Course Correction Studio

Tag: Kathryn Janeway

  • Edge of Heaven – Epilogue: Paths

    When she woke, he was still asleep. The sun was just coming up. She carefully sat up and left the bed, not wanting to wake him. She thought he would remain asleep as she dressed, but he stirred, and his eyes fluttered open as she was pulling on her shoes.

    “Good morning,” he said.

    She timidly turned to him. “Good morning,” she said. “I didn’t want to wake you, you looked to be sleeping so well.”

    “Fair enough.” He pushed himself to a sitting position and leaned back against the headboard. “I’m glad I woke up. I would have hated it if I’d missed you. I probably wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to say goodbye. And you would have left, and then I would have never seen you again, I suppose.”

    “I don’t know if you could say that,” she said. “We’re both in Starfleet. There’s a chance our paths could cross again.”

    He nodded. “Possibly.”

    “Possibly.” She sat on the bed beside him. “We happened to find each other this time,” she added.

    Chakotay stroked Kathryn Janeway’s face and kissed her one last time. She rose from the bed, gathered the last of her things and left him.

    xxx

    Thirteen years later, Evan Danielle Janeway met her father for the first time. She was sitting in her mother’s quarters aboard the USS Voyager and had already been attempting to come to terms with everything that had happened during the past week. On top of being stranded in the Delta Quadrant, 70,000 light years away from home, she’d just learned that Chakotay, a Maquis rebel leader, was her father. At least she would have plenty of time to get to know him.

    xxx

    Kyle Hicks turned away from the large timeline display and looked at Daniels. “So this is they way it was supposed to be for her?” he asked. “It seems like her childhood was so much happier in the other line.”

    Daniels nodded. “Maybe,” he said, “but it was never supposed to happen that way. The other line was completely wrong: Chakotay was never supposed to start out as Kathryn Janeway’s first officer. Dani wasn’t supposed to have a romantic relationship with Will Riker and definitely not with Marac Dukat, gods no.”

    Daniels stepped up to Kyle’s side. “You’re going to have to separate yourself from what you’ve come to think of as your reality,” he said. “Working for the Temporal Police is hard, even more for you since you’re not from this century. Your life as you lived it didn’t happen. Neither did your friendship with Dani.”

    Kyle nodded. It would be difficult, be he would need to begin this separation process if he wanted to succeed.

    “Do you want to see what happened in her life for the correct timeline?” Daniels asked.

    Kyle looked at Daniels, his interest rising, and Daniels gestured to another large timeline panel next to them.

  • Edge of Heaven – Chapter 3. The Man and the Plan

    When Dani came to, she was in the dark.  Total darkness.  There wasn’t anything to immediately indicate where, or when, she was.  No engines hummed or vibrated beneath her.  She could be on a ship, but there was no way to know for sure without exploring.

    She sat up, then froze.  Her entire body ached, particularly her chest.  She looked down to investigate, out of pure instinct, before remembering the darkness, which had rendered her eyes temporarily useless.  She brought her hand up and ran her fingers over her uniformed torso.  When she felt the small, jagged hole in her uniform, the memory of her mission came back to her.  She, Will, and Captain Sisko had been cornered in the Suliban facility, and Sisko had ordered her into the temporal chamber.  She didn’t remember much after that, but from the condition of her uniform and her physical condition, she surmised that she’d been shot with a phaser.  Exactly who had shot her was still a mystery and would likely remain one until she was able to ask Will and Sisko what had happened.

    Dani sat still for a few moments, willing the pain away.  Finally, it subsided enough for her to get to her knees.  She began to focus less on the aches throughout her body and more on her mission.  She felt for the pouch she’d been wearing before being sent here.  Relieved, she found it right where it had been before she’d awakened, and the five samples she’d taken from the lab were still tucked safely inside.  It was a relief that she still had them, but she didn’t immediately know what her next course of action should be.  She knew that she had to get the samples to Starfleet, so the question now was how to do that.  The first step to answering that question was figuring out where in the universe she’d ended up.

    Lighting would be a good start.  She also needed a computer or something that would offer a hint for where she was currently located.

    Dani carefully stood, aware that in the darkness, she had no way of knowing how big her surroundings were.  She gained a little more confidence when she was able to stand to her full height without any problems.

    “Computer – lights,” she commanded.  Nothing happened in response, but it had been worth a try.  She stretched out her arms in front of her and slowly began to walk forward, like a blind person.  She didn’t have very far to walk.  Within a few steps, she reached a flat, smooth, vertically oriented surface.  She began walking again, sliding her hands along what she assumed was a wall until she reached something that felt like a control panel.  She was wondering how she was going to see the panel to know what she was doing, but then she decided to just take a chance.  She started pressing buttons randomly, and the lights in the room suddenly lit up.

    Dani looked around the room.  It was small, seemingly only a slightly larger than a walk-in closet.  Somehow, a set of bunked beds, a sink, and two desks were crammed in there.  She heard the nearly silent hum of engines and felt the vibrations beneath her feet and concluded that she must be on a ship.

    But what ship?  And when?

    A garment hanging from the corner of the top bunk caught her attention.  It looked like a uniform but not one that she recognized.  She took a step closer to get a better look at it.

    A gasp escaped her lips as she read the badge on the garment’s shoulder.

    “Enterprise, NX-01?” she read aloud.

    Xxx

    After Dani had disappeared from the temporal chamber, Chakotay had been able to beam Sisko and Will to the Rio Grande in time to prevent them from being taken prisoner by the Suliban.  Now, the three of them sat in the observation lounge on the Enterprise-E with the rest of the senior staff, Janeway, and Tuvok.

    “When we found the lab and the biomatter, we ran into a problem,” Will said.  “According to our intel, the storage equipment we had was supposed to accommodate all the samples of the disease.  Well, that wasn’t possible.”

    “There was much more biomatter than we anticipated,” Sisko said.

    “How much more?” Janeway asked.

    “Enough to fill a large freezer,” Will said.  “In response to this new information, we decided that if we couldn’t get the entire amount, we should at least get some samples back to Starfleet so that we can study it.  So, Dani took five samples with her.”

    “Where did she go?” Picard asked.

    “That’s a problem, also, sir,” Will answered.  “We don’t know.”

    “We weren’t able to read the display panels on the temporal chamber,” Sisko said.  “For some reason, the tricorder was unable to translate it.”

    “We’ve got to figure out a way to bring her back,” Will said.  He felt horrible.  It had been Sisko’s order that had knowingly sent Dani to some unknown time, but Will hadn’t objected.  He was just as responsible for Dani’s situation as Sisko.

    “I’m afraid there may not be much we can do about the situation,” Janeway said.  “As of now, Starfleet hasn’t developed the ability to willfully and purposefully travel through time.”

    “I had a feeling you might say that,” Will said, “and I’ve taken that into consideration.  Have you ever heard of the Guardian of Forever?”

    “I have,” Janeway responded.  “I believe Starfleet’s first encounter with it was during one of Kirk’s missions.”

    “That’s right,” Will said.  “He and Spock traveled back in time to Earth in the year 1930 to rescue Dr. McCoy.  McCoy had been suffering from paranoid delusions after receiving an overdose of cordrazine, and he beamed down to the planet and leaped through the Guardian’s portal.  Kirk and Spock were able to locate him and bring him back to the 23rd Century.”

    “You’re suggesting that we go to the Guardian and try to do the same for Dani,” Janeway said.

    “I am,” Will replied.

    Janeway looked at Chakotay, silently seeking his input.  Reading the unspoken request displayed in his wife’s features, he promptly complied.  “Unless you or anyone else has another plan, it’s better than sitting back and waiting for the temporal police to come riding to the rescue,” he said.

    Kathryn nodded.  In nearly any other situation, she might have made a quip about how often she’d encountered the temporal police in the Delta Quadrant.  But now wasn’t the time.  This was her daughter’s life they were talking about.  Now was not the time for light-hearted banter.

    “Do it,” she said.

    Xxx

    The Enterprise NCC-1701 E had been in orbit around the Guardian planet for nearly six hours.  Janeway, Chakotay, Picard, and Riker had gathered in transporter room 2 and were prepared to beam down.  Before they could even set foot on the transporter platform, someone unexpectedly began to shimmer into existence in the room.  Whoever it was didn’t need the transporter system, as they were materializing on the floor next to the transporter pad.  Janeway’s head whipped around to the transporter tech at the controls.  The technician shook her head, just as confused as the rest of the group was.  Janeway turned back to the figure solidifying before them and realized that it was multiple figures rather than a single person.

    When the sequence was complete, Janeway immediately recognized who they represented, even though the two agents now standing before her weren’t the two she’d dealt with before.

    “The Temporal Police,” Janeway greeted. “I was wondering how long it would take you to show up.”

    “Admiral Janeway,” one agent began.  “Though we’ve never met in person, your reputation precedes you.”

    “I assume that your presence here means that our plans for a rescue mission have changed,” Janeway said.

    “Not necessarily,” the agent said.  “We think your plan is sound, and we’d like to help you.”

    Xxx

    “I’d like you to meet the man who extracted your daughter from Cardassia Prime,” one of the agents said to Janeway.  The away team had reassembled around the table in the Enterprise’s observation lounge, along with the two visitors from the future.

    “I think it’d be a good idea if we got to know both of you,” Janeway said.  “You could start with your names.”

    “Fair enough,” the man said. “My name is Daniels.”

    “Just Daniels?” Riker asked. “You don’t have a first name?”

    “Just Daniels – for now,” he said. “I do have a first name, but I don’t find it relevant to the situation at hand.”  Daniels turned his attention back to Janeway.  “The gentleman sitting next to me is Lt. Kyle Hicks.”

    Riker’s head snapped to the handsome sandy-haired man beside Daniels.  He knew that name.  That name had been one of the reasons he and Dani had broken up around the time of her graduation from the Academy.  Will had thought that she’d seemed a little too close to Hicks at the time.

    Daniels continued. “Mr. Hicks was part of the extraction team sent to Cardassia to bring Commander Janeway home,” he said. “In fact, he personally escorted Dani to the transport that brought her back to the Enterprise.  Just before his graduation from the Academy, he was recruited into Starfleet special forces, where he has since served with distinction.  He’s among the best at what he does, which is why I recruited him for this mission.  As I said before, I think your idea to use the Guardian to go back in time is a good one, and I think Lt. Hicks should be the one to go back.”

    “I have extensive experience carrying out directives of a covert nature,” Hicks said.

    “And how many of those have been of a temporal nature?” Janeway asked.

    “I’d rather not elaborate on that, Admiral,” Hicks replied. “My missions have been classified, and, no offense, you don’t have high enough clearance to order me to divulge the details of my previous missions.”

    “Fair enough,” Janeway said.  But she had part of her answer.  The boy had obviously been involved in some serious missions, some of which likely involved time travel.

    She turned her attention back to the man who seemed to be the leader of the two.  “You said you think our plan to utilize the Guardian of Forever is sound,” she said. “But I’d be surprised if you didn’t already have a plan of your own in mind.”

    “You’re right, of course,” Daniels replied.  “You’re on the right track with the idea to travel back in time, but instead of one of you blindly hopping in and out of history using the Guardian portal, we’ll use technology from my time to send Mr. Hicks back in time to the exact period where Dani is located.”

    “You know where she is?” Chakotay asked.

    “It’s my job to know,” Daniels replied.  “She’s on the Enterprise.  Jonathan Archer’s Enterprise, to be precise.”

    There was silence as the 24th-Century Starfleet officers absorbed the information Daniels had given them.

    “The Suliban may have already had their temporal chamber programmed to that period because they’re planning to strike humanity in the 22nd Century,” Chakotay said.  “Perhaps as a way to go back and end things before they get out of hand.”

    “That does make sense,” Riker said.  “First contact with the Suliban was during Archer’s first mission.  It would be a logical place to try to change the balance of power in their favor.”

    “That’s precisely what our observers from your future have hypothesized,” Daniels chimed.

    Janeway, surprised, looked at Daniels with raised eyebrows.  “You mean you don’t know for certain?”

    “Under normal circumstances, we would be able to identify, to 99.9% certainty, what occurred,” Daniels replied. “But it seems the Suliban had to be aware of that fact because they’ve done something to disrupt our abilities to monitor the timeline.  Some things we’re still able to see, but other parts of the timeline have gone dark.”

    “Since you say you can send Mr. Hicks back to where Dani is, I assume that you can still ‘see’ that portion of the timeline,” Janeway said.

    “Correct,” Daniels said.

    “There’s just one more question,” Janeway said. “What do you get out of this endeavor?    Not to sound ungrateful for your intervention in this matter, but I’ve dealt with people from your department enough times to know that there’s something more at stake than just the welfare of my daughter.”

    “You’re right, Captain, you have had several encounters with Temporal Investigations, so I don’t have to tell you that I can’t reveal everything to you,” Daniels said.  “I will say that you’re right to imply that there’s a bigger issue here than just your daughter.  It involves those vials of biomatter that your away team recovered from the Suliban facility.  That’s about all I can say at the moment.  Regardless of what else is at stake, you should realize that we both benefit by bringing your daughter – and the biomatter – back to the 24th Century.”

    Janeway nodded.  “What are we waiting for, then?  Let’s get started.”

  • Edge of Heaven – Chapter 1. The Frying Pan

    Story #8 in the “More Than a Lifetime” series

    Author’s Note: This story is the eighth in a series of stories that do not follow canon and should not be taken as such. The previous stories, in order, are: 1) Delta Wild, 2) Homecoming, 3) Graduation, 4) A Love Less Ordinary, 5) Return to Normal, 6) Sweetest Sin, and 7) Deliberation. The events in these stories occur in an alternate universe in which Chakotay’s stint with the Maquis happened much earlier in his life. He is married to Kathryn Janeway, and they have a daughter. In this universe, Voyager did not combine with a crew from a Maquis ship, but instead reached the Delta Quadrant with a small loss of life and most of her crew in tact. The events of “First Contact” and “Insurrection” have already occurred in this timeline, but “Nemesis” has not. The Dominion War occurred, but with vastly different results. Many of the events of the final season of Deep Space Nine didn’t occur, which means the characters who died during the season are not dead in my stories. Please overlook any other inconsistencies or errors pertaining to the original Star Trek universe as the author’s ignorance.

    This story contains mature themes, language, and sexual situations.

    Disclaimer: All the characters, except Dani and other original characters who do not appear on screen or in print elsewhere, belong to Paramount. I do not own them or claim to. This story was produced and is presented purely for the enjoyment of the readers. I don’t make any money from this, and this story may not be used for any such purpose. If you wish to use my story for purposes other than monetary gain, please do so, as long as my name and this disclaimer remain attached to it.

    1. THE FRYING PAN

    Lt. Commander Danielle Janeway gazed through the tall windows in the Enterprise E’s observation lounge. Deep Space Nine provided the view. The Enterprise had been docked there for the last two days on a scheduled maintenance stop. Dani hadn’t set foot on the station, yet, though she was eager to catch up with some old friends over there. At the moment, she sat in the Enterprise’s observation lounge, trying to figure out why on Earth she was there. She’d been summoned by Captain Picard, but he was no where in sight as of yet. Commander William Riker’s entrance made little difference. He was almost always present at Enterprise staff meetings regardless of the topic. He sat down in his usual chair, near the head of the table where Picard’s chair was parked.

    Dani swiveled to face Will. “I didn’t think we had a meeting today. Do you know what this is about?”

    Will shook his head. “No clue. I thought you might know.”

    “You would know better than I would, First Officer. Why would I know?”

    The doors to the room swished open, and Captain Chakotay and Commander Tuvok entered.

    Her father had been the last person in the galaxy Dani had expected to walk into the room. “What are you doing here?”

    Chakotay grinned at his daughter’s shocked expression. “It’s good to see you, too.”

    Dani watched Chakotay take his seat beside her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I just wasn’t expecting you.”

    She didn’t expect the next two people who walked in, either. Dr. Julian Bashir and Captain Benjamin Sisko entered next.

    Will watched Sisko and Bashir take seats across from himself, Dani and Chakotay. He was just as confused as everyone else in the room. “So, do any of you know why we’re here?”

    “I was hoping one of you might have the answer to that,” Julian said.

    “I have the answer to that.”

    All heads turned to the door. Admiral Kathryn Janeway strode into the conference room with a young assistant at her heels.

    Dani and Chakotay exchanged puzzled looks. This meeting had apparently turned into an impromptu family reunion.

    Kathryn took Captain Picard’s usual seat. Her assistant stood next to her, ready to answer to any request or order that she might give. Kathryn turned to the officers around the table. “Good afternoon. Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice.”

    “What’s going on?” Chakotay asked.

    “A situation has developed on Tandar Prime,” Kathryn began. “The Suliban Cabal has presented a threat to the Federation.”

    Sisko’s brows furrowed. “The Suliban Cabal? They haven’t been active in two centuries.”

    “I know,” Kathryn said. “But we have intelligence reports that indicate recent activity, activity that suggests they are planning an imminent attack in the very near future.”

    “What kind of attack?” Will asked.

    “Biological,” Kathryn replied. “They’ve created a disease of some sort to be deployed somewhere within the Alpha Quadrant. We don’t know the details about the characteristics of the disease, only that it’s fatal to all the major Alpha Quadrant races. It’s fortunate that our people at Starfleet Intelligence were able to pick up on this when they did. Had we not known, the outcome could have been catastrophic.”

    “Why would they want to do something like this?” Dani asked. “The Suliban have been a generally peaceful species for so long. They didn’t even get involved during the Dominion War.”

    “Actually, they were involved in the Dominion War,” Kathryn said. “We just didn’t know it. The Cabal worked for the Dominion during the war. Their chameleon abilities made them perfect candidates for espionage activities. They gathered information, mostly, but in some cases they were responsible for sabotage.”

    “I’ll be damned,” Sisko said.

    “We believe that the Cabal may be engaging in this type of behavior again, with war in the Alpha Quadrant being their goal,” Kathryn said.

    “But there aren’t enough Suliban to take on the entire quadrant,” Julian said. “Are they trying to ally with someone?”

    “No. They don’t want to take on the quadrant; they want the quadrant to take on itself. They want the Alpha Quadrant races to turn on each other and create all-out war with one another.”

    “By resorting to old tried-and-true tactics,” Will said. “Make an aggressive move, then pin the blame on someone else.”

    Kathryn nodded. Will was right on the money with his assessment. “We think this attack may be the first such move. But there are a few unknown variables: We don’t know who the target is, and we don’t know who the Cabal is planning to frame for the attack.”

    “So, how do we stop this from happening?” Dani asked. “There has to be a plan, or you wouldn’t be telling us this.”

    “That’s where all of you come in,” Kathryn said. “You are my extraction team. Your assignment is to go in, retrieve the disease, and neutralize it. None of you are wet-behind-the-ears ensigns fresh out of the Academy, and you all have experience carrying out covert missions. Each of you was chosen because you’re among the best at what you do. Consequently, I expect nothing less.”

    She nodded to her assistant, a wet-behind-the-ears ensign fresh out of the Academy. The young man promptly produced a short stack of PADDs, which he handed to the admiral. She handed the stack to Riker, and he took one off the top, passing it on to Dani.

    Dani couldn’t understand it. Once again she found herself being briefed on a secret mission that she was going to be part of. How was she in this situation again, especially after what had happened the last time?

    Of course, Dani rationalized, only a few people knew the truth behind her mission to Cardassia the previous year. Officially, the mission was an unbelievable success.Officially, Dani had ensured the release of Federation ambassador Hea Starr from the Cardassian labor camp by offering herself as a replacement. She was rescued months later. She was determined to have developed Stockholm syndrome and underwent counseling under the care of Deanna Troi.

    The unofficial truth of the situation would be enough to get Dani booted out of Starfleet for treason and dereliction of duty. The real reason she’d remained on Cardassia was the lure of another chance to have a life with Marac Dukat. That had been the one and only reason she’d remained on Cardassia. But Starr had told a different story when he was debriefed. His version of the story became the official version.

    “These are the details of your mission,” Kathryn said, referring to the PADDs.

    Dani’s eyes eagerly skipped across the PADD as soon as she received it. The Defiant would transport them to Tandar Prime. Once there, the away team was supposed to take a runabout to the surface. From there, three members of the team would begin the retrieval portion of the mission. The biomatter was located in a secret facility run by the Suliban. The team was supposed to gain access to the facility and locate the biomatter, which was on the facility’s lowest level.

    Kathryn turned to her assistant, who promptly handed her what looked like a typical tricorder. She opened it and displayed it for everyone at the table. “The Daestrom Institute has provided us with this modified tricorder, which has been calibrated to scan specifically for the diseases components,” she said. She handed it to Bashir, who took it and began to study it.

    “There’s one more objective to this mission,” Kathryn said. “Before you leave the facility, you need to damage the Cabal’s computer database to prevent them, or at the very least delay them, from synthesizing a replacement batch of the disease. You’ll do this by uploading a virus to their computer. Our people believe that this will also deactivate the forcefields around the facility and disarm any alarms. The runabout will be standing by to beam you back once you signal. Are there any questions?”

    “This sounds like a good plan,” Chakotay began, “but what’s to stop the Cabal from synthesizing the disease again at some point down the line? How do we move beyond a temporary solution and get at the heart of the problem?”

    “We don’t,” Kathryn replied. “We can’t, not without killing every Suliban in the galaxy. That’s the only way to ensure that the Cabal don’t reemerge and try this again later.”

    She rose from her seat and walked over to the large windows. “When fighting terrorism, there are no guarantees. We have to take it one day at a time. Yes, this is only a temporary solution.” She turned to face the officers again. “But it’s the only solution we’ve got right now. This mission isn’t supposed to end everything. It might; we don’t know. We don’t know if this attack was supposed to be the only one or he first of many. We have to fight based on what we know, and what we know is that this particular attack was eminent.”

    She returned to her seat but remained standing behind it. “Are there any more questions?” No one said anything or made a move. “This is a serious mission, but I have the utmost faith in each and every one of you. The Defiant leaves for Tandar Prime one week from today. You’re all dismissed.”

    Everyone rose and began to file out of the observation lounge. “Dani,” Kathryn said.

    Dani stopped just short of the door. She turned and walked over Kathryn.

    “I didn’t want to drop in like this and surprise you,” Kathryn said, “but I didn’t have much of a choice. This mission is classified to the highest levels, and I didn’t have the luxury of telling anyone, even your father.”

    “I understand that,” Dani said. “What I can’t understand is why I’ve been tapped for this mission. After what happened on my last special mission, I can’t imagine that Starfleet Intelligence would want me on another mission for them.”

    “That’s where you’re wrong,” Kathryn said. “The head of Starfleet Intelligence is very impressed with your work. She specifically requested you for this mission.”

    “Admiral Nechayev?” Dani said. “She requested me?”

    Kathryn nodded. “Dani, we both know what really happened on Cardassia, but the entire Federation was privy to a different version because of Ambassador Starr. Dani, you’re a remarkable officer, regardless of what really happened with Dukat. And I’m not just saying that because I’m your mother. That’s my professional opinion, and I would say it even if we weren’t related. In a way, Starr’s return legitimated your Starfleet career for everyone else. You have to remember that it’s his version of the story that they’re reacting to.”

    “First they hate me, then they love me,” Dani said. “I wish they would just make up their minds.”

    Kathryn chuckled at her daughter’s exasperated demeanor. “Well, you do have to admit: having people love you is a lot better than having them hate you.”

  • Deliberation – Chapter 7. Bad Blood

    It was a day that no Starfleet wife looked forward to. Today was the day the Titan was shipping out. The reason it was shipping out was the Hirogen. They’d become a significant threat to the Alpha Quadrant during the past months, and war was on the horizon. As one of Starfleet’s newest, most advanced ships, the Titan would be on the front lines.

    The main lobby of Starfleet Headquarters was filled with Titan officers and their families, who’d gathered to bid farewell to their loved ones.

    Dani looked up at Will. She was making an incredible effort to hold back her tears. She looked down at Kris, holding on to her hand. Dani looked back up at Will, and despite her best efforts, her eyes filled with tears.

    Admiral Kathryn Janeway made her way through the sea of people toward her daughter. “Oh, wonderful,” she said. “I was hoping I didn’t miss you.” Dani turned to her, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. Kathryn wasn’t fooled, though, but she understood. She looked down at Kris with a smile and crouched down in front of the girl. “Young lady, I believe you owe me a hug.”

    “Grandma!” Kris let go of Dani’s hand and threw herself into Kathryn’s arms, nearly knocking the admiral off her feet.

    With Kris occupied for the moment, Dani could turn to Will, emotions uninhibited. The tears fell freely, now. Will gently stroked them away with his fingers.

    “Four months,” Dani said.

    “That’s the story I got,” Will said with a small smile.

    Dani merely nodded. Will pulled her into a tight embrace and looked down into her brown eyes, praying that this wouldn’t be the last time he would be able to do so. He delivered a burning kiss to her lips and found it difficult to part from them.

    “It won’t seem like that long,” Dani said. She said it more to convince herself than him. “Besides, we’ve been apart for longer, right?”

    “That’s right,” Will said. “It’ll be no time.”

    Dani quickly wiped her eyes and turned to Kris, who was behind her with Kathryn. “Come here, sweetie,” Dani said. “Come say goodbye to Daddy.”

    Kris returned to Dani’s side, where Will bent down and picked her up. “I am gonna miss you so much,” he told her.

    “I’ll miss you, too,” Kris said. “When are you coming back?”

    “I’ll be back in four months,” Will said. “Are you going to come and meet me back here when I get back?” Kris nodded. Will crushed her to him. “I love you so much, more than you can ever know, little girl.”

    “I love you, too, Daddy.”

    Will kissed her on the cheek and then on the forehead before placing her back on the floor. He looked at Dani once again, and gently stroked her face before turning around and walking over to a small group of officers who stood a few feet off from the family crowd.

    Dani watched him, and she watched Emma take her place at his side. Dani should have used the moment to watch her husband beam away to his ship, but she didn’t. Instead, her eyes were glued to Emma’s smug face.

    xxx

    Will gazed at the photo of Dani and Kris and picked it up off the coffee table in his quarters on the Titan. It was almost midnight, but he found that he couldn’t sleep. That was the way it always was the first night out. He placed the photo back on the coffee table and stood, ready to make another attempt at sleep. Before he made it back to the bedroom, his door chimed. Will double-checked the chronometer for the time and pulled his robe closed around him. He wasn’t expecting any company and certainly wasn’t dressed for any, but he had made it clear from his first day as captain that he maintained an open door policy toward his crew. If they needed to come talk to him, they could, no matter the hour. Those were his words precisely.

    Will pulled himself up to his full height, as if he were in full uniform. “Come in,” he said. The doors slid open and Shale walked into his quarters. “Commander – I didn’t expect to see you at this late hour.”

    “Sorry to disturb you, Captain,” Shale said. “Did I wake you?”

    “No,” Riker admitted. “I was already awake.”

    “Trouble sleeping, sir?” Shale inquired.

    “Just a little. Leaving your family is never an easy task, especially when you’re doing it because you’re facing the possibility of war.”

    “Is there anything I can do to help, sir?”

    Riker regarded her thoughtfully for a moment, contemplating. “Actually, something has been nagging at me, something that I just don’t understand.”

    “What is it, sir?”

    “Why is there so much bad blood between you and my wife?” Riker asked openly. “I know it goes back to your days at the Academy together, but what started it all?” He sat down on the sofa and indicated that Shale should do the same. She sat down in the chair next to him.

    “Well, as I remember, it began when she didn’t want to be my roommate at the Academy,” Shale began truthfully.

    Riker nodded. He remembered Dani telling him the story of her and Emma’s first meeting. It was one of many involving Shale that Dani had told him that first year.

    Shale continued. “After I told her that I didn’t think we should receive special treatment because of our family connections, she said she didn’t want to have anything to do with me. She said she didn’t want to be associated with someone who didn’t recognize the benefits of position and influence.”

    Riker glared at Shale. It was true that Dani had refused to be Emma’s roommate, but it hadn’t happened at all like Shale had said. “You know, Commander, I don’t like what you’re doing.”

    Shale appeared baffled. “Sir?”

    Riker stood and stepped away from the sofa and from Shale. “You may be my first officer, but she is my wife,” he said. “I don’t appreciate you telling lies about her. Now, I don’t care what kind of history you have with her, but on this ship, we will maintain a professional atmosphere. Let’s get one thing straight – this isn’t the Academy, Ms. Shale, and I won’t have my officers jeopardize this mission by resorting to juvenile games. Do I make myself clear, Commander?”

    Shale stood. “I understand, sir. It won’t happen again.” She left his quarters without another word.

    Riker watched her go. He couldn’t believe the gall of that woman. How could someone be so calculating and malicious? How had someone like her made it this far?

  • Deliberation – Chapter 1. A Visit

    Story #7 in the “More Than a Lifetime” series

    Author’s Note: This story is the seventh in a series of stories that do not follow canon and should not be taken as such. The previous stories, in order, are: 1) Delta Wild, 2) Homecoming, 3) Graduation, 4) A Love Less Ordinary, 5) Return to Normal, and 6) Sweetest Sin. The events in these stories occur in an alternate universe in which Chakotay’s stint with the Maquis happened much earlier in his life. He is married to Kathryn Janeway, and they have a daughter. In this universe, Voyager did not combine with a crew from a Maquis ship, but instead reached the Delta Quadrant with a small loss of life and most of her crew in tact. The events of “First Contact” and “Insurrection” have already occurred in this timeline, but “Nemesis” has not. The Dominion War occurred, but with vastly different results. Many of the events of the final season of Deep Space Nine didn’t occur, which means the characters that died during the season are not dead in my stories. Please overlook any other inconsistencies or errors pertaining to the original Star Trek universe as the author’s ignorance.

    This story contains mature themes, language, and sexual situations.

    Disclaimer: All the characters, except Dani and other original characters who do not appear on screen or in print, belong to Paramount. I do not own them or claim to. This story was produced and is presented purely for the enjoyment of the readers. I don’t make any money from this, and this story may not be used for any such purpose. If you wish to use my story for purposes other than monetary gain, please do so, as long as my name and this disclaimer remain attached to it.

    1. A VISIT

    Life could be so simple. If she could just spend the rest of her days in the simplicity she was experiencing now, everything would be okay.

    But Dani Janeway was still a young woman with more days ahead than behind. Even though she wanted to, there was no way she could convince herself that she’d be happy just doing nothing. That was unreal.

    No. She had to make sure her time here on Earth, in Indiana, in her family’s house, was temporary. A vacation. Even if she didn’t end up going back to Starfleet.

    Dani’s first few years in Starfleet had definitely not gone as she’d expected. She’d known a life in the ‘Fleet would involve danger and risk, but she’d assumed that she would just experience her share, like everyone else, and go on with her life. But it seemed that things had been different for Janeway the moment she’d become an Ensign. She’d set foot on Deep Space Nine, and who was one of the first people she’d befriended? Tora Ziyal – Dukat’s daughter. What had happened next? She’d become romantically involved with Dukat.

    Things hadn’t gotten any better by the time she’d transferred to the Enterprise. She couldn’t just go to the Enterprise and lead a normal life. No … her first night, who shows up? Q – and his son. Throw in a couple of covert missions, the rescue of a Federation dignitary from a Cardassian prison, and a reunion with a not-so-dead Dukat, and it all equaled up to a very active beginning of a Starfleet career.

    Dani was tired. Burned out emotionally. She didn’t want to do it anymore. She’d experienced more pain in the last three years than she had in all of her life prior to that. And she didn’t have anything to show for it. Nothing at all.

    Was it worth it? Where would this kind of life lead for her? Where would she be in 20 years? She had no doubt that she would be able to move up the ranks and eventually take her own command one day, but what about her personal life? Family? Would she end up alone?

    Dani sighed. It was nearly 4:00 in the morning, and she was no closer to sleep than she had been at 10:00 the previous evening. Her eyes fluttered open when a flash of light appeared in her dark bedroom.

    “Cousin,” a shadowed voice said. “Did I wake you?”

    Instantly, Dani knew who was in her room. It was her ‘cousin’, Q.

    Dani sat up in her bed. “No, Q,” she said, replying to his question. “Actually, I hadn’t had the chance to doze off, yet.”

    Q stepped closer to the bed. “Computer – lights,” Dani called. She looked at Q. “You’ve changed your appearance.” His hair, which had been short and closely cropped the last time she’d seen him, was now longer and shaggier.

    “Yes,” Q concurred. “I’ve been experimenting with some new styles. What do you think?”

    Dani looked him over. For the first time since she’d first met him, he wasn’t wearing a Starfleet uniform. He was dressed simply, in a pair of jeans and a button-down shirt. She nodded. “It works for you.”

    “Better than a Starfleet uniform?” Q asked.

    Dani grinned. “Much.” Q smiled and nodded. “So, is something wrong, or is this just a visit?” Dani asked, getting out of bed. She padded over to the replicator and ordered a raktijino. “You want something?”

    Q shook his head. “No thanks. I never really got the hang of that whole eating thing.”

    Dani nodded, retrieving her drink from the replicator bay and walking over to a chair, in which she sat, curling her legs under her. Q sat on the bed. “So, is something wrong?” Dani repeated her question.

    “Actually, yes,” Q said.

    Dani took a sip from her mug. “What is it? I mean, I don’t know if I can help you or not, but I’ll do what I can.”

    “Well, first of all, the problem doesn’t have anything to do with me.”

    “Who does it involve, then?”

    “You.”

    Dani froze. “Me?” she asked, placing her mug on the table next to her. She searched Q’s features for any sign of playfulness, but she saw that he was lacking any manner of joviality. “You’re serious.”

    “Very,” Q confirmed. “Dani, I’ve been watching you for a while now.”

    “Q, I thought we agreed – no more spying!”

    “No, I wasn’t watching you like that. I mean that I was keeping an eye on you. Monitoring your situations, if you will.”

    “Since when?” Dani asked curiously.

    “Since you went to Cardassia,” Q revealed. “I was … worried.”

    “There wasn’t any need to be worried, Q,” Dani told him.

    “I know that now. But I was, nevertheless. And I still am. Only now, it’s for a different reason.”

    “What are you talking about?”

    “Dani, I know you’re thinking about leaving Starfleet.”

    “That’s right.”

    “You can’t”

    “What?”

    “You can’t leave Starfleet, Dani.”

    “Why the hell not?” Dani asked, her feathers obviously ruffled by Q’s statement. She didn’t like people telling her what she could and could not do, what decisions she had to make. Q knew that, she knew, so she didn’t understand why he was saying what he was saying.

    “Dani-” Q began, but thought better of it. “I can’t tell you.”

    Dani stood. “Look, I’m not cut out for this. I can’t deal with it anymore. Everything I do only ends up with these horrible results.”

    “That’s not true,” Q argued. “You helped me.”

    Dani shook her head dismissively. “You know you weren’t ever in any real danger, Q.”

    “I know, but you knew that, too,” Q reminded her. “The point is that you still risked your life to save me. I wouldn’t call that a horrible result.” Q stood, facing Dani. “Dani, you can’t leave Starfleet.”

    “Why?”

    “Because … ” Q was looking for the right words. He didn’t want to reveal specifics, but if he was going to convince Dani that her place was in Starfleet, he would have to give her something to latch onto. “Because you’re going to be part of something big. Something important.”

    Dani looked at him with questioning eyes. Q went on. “I can’t tell you what it is, but you’re going to be instrumental to the survival of humankind.”

    “What?” Dani asked, disbelieving. “Me?”

    “Just trust me, okay? I’m trying to do you a favor. You helped me; now I’m going to help you. You cannot leave Starfleet.”

    “Help me? By telling me I can’t leave Starfleet? That’s some big help, Q.”

    “No. I’m here to help you in another way.”

    Dani had turned her back on Q, but now she turned to face him again. Q continued. “I know you haven’t had it easy lately. I’ve come to realize, during my time among humans, that death is a difficult thing to deal with.”

    Dani saw where Q was going with this, and she made an attempt to cut it off. She shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about this, Q.” She walked over to the window.

    Q nodded. “I realize that, but we have to because that’s where the problem is.” Q walked over and joined her at the window. “You need to get your head together.”

    Dani whirled around to Q. “Get my head together? I just watched the man I love die! He died in my arms!”

    “I know that. I saw the whole thing.” Dani calmed visibly, and Q spoke again. “You’re torturing yourself, Dani, dwelling on what might’ve been with Dukat. I know you loved him. But please believe me when I tell you that it wasn’t meant to be for you and him.”

    “Marac and I were so good together. The age, the species, the politics – none of that mattered. We were connected. How could we not be meant to be together?”

    “You really think your life would be better if Dukat were still alive?” Q asked.

    “How could it not be?” Dani replied. “We would probably be married by now. I’d be happy.”

    “I guess this is when the help session begins, then, Cousin,” Q said with snap of his fingers. In a flash of light, Dani’s bedroom in Indiana was replaced by the bedroom she’d shared with Dukat at his house.