"Tom!" B'Elanna Torres said as Tom Paris entered the living quarters they shared together, his duty shift over. "You know that anonymous letter I got from the Alpha Quadrant in the last data stream?" B'Elanna asked her husband. At Tom's nod, she continued: "Well, you're not gonna believe who it's from!"

"Sounds interesting," Tom murmured as he followed his wife over to the small computer terminalon the table. Sitting down, B'Elanna quickly keyed in a few commands and, peering over her shoulder, Tom's jaw dropped as he instantly recognized the face which appeared on the screen. It was a face out of legend, one known to hundreds throughout the galaxy. "Oh my God..." he gasped.

The hair and moustache of the man on the screen were white, and his rotund features and jolly smile almost made him resemble Santa Claus. "Greetings to ye, B'Elanna Torres," he announced in a strong Scotch accent. "No, yer eyes do not deceive ye...this is Captain Montgomery Scott, former chief engineering officer of the USS Enterprise, and may I say what a great honor it is to be speaking to ye all the way in the Delta Quadrant. Of course, once I'd read up on the situation concerning the good old USS Voyager, and then learned Starfleet had managed to establish communication with ye, I simply had to get in touch, if only to convey my sincere admiration to ye personally. After all, I have long held that the chief engineer is one of the most vital positions on any vessel, keeping the lifeblood of the ship pumping, so to speak. And for you to have done your duty so fine, taking care of your ship through so much difficulty and danger, and all alone, is a true testament to yer skill. I daresay you're as big a modelto engineers all through Starfleet as yours truly...perhaps even more so. Keep taking good care of that fine ship Voyager, lass. I salute ye." The transmission ended.