Re: Voyager fanfics and creations
Hi there! I'd like to introduce my first attempt at a fanfic 'series' based upon Star Trek Voyager - basically taking the characters and premise and running in a new direction with it.
Any suggestions or comments would be most appreciated, thanks in advance!
The following piece as a 'teaser', a short scene involving Paris and Kim a few chapters in.
Thought it might whet people's appetite a little!
Hope you enjoy it! Comments and suggestions are always appreciated!
***
Kim shifted uncomfortably in his acceleration seat as the shuttlecraft sailed out of Voyager’s landing bay and banked smoothly away from the starship.
In the viewport before him, an alien planet seventy thousand light-years from the world of his birth loomed large, its vast azure oceans glistening as the shuttlecraft descended. This marbled orb suspended in space was dominated by water, giving it an appearance that was significantly different from that of Earth.
Nonetheless, Kim was unable to fully suppress the feeling of homesickness, a feeling he’d grown uncomfortably familiar with in the three years since being brought to this place.
Banishing his thoughts of Earth, Kim forced himself to concentrate on the task at hand and focussed on the instrumentation laid out before him. A proximity alarm chirped quietly, alerting him to the sudden disappearance of the massive Starfleet vessel from the shuttle’s short-range sensors.
Fearful of another assault, Voyager had stationed herself in a high orbit approximately forty thousand kilometres above the surface of the planet. If more hostiles were concealed somewhere and took the opportunity to attack the starship, Voyager would be unhindered by a low orbit and could swiftly move to defend itself and the colony.
“We’re moving out of range of the ship,” Kim announced crisply, tapping a command into a nearby keypad to acknowledge the sensor alert.
He looked up at the beautiful globe that could no longer be seen in its entirety from the shuttle. Now only the immense curve of the world’s atmosphere was visible, the wide ring of asteroidal debris providing a stunning backdrop against space.
At the navigation console beside Kim, Tom Paris was scrutinising multiple displays. “Continuing our descent,” he replied, not looking up from his instruments as he brought the small ship into the glide-trajectory.
“Altitude is now thirty-five thousand kilometres and decreasing,” the operations officer informed him. “I’m scanning our landing coordinates.”
Tom Paris glanced sideways at the incoming sensor data only briefly, concentrating instead on piloting the shuttle downward.
As they descended the beautiful globe could no longer be seen in its entirety through the forward viewports. Instead, only the immense curve of the world’s atmosphere was visible, the wide ring of asteroidal debris providing a stunning backdrop against space.
An uneasy silence dominated the shuttle.
“Are you gonna say nothing the whole way?” Paris finally asked tersely.
Kim kept his eyes locked on the sensor displays. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Come on, Harry!” Paris exclaimed. “Don’t you think you’re a little old to be giving me the silent treatment?”
Kim felt his jaw stiffen under the perceived glare of the other man. “I stopped having anything to say to you six months ago,” he answered after a moment, surprised at how vehement the statement sounded.
Paris jabbed at the helm, setting the automatic pilot before pushing away from the console so that he faced his old friend. His face was flushed.
Clearly Kim’s words had hit home.
“Why?” Paris spat angrily. “Because I decided to make a better life for myself? Because I was fed up of the endless trek through unknown space, living off leola root and replicator rations and getting shot at by the Kazon, the Vidiians and a hundred other hostile species?”
Kim looked at him, feeling a little taken aback at the sight of so much raw emotion on Tom’s face. The arrogant and carefree way with which Paris usually carried himself had vanished entirely.
“We were going home,” Kim said meekly after a moment. Why didn’t Paris understand?
“The Federation was seventy years away, Harry. “ Paris told him. “By the time Voyager reached home almost everyone who hadn’t already died of old age would have only had a few years left at most, and that’s if the ship managed to beat the odds and wasn’t destroyed in the attempt. In the three years since we were brought to the Delta Quadrant we lost over thirty people – that’s nearly one a month! In the six months since establishing Terra Nova we haven’t lost anyone.”
Kim felt a wave of anger rise in him again, stronger than before. “It hasn’t taken you long to forget about the captain,” he hissed.
Long moments passed as Paris appeared to contemplate what to say next.
“The captain isn’t dead,” he stated finally, no hint of dismissiveness present in his voice.
“How could you possibly know that?”
“I don’t know,” Paris admitted, suddenly sounding more uncertain. “Call it a hunch. There are still too many unanswered questions about that whole day for anyone to know what really happened.”
Kim looked away. The vast azure ocean that was their destination now dominated the forward viewport. Only a handful of silky white clouds above some coastal and mountainous regions gave any indication of this world’s weather system.
He would not allow Paris’ personal beliefs regarding the captain’s fate to fuel his own hopes that she was still alive. Questions about the events of that fateful day two months ago still remained, yes, but that in itself wasn’t reason enough for Paris to feel that way.
“But let’s be realistic, Harry,” the pilot began. “If we’d continued to lose people like that – and let’s not forget that these ‘lost’ people are actually dead – Voyager would have been emptied of crew in just over a decade. Sixth months ago we were hanging on the edge of Borg territory, which probably stretched halfway back to the Alpha Quadrant. We might as well have hit a wall in space. The journey was over.”
Kim shook his head, still amazed at how defeatist so many of the crew had been when it had come down to it. “So a hundred and thirty of you all decided to set up home together in the Delta Quadrant,” he said lightly.
“It wasn’t that simple and you know it. But facing a life trawling through unknown space in search of a way home that we were never gonna find, we decided that there was a better way.”
Kim had nothing more to say. Both men had had this same argument six months ago when Voyager had eventually discovered this place after weeks of searching at the behest of the majority. He had no desire to have it again.
Apparently, neither did Paris.
“Tell you what Harry,” the older man said, his expression softening somewhat. “When we finish the mission and rescue this guy, come back with me. Just for a few days. The fresh air would do you good and everyone would love to see you.”
“I can’t get away right now,” Kim told him. “Lieutenant Rollins is injured and Voyager has taken damage. They need me on the ship.”
“We’ve all offered to help,” Paris replied, turning back to his console. “Tuvok turned Chakotay down flat.”
“He has his reasons,” Kim said. “We’re entering the atmosphere.”
As the shuttle dropped out of orbit, the tense silence returned to the cabin.
***
