There's No Place That Far

Disclaimer: Star Trek: Voyager and all things contained therein are the property of Paramount Pictures. No infringement intended. See Chapter One for details.

Chapter Five

B'Elanna paced anxiously in the small cell she now shared with Crewman Jor. She just didn't feel right today. Her backache had started last night, probably a result of sleeping on a prison cot, and had continued to worsen as time went on. It was now to the point that she couldn't find a moment's relief, now matter how she positioned herself.

"Are you all right, Lieutenant Torres?" asked Jor, her short hair as tosseled as B'Elanna's probably was. The young Bajoran woman eyed her superior officer with obvious concern.

"Of course I'm all right!" Torres shouted. "We're locked up here like animals in a cage. I haven't seen or spoken to my husband since we stepped off the damn ship. We have no idea if we'll ever see daylight again. Why the hell wouldn't I be all right?"

Jor winced at the undeserved tirade she received from the chief engineer. She rose to her feet and moved cautiously toward her, intending to apologize. But she stopped short when B'Elanna doubled over, clutching her abdomen and crying out in pain.

"Oh, God!" B'Elanna cried. "What's happening?" The Klingon woman fell to her knees, warm blood running down her legs and pooling at on the floor.

Jor rushed to her side. "Help!" she yelled, holding Torres by the shoulders. "Stay with me, B'Elanna. I'm going to get you some help."

"My baby…" Torres sobbed weakly. For a moment she watched, seemingly fascinated with the way the purplish blood swirled on the cold floor, and then she slumped over unconscious.

"Oh my God! Someone help, damn it!" screamed Jor with all her might. "She'd going to bleed to death! Please, help!"

Janeway wiped her tears and lifted her head to look a Q. "You keep saying you could help us."

"Because I can."

"What do you mean, Q? If I asked for your help, what exactly would you do? How could you help?"

Q grinned smugly at her. "Are you asking for my aide, Kathy? Because if you are, you'll have to do a better job of it than that. I'll need to see some serious gnashing of teeth and undignified pleading."

Chakotay put a slightly possessive hand on Kathryn's shoulder. "She's not going to beg you, Q. You've humiliated us enough for one lifetime."

Kathryn held her hand up. "Wait, Chakotay."

His brow furrowed with surprise. "Kathryn?"

"I can't sit by and watch this happen to my crew." Her blue eyes searched his face for understanding. "Seeing them all separated, friendships and relationships torn apart because of a decision I made. I could never live with that." She took his hand in hers and rubbed his soft skin tenderly. "This was my biggest fear, Chakotay. If this is how it's going to be here, we were better off stranded in the Delta Quadrant."

She turned her gaze to Q. "I understand now what you were trying to tell me about home."

"Really? Do tell?"

"We've spent the last seven years trying to reach the Alpha Quadrant and dreaming of home. When all along, Voyager was our home. We were a family, supporting and comforting each other. Laughing and crying together." Her eyes swelled with tears yet again as she spoke. "We struggled and we suffered, but we were always together. That togetherness made us strong, and brought us a sense of peace." So looked at Q, a seriousness he had never before seen on her face. "If you can help us find that again, I'll gladly beg you. But frankly, Q, your motives are more than a little suspect. What vested interest do you have in all of this? Why should I believe you would want to help us?" She folded her arms across her chest. "For that matter, why should I believe that you even could help us?"

Q sighed aloud. "I suppose I'll need visual aides if you feeble humans are ever going to understand this. Lucky for you, I always plan ahead."

In a flash of light, the conference room disappeared. Janeway and Chakotay found themselves in a spacious, freshly mowed backyard. Kathryn, her uniform replaced by a white sundress, sighed in awe. She moved forward to reverently stroke the trunk of a nearby willow tree, feeling the grass beneath her bare feet. "My mother's house…" she whispered, grinning at Chakotay. "This is where I grew up. I sat under this tree with Mark the night before I left for the Academy."

"It's beautiful, Kathryn." He said, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I can imagine you here."

She tenderly stroked his cheek, taking in the sight of him in tan shorts and a black tank top. Very nice. "I can't tell you how many times I've dreamed of bringing you here, Chakotay." He held her tightly to him, planting tiny kisses in her hair. She breathed deeply of the sweetly scented air, a mixture of wild flowers and juniper bushes that Kathryn had always found medicinal. It was exactly as she remembered it. She half expected her mother to walk out the back door any minute and offer them cucumber sandwiches and lemonade. She allowed the long ago remembered sights and smells to lull her troubled mind, basking in the sunshine and the feel of Chakotay's arms around her waist. And for a moment, she almost forgot how they got there. Almost.

"Oh, isn't that sweet?" scoffed Q. "Human bonding makes me queasy." His eyes moved up and down Kathryn's body in the form fitting white dress he provided, and then he fixed his gaze on Chakotay. "I have impeccable taste, don't you agree? That dress is very becoming. She's quite a looker, for a humanoid. I can see why she entices you so, Chuckles. Though I'll never comprehend why she chose an ape like you over me."

Kathryn grinned wryly at him. "Sorry, Q. I prefer a man with more than one letter in his name."

He shrugged indifferently. "I have more than one letter in my name. In fact, my real name is two light years long. I'd love to pronounce it for you, but I'm afraid your mortal ear drums would implode."

Chakotay rolled his eyes. "Do you plan to tell us why you brought us here?"

"Of course. I'm nothing if not informative, after all." He ignored Chakotay's sarcastic snort and turned his attention to Janeway. "I thought it might be easier for you to wrap your tiny little mind around this whole thing if you were somewhere more … comfortable."

"How considerate of you, Q." she deadpanned.

"Your ungrateful attitude not withstanding, I have a plan, a way to help you out of this mess, and maybe even save your beloved Earth in the process."

Chakotay's eyebrows rose at that comment. "I wasn't aware that Earth needed saving.'

"That's because it doesn't. Not yet, anyway. But it will."

I don't like the sounds of that! "What are you talking about, Q? What is this plan of yours?" Janeway asked, eyeing him suspiciously. As far as she was concerned, the words plan and Q were never a good thing to hear in the same sentence.

"Oh, you'll know all the delicious details soon enough. But before we get into all that, there are a few things you need to know." A huge archway appeared about 15 feet in front of them. The images behind it seemed distorted and unreal somehow, as if they were watching a holonovel. "Not the actual Guardian of Forever, but an impressive facsimile thereof if I do say so myself."

"What are you doing, Q?" Janeway asked warily. This whole thing smelled of time travel, and she detested it.

"I'm trying to help your little cranium understand, Kathy. Just relax and enjoy the show. I think you'll find the stars hauntingly familiar."

The image under the arch shimmered, and Kathryn saw herself standing in a shuttle bay at Starfleet Command. She noted with uneasiness that the image was wearing the current version of the Starfleet uniform. It felt like a betrayal to Voyager somehow.

"Yes, Kathy. That's you." Q said, offering her a bucket of buttered popcorn. She ignored him. "That's about six months from now. Not aging well are you, my dear? I think you'll be surprised to find out how quickly you all fall apart. Most un-Starfleet of you." Q clapped his hands together, an ominous grin on his face. "Well, then … let the show begin."

They sat in stunned silence as the images unfolded before them…

Janeway stood with her hands clasped behind her back, Gul Navette at her side. Chakotay approached slowly, weighed down with luggage and sadness. He set the bags at his feet and extended his hand to Kathryn. "Captain Janeway, it's been an honor to serve with you. I wish you well."

Janeway shook his hand mechanically, no feeling in her face whatsoever. "And the same to you, Commander. Pleasant journey."

Chakotay looked back at her one last time, a slight quivering in his lips, and then turned and stepped into the shuttle that would take him to his new assignment and out of her life forever.

Janeway exited the shuttle bay, the Cardassian holding tightly to her elbow. "Nice performance, Captain. You almost had me convinced that your feelings for him were strictly professional. I suggest you pray to your gods that he bought it and stays away for good. It would be a shame to have to kill him."

"Let go of me." She hissed, jerking her arm from his grasp.

Navette whirled her around, slapping her across the face with enough force to send her crashing into the wall. "You do not give me orders, you Federation bitch! Human females have no use outside of the bedchamber, so if I were you, I would practice your obedience!"

Janeway slogged on silently, looking beaten and broken. Her crew was separated, spread all over the quadrant. And Chakotay was gone from her life for good. The happened now made no difference. She'd stopped caring the minute he stepped into that shuttle.

Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero One, sat alone on a park bench. Her once shining hair was disheveled and dull. She had become a social outcast, Starfleet's Quazzimoto. And since the Doctor's program had been taken off line, she found herself unbearably alone.

She said nothing, only stared ahead as people walked by, tossing rude comments in her direction. A young man, about 17 or so, stopped in front of her and grabbed his crotch. "Hey baby, assimilate this!"

Several Cardassian children gathered at the playground nearby and tossed rocks and sand at Seven. "Go away! We hate the Borg!" they shouted. "You don't belong here!"

"You are correct." Seven whispered as she walked away. "I do not belong here. I do not belong anywhere."

Captain Tuvok of the Federation Starship Discovery sat calmly in his command chair, even as all hell broke loose around him. He stared at the image of the Cardassian he was required to call "Sir" on the view screen. An eerie calm resting on his features.

"I ordered you to destroy that shuttle, Captain! I am not yet in weapons range."

"That shuttle is carrying members of the Federation." Tuvok replied. What he didn't say was that it also contained one wayward Talaxian.

"That is none of your concern, Vulcan." The Cardassian growled. "The shuttle must not be allowed to leave this sector of space. Those people are criminals."

"To my knowledge, resigning from Starfleet is not a crime. They simply wish to be civilians."

"Destroy that shuttle now! That is an order, Captain."

Tuvok rose to his feet and took a few steps toward the view screen. "I cannot follow that order."

"Then suffer the consequences!"

The Cardassian ships moved into range, four battle cruisers. As Tuvok moved his ship protectively between the Cardassians and the shuttlecraft, they opened fire. In minutes the battle was over. The Discovery, and the shuttle, were nothing but floating debris. Neelix and Tuvok were nothing but a splattering of humanoid DNA spread among the stars.

Tom Paris sat in a seedy tavern, the same one he'd been sitting in for the past three months, guzzling what must've been his hundredth beer. His hair was greasy, unkempt, and he was sporting what had to be at least 5 days growth on his chin.

"You just gonna sit there all day?"

Tom turned slightly in his stool and gazed at Harry Kim through hooded lids. "I might."

Harry sighed aloud. "Tom, you've been in here for days!"

"Yeah, well…" he slurred, "My life pretty much sucks so … I just thought I'd get drunk for a while."

"Look, I know things have been tough lately, but that's no reason to give up."

Tom snorted sarcastically. "Maybe you should get drunk for a while."

"She needs you, Tom."

Tom glared at his old friend. "Look, I let her down. She doesn't need me. In fact, she's better off without me. And so are you. I hurt everyone and everything I touch because I'm nothing but a failure. My father was right about me. Just leave me alone, Harry! Leave me the hell alone!"

B'Elanna Torres knelt quietly, her dark hair blowing in the breeze, as she placed a spray of tiny violent and pink flowers over the grave. She used her small hands to wipe the grass and dirt off the little headstone, stoking the letters engraved in it with affection and longing.

She dropped her head as the tears rolled off her cheeks, splashing on the tiny pair of baby booties carved with such care into the granite marker.

"I'm so sorry, little one." She sobbed. "I don't know how any of this happened. It wasn't supposed to be like this."

B'Elanna lay down in the grass next to her daughter's burial place, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. She allowed the memories to wash over her for a moment, memories of Tom and herself back on Voyager, making plans for the arrival of their first child. She shook her head to clear those thoughts. They only served to remind her of how much she'd lost, of how alone she was.

Pulling herself to a sitting position, she watched as a Cardassian man walked down the street. He caught her gaze, and smiled suggestively at her. And she shivered. Despite the hot California day, she found herself chilled to the bone.

Tears rolled freely down Kathryn's cheeks. She was so engrossed in the horrors before her, that she hadn't noticed Chakotay pull her into an embrace. "I think she's seen enough, Q."

"Oh, don't be a party pooper, Chuckles!" grinned Q. "There's more. Lots more! Why, you haven't even seen what Earth will look like after the Cardassians take over. It's positively unnerving."

"Those images you showed us…" Janeway said breathlessly. "That can't possibly be our future. I'm supposed to believe that my crew turned into …" she gestured toward the frozen image of B'Elanna sitting at her child's grave. "… into that? And that the Cardassians take over Earth? Why should I believe you, Q?"

"Honestly, Kathy! Must you always be so suspicious?" He snapped his fingers and the arch disappeared. So did the buckets of popcorn. "I admit I've been a bit… unpredictable. But in any of our encounters, in even one instance, have I lied to you?"

Janeway studied his face carefully. He had a point. He was obnoxious as hell, but she hadn't known him to all out lie. She just didn't want to admit it.

"Well, have I?"

Before she could answer, a familiar voice interrupted their private showing. "Captain, Commander…" gasped Harry breathlessly. "I have been looking all over for you. Something terrible has happened. Tuvok suggested that I try your folks place as a last resort, so I took the first available transport and…"

"Calm down, Ensign." Janeway said, her hands on his broad shoulders. "Tell me what's happened."

A sorrow beyond his years passed over Harry's young face. He looked back and forth between Janeway and Chakotay before he finally spoke. "It's B'Elanna."

"Oh, God." Kathryn gasped, knowing from the images she just saw what he was about to say.

"She collapsed in her cell. I don't now all the details, but Tuvok said the placenta detached too soon. She was taken to the prison hospital, nearly bled to death. I'm afraid…" He hung his dark head. "I'm afraid the baby didn't make it."

Janeway's entire world whirled around her and she felt her knees turn to jelly. She vaguely heard Harry's voice. "You okay, Captain?" and then felt Chakotay's strong arms catch her before she hit the ground. In a matter of moments, she felt shock give way to intense sorrow, followed almost immediately by utter desperation. She saw only one person through her haze. The one person who could change all this.

She pulled herself from Chakotay's arms and dove at the super being, clutching his shirt until her knuckles where white. In his human form, Q required balance just like any other bipedal species. He had time only to wrap his arms around Janeway protectively as they both tumbled to the ground. "Well this is certainly unexpected." He muttered on their way down.

Chakotay and Harry watched the scene before them with a mixture of horror and fascination. No one had ever seen Janeway loose it quite so vividly.

"You have to stop this, Q!" she yelled. "It can't end this way, not after all the sacrifices we've made. Cardassians taking over Earth, Tuvok and Neelix dead, Chakotay ripped from my life just when I realize how much I need him, Tom and B'Elanna's baby… none of that is supposed to happen."

Q pulled them both to a sitting position and pried Kathryn's hands from his clothing. "Are you finally admitting you need my help, Kathy?"

"Yes!" she snapped. "I'll beg if that's what you want. I'll admit we're nothing but a group of weak mortals if it'll make you happy." She seized his shoulders, her tone deadly serious. "I need your help, Q. Please."

"Very well. There's just one itty-bitty thing though. One little proviso."

"What?" she snapped, tired of these games. "What is it, Q?"

His face took on an uncharacteristic seriousness. "You must agree, all of you must agree, never to return to Earth again. Ever."

Janeway shared a shocked glance with Chakotay and Harry. Her eyes took on a resolute determination. "If this is what Earth has in store for us, I don't care if I ever come back."

Harry and Chakotay nodded their support. Her eyes flooded with tears, though she didn't think she could possibly have any left to shed. They were standing beside her, Chakotay's hand on the small of her back, admiration in Harry's dark eyes. They were proving yet again that they would follow her anywhere.

She locked eyes with Q. "Agreed. We'll never set foot on this plant again."

In a whirlwind of light and color, almost as luminous as the wormhole had been, the Voyager crew found themselves being pulled through time and space. When the haze cleared, Janeway's auburn head turned from side to side, surveying her surroundings.

They were all there, in the briefing room on Voyager. Every last one of them.

Tom's mouth hung slightly agape as he took in the sight of a very pregnant B'Elanna seated at his side. "B'Elanna, oh my god…" was all he could choke out as he pulled her into his arms.

B'Elanna's hands went straight to her swollen abdomen, caressing the shape of the child she was mourning only moments before. "The baby! She's okay." Tears rolled freely down her cheeks. "I can't believe it."

Relief washed over Janeway as she watched her crew's reunion. But she knew they were far from in the clear, seeing as Q was seated underneath her in her chair. She jumped off his lap and onto her feet. "Computer, are all members of the crew present and accounted for?"

"Affirmative."

She turned her attention to their omnipotent benefactor. "That fact that you're still here tells me we aren't quite finished with all this yet. What now, Q?"

Q rolled his eyes at her. "My, my. How quickly we change moods. Only moments ago you were offering to do anything to make me happy, and now you're snapping at me like a starving crocodile." He looked at the Doctor and whispered loudly. "I guess erratic mood swings is normal in a human female of Kathy's advanced years, hmmm?"

The Doctor glanced quickly at his less than amused captain. "Captain Janeway has never been, in any way, what I would consider normal, I assure you."

"I agree with you, Hologram." Said Q, also rising to his feet. "But in this case, she's right. At Kathy's request, I've returned you to the moment in time when I first dropped by to warn you about all this ugliness. You are, as you can see, back on your little ship in the Delta Quadrant. Never thought you'd be so happy to see it again, did you?"

"Never in a million years." Said Harry.

"What's the rest of your plan, Q?" Janeway said, wishing desperately that he'd just get to the point.

"Oh, all right, I'll spell it all out for you. You all saw what was happening to your precious little planet. Even as we speak, Starfleet is working to form an alliance with those slimy Cardassians. Well, no one ever accused Starfleet of having taste." Q paused a moment to chuckle at his own little joke. "They are also about to detect the wormhole, just as you did. When you do not emerge, they'll send ships to the wormholes coordinates to search for you. But they won't find you."

"And why is that?" Chakotay asked warily.

"Because just as they're about to venture into the anomaly, pieces of Voyager will emerge, tumbling gracefully in space as debris tends to do."

Seven raised her elegant eyebrow at him, her optical implant shifting slightly with her expression. "You are suggesting that Voyager will be destroyed?"

"Oh you are a bright one, aren't you?" Q scoffed. "Yes, worker bee. I'm saying that your bucket of space bolts will be completely and utterly destroyed."

"How?" Tuvok asked.

"Well it's really quite simple actually." He said proudly. "I'm going to blow it to bits." A small three-dimensional image of the ship appeared in midair above the table. Q grinned wickedly as he took a ridiculously huge pin and jabbed it into the image. The ship burst like an over-filled balloon.

After everything they'd been through over the last three days, Janeway lacked the energy to be shocked. She simply arched her brow and said, "Why?"

"Because, Kathy! They won't stop looking for you unless they think you're all dead as doornails. Listen carefully, I'll tell you my plan. It's positively ingenious!"

Voyager's senior officer sat silently, mouths slightly agape and faces abnormally pale as they listened to Q describe his plan. He would destroy the ship, leaving behind sufficient evidence to make it appear that it had been attacked by a Cardassian battle cruiser. This would upset the tenuous peace between the Cardassians and Starfleet, thus destroying any hope of an alliance. It would allow Starfleet to eventually unite with the Romulan and the Klingons and successfully stave off a Cardassian occupation in the Sol Sector. All of the horrible transformations they'd witnessed in Starfleet would never happen if the alliance with the Cardassians was ended before it really began. And Earth would live on the way the remembered it.

"You see? Brilliant, isn't it?" asked Q excitedly.

"Your plan is not without merit." Said Tuvok. "However, you have omitted one rather important detail. If we destroy Voyager, what will happen to her crew?"

Q spread his arms at his sides. "Why isn't it obvious, my staunch friend? You'll do exactly what you've considered doing countless times before. You'll settle on a nice little planet where you'll plant boring vegetables and have lots of little bald babies."

"Settle on a planet in the Delta Quadrant?"

"No, Chuckles, in fluidic space." He rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Of course in the Delta Quadrant, you Neanderthal!"

Janeway was surprised at just how nice that sounded to her. Their journey had been a long one, laden with one sacrifice after another. And it had been worth it at the time to keep going because they had a destination. But now, they had nowhere to go. No light years to cross. Much to her own surprise, settling down on a cozy planet and snuggling up next to Chakotay every night sounded absolutely wonderful. She never thought she'd want to bring her days of space exploration to a close, but after watching what could become of her crew, her friends, she realized that none of that mattered as much as being together.

She looked carefully at the faces of her senior staff. "Opinions?"

Tom clutched B'Elanna's hand as he spoke. "I don't think we have a choice, Captain. I'd rather my father thought I was dead than turn into the person I saw the other day. And if our never returning to Earth saves all those people from the Cardassians, I'd say it's a small price to pay." He looked affectionately at his wife. "I think as long as we're all together, we don't need the Alpha Quadrant to be happy."

"Well said, Mr. Paris." Said the Doctor, a soft grin on his holographic features. His gaze fell on Seven's pretty face. "I think perhaps we've all learned how fortunate we are to have one another."

The blonde woman returned his affectionate gaze, a soft smile tugging at her lips. "Agreed. I, for one, am not eager to experience such solitude again. The days did not pass quickly."

"You know how I feel, Captain." offered Neelix in his customary sweet tone. "Anywhere this crew happens to be is home as far as I'm concerned. And I think I speak for most of the others when I say that we would support any decision you make."

"Thank you, Neelix." Janeway said affectionately. She took a deep breath and rose to her feet. "Well then, if no one has any objections…" she turned to Harry. "Harry, B'Elanna, start scanning for our new home. Chakotay, Neelix, have the crew prepare supplies. We'll need shelters, an energy source, emergency supplies…" She smiled nervously at her officers. "Looks like it's time to abandon ship."

At 0800 the next morning, Captain Kathryn Janeway stood alone on the bridge of her ship. Most of the crew was already on the planet, thanks to Q, and she was taking one last look at the ship that had served them so well for so very long.

She was so lost in her memories; she didn't even hear Chakotay approach. "It's almost time, Kathryn." He said softly. "You ready?'

She nodded her head in the affirmative without looking up at him as she ran her hand across the helm controls. "Just saying goodbye to an old friend."

Chakotay turned her to face him. "She's taken good care of us on this journey." He said as he wiped a tear off her cheek. "Voyager has saved our lives countless times over, and now she'll save an entire planet. Not many ships get an opportunity like that."

"Not many ships get such special attention from me." Said Q, who had appeared in Janeway's command chair. "Are you quite ready, Kathy? Time is of the essence. You have a society to build and an ape to marry."

Janeway's face displayed surprise at the word marry. I'm going to marry Chakotay? She failed to suppress an embarrassed grin as she looked at the 'ape' in question.

"Oh goodness! Silly me." Said Q, covering his mouth with his hand. "It seems I've let the proverbial cat out of the bag."

Janeway looked at their omnipotent friend with unabashed affection. Oh, he was a royal pain in the behind, no doubt about it. But he had saved them from a future that, in her opinion, was far worse than death. For that they owed him a debt.

She let go of Chakotay's hand and sauntered over to him. "Thank you, Q, for everything." she said. Then she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

The super beings legs shot straight out from the chair and his toes curled in exaggeration. "Whoa, Kathy!!! You little spit fire! I knew all along that you wanted me. What an absolutely electric kiss. Really, I'm blushing." He looked at Chakotay. "You'll have your hands full with her Chuckles, I hope you still have the energy!"

"I'm sure I'll manage."

Kathryn laughed, but she was unsure which she found more amusing. Q's reaction or Chakotay's barely contained jealousy.

She tapped Chakotay playfully on the chest. "You never told me your ears turned red when you get jealous, Commander."

"You never asked." He teased as he pulled her into an embrace. "I'll remember to hide from you next time that happens."

She brought her slender hand up to his face, absent-mindedly tracing his tattoo. "There's no where you could hide that I couldn't find you, Chakotay. There's no place that far."

As he brought his lips down over hers, kissing her passionately, Kathryn knew that she would always remember her days on Voyager and their journey through space. But more importantly, she knew that her life, her home, was with Chakotay. The rest, as Q had said, was just geography.

Epilogue.

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