Star Trek Voyager: Birthrights

[Captain Michael Pike]

Yeah I added a new chapter finally! I'm working on Chapter Ten right now so look forward to the conclusion of this story in the next week or so....

[Captain Michael Pike]

Chapter Ten

Admiral Janeway sat in her command chair, dreading this very moment. Due to her unique knowledge of the Voth situation, she had been placed in command of the amassed fleet. He glanced at Tuvok momentarily, drawing strength from the kind words he had shared with her in her readyroom. Drawing whatever command presence she had left, Janeway stood and addressed the entire fleet.

�I know that at times like this, I am supposed to say something encouraging to the fleet. I�ll admit I couldn�t think of a single encouraging thing to say.� Janeway looked to the crews of fifty starships apologetically. �The only assurance I can give is that Earth is our home, and after seven years in the Delta Quadrant, I have no intention of losing it a few weeks after returning home. The odds are against us, but so too were they against Voyager�s return to Earth and we all know how that turned out.� Kathryn smiled, she hoped reassuringly.

The moment the channel closed, Janeway slumped into her command chair. �Are we prepared for this?� she whispered to Tuvok.

�We are as prepared as we can be, Admiral.� Tuvok�s ever-present calm infused her with her own type of calm. Whatever the outcome here, the Federation would survive and Earth would forever be Terran.

�Captain Scott,� Janeway calmly said as she turned to the engineer. �Deploy ablative armor and load all torpedo bays with transphasic torpedoes. This is about to get ugly,� she said grimly.

�Aye Admiral.� Scott was glad he had finally escaped the torpedo room, but as they always said �Out of the frying pan and into the fire�. He was responsible for the torpedoes and the ablative hull armor because he had the most knowledge of them. Sure tactical would direct the torpedoes, but he had to make sure they worked. �I always get the easy jobs,� he grumbled.


Captain Chakotay stood on the bridge of the newly refit USS Charleston. He hoped that they had a chance against the Voth invasion now, but he wouldn�t want to ask Tuvok about the actual calculated odds. Even with the new technology, Chakotay imagined the odds were not in their favor.

He looked around at the crew he had served so many years with, interspersed with the unfamiliar faces of new crewmen. Harry talked with Donovan Colt by the tactical station, probably discussing strategies for fighting the Voth. The Doctor talked to the new conn officer, whose name Chakotay had yet to learn, about their new evasion patterns. Even in the face of such danger, they bravely moved forward. Silently, he swore to himself that they would survive if he had any say in the matter.

�In coming message from Admiral Janeway,� Colt reported. �It�s a fleet-wide message Captain.�

Chakotay knew that this was the moment they had prepared for. He couldn�t help the sudden tension which washed over him. The casual conversations and smiles, the camaraderie and freedom of the last few seconds disappeared as soon as the screen flashed to life, displaying a tense Kathryn Janeway.

�I know that at times like this, I am supposed to say something encouraging to the fleet. I�ll admit I couldn�t think of a single encouraging thing to say.� Janeway looked to the crews of fifty starships apologetically. �The only assurance I can give is that Earth is our home, and after seven years in the Delta Quadrant, I have no intention of losing it a few weeks after returning home. The odds are against us, but so too were they against Voyager�s return to Earth and we all know how that turned out.� Janeway smiled then and the screen went dark.

�We are within a few minutes of the Voth invasion fleet entering Sol space,� Harry told the bridge crew. Every person, every action, every sound seemed to stop as the crew waited for the Voth invasion fleet to emerge from transwarp.

�Engage ablative armor, arm transphasic torpedoes. Don�t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.�

�Sir?� Harry sounded as confused as he suddenly felt.

�It�s an old Terran battle phrase. It means to wait until they come within close enough range before beginning the assault. We want to inflict as much damage as possible as quickly as possible,� Chakotay informed him.

Harry knew that Chakotay was a anthropologist, but he hated when Chakotay used those old terms. He shrugged his shoulders before replying, �Aye sir.�


Captain Picard paced from station to station on the bridge of the Enterprise. He had missed the massing of ships at Wolf 359�well not really but from his perspective as Locutus, he would rather not remember that armada. Jean-Luc imagined that if he had not been assimilated, this would resemble what Wolf359 looked like just before the Borg incursion. He shuddered at that realization and hoped he wouldn�t have to live the final few moments that that fleet had endured.

�In coming message from Admiral Janeway,� Lieutenant Daniels announced from his tactical station. Daniels had served on the Enterprise since just before its jump to the past, he was more than competent Picard thanked God that he had someone experienced at that post. �Fleet wide, Captain.�

�On screen,� Picard ordered. He stepped down the stairs separating the command area from the tactical and sciences stations. He could feel the tension of the crew build as Admiral Janeway filled the screen. He imagined, though, that some of the crew thanked her for giving him something to focus on instead of randomly wandering from console to console. He pulled the front of his jacket down, a bad habit he had picked up from the last uncomfortable Starfleet uniforms, and sat in the center chair.

�I know that at times like this, I am supposed to say something encouraging to the fleet. I�ll admit I couldn�t think of a single encouraging thing to say.� Janeway looked to the crews of fifty starships apologetically. �The only assurance I can give is that Earth is our home, and after seven years in the Delta Quadrant, I have no intention of losing it a few weeks after returning home. The odds are against us, but so too were they against Voyager�s return to Earth and we all know how that turned out.�

Picard smiled ruefully. He turned to Riker on his right and asked, �ETA for the Voth fleet?�

Riker gazed at his own readouts on the chair of his arm. He tapped a few buttons to update the data. �Approximately ten minutes Captain.� Riker looked grim.

�All hands this is Captain Picard,� Picard started as he heard the comm channel�s affirmation that his voice was carried ship-wide. �Though Admiral Janeway had no words of encouragement for us, I do. I have served on this Enterprise and her predecessor for nearly fifteen years, I know what this vessel is capable of, more importantly I know what this crew is capable of. If anyone can save Earth it is this ship and this crew. We have accomplished the impossible before and we will accomplish the impossible again, today. Godspeed to us all, Picard out.�

When the channel had closed, Picard ordered the ship to full battle readiness. The ships hummed as the ablative armor generators covered the ship. Crews were busy at work loading the transphasic torpedoes into the launchers and the crew busied themselves with tasks at hand before the beginning of a full-scale war.

[Voy_Girl]

Good. Now tie it up soon...