Disclaimer: All these stories belong to me. I thought them up, I wrote them. All the characters, however, belong to Paramount and those who created them. Only those characters which I make belong to me.

NOTE: A twist on a classic genre of Voyager J/C fanfiction. I love them, but they are all so predictable. I'm praying this isn't like that. Believe me when I say that this isn't what you think. Think of it as Before and After meets Relativity meets Hope and Fear. That enough hints?

The three materialized in Sickbay, the two women holding one end of the limp girl in their arms and the male standing nearby, crouching so that he may be at their level. Though the now limp girl was by far the dirtiest of the bunch, Janeway was showing the signs of the alien ship's hostile and dirty conditions. Parts of Seven's french twist had fallen astray and were hanging unmoving as they materialized. Chakotay's hair was also slightly tousled by the recent rash of activity, but only the grease stain on his cheek were he had made contact with the floor were clear evidence of involvement.

The Doctor was waiting for them as they lifted the girl from the floor to the awaiting main biobed. Instinctively, Chakotay sunk back to the background, allowing the Doctor and the two women aid the girl. Seven took a defensive and almost emotional stance to the right of the girl, the Doctor opposite her with a hypospray inches from her neck. Janeway took her position behind the medical console, her sleeves pushed up to allow her better range of motion. Besides, it had been hot over on that ship.

"Captain, I want you to begin cardiostimulation on my mark," the Doctor ordered. Janeway nodded her head, taping in the proper controls to set up the procedure. "I'm administering a 60 cc dose of Inoprovalene."

Carrying out his own order, the Doctor moved the hypospray the extra inches needed to make contact with the girl's neck, and it made a small and almost silent hiss as the Inoprovalene dispersed into her bloodstream.

There was a heavy pause before he ordered Janeway to begin the cardiostimulation.

With a simple tap of a button, a pulse was sent through the biobed to the girl's limp body, and it convulsed momentarily as the shock ravaged her body. But she reamined limp.

"No effect," Janeway stated.

"Again," the Doctor ordered, and the pulse again traveled through her body.

Her body hit the bed again limp, but the beeps from the computer said otherwise.

"I'm getting a very weak pulse," Janeway reported, exclaimation in her voice. "Autonomic response at 15% and holding."

Glad the worst of the emergency was over, the Doctor was immediately scanning the girl over with his medical tricorder. Still scanning, he bgan reporting his findings. "That energy weapon penetrated all the way to a cellular level." Pause. "It's speeding up the degredation of her diseased cells!"

Alarm spread across Seven's face. "She can't die," she simply stated.

Closing up his tricorder, the Doctor replaced it on his medical cart for another type of hypospray. "I think we should try Beth's treatment," he suggested, gesturing to Seven with the hypospray.

Seven briefly contemplated the earlier conversation they had carried on with Beth about her idea. Chakotay noticed how quickly her emotions played across her face; he knew Seven wasn't even aware it was that visible. Stealing a quick glance at the silent Beth, she looked at the Doctor and nodded quickly.

Letting out a sigh of relief, the Doctor quickly put the hypospray to Seven's neck, its hiss sampling the blood that flowed through her aorta. When a sufficent sample had been collected, he nodded for Janeway to watch the monitor, and after a moment of slight hesitation, administered the sample into Beth's bloodstream.

The negative beep from the medical console was not what anyone in the room had been expecting.

Opening his tricorder again, the Doctor furiously scanned the girl's body. His eyes widened in horror. "The sample, it.. it.. it's only making the degredation more rapid!"

The idea flashed before Janeway's eyes like a bolt of lightening, and only Chakotay (whose eyes had been shifting back and forth from Beth to Janeway) saw the strike of genius play across her face. Like the lightening bolt that came with her idea, she moved with speed to the side of the Doctor.

"Give me the hypospray."

The Doctor's eyes widened again. "What?"

"Give me the hypospray," Janeway demanded again, this time with an open palm, waiting to receive the instrument.

The Doctor caught on within seconds. "It won't work, Captain. You're not compatible!"

Janeway's head cocked slightly to one side. "Am I?" she asked, leaving the Doctor speechless for seconds. "Call it hunch."

Still doubtful, he carefully handed her the instrument. In stark contrast, she brought it forcefully to the side of her neck, closing her eyes briefly as the hiss extracted her blood. Taking a deep breath, she handed the filled instrument to the Doctor. Skeptically and cautiously, he took the instrument.

And injected it into Beth's neck.

Expecting to hear the negative beep from the medical console, everyone was once again surprised when it answered with instead a positive beep.

"It worked?" was the chorus from the Doctor, Seven, and Chakotay.

Only Janeway stood at the console, studying the results, and feeling the pit that rose in her stomach.

It worked, and Janeway didn't know why.

3 WEEKS EARLIER

The shuttle was floating dead in the water by the time Voyager arrived. It's general design was sleek and slender, though certain parts of the vessel stuck out like a sore thumb. Janeway might have commented that it resembled the Delta Flyer.

In all likely hood, this vessel was scrapped together for various parts of other vessels. The main body was one shuttle, with different pieces scrapped to cover the holes in the design and fix any flaws the body held.

At infrequent but steady intervals, a static discharge would rack the small vessel's shields, causing the entire ship to contort in a manner Janeway had never seen before. It was as if the ship would lose molecular cohesion for a split second, and the contents of the ship and its matter would follow into the surrounding shields. But after each discharge the ship would return to its original shape, unharmed. It was like one would throw a stone into a pond, and watch as the ripple distorted their reflection.

Janeway had stood from her command chair, and turned her head toward Tuvok's tactical station. "Lifesigns?" she asked.

A moment passed before Tuvok answered. "The interference from the shuttle is disputing our sensors." He looked up to Janeway. "I cannot get a clear reading."

"Captain," Harry Kim from Ops cut it, "we're being hailed."

Relieved, Janeway turned to the view screen. "On screen, Mr. Kim," she ordered. Obviously *someone* was alive over on that shuttle.

The message came up fuzzy and static. Janeway was barely able to make out the image of a girl on the screen. She waited as Kim cleared up the interference.

"Captain, please. You've got to get me out of here!" was the cry from the girl's mouth.

The breath of each of the Bridge crew had been held for that very moment. It was an unmistakable identity; the girl was human. Blonde tendrils of hair moved in unison with the discharges racking her ship. Her voice was soft yet demanding, and she seemed to have no fear in this situation.

And she recognized Kathryn Janeway.

Gathering her wits, Janeway replied. "Do I know you?" she asked, unable to fully understand what she was seeing.

The girl, instead, remained frantic and panicked. "That's a little difficult to answer, but.." There was a pause as another discharge racked the shuttle, and the transmission went to complete static for the moments the ship lost cohesion. "..got to beam me aboard," she cut it.

Janeway hesitated only for a minute before nodding her head to Kim.

Janeway didn't know what to expect as she strode into the transporter room, flanked by Tuvok and Commander Chakotay.

Standing patiently on the transporter pad was a girl, no more than fifteen or sixteen Janeway assumed. The girl had been fixing her hair when they arrived, and Janeway watched as she pulled a pin from her hair. Down came streams of blonde hair that reached to at least the small of her back. It was straight and silky, and, looking closer, Janeway noticed that it was streaked with strands of red or auburn color. It reminded Janeway of the time her sister Phoebe had dyed her auburn hair a light blonde, but missed a few of her strands in the process.

Janeway also noticed how tall and slender the girl was, for such an age that she was. Perhaps Janeway had miscalculated at her first estimate of fifteen or sixteen. It was possible she could be older.

She wore burgundy shirt that clung to her torso quite a bit, showing off a figure Janeway guessed she loved. The dip at the top of the sweater might have bothered Janeway had a lacy white shirt not peeked out from under the shirt. The sleeves of the sweater had been pushed up to accommodate the work the girl must have been performing on her ship. Her black pants and boots were also smudged with dust and grime, no doubt from kneeling under a console or two.

The girl's blue-green eyes swept the room until they met Janeway's, and her face lit up. Careful not to seem too eager, she stepped off the transporter pad and down the stairs, face-to-face with Janeway.

"I've haven't seen you in so long," the girl commented, restraining the urge to hug Janeway.

Instead, she was met by a look of confusion from Janeway. "Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I've never seen you before."

A look of recognition struck the girl's face, and her expression certainly expressed she had forgotten something. "Oh my gosh, I almost forgot!" The girl's arms went to her side, and she assumed a profession stance. "I neglect that I haven't properly introduced myself."

Janeway's eyebrows shot up. You bet you didn't, she thought.

"My name is Elizabeth Hansen," she said.

Janeway stared blankface. Chakotay walked close to Janeway, examining Elizabeth as he walked. "'Hansen'? As in Annika Hansen?"

Elizabeth smiled and nodded. "I'm Beth to most of my friends though, including my mother," she replied, leaving Janeway and Chakotay to stare at each other in disbelief.

The group of disbelieving patrons had assembled in the briefing room. Seated in her regular chair was Janeway, with Chakotay on her immediately left. Elizabeth took the seat next to him. Seven had been called in and had taken the seat directly across from Elizabeth. Tuvok was to her left, and the Doctor had taken the seat directly across the table from Janeway.

"Miss Hansen-"

Beth's hand immediately stopped Janeway before she could get more than a few words out. "Please Captain, call me Beth."

Nodding, she resumed her questioning. "Beth," she corrected, "who are you?"

She smiled before she answered. "I already told you, I am Elizabeth Hansen, daughter of Annika Hansen."

"That is not possible," Seven interjected. "I have no children."

Beth cocked her head. "Not yet."

"'Not yet'?" Janeway repeated. "Are you saying you're from the future?" She sounded very unconvinced.

Adopting a serious tone, Beth continued her story. "In my time, Captain, this crew had accepted that Earth was a destination only for the children on board. They'd accepted that home was Voyager, and that most would die before seeing it again." She stopped, realizing she made it seem so grim. Judging by the expressions on several of the officers' faces, it in fact did seem like a grim prospect. "But don't get me wrong, Captain, life is far from depressing."

"How so?" Janeway asked.

Beth gestured her hands in an attempt to find the right words to describe what she was trying to say. "We have families. Children. Aunts and uncles, and numerous godparents. If someone throws a party, it's not because we're trying to raise morale that's been in the dumps lately. It's because it's someone's birthday, or anniversary. Or someone just got married. Or the Academy just graduated children to the next grade-"

"Academy?" Chakotay cut it.

Beth smiled and nodded slowly. "You had to find some way to educate the children." Beth's eyes fell on Janeway. "You organized crewmen with experience in different subjects to teach the children on a regular basis. Tom and Harry used their holographic skills to create teachers when ones weren't available." Janeway still remained unemotional. "Sure, it was tough the first year or so, but now it runs smoothly. The holoteachers are treated just like any member of the crew would be."

"You make it sound like a colony ship," Tuvok commented.

Beth's eyebrows rose. "It is, Tuvok."

"How many children?" Janeway asked.

Beth took a moment, counting each individual in her head. "20, give or take one or two." The reactions at this number were numerous among the officers, but Beth continued. "Most are between the ages of 5 and 10, but there are few of us who are 15 and older."

"You included?" Chakotay asked.

"Me included," Beth conceded. "And there's Kneta, B'Elanna and Tom's daughter. She's 11. Bailey, he's 14. Myself. I'm 16." Janeway contemplated this. She *had* been right in her earlier estimate of Beth's age. "And then there's Rebecca. She's my age, and my best friend." Beth paused as gathered her thoughts, and kept her emotions in check. "Becca and I.. we both never really knew our fathers. That was our special bond."

Beth bowed her head to her lap, trying desperately to keep from crying. Janeway was concerned. "Are you OK?"

Beth picked up her head, her eyes red from the upcoming tears. But she had a smile on her face at her memory. "The few times I've been in here, Becca and I were always in trouble." Beth paused again. "Except for the last time.." Beth looked around to see the rather confused expressions on the officers' faces. "I'm sorry, that isn't important." She shifted towards Janeway. "I'll bet you're wondering why I'm here."

"Among other things," Janeway commented.

Swallowing the previous outburst of emotion, Beth told her story. "It happened so quickly. No one really had time to piece it all together until most of them were already gone."

"Gone?" Tuvok asked.

"Dead," Beth said solemnly. "Ensign Ashmore was the first to go, followed by several of the Engineering crew." She paused. "Including B'Elanna." Beth didn't want to waste much time before starting again, knowing they would have dozens of questions. "But then people from other parts of the ship started.. getting sick. They weren't as numerous as Engineering, though. Two from the Bridge, one from Astrometrics, a teacher here, a nurse there.."

"What were their symptoms?" the Doctor asked rather medically.

"It looked like a flu bug at first, harmless really." She shook her head. "At least, that's what we *thought* when the Engineering staff got sick, them being in such close quarters and everything. But people don't die from the flu, do they?" She waited. "It seemed inevitable that if we didn't find out what was wrong soon, there wasn't going to a crew left."

"I feel a 'but' coming on.." Janeway mused.

Beth smiled and nodded. "You had the ship rest in a nearby nebula while we waited out the illness, Captain. And then we all realized that none of the children were getting sick."

"Why not?" the Doctor asked.

"We didn't know at the time." Beth replied to the Doctor. "And then you made another breakthrough, Doc." The Doctor looked shocked, but still proud. Beth continued. "About 18 years earlier, Voyager encountered a rather warlike species known as the Bromna. While diplomacy seemed to be working in our favor to navigate a path through their space, we were attacked by a small Bromnan fighter vessel. Before we knew it, the Bromnan had sent half their war fleet, thinking *we* were the ones who started the battle." Beth paused, making sure the officers were still following her. They were. "Anyway, during the middle of the battle, one of the vessels dispersed a kind of bioweapon on Voyager. It was a highly tuned virus that they were able transport through Voyager's shields and directly into Engineering. It immediately knocked everyone in there unconscious."

If this had been any ordinary story, you might have described the audience as 'on the edge of their seats.'

"We were eventually able to prove to the Bromna fleet that they, in fact, had sparked the space battle. As we retreated, the Doctor was sent done to Engineering to treat the, um, 'wounded.' But little did he know that as he entered Engineering he was allowing the virus to escape into the corridors of Voyager."

"Are you saying the entire crew was knocked unconscious?" the Doctor asked grimly.

Beth shook her head. "Not enough concentrations leaked out to cause immediately loss of consciousness, but it was enough to throw the crew for a loop. Before anyone could control it, or even detect it, the virus had been inhaled by almost everyone. The symptoms ranged from general discomfort to high fevers and chills."

"How did you stop it?" Tuvok asked.

"The Doctor finally developed a counteragent against the 'flu,' and dispensed it through the ship's environmental controls. The symptoms were gone soon enough and the ship was back on course within a few days."

Janeway was a bit confused. "How does that relate to the problem eighteen years later?"

Beth smiled before she continued. "What the Doctor didn't know at the time was that his vaccine had simply repressed the virus into the cells of the crew. In effect, he hadn't even cured them; he had simply delayed their deaths." Beth stopped, feeling the emotions she had just earlier kept in check start to boil up again. "What we didn't know is that the virus in its repressed state had also been passed onto the children."

There was a heavy silence among the briefing room. "I'm sorry," Janeway whispered. "But I don't know what you expect us to do."

"I've only got two years to live, Captain, and so does Becca!"

"I'm sorry," Janeway whispered again.

Realizing her outburst, Beth quickly apologized. She continued in a more calm tone. "The degredation of my cells has been slowed, thanks to our Doctor, but the inevitability of death can't be slowed completely. Becca, myself, and the Doctor were able to devise a treatment to save us, but without untainted samples from our mothers, we weren't able test it."

"'Untainted samples'?" Chakotay repeated.

Beth found herself spilling out the details of her treatment exactly as she had memorized them. "The virus lives in the red blood cells, and we found that a blood sample from an infected person's mother counterattacks the degredation. In essence, one cancels the other out. But the only samples we had available were.. tainted."

Seven, who had remained quiet during almost the entire meeting, finally spoke up. "So you have come back in time to gather these.. samples?"

Beth smiled warmly at Seven, and Janeway could sense the connection Beth seemed to have with Seven. "That's plan B, yes."

"What's plan A?" Janeway asked.

Beth smiled. "I'm going to make sure you never even have to experience the virus." She paused, looking at Seven. "I know I want my mother back."

Smiling with almost as much warmth as Beth had, Janeway rose to dismiss the officers when Beth stopped her. "Captain, if you don't mind, I have a small request to make."

Janeway was caught slightly off guard. "Continue."

Beth pushed back her chair, inclined to get up at a moment's notice. "Becca was supposed to come as well, but her health was declining at a more rapid pace than I'd hoped. She asked me to deliver a brief message to her mother, and I was wondering if I could do that before I get started."

Glancing first at Chakotay, Janeway turned back to Beth. "Of course," she granted.

Beth's smile increased as Janeway granted her request. With the eagerness of the 16-year old she was, Beth jumped from her chair.

But Janeway was surprised when she didn't make a direct path to the door.

Instead, Janeway found herself wrapped in the arms of Beth, in the middle of a large hug. Beth squeezed her for a long moment, then released. Making eye contact with the girl, she was about to ask what the hell that was about when Beth beat her to it.

"Rebecca wanted you to know that.." Beth tried hard to choke back the tears, "..that she misses you a whole lot."

The twenty-first selection of Bach's Mass in B Minor starts out slow and measured. All voice parts are in a rich harmony that rivals most other selections. But always it is the high and vocal soprano ones who lead the movement along. The piece starts to quicken, but peacefully comes to an almost dead stop that makes you wonder if this is, perhaps, the shortest selection in the piece.

Then the sound of the sopranos can heard over the dead silence, beats ahead of the rest of the choir. Their lone voice carries the distinctive melody, and soon the rest of the choir joins them in a harmonious echo. The sound and harmonies build and build with each note, the sound climbing the scale.

Another dead stop is reached. And then the sopranos lead the choir in a change of pace so radical you wonder where it came from. It is chaos compared to the previous melodies. And throughout the rest of this quickened movement, the sopranos can be heard leading the charge ahead.

For Janeway and her ship, she felt caught in a projection of this twenty-first selection. What had started as an innocent and harmless distress call had soon tumbled into the discovery of a human teenager inside the damaged shuttle.

This girl, Beth, sang her soprano song over a dead silence, spinning a tale of a future Voyager where families reign and Earth seems all but forgotten. The rest of the choir joined as she told of the mysterious bioweapon that killed everyone but, conveniently, the children. What seemed like another dead stop instead tumbled into the approach to chaos as she revealed the mother of her only best friend.

Janeway felt the quickening pace encircling her as she listened. The lights in her quarters had been dimmed, and she was only accompanied by a couple of padds on the table in front of the couch and a half-empty cup of warm coffee.

And she had always enjoyed this part, too.

Chakotay stepped off the turbolift closest to the Shuttle Bay. From the reports he'd read, B'Elanna and Harry had spent the better part of the previous night stabilizing the molecular cohesion of the ship enough to tractor it into the Bay. There, they would make all the necessary repairs and download the information Beth had promised her database would provide.

Crew logs, sensor sweeps, pictures, holoprograms..

Chakotay began wondering if this "mission" she was on was more than just a correction of time. This ship was, in essence, a time capsule of this future Voyager. For all that Beth had boasted about, they were all in threat of being lost forever, with only the tales of the colonies and planets they'd past to keep their memories alive. He knew he wouldn't want to end up like that, and he was far past the tender age of sixteen.

What had kept him up for most of his night was not B'Elanna's recounting of their stabilization project, but instead the report Janeway had requested of Beth. Just like old times, Chakotay thought. He remembered how odd it was to read of the deaths of crewmen he had just seen minutes and hours ago.

In her time, Beth and her friend Becca had gained control of the ship when the crew had died for two reasons. The first being that when the crew was dead, they were the two oldest surviving members, save for the Doctor. The second being Janeway had been playing favorites with Becca, for obvious reasons.

The ship had remained in the nebula Janeway had originally set it down in for two more months while Beth and Becca struggled to gain the upper hand with the younger children. Most were too young to understand the scientific reasons why their parents weren't around to take care of them. The holoteachers had been activated to give the children a familiar environment. Eventually, with the help of the Doctor and the holoteachers, the two acting Commanding Officers were able to chart a course of out the nebula.

They had originally planned to set down on a deserted planet, never minding the fact that neither had the experience or ability, not to mention courage, to do such a thing. But finding a species that would let a plagued ship of young children was harder than they had hoped. What they thought would draw mercy and pity only drew ignorance and hostility.

But like all great stories, someone finally did take them in, when they were assured the virus was not contagious. In exchange for safe harbor and medical treatments from the Kiterians, the children helped one of the central colonies. Plants were grown in the Hydroponics Bay and exchanged among the groups. The holoteachers lent their assistance in repairing and fixing problems with many of Kiterian ships.

The Kiterians were also critical in this mission because it was them that supplied Beth with the means to travel across the fabric of space and time. However, it wasn't for another five months after the stay with the Kiterians that the technology was tested in the shuttle that it had been installed in.

Of course, Chakotay noted, it had to be the flight that got Beth here. No wonder the molecular cohesion had destabilized.

The doors to the Shuttle Bay hissed open to reveal the salvaged shuttle, which Beth called Gloria, the Latin word for glory. The shuttle's back door had been opened to form a ramp, making the vessel accessible. Chakotay noted how much the design resembled a Starfleet shuttle, only to make the connection a few seconds later. This shuttle had come from a Starfleet ship.

Chakotay was rather surprised to find Janeway looking on as the repairs continued on Gloria, her hands on her hips firmly and her expression as equally firm.

"You're up early," he commented as he came to a stop on her left side.

Janeway turned to him, and smiled. It was not one of ease and automatic response. This was forced, and severe. "You, too, Commander," she countered. Chakotay could see the sleep hanging in her eyelids as they closed momentarily to blink. She struggled ever so slightly to reopen them as her eyes shifted back to the shuttle.

"You haven't slept," he observed, which earned a look of annoyance from Janeway, "or eaten."

Her arms moved from her hips to cross across her chest, and she cocked her head. "You haven't been consorting with the Doctor, have you? Because let me tell you, it isn't going to work."

Chakotay could only chuckle as he shifted his position to a more comfortable stance. "No, just doing my job." Movement near the shuttle caught his eye, and he found his attention shifted to the repairs. He could make out Beth's small form and two other crewmen. "How long have they been in there?"

"About five hours," Janeway replied. "They're trying to stabilize the computer core."

Chakotay's eyebrows rose as he watched B'Elanna leave the craft momentarily to retrieve a set of tools. "Does she ever sleep?" Chakotay asked rhetorically.

Janeway smiled. "I see you didn't get much sleep either." Her eyes met his a second later and they both smiled.

Beth's voice from inside the craft cut the moment short. "Captain!"

Janeway and Chakotay were quickly from their observing position near the front of the shuttle bay to the interior of the craft. Janeway noted how similar it was to the cabin of the Delta Flyer, and wondered if it was, in fact, the blue print for this shuttle.

The control panels were very much like the ones one would find on any Starfleet shuttle, as were the chairs and the bulkheads. Externally, everything seemed Starfleet in design. But from the reports Janeway had read, the interior systems were a different story.

"Behold," Beth proclaimed from the pilot's console, "the Time Capsule Gloria." She finished with a smile of pride.

"You've stabilized the core?" Janeway asked hopefully.

Beth's smile and beckoning arm to the adjoining chair beside her was the answer that need not be put into words. Smiling, Janeway accepted the offer, leaving Chakotay to watch as Beth explained to Janeway everything they had done. With a few taps of the main console, lists of photographs, personal message, letters, holoprograms, and more appeared. He smiled slightly as Janeway's eyes brightened with each list.

Once Beth was finished her presentation, Chakotay noticed she was a bit apprehensive. He knew a big favor was coming, and she wasn't sure if Janeway would accept.

Sure enough, he was right.

"Captain, with your permission, I'd like to take some time to group all this information together and distribute it properly." Beth waited as Janeway stared, blankface. She hurried along, trying to account for the confusion. "These are personal images and messages. I've been asked to distribute it to each of the children's respective parents."

Janeway rose from her chair. "Of course," she granted. "I'm sure Seven could give you a hand."

There was a forlorn look in Beth's eyes, as she contemplated the idea of working with her own mother, Chakotay thought.

Janeway sensed the mood becoming somber quickly, and was intent on changing it. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving." Beth's eyes met Janeway's, and she nodded in agreement. "How about we grab some breakfast from the Messhall?" Beth eagerly jumped from her chair at the chance of food.

Janeway had made it halfway across the cabin when she stopped in front of Chakotay. Her eyes softened. "Care to join us?" she asked.

Chakotay's eyes briefly left Janeway to glance at Beth's mischievous look before he accepted. The three left quickly for Messhall.

The chime on the doors to Janeway's quarters startled her out of a daydream. Making a futile attempt to straighten the pile of padds and discarded coffee cups, she answered the chime, beckoning her visitor in.

Janeway was only slightly surprised to see her.

Seven entered the darkened room with the same stride as she would had Janeway called a red alert. The padd she had been carrying was now fully extended in front of her, extended toward Janeway.

But when she spoke, Janeway was immediately aware something was on her mind. No doubt, she thought.

"Ensign Kim and I have finished downloading the holographic teaching programs from the shuttle, Captain," she barked, unaware her preoccupation was more obvious than she had hoped.

"Holoteachers," Janeway corrected her, earning only an arched eyebrow from Seven. Her eyes fell on Janeway's pile of padds and the operating computer console.

"You've been studying the data from the shuttle?" Seven asked, using a tone suggesting that the time could be better spent on something more.. useful.

Janeway settled into the back of the couch, ready to launch into another discussion about the differences between human emotions and Seven's. "It's not just data, Seven. These are these people's memories and experiences. Their lives, for that matter."

Seven stepped closer to the computer console, studying the image currently displayed. A group of eight children, four boys and four girls, were wearing what looked to be rather formal attire. All were standing around the Doctor, who also was smiling largely. Though the surroundings were unfamiliar, there was no doubt each children was seemingly oozing with pride and accomplishment.

"I received this as well," Seven commented, intrigued why Janeway had, too. When Janeway cocked her head and raised a skeptical eyebrow as to how she knew this knowledge, Seven stated that she felt it necessary to at least review the data once.

Janeway's index finger went to a corner of the group, pointing to two girls standing beside each other, smiling. "Beth and Rebecca," Janeway said, her voice softening as she spoke the second's name. Rebecca was a girl of similar height and figure as Beth, and as radiant a smile. However, Rebecca's hair and facial structure was slightly different. Instead of the golden blonde with hints of red that Beth possessed, Rebecca had hair that was instead red with hints of a brown or black tint. Even from the fair distance, Janeway could make out large brown eyes.

But what still struck Janeway was her smile.

"Quite a resemblance," Seven commented, making Janeway blush slightly at the comment. Seven continued. "Her facial structure is quite similar and.." she paused to change her tone, "she has your smile, Captain."

"But her hair is much better than mine, thank God," Janeway replied, adding a goofy smile at the end. Seven only hinted at a smile with this remark, unsure of the basis of the comment. "If I must say, Beth certainly resembles you a lot," Janeway added, returning the compliment.

Before Seven could reply, Janeway's door chimed once again. Of course, she beckoned the visitor in.

"I'm sorry," Chakotay said immediately, seeing Seven, "I'm interrupting."

"Actually, Commander, I was just leaving," Seven quickly replied. "Good day, Captain," she said, turning on her heels.

Janeway muttered a 'good day' back as Seven disappeared through the door.

"You know," Chakotay started, "she's as stubborn as her mother."

"Who?" Janeway asked.

"Beth," he replied, chuckling. "She's so involved in her work, I had to order her to stop and get some rest. Even *then* she protested."

Janeway chuckled. "I wouldn't know anyone like that."

"Actually," Chakotay conceded, "I believe I know *two*.."

Janeway's look only resembled a 'who, me?' response for a few moments before she smiled and heaved a heavy sigh. "Too much in one day," she complained.

Miraculously finding an open spot on the couch next to Janeway, Chakotay sat down beside her, his eyes immediately falling on the image on the computer console. His finger extended toward Rebecca. "Rebecca?" he asked.

Janeway smiled, surprised. "How did you guess?"

Chakotay smiled as well. "Her smile. Just like her mother," he replied, causing Janeway to blush again as someone picked up the obvious character trait.

"Seven said the same thing."

Chakotay let out a quiet hpmh. "High praise from a Borg." Janeway nodded her head, agreeing with a smile. "I'm curious," he asked, "do you know where this picture was taken?"

"In fact," Janeway replied, "I do. According to Beth's own account, it dates from 2396, eighteen years in the future, a few months before the outbreak started. Apparently, it was taken in the corridor of an alien concert hall by a reporter."

"Concert hall?"

"A few years back, the Doctor started giving voice lessons to some of the children-"

Chakotay chuckled. "Sounds like a whole lot of fun."

Janeway, too, enjoyed a short laugh before continuing. "Anyway, what started as a two private lessons ended up being a group of," Janeway paused, adopting a tone somewhat similar to the Doctor's own inflections, "'exceptionally talented young singers.'"

"That brings me back to my original question: what are they doing in a concert hall?" Chakotay asked.

Janeway cocked her head. "I'm getting to that, Mr. Impatient." Chakotay threw his hands up in mock surrender, and Janeway continued. "It was to mend diplomatic ties. And," she added, "it sounds like they threw one hell of a performance." Janeway chuckled. "Now that's something she *didn't* get from her mother. I couldn't hold a pitch if you were threatening me with a phaser set to kill!"

The two officers dissolved into laughter. Through her giggles, Janeway placed her on Chakotay's leg, patting it affectionately.

"I find it hard to believe you came here just to sit and look at photos."

Chakotay's laughter slowly subsided as well. He drew his hand from his side, extending it in front of him and slightly in the direction of Janeway, his palm facing up. "Dinner?" he asked simply.

Smiling, Janeway placed her hand in his, grasping the sides of his palm. "Of course," she replied.

They both stood in unison, making their way to the table at the far side of Janeway's quarters.

Beth had felt ready and eager as she exited the turbolift, an important padd tucked neatly in her hands and pressed against her chest to safeguard it. But as she rounded the corner to Janeway's quarters, her heart started to beat faster, and she swore she was sweating.

She was nervous.

Beth didn't know why. In her 16 years, she's been here millions of times: to wake up Becca, to give Becca the homework, to see if Becca could play, to ask the Captain if she could help with Becca's surprise party, to talk to the Captain when she knew her own mother wouldn't listen or wouldn't understand..

So why was she nervous *now*? Of course, Beth had given in her fair share of late reports in her time. She had had formal requests, and personal ones, too, at unreasonable hours when she *knew* the Captain had planned to use the time in another way. She seen her fair share of dejected Janeway looks when the Captain realized that dinner would have to wait and had had her dinner companion dismissed for the time being with only a rain check, because the Captain's daughter's best friend needed a heart-to-heart. Beth had seen it all.

And she was still nervous as hell.

Taking a long, hard, deep breath, Beth punched the call command. There was a long pause, and no answer. Perhaps, she thought, she should have consulted the internal sensors before rushing over here. After all, Janeway was off duty and this *was* dinnertime for the Captain, and in her time, Janeway had been known to dine at places other than her own quarters..

Just as Beth considered punching the call button again, the door slid open, and it was just like old times.

The half illumination framed Janeway's figure as she stood in the doorway. Beth noticed her uniform jacket had been discarded, and realized at once dinner had been served. Or was in the process. It took only a few moments for the soft jazz music to filter out into the corridor and into Beth's ears. Trying hard not to smile at the scene, Beth guessed that sitting on the table were the champagne glasses Janeway hid in a drawer for special occasions, filled with a white wine, and topped off with a gorgeous gold lit candelabra. Beth had seen *this* before.

"Beth," Janeway said, surprised. "I hadn't expected to you."

Trying hard not to make eye contact with anyone or anything other than Janeway while pretending not to notice a single thing about her demeanor, Beth handed her the padd. "My report, Captain," she said in a strictly professional tone.

Janeway took the padd, opening the first page and scrolling down. "Report?" she asked, forgetting to look down as she scrolled.

"On the Kiterians.." Beth said, leaving the statement open-ended, hoping Janeway would remember. "You asked me to deliver it to you at 20:00 hours."

Alarm crossed Janeway's face. "It's 20:00 already?"

Beth smiled. "Yes, Captain."

Janeway shook her head. "I thought it was only 19:00." Her eyes briefly shot to the side, then back at Beth. "I must have lost track of time."

Beth could have responded to this any number of ways, ranging from strictly professional to a sarcastic personal remark, but figured the Janeway of this time would not appreciate the later suggestion. Instead, Beth could only respond with a question. "Garlic pasta?" she asked randomly as the rich aroma whirled up her nostrils.

Beth had accidentally taken a step closer to Janeway, directly in the middle of the door frame, and before she could stop herself, found herself eye-to-eye with Commander Chakotay. Suddenly, it was she who was the embarrassed one, for some odd reason. "I'm sorry, Captain. I didn't knwo you had company. I'm interrupting."

She had not meant to use a tone that implied what exactly she was thinking, but obviously it offended Janeway slightly. Her form stiffened slightly as she responded. "It's quite all right, the Commander and I were simply having a casual dinner conversation when you arrived."

"Casual dinner conversation," Beth repeated, skeptical and smiling. She couldn't help it, Janeway was walking right into it. It wasn't her fault.

"Wipe that grin off your face right now, young lady," Janeway ordered in an authoritative tone.

But instead of being scared by this tone, Beth only continued to smile. After all, Beth had heard it for the last sixteen years, it wasn't now that it intimidated her.

"I should be going, Captain," Beth declared. "I'm sorry I interrupted your.. conversation."

Beth was practically skipping down the corridor, unable to hide the huge grin on her face. It was happening..

Beth and Becca were best friends. They had birthdays within three days of each other. They both liked the same things, most of the time at least. They enjoyed music and the holodeck, and had frequent Velocity tournaments. At the Academy, they'd begged their mothers to put them on the same rotation, and no matter how much time they spent together, they never got tired of one another.

When the girls were two years old, Bailey was born. He was the first male child to be born aboard Voyager, but Beth and Becca didn't remember much about him as a baby. To them, he was always around, but slightly younger.

It wasn't until Kneta was born that Beth and Becca became quite curious about families. They had always regarded their mothers are parents, but until they saw a child born to a mother *and* a father, they'd accepted that one person raises one baby. It was truly odd to see both Tom *and* B'Elanna taking on the responsibility of one girl.

It was four days before Becca's sixth birthday, and one week till Beth's that Janeway and Seven sat their children down and explained to them why neither had a father to take care of them.

Janeway and Seven had been on a supply mission in what they assumed was an uninhabited. They said assumed because it turned out someone *did* inhabit the system - the Hynerians - and seeing the supply shuttle as a threat to the power balance, took Janeway and Seven as hostages. When the Hynerians discovered their hostages were not, in fact, part of the species they were at war with, instead of simply asking them who they were, Janeway and Seven were subjected to a series of grueling medical tests.

Chakotay, of course, became worried when the shuttle didn't return, and sent Voyager to the rendezvous coordinates originally selected. What they found was the shuttle, dead in the water, with no passengers aboard. As Chakotay ordered Kim to scan for the two officers, he reported they had somehow appeared on the craft, with no evidence of a transport.

Being the two stubborn patients they were, Janeway and Seven convinced the Doctor that all they needed was a hypospray to alleviate the massive headaches they had. Apparently, they remembered nothing about the encounter with the Hynerians, only that an unidentified ship had fired on them, knocking them to the floor, and had left.

For a month and a half, the Doctor bought this excuse, as did Chakotay and the rest of the ship. Besides, there were no indications on the shuttle or Voyager's sensors to suggest otherwise.

As Janeway tells it, she was in the middle of the a duty shift on the Bridge when she began to feel queasy. Of course, she had just finished eating Neelix's newest creation, and figured the Doctor's diagnosis of food poisoning or, at least, heartburn would be accurate. But the feeling wouldn't go away, and her looks of discomfort bothered Tuvok and Chakotay to the point that she was persuaded to see the Doctor. Of course, she thought they were over reacting, saying if they wanted to, one of them could accompany her to Sickbay, just to prove her point.

The Doctor examined her, but told that, in fact, it was not Neelix's meal that was causing her discomfort; she was pregnant. Impossible, she had told him, there hasn't been the opportunity for such a thing to happen. Nevertheless, the Doctor ran dozens of tests, but his original diagnosis stuck. He assured her the baby was healthy, and completely human. Would she like to know the father, he'd asked, but she had denied him the request.

Janeway had kept the secret for a week, not telling a single soul. If you had checked the logs, any formal mention about it, by both the Doctor or Janeway, would not appear until weeks after. This was, of course, at the request of Janeway.

When she finally did tell someone, it was because Seven told her. Apparently, Seven had appeared in Sickbay only a few days after Janeway had, complaining of the same symptoms, and getting the same diagnosis. Both women were baffled. How could they both be pregnant, when neither had knowledge of how or why?

Seven went to B'Elanna, asking B'Elanna to check her memory nods, but not providing an explanation why. B'Elanna did what she was told, under Janeway's urging, and found that yes, someone or something had tampered with Seven's memory. With the Doctor and Janeway present, Seven relived the lost memories, remembering the medical tests and procedure. But something loomed.

Apparently, Janeway and Seven were not the only two to be fooled by the Hynerians' use of memory swiping. The entire crew, as well as the shuttle and Voyager's sensors, had been tampered with. What was covered up was a loss of almost four days, in which the entire crew was subjected to the very same medical tests, but with one exception. It was discovered that the genetic material of two male crew members, both human, was randomly selected to be impregnated into the two abducted officers.

Janeway and Seven were faced with two moral dilemmas. The first: they had access to medical technology that had the ability to tell them who these two random officers were. After all, didn't they have a right to know if someone was carrying their child? The second: should they keep these unborn children that had been forced on them by alien technology and deception? Already, these children had been created by lies; should they be born into them as well?

In the end, both children were kept. As the women informed the Doctor of their decision, he once again asked if they wished to know who had been selected. Both declined, wishing to spare the father the embarrassment and awkwardness that would be forced on them. Instead, the entire crew became by father *and* mother to the two children, Elizabeth Hansen and Rebecca Janeway. Just because they would never have an opportunity to call a single man 'father' didn't mean the weren't surrounded by people, related or not, that didn't love them like a family.

It wasn't hard for the crew to have its commanding officer and a member of the senior staff pregnant at one time.. at first. They'd lived through the first month, when no one knew, and lived through the next eight without much event. Sure, they given special treatment and more consideration, but it only went to a certain point. Neither woman wanted a big fuss made over either of them, and made it known.

Janeway once told her daughter, who later told Beth, that in her seventh month, she received a letter from her sister, back on Earth. It announced that she and her husband of four years were expecting twin girls, and made sent the ultrasound holoimage to prove to Kathryn it was really true. Of course, Janeway felt bad, because over the six months, she hadn't found the right words to tell her sister, or her mother. How to explain such a long complicated situation in such short notice was an impossible task. Instead, she replied with a copy of her own ultrasound holoimage, and the attached note: "here's mine."

Through their ninth month, despite everyone's constant protests, both women refused to be relieve of duty. Actually, as Chakotay used to tell Beth and Becca to tease Becca's mom, Chakotay actually had the Doctor relieve Janeway temporarily relieved when she refused to stop the rigorous demand she was putting on herself. As he always added, he paid dearly for it. Of course, Beth always knew Janeway would never actually *physically* hurt the Commander.

Janeway was the first to go into labor, during her duty shift if it was at all fitting or ironic. Being the kind of women to dismiss any physical pain unless it was practically killing her, she swore to the entire Bridge crew that she was merely experiencing Becca kicking, when in fact, Becca was trying to kick her way *out*! When she couldn't take it anymore and finally said something, Tom and Chakotay had each carried her to Sickbay, each grabbing an arm to support her.

Seven followed three days later. Remarkably, there were no troubles with the deliveries in either women, both last less than 12 hours for each. The Doctor, not knowing what kind of medical problems these children would face, having been conceived using alien technology and stolen genetic material, was ready for anything. Luckily, he never got to demonstrate her medical readiness.

Janeway named her daughter Rebecca because, as she said, she'd always enjoyed the gracefulness of the name. As a little girl, she'd always wished to name a daughter that, and was proud to finally have the opportunity. Beth, however, was never able to get from her mother why she was named Elizabeth, but figured when her mother wanted to tell her, she would.

The crew, of course, had better things to call them. Tom had once referred to them as the 'Bobsey Twins,' citing their ability to like the very same things. Neither girl actually knew what this meant, but figured it was somehow related to his love of the twentieth century. Chakotay referred to them as the Munchkins, but after they were nine or ten, stopped at their insisting. Becca always wondered if her complaining to her mother had paid off in the end..

Janeway sat behind her Ready Room desk, her eyes scanning the Engineering report Chakotay had dropped off last night from B'Elanna. Her mind was, however, otherwise occupied.

It had been two weeks since Beth's arrival, and each day had been a new discovery of knowledge of their future selves. She would tell stories of grand parties, mischief among the children, practical jokes, school lessons, space battles, away missions.. Their lives were packed to gills, if what Beth said turned out to be true.

But with each passing hour, Janeway mused, they were changing their own future, guiding their own destiny. Beth's visit had greatly impacted how they would live their lives, for she had shown them only a slice of what life *could* be like, not will be. Her tales made Janeway regard the people she spent time with, professional and personal, in a different light. How things could change in just two years.

Janeway thought back to the days, seven years ago, when the two crews had first merged. Oh, had things changed from them? Yes, with flying colors. People were more.. comfortable. Procedure wasn't as formal and strict as it was before, when they all still hoped they'd be home in time for dinner with their families. Relationships had sprung up between, as it always seemed, the two people least likely to even be on speaking terms.

But in some odd way, Janeway found it hard to fathom what her life would be like in seven years. Would she still be commanding this lone starship through an uncharted, unknown quadrant? Would Tom always be there, jumping to warp at just the right second? Would there always be that logical reasoning nagging her from Tactical when she faced her toughest decision? Would B'Elanna always come through at just the right time in Engineering, pulling off a move no one could recognize or duplicate? Would Harry always be the opinionated one, the one who always goes looking for love in all the wrong places? Would Neelix always be clanging around in his kitchen, whipping up strange Talaxian dishes and dazzling Janeway with his amazing powers of persuasion? Would Seven still have that Borg sense of perfection and efficiency in her nature, but still learning and acquiring knowledge everyday? And would Chakotay always be there, by her side, giving her something to think about when she couldn't make up her mind, and yet make smile at the very same instant?

Life has no guarantees.

The door chime on her Ready Room interrupted her thoughts. Annoyed but glad she had an excuse not to continue her reading, Janeway bid her visitor in from the bridge, knowing full well Chakotay would waltz in, status report in hand and a smile on his face.

"Good morning," was instead his greeting as Chakotay came in. Indeed, he had a padd in his hand, but his normal morning smile was replaced by only a slight one.

Something was bothering him.

"Ship status report?" Janeway asked, motioning with her chin to the padd he carried.

Chakotay, instead, shook his head. "No, it's a report from Seven."

Janeway put down the Engineering report she had been (pretending?) to read. "I didn't ask for any report," she commented.

His hand, holding the edge of the report, was extended toward Janeway. "I know. It's about Beth."

Janeway stood from her chair, grabbing the report from Chakotay and scrolling it down to briefly to skim the first few lines. She settled on the edge of her own desk, and was quickly taken aback by the report.

Putting the padd to her side, Janeway stared at Chakotay, her eyes widen. "Is she serious about these accusations?"

"As far as I can tell?" Chakotay replied, "Yes."

"As far as you can tell?" Janeway said, repeating his words but unclear of their meaning.

Chakotay, now, joined her on the edge of her desk, careful not infringe on her personal space. "I believe her emotions are slightly clouding her reasoning," he said. "I think it's far to say she's been through quite a lot in the past few weeks." Janeway nodded her head in agreement, secretly knowing exactly how Seven felt. "From what I can piece together, it sounds like Beth is *trying* to reach at to her, but Seven simply cannot accept Beth as her daughter." He paused. "But do I think her accusations warrant much merit? Not really."

Janeway sighed. "But can you blame her?" she replied, "In the past two weeks, she's learned of her own death at the hands of a biological weapons, and of her daughter who was conceived against her will using stolen genetic material and alien technology?" She paused. "She has a right to feel that way toward Beth. Future or not, she was violated, and that child was the result of that violation. That doesn't give anyone the right to discriminate against her, but to feel contempt or mixed emotions? It's a natural reaction."

"Who are we talking about here?" Chakotay asked. "Seven.. or you?"

Janeway hesitated for a moment, then her mouth (which had been open in hopes of a speedy reply) fell closed. Of course, she had been speaking in terms of Seven, but Chakotay was right. She and Seven shared that common bond.

"Both," she finally said, replying softly.

The computer, however, took whatever words Janeway would have liked to have said and put them away for another time. The door chime was rather loud compared to the whispered tones their brief conversation had been reduced to. Reluctantly, Janeway bid her ill-timed visitor in, and found it bitterly ironic to watch as Seven waltzed in.

"Seven," Janeway said, slightly surprised but matter-of-factly.

"Captain," Seven replied, regarding the situation at which she had walked in on. Apparently, she'd interrupted a conversation. Seven's eyes found the padd in Janeway's hand. "I see you have read my report."

"Yes, I have."

"Then you are aware of my accusations?"

Janeway looked at Chakotay briefly, trying to suppress a cynical smile forming on her lips, before answering. "You believe that Beth is intentionally withholding information," Seven nodded, "lying," she nodded again, "and ultimately trying to sabotage Voyager by only *pretending* to be a member of this crew."

"That is correct, Captain," Seven replied, oblivious to the obvious sarcasm in Janeway's voice.

"Uh huh," Janeway took in sarcastically, nodding her head slowly. "And how did you arrive at this conclusion?"

Seven seemed slightly uncomfortable for a moment. "I believe it is a.. hunch."

Janeway's head turned to Chakotay, and the look in her eyes screamed Can you believe this? No, he replied with his own, I can't.

Seven continued. "While we were downloading the information from our shuttle, there was a large block of the data she insisted on downloading herself. It appeared to be somewhat encrypted, and from what I could gather by her emotional responses, she was unsuccessful in her efforts to decrypt the data. However, when I offered my assistance, she adamantly rejected it."

Chakotay smiled. "She's 17, Seven-"

"16," she corrected him.

"16, sorry." Chakotay resumed his previous thought. "She's more than allowed to seek her own independence from her mother. It's what 16-year-olds *do*."

"That was not the only insistence of strange behavior," Seven replied. "On several occasions, she has referred to me as 'Seven.'"

Janeway stared at her. "So?"

Seven was growing ever more impatient with Janeway's lack of understanding. "If it is true that I have been this child's mother for over 16 years, wouldn't you expect her to often call me 'Mother'?"

Janeway stood. "I guess I would Seven, but to use that as a defense for these accusations-"

"Why are you consistently defending her?" Seven asked defiantly.

Janeway's face hardened over. "Why are *you* jumping to conclusions?"

"Because I don't trust her!"

There was a heavy pause over the Ready Room as each officer hesitated, worried something said might upset the semi-balanced tension simmering. Finally, Janeway took the diplomatic approach. "Seven, I can't say your accusations have merit," Janeway paused as the tension began to raise in Seven's face, "but I can't just dismiss them, either." Seven seemed pleased, and Janeway continued. "But you have to consider the effort that would have to go into masterminding such a deception as this. Do you honestly think she could do this alone?"

Seven's head cocked. "Perhaps she had outside assistance."

"Perhaps," Janeway conceded, "but unlikely." She stopped. "Would you like me to talk to Beth?"

Seven shook her head. "That would not be necessary, Captain."

"Are you sure?"

Seven assured Janeway that she was, then formally dismissed herself from the Ready Room, leaving Janeway staring after her as she left and Chakotay still sitting on the edge of Janeway's desk, silent. She turned her head, looking at Chakotay, who was studying the expression of thought playing across her face.

"What?" Janeway asked, curious.

Chakotay's eyebrows rose. "I've got this feeling you aren't entirely dismissing Seven's accusations, am I right?"

Janeway was shaking her head as she returned to her position beside Chakotay on the desk, but not because she disagreed with Chakotay's observation. Because she couldn't figure out why he was right. "Call it hunch," she replied.

Janeway had not been all too happy with how they were going "prevent" encountering the Bromna. She had figured it would consist of detecting their ships, and simply avoiding them. But instead, Beth had proposed using Voyager as an information gathering ship, and it was a prospect Janeway was finding harder and harder to stomach.

Apparently, Beth had failed to disclose to Janeway the fact she didn't have the precise time or coordinates that Voyager would encountered the Bromna bioweapon. Instead, Beth possessed warp signatures for two Bromna ships.

The first was for a disabled and apparently abandoned Bromna fighter ship. The second was for the ship that actually carried the bioweapon, which was a part of a massive space fleet.

The first signature could simply be scannd for using Voyager's own sensors. But to find the second ship, Beth had revealed that they would have to board the abdanoned ship and use its own sensors to find it. Apparently, the space fleet kept its warp signatures masked so that when it approached an enemy, only visual scans would recognize it. Bromna sensors, however, would be able to find it.

The senior staff was gathered for the routine pre-away mission briefing, but it wasn't Janeway who was running the thing. Her first order of business was to allot who would accompany her on the ship. She pointed out Janeway, Seven, and Chakotay.

"That would be an iladvised move," Tuvok pointed out. "Sending both commanding officers endangers the command structure should they both be incapitated."

Beth, however, was quick to respond. "Your *lives* are at stake. If this doesn't go exactly as planned, you'll *all* be incapitated in a couple of hours." Janeway noticed the bitterness in Beth's voice that she hadn't detected earlier.

Beth tapped the console behind her, pulling up an image of the Bromna ship they had found to match the warp signature she had provided. She pointed to an section toward the front, much where the Bridge was located on Voyager. "This is the command central of this vessel. The main computer console is here, so we'll be able to tap into their sensors this way." She turned to Seven. "Captain, you and I will be responsible for accessing the sensors. Seven," - she faced Seven, and Janeway noticed the flinch on her face as her supposed daughter refused to address her as that - "you'll be our 'lookout' of sorts, monitoring scans for our approaching enemy craft. Chakotay," - she faced him, finally, a small grin creeping across her face - "you'll be responsible for making sure no one knows we're there. I'm not sure what kind of alarms we might set off, and I want to make sure we stay invisible."

There was a heavy air around the briefing room as the crew waited approval from Janeway on these orders. Reluctantly, she nodded her head in agreement, and quickly dismissed the officers. All filed out, Beth included, with the exception of Chakotay.

A half-smile crept across his face. "She's got spunk," he said, referring to Beth.

"Just like her mother," Janeway returned, however cryptic the remark sounded.

The team of three adults and one very eager girl materialized in the center of the disabled Bromna bridge. It was dark, and materials from everywhere had been strune all over the place. Immediately whipping her tricorder, Janeway assessed that no crew members were present on board.

Their surroundings were far from accomidating. Aside from the almost complete darkness, the air was musty and heavy. It was hot, and almost immediately Janeway felt millions of tiny beads of sweat pool along her hairline. Everything seemed to be covered in a typ eof grease, and she knew there was no way to avoid not getting it on her hands and arms.

Seven was immediately at a computer console toward the back fo the bridge. "I am reading no vessels in the immediate area. We've arrived undetected."

Beth smiled and nodded. "Good." Looking past the two commanding officrs in front of her, she made her way to the large console near what appeared to be a viewscreen. This was, Janeway assumed, the main computer console.

Turning her attention to Chakotay, she began to bark things that could be interpretted as orders by some. "Commander, Bromna systems are very similiar to Voyager's. Every place you go, you leave a 'footprint.'" She waited, then continued. "This console taps into the 'central computer,' which is shared by several different Bromna ships. As we hack in, you've got to erase our 'footprints.' I trust you know how to do that?"

Chakotay smiled cryptically.

Happy that he understood, Beth and Janeway started their 'hack' into the system. While Janeway hesitated with each move, being unfamiliar to the workings of the Bromna system, she noticed Beth's fingers were already flying over the panel, as if she'd been using it her entire life.

"You *sure* you've never used these controls before?" Janeway asked in a hushed tone.

Beth looked at her, smiling. "I had a good teacher," she replied in a smiliar tone, her eyes finding Seven across the Bridge, still monitoring their progress.

"So far, so good," Chakotay reported, his fingers covering the prints as Beth and Janeway reached farther and farther into the system.

Janeway look over to see Beth was close to access the sensors. Her eyes were glued to her own console as she spoke. "If I didn't know any better, Commander, I'd say *you've* done this before." Chakotay looked up, a smile growing wider across his face. Janeway, however, never looked up, but made no effort to hide the smile that grow at her own remark. The effect was infectious, as one creeped across as Beth's face as well.

"Yes!" Beth exclaimed suddenly. "I'm in!"

Before any more celebration could ensue, five figures stormed the bridge. They were fast, their weapons drawn, yelling for the four officers to not make or move, or they'd be blown to bits. They, instead, were huddled in a small group. Four of the figures circled the group, but the fifth was the obvious leader. He wielded the large gun aimlessly.

"State the purpose of your presense," he barked.

The four guards took Janeway's small moment of silence as ignorance, and before she could react, had forced the three adults to the ground. Chakotay's cheek made a brief contact with the tiling on the bridge, and left a small grease stain on him. The guard's rough demeanor toward Seven left a small bruise on her arm and strands of blond hair dislocated from her French twist as casualities. Janeway, surprisingly, was relatively unharmed, and already had her finger inches from her comm badge, waiting for the moment to order to immediate beam out.

Oddly, Beth remained standing, and apparently quite scared.

The leader brought his large gun up to a locked position, its barrel trained on Beth in very close range. "I should kill you now, you murderer," he said with anger.

Janeway noticed, curiously, as Beth's form stiffened, but not in the manner that was consistent with being threatened in the way she was.

"I am no murderer."

The leader apparently disagreed, because the wide yellow beam from the barrel errupted before anyone could stop him. Beth was falling backward, and Seven caught her head and neck before it thudded to the ground. Janeway immediately moved to her feet. Without hesitation and before the guards could stop them, she yelled into the comm badge for that emergency beam out.

The three materialized in Sickbay, the two women holding one end of the limp Beth in their arms and Chakotay nearby, crouching so that he may be at their level. The Doctor was waiting for them as they lifted her from the floor to the awaiting main biobed. Instinctively, Chakotay sunk back to the background, allowing the Doctor and the two women aid. Seven took a defensive and almost emotional stance to the right of Beth, the Doctor opposite her with a hypospray inches from her neck. Janeway took her position behind the medical console, her sleeves pushed up to allow her better range of motion. Besides, it had been hot over on that ship.

"Captain, I want you to begin cardiostimulation on my mark," the Doctor ordered. Janeway nodded her head, taping in the proper controls to set up the procedure. "I'm administering a 60 cc dose of Inoprovalene."

Carrying out his own order, the Doctor moved the hypospray the extra inches needed to make contact with the girl's neck, and it made a small and almost silent hiss as the Inoprovalene dispersed into her bloodstream.

There was a heavy pause before he ordered Janeway to begin the cardiostimulation.

With a simple tap of a button, a pulse was sent through the biobed to Beth's limp body, and it convulsed momentarily as the shock ravaged her body. But she remained limp.

"No effect," Janeway stated.

"Again," the Doctor ordered, and the pulse again traveled through her body.

Her body hit the bed again limp, but the beeps from the computer said otherwise.

"I'm getting a very weak pulse," Janeway reported, exclaimation in her voice. "Autonomic response at 15% and holding."

Glad the worst of the emergency was over, the Doctor was immediately scanning Beth with his medical tricorder. Still scanning, he began reporting his findings. "That energy weapon penetrated all the way to a cellular level." Pause. "It's speeding up the degredation!"

Alarm spread across Seven's face. "She can't die," she simply stated.

Closing up his tricorder, the Doctor replaced it on his medical cart for another type of hypospray. "I think we should try Beth's treatment," he suggested, gesturing to Seven with the hypospray.

Seven briefly contemplated the earlier conversation they had carried on with Beth about her idea. Chakotay noticed how quickly her emotions played across her face; he knew Seven wasn't even aware it was that visible. Stealing a quick glance at the silent Beth, she looked at the Doctor and nodded quickly.

Letting out a sigh of relief, the Doctor quickly put the hypospray to Seven's neck, its hiss sampling the blood that flowed through her aorta. When a sufficent sample had been collected, he nodded for Janeway to watch the monitor, and after a moment of slight hesitation, administered the sample into Beth's bloodstream.

The negative beep from the medical console was not what anyone in the room had been expecting.

Opening his tricorder again, the Doctor furiously scanned the Beth's body. His eyes widened in horror. "The sample, it.. it.. it's only making the degredation more rapid!"

The idea flashed before Janeway's eyes like a bolt of lightening, and only Chakotay (whose eyes had been shifting back and forth from Beth to Janeway) saw the strike of genius play across her face. Like the lightening bolt that came with her idea, she moved with speed to the side of the Doctor.

"Give me the hypospray."

The Doctor's eyes widened again. "What?"

"Give me the hypospray," Janeway demanded again, this time with an open palm, waiting to receive the instrument.

The Doctor caught on within seconds. "It won't work, Captain. You're not compatible!"

Janeway's head cocked slightly to one side. "Am I?" she asked, leaving the Doctor speechless for seconds. "Call it hunch."

Still doubtful, he carefully handed her the instrument. In stark contrast, she brought it forcefully to the side of her neck, closing her eyes briefly as the hiss extracted her blood. Taking a deep breath, she handed the filled instrument to the Doctor. Skeptically and cautiously, he took the instrument.

And injected it into Beth's neck.

Expecting to hear the negative beep from the medical console, everyone was once again surprised when it answered with instead a positive beep.

"It worked?" was the chorus from the Doctor, Seven, and Chakotay.

Only Janeway stood at the console, studying the results, and feeling the pit that rose in her stomach.

It worked, and she didn't know why.

The Doctor had summoned Janeway on the request that she be brought up to speed should anything change in Beth's condition. In the past 36 hours, nothing had, but his latest round of test results were in and he felt the need to speak with Janeway directly.

It was 18:00 hours, hardly the 'late hour,' but from the look on her face as she strolled in the Sickbay doors, the Doctor could only imagine that Janeway hadn't slept a wink. Of course, one might say she seemed awake and alert, but the growing bags of sleep pooling around her eyes were a dead giveaway that the opposite was true.

"This is about that botched treatment, isn't it?" she asked as soon as the doors had shut.

"Actually, Captain," the Doctor said slightly amused, "your quick thinking saved Beth's life. If it wasn't for you, she would have died then."

Janeway nodded reluctantly, muttering half to herself that she knew that already. As she massaged the bridge of her nose in quiet frustration, she spoke. "Do you know *why* Seven's blood sample didn't work like she said it would?"

"Yes," - the Doctor waited a beat for Janeway's reaction - "and no."

"Did it have something to do with Seven's nanoprobes?"

The Doctor took a few steps back to his medical console before answering. "I thought that at first, too, Captain. But I've ran countless simulations, and it doesn't appear that the nanoprobes in Seven's bloodstream could have disrupted the degredation. Besides," - the Doctor paused - "Beth would have known if Seven's nanoprobes were a problem. She would have told us if she had known."

"Let's hope so," Janeway commented, but didn't explain further, even when a look of confusion crossed the Doctor's face. "Is there anything else, Doctor?"

"Actually, there is." He paused, almost showing signs of hesitation. "I'll be frank, Captain. I don't know anything about Beth's condition, much less how to treat it. She's unconscious right now, but unless I come across a medical breakthrough, she isn't going anywhere any time soon." Janeway was unable to come up with a solution for the Doctor's problem, he could see it her face and body language. Still, he pressed on. "Seven told me about a large amount of encrypted data she and Beth had been working on. I have reason to believe that the file is, in fact, a backup copy of my own program, presumably from the future Voyager."

Janeway was bewildered. "How did you make this deduction?"

"Half fact, half speculation, actually. Judging by the makeup, the file is roughly the same size as my own encrypted program would be."

"Roughly?"

"I'm taking into account 18 years of repairs and subroutines, Captain. But Seven tells me she's been able to decrypt half of the data, and it looks promising."

The Doctor watched as the proverbial gears worked magic inside Janeway's head. "And you believe this EMH would have sufficient knowledge to treat Beth?"

"Yes, Captain, I do."

Smiling politely, she quickly agreed to double the manpower and get the file decrypted and downloaded before the day was out.

Holodeck 1 was only occupied by Janeway and Seven, with the latter positioned behind the holodeck console. Janeway stood in front of the console, her arm propped against it so that she may support her weight on her elbow. She was staring into the grid walls and ceiling, thinking and contemplating how she might go about holding this conversation.

"I'm ready, Captain."

Janeway looked back at Seven. She straightened her form up to one of attention. "Do it," she commanded.

The man materialized in front of Janeway, and she was more than thrilled at who she saw. It was the Doctor, more or less. He still wore the same teal-shouldered uniform, but a white lab coat had been added to his physical parameters. His face showed no signs of aging, but then holograms don't age. The strands of grey hair floating among the small clumps of existing dark strands were, no doubt, artificially added to give some appearance of aging. Janeway had to smile as she thought how much he resembled Zimmerman.

"Captain Janeway," the EMH-2 said in relief when he saw the smiling face in front of him. Awkwardly, he outstretched his arms. "Do you mind?" Smiling and shaking her head, the EMH-2 pulled Janeway into an embrace that startled her only from the start. As he released her, his grin grew wider. "You don't know how long its been."

"I guess not, Doctor."

"Captain, what is the year?" the EMH-2 asked.

Janeway smiled slightly. "2378."

"It worked!" the EMH-2 exclaimed, walking around as he tried to control his excitement. He whirled on Janeway. "And she's safe?" he asked. The joy was off Janeway's face as the EMH-2 asked this, and as he looked to Seven, he noticed apprehension playing across her face. "What?" he asked again. "What's wrong? Didn't she make it?"

"Actually, Doctor, that's why we activated you." Janeway looked back at Seven before answering. "She was hit by some sort of energy weapon that sped up her cell degredation. When we tried her transfusion technique, it didn't work."

The EMH-2's face was grim. "So she's.. dead?"

Janeway shook her head. "No, but we're slightly confused on why she isn't." The EMH-2's head cocked in confusion. "She told us the only way to stop the degredation was a transfusion from the mother. The only reason Beth is alive is because a transfusion from me, and our doctor is stumped as to-"

"Wait a second," the EMH-2. "What did you say?"

Janeway was confused, but repeated her last complete thought. "The only reason Beth is alive is because of a transfusion from me."

The EMH-2 shook his head. "Beth? Beth *Hansen*?"

"That is correct, Doctor," Seven said.

The Doctor gazed over both women, shaking his head. "You must be some mistake. That's not Beth Hansen in your Sickbay." Both Janeway and Seven bore into the EMH-2's head with a gaze that asked It's not? "That's Rebecca Janeway."

Introductions were short and sweet as the EMH-2 rematerialized Sickbay. His face showed relief for a brief second as he took in the familiar sites of the sickbay, but all rejoicing was put aside at the matter on his hands.

Who was this girl lying in Sickbay?

The EMH-2 immediately rushed to the side of Beth, quickly making a visual diagnosis. Janeway, Seven, and the Doctor watched in muffled confusion as the EMH-2 proceeded to pull the left sleeve off her shoulder, revealing the creamy bare skin to the slightly fridge air. His eyes came up, finding the trios, beckoning them to come see what he had found.

Janeway looked where he pointed, and found him indicating a tiny pink scar along the top of her shoulder. From the looks of it, the scar was from an injury several days old, possibly two or more weeks.

"That," the EMH-2 said, "is from a game of Velocity. But," he paused for dramatic effect, "Beth injured her right knee a week before. She wasn't in shape to play when Becca received this injury."

"So you're basing this theory on a single scar?" Janeway asked defiantly.

"It's not a *theory*, Captain," the EMH-2 replied. "And no, there's more than the single scar."

He moved in a flurry of motion to the medical console, and asked the computer to list the chemical compounds present in the subject's bloodstream. Complying with the request, the computer spit back the natural chemical compounds that should be present in one's bloodstream, trace amounts of the Inoprovalene dosage, and "one unknown element." As the three finished with their reactions, the EMH-2 was busy working on the medical console. Again he asked the computer to list the chemical compounds. This time, however, the computer did not report the one unknown element as such.

"Dinoprovalene?" the Doctor asked. "Never mind what is, but how did it get in her bloodstream?"

The EMH-2 smirked. "I might ask the same thing myself, Doctor, if I didn't know Becca like I do." Janeway's expression screamed enlighten us. "This compound, Dinoprovalene, in theory, doesn't exist. It can't; the molecular bonds are too unstable. But when the situation presented itself, I made do. The changes it causes are, for the most part, purely cosmetic, though some did say it affected how they felt." The EMH-2 stopped, almost looking slightly guilty. "Even the older children didn't know the full effect of what the virus was doing. It was more than flu, it had physical effects on the crew. I had to make do.. to keep everyone's spirits up. The Dinoprovalene, it reversed the physical effects of the outbreak."

"Dinoprovalene reverses the effects of outbreak," Seven said, "but you're said Becca used it to mask her appearance completely?" The Doctor nodded, but Seven continued. "How is this possible?"

The EMH-2, reluctantly, shook his head. "To be honest with you, I'm not sure of it. Those girls are very smart and able scientists. No doubt they'd been fooling around with their DNA long before the mission was proposed."

"Wait a second, Doctor," Janeway realized, directing her question toward the EMH-2, "are you saying there were supposed to be *two* passengers on that shuttle?"

The EMH-2 shook his head. "That was always the impression I had, Captain, but I was downloaded into the shuttle main computer before the launch, so it *is* a possibility one was left behind. Perhaps to keep ship on Voyager?"

"Perhaps," Janeway replied, whispered. "Can you reverse the procedure?"

The EMH-2, at first, looked to the Doctor, before answering. "With the Doctor's help, I believe it can. However, it might take some time."

Casting a glance toward Seven, Janeway agreed. "Take all the time you need," she replied before silently slipping out the door.

The camera shook momentarily as a fuzzy image of Beth came into view. She was looking not at the camera but directly above it, no doubt to the person holding the camera.

"Is it on?" an anxious Beth asked.

"I think so," came the voice from behind the camera, a deep and rich alto sound that had the twinges of femininity without being quite the high-pitched sound. Still, it held the quality of being not quite mature, but was owned by someone far from a young age. "Hold on, lemme adjust the picture.." the fuzzy image of Beth became much clearer, as if one was actually looking at her, "There! Much better. God, I hope this works." The camera came to a lower angle, no doubt coming to rest on a table or a tripod, and its previous holder now joined Beth in the picture.

It became obvious something was definitely wrong with this picture, and it wasn't the resolution.

Beth looked as normal as could be expected, dressed it what appeared to be an Earth dress, circa 1920. It was red, and seemed much short than it should have been, or than her mother would allowed. The sleeves were nonexistent. Covering the dress were hundreds of strings, attached in rows, which swayed with each of Beth's movements. Her haircut was rather unusual; no doubt the pageboy style that was appropriate for the outfit was wig. A red sequined headband topped off the ensemble, with an off-center red feather attached.

"Your costume suits you," Beth said to Becca, who simply smiled wickedly at the camera. Also dressed in red, Becca wore a different side of Earth culture. The sleeves were frayed, as was the hemline, which didn't exactly follow in a straight line just above her knees. Becca was turned to the side slightly, exposing the red devil tail that had been attached the back of the dress, which also matched the red devil ears she wore on her head. Also, Becca's normally pinned back hair had been let loose, so it flowed over her shoulders rather suggestively. To top off her ensemble, a rather realistic pitchfork was held in one hand, looking both humorous and threatening.

"Hey, I can't wait to see the senior staff! Well, most of them, at least," Becca exclaimed in a voice that dripped like two girls gossiping behind a school during their lunch break.

"The ensemble costume?" Beth replied. "I know, me neither. I wonder who's going to be who?"

Becca shook her head, smiling. "Do you know how hard I tried getting it out of my Mom? Nothing worked!"

Beth cocked her head. "Isn't it kind of obvious who your mom's gonna be?"

Suddenly, a figure dressed as a bumblebee, ahem, "floated" into the picture. The girls and the figure regarded each other for a second, scrutinizing each other's costumes. It was obvious the figure knew who they were, but he girls weren't too sure.

"Neelix?" Beth asked, unconfident. When the bumblebee nodded its head in response, the girls dissolved into a fit of giggles.

"What are you girls doing with a holocamera?" Neelix asked, his eyes briefly making contact with the camera as he observed its sitting on the table or tripod were it was situated.

"We're doing that piece for your morning program, remember?" Recognition appeared on Neelix's yellow face, and Beth smiled. "Of course, we're going to edit it later."

The girls' conversation with Neelix was cut short by the sound of the Messhall doors opening. The two pairs of eyes that had only recently been trained on the camera were now in the direction of this sound, and huge smiles crossed their faces. The colorfully dressed figures in the background had similar reactions to whoever had just entered.

"Captain!" Beth exclaimed.

Suddenly, four more figures appeared in the crowded lens, edging Neelix out. They were linked arm and arm, wearing those ridiculous costumes and makeup, and looking so funny. Visible behind them were three more figures, and a fourth smaller one seemed eager to push their way through the linked line.

"Toto," Janeway said in a high-pitched voice with a slight twinge a Southern drawl, "I have a feeling we're in Kansas anymore." Beth and Becca laughed at this impression of the holomovie they'd recently seen, impressed at the authenticity of Janeway's costume. Even her hair had grown long enough to realistically pull it into two braided pigtails. She wore the blue and white plaid jumper over the white shirt, and seemed proud as she pranced around in the red sequined shoes she'd replicated. Her right arm was linked with the Tinman, and dangling from that arm was a straw basket. The front flap was open, revealing a plush brown dog: Toto.

Becca leaned in close to Janeway. "Mom, I think you're forgetting one thing."

Suddenly remembering, Janeway shut her eyes, bringing herself to rest on her tip toes. "There's no place like home," she whispered, tapping her red heels together in imitation of the holomovie's famous line. Opening her eyes again, her voice returned to its normal, alto pitch. "If only it worked."

Claiming Dorothy/Janeway's right arm was Chakotay, dressed up like the Tinman. Claiming her other arm was Tom Paris, probably the most made up, as the Cowardly Lion. Linked with Chakotay's right arm was the Scarecrow, more aptly called Harry Kim. Beth and Becca couldn't help but chuckle again as they each recited their trademark lines.

Harry held his brow in his free palm. "If I only had a brain."

Chakotay manipulated both his hands to playfully hold his "heart" in pain. "If I only had a heart."

Tom's shoulders tensed up as he drew back in fear, but also remembering to stress the last word, twisting and bending it. "If I only had the nerve."

The small figure behind them couldn't hold it any longer, and burst through the linked line. Luckily, no arms were severed. Everyone smiled; it was Tom and B'Elanna's 10-year-old daughter Kneta, dressed up like a munchkin. In her arms, she carried a large, blue swirled lollipop.

"A munchkin," Becca exclaimed in adoration.

"A *lollipop guild* munchkin," Kneta corrected.

Beth was standing on her own tiptoes, trying to make out the remaining three figures in the back. "Mom?" she suddenly asked, unbelieving, "are you.. Glinda?"

Seven, instead of bursting through the crowd, took the liberty of simply walking around the linked line. She appeared in the glittering pink ballgown, crown, and wand of Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, and both Beth *and* Becca were shocked. They very rarely saw Seven out of her uniform, much less in such an extravagant gown.

There was suddenly a very odd cackling from behind, and both girls realized they hadn't seen B'Elanna. Wasn't she in on this one, too? Suddenly, it hit them. Oh no, Tom couldn't have persuaded her to be *that*.. could he?

"Who killed my sister?" B'Elanna cackled. She spun on Kneta, surprising the young girl. "Was it you?"

The girls had to laugh. Even through the greenish face makeup, B'Elanna Klingon ridges was still visible. Still, the large nose somehow fit with her, along with the black gown and broomstick.

"No, Mommy," Kneta replied, a little scared by B'Elanna's voice. Accusingly, she pointed her lollipop at Janeway. "It was her!" Everyone, including those dressed in costume, laughed at this bit of unplanned humor.

Beth tried to calm everyone. "Wait a second, guys.. don't you have a wizard?" This was the Doctor's cue. True, he looked hilarious, dressed in the oversized and overcolored outfit.

Becca stepped back from Beth, getting closer to the camera lens. "I must admit, I didn't think this whole Halloween thing would work out. But from the looks of you," she said, referring to the Wizard of Oz characters, "I'd say we'll be having Halloween every year.." She paused. "Of course, with your permission, Mom."

Janeway smiled. "Let's get this party over with first." Exchanging glances with her Lion (Tom) and even longer glance with her Tinman, she raised her eyebrow. "Gentlemen, shall we?"

The four turned to mingle with the crowd gathered in the Messhall, and Becca was reaching for the camera now propped on the table when the comm line interrupted.

"Sickbay to Captain Janeway."

She promptly paused the holorecording, knowing full well the reason for the Doctor's hailing. They'd been successful in reversing Becca's procedure.

Janeway had already prepared what she was going to say, how she was going to say, and how exactly she would react. Of course, she knew this wouldn't work, because she was planning for a situation she had yet to encounter, and knew nothing about. But through the turbolift ride to Sickbay, she vowed to keep her cool and make sure her emotions didn't get the better of her.

She should have expected the small crowd when she entered. They all turned as she entered - The Doctor, the EMH-2, Chakotay, Tuvok, and Seven - all with the looks of comfort on their face. Be careful of her, they conspired, don't say anything that could upset her. She's fragile. We won't know how she'll react. The looks were accusing, as well. You should have seen through of this. You're supposed to lead this ship, and you let this one slip through the cracks.

Instead, she threw up a cold shoulder to them all, or as many as she could. She avoided eye contact with everyone she could, not willing to accept neither their accusations or comfort. She didn't need comforting. And she certainly didn't need the guilt she already felt building up inside her.

She pushed her way to the Doctor, standing solemnly beside the EMH-2, no doubt muttering medical babble about Beth/Becca. Whoever she was.

"You've reversed the procedure?" she asked.

A verbal answer didn't await her. Instead, the two holograms simply parted ways, revealing a peaceful, resting girl alone on the main medical bed. But it wasn't the girl she'd saved just hours ago with the doctor. Janeway knew it wasn't really her, and the girl's new physical appearance only confirmed that fact.

Becca's facial structure had changed, becoming more accommodated to her mother's. The chin and nose resembled Janeway's, as did the creamy skin. What had been silky blonde hair with twinges of red was now a deep auburn that bordered between red and black, perhaps a nod toward her father. In her mind, Janeway filled in the girl's eye color - brown instead of her own deep blue - from the holomovie she had only recently seen.

"How is she?" Janeway asked, keeping her eyes trained on Becca and her voice coated in an icy, cold tone.

Janeway wasn't sure with hologram responded; she never bothered to turn around to see the voice. "She's unconscious, but resting peacefully. It would be possible to revive her if you wished."

She couldn't help but her the comfort in the hologram's voice; perhaps it was too obvious. "Do it," she replied, telling herself it was protocol and not a misguided emotion that told her to do so.

Janeway stood with her eyes not moving from Becca as the Doctor passed by her, hypospray in hand, and to the side of the sleeping girl. Quietly, he pressed the hypospray to her neck, reviving her. Janeway watched as her eyes fluttered in an R.E.M like state for several seconds before fluttering open. Those eyes studied the Sickbay ceiling for several more seconds, before her entire body came to a sitting position.

"Captain?" Becca asked. Janeway couldn't help but find the voice not matching the face she saw. It was what Janeway had always thought Beth sounded like, when it reality it was Becca voice all along. No amount of physical masquerading could change that.

"Captain?" Becca asked again, bouncing her concern off Janeway's facial expression. "Is something wrong?"

Janeway sighed, turning her body and taking her eyes of Becca for the first time to grab the handheld mirror the Doctor had placed on the medical cart. "Maybe you could tell *me*," she replied, extending the mirror to Becca, indicating for the girl to study her own reflection.

It was not confusion that layered the gasp that escaped Becca's lips. It was surprise, surprise that she had been caught. Becca's free hand went to her newly auburn hair, stroking it softly and slowly. It came to rest on her cheek, cradling it as if it might fall and she had to catch it.

Becca slowly lowered the mirror to face a disapproving look crossing Janeway's face. She opened her mouth to speak, but Janeway's quicker question beat her to it. "Why, Rebecca?" she spat, stressing the formal use of her full name.

Becca shook her head, speechless. "I.. I.. I don't know."

"You don't know why?" Janeway replied angry. "You lied to us! Certainly there was a reason for that!"

"I didn't lie to you!" Becca replied, anxious.

Janeway's eyes flashed with anger. "You pretended to be Elizabeth Hansen! I've always considered that kind of pretending to be lying." Janeway began to pace slightly, moving closer to the girl. All the time, Seven, Tuvok, and Chakotay, as well as the two holograms, remained silent in the background, watching the exchange.

"I swear, I was going to tell you-"

"And I'm just supposed to believe you?"

Now it was Becca whose eyes flashed with anger. "Yes!"

Janeway stopped in front of Becca, resisting the urge to place her hands on the girl's shoulders and shake the reasoning into her, or the answer *out*. "And how am I supposed to believe that anything else you've said or done is the truth?"

"Because it is!" Beth exclaimed, her voice bordering on a yelling. The two women stopped, challenging each other to a dual of stares. Both could see the others' anger, but neither had the courage to provoke that anger. Finally, Becca's shoulders heaved a heavy sigh, and she began to show signs of calming down. Her voice mirrored this calm as well. "If you don't believe me.. check the shuttle's logs. I think those will explain better than I can."

Janeway's shoulders also heaved her own heavy sigh eventually, but instead of reacting, she turned away. Her attention fell upon the Doctor, standing side by side the EMH-2. "Doctor, is she fit to be released?"

The Doctor agreed that yes, she was. Janeway was now eyeing Tuvok. "Mr. Tuvok, I want a security detail to escort Rebecca to her quarters." She spun around, her sharp words directed at Becca herself. "Until this matter is resolved, I'm restricting you to your quarters, only. The replicator is programed for food materials only, so don't try and start a rebellion."

Before anyone, not Becca or anyone else present in the room, could protest to Janeway's strict orders, she was out the door and around the corner.

Janeway was unaware anyone had followed her from Sickbay until she heard the sound of Starfleet-issue boots padding along the carpeted floors at a quickened pace. She tried to ignore it at first, but eventually stopped and spun around. She wasn't surprised to see Chakotay just strides behind her.

She had come to a stop feet from the turbolift, and Chakotay was relieved he'd caught her in time. "Captain-"

Janeway raised her hand, stopping his short-lived protest. "I know exactly what you're going to say Commander. You think I'm being a little harsh with Rebecca."

"A little?"

Janeway threw her hands up in surrender. "What am I supposed to do, Chakotay? For God's sake, the girl to lied to us."

"So she pretended to be her best friend, is that such a big deal as you're making it. For all we know, Beth Hansen could be dead, and 'that girl' might feel responsible."

Janeway shook her head. "But we *don't* know that, Chakotay. I'm not going to take that kind of risk."

"If Rebecca is such a big risk, how coming you're giving that EMH free reign over Voyager's computers?" Chakotay proposed. He watched as Janeway's mouth shut up like a clam. "Which is the bigger risk, Kathryn? The fact that she lied, or that she's a Janeway?"

The offense Janeway took to this remark was clear on her face. "You think I'm taking this personally?"

"Yes," Chakotay replied simply. "And I think you aren't willing to admit to yourself that you are." His voice adopted a sympathetic tone as he moved closer to her. "I know you, Kathryn, and *you* have to know that I'm not out to criticize or get you. I only want to help."

Janeway stared at him for a second, searching his eyes to reaffirm the fact that his statements were, indeed, reality. She knew full well he wasn't out to destroy her and criticize every decision. Chakotay wasn't like that, and she knew it.

But still, she pulled away from the close proximity. "I don't want your sympathy," she spat at him, her hand hitting the turbolift call with an almost violent overtone. Her eyes danced over his face for a brief second, and she deeply regretted the hurt that she saw.

Luck was on her side at that moment, or maybe it wasn't, as the doors opened almost immediately. Quickly she entered, but Chakotay's powerful hand was blocking the doors' path. She wasn't going anywhere.

"Where are you going?" he asked, trying to pretend her previous comment had no effect on him.

Janeway hesitated. "The shuttlebay," she replied simply, not making eye contact with him.

Chakotay eased into the turbolift without a word. None needed to be spoken; she knew he was joining her.

When B'Elanna, Harry, and Becca had restablizied the shuttle computer core, Becca had made it priority to recover and download any and all shuttle logs from the computer core. At the time, Janeway hadn't realized the urgency of this task.

Janeway and Chakotay took the two pilot chairs in the front of the shuttle. They sat in that silence for a short time; Janeway was staring out the view screen into the otherwise empty shuttlebay, while Chakotay trained his eyes on her.

"I'm sorry," he heard her utter in a whisper. His response was a non-verbal soft pat on her lower thigh, a gesture that she did not flinch at.

Breaking her reverie, Janeway called up the shuttle logs.

Becca's face appeared on the screen, dressed in the burgandy-and-black outfit she had worn when Voyager had recovered the shuttle. But it was not grease-stained, and her auburn hair had been pulled into a haphazard bun, with strands poking out in all directions. Her surroundings was as they appeared in the present time. Bulkheads and various shuttle materials weren't strewn around the floor as they had once been. It was a safe assestment that this was pre-jump, maybe even pre-flight.

"There's been a change in plans," the image of Becca reported. "Beth got sick, probably a bad reaction to the last Dinoprovaline test we tried. We discussed it on the way to Sickbay. Becca was always the better public speaker, the better one for a new situation. At least I'll have the advantage of looking like I know what I'm doing.

"We didn't bother to tell Doc about the flight change. If all goes as planned, his medical services won't be required. Besides, we never told him about the trials in the beginning; it would take up too much precious time explaining, not to mention getting quite a speech for, um, borrowing his Dinoprovaline supplies.

"If all goes as planned, Doc will never miss his Dinoprovaline, and I won't miss my mother anymore than I already do." Becca paused, kissing her index and middle finger and pressing it to the console. Janeway could make out a small smudge. "See you in a few, Mom. Janeway out."

The log ended after that entry. Janeway wasn't surprised. There wasn't any time to make a follow-up, and she wasn't sure if propoer Starfleet procedure had been followed during the extent of the mission.

Janeway was suddenly tapping controls. "What are you doing?" Chakotay asked, alarmed at her sudden vigor.

Janeway looked up from her work. "Did she ever tell you how it was she was able to make this time jump of hers?" she asked. Chakotay thought for a moment, realizing he had never learned that detail of the story. He shook his head, and Janeway continued. "Me neither." Chakotay was surprised. Surely, the was the first detail anyone would be curious about. His expression reflected this surprise. Janeway smiled. "Well, not directly, at least. She mentioned something about a device that, when connected with the warp core, could open time continum and literally manipulate. Of course, that's about all the detail she gave me."

"Is it possible that's all the detail she *knows*?"

Janeway turned to him, her fingers momentarily frozen above the console. "From what I've been studying, it sounds like everyone regards this girl as some kind of scientific genius." Janewya smiled slightly. "Besides, who would fly something they didn't understand?"

Chakotay surrendered in his mind. She had raised a strong point. "But what are doing?" he asked again.

She smiled wide, turning her chair so that she could get up. "I'm going to have a look at this 'device'."

Leaving her pilot's chair, Janeway made her way halfway to the back of the cabin, stopping at a panel on the left side of the cabin. It was the lowest bulkhead to the floor, which made Janeway crouch to remove the panel.

It took a bit of strength to remove the cover, as if it had been wedged into the bulkhead on a ngle in a hurry to finish a repair or save the ship. It took one big tug that almost sent Janeway tumbling backwards to remove it. What was revealed with a glistening, bright, silver device she did not recognize one bit.

Chakotay got up from his seat, crouch near Janeway's position. "How do you know this is the time device?"

Janeway turned to him. "It's the only thing on that contents list I don't recognize. Call it an educated guess."

When Janeway reached in to even gently touch the silver coils, she was utterly surprised to be forced back by a forcefield. It spanned the panel's opening like a second bulkhead, and sent a slightly painful shock through Janeway's hand as she recoiled it. A declaration of pain escaped her lips as she stared at the unexpected forcefield.

"Think it's that valuable?" Chakotay asked.

Janeway immediately had her tricordr out, resting it carefully in her shocked hand. She passed it over the forcefield, studying. "I'll tell you one thing -- this isn't a standard Starflet forcefield." She studied the data for a second more. "In fact, this isn't like any forcefield I've ever seen."

"I could say the same thing about that device," Chakotay said, his eyes scanning the surrounding bulkheads.

"What are you looking for?"

A second passed as Chakotay's visual scans continued, fianlly resting a small panel a half foot from where the time device was located. "An access panel," he said, both to answer the question and state what he had found.

Chakotay's fingers hesitated a moment over the panel, unsure if his pressure on the buttons would cause any more damage to Janeway, himself, or the shuttle. Immediately, Janeway was passing the tricorder over the panel, readying his thoughts of anxiety.

"It's not rigged to anything," she concluded. "It appears safe."

The panel was identical to that of a Starfleet's shuttle panel. Chakotay keyed in the code to disable the time device's forcefield, but was surprised at the reaction.

"Security clearance required to access that setting," the cool female computer voice requested. Exchanging a quick glance with Janeway, Chakotay complied, entering in a general security clearance. "Commander Chakotay is not authorized to access that setting," the computer replied.

Janeway's eyebrows shot up. Express orders not for Commander Chakotay to access this setting. That device must have been valuable. "Who is authorized to access that setting?" Janeway asked the computer.

"Captain Janeway," it responded.

Janeway was confused. But still, she complied with the computer, entering in her own general security clearance. The result shocked her.

What they had expected was the disabling of the time device forcefield. What they got was an utter transformation. The grey, subtle prestige of the Starfleet shuttle was suddenly transformed into the beige and white tones of an alien ship. The computer consoles changed, the language appearing unfamiliar to both officers. The bulkheads changed, the chairs changed, even the size of the view screen changed.

"Not again," Janeway whispered, remembering all too well the risk the last time a ship wasn't what it seemed.

"Maybe we should leave," suggested Chakotay, who was already getting to his feet. But Janeway wasn't budging. Instead, she was more planted in her position, her tricorder sweeping over the shuttle's main cabin. "What are you doing?" he asked impatiently.

Janeway stood, her eyes wide with amazement. "Chakotay, take a look at this." Sh leaned the tricorder into so that both she and him could read its display. "This shuttle.. the exterior was holographic, but one thing didn't change. The hull shows signs of degredation.. consistent with time travel."

Chakotay shook his head. "So you're saying someone pretends to be one person and pretends to have a Starfleet shuttle? That doesn't make any sense." He paused. "I was beginning to think the whole thing was one big fat lie."

Janeway looked up at him, her blue eyes glistening with the twists of this mysterious puzzle. "Maybe someone's trying to change history.. but for all the wrong reasons." She smiled. "I suggest we have a little chat with Rebecca in my ready room. You know, just to straighten everything out."

Chakotay nodded in a greement as they left the shuttle. He could tell, as much as the lying part bother her, Janeway was enjoying every twist and turn of this mystery. She would never, however, admit to that.

Janeway tapped her comm badge as soon as they were clear of the shuttle. "Janeway to Tuvok." Silence. With a worried look on her face, she tried again. "Janeway to Tuvok, please respond." Still, nothing but silence answered her. Janeway asked the computer to locate Tuvok.

"Commander Tuvok is in Guest Quarters B."

Janeway then asked the computer to locate Rebecca.

"Rebecca Janeway is in Guest Quarters B."

Nodding to Chakotay, they made their way out of the Shuttlebay.

Rounding the corner and coming up to Guest Quarters B, the first thing Janeway noticed were the people standing outside the quarters. Or rather, the lack thereof of people standing outside Guest Quarters B.

"Where are the guards?" Janeway exclaimed. She'd made it clear to Tuvok that no one was to leave ro enter those quarters without their knowledge. That meant a rotating security detail, should the amtter take longer to resolve than originally thought possible.

The two stopped outside the quarters, poised and ready inside the doorframe. Chakotay nodded to Janeway, and she overrided the security code, opening the doors.

Stepping inside, the room was pitch black, save from the small lights illuminating from the stars outside. It took Janeway and Chakotay's eyes a short bit of time to adjust to the light change. When they did, they found three people lying very still on the floor of the room -- Tuvok, as well as the two posted guards.

Chakotay checked the guards' pulses, pronouncing them alive but unconsious. Rushing to Tuvok's side, Janeway found him semi-alert, his eyes fighting for the right to remain open.

"Tuvok," she said, kneeling on the floor, "what happened?"

The Vulcan winced in pain before answering. "Something happened to the.. EMH-2. He.. changed.. into an alien of some sort. Got really mad. Rebecca attacked me.. and the guards." Tuvok stopped, the pain in his head increasing.

"Rebecca attacked you?" Janeway asked. "With what?"

Tuvok paused before answering, perhaps trying to remember. "A.. phaser, I believe."

Janeway's eyes widen in fear. How did Rebecca get a hold of a phaser when she most certainly had no access to one. Her eyes darted to the other two guards, but saw their weapons, as well as Tuvok's, discarded on the floor. All three were accounted for.

Her attention turned back to Tuvok. "Where did she go?"

As Janeway interrogated Tuvok, Chaktoay was busy attended to and beaming the two unconsious guards to sickbay.

"She left her comm badge.. there." Tuvok's eyes went to a table behind Janeway, who's face turned in that direction. On the table beside the couch behind her was the shinny, new comm badge Janeway had issued Becca when she was first welcomed aboard. Moving to pick it up, she found an active padd below it. Scrolling to find what it was, she found a highly encrypted body, but a very clear heading.

"Commander," Janeway said, looking up from the padd to met Chakotay's glance, "I believe this is for you."

The guards had both been moved to sickbay, allowing Chaktoay to cross the room. He took the padd Janeway extened towards him, scrolling down. "What is it?" he asked, seeing full well the encrypted message and hoping she knew something about it.

Janeway, instead, shook her head. "Beats me."

Chakotay and Janeway stood up, Janeway ordering Sickbay to beam Tuvok there immediately. As he materialized the officers made quick pace out the door and to the turbolift once more. The Bridge would have more answers for them.

The two commanding officers were on the Bridge for no more than a few seconds, and already reports were coming in. Janeway had informed them of the situation as they rode the turbolift up, so the information being shot at her was no surprise.

All critical systems required authorization to access. Environmental controls had been locked down, as had direct access to the main computer core.

"What about Engineering?" Janeway asked.

Fate intervened, and Harry Kim was not needed to answer.

"Torres to Janeway." To Janeway and everyone else, B'Elanna seemed tense. Nervous. Something was wrong, she knew it.

Janeway tapped her comm badge. "Janeway here, what is it B'Elanna?" There was no answer. Only silence. "B'Elanna, are you there?" At this point, Tom had turned around from his position at the helm, cornern and worry twisting and dancing on his face.

"I think you better come down to Engineering.. right now." Before Janeway could answer, the comm line was cut off.

The apprehension that came in such situations once again settled itself over the Bridge crew. Janeway turned to Kim. "Tell me what you know," she ordered, and he knew full well she wanted internal scans of Engineering.

"Everyone who's supposed to down there is.." Kim paused, unsure of what to make of his readings. "I take that back, Captain. There's one.. someone down there who isn't supposed to. The computer doesn't know what to make of him."

Janeway turned to Chaktoay, mouthing "Rebecca" to him. He nodded solemnly in agreement. Then Janeway was ordering Tom from his position at the helm. The three of them were going down there to find out what the hell was going on.

The three stopped outside of the doors to Main Engineering. Everyone checked to make sure their weapons were set to 'stun,' and that setting alone. Janeway didn't want anyone to die today.

"Gentlemen, you both know the drill," she briefed them.

They nodded in agreement, and after taking deep breaths, charged in Engineering, Janeway in the lead, followed on the heals by Chakotay and, finally, Tom. All had their weapons drawn and their senses alerted.

They found B'Elanna facing the door, her back pushed against the railing that guards workers from the warp core. A console seemd to be jutting into hr back, and from the look on her face, she seemed to be pretending not to notice. Standing directly next to her at an arm's length was Becca, with one slight difference. She had a phaser drawn, pointed just inches from B'Elanna left ear.

As the three strode in, a smile on Becca's face greeted them. "Captain, Commander, Lieutenant, how nice of you to join us!"

Diplomacy kicked into high gear for Janeway. "Rebecca, if you put the weapon down, perhaps we could-"

The expression of Becca's face changed to disgust. "Diplomacy, eh? That's what got us here in the first place." Janeway could not have faltered in her cool exterior for just a second, because she Rebecca would simply pounce on this, using it as a weakness against her.

Instead, she tried the approach that always seemed to work. "So you're not Beth Hansen, and you're not Rebecca Janeway. Who are you? Why did you come from the future only to point a phaser at one of my officers?"

Anger flashed across Rebecca's face, but it was different than the anger Janeway had seen earlier. This one was not directed at single person, but at a least group or event. "Who am I? You mean, who *was* I?" Rebecca snorted. "I *was* Geradel Roi. I *had* a mother and father who loved me. I *had* friends. That is, until everything changed." Suddenly, the vigor and forcefulness of before return. "And it's *your* fault! You were so interested in supplies you failed to see the impact it would have on an entire society! You killed me family! You destroyed my life!"

Janeway kept her weapon raised, her eyes darting ever-so-quickly to her left and her right. Both Chaktoay and Tom kept their weapons raised, aimed on Rebecca, or Geradel Roi, as she claimed to be truely called.

Geradel continued. "The Bromna, they exist. Except because of you, they develop their precious biological weapon. And because of you, half of my planet is dead, and the rest of us are dying!"

Janeway was starting to understand. "So you came back in time.. to prevent us from meeting the Bromna, but not to save us, to save your planet."

Geradel shook her head, a grin crossing her face. "The Bromna possessed the cure for that biological weapon. My mission was to retreive the cure.. and correct the timeline." Geradel stopped, knowing Janeway was picking up her trail of bread crumbs. She straightened her aim on B'Elanna. "She will be only the first to die."

Janeway could see the anxiety mounting in B'Elanna as she stole glances from Tom. "She doesn't have to die," Janeway reasoned.

Suddenly, Janeway thought she saw a diplomatic calm come over Geradel's face. Geradel smiled. "You're right, Captain, she doesn't." Her chin nodded up. "Karek?"

Before anyone could react, a large, looming figure emerged from the shadows, weapon drawn. He moved silently, so silently that janeway didn't realize he was there until the large phaser was pointed directly at her head. Trying to hold her fast crumbling exterior, Janeway hardened her gaze on Geradel as the girl's smile grew wider. "You do." She paused. "Now I suggest you drop your weapon, Captain, or I might be able to demonstrate your methods of diplomacy."

Janeway realized the only way out was to follow what Geradel said, thus she surrendered by slowly crouching to the floor, and placing the weapon on the ground. She knew that if the time came, she would simply be able to drop down and grab the weapon.

"Be sure to disarm the phaser, Karek," Geradel remembered, reading Janeway's mind. As Karek did so, Geradel couldn't help but smile. "Such a cowardly crew, you have, Captain. The two women with the most seniority, and no one's fired a shot. Not even a plea for mercy."

"We don't believe in violence," Janeway replied.

This, however, earned only a snort of disgust from Geradel. "Could have fooled me, along with the entire population of my home planet."

Chakotay and Tom exchanged a glance, formulating their plan with simple movement of their eyes.

It was Chakotay who finally piped in some support for his officers. "Whatever this crew may have done to cause the destruction of your planet, I can assure you that it was done unintentionally."

Geradel cocked her head. "I would expect something like that coming from you, Chakotay." Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "Such a loyal officer, such a loyal friend. Tell me, are you two as loyal during dinner and dessert time, too? What about at two in the morning?" Tom had to move into the path of Chakotay to prevent him from firing his weapon directly at Geradel. She, of course, found this whole reaction very humorous. "I've struck a nerve, haven't I, Commander?"

Geradel finally turned her attention to B'Elanna, who was as frightened and scared as her Klingon blood would let her be. She leaned into, whispereing loudly into her ear. "Isn't this fun, B'Elanna?" B'Elanna, however, refused to make eye contact with the girl, instead looking straight ahead with an expression of iron.

Geradel looked back at Janeway, and at the man, Karek, behind her, and smiled. "Okay, Captain, we've had your stab at diplomacy, now it's my turn." She nodded to Karek. "Do tell, Karek."

The large, looming man sneered at Janeway. When he spoke, his voice was harsh and raspy, but still retained a quality that was almost.. human. "Our weapons are loaded with rounds, Captain, five to each. There's only one round in this particular one, however."

Horror played across Janeway's face as she realized the version of Russian roulette she had walked into. Playing off this reaction, Geradel smiled. "That's right, Captain. You get three chances. If luck's on your side, you'll live. If not, well, you'll end up like everyone else I know. Dead." She paused. "Ready to play?"

Janeway's eye narrowed in disgust. "Do I have choice?"

Geradel thought momentarily, then smiled again. "No, you don't." She nodded to Karek, whose arm straightened against the skin of Janeway's skull. He squeezed the trigger, anda t the same moment, Janeway's eyes flitted shut, and the entire room held its breath.

One. She was safe.

Karek squeezed the trigger again.

Two. She was safe.

Janeway watched as Geradel's grip on her own weapon loosened. She didn't seem to notice. "I don't know, Captain, 3 was always my lucky number." She paused. "Of course, you could always beg mercy and plead with me to save your life. But then what would that show all those vengeful people who wished you'd left us all alone?"

Geradel stopped her rambling, giving the final nod to Karek. Once again, he straightened the weapon against Janeway's skull, and before her eyes flitted shut in fear again, she stole a glance at Chakotay. The look on his face read his emotions clearly; anxiety, fear, apprehension, and..

She heard Karek squeeze the trigger, and she realized she hadn't even shut her eyes when she heard the sound. She gasped, feeling the pressure invade her skull and brain, and the warm blood trickle down-

The seconds passed as she registered the beams of energy errupt from the two phasers. Miraculously, they both hit their targets: Karek and Geradel. The seconds passed more as Janeway realized that sound was not the weapon by ear firing into ehr brain. It was the phasers, killing the two assailants.

Geradel crumpled into a heap on the floor, as did Karek, both stunned from the phaser fire. it seemed to happen in slow motion, and Janeway remained motionless, unsure if the slightest movement would wreck the moment she saw before her.

No sooner had Gerdal hit the floor than Tom was rushing to B'Elanna's side, hugging her and kissing her forehead hundred of times. B'Elanna.. she looked to be almost trembling as she collapsed into Tom's embrace, his own weapon bouncing to the floor to support her.

Janeway, instead, crumpled herself to the floor, the effect of the past few seconds slowly sinking in. She coul feel the hot tears welling up in her eyes, and she tried hard not to let anyone know she held thse feelings. Captains don't cry, Captains don't-

Oh hell, she couldn't hold it anymore. She felt big arms encircle her, pull her close, and she knew a large presence had planted itself in front of her. He was asking if she was okay. Hell, she was not alright, she had almost died, she was not alright!

Unable to control the tears or the trembles that racked her body as she struggled to catch her breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, she cried into the shoulder of the omnipresent figure. For this moment, she was not a captain.

She was scared.

EPILOGUE

Janeway's pace as she strode down the corridor would not invoke the notion that a gun had been pointed at her head 24 hours ago. Her eyes did not dart back and forth suspiciously, her head didn't turn every five seconds to overreact to the sound she'd heard down the corridor. She passed several crew members as she journeyed down the winding corridor, each time nodding a cordial "good morning" and receiving their reply with a smile that didn't appear forced or preoccupied.

Her outward appearance showed calm. Inside, however, was a completely different story.

Janeway was still wrestling with the events and resulting emotions even now, after the deed was done and gone. When her mind was occupied with a calculation or a reading, her mind would drift because to that moment. She would see herself as if she were a third party, watching the scene replay dozens of times. Inwardly, she cried at the memory, but would never allow such a display on her outside persona.

Someone was calling her from behind, and wasn't surprised to turn around and see the face she'd expected staring back her, his body almost in sync with her own steps.

"Good morning," Chakotay said, grinning. "How are you feeling?"

Janeway knew the cryptic meaning to this statement. Of course, he was always curious about her present state of mind, but at the moment, the comment also asked feeling any better? or are you okay? Chakotay knew not to address such matters as directly in public, or even in the privacy of their own quarters or the Ready Room.

Rounding to the turbolift, Janeway replied. "I'm feeling.. fine," not meaning to simply use 'fine' as a dismissal of his question. She wasn't feeling terrible, but wasn't sure if she felt up to par with 'good' or 'better.' "I've been worse," she added.

They approached the turbolift shaft. "Really?" Chakotay asked, his voice skeptical and unsure. His concern wasn't masked in his question, and he hadn't meant for it to be.

As the doors whooshed open, Janeway returned his earlier grin with one of her own. She sighed. "Yes."

The ride to the Bridge was silent. Words nor eye contact were exchanged between the officers. But it wasn't because of an awkward situation or feeling; Janeway simply did not wish to delve into the conversation that was imminent if she spilled the beans on how she truly felt. As it slowed to a stop, it was then she noticed the padd Chakotay held in his hands.

Janeway crossed the Bridge to her Ready Room, nodding "good morning" to the various crew members. She felt Chakotay's presence following her, having assumed that was why he had caught up with her. They exchanged no words again as the Ready Room doors whooshed shut, and Janeway proceeded to order one coffee, black. She didn't bother to ask Chakotay if he wanted a cup; he was never a morning coffee drinker.

This little notion caught Janeway's mind offguard, her thoughts shifting from the day earlier for the first time in hours. How odd it was she knew this little detail about him. Such an insane, little thing to know about a person you worked with.

Janeway took a seat on the couch that sat under the window of stars, taking a sip of the hot coffee. She half expected Chakotay to join her, but instead he remained standing, taking her rest as a cue.

"Geradel and Karek have proved very helpful in locating the proper authorities to arrest them. Tom estimates we'll arrive at the planet in under eight hours, and we're prepared to turn over the prisoners, as well as their shuttle and weapons." Chakotay paused. "I need your permission to delete the falsified records and log entries from the computer."

Janeway looked up, surprised. "You have the authority to do that."

Chakotay looked away before answering. "I have the *authority,* yes, but I still wanted your permission."

Janeway couldn't help but feel embarrassed by the gesture, and she wondered if she'd been successful in suppressing the pink blush that she had felt raising in her cheeks. Instead, she looked away, her eyes falling on the black liquid that sat half-filling her cup. Today, it was half full, she concluded.

"There's something else," she heard him say in a hushed tone. Looking up, she gave herself enough time to grab the padd he'd been carrying, for it was extended toward her.

Apprehensively, she began to scroll the file down. As she finished skimming the letter she realized her mouth had, involuntarily, fallen open to form a small 'O' shape. No doubt it would be humorous to those who found humor in such things.

"Is this.." Janeway never did finished her question.

Chakotay looked at her, serious and solemn. "Real?" Janeway managed a nod. "I couldn't tell you that."

This was some week they'd all been through. And now this.

To: Commander Chakotay
From: 'Rebecca'
Re: The Truth

I can only assume that if you've decrypted and read this message, it has been because of my own untimely death or incapacitation. By now, you are probably fully aware of the level of my deception, and possibly the motive behind my actions. Perhaps you understand, perhaps you think me to be a monster. All aside, I regret that my mission was not as successful as I would have liked; but then, things were never easy to begin with.

For the record, my true birth name is Geradel Roi, first Counselor to the Remock Congress, located on planet you may never see yourself in a lifetime. By all accounts, one would consider my life a success. I had a mother, a father, and siblings who supported my political aspirations. I had friends who valued me as something more than a stepping stone to a higher class or social group. I had learned much in my seventeen cycles, and I knew more knowledge awaited me in the near future. But most of all, I had found that one person whom I felt deserved the love that a bonding at twenty cycles could give.

Commander, you must understand that my culture values its younger people differently than I have observed yours. It is not uncommon for a 'child' of fourteen or fifteen cycles to be claiming the political ranks in the Congress, as well as becoming leaders in other fields.

The assaults started when I was fifteen, working as a third Counselor in the Congress. The race responsible, the Bromna, were prone to violent attacks prompted by various, trivial matters. Conflicts stretching three or four cycles were hardly uncommon, though their numbers had been diminishing in recent times. Our defenses held their own, thinking they were winning the battle as they had for hundreds of cycles beforehand.

When our doctors discovered the virus that had been deployed into our atmosphere, things were far worse than to do anything useful. No one is quite sure how, or why, this weapon had gone undetected by our intelligence community; nevertheless, our population was dying out at an exponential rate, and we were powerless to stop it.

We did come up with a solution, but it was one that was far from permanent. Already, over half of our population was dead or near death, and the diminishing numbers were reeking havoc on our economy ad political structure. At first, fertility supplements were passed out among bonded couples in hopes their offspring cold develop the more permanent solution that was sure to outlive our existing doctors. Eventually, the supplements were given to any couple able to bear children, myself and my mate included.

We never knew, until it was too late, the devastating effects the bioweapon would have on our newly born offspring. It had since permeated the atmosphere and breathable air, and their fragile systems were unable to combat the illness. Most died within three or four months, if not days, after birth. I lost a child as well, Commander, a little gossamer girl I named Marta, after the goddess of life and prosperity.

I am telling you this now, because someone needs to know that I am not the inherently evil figure I know lives in your mind and perception. I understand you resent my threats, as well as my many deceptions, but you have to understand the consequences of both my actions and your own.

If time were to play itself out correctly, you will intercept the Bromna freighter responsible for the development and production of this bioweapon. It will, of course, be almost eighteen years until this weapon is fully effective and will be tested. But from the Bromna records I've studied and read, you were hardly deceived. You take tours of their vessels, and the production is right under your nose. The fact that you will fail to see this fatal flaw dooms the entire timeline, as well as the millions of dead and dying on my home planet. Your actions, in regression, are not evil, on the outside, but your oversight must definitely is.

This letter is entitled 'Truth' for a specific purpose. I'm prepared to surrender to you, Commander, the full truth of both my own future and your own. I choose you because, for reasons I will explain later, you were always the most open-minded in Voyager's senior staff, sometimes more humane than Captain Janeway herself. I know you have many questions for me.

Am I really from the future? No doubt you've already realized this, because my companion's recent change in attire can only be proven one way. I trust you will examine my shuttle thoroughly and find the hull stress that can only be attributed to time travel.

Does Elizabeth Hansen exist? Yes.

Does Rebecca Janeway exist? Yes.

How do I know this? From what you've seen, my time in the research phase of this mission was extensive. My own intelligence community leant my the tools and technology necessary to observe and study your ship and crew thoroughly, in both time periods.

In essence, I was the silent, invisible observer for many weeks. I made detailed logs regarding crew activities, mannerisms, appearances, and other such things. I became a 'Starfleet' officer for those three weeks I observed. But then it became time to leave that ship and make the jump. When I realized I had not only misjudged my target, but had also ascertained incorrect coordinates, I used the extra time to track down this, present-day form of Voyager, and study it as I had the previous ship.

If you would like, I downloaded these observational guides into my shuttle's database before contacting you. They are encrypted, as in almost everything of mine, but I trust the encryption code you used will, no doubt, prove useful again.

Do you do from this biological weapon? Sadly, I wish it could be your misinformed crew's fate as well.

The last question I know is probably burning in your mind. You are probably wondering, maybe you always were, wondering if Rebecca and Beth are as I acted them to be. Truth be told, they are as accurate as I could be. I did not take any liberties with their personalities, not wanting to throw off any suspicions.

But were they, as I described them to be, conceived of an alien race bent on merely medically testing two of your officers? That, my friend, is a true story, and it is one that I believe you need to hear, because I never revealed the whole of the story.

It is true, the two children were conceived from two random Starfleet officers. But the truth no one told was that Beth was the only one of the pair who wished to keep her father in the dark. Rebecca, I observed, was a different story. Her nature was laced with curiosity, a trait I find ran in her family. When my three weeks were up, I left Rebecca alone in her quarters, torn between tears and a smile as the results lay alone beside her. I never got to find out if she told her mother.

But you deserved to know, Commander. For 16 years, Rebecca lived in the shadow of doubt, walking the halls and wondering if the passing crew member was really more than a friend. You were all a father to those girls, but you deserve to know the truth, Commander.

I'm sure you don't believe me. Take this promise, I swear on whatever life I have left (if I have only at all) that I tell the truth. Go to your database, look into her eyes, however holographic they may be. Look into her eyes, and tell me what you see. The color of her eyes, that deep and beautiful brown, so unlike her mother's deep blue. Study your own eyes, Commander. The eyes, I heard someone say once, are the window to one's soul.

She told the tale once, when she thought she was alone in the room and no one could hear her sad and lonely tale. She would speak to an imaginary figure, one conjured in her mind of what this father looked like. She told him of the story as her mother had told her. How she had been conceived amidst lies. I noticed how she did this quite often, like that conjured figure was a diary or journal of sorts. She would always address him as 'Father.'

And then, on that last day, she could put a face to that figure. She sat on her couch, the results held tight in her hand. This was how each daily discussion began. But today was different.

Today, she opened her mouth and said, "Hello Chakotay."