My attempt to get endgame right. Let me know if I should continue this attempt.

My main idea from this story came from this absolutely hysterical Endgame critique I read a while back...I saw it at this web site http:// www. endgame/ index. php3 without spaces, obviously. The site is called Science Fiction Central, I believe. So the initial idea for this is credited to Richard Whettestone, for the many questions he raised in his very witty review of Endgame. If you haven't read this, you should. I was laughing hysterically.

This is basically a little revamp of Endgame...I think it's safe to say that many, many Voyager fans were dissatisfied with the series finale and found it highly implausible within the scope of the show. I certainly did. I hated almost everything about it...in fact, I think the only parts of it I liked were Miral being born and the crew getting home. So I decided to re-do it, keeping the basic concept of Janeway going back in time, but making her reasons for doing so far more tragic. Or, at least tragic enough for her to even contemplate doing so. I think we can all agree that the KJ we know and love would't have gone back in time so cavalierly just because her crew suffered a little. If she wanted to nip suffering in the bud, she could have gone back and decimated the Jem'hadar before they had a chance to start a rumble with Earth. I found her to be very out of character in the finale...in fact, I found very several characters to be behaving against their norms. Idk, maybe it's just me.

In any case, here I have my little version of Endgame. It's going to be a chapter by chapter, so I hope you like it.


It was a dull party. A dull, depressing party, lacking any of the spark in the parties Tom Paris used to throw. It was sparsely attended, mostly because there were so few left to attend. They called it a reunion…ten years. Ten years since they had returned home, to a home they didn't know and which didn't know them. Reunion. What a joke. It was a wake if she had ever seen one.

Admiral Kathryn Janeway watched the party from her little corner of the room. She sipped champagne as her former crew drifted past her, talking amongst themselves, some stopping to say hello and exchange a few words. They respected her, she knew, but they didn't know her. It was debatable if they ever had, but they had at least felt freer with her once, a long time ago. But time in the Delta Quadrant had stretched on, shorter than physically and scientifically possible, yet infinitely longer than they had hoped. It had made a stranger out of the captain, and it had made something just short of psych patients out of the crew. They had tried to make lives when they returned to the Alpha Quadrant, and some had. But the lives they had when they were younger, the lives that had been cruelly snatched from them, were lost to most of them forever.

Kathryn watched as little Sabrina Wildman, one of the very few good things to come out of the Delta Quadrant, ran around her apartment. She was a beautiful child, with her father's dark hair and her mother's bright eyes. She smiled wanly as she saw her talking to Harry. Harry looked enthralled. He loved children, but he'd never had any. Not many of them had.

Of course, not many of them had come home, either.

Looking around the room, she saw only two or three dozen lucky survivors of the ship they had once called home. All those years, all those sacrifices…it was enough to make her physically sick. She only saw three children, out of the ten that she knew of who had been born to Voyager's crew in the last thirty-three years. Thirty-three years…and all for what?

She might have felt better about it if people seemed happy, but no one really did. They seemed content, as though they had for the most part accepted the hand they were dealt and lived life how they could. Returning home hadn't been easy for any of them, and it seemed sometimes as though they would never truly fit in here.

Maybe if they had come home sooner…

She lifted her eyes to see B'Elanna making her way over. Her former chief engineer was completely gray, like herself, and they both had the same reasons for keeping it that way: they had earned it. They had earned every single gray hair, and every hair told a story. To cover it up would be to dishonor the memory of the story, and those who might have been lost for it. They were proud of their gray hair.

"Admiral," B'Elanna sat down next to Kathryn and followed her former Captain's eyes. "She's getting big,"

"We all grow up sometime," Kathryn said softly. "She is so like her mother."

B'Elanna let out a delicate snort. "More like her father if you ask me, with all those logical twenty questions she asks," she said affectionately.

"No. She has Naomi's wide eyed innocence. All the questions, the desire to learn, the tagging along. It's like looking at Naomi all over again." Kathryn's eyes cast down again. "Pity she couldn't remain innocent for very long."

B'Elanna put a hand on Kathryn's arm. "Hey, you did all you could. No one could ask for more. We all went through a lot out there."

"Yes…But we really didn't have to, did we?"

"Come on, Kathryn. We were a family, throughout everything. Despite everything, even." They both smiled. "You can't change the past so there's no point in thinking about it."

Kathryn stiffened momentarily as she continued to stare at Sabrina. Then she stood up and moved to the bar. She picked up another glass of champagne and took a sip. B'Elanna moved to stand next to her.

"I suppose you want to know."

"I do."

"The high council had a lot of questions."

Kathryn gazed at her. "What did you tell them?"

"The truth." Then she smiled. "With a Klingon twist. I told them my beloved former captain, who had saved my life many times in glorious battle, would be honored to submit Korath's house for consideration."

Janeway laughed a little. "Do you think it will work?"

B'Elanna shrugged a little. "I'm just the Federation liaison, but I'd like to think I have some influence." She narrowed her eyes and scrutinized Kathryn. "You still haven't told me why you're trying to help Korath."

"He's an old friend."

"Don't give me that crap, Kathryn," B'Elanna said softly. "I want to know what this is about, and I want to know what it has to do with the mission you sent my daughter on."

Kathryn stared at her old friend. She knew that once, B'Elanna wouldn't have dared speak to her that way. But they had shared too much, been through too much. "I can't level with you B'Elanna," she said. "But I can tell you that I hope it will all work out. And I'm sorry Miral couldn't be here. She wanted to come, but she knows her duty." Kathryn placed a hand on her friend's arm. "I've taken enough family from you," she said sadly. "I shouldn't have this time, but Miral will be home soon. Don't worry."

B'Elanna smiled sadly and patted Kathryn's hand. They turned when they heard a glass being tapped.

"May I have everyone's attention, please!" Reg Barclay had his glass raised. "Ten years ago tonight, this crew returned home from the longest away mission in Starfleet's history. Twenty three years together made you a family, one I'm proud to have been adopted by, so let's raise our glasses…to the journey."

"To the journey," those assembled murmured.

Kathryn's heart clenched as she raised her own glass. "And to those who aren't here to celebrate it with us."


Reg had wanted her to help him teach a class on the Borg. "Come on, Admiral. With my experiences on the Enterprise, and your intimate knowledge of the Collective, every cadet at the academy will want to take this class."

Kathryn sighed. "Reg, I'm going to be honest with you here. I hate the Borg. I hate every last one of them, from old Borg to new Borg to…to former Borg. Except for Icheb, of course. Other than him, I hate them all. I don't want to have to stand up for a semester talking about them, thank you very much."

Reg looked confused. "But…you were very close with Seven of Nine. I thought…"

"I'd prefer not to discuss Seven of Nine." Kathryn said coldly. Reg had just nodded, at a loss, and turned to leave.

"Reg," she called. He stopped and turned around. "Don't forget, I have other things to take care of. I can't afford to be distracted right now."

He nodded slowly. "I understand, Admiral."

"And, Reg?"

"Yes?"

She leveled an unblinking, penetrating gaze at him. "Don't forget…about what you promised me."

He hesitated, then nodded. He left.

She was even more relieved now that she had decided not to teach the class. The semester had just started, and she already had to leave. And where she was going was worth more than any class.

Plus…she really did hate the Borg.


Miral had contacted her, and her news had been encouraging. "Judging from the scans Korath has permitted to me to take, I would have to say that it will work. I mean, there's no way to know for certain, short of using it, but all my readings indicate it will do what is promised. The only thing I should warn you against…it only works once. Well, actually, the spatial transporter will operate more than once, on a short range basis, but likely only a time or two more. This device will burn out rather quickly. I would think you would want to reconsider. It won't do for you to be stranded so far away."

"So Korath has agreed to the exchange?" Kathryn asked eagerly, ignoring Miral's concerns.

Miral blinked in surprise, then looked down. "Yes…."

Kathryn's mouth tightened. "But?"

"He's insisting on handing it over to you personally."

Kathryn smiled. 'I'll be there as soon as I can. Good work, Ensign Paris."


"Are you sure about this?"

Kathryn smiled wryly at Reg. "Am I ever really sure about anything?"

He grinned. "Well, you do a good job of appearing to be."

She laughed softly and gestured to the couch. "Have a seat."

Reg made himself comfortable as he began to go through the case he brought. He glanced around the apartment. "You cleaned up pretty well from the other night."

"Well, there wasn't much of a mess," she said. "I would tolerate a mess if only I had a loud, boisterous former crew packed in here."

"I understand."

Kathryn watched as Reg sifted through his things. "How's married life?"

"Wonderful," he lifted his head and waggled his eyebrows at her. "You should try it."

"Oh, I think it's a little late for that. Marriage is for the young…like your wife." She said slyly.

"I can only hope she ages as gracefully as you have," Reg stopped searching through his belongings to look up at her. "Admiral," he said softly. "If it's not too late for an old fool like me to find someone to share my life with, it's certainly not too late for you."

Kathryn smiled. She thought of Reg and his wife, a thirty-five year old Borg specialist he had met a year ago while doing research for his planned class, just after she rejected his offer to teach the class with him, right about the time he had started helping her with her own little project. They're so happy together, she thought. Do I have any right to risk that?

Kathryn gave herself a mental shake. The decision had been made, the ball was rolling. Reg approved of what she was doing. They'd had this discussion before. The universe has a way of working itself out, he had told her. If Nancy and I are meant to be, we'll find our way to each other, no matter what you do to the timeline.

"I think that's a part of why I'm doing this, Reg," she said sadly. "To make sure it's not too late for me."

Reg gave her a brief smile and turned back to his case. "Oh! Here it is," he said, pulling a hypospray out. He handed it to her. "Once you inject the Chronexaline, you'll have about forty-eight hours of protection from tachyon radiation."

She turned the hypo over in her hand, staring at the opaque casing. "I understand."

He handed her a dark PADD. "I downloaded everything onto this before I left. This should be everything you need."

"The shuttle?"

"Waiting for you at the Oakland shipyard." He sighed. "I wish you'd let me come with you. Or even Harry or B'Elanna."

"Sorry Reg, but this is my mission." She flashed him an impish smile. "Besides, if you leave, there won't be anyone to teach those eager young cadets about the big, bad Borg. And most importantly, no one to teach your eager young wife…other things."

Reg flushed. "She's n-not that y-y-young."

Kathryn laughed. "You're stammering, Reg. I haven't heard you do that in years."

He gave her a weak glare, before snapping his fingers and pulling a thermos out of his case. "Oh," He stood up and handed it to her. "I made you some fresh tea for the trip. Not that replicated stuff."

Kathryn took the mug, her eyes pricking with tears. She embraced Reg, hugging him tightly. "Thank you, for everything." She pulled back and squeezed his hands. "I wouldn't have been able to do this without you."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't remind me." He smiled softly at her. "Good-luck, Kathryn. I hope…I hope you change the world."


"Any final words of advice for your old Captain? Wait, don't tell me. I'm being impulsive, I haven't considered all the consequences, it's too risky." Kathryn smiled and leaned down to brush the leaves off of the simple plaque in the ground. She ran her fingers softly over the raised letters. "Thanks for the input, but I've got to do what I think is right." A lone tear dripped its way down her weathered cheek. "I know it wasn't easy, living all these years after what she did, Chakotay. But when I'm through, things might be better, for all of us. Trust me." She swallowed hard. "Even though, I know there was a time when you didn't. But I know you figured out that I was only trying to protect you. If this goes right, you won't need protecting."

Kathryn stood up, angrily wiping the tear off her face. "Good-bye, my love. Wish me luck."


Now here she was, standing in a cave that had obviously seen better days. She wrinkled her nose. B'Elanna and Miral were such clean, organized, efficient women. Why couldn't the rest of the Klingons take from their example and get an apartment instead of a cave? How they made it to outer space was beyond her understanding.

Everything was in place. She had the Chronexaline Reg had smuggled out for her, and she had her shuttle all ready for the trip. All that remained was getting her hands on the little jewel she had sent Miral for.

Miral came strutting out of one of the tunnels, smirking. "Welcome to the house of Korath, Admiral."

"I love what he's done with the place," Kathryn said sarcastically.

One of the guards angrily started spouting Klingon. Miral immediately turned and retaliated. The guard backed off. Miral took Kathryn's arm and moved ahead.

"What was that about?"

"He said your demeanor was disrespectful."

"I hope you told him I didn't mean to be rude."

"I told him if he didn't show you more respect, I would break his arm."

Kathryn chuckled. "You are your mother's daughter."

Miral smiled. "Korath is waiting. We should go in."

Kathryn stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Sorry, but this is where we part ways."

Miral looked at her in shock. "Excuse me?"

"You're dismissed, Ensign."

"But Admiral, I really think that-"

"I can take care of myself." Kathryn said firmly.

"With all due respect, I've been working on this for six months, and-"

"And it's over." Kathryn narrowed her eyes. "Understood?"

Miral was seething. "Yes, ma'am." She said through clenched teeth.

Kathryn sighed. "Look, we both know why I'm doing this. If it goes right, you won't even remember any of this. You will have had a different life, a happy one, I hope. So go see your mother. She's very anxious to see you. Take a few days leave, and just be with her. You're all she has."

The fire left Miral's eyes, and she swallowed. "Yes, ma'am." She said softly. She turned to leave, then faced Kathryn again. "I want you to know that I appreciate what you're doing…what you're willing to do to make it better." She hesitated. "To bring my father back."

Kathryn touched the young girl's cheek. "I wish you could remember him," she said softly. "He loved you so much." Then her mouth set in a straight line and she stood taller. "But once I'm done, I'm sure you'll have a lifetime of memories with him. Just believe in that, Miral. I'll do my best to bring your father home. Trust me."

Miral smiled. "I do." She nodded, then left Kathryn alone.


The 'exchange' with Korath had gone the way she expected. He tried to break his end of the bargain, so she'd had to break his face. After she neutralized his guards, of course. A well hidden projector weapon tucked inside her sleeve had taken care of that. Once, she might have resorted to a more diplomatic approach, but the time for diplomacy was well past. She had lost patience with everything, with life, and she would be damned if she'd let some pompous Klingon ruin her plans.

Not that it mattered. When she was done, things would have change. She and Korath would likely never meet. At least, she hoped her counterpart would never meet him. He was exceedingly unpleasant.

She thought about her counterpart as she cruised along in her shuttle. She had been very young, that Captain Janeway, even if she hadn't known it. She had been innocent, untainted by the crushing despair of her life. Because even though she had been stuck in the Delta Quadrant for seven years, she had no idea what real despair was. But she would. It all began that year, and it only got worse.

Kathryn had toyed with the idea of when to go back to for a long time. At first, she contemplated just going back to the beginning, back to when the Caretaker had taken them. She had tried to figure out how she could fix it, how she could save the Ocampa and send Voyager home. But was it worth it to send them home? Chances were that most of them would die anyway. Chakotay's crew certainly would, if they didn't end up in prison first. And with the Dominion War right around the corner, Kathryn had serious doubts that many of them would have made it out alive, especially with Voyager being such a ship of the line as she were. Captain had no doubt they would have been sent right into the heart of the action, and they may not have made it out.

Well, then when? The Ferengi wormhole? Suspiria? She could even go back to when they built the quantum slipstream drive and fix it for them. There was a whole new class of ships today with slipstream drives, and she knew within another decade they would have completely replaced traditional warp cores. If she went back with the new specs, Voyager could be home after only four years in the Delta Quadrant, instead of 23. But the slipstream drive had been created out of a collaboration between the engineer and…Seven. Well, she could always go back to the first time they met her during the conflict between the Borg and Species 8472, and maybe somehow get Voyager home. And make sure Seven didn't come with them. She shuddered over that one. She had half a mind to go back and blow Seven out of the airlock herself.

When she really thought about it, despite some horrible, tragic situations, the first seven years had been the best years of her life. The crew had bonded; they had become a family. They had explored things that no other Federation citizen would get to experience in this lifetime, and they had become more than what they had started out as.

But as the seven years passed, things got more strained. She had felt herself moving away form the crew, burying Kathryn until the Captain was all who was left. She very rarely went to crew functions by then, and she almost never had time alone with Chakotay, who was supposed to be her best friend., She heard about the crew's activities and milestones through him, and she mostly kept to herself.

The incident where they lost Joe was what really sent her over the edge. It had been so ironic, really, that their first mission from Starfleet after all those years had resulted in Joe's death. Joe, who had been a 'fleeter through and through. After that, she never really saw Starfleet in the same light again. The way she saw it now, the only thing they were good for was destroying lives, and the only reason she had stayed was to have this opportunity.

They had been fortunate that their losses weren't more severe over the years, but they lost people the same as any other ship would, and after a while the losses became few and far between. But when Joe Carey died, so senselessly…it had really been too much. Everyone went downhill from there.

So that was it, then. It had taken a lot of work and thought and calculation, but she finally decided she was going to go back to the incident with Friendship One. The Borg transwarp hub wasn't that far from there, and she could save Joe. In fact, she could ensure that no one from Voyager ever set foot on that planet. They could fix it without actually having to go down there. They could beam the probe up. No one would have to die.

Then, she would lead them to the hub.

It was imperative she made it to the hub. Nothing else really mattered in light of that. Not even Chakotay.

And maybe this time Seven could restrain herself from pleading ignorance. That Borg bitch had known all along about the hub. But why would she want to go to Earth when she had everything she wanted right there on Voyager?

Calm down, Kathryn, she told herself. It will all be okay soon.

She sighed. Maybe she should just go back to New Earth and tell Tuvok to take his cure and shove it where the sun don't shine.

She grinned. Tom really had been a bad influence on her.


"Computer, pull up Voyager's navigational logs." She stared at the screen as the information appeared. "Good. Now extrapolate Voyager's position on this stardate…" she tapped the keys, and the schematic changed to show the area of space they had been in when they found Friendship One. "Set heading to these spatial and temporal coordinates." She took a deep breath. "Well, here we go. Computer, activate chrono deflector. Deploy armor. Activate tachyon pulse and direct it at the programmed heading." She closed her eyes. "I can't believe I'm doing this," she mumbled. "Blatantly violating the temporal prime directive…well, no turning back now." She opened her eyes and silently said good-bye to her life here. "Computer, engage."

She had to close her eyes again against the intensity of the light that came from the rapidly generating rift. She was pushed back into her seat as the shuttle's velocity picked up, and then she was inside the rift.

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Voyager.

Tears streamed down her face, but she wiped them off when she saw she was being hailed. "Open a channel," she said roughly.

And there she was.

God, had she ever really been that young?

Her younger self started in surprise, and Kathryn could see the other bridge officers looking at each other in shock. So, she hadn't gotten so old that they couldn't recognize her, then. Well, that was a relief.

"Well, aren't you going to invite me onboard?"

Captain Janeway's mouth opened and closed a few times before she could get any actual words out. "It's usually considered polite to introduce yourself, Admiral."

Kathryn chuckled without mirth. "So, you noticed I outrank you. Nothing gets past you, does it, Kathryn?" then she noticed Seven standing at her console. She scowled. "Well, almost nothing."

Now everyone really looked confused. And Janeway really looked pissed. "I don't know what you're talking about…Admiral, but I'd like you to tell me what the hell is going on."

Ahh, there was that spark she missed about herself, that little Irish temper that had always served her well during her captaincy. What a bitch.

She smirked at her counterpart. "I've come to bring Voyager home."

Silence.

Janeway's mouth had dropped open, and she seemed to be having a hard time putting it back in place. "Wh-why?" she finally managed to stutter out. "Why would you commit such a gross violation of the temporal prime directive? Do you want to get us both court marshaled?"

Kathryn sighed. "Captain, maybe you should beam me aboard. We have a lot to talk about."

TBC


Soooooo...what do we think? Shall I continue? Any suggestions?