his words carefully.

"You meditate at least three times a week in the same spot your predecessor died," he said evenly. People on the station knew who Ezri and Jadzia were, and the story behind them. It was common knowledge that Jadzia had been mortally wounded mere feet from where he was standing.

Now seven years older, Ezri didn't show her emotions as readily, but hiding them wasn't in Dax's skill set.

"You've done your research," she remarked evenly, but her face betrayed her unease at Kyle, a stranger, reading her so easily.

"I like to know who I'm working for," he said easily, "and I wouldn't be good at my job if I didn't."

"Kira said you were highly recommended," she affirmed.

Reese shrugged in response. He wasn't one to toot his own horn. He had already thwarted several robbery attempts in the few months he'd been here, and some of them had been accomplished thieves.

Ezri's comm badge began beeping incessantly. Sighing once more, she answered the comm and told Colonel Kira that she'd join her in ops momentarily.

Kyle figured it was nearly time for Voyager's slipstream flight to begin and being second in command meant Dax would be in the thick of it when Voyager arrived.

It wouldn't of course, but that was hardly his problem.

He just hoped that Savannah was ready for what came next.

Naomi Wildman was a bundle of worry and excitement.

The test was about to begin, and most of Voyager's former crew, her family, was present in a large atrium on Starbase 1 just outside the Sol system. Both her mom and dad were present, but they were off to the side chatting with some of her mother's old crewmates while she shadowed Seven of Nine.

Most of the science was still beyond her, but that's why she was watching her idol work: to learn.

Her ambitions were to become a perfect mix of both Janeway and Seven. Naomi knew she had the brains and charisma to accomplish her lofty goal and all she needed to do was put in the effort to get there.

Everything seemed perfect. Voyager was ready and everyone was gathered, but there was something off, something out of place.

It took her only a moment to find the fly in the proverbial pudding: Savannah Weaver.

She looked like a fish out of water amongst the Voyager family and the VIPs.

Not surprising given that everyone around her was a stranger, but there was something else too. A cloud of apprehension and foreboding surrounded her fiery-haired friend.

Naomi wrote it off as a lack of faith in the new propulsion system and left it at that.

She wanted to talk to the Admiral before things got too crazy and so she slipped between her peers until she found her mentor. Janeway was currently engaged in a three-way conversation with captains William Riker and Jean-Luc Picard.

If she were any kind of shy, she'd avoid the trio of legends, but Naomi was no such thing.

Her lanky form sidled up alongside her former captain.

Riker, ever amiable, smiled at her and reached out his hand, which she readily accepted.

"Have we met, cadet?"

"I'm Naomi Wildman, Captain Riker," she reminded him and enjoyed the bugged-eyed look he gave her upon realizing he'd met her only a few years prior. She'd been much smaller at the time.

"Her father's Ktarian, Will. They mature twice as fast as humans," Picard reminded him with an amused smile.

Riker apologized for his forgetfulness with an abashed smile and slightly pink cheeks.

She shook Picard's hand as well before her attention settled on Janeway, "Apologies for the interruption, captains. Would you mind if I borrowed the Admiral for a moment?"

"Of course, cadet," Picard replied amiably. He knew how much like an aunt Janeway was to the young woman and how little time they got to spend with each other nowadays. "Riker and I were just heading over to talk to Admiral Ross."

"Oh, we were, were we?" Riker laughed as Picard clapped his old 'Number One' on the back and pushed him towards Ross.

As the two legends moved off, Naomi gave Janeway her best-disarming smile. "Sorry, Admiral, I wanted to talk to you before all the excitement."

"I wondered when you'd make your way over," Janeway smirked as she led her young charge to a less crowded part of the room. "I'm sorry I've been so busy. Ever since High Command put me in charge of this little project I've barely had time to make coffee!"

A chuckle escaped Naomi's painted lips, "If everything goes to plan, maybe we can visit your mother in Indiana!"

"If I wasn't constantly in board meetings, pandering to diplomats, or arguing with stalwart captains I'd be there for dinner every night, but you're right," she admitted, "We both need a vacation."

"Do you think Chakotay would mind a visit?"

Katheryn paused at the mention of her former first officer before answering, "I'm sure he wouldn't mind a visit, but it wouldn't be much of a vacation."

Indeed it wouldn't, the young Ktarian thought. She knew Chakotay and some of the former Voyager crew were setting up a new colony for all sorts of disenfranchised people. It was his way of honoring the fallen Maquis and his father who'd been slaughtered by Cardassians on Dorvan V.

"I wasn't looking for one," she corrected, "If there's one thing I learned growing up on a starship, it's that there are problems everywhere and if you can do something about them, you should."

Janeway couldn't keep the proud look from spreading across her features, "Well, it seems you were raised right, then. Don't forget to take care of yourself, Naomi. I made that mistake more than once on our journey, and it nearly cost us. Having time to one's self is a luxury in our line of business. Don't take those moments for granted."

Naomi didn't quite comprehend working to exhaustion, homework was the worst thing she'd had to deal with in that respect, but she'd seen the looks on the crew's faces enough times to take Janeway's words seriously.

They talked for a few more minutes before Seven and B'Elanna signaled her that they were ready. Tom Paris was already at the controls looking as serious as she'd ever seen him. He'd been one of the few who were against the idea of resurrecting the Quantum Slipstream drive so soon after its clear failure just a few years earlier, but had ultimately yielded to his wife's superior knowledge of the technology and left it at that.

Naomi's eyes swept across the room judging the crowd's atmosphere before finding Savannah and taking a seat.

The twenty-four-year-old still had that fish-out-of-water look but was hiding it better now that Naomi was at her side.

"It's weird being in the same room with so many legends," she admitted quietly, "Picard, Riker, Janeway, Ross, Seven of Nine, Geordi La Forge, Jellico, Jake Sisko, Data, and the Doctor are all here."

Data wasn't the most accurate description of the memory implanted B-4, but the Soong type android was slowly becoming a new iteration of its famous brother.

Naomi shrugged at her friend's observation, "I lived with people like that my entire life. I guess it's just 'normal' for me."

"Nothing about this crowd is normal," Savannah replied cryptically. Her friend didn't have time to ask what she meant before Janeway cleared her throat and called for everyone's attention.

She gave a short speech about the history of the technology behind the new drive and the immense advantage it would give the Alpha Quadrant over superpowers in the Delta and Gamma Quadrants that had threatened their existence before.

Her crew was used to their former captain's moving speeches, but her words never failed to motivate them.

Once that was over, Janeway sat down in the mock captain's chair and began directing B'Elanna, Seven, and Tom Paris along with a few others who were at their own remote workstations controlling and monitoring Voyager remotely.

The bridge crew began their normal workplace banter as they undocked the ship from the station and moved to its launch site a few hundred thousand kilometers away.

Savannah could barely focus on the proceedings as she fought to keep her emotions hidden from the hyper-observant occupants surrounding her. When Janeway gave the order to engage the drive, Savannah swallowed hard as the external camera showed Voyager's hull streaming with sea-green energy as the quantum field established itself around the hull, but when it leaped forward and disappeared into the ether of subspace, she couldn't quite keep the relieved sigh from escaping her mouth.

There were cheers all around, save for the bridge crew. They knew phase variances took upwards of a minute to establish themselves.

"Mr. Kim," Janeway turned to the younger man at the station directly left of her, "drive status?"

"Everything is within expected parameters. No phase variance detected," he added with a smile. Katheryn returned it and switched her attention to Seven.

"And our Borg components, Seven?"

"Functional and stable, Admiral," the cyborg replied as she typed away at her terminal.

"B'Elanna, primary systems?"

"100% functional, Admiral, secondary systems on standby," the half-Klingon answered as the ship's speed stabilized at 150 light-years a minute.

Janeway continued to request updates for the next ten minutes before the Admiral finally seemed to relax. The drive clearly worked, and the phase variance issue was now a thing of the past.

Naomi gripped Savannah's arm in excitement as a wide grin spread across her. The dimensional traveler did her best to return the emotion and it seemed to fool her young friend.

Just as the tension began to ease, it happened.

Voyager's computer blared a verbal warning half-second before all feeds suddenly died.

The air slammed out of Savannah's lungs as she realized that the moment they'd been waiting for, the one they worried they'd interfered with, had finally passed.

The ship was now in the hands of John Henry. The circle was complete.

Everyone else was feeling the exact opposite, however.

Silence hung over the room leaving only the soft beeping of the 'signal lost' warning echoing off the walls.

Seven sprang into action first with her hands flying over the controls in an attempt to find out what happened.

Naomi was frozen by Savannah's side as the room turned to hushed whispers. Janeway didn't move for several seconds more, and by the time she snapped out of it, both Tom and B'Elanna were letting out a string of curses under their breaths.

Harry Kim looked on in horror for a moment before a resigned look settled over his Asian features.

"Hey," Savannah nudged her friend hoping for a response.

Naomi's steel-blue eyes were dull for several seconds before locking onto her own. "It's gone, isn't it?"

Her words were barely above a whisper, but Savannah heard them and the underlying shock and horror they held.

"Come on," she urged and pulled Naomi to her feet. With her arm wrapped around the young woman's shoulders, she guided her out of the room towards the station's arboretum. Savannah found a secluded area with a bench and lead her to it.

After sitting down, Savannah saw that Naomi's face had gone completely blank. She gently grabbed her chin and turned her porcelain face towards her own.

"Naomi?"

The Ktarian eyes focused on her friend after that but said nothing.

She repeated her name, and after a few moments, Naomi seemed to overcome the initial shock.

Guilt stirred in Savannah's gut but ignored it as her friend opened her mouth to speak. "You were right," she said softly, "We weren't ready."

'If only I could tell you', she thought to herself, 'I hope you can forgive me, one day.'

"We don't know what happened," she soothed, "It could take days before they figure it out."

She knew better than to give platitudes to Naomi. Having lived aboard Voyager, she'd been subject to coddling many times due to her age. In some ways, the young woman was very much a child, but in others more mature than her classmates. After all the misadventures aboard Voyager, she how badly things could devolve when in risky situations.

The girl-woman leaned her head on Savannah's shoulder and sighed tiredly as she fought down the overwhelming emotions she felt at losing her childhood home.

Several minutes passed as the two fire-kissed cadets sat in silence while chaos unfolded around them.

Icheb was the first to find them. He too had been concerned about Naomi's well-being but had difficulty extracting himself from the chaos.

While he felt the pain of Voyager's likely destruction, he knew the vessel meant far more to her than it did to him.

"Naomi," he called out to get her attention. He received it in the form of a bear hug. He wrapped his arms around her slim form as she buried her face into his chest. Not being one for empty words, he didn't try to tell her everything would be alright.

Instead, he leaned his head against her's as a gesture of comfort and let her melt into him as she fought to regain her composure.

Savannah walked over to where the two were embraced and began rubbing circles on Naomi's back with her hand.

The moment only lasted about two minutes before Icheb's comm badge chirped shrilly.

Naomi released her friend to allow him to answer the call.

It was of no surprise to the trio when Seven's voice came pouring out of the device, asking Icheb to assist her in finding Voyager.

"She sounds more upset than I am," Naomi observed as she wiped unshed tears from her eyes, "you'd better go. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

Naomi gave him a reassuring smile, "I am," she said. "Go help Seven before she blows a circuit!"

It was a poor attempt at humor, but Icheb let a smirk curl at the corner of his mount before turning back towards the chaos.

As soon as he was gone, her face fell once more. "I need to get out of here."

Savannah was hoping she'd say that. "I have an idea," she said and guided her friend towards the transport hub.

While Naomi wasn't the person she'd intended to bring home for one of Sarah's meals, she didn't think her adoptive mother would mind. Besides, Naomi ate six meals a day, roughly 6,000 calories, and drank copious amounts of water to deal with her extraordinary growth rate.

As it was, the half-Ktarian sometimes skipped meals or didn't finish them. She was so busy with being a cadet and having a social life that she ignored her need to eat. While she wouldn't be classified as underweight, she was pushing the limits of a healthy body mass.

When Savannah had first met Naomi two years ago, the girl had appeared no older than fourteen and came up only to her shoulder. Now she was just a few inches shorter than Savannah and looked like 21st-century model material.

Their short shuttle ride back to the Earth was short and they soon found themselves beaming down to a small county house in the middle of Montana. It sat on the edge of a small town of a few thousand and had been the perfect place for her adoptive parents to retire to after the Dominion War.

Retired only loosely described their lives, but at least they were around more nowadays.

Naomi stood quietly at her side as they walked away from the town's transporter station. It was brisk out, so they took a hover-taxi to the Reese household to avoid freezing to death.

It wasn't until they reached the doorstep that the young Ktarian finally spoke.

"Reminds me of the Admiral's childhood home. She took me there once not long after we came back."

Savannah's lips upturned, "They like the peacefulness. Not much goes on out here."

A surprised expression sprang across her face, "Your stories made them seem... I don't know... adventurous."

After ringing the doorbell, Savannah cleared up her friend's confusion. "They did what they needed to do. If they had their way, they'd have lived normal lives where ever they grew up."

Naomi cocked her head a bit while she recalled something a former crew-mate had explained to her, "Some of the crew were like that. Especially some who were Maquis."

Savannah didn't have time to respond before Sarah opened the door.

Mother and daughter embraced and exchanged greetings before stepping back.

Sarah Connor turned towards the other red-head standing at her door, "You must be Naomi," she smiled while holding out her hand. The young woman shook it as she returned the greeting, "And you must be Sarah. I've heard a lot about you."

"Really?" She gave Savannah a humorous look that held a clear message to her adoptive daughter.

A subtle 'no' gesture their family used told Sarah that Naomi was not informed about anything.

"Only good things I hope," she finished with a disarming smile and stepped aside so the pair could enter.

Savannah covertly handed Sarah the old PADD containing their secrets as Naomi took in their surroundings. There wasn't much to look at. Sarah and Kyle were not the decorative type, and not particularly sentimental, except when it came to Savannah.

Some school projects and other memorabilia from her childhood stood on shelves or hung on the wall. There even a few pictures of their little family and some friends they'd made over the years were sprinkled along the walls, but not much else.

As Naomi was finishing her observation, Sarah turned to Savannah to keep up their charade. "I wasn't expecting you home until later. Did something happen?"

"They lost all contact with the ship a few minutes into the flight. I'm not sure what happened," she explained while Naomi fought to stay composed. Having almost perfected the art of reading people, Sarah could see the 9-year-old Ktarian was torn up about losing her home.

Sarah placed a hand on her shoulder and gave Naomi her most understanding smile, "Normally I'd offer you a drink, but you're a little young."

Naomi couldn't help but let a small smirk slip through her dour demeanor at the woman's quip. "Unfortunately so, Mrs. Reese."

She waved the girl off, "Sarah, please. I'm not one for pleasantries."

Savannah led her friend into the kitchen just a few feet away, "Since synthale is off the menu, what about a second supper?"

Naomi's stomach growled at that exact moment, turning her pale face beet red. "That's...uh...that sounds good, thank you."

Neither mother nor daughter reacted to the noise or her embarrassment and instead led their guest into the kitchen. After eating her fill of the delectable dishes Sarah had labored hard to prepare, Savannah convinced her friend to stay the night in the guest bedroom. Naomi didn't object and soon fell asleep after one of the most trying days of her life.

Sarah and Naomi left the house soon after for a long, private walk on the trails surrounding their two-story cabin. They were bundled up to shield themselves from the Montana cold, but the nippiness didn't stop them from discussing the day's events.

"How long do you think they'll search for it?"

Savannah shrugged, "Considering all the tech onboard? At least a week. I was hoping to intercept Commander Torres at her home later, but her comm signal hasn't left Starbase 1."

"We're not in any hurry, Savannah. We've waited this long so we might as well do it right."

"Of course," she agreed, "but I can't wait long. Academy work is taking up more and more of my time. Soon I won't have any to spare."

Sarah stopped her in the middle of the trail, "I'm proud of you, Savannah. We both are. I trust you."

"I know," she smiled before continuing their walk, "When is Dad getting back?"

"A few more weeks. He's still guarding that Orb."

The young woman shook her head, "I don't know why he took that job. It's too risky being around all of them."

"Say's the one who's bunking with Naomi Wildman."

She dropped the subject and sighed, "We still have six more years before we can stop hiding. I wonder if we'll ever adjust."

"From being hermits? Probably not. It's been too long."

"For you and Kyle, maybe, but you have everything you need. If we survive this, and finally end this war, I'd like to find friends and just...be with them without keeping secrets or constantly fighting to stay alive."

"We may not get that, Savannah. If we do..." she dared not hope too much, "then we'll find out together."

Location: Deep Space Nine

Time: March 28, 2381

Tired didn't even begin to describe how exhausted Ezri Dax was after three long days of searching for the missing starship. They'd been part of a task force sent to search the route from Earth to DS9 for any sign of Voyager but found none.

The irony wasn't lost on her that the ship had disappeared without a trace for the second time in its existence, but couldn't bring herself to care at that moment.

Sleep had been an elusive dream for weeks and she couldn't take sleep aids indefinitely. She was lucky Julian was on a six-month expedition in the Gamma Quadrant and couldn't lecture her about it.

Her mind was a storm and it took all her discipline to not let it interfere with her daily duties as second in command of the station, but she was at her limit. A war was going on inside her and she wasn't sure why.

She thought she'd made peace with her impromptu joining six years ago; she'd even had her zhian'tara and interacted with Dax's previous hosts, Jadzia included. Everything had gone smoothly, even with some of the more notorious ones like Joran. The years following had been quiet where the symbiont was concerned, until recently.

Now her predecessor's memories and personality were rising like magma from the depths of the earth and disrupting Ezri's world.

The Trill couldn't help but feel inadequacy weigh down upon her once more. This shouldn't be happening, and wouldn't be if she'd gone through the training like everyone else. She was going to have to get creative to find her sense of balance once more.

The Rite of Emergence seemed to be the only way to figure out why. Talking to what remained of the infamous Jadzia Dax and finding out why she'd been harassing her was the quickest way to a resolution that Ezri could see.

With circles under her eyes, she stood in front of her bathroom mirror and began the chant that would coerce Dax to separate and personify Jadzia's imprint.

It didn't take as long as it had with Joran, for which the exhausted Trill was thankful.

Her reflection in the mirror faded and was replaced by a woman seven inches taller. The face that replaced hers was stern and beautiful with a skin tone and spots to match her own.

"It's about time," the essence remarked with more than a little exasperation.

Ezri, equally frustrated, didn't respond and stepped away from the mirror. Jadzia's essence manifested next to her, towering over Ezri's small, tired form.

After falling into the sofa, the commander glared up at her taller counterpart. "Yes, and now would you mind telling me why you've been so...active...lately."

Jadzia sighed, "Look, I've told you before I'm grateful that you saved Dax," the essence explained, "but, there were consequences."

The sidelong look Ezri gave her predecessor could melt steel. "I'm well aware of the 'consequences'."

Jadzia shook her head, "Not all of them. You've never learned how to...ponder on our lesser memories. The small things that didn't necessarily define each host, but were important enough to be passed on."

Ezri's face turned from one of annoyance to anger, "So I've been drugging myself for three months because of some insignificant memory you wanted me to remember!?"

"Not insignificant," the essence clarified, "a minor memory, one that was overshadowed by events that happened shortly after."

The younger Trill's face settled into curiosity after that. "And what memory was that?"

Jadzia nodded towards the door, "Come on, I'll show you."

With a sigh, she stood up and began walking towards the door. Since Jadzia's essence was merely a figment of her mind, she could not interact with the physical world.

Once outside she let Jadzia's image guide her out of the habitat ring and into the central core. For some reason, she wasn't surprised they ended up on the Promenade, but she wasn't expecting Jadzia to lead her back to the Bajoran shrine.

"Why are we here?" Ezri whispered as people moved around her and through her mind's manifestation of Jadzia.

"A few hours before I died, I was looking into a transporter record anomaly one of the technicians discovered after a Federation battalion left the station for deployment. I did a little digging and isolated the source. A Senior Chief Petty Officer by the name of Kyle Reese had a quantum variance in 48% of his molecules."

That piqued Ezri's interest. Most times that variance was a sign that someone wasn't where they should be. Matter from alternate timelines and parallel universes always possessed a difference of some kind from this one.

"If that's true, I wonder where he came from," she pondered.

"I don't know," Jadzia murmured. "I died before I could find out."

Grimacing, Ezri metaphorically slipped her hand into Jadzia's to comfort her as the painful memories came crashing down on them both.

"He's guarding the Orb right now," the shorter woman noted, "We're pretty good at reading people, let's see if can catch him off guard."

A small smirk from Jadzia was the only response Ezri received. Clearly, the essence had no intention of joining her in the room in which her physical existence had so abruptly ended.

As she entered the shrine, the essence faded back into her mind for the time being.

There were only two people in the shrine besides Ezri. Kyle Reese and a Vedek whose name escaped her were attending their duties as she entered the room.

Reese's eyes were hidden behind that strange helmet and polarized visor, but she knew they were locked onto her the instant she entered. While she expected that, she wasn't expecting the Vedek to pay her any attention at all.

The Bajoran stared at her with resolute eyes and a determined look upon his aged face, and it triggered a memory from Jadzia's first days at DS9. The look he was giving her now was eerily similar to the look a different vedek gave a then-Commander Sisko just before having his first Orb experience.

Suddenly, she regretted coming here, but it was too late now. Ezri, with her hands folded behind her back like always, bee-lined for Reese.

"Is something wrong, Commander?"

"You're not from around here, are you?" Her question was purposefully ambiguous, but her tone left little room for interpretation.

As she feared, he tensed ever so slightly, and only someone who'd once been an ambassador could see it.

"I'm not sure what you mean..." he feigned as the vedek moved past them towards the Orb.

Before she could site Jadzia's evidence, the vedek disabled the force field, startling them both as it buzzed out of existence.

"What are you doing?" Ezri questioned as the vedek moved to open the Orb.

He ignored her question and fixed his attention on the armored man standing next to her. "It's time, Mr. Reese."

At first, Ezri thought Reese and the vedek had some prior appointment, but the way he reacted disproved that theory.

Kyle stepped back, almost shocked by the vedek's words before sputtering a response, "W-what?"

No one had a chance to react before he opened the Orb and everything turned white.

A/N: Well, some of you asked what these characters were up to, well know you know. I've already written out the next chapter, but I think it needs significant refinement before being published. Plus I want to know what you people think about the direction the story is taking.

There should be three total chapters to this interlude before resuming normal programming.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave your thoughts in a review!

P.S. I can't believe it's been five years since this was first published!

-OZ