Thank you for the feedback, I have been trying to keep the characters as consistent as I can from the original material. Admittedly, there will be chapters/episodes a little closer to the original story, but with some twists or slight deviations. Like this:
13) Learning to Move Along
(08 November 2371)
U.S.S. Yamato
Deck 12, Sickbay computer room
Lieutenant Bethany Lee stepped inside, having finished packing her medical equipment in the locker room for medical staff. "Computer, Activate the EMH."
The balding hologram materialized.
"Please state the nature of the medical emergency."
After hearing no emergency, he looked around and focused on what he considered one of his first friends. He had a sad smile, knowing why he was activated.
"Ah, Dr. Lee."
"Yes, it's me, Em."
During her time working with the medical hologram, Dr. Lee had taken to nicknaming him "Em" after his acronym, EMH.
"I was told that you would be transferring to Voyager."
"Yes, and I'm really sorry to leave you behind. But they need help over there."
Em nodded.
"Of course. Their communications indicated that their EMH is the only full doctor available, and us Emergency Medical Holograms are meant for emergencies, after all."
"Exactly."
Em frowned for a bit and sighed.
"I will miss our exchanges and talks. I don't suppose Voyager needs an extra EMH on hand?"
Dr. Lee looked up at the hologram and placed her hand on his arm.
"I know they weren't always comfortable around you, but I know they've become used to you being around. We did convince them to help expand your memory in your holo matrix."
Em nodded at that. The programmers from Infinite Imaginations had noticed that the hologram's memory storage was filling up at an alarming rate, thanks to spending extended time activated, and starting to have a personality. They were able to add more space, preventing issues with running out of capacity.
"In any case, given we are far from the Federation, you do have a role here on Yamato, and I am certain that with time, they can accept you for who you are. They need you here."
The young doctor hugged Em, who awkwardly returned the hug.
"I'll try to chat with you as much as possible before I move aboard Voyager."
"Alright... so, any other things you wish to discuss?"
Dr. Lee smiled and nodded.
"Right, I've been looking at the information sent by Briori II, Dr. Nassir wants me to compare the readings from the inhabitants with those aboard Yamato..."
Stardate 48854.7
U.S.S. Voyager
Deck 4, Briefing Room.
Five crewmembers sat nervously as they waited for their instructor. The room, which contained four rows of seating, was empty except for them. One of the five was muttering about the situation being a "load of bull."
Finally, the doors at the back opened, revealing Lieutenant Tuvok, who watched as the five junior crewmen scrambled to stand at attention.
"As you were, crewmen." Tuvok calmly walked down the steps along the left side of the room. The Bolian of the group imagined that each step taken by the Vulcan officer sounded like the heavy footsteps of an executioner. Tuvok stood and gazed over the five people he was supposed to teach, a redo of the last disastrous attempt.
Chell, Kenneth Dalby, Gerron Ral, Mariah Henley, and Kendrick Biessman were all Crewmen 3rd Class. All five were formerly Maquis crewmembers of the Valjean, and all five had been deemed by Lieutenant Tuvok to require more discipline and training. Captain Janeway recognized that some of the former Maquis were not used to working in the Starfleet environment, and thus approved of Tuvok's proposal to run a version of basic training to get them accommodated to Starfleet life. Needless to say, to call the attempt unsuccessful would be akin to saying a photon torpedo causes an explosion.
The five "recruits" were outraged with Tuvok's style of instruction and abruptly left during their first lesson. It subsequently led to a confrontation in the Mess Hall where Chakotay bluntly explained that if they wanted education "the Maquis Way" he could certainly accommodate them, just with a style he remembered was used by more ruthless and unscrupulous members of the Maquis. He also reminded them that they could take the offer to stay behind in the Briori system, but discipline and following at least some basic rules would be important to bringing the ship home.
After Chakotay had confronted the five crewmembers, he and Captain Janeway held a meeting with Lt Tuvok to figure out a way to accommodate some of the crewmen's concerns yet still uphold standards within reason. Of course, both Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay noted that Tuvok needed to focus on discipline and following the chain of command and procedures, as well as explaining the need to do so. The five people Tuvok was trying to train were not young, immature youths freshly accepted into Starfleet. They were people who had different life experiences and were much older, thus a rigid system would not be conducive to their learning. Captain Janeway noted perhaps Tuvok should provide examples of incidents that resulted from negligence and failure to observe some basic safety rules.
Tuvok paused before beginning the lesson.
"I have been informed that perhaps the approach I previously used may not be effective in providing instruction. As such it is logical that we will use a more practical and...reasonable means of education."
There was muttering from the former Maquis.
"I understand that perhaps there are times when actions are necessary before approval. However, unless you are explicitly trained to handle a task or during an emergency, you should at least inform an officer or supervisor of what you've discovered before making repairs, as you may not know about how to safely handle components or certain systems. As you will see, it does not matter if you are Starfleet or Maquis. Failure to communicate or ensure that proper safety measures are used can have consequences."
The screen changed to show a starship in drydock.
"This was the U.S.S. Barham. NCC-26041. Excelsior-class. Stardate 39282. During repairs at Centauri Spaceworks, workers perform unauthorized welding work in the primary shuttle bay fuel storage. An explosion occurred, causing hull breaches and temporary loss of environmental containment in Barham's secondary hull."
On the screen, the stern of the Excelsior-class starship erupted in flames with debris flying away.
"14 people lost their lives, and 47 were injured on the Barham as a result of the explosion. The Barham spent an additional 5 months in drydock to repair the damage."
The Maquis crewmen's eyes widened as a famous Federation starship appeared. A very well-known Galaxy-class starship.
"U.S.S. Enterprise. NCC-1701-D, Galaxy-class. Stardate 45877. Cargo Bay 3. Personnel failed to properly store caustic foreign matter in a non-reactive container and forgot to activate the forefield restraints on upper container shelving. The Container subsequently leaked out, triggering an alert on internal sensors.
Lieutenant Commander Geordi Laforge and Lieutenant Worf went to Cargo Bay Three to investigate. The container lost integrity and collapsed, causing the container above to fall onto Lieutenant Worf. As a result, Lt Worf suffered catastrophic damage to his spinal cord. He would have been paralyzed had it not been for an experimental procedure that proved nearly fatal."
"I understand that there are times when flexibility is required, and it is logical to take initiative to fix potential problems. However, you must consider safety as paramount. Every life aboard Voyager is important. We cannot afford to lose people and risk this ship due to carelessness or failure to prioritize safety."
On his terminal, Tuvok pressed some commands. The main screen changed and led to some groaning as it was filled with Starfleet Regulations.
"Let's proceed by discussing the most important Starfleet Regulations and their importance to daily life aboard Voyager."
Biessman sighed in resignation and muttered, "Man, this sucks."
***
Deck 6, Crew Quarters
After the Maquis were taken aboard Voyager, most would be assigned quarters on Deck 6, where the bulk of the junior officers and enlisted quarters were located. Of course, it also happened that Lieutenant Tuvok resided on this deck and had his office nearby. In at least two quarters, however, the occupants were preparing for their eventual departure from the Federation starship.
Inside the quarters of Provisional Crewman 2nd class Michael Jonas, several containers lay on the floor, half-filled with clothing and personal belongings. Crewman Jonas was now counting the days before he could finally be rid of Starfleet and Captain Janeway.
Strangely, he felt more content now than in months. Jonas knew that part of him was already regretting making this decision, but he had resolved that he did not belong on Voyager, and he just would never accept Starfleet rules to get home.
He and Hogan had already informed a few of the Maquis colleagues of their decision, though surprisingly only a few, including their mutual friend Kurt Banderas, had any notion of leaving. To the disappointment of Jonas and Hogan, Kurt ultimately chose to stick with Chakotay and Voyager.
Jonas muttered as he took a break and grabbed a snack. He would miss the replicators a little, though he was curious what might be the fare on his future planet. It had been decided that to avoid further issues, Hogan and Jonas would be allowed several days to pack up their belongings in preparation.
***
Secondary Brig, Deck 15
Chakotay took a deep breath as he approached the doors. He was flanked by Lt Foster, Ensign Munro, provisional Ensign Ayala, and Crewmen Chang, all carrying compression phaser rifles. Behind them was Petty Officer Jurot with a portable medkit in hand. Chakotay tapped the combadge.
"Chakotay to Environmental Controls."
"Go ahead, Commander."
"It's time for our guest to take a nap."
"Aye, sir. Diffusing anesthizine gas into holding cell. It may take a few moments for the gas to take effect."
"Understood."
Getting a nod from each of his escorts, Chakotay pressed the access codes to open the doors.
As the group stepped in, the two security officers inside nodded at Commander Chakotay as the Maquis leader approached the single holding cell, where the only Cardassian aboard had been pacing back and forth, glaring at her guards. Seeing Chakotay approach, Seska stepped up to the forcefield that locked her up and sneered.
"Come to gloat again, Chakotay?"
Chakotay stared at his former colleague and shook his head.
"Sadly no, Seska. I'm here to say goodbye."
Seska realized that she was feeling light-headed and drowsy.
"What?!?"
She tried to strike the forcefield and bounced back.
"What is this?"
She slammed against the forcefield again, to no avail. Her limbs started to feel heavy, and even holding her breath was not working. She raged.
"Chakotay!"
The commander was unphased as his former friend struggled to stay conscious. Finally, she fell on the metal floor, knocked out.
"And good... night."
The security officers trained their rifles at the prone body as the forcefield went down; they quickly surrounded her. Petty Officer Jurot scanned Seska with her Medical Tricorder. "Confirmed, vital signs are stable, but she is unconscious." She took out a hypospray filled with an additional sedative. "There, she should be unconscious for the next 10 hours."
Foster nodded to Chakotay, who scowled down at the unconscious Cardassian.
"The next time you wake up, Seska, will be inside a high-security Federation prison cell." Chang and Munro slung their rifles behind them, before helping pick up Seska's legs and arms. The security officers then carried Seska over to Cargo Bay 4, where technicians had prepared a stasis pod. Captain Janeway was waiting as well.
They carefully placed Seska into the pod, with plastic cuffs tying Seska's hands together, and another set of cuffs securing both her legs. The pod was sealed off, with Janeway using her authorization code to lock the pod.
Seska's stasis pod was ultimately placed in what was charitably called the "Water and solid waste recycling subsystem" room on Deck 14. Located right next to the solid waste receptacle.
****
Not my greatest work, but it is what I can do to salvage one of the weaker Voyager episodes. Let's just say that Janeway will have to add a new policy to check any alien foodstuffs taken aboard before use.
Any feedback, changes needed?
