=/\=

IT WAS A quiet afternoon on the USS VOYAGER. The ship was running smoothly, not major breakdowns or serious damage to anything essential systems. The ship hummed along as it traveled through the stars on its journey towards its destination, Earth. They were nearing the border of the Beta Quadrant, and would reach it within five months. Everyone was excited and they were taking special care to keep Voyager’s systems clean, operational, and at full capacity. Of course, when you’re a teenager and searching for a way to get out of your biology homework, a quiet afternoon isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Natalie Janeway, fifteen years old years old and too much like her mother, Kathryn Janeway, wandered the corridors, hoping to find a bit of excitement. The crew had grown rather large in the past ten years. There seemed to be marriages and births every month. The number of people on board had actually risen from around 135 to 175 in ten years. In fact, Voyager’s capacity was almost at its limit seven years ago and it stopped for nearly ten months to have a complete remodel. Now, Voyager held the families comfortably, with twenty decks. With the new rooms, quarters could be expanded to fit the ever-growing ship, especially the Paris family, with their three children, Blake, Emily and Andy Paris. Blake was the perfect image of Tom Paris at his age, with Emily as fierce and fiery as her mother, B’Elanna Torres, once was. Andy Paris was a perfect blend, with the skin and hair of his mother and the light-heartedness of his father. The other major additions to the senior staff was the marriage of Capt. Kathryn Janeway and Cmdr. Chakotay and the marriage between Harry Kim and Seven of Nine and the birth of their two children, Noah and Anna. Samantha Wildman and Joe Carey were also married in 2380 and their son, Seth, was born the following year.

As Natalie roamed the halls, she saw little to no people. Lt. Susan Nicoletti passed her and looked very maternal at six months pregnant with her third child with husband Lt. Ashmore, who had been promoted the year before. They already had two other children, a son, Morgan, 7, and a daughter, Marissa, 5. Natalie hoped she would get a chance to help deliver this baby. Naomi Wildman, Samantha’s daughter and Joe Carey step-daughter, often helped deliver the babies in the enlarged sickbay which now spanned further down the hallway. Natalie nodded her head and continued on her way. Her families quarters were on deck eight. The Paris clan was on deck six, the Wildman/Carey’s on deck five and Harry and Seven lived on deck nine. Not too much was located on deck eight.

Natalie approached the turbolift at the same moment as Cmdr. Tuvok, who was promoted the previous year. Even though he was her mother’s best friend, next to her father, Natalie still hesitated when in his presence.

"Vulcans will do that to people, especially children," her father, Cmdr. Chakotay, had explained.

Tuvok glanced over in Natalie’s direction as they stepped in the turbolift, and she gave a weak smile.

"Deck one," he requested of the computer.

"Deck two," Natalie ordered. She occasionally glanced over as the turbolift ascended. For Natalie, it was an uneasy silence. Thankfully, Lt. Tom Paris entered the turbolift at deck six, on his way to the Bridge as well.

"Hey Natalie," he said cheerfully. "What are you up to?". Natalie smiled instantly.

"Oh not much," she replied. "Just going to get something to eat. You know how hard Doc works us some days." The Emergency Medical Holographic Doctor, affectionately called the Doctor, had yet to receive a name. Unless you counted Anna Kim’s nickname, Blue, which she got from his blue collar on his uniform, the Doctor remained the Doctor.

"No kidding," Tom agreed. "You have no idea how happy I was when Naomi volunteered to help out in sickbay to give me some time off." Natalie smiled as the turbolift came to a halt.

"Say hi to Mom and Dad for me, bye," Natalie said as she stepped off.

The mess hall, which had also doubled in size since the remodel, now had a kitchen manned by Neelix, the Talaxian chef/morale officer/ambassador, and two of the crew’s children. It served round the clock service to the hungry crew.

"Hi Neelix," she said.

"Well hello there, dear Natalie," Neelix welcomed. "What can I do for you?". Natalie peered over the counter to see what was cooking.

"I’m hungry…" she said. "What are you cooking?". Neelix had served as chef on board Voyager for nearly twenty years and he had yet to run out of strange concoctions to feed the crew.

"A new recipe I’ve been meaning to try from our recent visit to the Bomenian homeworld," Neelix answered. "It’s called grekten stew." Natalie looked distastefully at the thick bubbling stew.

"I think I’ll pass on this one, Neelix," Natalie replied. "Having any leftover casserole from last night?" Natalie popped a Bomenian tart in her mouth from the assortment set on the counter.

"We might…let me check," he said. He started opening cupboards and banging around. After several minutes of searching, he produced the casserole with a triumphant "I found it!". Natalie laughed.

"Great," she replied. "Good job." Neelix put a serving on a standard Starfleet plate and warmed it up for a few minutes. As he did that, he continued the conversation.

"How are your parents doing?" he asked as he stirred the food.

"Great, they’re both working right now," she replied. "Mom said last night that we probably weren’t going to be seeing to many species until we get to the Beta Quadrant" -Natalie paused at the name, then continued- "But she did say there was a purple nebula 5 light years from here we might check out." Neelix handed her the warmed food.

"Here you go," he announced. "Enjoy."

"Thanks." She turned to go.

"Natalie?-"

"Yeah?".

"Smile." Neelix grinned.

"I will."

=/\=

That evening, in the Paris quarters, sixteen-year-old Blake was busy studying for his Calculus test he had the next day. His younger sister, twelve-year-old Emily, practiced her Klingon sword fighting skills in her bedroom. Andy, the youngest at ten-years-old, was diligently memorizing his multiplication facts. The patriarch and matriarch of the family, Tom Paris and B’Elanna Torres, sat comfortably in the family room, sipping their tea, and reviewed reports and chatted about the day. A ring at the door interrupted.

"Come in," Tom said. The doors slide open and revealed thirteen-year-old Seth Carey. "Seth, come on in, I’ll get the kids. Hey Blake, Emily, Andy- get in here!" He yelled across the quarters. B’Elanna glared at him. Blake, Emily and Andy came bounding into the family room.

"What’s up?" Emily asked.

"Hey Seth," Blake said. "What’s going on?". Seth beckoned them to follow him outside. Tom approved and the kids gathered in the hallway. They huddled in a group.

"What’s up?" Emily asked again. Seth had an devilish grin on his face.

"Natalie said she has some really big news she heard her mom and dad talking about," Seth informed them. "She wants us to meet her in her quarters."

"Won’t Captain Janeway hear us?" Andy asked. Seth shook his head.

"Captain Janeway and Chakotay are going to be in the holodeck working," he replied. "Come on."

When Blake, Emily, Andy, and Seth arrived at Natalie’s quarters, the other children of the senior staff had already arrived. Gathered in the Janeway family room, Natalie sat in the big, leather green sofa chair and Naomi Wildman, Noah and Anna Kim sat on the matching couch. Sugar cookies were placed on the metallic coffee table, among PADDs and empty coffee cups.

"Good, we’re all here," Natalie began. "You’re probably wondering why I called this meeting, right?". Everyone nodded their head and muttered, "Yeah" or "Uh huh".

"Well, you’ll never guess what I heard this afternoon," Natalie teased.

"What is it?" Noah asked. Natalie grinned.

"Well, apparently, Seven was scanning Astrometrics for any up-coming M-class planets this morning. At first she didn’t detect anything but later on she discovered a small planet about 3 light-years from here," Natalie started.

"So? Mom finds M-class planets all the time," Anna interjected.

"I know that, but the big part is that she detected traces of Borg readings coming from the planet surface and she says there might have been a Borg cube in the area recently," Natalie concluded. Everyone gasped.

"Are you serious, Natalie?" Naomi asked. "Borgs?". Natalie nodded her head.

"And Mom says she wants to check it out," Natalie replied. "As she said ‘Borg this close to Federation space is something to be concerned about’". Anna looked concerned.

"If there are Borgs near here," she said. "Do you think we’re in danger?". Anna was not referring to the crew. She was referring to Noah and herself. Although they had never been a part of the Collective, Anna and Noah received a small amount of Borg nanoprobes in their bloodstream during Seven of Nine’s pregnancy. The nanoprobes were dormant however, and Anna and Noah could not assimilate or hurt anyone, though regeneration in the unused alcoves was sometimes necessary. The crew had encountered the Borg three times in the last eighteen years, since they seemed to have moved out of their territory and were successful in avoiding them. The first was before Anna and Noah were born, soon after Harry and Seven were married. The second time was a month after Anna was born, when Noah was two. There didn’t seem to be any damage to Anna or Noah, though the Doctor did find that Noah’s previously dormant nanoprobes had slightly awakened and were now moving around. However, the nanoprobes didn’t get very far. Because the nanoprobes were from Seven of Nine, they didn’t know what to do, and basically swam in Noah’s bloodstream until they were out of range of the Borg. The third time was five years earlier. Anna and Noah were both confined to sickbay under a protective force field and only a small percentage of their nanoprobes were disturb by the nearby Borg sphere.

Now that Anna and Noah were older, they weren’t sure how another Borg encounter would affect them. They both were curious about their heritage, they felt the Borgs were like cousins and grandparents they never got to meet.

The rest of the group glanced around, some uncomfortably.

"I don’t really know," Naomi answered. "There’s a strong possibility that you’re nanoprobes will reactivate. But there’s no real way to tell."

=/\=

The next afternoon, the children of Voyager, all 39 of them, were gathered in the ships’ classroom. All of the children were there, from the youngest, Stephen Morrow (son of Crewman Morrow and Ensign Ryson), 2, to the oldest, Naomi Wildman, 22. The Doctor was a part-time science teacher, Cmdr. Tuvok was a part-time history teacher, Naomi’s mother, Lt. Samantha Wildman, was a part-time English teacher, and Natalie’s mother, Capt. Kathryn Janeway was the part-time math teacher. Ensign Kyoto was elected the full-time teacher, with the help of Neelix.

At the current moment, the children were divided into groups depending on their age. The oldest kids, which were Kelsey Sophen (the daughter of Crewmen Brian Sophen from the Equinox and Megan Delany), Natalie, Blake, Emily, and Naomi. They were practicing drills and tests in the holodeck to prepare them for the shortened, mock Starfleet Academy. Naomi had already begun lessons with Tuvok, but the senior staff agreed it would be beneficial for the kids to start early. The second group ranged from eight years old to twelve years old, and included Seth, Andrew, Noah, and Anna. The Doctor was instructing them in their afternoon biology lesson. The four to seven year olds were with Tuvok, reviewing the Prime Directive. The children were young, but Janeway felt that it was necessary for them to learn the things that held their home together. The three youngest children were asleep in the next room, under the supervision of Neelix, who was working on dinner’s menu.

The groups of children created a joyful sound, but in Capt. Janeway’s ready-room, things were a little less peaceful. Janeway was agonizing over the decision of which way she should go. She had people pulling her in both directions.

"Do you think it’s necessary?" Chakotay had asked the night before. Janeway sighed and turned to face him.

"If I didn’t think it was necessary to do you think I would be analyzing my decision so much," she replied. "We should go to planet and investigate. We owe to the Federation make sure we aren’t avoiding a potential threat. But at the same time…I don’t want anyone to be in danger." Janeway eyed the light seeping under Natalie’s door. "Is she still up?". Chakotay laughed.

"She takes after you," he replied. "You’re worried about Anna and Noah, aren’t you?".

"Well, this is what I get for letting children on board," Janeway laughed.

"Letting children on board? Kathryn, I think they would have come whether you liked it or not," Chakotay mused. Natalie’s light turned off.

"You’re right, I am worried," Janeway confirmed. "But that never got in my way before." Chakotay smiled.

"You’ll do fine," he replied. "You always do".

Janeway smiled as she remembered the conversation. She decided to hold off on that decision, and worry about it later. The door bell to her ready room rang.

"Come in," Janeway responded. The doors slid open and Seven of Nine entered. The decision time came a little bit soon than Janeway had hoped.

"Seven, I was just thinking about you," she said. Seven smiled slightly, she knew why.

"Captain, is it alright if we talk for a minute?" Seven asked, hopefully.

"Of course, Seven, please, sit down," Janeway replied. She motioned toward the couch and the two sat down. "I’ve been thinking about our new predicament. What are your thoughts?".

"I’m scared," Seven replied. Seven of Nine had become increasingly more human throughout the years. "I know, that’s probably unnecessary because this is not the first time we’ve encountered the Borg or with Anna and Noah around but they’re older and they want to know about the Borg". She sighed. "I’ve told them no, but they are so persistent. I know they’ll want to go on the away mission if we do go to the planet."

"Do you want to go to the planet, Seven?" she asked. Seven paused.

"Well, I think so," Seven continued. "Which again, is a little strange. I think in a way I want them to know the Borg, not too much, but enough to satisfy they’re curiosity. I know they won’t runaway, because they don’t have the Borg instincts I had, and that One had." Seven of Nine referred to the 29th century Borg that was created using Seven’s nanoprobes and the Doctors holo-emitter. The Borg had sacrificed it’s life to save Voyager, and it’s existence had greatly impacted Seven’s life.

"You think we should go?" Janeway asked, a bit puzzled.

"Yes," Seven said. "It wouldn’t be fair to the Federation if we let our personal issues get in the way of the greater good." With that, Seven stood up. "I think I should go. I have work to do. I hope this has helped you, Captain. I know it’s helped me." Janeway nodded and Seven left.

Janeway’s first thought was that Seven must be crazy. She thought about it for a minute and the conversation seemed more plausible and realistic and she decided to go with Seven’s decision. Voyager would travel to the planet to investigate. Besides, Janeway concluded, there was really no way to tell whether or not there were Borgs in the area.

=/\=

The next afternoon, Voyager was flying towards the region of space. Janeway was teaching Calculus to the older students, but Natalie could not for the life of her grasp the concepts.

"You’re joking when you say we’re actually going to have to use this in Starfleet, right Mom?" she asked during class. Janeway shook her head.

"You’d better have that down pat by the end of the year," she said. Natalie sighed. She hated math. That was one characteristic that was completely unlike her mother. She completely disliked math. She didn’t even care for adding and subtracting. Natalie looked at the problems, thought about it, her mind froze, and she slammed down the PADD.

"Fine," she said. "I just won’t go to Starfleet, then." Janeway raised her eyebrows and Natalie giggled, indicating she was just joking. Janeway returned the smile. Naomi came over and sat next to Natalie.

"Here, let me see if I can explain this to you," Naomi said. "I’m not exactly a calculus genius like your mother, but I’m pretty good." Janeway returned to her pupil, Kelsey Sophen, but just as she was explaining why x equaled 34 on the isosceles triangle, the ship rocked and the red alert alarm went off. Janeway suddenly went from comforting mother and teacher to battle-drill captain. Her head shot up.

"Bridge to Captain Janeway, please report the bridge," Tuvok’s voice rang through the communicator. Janeway jumped up, quickly gave everyone their assignment and then dashed for the door.

"Mom!" Natalie called. Janeway quickly turned around.

"Stay here, I’ll see you at home," Janeway yelled back as she left the room. The kids had been taught to continue their normal duties during a red alert and to not leave the room they are in unless told to do so by an officer. Naomi, as the only official adult in the room, made sure everyone was alright.

"Just keep doing what you’re doing, if you have any questions, ask me," Naomi said calmly.

=/\=

On the bridge, everything was not calm. Janeway entered the bridge and barked, "Report!". Harry Kim was scrabbling around at his post, collecting damage reports and scanning the ship ahead all at the same time. Tuvok, on the other side of the bridge, attempted to reroute power to the shields and weapons.

"Shields down to 92%, minimal damage to hull and other essential systems," Tuvok reported, his voice icy with clarity.

"We’ve got three wounded in sickbay," Harry added.

"Now who the hell fired on us?" she asked.

"I’m detecting two small unknown vessels straight ahead," Harry replied.

"On screen." The image popped onto the screen. They were small circular vessels, about the size of a shuttle. They had a green metallic hull and what appeared to be warp nacelles were on either side in the aft section.

"Hail them," Janeway ordered. A few moments later, the image of what looked to be a Borg, only with less technological appendages, appeared. "I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager. Who are you and why are you firing on my ship?".

"You have entered the Nakari system," the woman responded, firmly. "You must leave."

"And why is that?" Janeway asked.

"The Borg heavily populate this area," the woman replied. "Unless you want to be assimilated, go. Now." The alien leaned forward. "You have entered a dangerous region, Captain. I would hate to see…anything happen to you. You will comply." The transmission ceased.

"Emergency senior staff meeting, now."

=/\=

"So, what are your thoughts?" Janeway asked. "Do we continue or do we leave?".

"The woman, who ever she was, certainly was insistent we do leave, maybe we should go," Harry said.

"The woman looked insane," Tom replied. "And that ship was pathetic. If Borg were really here, do you think she’d be around long enough to tell us?".

"She looked Borg, perhaps she’s a messenger," Chakotay added. "Or maybe she is part of a species that has made a non-aggressive pact with the Collective. It is possible, we did it." Janeway nodded her head.

"My question wasn’t what her species is," she said. "My question was do we go or do we continue as planned?". The senior staff glanced around, uncertain. Janeway rolled her eyes. "People, we’ve made harder decisions than this, it can be that difficult. All if favor of going, raise your hand." Nothing. "All in favor of staying, raise your hand." Everyone raised their hand. "Thank you. Dismissed." As the senior staff stepped on to the bridge, Janeway began giving orders. "Alright, Tom, lay in a course toward the planet at Warp 4, we should be in range in fourteen hours. Until then, I want routine battle drills and I want to be prepared for anything. Tuvok, get those shields back on. Doctor, get those crewmembers back on the job. Harry, keep a track on those ships and notify me the minute anything comes on the sensors. B’Elanna, see to it the warp drive and impulse engines do not fail on us. Go." The crew set off to work, with only fourteen hours to go until a possible confrontation.

=/\=

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