the one with the voyager fic
Hai, I can't stop writing. This one's been in my head for a while, too, so it feels great to get it out.
Title: My Old Friend
Author: Victoria
Fandom: Star Trek: Voyager
Rating: PG-ish
Summary: Death becomes a learning experience.
Notes: Post 'Endgame', mentions of 'The Cloud'.
A flash of white, the echoes of a scream, and Admiral Kathryn Janeway knew she was dead.
She kept her eyes closed. The last image she knew was of the Borg Queen, her slimy, green-tinged body twitching mercilessly on the floor while Kathryn's younger self steered their ship towards home. Panels had exploded, fires had erupted...her aging body had held steady to the Borg apparatus as the world tore itself up around her.
Kathryn could no longer feel the horrific metal implants that had so recently marred her cheeks.
Her eyes opened.
Words long past, from a time when she'd still been hopeful, if not innocent, flowed past her lips.
"I've seen this place before."
The beach she knelt on was bathed in dusk's light, calm oranges and deep reds alighting the sky like the fire she'd so recently burned in. Deep blue waves crashed calmly on the shore; soft, golden sand sifted gently beneath her knees. Tall blades of grass framed sloping rocks, lined a fallen log that had so long ago held her Spirit Guide. The tiny lizard, however, was no where to be seen.
The falling light warmed her face, and Kathryn reached to touch the smooth skin of her throat, her eyelids, her hands. Gone were the lines that had presented themselves with age. Gone were aches and creaks of her seventy-odd years. Gone was the silver of her hair, now deep auburn once more, long in its length and arranged how she'd worn it before she'd hacked it all off. In a brief breath of realization, Kathryn knew she'd gone back to the one moment in her life when she'd been truly at peace.
"Kathryn Janeway, what took you so long?"
And oh, that voice was here, too.
Her friend was here.
"Chakotay." Her breath was little more than a whisper, yet Kathryn stood and looked beyond the rocks for the man she knew would be there. Chakotay wore his tribal leathers, unlike her in her precious Starfleet uniform--but he...he was at peace, too, for she could feel it eminating from his very being. This Chakotay was her Chakotay.
"Where's Seven?" She questioned.
"She's waiting for us, my dear friend. Come along." Chakotay held out a hand, and Kathryn climbed gingerly down the rocks until her hand was in his.
A wolf bounded up to them then, a tiny lizard resting easily on its back and a familiar gait in its stride. Kathryn paused to dip down next to the majestic animal. It did not, as she assumed, back away, but merely stared into her eyes as though it was reading into her very soul. It seemed to nod--however much a wolf could--and nipped once, playfully, at Chakotay's free hand before trotting lazily off in the sand with Kathryn's Guide on its back.
"Where are we going, Chakotay?" She whispered, turning to see her friend smile. She reached up and traced the delicate tattoo that adorned the upper right part of his forehead.
Chakotay laced his fingers with hers, and started them on a slow walk down the beach.
"Wherever you want to go, Kathryn," he said. "Wherever you want to go."
I also wrote a BSG one yesterday, but I'll put that up tomorrow to avoid clutter. ♥