It was time for Janeway's physical of the year, the same one everybody else had to go through. The EMH and Kes conducted all of them by appointment.

The Doctor frowned while he was scanning the woman with a full body scan. "Captain, have you had sex in the past two months?"

The brunette blushed lightly before answering "Yes." on a soft tone.

"That would explain these readings. There's a life form growing within you. I hope for you it was not a one off with the baby's father." the hologram said.

Kathryn shook her head. "I've been with the father for over half a year." and she sat up.

"You should alert the father about your baby. It would also be a good idea to alert me of the father, I'd like to prevent any genetic diseases should there be any running in both of your families." the EMH advised. "And of course, congratulations with your child."

"Thank you Doctor." the Captain said as she hopped off the examining table.

Kes was smiling. "Congrats Captain."

"Thank you Kes." Janeway said.

"So... who's the lucky man?"

"I'll reveal it too the crew later."

"Of course."

*//*

When she got back to the bridge, Ensign Kim reported his detection of strange compounds.

"Rust?" she frowned at hearing it.

"That's right, Captain. High levels of ferric oxide. Corroded iron particles." the Japanese Ensign replied.

"Iron can't rust without oxygen, there's no oxygen in space. Mister Paris, alter our course to follow that trail of rust. One quarter impulse."

"Aye, Captain." the helmsman said.

Kathryn turned to the science officer. "Miss Meressa, do the science scanners show anything else but the rust?"

"Long range sensors are picking up traces of complex hydrocarbons in the rust. Benzene, ethylene and acetylene." the half-Bajoran replied.

"That sounds like gasoline." Tom commented.

The former Maquis captain frowned. "Gasoline?"

"It's a liquid fuel that was used centuries ago on Earth. They burned it to drive internal combustion engines." Paris explained.

"How did it get out here?"

"I am detecting a small object. It appears to be the source of the rust and hydrocarbons." Tuvok reported.

"Put it on screen. Magnify." Janeway ordered.

They all stared at one of Henry Ford's old products, floating in space so far away from the place it was made.

*//*

Most of the senior crew gathered in the cargo bay after the pickup truck had been brought on board of Voyager.

"Apparently it is a ground vehicle from mid-twentieth century Earth." the chief of security said after taking his scans.

"It's a 1936 Ford, actually." the helmsman told.

"Mister Paris?"

Paris turned to his Captain. "That was the manufacturing date, 1936. Ford was the name of the company that build it. Antique vehicles are a hobby of mine." then he popped the hood and whistled.

"Internal combustion engine, a reciprocating piston cylinder design, fuel source was a refined petroleum. Gasoline." Tom was beaming currently, for everyone to see.

"So is this an early hover car?" Harry asked.

The helmsman laughed. "No, you're about a century too early for that. This is about one step ahead of the horse drawn carriage!"

The half-Klingon engineer was scanning the back of the truck. "Traces of potassium nitrate, ammonium and methane back here."

Janeway grinned. "I think you'll find that's manure. Horse manure, if I'm not mistaken. Judging from the mud on the wheels, and the alfalfa seedlings stuck in the metal frame, I'd say this vehicle belonged to a farmer, or at least someone who lived in a rural area. But the question is, how did it get here? I doubt there are many twentieth century farmers driving around the Delta Quadrant."

At that, the Vulcan raised an eyebrow. "There are no signs of any wormholes or temporal anomalies in this region of space."

"Let's run a metallurgical analysis of the vehicle." the Captain ordered.

"There's still oil in the crank case, water in the radiator. I wonder if the battery's still charged. Now, let's see. This is before voice command activation, so there should be something in here called a key. Key." Paris murmured as he got into the driver's seat.

"What are you doing?" the Ops officer asked.

"Trying to bring this beauty back to life." Tom replied before looking around the dashboard. "Now where are the keys? Ah ha. Here they are. Okay, choke out, clutch in, give her a little gas, turn the key and step on the starter." the engine came alive with a series of bangs and a cloud of smoke from the exhaust. Everyone dove for cover except Tuvok, who drew his phaser and looked around to shoot anything.

"Sorry!" the helmsman called.

Kathryn and Torres slowly came out behind the console.

"Next time you might give us a little warning, Mister Paris."

"Aye, Captain."

The dark skinned man let out a Vulcan sigh. "I suggest we increase the ventilation in the cargo bay before we are asphyxiated."

"What's that?" and Kim pointed at something on the dashboard as he stepped in on the passenger's side.

"That is an amplitude modulation receiving device. AM radio. Not sure we'll pick up much out here." but as Paris turned it on, the radio beeped. "Whoa. What was that?"

'Di di di, dah dah dah, di di di.' came the sound.

"What is that?" the chief Engineer asked.

"It's too regular to be random interference." the Japanese man concluded.

Torres was already busy on her scanner. "I'm running the signal through the ship's database. It's an ancient Earth distress call known as an SOS."

*//*

Meressa was pressing buttons on her station. "I have located the source of the SOS signal. It is coming from a planet in a star system bearing three one zero mark two one five."

"Mister Paris, lay in a course." Janeway ordered.

"Aye, Captain." Tom acknowledged. "Course laid in."

"Warp six. Engage."

And Voyager went to warp.

Kathryn turned to her science officer. "Anything on scanners?"

The half-Bajoran looked on her monitor. "The SOS signal is coming from the third planet. It is class L, oxygen argon atmosphere. There is a great deal of trinimbic interference in the upper atmosphere. I cannot get a clear reading of the surface for life signs."

"Can you pin point the coordinates of the distress call?" Chakotay asked.

The Lieutenant-Commander nodded. "Yes, here it is. It is coming from a continent in the northern hemisphere."

"We won't be able to transport through this kind of interference. I might be able to take an away team in a shuttlecraft." the native American spoke.

Yet Tuvok disagreed. "That would not be wise, Commander, as the atmosphere is charged with trinimbic turbulence. A shuttlecraft could not safely navigate the currents."

"We could land the ship." the Captain proposed.

The Commander frowned. "Are you sure that's necessary?"

"Someone on this planet is sending out a distress call."

Chakotay sighed. "If that someone is as old as the truck in the cargo bay, they're long dead by now. This might be an automated distress call."

Janeway acknowledged. "Possibly. But something brought that truck half way across the galaxy, and that something might be down on that planet."

"And if it brought the truck here, it might be able to take us home too." the former Maquis concluded, slightly smiling now.

"I'd say it's worth a look. Mister Paris, pull out of warp and prepare the ship for landing."

The helmsman turned around. "Captain, I think I should tell you I've never actually landed a starship before."

The brunette smiled. "That's all right, Lieutenant, neither have I. Bridge to Engineering. We're going to land the ship, Miss Torres. Take the warp core offline, vent all plasma from the nacelles and standby to engage atmospheric thrusters."

"Aye, Captain."

Behind his station, the Vulcan pressed the com on his dashboard. "This is Lieutenant Tuvok to all decks. We are preparing to land the ship. Go to blue alert and report to code blue stations." and the bridge lit up blue.

"I've plotted a descent course. How close do you want to land to the distress coordinates?" Paris asked.

"No closer than two kilometers." Janeway replied.

Tom took a deep breath. "Okay. Atmospheric controls at standby. Landing mechanisms online. Inertial dampers at maximum."

"All decks report condition blue, Captain." Tuvok reported.

"Put her down, Mister Paris." and Voyager descended into the atmosphere.

"Status."

The helmsman nudged with his head. "We're on the glide trajectory. Altitude one hundred kilometers, speed ten thousand kph. Encountering some trinimbic turbulence. Compensating now."

A big judder and a console exploded on the bridge.

"We have an EM discharge in the lateral relays. I'm rerouting the ODN conduit. Another EM discharge. I think we're all right. though." the Ops officer reported.

With a sigh, Paris said: "Twenty kilometres to the landing site. We should be able to see it now."

"Extend landing struts. Prepare to release inertial dampers and adjust them to match the planet's gravity." Kathryn ordered.

"Landing struts down and locked. Here we go." and Voyager touched down gently.

"Disengaging engines, securing thrusters exhaust... We're down."

The Captain smiled. "Not bad, for a beginner."

*//*

A selected away team went down to planet surface.

"Nice day." Janeway commented.

"I have locked onto the distress signal. It is one point five kilometers on a bearing of two four six." T'Luna said and pointed over to a place in the distance.

Chakotay's scanner beeped. "Wait a second, I've got something else. There's a high concentration of trianium particles bearing two two five, a little over a kilometer away. Looks like some kind of power source."

"Two teams. Chakotay, yours investigates the power source. Tuvok, Meressa, you're with me."

*//*

Kathryn stopped dead in her tracks on the hill as she saw the aircraft. "My god."

The group went down the slope to the apparently intact twin engine Lockheed Electra monoplane, and scanned it.

"The metal is an aluminium alloy. It appears to be an ancient Earth aircraft. The SOS call is coming from inside." the half-Bajoran said before both Janeway and Tuvok climbed in.

*//*

"I have found the AM transmitter. From what I can tell, it is sending out an automated SOS." the Vulcan said, picking up whatever it was that was hooked up to the transmitter. "The power source appears to be an alien fusion based generator. It is hooked up to the AM transmitter."

"Chakotay to Janeway."

The woman pressed her com button. "Go ahead, Commander."

"We've located the source of the trianium readings. It appears to be some sort of mine shaft. I'd like to bring out another security detachment before we go inside."

Kathryn nodded. "Good idea. I'll join you. Janeway out." and she turned to Tuvok. "Let T'Luna scan the alien generator, she should be able to find things out about the SOS." but before she almost stepped out of the aircraft, she turned around to her Vulcan boyfriend and kissed him on the lips. "Tuvok, I do need to tell you that during my physical... the doctor told me I was pregnant."

The dark skinned man blinked a few times before wrapping his arms around the woman's waist to pull her close. "I had already smelt your scent changing, but I was unaware what it was. I am glad to have this child with you."

"I do, too."

*//*

Together with Tuvok, Janeway went to the tunnels Chakotay and his team had found.

"I'm picking up something directly ahead. Some kind of power signature, fusion based." Torres said, looking on her scanner.

Walking further along, the team came into a high-tech area where walls were lined with eight vertical cubicles. The doors were transparent and the insides were lit.

The half-Klingon frowned. "This looks like some kind of cryostasis chamber."

"How many bodies are there?" the brunette human asked.

"Eight. And the equipment is still functioning." the engineer reported.

Kathryn wiped the dust from the first cubicle. "He's human. And from the clothes I'd say he's from the same era as the vehicle we found. Just before the Second World War."

The man was oriental, Asian. His cap had a single golden star on it.

Torres took in the Captain's place before the tube. "His life sign readings are minimal, but he's alive."

"Captain, according to these readings there are five other cryostasis chambers nearby. No life signs in any of them. This appears to be the only one with people inside." Tuvok reported.

B'Elanna wiped the dust from another tube. "There's another male over here."

"This one's a female. She's wearing some sort of leather jacket and a pair of gold wings. Wait, there's a name tag here." and she went further down. "I think it's A period E A R H A R T. Earhart. A Earhart. Amelia Earhart!"

*//*

Back on the ship, the senior crew gathered in the briefing room.

"Who's Amelia Earhart?" Kim asked.

"She was one of the first female pilots in Earth History. In the mid twentieth century she became quite famous for flying across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1937 she attempted to fly around the world. According to the records of the time, on July 2nd 1937 Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, took off from New Guinea and they were headed east, around the Equator. But somewhere in the South Seas they vanished and their disappearance became one of the most celebrated mysteries of the twentieth century." Janeway replied.

The helmsman frowned. "Why didn't they think she'd just crashed?"

Kathryn nudged with her head. "That was the most commonly held theory. However, numerous searches of the area failed to produce the wreckage of an aircraft, so people began to speculate. Some thought she'd been shot down and captured by the Japanese Navy. Others thought that she and Noonan had flown off together on some sort of romantic adventure. Of course, the most ridiculed notion was that she had been abducted by aliens."

Chakotay sat back in his chair. "Well, it certainly looks like that's what happened. From what we can tell, all eight of the people in that stasis chamber were taken from Earth in the 1930's and brought here."

"The question is, why? And where are the aliens who did this?" the Ops officer asked.

"Scans of the region show no alien life signs." Meressa reported, looking around the table.

The Captain nodded. "Continue the scans. They may not be here now, but once they detect our presence, they might return. In the meantime, we'll have to get some answers on our own. Have you had any luck tapping into the computer system in the cryochamber?"

T'Luna shook her head. "Not as of yet. We are having difficulty decoding the operating system. It is a rather advanced one."

Paris sighed. "There's one way we could find out what happened. We could wake those people up and ask them."

"I've had the same thought myself." the brunette woman commented.

"Is that wise? We don't know how these people are going to react when they wake up in an alien world in the twenty fourth century." Torres disagreed.

"True, but I'm not willing to just leave them in stasis for another four hundred years. And if we can find out how they were brought here, we might be able to use that method to get home. We'll just have to be very careful how we handle this."

"I suggest that only human crew members be present when we revive them." the native American told.

Janeway nodded. "Agreed. Mister Kim, I want a complete analysis of those cryostasis tubes. Find a way to deactivate them safely. Meressa, I will need you down there. Try covering up those ridges."

"Aye, Captain." the Ensign said as he nodded.

The Lieutenant-Commander nodded as well. "I will go by the Doctor for physical make-up."

Kathryn turned to the former Maquis captain. "Commander, apprise the Doctor of our situation. Tell him to instruct Kes in the proper procedure for reviving someone from cryostasis. She can be made to look human easily enough. In the meantime I suggest we all brush up on ancient Earth. We're about to meet a bit of our history."

*//*

Back at the cyrochamber, the team was busy readying themselves.

"We're ready, Captain." Paris said.

"All the cryo-tubes are linked by a common power source, so we've decided to revive everyone simultaneously." Harry told.

"Proceed." Janeway ordered.

"The power's offline. Deactivate locking mechanisms." Kim said as the doors on the cubicles slid upwards and dry ice poured out.

Kes handed out hypos to Paris, Kim and Meressa.

As Tom walked up to one of the tubes, the one with the Japanese soldier. "Captain, this one's armed with some kind of weapon."

"Disarm him, just to be on the safe side." the brunette human ordered.

The helmsman took the soldier's before giving him the hypo while Meressa revived Amelia, Kes Noonan and Kim the negro farmer.

As they all started to wake, Kathryn walked up to Amelia with a smile.

Shortly afterwards, everyone was awake and Kes was scanning them.

"I know this must be very strange for you." the Captain stated.

"Who are you? What is going on here?" the 1930's navigator asked quite aggressively.

The Japanese soldier stepped forward. "I demand you release me immediately."

Kathryn made a calming move with her hands. "Please, if you'll just listen for a moment, I'll try to explain."

"You are all speaking Japanese." the oriental soldier mentioned.

Then, the farmer spoke. "Sounds to me like you are speaking English."

"It's because of a device we have. A universal translator. It allows us to talk to each other even though our languages aren't the same."

"Who are you people?" the female pilot asked.

"Look, just let us go home. We won't tell anybody." the dark skinned man said.

"The hell we won't! I'm going to let the world know what you people have done. Do you know who you've kidnapped here? Amelia Earhart. I'm her navigator. This is going to be headline news. You people are in trouble." Noonan yelled.

"Fred, let her talk." the short haired woman said.

"What I'm going to tell you is going to sound hard to believe. Even preposterous." Kathryn began. "We think you were abducted from Earth in the 1930's and brought millions of miles through space to a planet on the other side of the galaxy. You were put into a kind of deep sleep for a very long time. It's not the 1930's anymore. The year is 2371, over four hundred years from the time you were abducted."

Earhart snorted. "You must think we are awfully gullible."

"Tell me, what's the last thing you remember before waking up here?" the Captain asked.

"We were over the Pacific, running low on gas. We were looking for an atoll to set down. We tried to send out an SOS and suddenly there was this huge light in back of us. And the plane stopped, dead. And then it started moving backward towards the light. I must have blacked out. And I woke up here, just now." the pilot replied.

"That's just the way it was with me! I was in my truck heading into town. I was just about to get onto the blacktop, when this big light come down from the sky. Just about blinded me. Next thing I know the whole truck is lifted up off the ground." the negro answered as well.

Janeway nudged with her head. "I believe what happened was that you were abducted by aliens, and if we can find out how they got you here, we might all be able to get back to Earth."

Suddenly, Noonan takes out a revolver he had under his jacket. "I want some real answers, now!"

"I assure you, she was telling the truth." the science officer said, having her eyes trained on the violent navigator.

"You! Come on down here and get those funny looking guns of theirs."

As the negro stepped forward, Meressa drew her phaser and shot the man holding the 20th century shotgun before pointing it at the farmer.

"I wouldn't take another step forward if I were you."

Earhart knelt down by her navigator's side. "What did you do to him?"

"I knocked him out, he is merely unconscious." the half-Bajoran said before removing the fake skin covering her nose ridges. "I dislike prosthetic make-up."

"Who are you?" Amelia asked.

"Commander Meressa T'Luna, Voyager's chief science officer and a non-terrestrial as you would say." she said as she stepped forward. "You can check his pulse if you do not believe me."

Suddenly, the com beeped. "Chakotay to away team."

"Janeway here." the Captain replied.

"Captain, I'm picking up some energy displacements On the surface. I think it might be alien humanoids. It looks like they're using some kind of deflection system to trick our sensors. I think you'd better get up here."

"We'll try, if we get the situation under control." Kathryn spoke.

"Do you need assistance?" it was Tuvok who spoke on the com link.

"We would like some, if you could get here."

*//*

In the Cargo bay on board Voyager, Tuvok handed out phaser rifles from a weapons locker to his security team and the additional members.

"The trinimbic interference has affected the transporter's targeting scanners. We can't beam into the chamber so we'll have to go on foot." Chakotay said as he took a gun from the Security officer.

"We will deploy throughout the caves, sealing off any exit from the chamber."

"Let's go." and the entire team left.

*//*

"Commander, you can lower your gun." Janeway said.

"Yes Captain." T'Luna said as she did what was asked of her, but she didn't put the gun back in the holster.

At that, Earhart peeked up. "Captain? What exactly do you captain?"

"The Federation Starship Voyager." Kathryn replied.

"Starship. That isn't possible. Only in books. H. G. Wells, Jules Verne." Amelia said, shaking her head.

"Maybe if you saw it you'd think otherwise."

"Saw it? Where is it?"

The Captain pointed up to the ceiling. "On the surface. We're actually about a hundred meters underground now. If you'd come with me to see Voyager, you'd realise that what we're telling you is true."

The female pilot took a slight step backwards. "And risk a trap? No, you could have hundreds of reinforcements up there."

The human brunette sighed. "I assure you, we have no interest in harming you. We took you out of stasis to help you."

"Put yourself in my shoes, Captain. If you were me, would you believe your story?"

Janeway shrugged. "Maybe not. Let me tell you some of what happened after you disappeared over the Pacific. No trace of you or your plane was ever found, in spite of a massive search. Over the years there was a lot of speculation about your flight, including the rumour that it was financed by the Government and may have been part of an operation to gather information about the Japanese."

"Where did you hear that?" Earhart's eyes went wide.

"It's somewhat common knowledge. You see, Japan attacked Pearl Harbour in 1941, drawing the United States into a massive world war. In retrospect, your journey was seen in a different light, perhaps as part of an intelligence mission devised by a Government deeply concerned about Japanese war plans." Kathryn explained.

"No one was supposed to know about that."

"Maybe not in 1937, but now it's part of history."

Amelia pondered. "Very well, we'll come with you."

"It'll take about ten minutes to get to the surface. Stay close to us. Mister Kim."

*//*

As they walked to the entrance of the canyon, they heard phaserfire.

"This way!" Janeway called.

"What's all that racket?" the farmer asked right before an energy bolt passed right between the Captain's legs.

"Take cover!" and she pressed her com button. "Janeway to Tuvok."

"I am here, Captain. We are closed in."

Kathryn looked over the rock she was hiding behind. "I can see you from here. Lay down phaser fire. I'm going to circle around to your left, try to come at them from the rear."

"I will relay the order." and both the Vulcan and Chakotay started shooting while the woman moved off.

*//*

Janeway got behind the three attackers on the hill. But as she treaded on a twig, one of them turned around, whom she shot. "Hold your fire. Drop your weapons. Turn around slowly."

"You're not Briori." a male voice commented with slight surprise.

"No, I'm human."

"Human?" and he turned to his companion, who nodded. Both of them removed their hoods to reveal a man who had spoken and the companion was female. "We're human. You're working for the Briori. They have ships like yours."

"I'll answer any questions you have, but first we must take care of our wounded. Can we agree to end this?"

"Yes."

Kathryn nodded. "I'm Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager."

"John Evansville. This is my colleague, Karen Berlin."

*//*

"You've taken the 37's. Why?"

The Captain frowned. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

"You went into the shrine. You stole the 37s from the sacred altars, and you disturbed the radio signal that we have been so careful to preserve." Evansvile explained.

"Captain, I think he is talking about Earhart and the others." Meressa commented.

"Are you one of them?" Janeway asked.

The man shook his head. "I'm one of their descendants. The 37's were brought here over fifteen generations ago by the Briori."

"Who are the Briori?" Chakotay asked.

"They're an alien race. They abducted over three hundred people from Earth in the year 1937, brought them over here, turned them into slaves. But those slaves revolted, killed the Briori, took their weapons and their technology and survived. And now there are over one hundred thousand of us. The Briori never came back. Now, you answer me. Why did you steal the remaining 37's from the shrine?"

This time, Kathryn shook her head. "We didn't steal them. We simply revived them."

John was shocked. "Revived them? They're dead."

"No, they were simply in a state of what we call cryostasis. That's a form of sleep that appears very much like death."

"Do you mean they're alive?"

The Captain nodded.

Evansville sat back in his chair. "My people have come to regard the 37's as monuments to our ancestors. Nobody has even entered their shrine for generations."

"Mister Evansville, we were hoping to find the ship that brought your ancestors here. Possibly use it to get back to Earth a little faster."

The man sighed. "I'm sorry, the Briori ship was destroyed in the slave revolt. There's nothing left. Captain, I'm sorry to hear about your long journey home, but you should know that life on this planet is good. We live in three beautiful cities only fifty miles from here."

"I'm sure the ones interested would like to see the cities."

"And I'd like to show them."

*//*

Captain's log, stardate 48975.1. Evansville wasn't exaggerating when he said they have a lot to be proud of here. It was an amazing experience, but it's left me a little disturbed.

*//*

Captain Janeway was sitting in the ready room, slightly disturbed after coming back from seeing the cities together with a few other officers.

The doorbell chimed.

"Come in."

Tuvok entered, as calm and composed as ever. "Kathryn, you are disturbed."

The brunette sighed. "I was a little too impressed."

"I can understand. Humans built a thriving, sophisticated culture on this planet. The thing is, Evansville has offered to let any of our crew stay."

"You are having a debate with yourself."

Kathryn turned her upper body to the window. "Maybe this is one of those decisions that the captain has to make for the entire ship."

The dark skinned man stepped closer to the Captain's desk. "You may have a problem if a lot of people want to stay."

The woman sighed. "I know that, but at the same time I can't take a vote every time there's a major decision to be made. And yet, we're a long way from Starfleet, and a lot of the rules and regulations I've learnt to uphold seem distant as well. Am I the only one who's so intent on getting home? Is it just me? Am I leading the crew on a forlorn mission with no real hope of success? People here have built a new Earth. We could stay, help them build a human civilization in the Delta Quadrant. Isn't that an exciting prospect? Shouldn't we be grateful for the opportunity they're giving us?"

Tuvok raised an eyebrow. "It is a tempting prospect, but when I hold it up against the prospect of seeing the sun rise over the city of Shi'Kahr, or talking to Fleet Admiral Kirk, there's just no comparison. I want to go home."

"We have one hundred and fifty two men and women on this ship. What happens if half of them decide to stay on the planet? Could we operate Voyager with seventy five crew members?"

"I doubt it. In fact I do not think we could operate the ship with fewer than one hundred. If too many of the crew choose to stay behind, we could all be stranded here." the Vulcan replied.

"Tell Chakotay to prepare all hands for an announcement from the Captain at fourteen hundred hours. They deserve to make the choice for themselves."

"Yes Captain."

*//*

"Captain. I was told I'd find you here. Am I intruding?" it was Amelia who entered.

Janeway shook her head. "Not at all. Please join me."

"I wanted you to know that the group you brought out of stasis, we've all decided to stay here on the planet." the pilot told.

"I understand." Kathryn said as she nodded.

Earhart nudged with her head to the side. "I must admit the thought of travelling through space, maybe even learning to fly this ship, was very appealing to me."

"And I'd looked forward to getting to know you better. I suspect we have a lot in common."

"At first I didn't know what to do. We talked about it for quite some time. Finally I realized the people here on this planet are part of us. We're their ancestors in a way. It made us feel close to them."

The Captain smiled. "The remarkable thing about the humans on this planet is that they evolved very much like the people on Earth. Tens of thousands of light years apart, both civilizations managed to create a world they could be proud of. One where war and poverty simply don't exist. I certainly can't blame you for wanting to be part of it, any more than I can blame members of my crew if they make the same decision."

"When will you find out?"

"In half an hour. Anyone who wants to stay behind is to report to the cargo bay at fifteen hundred hours."

*//*

When the Captain was on her way to meet her first officer, she passed the Ambassador.

"I'm very pleased to see that you have decided to let the people choose." the woman told. "Not everyone might have the confidence of getting home in time."

Kathryn crossed her arms. "And you are?"

"I wish to see my father again, and he will still live even if we have to travel seventy-five years. As will all of my siblings. After all, Hatorians have quite a long life span, even while mixed with other species." Ammarine told. "I have a strong desire to also see all of my siblings again."

"I'm glad someone has faith in this."

*//*

In the corridor leading towards the Cargo Bay, Chakotay and Janeway walked to the specific Cargo Bay where those who would leave had gathered.

"I expect Jarvin will stay on the planet. In fact, I'd bet on it." the native American stated.

"Why Jarvin?" Kathryn asked.

The tan skinned man shrugged. "He's been more uncomfortable about being on a Starfleet ship than most of the Maquis, and he's gotten involved with a young woman in Quantum Mechanics. I think they'd like to settle down, raise a family."

"The person I expect to see is Baxter." the Captain told.

"Baxter? Walter Baxter?" Chakotay sounded surprised.

"He's adventurous, a risk taker. I can see him wanting to take on the challenge of building a new life on this planet."

The first officer pursed his lips. "I'd hate to lose Baxter. He's a good man."

As they stood before the door. "I'd hate to lose Jarvin. I don't want to lose anyone. We've all been through so much together, it just wouldn't seem right. But I couldn't blame anyone, anyone for staying behind. I'm not sure I want to go in."

"No matter what happens, we'll make it. Remember that." the former Maquis said before pressing the button.

But the entire cargo bay was devoid of people.

*//*

"Captain on the bridge." Tuvok said as both commanding officers were back.

"All stations prepare for departure. Condition blue, Mister Tuvok. Miss Torres, anti-grav thrusters online." Janeway commanded.

"Thrusters enabled." B'Elanna responded.

"Mister Paris, inertial dampers to flight configuration. Impulse drive to stand by."

"Yes, ma'am."

Kim looked up from his station. "All stations report ready, Captain."

"Then let's do it. Take us up."

Seconds later, Voyager lifted off the ground and went back into the sky.

*//*

Once the ship was back into space, leaving the planet's system, Janeway stood up from her chair.

"I believe I have an announcement to make." she stated.

Chakotay shifted to the edge of his chair, Paris turned away from the panels, Torres merely frowned, Tuvok raised an eyebrow, Kim looked confused and Meressa smiled smugly.

"Before all of this happened the Doctor encountered something during my physical." the brunette began.

"It's not a terminal illness, is it?" Harry sounded a bit worried.

Tom gave him a dirty look.

The Japanese sat back slightly. "Sorry Captain."

The Captain smiled. "Don't worry Mr. Kim. You were just worried about my wellbeing, nothing else. But no, it's not an illness. It's... that I'll be a mom in less than eight months from now."

The entire crew (with exception of Tuvok and Meressa) was shocked.

The science officer smiled widely. "Congrats Captain!"

The helmsman slowly turned back to the view screen. "What just happened?"

"You're expecting a child?" the engineer asked. "But... who's the father?"

At that moment, Tuvok left his station to take his girlfriend's hand. "I am."

The Ops officer looked over at the science station beside him. "You knew, didn't ya?"

The half-Bajoran nodded. "I knew it when they were together. Plus, I overheard Kes telling the news to Neelix. It will be all over the ship by tomorrow morning."

Kim smiled. "You're unbelievable."

T'Luna shrugged. "I am just me."

**////**

TBC