Something Human

By Laura Schiller

Based on the Star Trek: Voyager Relaunch Novels

Copyright: Paramount/Kirsten Beyer

"It doesn't seem fair, somehow," Kathryn Janeway said softly.

"What doesn't?" asked Chakotay.

The memorial for the five starships destroyed in the Omega Continuum loomed above them, a plain granite pillar carved with hundreds of names. Anything more elaborate, she guessed, would have seemed out of place, given that the tragedy had unfolded in a manner most sentient beings could barely understand, let alone represent artistically. It was a cold, windy autumn day, the gray skies and decaying leaves making the monument even less inviting. Kathryn shivered in her coat.

"This," she said, gesturing. "That melodramatic flame they lit for me is still there, can you believe it? While Captain Eden … " She swallowed. "Holding back Omega and sending the crew to safety in those last moments took as much strength as anything I've ever done, and yet … I can't even spot her name on here."

Chakotay smiled darkly. "I can't imagine Starfleet Command wanted to publicize the fact that one of their officers was, well … " He shrugged, since there were really no words to describe exactly what Afsarah Eden had been. A weapon? A goddess? An answered prayer? A dark force of the multiverse? Or just a woman who had been abandoned and deceived by her parents and husband, and whose unhappiness had more than the usual power to destroy?

"I had my mother and sister," said Kathryn, taking Chakotay's hand in hers. He shot her a glance, and she corrected: "I mean, I have. And everyone on Voyager as well …Tom and B'Elanna, the Doctor, Tuvok … which reminds me, I've got to tell him as soon as the Titan gets back … and I have you." She looked up at him in unspeakable love and gratitude, hoping he could see it in her eyes. "Whom did Afsarah have? Who was there for her when times got tough after Jobin and Tallar went missing? Surely not that creature calling itself Batiste."

Chakotay's brown eyes softened as he took her hand in both of his. "She had Voyager too, Kathryn," he reminded her. "We all supported her as much as we could, considering what a private person she was. She reminded me so much of you sometimes … she could never have taken your place, of course," he added, misunderstanding the concern that must have crossed her features. "Especially not your place with me."

"I know." She was not worried about that. The idea of a relationship between Chakotay and Afsarah hadn't even crossed her mind.

"But then, I don't suppose I'd be able to take her place, either. As Fleet Commander, maybe – but never as an individual."

Chakotay nodded.

Kathryn had lost enough people to realize the futility of regret, but still, she regretted not having known Afsarah better. Even in the short time they had known each other, Kathryn had come to respect her; under better circumstances, they might easily have become friends. The fleet commander who, even while possessed by cosmic forces of destruction, would resist them long enough to send her remaining ships as far away as possible, was certainly a woman after her own heart.

Still, it was hard not to be afraid of Afsarah as she last remembered her: white light pouring from her eyes, the power of all the Q held in one hand.

"Tell me a story, Chakotay," said Kathryn. "Something about her. Something … human."

As he searched his thoughts, he gently led her away from the monument and down one of the park's winding paths. He chose one that was lined with maples, stubbornly clinging to their red and golden leaves in defiance of the cold. They crackled beneath their boots like tiny flames.

"The first time I saw her with Cambridge," Chakotay said finally, "As soon as she climbed off the transporter padd, they engaged in a rather impressive verbal fencing match. He accused her of arranging his transfer to Voyager as punishment, she replied that given how intolerable he is, he was better off there. That was before we went back to the Delta Quadrant … before he grew on me, if you know what I mean … and so, you can imagine how amused I was. Finally, I thought, someone who agrees with me about how obnoxious this man is. And then … "

"And then … ?"

"They grinned and hugged each other. It turned out they'd been friends for years."

Chakotay laughed, and for what felt like the first time in decades, so did Kathryn. Omega or no Omega, nothing could be more human than that.

Even Kathryn, who had gone further down the road to death than anyone in living memory, did not know what came beyond the infinite moment the Q had shown her. Whatever it was, though, something told her that if Afsarah Eden had known friendship in this world, she would not be alone in the next.

Chakotay put his arm around her shoulders, and she leaned gratefully into the warmth of his touch as they headed back to her apartment. Time to make some memories of our own, she thought.