What's Lurking in the Future?

Word about the change in my appearance spread through the ship before the end of the day. Janeway did not mind the look as much as she did my request to be beamed out into space should it change colors. She only agreed because I explained that it was a failsafe in case the worst happened, though whether she would truly honor that promise was something that only time could tell. Other people were curious, of course, but to those willing to ask, I simply said that the seal was a way to refine my power and make it easier to control.

It took a few days for them to get settled, but once they were, Pedira and Syrala soon became the focus of my days. Instead of asking me to heal herself, Pedira wanted me to heal her daughter, but I would expect that from any mother. It took a week to completely heal Syrala from any traces of the phage, and Pedira took countless types of sensor data throughout the entire process, using both the Voyager's technology and the devices from her ship. What made me truly believe that she could be trusted was that even after her daughter was healed, she still did not ask for me to heal her so that she could be her own test subject. It was still too early for her to have any idea of what kind of device she wanted to create, but I still introduced her to Raven and let her explain a little of the process of combining mana and technology.

It was nice to have Syrala around since the young girl reminded me a lot of Madi and Hope, albeit a little bittersweet. My adopted daughter had the chance to grow and have a happy life with children her own age. Hope, my god daughter, was never separated from her mother, and I got to spoil her for a few years. I may not have them anymore, but I had no trouble spoiling the new child in my life.

Today was a special day onboard the Voyager, though I was also a little worried that an episode might still happen. It was Kes's birthday, turning two years old, and while that might sound strange, her species only lived for nine years so she was full grown at just one. In the episode, her birthday party was cut short because of a strange spatial phenomenon that engulfed the ship which twisted the ship while it was in contact with it. There was nothing that they could do to stop it, but when it finally moved on past them, everything was back to normal, except that data had been added to the main computer, and that the information stored in the main computer had been copied. While it was a cute episode with the interactions between the main cast, I didn't really want it to happen since I was watching Syrala at the party while her mother covered Sick Bay so that the Doctor could come.

In Holo-deck Two, Tom's Sandrine's program was running as Katye, Filigree, Syrala, and I walked in. Sandrine's was a French bar that had originally been built in the eighteenth century and been in the owner's family for generations. It had an old world feel, even to me, as most of the walls were made of dark wood and an old-fashioned, yellow glass chandelier hung over the pool table. A lot of episodes would feature this program because Tom made it available to the whole crew, so people would often come here to relax during their off time.

Tom, B'Elanna, Neelix, and the Doctor were already there, so it was just Janeway and Chakotay who had yet to arrive. We walked over and joined them at the bar with our presents for Kes. Everyone greeted us and Neelix squatted down to be eye level with the child.

"Do you want a sneak peek at the cake?" Neelix asked with a bubbly smile.

"Yes!" she cheered.

"Can I come?" Filigree asked with excitement.

"Of course," Neelix agreed as he stood up.

Filigree hopped off of Katye's shoulder while Syrala let go of my hand. He led them over to the far side of the room, opposite the bar. They both squealed with excitement when they saw it, which made several people chuckle, myself included.

"Neelix is such a natural with children," Katye remarked.

"And pixies," I chuckled.

Janeway and Chakotay walked in together about the time of the squeal which made both of them share a smile. They joined us over at the bar and we talked briefly while Neelix paged Kes to come to the holo-deck. The lights were turned off and we all scattered through the bar, hiding. About a minute later, Kes came walking in through the doors of the bar, looking around.

"Hello?" Kes called out into the darkness. "Anybody here? Neelix?"

That was our cue and the lights switched on as well all yelled, "Surprise!"

"Happy birthday, my sweet," Neelix said as he walked up to her, giving her a big hug.

Everyone came over to her and gave hugs and birthday wishes after setting down their presents on the pool table.

"Imagine. Two years old today. If you ask me, you don't look a day over one," Neelix said, making the group laugh.

"Why was everyone hiding?" Kes asked with a big smile.

"Oh, it's an old Earth custom called a surprise party," Tom explained.

"Sorry if we startled you," Janeway apologized.

"No, I liked it. It was very exhilarating," Kes replied.

"Now," Neelix said as he led Kes over to the bar, "how about a glass of my special birthday punch? Garcon."

The Doctor had his back to us and was not in the traditional Starfleet uniform. He turned around, wiping a cup with a rag, and asked, "On the rocks or straight up?"

"Doctor, I'm so glad you're here!" Kes exclaimed.

"My new bartender. Handsome, isn't he?" Sandrine said as she slipped up behind the Doctor.

"I'm here in an official capacity, of course... in case of a medical emergency," the Doctor said, trying to be professional while Sandrine's hands were snaking their way all over his chest.

"Emergency?" Kes asked while holding back her laughter.

"Surprises have been known to cause acute hyperventilation, esophageal spasms, and in extreme cases, even coronary arrest. One can never be too careful," he replied, but it was hard to take him seriously with Sandrine's arms around his neck.

Everyone chuckled and we moved back to the pool table while Neelix grabbed the cake. I had told Echo about what should happen since she was on the Bridge at the tactical station while Tuvok was acting captain. If the subspace distortion did pop up, she could warn me before anyone knew that they were in danger.

Neelix carried out the cake that had smooth frosting that looked like a blue nebula and said, "Wait till you taste this cake. Seven layers of Jimbalian fudge, and the icing is from pureed I'makinuts: Kes's favorite."

"Now, make a wish and blow out the candles," Janeway said, giving Kes a light hug.

"Well, what do I wish for?" Kes asked.

"Anything your petite coeur desires, ma cherie," Sandrine said as she sauntered over to the table then made a side comment to Janeway and B'Elanna, "and with a figure like hers, she'll probably get it, too."

"Okay, I wish for..."

"Don't tell us!" B'Elanna cut her off. "The wish has to be a secret if it's going to come true."

Kes smiled and closed her eyes before she blew out the candles. The gangster-style pool shark mumbled something in Tom's ear, but Tom shook his head and walked towards Kes. I could only sigh, remembering the strange and thankfully short love triangle between Kes, Neelix, and Tom. In a future episode, Tom and Neelix would have even gotten into a fight about it before fully squishing the jealousy between them by the end of it. With my help in aeroponics, it was doubtful that we would actually stop on that planet, and they get stranded with us around, so I was not sure how this would end up playing out.

"Birthday gifts are also an Earth tradition," Tom said, holding out a small box.

"Oh, thank you, Tom. You didn't have to," Kes replied.

"Hey, who am I to fly in the face of tradition?"

Kes opened the box and gave a small gasp. Inside was a beautiful gold locket on a long chain that Kes pulled out with shock on her face. Neelix, of course, gave a jealous scowl, but to his credit, he kept his mouth closed for now.

"Tom, it's beautiful. It must have cost you a week's worth of replicator rations," Kes said softly.

"Two weeks, actually, but who's counting? I'm just glad you like it."

Neelix huffed and walked off. I sighed, shaking my head, and Janeway shot me a look, noticing the problem as well. I followed after Neelix, over to the bar, while she stepped into the conversation with Tom and Kes.

"May I?" Janeway asked and Kes passed over the necklace. "Oh. It's lovely. You see, it's a locket. You put little photographs in here. It keeps the people that you love close to your heart."

"Did you see that?" Neelix grumbled to Chakotay.

"See what?"

"He... he... he did a lovely wrapping job, don't you think?" Neelix said, trying to hide his anger and jealousy.

"It was nice, but he probably replicated it too," I remarked and got a glass of punch from the Doctor.

"You're right. It's not like he baked an entire cake," Neelix agreed.

Chakotay gave me a subtle look to which I slightly tilted my head towards the rest of the group. He seemed to understand and walked over to the others. I nudged Neelix and waved him over a to table in the corner.

"So, how are you doing, Neelix?" I asked as we sat down.

"Fine!" he said quickly then coughed a little. "I'm fine."

"Really? Because it seems like you might be a little jealous of Tom after the gift he gave her," I retorted, giving him a look so that he knew I was not going to drop the matter.

He deflated in his chair with a sigh and grumbled, "He has no right! He is just trying to steal her away from me."

"For a moment, let's say that he actually is; do you think your position in Kes's heart is so weak? She loves you, and the only thing that can threaten that is your doubt."

"I trust her, it's him that I don't!"

"That's only because you've listened to members of the crew talk about him behind his back. Do you think they focus on his good qualities? My abilities give me an advantage with understanding people and their emotions. He's a good man that has made some mistakes in the past, but he wants to start over and prove that he really is a good person, not just to others, but also to himself. I'm sure you, of all people, can understand that feeling," I said.

Neelix looked conflicted due to my words, so I patted his shoulder. I had stolen a little of my speech from Tom in the episode where they finally got along, but since I doubted that the episode would happen, it was not like I would be found out.

"Try to get to know him for yourself and also be upfront with Kes. Acting on any of that jealousy will only serve to weaken your relationship, but if you tell her what's going on and show that you are trying to work on it, that will help you in the long run."

He sighed and nodded his head. "I'll try; thanks."

We got up from the table and joined the others. Kes started to open her presents while we all watched. Katye had picked out the gift from us, a picture frame that could display photos of memories. While working together, she had revealed that she wished that she had pictures of her family, so Katye and Raven had designed this for her.

Harry showed up around that time, so I finally was able to relax. In the episode, he only reached the holo-deck after the anomaly had made contact with the ship. It seemed that yet again, things had changed and, while it was good that Kes's party was not ruined, I was starting to wonder how much my knowledge of the future was going to help.

After we ate cake and said goodbye, Katye and I took Syrala back to her quarters. We headed back to the Shuttle Bay, but instead of relaxing, I headed to the Bridge of our small, little ship. There were several stations aside from Conn and Tactical though they were rarely used. We had our own version of Astrometric, but it was just a star map with nothing labeled, or even showing the number of planets, unless we had been within five light-years of it. It was useless at its current state, but there was a way around that restriction if I was willing to pay a price.

"Fae, what would it cost to show the current boundaries of Borg space?" I asked as I pulled up the star map.

::It will cost two hundred fifty-seven percent of maximum reserves.::

"You're worrying about the Borg suddenly?" Katye asked, having followed me.

"No, but they are an enemy that can't be avoided. At this point, the original season two finale has been ruined. Seska is locked away in a set of quarters, so she won't be able to bait Chakotay into a trap to capture the Voyager. Something needs to fill that void; we've seen it, so I'm trying to narrow down what it could be and the timeframe that it will happen in... Damn, what's going to happen with Kes with us around? Are we going to have to fly through Borg Space without her sending us forward?"

"Becca, calm down," Katye said as she placed a hand on my cheek.

I let out a breath that I did not even know I was holding at her touch. This connection between the two of us was impossible to deny and was the only aspect of my past life that I had accepted. It did not change how I felt about Raven or Echo, but she was like a safety net that I had since she could tame the beast within me.

"Well, it's good to know that the runes can go back to their shade of blue," Katye said.

"The seal changed?"

"It was just three runes around your eye, and they are back to blue."

I sighed since just a stray thought had snowballed into a chain of thoughts and fears that started to affect the new seal. Mimic did not explain too much about the seal, so it was good to know that it could repair itself, especially with how easily I could trigger it.

"Fae, how much will it cost to reveal planets controlled by the Borg within the range of two thousand light-years along Voyager's course to the Alpha Quadrant?" Katye asked.

::It will cost seventy-two percent of maximum reserves.::

"How did you...?" I started.

"The more specific the request, the lower the cost; it's the same for my Arcane spells. Do you think that will give us enough information?"

"Probably, but it will still leave Fae crippled for nearly a week if we all pitched in to refill the core rather than train," I replied.

"Not if we use our own mana crystals to make up the difference. Raven and I have a bit of a stockpile that she's been using to create her prototypes. They should be able to recover about twenty-five percent of what we use."

"Well, roughly fifty percent of max is a lot more manageable than the seventy-two. It won't give us an exact picture of Borg Space, but it's better than nothing. I just wished I understood the stardate conversion back then and I would have a better idea... Hmmm... you said the more specific the question, the cheaper the cost, right?"

"Most of the time, what do you have in mind?" Katye asked.

"Blood Fever is the episode when the Borg make their first appearance, albeit they were dead. The planet's name was Sokido... Sakato... Sakari; that's its Sakari! The planet's name is Sakari! Fae, how much will it cost to reveal the location of the planet?"

::Five hundred seventeen percent of maximum reserves.::

"What the hell?!?"

Katye chuckled, "Too exact. You're asking to find a needle in a haystack that is the size of the Delta Quadrant, so not an easy feat. You've got to think in broader terms if you are wanting a cheaper marker."

"Alright, that makes sense. Hmm... what about a giant nebular region that's thousands of light-years wide? There are a couple of episodes before Blood Fever that featured a region called the Nekrit Expanse, if memory serves me right."

"Now that can work; Fae, how much would it cost to show the boundary line of any nebular regions that are greater than five hundred light-years along Voyager's general course back to the Alpha Quadrant, range two thousand light-years?" Katye asked.

::Eighteen percent of maximum reserves.::

I let out an impressed whistle and teased, "And this is why I can never win an argument against you."

"You don't win because I'm always right," she retorted with a smirk.

Rolling my eyes, I requested, "Fae, please show me the conditions that she specified for eighteen percent."

The star map of the Milky Way changed, and a new streak of red appeared on one of the arms before it zoomed in. Our journey was marked by a yellow line and a green glow, which got wider the further away it went out that showed the predicted way we would travel back to the Alpha Quadrant. We had strayed a few times out of the green zone, but most times it was at Neelix's suggestion or there was something that the Voyager needed.

The Nekrit Expanse was easy to figure out since there was only one reddish glow area that appeared. It almost seemed flat with how it stretched out longer its X and Y axis for several thousand light-years at points compared to its thickest points along the Z axis, the widest not exceeding two hundred fifty light-years. Still, two hundred fifty light-years would take three months at maximum warp which was not a realistic timeframe since, under the best of circumstance, the Voyager would not be able to maintain that speed for that long.

"At this distance, we are looking at a minimum of nine months to reach it. If something is going to replace the Kazon-Nistrim attack, it will be before we reach this area," I said. "The Kazon are still a threat if they can ever join together, the Vidiians because they are due to pop up a few more times, the female Caretaker, and let's not forget Q, not once but twice. So many encounters, so little time."

"Admit it," Katye chuckled, giving me a light nudge. "As much as you are worried about something unseen coming at us, there is a part of you that wants this fight."

"I do," I said, begrudgingly. "The fact that I need this seal means that I need more help than what the Voyager can give me. Tori brought these shows to life so that he can train us. If I'm having problems that are worse than they were in 'The 100', how do you think this new universe is going to react? The sooner it happens, the lesser of a risk it poses to the Voyager. It's the unknown that bothers me; I want this challenge to come out already."

"It will come, one way or another, and we have the time to prepare."

"And that's why I'm worried. What did we gain from the fight with the Disciples? Nothing. Raven and Echo know more about what happened in the end of the fight than either of us and, in case you haven't asked, they are unable to tell us. We are due for a good slap in the face."

"I know that you are expecting the worst, but there is a difference between here and 'The 100', we're both ready to throw ourselves into real danger. We only stepped forward when we had to before."

"Perhaps, but this is more dangerous. The Voyager is just a ship while before we had a whole planet to support us. Too much collateral damage and we can destroy the Voyager. That's the real challenge with this: Too much or too little."

"Which fits with your conundrum," Katye said. "Too much power versus too little control. Are we going to cause the destruction of the Voyager, or are we going to be its savior? Was 'The 100' really that much different?"