=/\=

"GET THIS THING OUT OF ME!" screamed Lieutenant Susan Nicoletti, as she laid on the biobed, her hair and skin soaking with sweat. The Doctor and Naomi Wildman were frantically running around sickbay, trying to keep Susan comfortable and deliver her baby as quickly as they can.

"Calm down, Lieutenant," the Doctor replied. "Screaming at the top of your lungs will not make your child come out any faster." The Doctor had delivered thirty-nine children prior to this one, which made this number forty. Although he had much experience in the field of child delivery, he discovered that each child came out just a little different than the one before.

"Please…" Susan moaned. "Please just get it out." She cringed and gasped as another contraction hit and Naomi lightly dabbed her forehead with a moist towel. Her two other children, Morgan, 7, and Melissa, 5, waited in the Dalby quarters with long-time friend Crewman Henly and her husband, Crewman Dalby. Her husband, Ensign Ashmore, waited by Susan’s side, as they awaited their third child. Susan’s contraction stopped, for the moment.

"So, have you decided on a name?" Naomi asked, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"Well, if it’s a girl, her name will be Michelle Alexandra and if it’s a boy, it’ll be Matthew Thomas," Susan said smiling. Naomi grinned.

"You have a thing for M’s, don’t you?" she asked. Susan nodded.

"My parents were Margaret and Michael," Susan replied. "I guess M names remind me of them." She looked down at her bulging belly and her eyes became a little misty. But not for long. As another contraction started, Susan gasped and fought not to scream. She gripped her husbands hand tightly. The Doctor checked her dilation.

"You’re almost there, start pushing," The Doctor ordered. Susan pushed with all her might. She knew what she was doing, she had delivered two other babies, hadn’t she? Just a little longer, and it would all be over.

"Just a little longer, Susan, and it’ll be all over," Naomi soothed as she watched Susan’s vital signs while the Doctor prepared to deliver the new Ashmore baby and put it into a fetal stasis chamber. Susan screamed but it was interrupted by the wailing of an infant.

"It’s a girl," The Doctor announced. Susan sighed and laid her head back against the bed, as the Doctor handed over her new baby girl.

"Michelle…" she whispered, tears forming in her eyes once again. She looked at her baby and then her husband with loving eyes.

"Thank you," she mouthed as he leaned over a kissed her on the forehead. Naomi smiled, her eyes misty as well.

"I’ll alert the crew," she said and headed out of sickbay. Naomi walked down the long corridor on her way to the Dalby quarters to announce to Morgan and Melissa the birth of their baby sister, Michelle. She had baby-sat Morgan and Melissa a couple of times, but Naomi was generally too busy to baby-sit anymore. She had long grown out of the baby-sitting phase, and had handed it down to the younger teenagers, like Emily Paris and Kelsey Sophen.

Naomi was excited about having a new baby on board the Voyager. The youngest children were already two years old, so there weren’t any real babies on board. But in light of her recent experiences, and the memories of her childhood, she knew growing up on this Federation ship was not easy. She also knew it could have extraordinary opportunities that no other place had. They were traveling through the Delta Quadrant, soon to be the Beta Quadrant in one week. They only had three months before they would reach Quo’Nos, the Klingon homeworld, and then it was seven months after that before they reached Earth. As Naomi and the others traveled, they’d seen more than the usual fare of strange aliens and, as Naomi stills called them, space battles.

"Voyager to Naomi, come in Naomi, this Houston speaking, please come in," a voice was saying outside Naomi’s head. A small hand was waving in front of her face. She blinked. It was Seth, her younger half-brother. Naomi slapped the hand out of her face.

"Yes, what? What is it?" she asked, impatiently.

"Has Susan Nicoletti given birth to the baby yet?" Seth responded.

"Yes," Naomi answered. "It’s a girl. Her name is Michelle. Michelle Alexandra Ashmore".

"Ugh, there are those M’s again," he said with mock disgust. Then he grinned. "Too bad it ain’t a boy. Oh well. How many boys do we got on this ship anyhow?".

"Isn’t, have, and anyway," she corrected. "There are 19 boys and 21 girls." Seth stuck out his tongue in disgust.

"When did we get all these girls, anyhow?" he asked, purposefully using bad English to spite Naomi.

"I have no idea," she replied. "Perhaps Ensign Jurot will have a boy when she gives birth next month." Seth’s eyes brightened with the prospect. Naomi just laughed. She shook her head and continued walking down the corridor as Seth headed in the opposite direction.

=/\=

Emily crept around the corner of the corridor, her brother’s toes barely touching the back of her heels. The corridor was empty and she sighed. She carefully snapped open the jeffries tube, allowing Andy to enter before her, then climbing in herself and shutting the door. Emily calmly started to climb the ladder, placing her foot precisely on the bar as to make the least amount of noise. Andy and Emily climbed secretly up the ladder for several minutes before they heard a loud clank and the words that would never be forgotten- "Emily Kathryn Paris! Andrew Harold Paris! What in Kahless’s name are you doing down here?". Uh-oh, thought Emily, Mother… Emily slowly turned towards the now opened jeffries tube shaft. Her half-Klingon mother’s face was partially outwards. B’Elanna Torres-Paris’s forehead was partially illuminated by the light of the jeffries tube. The shadows contrasted with the light and made B’Elanna look almost full Klingon, something that reminded Emily how painfully different she was from her best friends Brittany Rollins and Kelsey Sophen. It wasn’t just her looks. The way she behaved was sometimes cause for concern. She inherited her temper from her mother. She remembered when she was little she couldn’t control it. The vase in the Captain’s ready room…wasn’t a vase anymore. She was five years old at the time and just smashed her hand into it when the Captain told her she couldn’t go with her parents on the one week away mission. She had a harder time controlling her anger than her brothers. She finally started mediating with Tuvok, which helped immensely in calming herself down. Her outbursts were not nearly so common.

Emily cleared her throat, "Hi Mom…" B’Elanna shot a death glare at her.

"What are you doing?" B’Elanna asked again. Emily glanced at her brother, who was turning a bit pale. Andy was weak. Weaker than she, Emily knew. His physical stamina was half hers.

"Just exploring," Emily replied. B’Elanna looked suspiciously at her.

"On Deck 14, Section 12?" B’Elanna asked. Emily looked down sheepishly. B’Elanna didn’t relent. "Tell me what you’re doing?" Emily only stared at the bottom of the shaft. "If you don’t tell me, I’ll report you to Commander Tuvok."

Emily gave up. "It’s part of our game. We make up a thing that two of us has to find around the ship and then we have to go and get it or bring back the data. This time, the problem was in one of the restricted areas for kids." B’Elanna looked disapprovingly at her youngest children.

"I’m disappointed in you two," she reprimanded. "You know how dangerous these lower levels can be. We have restrictions for a purpose. I’m going to have to talk to your father before I can decide on a punishment. Until then, you’ll go back to the quarters where you will remain until I come and get you. Understand?". Emily and Andy nodded their heads silently and followed their mother out of the jeffries tube and escorted them back to their quarters.

=/\=

"Prelate, if it was at all possible for me to give you the technology, believe me, I would," Captain Janeway was saying to domineering face on the viewscreen. "But our laws dictate that it would be impossible." The Prelate had a menacing look on his face and it sent shivers down Natalie Janeway’s back. She watched from Harry Kim’s station as her mother pleaded with the Prelate of the Mandora system to let them through without handing over their entire central computer system. Her father, Commander Chakotay, stood behind the Captain, showing his support.

"If you are to pass through the Mandora system, then I must request you give me at least your central computer system," the Prelate replied viciously. "If you do not comply then I will request you leave this territory. If you do not leave, I will open fire".

Captain Janeway looked unsure. "You’ll have to give a us a little time to think about your request. But-".

"You have one hour," the Prelate interrupted and then the screen went blank. Natalie sighed with relief. Captain Janeway did not share the feeling. Neither did her father.

"Ok, suggestions?" she asked in a half casual, half serious tone of voice. The senior staff was silent, while the junior crew continued their work, pretending they didn’t know what was going on.

"I think we should leave," Harry Kim piped up. Captain Janeway turned to him.

"And why would that be Mr. Kim?" she asked. All eyes were on him. Natalie looked expectantly at him.

"The Prelate obviously isn’t going to let us through without giving him a nice chunk of our computer system," Kim continued. "We’re so close, Captain, I would rather not loose my head over shaving six weeks off our trip." Harry Kim, who years ago would not dream of voicing his opinion like that in front of the bridge crew, had now learned to be more comfortable speaking with the Captain, especially after living on the same ship with her for over twenty years.

"I have to agree with Harry, Captain," Tom Paris replied from behind them. Janeway turned to face him. "He’s right. We shouldn’t kill ourselves now, we only have a little ways to go. I certainly wouldn’t mind adding six weeks to the trip if it means we actually make it home." Captain Janeway thought about this for a moment. She looked at her husband of fifteen years and without even saying a word, she knew his position. That was one of the reasons they made such a perfect team.

"Agreed," Janeway finally said. This time the crew really could breathe a sigh of relief. "I’ll let the Prelate know. Until then, I’ll be in my ready room." Janeway turned and walked towards her ready room. Commander Chakotay followed.

"Captain, may I speak to you," he said in a formal manner. Janeway automatically knew this was a formal matter, not just what they were going to do for dinner.

"Certainly," she replied, as they walked into the ready room, the door sealing behind them.

Unfortunately, Chakotay and his wife never got a chance to speak. As soon as the doors was shut, the ship rocked violently, sending Janeway into his arms. But this was not romantic. Janeway was clearly upset at the Prelate for attacking before the hour was up and before she was able to declare her decision. She marched on to the bridge and barked, "Open a channel!".

"Channel open," Kim announced meekly, still deathly afraid of an angry Janeway even after twenty years. Natalie seized the opportunity to sneak out the back way. It was late at night. If her mother discovered her up past curfew, she’d be dead meat.

The Prelate’s face appeared on the view screen.

"Captain Janeway, I see you’ve made your decision," the Prelate began. The Captain tried to remain composed.

"Actually, it appears that you’ve made your decision, Prelate," Janeway replied, with just a touch of hostility in her voice. "And your decision appears to be attacking our ship. Now why would that be?". She remained calm as the Prelate formed his words in his head. Finally, he spoke.

"The Ministry has come to the decision that your ship will be confiscated and its crew held for questioning," the Prelate announced with no hint of a motive. "The crew will be taken. The ship will be taken in about three days, once our salvage crew arrives, where salvage operations will be made to insure that your ship will not harm any Mandorians. The Mandora system thanks you, Captain." The channel was cut off. There was no movement for several moments. The Captain slowly turned to around in utter disbelief.

"In all my years of Starfleet and experience in this God-forsaken quadrant, I have never met a man with more tenacity and arrogance than this man and his people," Captain Janeway announced firmly. "To think he can just announce he will confiscate this vessel is beyond me."

"What actions will we be taking, Captain?" Commander Tuvok asked from across the bridge.

"The good ol’ fashioned Voyager way," Janeway replied with a smile. She sat down. "We fight." Janeway was unclear as to why the Prelate was so determined to rid himself of Voyager, they had done nothing, but he was clearly irked by their presence. He reminded Janeway of the good old days when they were fighting the Kazons for their lives. She blinked, reminding her that what was going on now was more important than nostalgia.

"The Mandorian ship is powering its weapons," Tuvok announced. Janeway gripped her armrests, her knuckles turning white. Two bright blue orbs sped out from the ship, hurling towards Voyager. They smacked themselves against Voyager’s shields, causing the ship to shudder and lurch. A few crewmembers collapsed, as wires in the console erupted.

"Return fire!" Janeway barked. Voyager’s phasers blasted at the Mandorian ship, while Mandorian torpedos continued to bombard Voyager. Smoke filled the bridge, consoles flickered, and crewmembers flew across the bridge as the Voyager rocked and shook.

Janeway and her crew held onto their station for dear life. Tuvok continued firing, but it was clear the Mandorian ship was more powerful.

"Two more Mandorian ships on an intercept course!" Lieutenant Kim shouted to the captain over the roar of breaking bulkheads. Just as Janeway was about to call a cease fire, everything went black.

=/\=

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