“The Krenim need to know that we pose no threat to their sovereignty,” Akaar said.
“If they are altering the timeline, I believe we will be required to pose such a threat,” Farkas said. “And if they’re not, they might seriously consider doing so if we go back.”
The admiral’s glare was piercing.
“I’m sure I’m not telling you anything Admiral Janeway hasn’t. And I’m sorry if you assumed that granting her request to initiate an exploratory mission with the Edrehmaia meant you would be dealing with an officer more amenable to ignoring her instincts and falling in line. But my gut says that if we are going to face an all-out conflict with the Krenim, we’ll need a lot more than the Vesta and two small special-mission ships to do it. You’d be sending us into a bloodbath and I’ve seen enough of those out here to last me a lifetime.”
“May I ask if…” Akaar began, his face reddening, “Hell, did Janeway put you up to this?”
“She did not.”
“Because it sure sounds like her.”
“I take that as a compliment, sir,” Farkas said. “One of the directors of the DTI reached out to me personally a few weeks back. He asked me to see to it that Janeway followed the directive of the DTI and warned me that should she fail to do so, she would lose her command.”
“I was unaware of that.”
“I have followed Kathryn Janeway’s orders for the last several months and while we haven’t always seen eye to eye, she has never acted without great personal integrity, nor has she ever given me an order I found unconscionable. Director Dulmur did both of those things within the first five minutes of meeting me. You are asking me to risk the lives of hundreds of officers on the orders of individuals who clearly see us as pawns to be moved around on a board of temporal chess.
“I won’t do it, Admiral.”
Stony silence greeted this admission. Finally, Akaar said, “Once Voyager departs, you will resume your previously planned exploration of the Delta Quadrant. Your reservations are noted and will be added to the information already provided to the DTI. And I will speak personally with Director Dulmur, was it?”
“Yes, sir. Marion Dulmur.”
“I can’t go into details right now, but I can tell you that I am convinced by the evidence that I have seen that we may yet have need of your services out there. But if that should become necessary, you will do so with every bit of support Starfleet can provide.”
“I would appreciate that, sir.”
“Akaar out.”
PERSONAL LOG: LIEUTENANT HARRY KIM
Hey there, little one.
How do you like your new room? You’re on a ship called Voyager now. She’s a good ship. She’s special to me because she’s the first starship I ever served on and she’s also the ship where I met your mom.
Yeah. Your mom.
“Computer, delete…”
No, never mind. We have to talk about this at some point, so may as well start now. Your mom has been through a lot. She was pretty sick when you were born and even though it looks like she’s going to be fine now, she has decided… well, we decided together but it was more her idea than mine… that the best thing for all of us is that she and I would no longer be in a relationship. She’s still your mother. She’ll always be that. Half of your DNA will always be hers. When you get a little older if you want to meet her or talk to her we can make that happen.
But for now, and probably forever, it’s just going to be you and me. It might be a long time before you even realize that’s unusual. Although it isn’t, necessarily. Lots of children are raised by one parent, even if their parents are married. Some families have more than two parents in a relationship. The Andorians come to mind. Anyway, point is, families come in all kinds of shapes and sizes and for now, we are a family of two.
And I’m okay with that. From the moment I knew you existed, all I wanted was for you to be born and for us to meet and for you to know how much I already love you. You’ve already changed my life for the better. Not that that’s your job, but you have. It’s just a fact.
And it’s important to both of us that you understand that what happened between me and your mom had nothing to do with you.
Remember when we were talking about communication? About how you can sometimes want to communicate clearly, but no matter how hard you try, it can be really hard? For a long time, your mom tried to tell me what she really needed from me. But I thought that what she really needed was different. I thought I knew better. She was right to tell me the truth. There’s nothing more important than that, even if it’s hard. I wish—
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“Computer, pause log.”
Kim turned to see Ensign Gwyn standing in the doorway. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Why aren’t you at the wedding?”
“It doesn’t start for another half an hour.”
“But aren’t you one of the groomsmen? Shouldn’t you be with the captain right now?”
“Gwyn?”
“Right. Sorry.”
“What are you doing here?”
Gwyn was momentarily at a total loss for words. “I just wanted to see how she was doing,” she finally admitted. “Doctor Sharak said it would be okay.”
“I’m not sure Sharak is the one you should be asking,” Kim suggested.
“I’m sorry. You’re right. I’ll go.”
“No, hang on,” Kim said. “Come in here.”
Gwyn stepped forward warily.
“She’s fine. She’s about twelve weeks old, three inches long. Her face is fully formed. She’s got thumbs,” Kim said.
Gwyn smiled. “It’s cool that you know that.”
“I spend time with her every day if I can.”
“Also, very cool.”
“I guess.”
“Does she have a name yet?”
Kim shook his head. “I was waiting, but, no. I haven’t chosen one yet.”
“There’s plenty of time.”
“Yeah. People keep saying that, but I
