Plan B

My version of 'Endgame'

Rating: PG
Summary: My version of 'Endgame'. Chakotay realizes his mistake. Admiral Janeway didn't think of everything, so Captain Janeway goes to Plan B.

Disclaimer: Voyager & its characters are owned by Paramount. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Some scenes, events, and dialogues were borrowed from the Voyager episode "Endgame".

This story begins part-way through Endgame, Part II. Let's just say I accept everything up to this point. They've just left the nebula after they see that there's a Borg transwarp hub in there, and Captain Janeway wants to destroy it.

Two Kathryn Janeways walked briskly through the corridors of Voyager. Junior crew-members grew wide-eyed and open-mouthed as they passed. Of course, they had all heard the bizarre news that a future version of Kathryn Janeway had come to give them a shortcut home, but to actually see the two together was unnerving. And to see Captain Janeway arguing with her future self was downright frightening. Not even Tom Paris would dare to make a bet on that one.

"You got Voyager home, which means I will, too," the younger Kathryn Janeway was saying. "If it takes a few more years then that's..."

"Seven of Nine is going to die," said the Admiral, snapping the few threads that were left of the Temporal Prime Directive.

Captain Janeway stopped in her tracks, not sure whether to be distressed over Seven's fate, or whether to be angry at the Admiral for telling her more than she wanted to know about the future, "What?"

"Three years from now. She'll be injured on an away mission. She'll make it back to Voyager, and die in the arms of her husband."

Captain Janeway gave the Admiral a raised eyebrow that would make even Tuvok proud, "Husband?"

"Chakotay."

Captain Janeway felt a stab of pain through her entire body. How could she have been so blind? All along she had thought that Chakotay would wait for her until they made it back to Earth, and that Seven would never allow herself enough emotional response to actually fall in love with another crew member.

Knowing that she now had the Captain's full attention, Admiral Janeway continued, "He'll never be the same after Seven's death--and neither will you."

"If I know what's going to happen...I can avoid it," she said, somewhat doubtfully.

"Seven isn't the only one," the Admiral added. "Between this day, and the day I got Voyager home, I lost 22 crew members."

Another phaser blast to the heart. No wonder the Admiral was so bitter, thought the Captain.

"And then, of course, there's Tuvok."

"What about him?"

"You're forgetting the temporal prime directive, Captain," Admiral Janeway admonished.

"The hell with it!" The Captain knew there was no turning back now. The Admiral certainly knew how to manipulate her former self.

"Fine. Tuvok has a degenerative neurological condition that he hasn't told you about."

By now, Captain Janeway was deeply concerned. Of course, she knew that every ship had casualties, etc. etc., but these were the three people on Voyager who the Captain was closest to. First Seven, in whom she had invested so much time and energy, would be killed. And Tuvok would go mad. And Chakotay, a broken man after Seven's death. And how would she cope with all that? No wonder the Admiral had become such a bitter woman, obsessed with changing the past. For the first time, Captain Janeway began to understand the Admiral's position.

"There's a cure in the Alpha Quadrant," the Admiral continued, "but if he doesn't get it in time...Even if you alter Voyager's route, limit your contact with alien species, you're going to lose people...But I'm offering you a chance to get all of them home, safe and sound, today. Are you really going to walk away from that?"

They had reached the Captain's quarters, and so they went inside and the Captain sat down. The Admiral allowed Captain Janeway to digest all of the information, and its implications, while she got them both a coffee. The Captain accepted the steaming cup gratefully, and the Admiral said,

"Really, I don't know why I ever gave this up."

"There must be a way that we can use the network to get home, and destroy it at the same time." speculated the Captain.

"There may be a way. I considered it once, but thought it was too risky."

"Let's hear it... No wait, let's call a meeting of the senior staff." The Captain reached for her commbadge and the Admiral smiled sadly. Her fate was sealed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The senior staff had assembled in a conference room. Chakotay sat conspicuously close to Seven, the Captain noted, slightly shocked. She wondered how long that had been going on without her noticing. Tom and B'Elanna sat together. B'Elanna looked especially weary. She had not slackened her pace of work despite the fact that she could be going into labour at any moment. The Doctor was hovering around her with a tricorder. Tuvok sat calmly. The Captain Janeway could see no outward sign of his condition. He was in complete control of his emotions. Harry looked about ready to collapse. He had alternately been helping B'Elanna in Engineering and Seven in Astrometrics. The Captain doubted that he had had any sleep in the past 48 hours. Neither had she. Not even her extra-strong blend coffee (reserved for emergency use only) was keeping her alert any more. She decided to begin the meeting before she fell asleep.

"Thank-you all for coming. I know how tired you must be, and I want to let you know how grateful I am for all your hard work these past few days." She silently made eye contact with each of them. "I'd like to know if you've found a way to destroy the transwarp hub."

Tuvok and Seven stood up to present their findings with a graphical display. "We could enter the hub through the following aperature," explained Tuvok. "Once inside, we'd fire a spread of transphasic torpedoes."

"They'd be programmed to detonate simultaneously," added Seven. "If the torpedoes penetrate the shielding, the conduits should begin to collapse in a cascade reaction. In order to avoid the shock wave, we'd have less than ten seconds to exit the hub."

"All of the aperatures leading back to the Alpha quadrant would require at least 20 seconds to traverse. We would only be able to return to the Delta Quadrant" added Seven.

"Why can't we just wait an extra ten seconds to fire the torpedos?" asked Tom.

"By firing at the designated time, we are ensuring that the torpedos are distributed throughout the transwarp network. If we fired them ten seconds later, we would only destroy 47 percent of the network. It is likely that the Borg would be able to follow us into the Alpha Quadrant and assimilate us," explained Tuvok.

"I believe I can bring down the rest of the conduits," said the Admiral quietly. Everyone turned to look at her. The Captain nodded, silently giving her permission to continue.

"I could take my shuttle through a conduit which leads to Unimatrix One, where the Queen resides. There, I would first attempt to distract her, so that you would have a better chance of getting into the conduit system unharmed. Eventually, I would be caught and assimilated..."

"How would that help?" interrupted Chakotay, obviously upset that the Admiral intended to sacrifice herself for no apparent reason.

The Admiral took a deep breath. "What I haven't told any of you, is that I am carrying a pathogen that is deadly to the Borg. Once I am assimilated, the pathogen will destroy all Borg technology which is regulated by Unimatrix One and the Queen. So that, in addition to your transphasic torpedoes will result in the destruction of 99 percent of the transwarp conduits, and allow you to get back to the Alpha Quadrant safely."

The senior staff sat in stunned silence, waiting for the Captain's reaction.

"I can't let you sacrifice yourself in that way!" exclaimed Captain Janeway.

"I always expected this to be a one-way mission for me. Tell me, what do you think would happen if Voyager showed up in the Alpha Quadrant with two Kathryn Janeways on board? But all joking aside, this is my mission. I had planned for this eventuality ever since Voyager returned to Earth in my timeline. I know what I have to do, and I am perfectly willing to go through with it. Kathryn, you know you'd sacrifice your own life to save the ship. Please let me do the same."

Captain Janeway gazed at the Admiral for a long time. She saw the desperation in her eyes. Now having seen for herself that the relationship between Chakotay and Seven was escalating, she could understand how years of regrets and disappointments could have made the Admiral so obsessed and bitter. As much as she disliked sending someone on a suicide mission, she knew it was the only way. And... she reasoned, it wasn't as if she were sending another crew member. Technically, she was going herself. Finally, she made up her mind.

"Alright...you can go," said the Captain reluctantly.

Just then, B'Elanna grabbed Tom's arm suddenly, and he said, "Ouch!" The Doctor flipped out his tricorder and scanned her.

"It's time!" he exclaimed, unable to contain his excitement.

B'Elanna was less than pleased. "Great timing. We're about to head back into a Borg-infested nebula. How long is this going to take?"

"Klingon labour can last for several days," said the Doctor.

Before B'Elanna could reply, the Captain said, "I suggest you proceed to Sickbay with the Doctor. Tom, you go too. I'll call you when you're needed."

The three of them left. Tom gave Harry a frightened glance on the way out.

"Harry and Seven, you can help the Admiral prepare her shuttle," continued the Captain.

"Yes Captain," said Harry. He and Seven and the Admiral left. Chakotay remained seated.

"So, Chakotay... what do you think of this whole plan?" asked Janeway.

"What I don't understand, is why did the Admiral think it was so necessary for us to get home sooner? Why would she volunteer to be assimilated even?"

If only you knew the Captain thought. But she wasn't going to get into all that again. It was too painful. "She has her reasons," she sighed.

"She told you why, eh? But something tells me you're not going to share that information," said Chakotay.

"I can't, Chakotay," she gazed at him, willing him to understand.

"But there's something that's bothering me, though," Chakotay continued, "Something the Admiral didn't think about...the Maquis."

"What about the Maquis?" asked Janeway.

"Well, in her timeline, it took her sixteen years from today to reach Earth. By that time, the whole Dominion war must have been long forgotten. The Maquis would likely have been pardoned. But what's going to happen to the Maquis if we get back to Earth in a couple of days?"

"You're right! I never thought of that either. Starfleet has been disturbingly vague about the Maquis in all of the datastreams."

"To us, in the Delta Quadrant, we're not Maquis any more. We're part of Voyager's crew. We're family. But back in the Alpha Quadrant, those divisions are still there."

"Exactly. Voyager may make a triumphant return years ahead of schedule, but if any member of this crew is imprisoned, or even put on trial, what is the point? We would be better off here in the Delta Quadrant." she said.

"Then why don't we just stay here?"

Captain Janeway looked at him for a long time. "I'm going to have to break the Temporal Prime Directive to tell you."

"Go ahead."

"The first reason is Tuvok. He has a degenerative neurological condition which can only be cured by a mind meld with a family member. We will not make it back to the Alpha Quadrant in time for him to retain his sanity. A total of 22 members of our crew will be killed before we make it back, including.... including Seven of Nine."

She saw that Chakotay was reacting much as she had. Shock, anger, disbelief. It was painful for her to see how much that news disturbed him. "Now do you understand?" she asked.

After a long time, he said, "Yes. We must get back to the Alpha Quadrant now, even if it means punishment for the Maquis."

Janeway thought for a while. "It doesn't have to. Not if I can help it."

"It sounds like you have a plan," said Chakotay, suddenly looking more hopeful.

"I do... Plan B," smiled the Captain. "Seven of Nine, this is the Captain. Please report to the Conference room."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few hours later, Voyager was on its way back to the nebula - a six-hour journey. Seven of Nine was in engineering, keeping an ocular implant on things during B'Elanna's abcense. She was also working on a strange-looking device. She had already told Vorik and the other junior engineers that the device was confidential, and to keep out of the way. They hurriedly returned to attend to the numerous preparations required to ensure Voyager had the best chance of getting through the transwarp conduits unscathed. Meanwhile, Chakotay had arrived in engineering, and approached Seven.

"How is Plan B coming?"

"Acceptably...Sir," she added, as Chakotay stepped nearer.

"Are we keeping things 'professional' again today?"

"Yes, Commander."

Chakotay looked confused, "You're not joking, are you?"

"No." Seven continued her work, trying to ignore him.

"Are you disturbed by what the Admiral said about the future?"

"Yes. I've decided to alter the parameters of our relationship."

"You mind telling me why?" said Chakotay, angrily.

Seven was perplexed. How could he not see the logic of the situation. Her death would have an adverse effect on Chakotay if they were to get more involved. If they were able to return to the Alpha Quadrant, and the timeline altered, Seven intended to find work on another Starship, or at a Deep Space Outpost. She did not want to be tied down by a relationship.

"We both have dangerous occupations. It's possible one of us could be seriously injured, or worse. I believe it's best to avoid emotional attachments."

"Just being alive is risky! You'll never be able to guarantee that neither of us will be hurt. Maybe you can just flip some Borg switch and shut down your emotions, but I can't!" shouted Chakotay.

"I suggest you try. It will make things less difficult for you. I have already lost interest in this...relationship. I want to keep my career options open when we return to Earth."

"Look at me, Seven," said Chakotay. She finally stopped what she was doing and looked into his eyes. He looked back. He saw no trace of emotion, just a hard, cold, dispassionate stare. It was obvious she was telling the truth. She no longer cared for him, if indeed she ever had.

Chakotay felt betrayed. He had risked so much on this relationship. He sensed that Admiral Janeway had told her younger counterpart about their relationship. He knew that the Captain still loved him, and that she was upset that Chakotay hadn't told her about his feelings for Seven. He just hoped that someday he would be able to regain her trust. But now, as he looked at Seven, he felt more anger and emotional pain than he had since his Maquis days. He felt embarrassed for not realizing that he was just another one of her experiments. He turned around and left Engineering without another word. Seven turned back to her work as if nothing was the matter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several hours later, Voyager had arrived at the outskirts of the nebula. Captain Janeway arrived in Sickbay. Tom was pacing frantically near the door.

"How is everything going?" asked the Captain.

"Oh, B'Elanna's doing fine, it's the Doctor I'm worried about. It's lucky he's a hologram, though. B'Elanna already broke one of my fingers," he held up a bandaged hand. "That's why I'm out here right now."

"The reason I'm here is that we're about to re-enter the nebula. Do you think B'Elanna could spare you for an hour or so to get us back to the Alpha Quadrant?" asked Janeway.

Just then, a full-throated Klingon scream erupted from one of the back rooms in Sickbay, followed by the Doctor's reassuring voice.

"I'll go ask," said Tom, as he sprinted off. Janeway heard muffled sounds of conversation from the back room.

Suddenly, B'Elanna shouted, "Captain, don't let Chakotay pilot Voyager at a time like this! Think of all those shuttles he's lost!"

Seconds later Tom reappeared, and he and the Captain proceeded to the Bridge.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Borg Queen monitored Voyager's progress back through the nebula. Suddenly, she heard an unexpected voice.

"I don't know how you do it. All those voices talking at once. You must get terrible headaches." said Admiral Janeway, stepping out from behind some Borg machinery. "If you're calling drones to assimilate me, don't bother."

"I don't need drones to assimilate you," said the Queen, and walked over to where the Admiral was standing. As she sent her assimilation tubules towards the Admiral's neck, her look of satisfaction and victory rapidly changed to anger and confusion.

Admiral Janeway smiled, "I'm not actually here, Your Majesty... I'm in your mind."

The Admiral was actually safe within her cloaked shuttle, and using a synaptic interface to project her image into the Queen's cube.

"What do you want?" asked the Queen.

"To make a deal. Captain Janeway thinks I'm here to help her destroy your transwarp network."

"That's beyond your abilities," the Queen said.

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you," continued the Admiral. "She has weapons that I brought from the future. I believe you're familiar with them."

"Transphasic torpedoes," said the Queen. "We will adapt."

"Eventually," Janeway agreed. "But not before Voyager does a great deal of damage. I'm willing to tell you how to adapt to those weapons now."

"In exchange...for what?" asked the Queen.

"To send a cube. To tractor Voyager...and drag them back to the Alpha Quadrant."

"You're asking me to believe that the incorruptible Kathryn Janeway would betray her own crew?"

"I brought technology to help Voyager get home . But the Captain and her officers are prepared to sacrifice their lives--just to deal a crippling blow to the Borg."

The Queen smiles. "You wish to ensure the well-being of your Collective. I can appreciate that." The Queen smiled. "I'll help you. But it'll cost more than you're offering."

"What do you want?"

"Your vessel and its database," proclaimed the Queen.

"If I let you assimilate technology from the future, there's no telling how events would be altered."

"You've already altered the future. You will compromise."

Admiral Janeway stalled as long as she could, then finally agreed, "All right. I'll give you the shuttle...after Voyager arrives safely in the Alpha Quadrant."

Suddenly, the Queen smiled, "You underestimate me, Admiral. While we've been talking, my drones have triangulated your signal."

Before the Admiral could react, she was wisked away by a Borg transporter. Her last thought before dematerializing was that she hoped she had given Voyager enough time to reach the transwarp conduits in safety. Suddenly, she re-appeared face to face with the Queen herself.

The Queen immediately stretched out her assimilation tubules, and the Admiral groaned audibly. As Janeway's skin began to change colour, the Queen stated triumphantly, "You and I don't need words to understand each other."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Voyager had arrived safely at the entrance to the transwarp conduits.

"Take us in, Mr. Paris," ordered the Captain.

Tom enjoyed his last moment in the Delta Quadrant before steering the ship into one of the conduits. The crew's stomachs jolted due to the gravitational and temporal effects of being in transwarp. Tuvok initiated the countdown sequence for releasing the transphasic torpedoes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Borg Queen smiled down at the struggling Admiral Janeway, who was evidently not enjoying the assimilation process.

The Collective voice spoke to both of their minds, "Voyager has entered Aperture 823. Access Transwarp Corridor Zero-Nine. Redirect vessels to intercept." Suddenly explosions rocked the Queen's vessel. She staggered with a surprised look on her face.

With her last shreds of individuality, the Admiral managed to say, "Must be something you assimilated."

"You've infected us...with a neurolytic pathogen." the Queen said. As the entire Unicomplex began to explode, the Admiral could only smile sadly. Her life was now over. But with her last thought, she thought of Chakotay, and hoped that her younger self would realize her feelings before it was too late.

The Borg Queen's last conscious thought was to order a still-uninfected sphere to follow Voyager and destroy them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Voyager moved swiftly through the conduit system. However, as the pathogen began to affect the Collective, the conduits' shielding began to destabilize. Voyager's structural integrity weakened rapidly. Power on many decks failed. B'Elanna's labour continued in the darkness of Sickbay. Luckily, the Doctor was wearing his holo-emitter, so his program wasn't de-activated when the power failed.

Finally, they had reached the designated coordinates, and Tuvok fired the torpedoes. Voyager turned off into a separate exit aperature. They were ten seconds away from the Alpha Quadrant. Suddenly a Borg sphere entered the same conduit a little ways ahead of them, and began firing. Voyager was taking heavy damage, both from the Sphere, and from the destabilizing conduits. Captain Janeway prayed that the ship would hold together just a little longer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In a sparse region of the Alpha Quadrant, several weeks journey from Earth, several Starfleet ships were undergoing a training exercise. Suddenly each ship detected intense gravimetric radiation, as well as Borg signatures. Captain Gray of the Starship Chilliwack immediately broke off the training exercise and ordered all of the Starships to assume attack positions and prepare to fire.

Without warning, a Borg sphere emerged from the exit aperature. The ships immediately began to fire. However, their weapons had no effect on the heavily shielded Borg vessel. Therefore, it was to Captain Gray's great surprise that the sphere suddenly exploded into millions of tiny fragments. She immediately ordered her fleet to cease firing. Then, to her utter amazement, a small, heavily damaged Starfleet ship emerged from the midst of the debris field. She hailed the vessel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After firing her last transphasic torpedoes and destroying the Borg sphere, and their subsequent emergence through the debris and into the waiting arms of a whole armada of Starfleet vessels, Captain Janeway called to Seven in Astrometrics to ask their position.

"We are in the Alpha Quadrant, approximately three weeks journey from Earth, Captain," said Seven.

"Chakotay, what is our status?" asked the Captain.

"Five decks have lost power, there are hull breaches on decks four through seven, and warp drive is off-line. Shields are holding at 20%..."

"Captain, we're being hailed by one of the vessels," interrupted Harry.

"On screen."

A human face appeared on the screen. The Bridge crew on Voyager smiled to each other.

"I am Captain Gray of the Starship Chilliwack..." suddenly she realized who she was speaking to. "Captain... Janeway? Is it really you?" she exclaimed.

"Yes. I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Starship Voyager and we're glad to be home." she smiled.

"Well, let me be the first to congratulate you! But we thought it would have taken you a few more years to get home, from what Admiral Paris was saying."

"Let's just say we found a shortcut."

"Was it you who destroyed that sphere? Is there any more danger from them?"

"No immediate danger. We have destroyed their transwarp network, so it will not be easy for them to access this part of the galaxy for a long time. And yes, we did destroy the sphere."

Captain Gray could only shake her head in amazement. "Our scans show that you are damaged. Can we be of assistance?"

"Yes, thank-you. It is likely that we will need some supplies to repair our ship. I will send you a list shortly. But I'd ask that no one leave or board Voyager for the time being."

"As you wish." The transmission ended. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few minutes later, an exuberant EMH arrived on the Bridge carrying a small bundle in his arms. The Bridge crew turned around.

"Sorry Captain," he said, "But B'Elanna told me I should bring Miral Kathryn Paris here at once to see her father. She threatened to decompile my matrix if I didn't comply."

Tom jumped up and ran over to the Doctor, who placed the newborn in Tom's arms. Tom was utterly happy and utterly terrified at the same time. The child was beautiful. The rest of the Bridge crew crowded around to catch a glimpse. Everyone was thrilled with the new addition to Voyager's family. Chakotay was especially thrilled, since he had won the Baby Pool for guessing the time of the baby's birth.

"Captain, permission to go to Sickbay?" asked Tom.

"Permission granted, Lieutenant, and congratulations!" replied the Captain. The Doctor, Tom, and Miral left for Sickbay. "Mr. Kim, open a ship-wide hailing frequency,"

"Aye Captain."

"All hands, this is the Captain. I have good news to report. First, we have a new addition to our family. Miral Kathryn Paris was born half an hour ago..." the Captain became emotional - she hadn't realized that Tom and B'Elanna would choose her as a namesake for their child, but she was truly honoured. "And secondly, we have successfully navigated the transwarp network, and have arrived back in the Alpha Quadrant. We are currently about three weeks' journey from Earth. We have also destroyed the Borg transwarp network, as well as infected the main Borg unicomplex with a neurolytic pathogen, so the Borg threat has been removed for the time being. However, our mission is not yet complete. Our ship is in need of repair. We have encountered several other Starfleet ships who will be able to provide us with supplies. However, I have asked that no one leave or board Voyager for the time being, so we can adjust to our new circumstances. And now, I have a few people I would like to thank..."

The Captain began to thank each and every crew member for their contribution to Voyager, starting with Miral and Naomi, and working her way up the ranks. Chakotay, who was sitting beside her, was astounded. She thanked every single crew member. The Captain spoke from memory, she had no PADD to remind her of the names. She had obviously prepared the speech for this very occasion. Her voice was proud and jubilant as she thanked everyone. Occasionally, she seemed sad as she remembered those crew members who had given their lives in service of Voyager.

Chakotay felt a pang of guilt that he could have been so deceived as to think he could love Seven of Nine. Seven would never have prepared such a speech to her crewmembers if she had been Captain. A cursory thanks, perhaps, for getting the ship home in an efficient manner. Suddenly, long-forgotten emotions began pouring into Chakotay's heart once again. The love for his Captain and friend which had so long lain dormant came sweeping over him once again. He looked at her with love, admiration, and respect, as she stood tall in the centre of the Bridge and spoke from her heart to the crew which had remained unfailingly loyal to her.

She saved her thanks for the senior staff to the end.

"I thank you, Ensign Kim, for never losing sight of our goal. For doing whatever it took to help us achieve that. I thank you, Lieutenant Paris, for being the best pilot in any Quadrant. For always keeping Voyager on a course for home. And for never beating me at pool." The Bridge crew chuckled. "I thank you, Lieutenant Torres, for saving this ship more times than I can count. For achieving the impossible in pressure situations. I thank-you, Doctor, for working so many medical miracles over the years. For expanding from a computer program with a lousy bedside manner to a complex and unique individual, with a genuine concern for the wellbeing of others. You are an inspiration to all of us. I thank you, Seven of Nine, for allowing yourself to become human. For your outstanding dedication to this ship, even though you were not required to contribute." The Captain turned to face Tuvok. "I thank you, Commander Tuvok, for keeping us all accountable for our decisions, and for your unfailing voice of logic and reason." Tuvok nodded in appreciation as the Captain turned to face her First Officer. She paused, and then began, "I thank you, Commander Chakotay, for being there, by my side, through thick and thin. For being my friend, and looking out for me. And for always giving me your honest opinion, even when I hadn't had my coffee yet." She smiled and Chakotay smiled back.

Captain Janeway concluded her remarks, "Crew members of Voyager, we are closer to each other than any other crew in Starfleet. We have been through so much together that I can truly say that we are a family. I am proud and humbled to be the Captain of such an amazing group of individuals. It is through your hard work, sacrifice, and dedication that we have achieved our goal. And I assure you that I will not allow anyone or anything to come between us."

The Captain returned to her seat as the Bridge crew applauded. All around the ship, people were crying and clapping. In Sickbay, B'Elanna was weeping as a result of her post-birth emotional fluctuations. The crews of the nearby Starfleet ships were dumbstruck, as Harry had accidentally included all of the ships in the hailing frequency.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several hours later, Captain Janeway was sitting in her ready room reading an update from Chakotay. Supplies had been transferred over from the Starship Chilliwack, and repairs were underway. The Doctor had had to confine B'Elanna to Sickbay using multiple force fields and a full security team, but he finally allowed her to keep an open comm channel to Engineering to oversee the repairs.

Now that the ship was beginning to return to normal, Janeway decided that now was the time to contact Starfleet headquarters. She opened a secure channel to Admiral Paris. The familiar face appeared on her computer screen.

"Captain Janeway, I heard the wonderful news! Congratulations!"

"Thank-you Admiral. We are happy to be home. We have a few repairs to make, and then we'll set a course for Earth. We should arrive in about three weeks."

"Excellent. Would you like me to arrange for a repair team to meet you?"

"No thanks. We've received assistance from the Starship Chilliwack, and I've asked that our ship remain isolated until we reach Earth. This is a big adjustment for the crew, and I'd like to make sure they don't have to deal with repair teams, eager merchants, or exuberant relatives before they reach Earth. We also have some... interesting... technology that should be kept confidential for now."

"Understood. We'll ensure that all ships give you at least a one-light year berth."

"Thank-you Admiral. I have one further question. It concerns the members of Voyager's crew who were former Maquis. What is to happen to them when we reach Earth? All of the transmissions up till now have been disturbingly vague."

"That is a very delicate topic..."

"I want a straight answer, Admiral. That's why I contacted you before I talked to Starfleet Headquarters."

"Unfortunately, it's not good news. At the end of the Dominion War, as you know, the Cardassians surrendered. But it wasn't just a simple surrender. The Cardassians had a weapon given to them by their allies from the Gamma Quadrant. This weapon had the capability to destroy an entire solar system. Just prior to their surrender, the remaining Cardassians had migrated to a solar system in Federation space near the neutral zone, taking their weapon with them. They said they would surrender and return peacefully to Cardassia if the Federation agreed to hand over the Maquis to them, or else they would detonate the weapon and destroy themselves as well as the solar system they were inhabiting. There were 200 billion sentient life forms living in that system. The Federation had no choice but to hand over the Maquis. The Cardassians were escorted back to their home planet, and the weapon was retrieved and disarmed."

"I don't see what all this has to do with the former Maquis on my ship!" exclaimed Janeway.

"The few remaining Cardassians have a pretty hard life now. Much of their home world was destroyed during the war. In addition, the Federation, understandably, has been reluctant to hand over the Maquis. A few have been sent to Cardassian prisons, but many remain scattered throughout the quadrant. The Cardassians are clamouring for the Federation to honour its deal. Also, there is public pressure at home and within the upper echelons of Starfleet to turn the Maquis over to the Cardassians. The Admiralty needs a scapegoat, as people are beginning to blame the Federation leaders for the problems and damage caused during the war. It has been very difficult to locate the remaining Maquis, as they have all gone into hiding. If we could hand over the Maquis from your ship, the Cardassians would likely be satisfied, and cease their demands."

"This is outrageous, Admiral. I can't believe that you would condone this!"

"I know it sounds terrible, but really, there's nothing we can do about it. And remember, we saved 200 billion lives! And people here still regard the Maquis as dangerous terrorists."

"There must be something that can be done. I can provide records showing the exemplary behaviour of every former Maquis on this ship. They have gone above and beyond the call of duty on countless occasions. That's more than I could say for many Starfleet officers. There must be something that can be done. For heavens sake, one of these Maquis is your daughter-in-law, with a brand new baby. Will you hand her over to the Cardassians?" the Captain was becoming desperate.

"I'm sorry. I've tried everything possible. I've showed the Federation leaders all the personnel files from Voyager. They will not change their minds. There's nothing else to be done."

"This is unacceptable!" shouted Janeway, and then cut the link.

She activated her commbadge, "Commander Chakotay, please come to the ready room."

"I'm on my way, Captain."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So there's nothing that can be done?" asked Chakotay, when he had heard what Admiral Paris had said.

"It doesn't sound hopeful. It seems like public opinion is very much against the Maquis. Even if we could prevent you being handed over to the Cardassians, it is unlikely that we could prevent life sentences in Federation prisons. I will not allow this crew to be separated. I'll talk to the crew about Plan B."

"Agreed," said Chakotay. They left the ready room and returned to the Bridge.

"Ensign Kim, open a ship-wide hailing frequency. And this time make sure that only the crew of Voyager hears it!"

"Aye Captain."

"All hands, this is the Captain. We have a situation. When Admiral Janeway returned to Earth after 23 years in the Delta Quadrant, the Dominion War had been long forgotten, and every member of this crew was welcomed home as a hero. But in today's Alpha Quadrant, the Maquis are still regarded as terrorists. What's worse, as part of the surrender treaty, the Federation was forced to agree to hand over the Maquis to the Cardassians. I have talked with Admiral Paris, and he considers that it is impossible to reverse this decision. The only other option would be life sentences for the Maquis in Federation prisons. Neither of these outcomes are acceptable. Fortuneately, before we left the Delta Quadrant, Commander Chakotay had anticipated this situation, so we have developed a back-up plan. However, since this plan is quite risky and drastic, we will not proceed unless every member of this crew is in agreement." The Captain proceeded to describe Plan B to the crew.

Captain Janeway concluded, "When I call you, please come to the ready room and tell me whether you are in favour of executing Plan B. You are completely free to choose either way, and your choice will be entirely confidential." The Captain returned to her ready room and began calling people individually.

All day, crewmembers were summoned to the ready room to tell the Captain their choice. Finally the Captain was finished. She was exhausted, mentally and physically. But she was overjoyed at the outpouring of support for the former Maquis crewmembers who were now an integral part of Voyager's family. She addressed the crew once more:

"All hands, this is Captain Janeway. Everyone is in agreement, so we shall go ahead with Plan B. The next three weeks will be extremely busy, so I order you all to take a full day's rest. We will have only a minimum crew on duty tomorrow. I expect you all to be well rested by the day after, as we will have much to do. Thank-you all for your support."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several days later, nearly every shuttle owned by Voyager was sent out from the ship to various sectors of the galaxy. Each sported a newly-installed cloaking device and transwarp drive. Voyager's repairs were soon completed and the ship headed for Earth. Seven and Harry worked around the clock on special modifications to Voyager itself. Icheb took over in the Astrometrics lab, and remained on alert for any ships that might be approaching or scanning them. B'Elanna was finally released from Sickbay, but was only allowed to visit Engineering for one hour each day. The rest of the time she oversaw the modifications to the warp drive and shields via an open comm channel to her quarters. Luckily for B'Elanna, Miral was a quiet baby, and slept through most of the chaos around her. Tom was not much use at the helm, and B'Elanna continually was ordering him to get out of her way, so he spent much of his time in the Mess Hall, helping Chell, who had taken over from Neelix. Tuvok was keeping track of the various shuttles which had been sent out - one of them piloted by Commander Chakotay. B'Elanna was especially worried about that particular shuttle. The Captain was continually on the move - Chell provided a much stronger blend of coffee than Neelix had. Janeway oversaw all the activities on Voyager and coordinated all the modifications.

The days went by, and Voyager got closer and closer to Earth. Secure and secret communications were made with some of the family members of the crew. Slowly, the shuttles began returning to Voyager. None of them had been detected. By the time Voyager was two days away from Earth, all of the shuttles had returned. The modifications were complete, and so the crew was able to rest for the last two days. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The entire crew was awake when they made their final approach to Earth. Everyone who was not on duty was in the Mess Hall or their quarters, gazing out the windows at the beautiful planet rapidly filling their field of view. Tom Paris was at the helm, and conducted their transition into Earth orbit, and finally their triumphant landing in San Fransisco. On Starfleet grounds, the crew could see a crowd of people waiting for them, cheering and waving their hands. However, a whole army of Starfleet security staff was on hand as well, with phasers armed and restraint devices in their hands. Several Cardassians stood beside the security personnel. Evidently they were there to apprehend the Maquis. But before allowing anyone on or off the ship, the Captain contacted Starfleet Headquarters. Again, Admiral Paris was there to speak to her. This time, there were other Admirals also present. Captain Janeway's mother stood beside Admiral Paris.

"Captain Janeway, welcome home! We are glad to have you back!"

"We are glad to be home," replied Janeway.

Another Admiral asked, "Are you prepared to hand over the Maquis terrorists? We have a security team standing by to assist you if they become violent."

Janeway was outraged. She turned to Harry and said, "You can inform them to come out now."

Harry went to the ready room, and told the crew members inside to come onto the Bridge.

The Captain said, "Admirals, I'd like you to meet the members of this crew who used to be part of the Maquis. This is Commander Chakotay. He is my First Officer. He is the one who helped our two separate crews join together as a team and family. This is Lieutenant Torres. She is my Chief Engineer. She has kept this ship functional under the most extreme conditions. She has been able to incorporate alien technology to improve our ship's systems and help us survive. She is married to Lieutenant Tom Paris. The child she is holding is Admiral Paris's granddaughter. This is Crewman Chell. When our Neelix, our chef, decided to remain in the Delta Quadrant as an ambassador for the Federation, Chell eagerly volunteered to take his place, even though he knew that being the cook on a ship with limited supplies is often a thankless job..." The Captain continued to introduce several more of the Maquis.

"I know you must be busy, so I won't introduce all of them, but I'd like you to see them. Store their faces and names in your memory. These people are just as much members of this crew as any of the 'official' Starfleet crew. Each one has made significant contributions to the wellbeing of this ship, and have earned my trust and respect. I will not allow you to welcome part of this crew home as heroes, and at the same time condemn part of the crew to life in prison. We are a family now, and I will not allow anyone to split us up."

One of the Admirals said, "We will take them by force, then. Transport the security team aboard Voyager." Janeway did nothing, and looked on with an amused smile as the poor Ensign in the background had to report to a room full of Admirals that the transport wasn't working.

"We've made some modifications to this ship in the past few years, Admirals. I think you'll find it quite difficult to take the Maquis by force. Our current technology is far superior to your own. I give you one last chance. Grant the Maquis full pardons or else..."

"Admirals, Voyager's systems are powering up! She's getting ready to take off!"

"We will not respond to threats!" said Admiral Paris. "The Maquis will be handed over to the Cardassians or we will be forced to destroy your ship!"

"I don't think you will be able to destroy us. It was nice to be on Earth again, if only for a short while. But Voyager is our home now. Good-bye, Admirals!"

The bewildered Admirals saw Mrs. Janeway shimmer out of sight, and heard Captain Janeway say, "All hands, initiate Plan B," before the transmission ended. Several other people from the crowd outside were also transported away.

Voyager suddenly took off. Immediately, the Admirals ordered every ship Starfleet had in the area to pursue them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Commander Tuvok, deploy armour and cloaking device." Suddenly Voyager disappeared from the sensors of all the Starfleet ships. "Aye Captain. Armour and cloaking device are on-line," said Tuvok.

"Mr. Paris, set a course for the neutron star in the Harrison system. Maximum warp."

"Aye Captain. Expected time of arrival is eight minutes."

The Captain activated her commbadge, "Seven are you in Engineering?"

"Yes Captain."

"Excellent. Please prepare to activate the chronodeflector on my mark."

"Yes Captain."

After eight minutes, the Captain called Seven again.

"Seven, activate the chronodeflector. Send a tachyon pulse to the designated spatial coordinates."

"Yes Captain. The chronodeflector is activated. The pulse is being emitted."

Soon a familiar-looking rift opened up directly ahead of Voyager. Tom expertly steered the ship through the rift. The now-familiar stars of the Delta Quadrant greeted Voyager as they returned. Once the rift had been closed, and the ship secured, the Captain went to the transporter room to greet her mother.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After months of fruitless searching, Starfleet gave up trying to find Voyager. Voyager was never heard from in the Alpha Quadrant again. However, some aliens from the Harrison system always insisted that Voyager opened up a spatial rift and returned to the Delta Quadrant.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One night several weeks later, enroute to an M-class planet where the crew of Voyager planned to settle, Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay were enjoying an evening cup of coffee in her quarters.

"How is the crew feeling?" asked Janeway.

"They're all in excellent spirits. Those who were re-united with their loved ones are overjoyed. T'Pel has performed the mind meld with Tuvok, and so his neurological condition is healed. They are happy to be re-united, even though they would never admit to those emotions. Sam Wildman's husband is here, and he and Naomi are getting along very well. Harry's parents decided to stay in the Alpha Quadrant, but he was able to talk to them before we left. In total, we have about eighty new people on board. How is your mother?"

"She's excellent. She was unsure about whether to join us, but Phoebe is married now, and lives far away, so she was feeling lonely. She was always an adventurous person, and so she is adapting very well to life in space. Although she's eager to reach the planet."

"As am I. Thankfully with all the supplies we managed to get from those secret shuttle missions, we'll be able to keep Voyager intact. That way we can still explore the Delta Quadrant."

"Kathryn, there's something I wanted to talk to you about...I'm sorry I never told you about my relationship with Seven."

"I admit, when the Admiral told me about it, I was hurt that you didn't tell me. But really, your social life is none of my business."

"But there's something else you should know," continued Chakotay. "It's over. Before we left through the Borg network, Seven told me that she had lost interest in the relationship. Apparently she didn't want to be tied down by having a significant other."

"You sound upset about it."

"Well, I was upset at the time, but now I realize that I probably never really loved her anyway. I mean, she's a great person, and has a lot of admirable qualities, but I think I was just flattered that she would choose me out of all the eligible males on Voyager. But now I realize that it's probably for the best."

"How do you mean?" asked the Captain.

"It's left me free to pursue the one relationship that really matters," replied Chakotay as he moved a little closer to Janeway on the couch. "When we get to the planet, you don't have to be the Captain any more. You can be Kathryn Janeway. We'll be free to pursue a relationship... if you still want that."

The look she gave him was all the answer he needed.

The End.

December 5, 2001

Any comments on this story? Please email me at warp10@canada.com

Back
Sign Guestbook
View Guestbook