Angela: Lost In Space (Flying Man 2/3)
Title: Lost In Space (Flying Man 2/3)
Fandom: Heroes/Star Trek Voyager (With references to X-files)
Rating/Genre: PG/Crossover, femslash
Characters/Pairings: Angela Petrelli, Hiro Nakamura, Kathryn Janeway, Neelix, short appearances by other Voyager crew, Angela/Janeway
Summary: Angela thinks that Nathan has done something stupid, and she tries to use Hiro to go back in time and tell him not to do it. Unfortunately, the young Nakamura is not always in total control of his power, and they end up at Voyager, where Janeway seizes the opportunity to get some much needed help.
Word count: 6 276
Spoilers/warnings: None - unless you have objections to the idea that these women are not completely straight (this is one of my favourite ideas, actually…).
Notes: This was a completely spontaneous outburst and one could argue that it doesn’t make much sense, but does it always have to? The fic is related to the (Scully-centric) X-files crossover, where Mulder and Scully investigates rumours of a flying man, and Hiro innocently volunteers some information. (This interlude was not planned from the start. The promised Angela/Scully chapter - if anyone still remembers - is not yet written but will come!)
Here is part one, although this can be read as a stand-alone story! http://amles80.livejournal.com/5904.html#cutid1
Disclaimer: None of the characters belongs to me, obviously - and this fic also contains a line that is a shameless theft from a well-known novel. But all authors are borrowers, right? ;) I think it looked good there, as I find that I made loneliness a theme of the story…..
“What place is this? Hiro Nakamura, what have you done?”
Angela Petrelli had no idea where Kaito’s son had brought her, but she realized that she definitely was not at her intended destination. They were standing in a long, dark corridor. The walls were metallic, greyish, as was the carpet under their feet. The walls were undecorated; light came from square lamps close to the ceiling.
There were no sounds. No movements. She couldn’t see any doors in the corridor, and no end to it, but she saw that other corridors branched off from it.
Hiro shook his head.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Petrelli, I don’t know.”
Neither of them moved.
“It is very quiet. It looks… strange. It could be the lower floors of a cruise ship, perhaps, under the surface. Or… not. I don’t know; I don’t think I want to know.”
“It could be a space ship.” A smile lit up Hiro’s face. “It could be the future, very far away from our time. What if we are in outer space!”
“And for what reason does that theory make you smile, young man?”
Where ever they were, Angela was not amused. She deeply regretted that she asked the young Nakamura to help her. If he had been more like Kaito, he would have done it right. She had hoped that Kaito’s son might have matured a little, grown into his power… but no; here they were, on what appeared to be a space ship, and his eyes were shining as if he had been travelling through time and space for the first time ever.
“All right, Hiro, fine. This is probably a space ship; how marvellous. Now, can you take us away from here? This is not what I asked of you.”
“But Mrs. Petrelli”, he begged, “let’s just take a look, please? Please, please?”
Angela sighed.
I should have known this was a bad idea, she reproached herself. This is all Nathan’s fault, and when I get to him, I’ll tell him!
Before she had time to start arguing with the stubborn boyish time traveller, a woman entered the corridor and stopped a few steps in front of them. She didn’t seem to be surprised to see them, so Angela assumed that the place had some kind of surveillance system.
“Who are you, and what are you doing here?”
The woman’s voice was sharp and precise, and she was dressed in some kind of black and red uniform. Angela couldn’t see any sign or decoration that could indicate her occupation, function or position, but the tone of her voice made Angela think of a commanding officer.
Angela was about to answer her, but Hiro beat her to it.
“Please Captain”, he said eagerly, “we come in peace!”
Before he started to say anything stupid, Angela interrupted:
“We are just passing by. It was a mistake, and we are leaving now.”
The woman raised her elegant eyebrows.
“What do you mean? No body can ‘pass by’ and get onboard this ship by mistake! Who are you?”
Angela realized that the woman was to be taken seriously. She was beautiful, with distinct features and impeccable posture - and her eyes were uncompromising and demanded an answer.
“My name is Angela Petrelli”, she said, “and this is Hiro Nakamura. He can bend time and space, but - and I say this regretfully - he does not master this ability to perfection.”
Hiro looked sheepishly at her and began to offer his apologies, but she took no notice.
“Just a few minutes ago”, she explained, “we were in New York city. I was just going to see my son a couple of days back in the past, and somehow we’ve ended up here, without the slightest intention of doing so.”
“You are onboard the Starship Voyager”, the woman said. “My name is Kathryn Janeway, and I am the commander of this ship.”
Angela heard Hiro gasp, and she herself very much felt like fainting, but she braced herself and looked the woman straight in the eyes.
All right, she thought, a star ship? Why not - I’m not surprised that such things will exist in the future, so why be so overwhelmed. I may not be the commander of a space ship, but I do have my own realm of influence!
“Commander Janeway”, she said politely, “I apologize for this intrusion. We are going to leave immediately. Hiro, do it.”
Hiro was obedient, at least. He took a deep breath and began to wrinkle his face, when the woman says “Stop!”
That woman was obviously not used to disobedience. But neither was Angela Petrelli, and Hiro was aware of that. He looked hesitatingly from one woman to the other, undecided, but Angela realized that he had already chosen his side - otherwise, they would already be somewhere else. Hiro knew that he should listen to her because she was his father’s old friend, but his taste for adventure and his natural curiosity seemed to be taking over his better judgement.
“If you are what you say you are”, the captain said firmly, “then I would prefer it if you could stay a while. I could use a time-traveller; you will help me.”
“No”, Angela replied, “I really don’t think…”
“This is an emergency”, the woman said, “a very valuable member of my crew was left behind on a hostile planet three days ago, and I would very much like to have her back.”
“Mrs. Petrelli, this is a real emergency! We must stay and help - that is what heroes do.”
“Can’t you just go back and get her?”
“No, that’s impossible. It is too late for that. We had lost all hope, but now…”
For a brief moment, captain Janeway lifted the iron curtain of her eyes, and Angela got a glimpse of deep sorrow.
“I realize, of course, that it is not within my power to make you stay against your will. I can only ask of it as a favour. You say that you are here by accident, but who knows… whether it is by chance or fate, maybe your arrival could have a purpose?”
“Of course!” Hiro exclaimed. “That is exactly the way a hero should think.”
“Oh, really?”
The stern look on Angela’s face seemed to have no effect what so ever on the young man. She realized that he had made up his mind to stay and do whatever this woman wanted him to do, and she nodded silently, as if to imply that it was her decision whether they stayed or not.
“Thank you”, Janeway said. “Come this way, please.”
She turned around, and Angela and Hiro followed her - Angela feeling resigned, Hiro with a happy smile. He looked at her with beaming eyes.
“We are on a real star ship! In outer space! Mrs. Petrelli, can you believe it?!”
“Barely.”
“I wish Flying Man was here - your son - he would have liked this, wouldn’t he? This is flying!”
“Be quiet, Hiro Nakamura”, Angela snapped.
If it wasn’t for my flying son, she thought, I wouldn’t be here. She remembered the unexpected visit by the FBI-agents with a flood of frustration. If Nathan didn’t think of anything else, he should at least think of his fragile position as a politician. Nathan Petrelli, investigated by the FBI - outrageous! And only because he was careless enough to let himself be seen while flying - was it really her son who was behaving so carelessly? Unfortunately, it was. Of course, he was protected by his own improbability, and that obnoxious agent Mulder would have had nothing on him - what twisted turn of fate made him run into Hiro Nakamura, who apparently all too willingly started babbling about the flying man Petrelli…
Angela didn’t think that Mulder could do much damage - she had told him off well enough, and he and his female partner didn’t get any information from her. Still, it would have been better if Nathan hadn’t been flying like that… and it seemed to be an easy solution to go and see Nathan and talk to him about it - in the past.
I should have known better, she thought, look where that idea has taken me…
Captain Janeway had taken them to a very large room that she explained was the bridge. The room was full of things that looked like big computer screens filled with incomprehensible but colorful signs, letters, numbers. The room was also full of people. They were all dressed in similar outfits, only with other colors, and some of them looked like the, well, extra-terrestrials they probably were. There were no colors in the room, except for the uniforms and the screens and the buttons.
The room had huge windows, and it was the first time they saw the view since they arrived.
“Wow…” Hiro whispered, speechless for once.
And Angela had to admit that although she still was very annoyed, she had to tremble in her heart at the sight that met her gaze. It dawned upon her that they were actually on a space ship, in outer space, and she was further way from home than what her mind could fully comprehend. Yes, Angela had looked out of big windows before, surrounded by the black night full of stars, but this was so much more than that. The night was everywhere. The stars were everywhere. Wherever she turned on that ship, she wouldn’t find one window that showed her streets and cars or houses or green grass… only the vast, incomprehensible star-spangled space.
“I have to admit”, she said and cleared her throat, “that although I have seen my share of strange things and people, this is quite impressive.”
“Impressive?” Hiro found his speech again. “Mrs. Petrelli, this is awesome, huge, extraordinary…”
His voice faded away again as he was trying to take it all in, and people were looking at them.
“This is Angela Petrelli and Hiro Nakamura”, the captain explained, “they are travellers who got lost in time, almost like we did.”
As Janeway explained their presence as if they were her invited guests, a quiet murmur began to be heard among the crew, and Angela could see a glimpse of hope beaming from their eyes.
Hiro Nakamura bowed solemnly to their hopeful expectations.
Captain Janeway turned to Angela and said:
“The incident we would like to undo took place on a planet we visited five days ago, where a civil war was going on. We were trying to help the people find a solution, and we thought that everything was going in the right direction. Unfortunately, some people misinterpreted our intentions, and Seven of Nine was thrown off a cliff above a precipice so deep that there was no way we could ever retrieve her body.”
The captain’s posture was very straight and composed, and so was her voice, but Angela could hear a hint of a tremble of grief behind her controlled words.
“That is terrible”, she said. “I’m glad our arrival here can be helpful to you. When you go back, will you still try to help those people?”
Captain Janeway was quiet for a moment, then she said:
“I do not think so.” She paused. “I think… As much as I wanted to help them, I think I’ll just make sure that Seven never gets up in that mountain.”
“That is probably a wise decision. Sometimes it’s better not to interfere too much. Who knows what effect on the greater good the war will have, in the long run.”
“Yes”. Janeway looked at her and nodded her head slowly. “So, how do you do this?”
“Oh, I’m not doing anything”, Angela admitted, “Hiro is the one you need.”
“It’s very easy, I will just concentrate like this.” Hiro wrinkled his face, “but of course much more, and I will take you to the right time and place. It will only take a moment, for these people, before we are back here. They will hardly notice that we are gone.”
“On the other hand”, Angela interfered, “it could take more than a moment...”
“Yes”, Hiro had to admit, “but I will try real hard.”
“All right”, the captain said and looked a little hesitant for the first time, “we’ll trust you. Chakotay, come with me. Mr. Paris, you are in charge here.”
“Yes, Captain”, a blond young man replied, and a tall, dark-haired man with some kind of tattoos in his face immediately stepped to the captain’s side, and Hiro placed himself between them. He grabbed their arms, closed his eyes hard, and then they were gone.
I should never have let him leave, Angela thought, I should have made him take me back immediately…
Everyone around her was quiet, as if frozen, and then they began to look at each other, exchange worried gazes.
“Where are they?” Mr. Paris exploded, “he said it would only take a moment. How long is a moment supposed to be?”
“Don’t worry”, Angela said firmly, “Hiro will bring all of them back safely.”
“How can you be so sure?” The young man looked accusingly at her. “What if he doesn’t? You two shouldn’t even be here!”
“Relax, Tom”, an asian-looking young man said, “have a little faith. The lady knows what she is talking about.”
“Yes”, Angela said, “Hiro Nakamura has travelled through time and space many times before. That is his special gift. Sometimes it takes a little longer before he’s back, but he has always been able to come back to where he started.”
The conviction in her voice seemed to calm them down a little.
“After all”, someone said, “this is not the first time that Janeway and Chakotay have left the ship. We’ll just have to wait.”
“Mrs. Petrelli, maybe you would like something to eat or drink while we wait?”
Angela was thinking about how she hoped that she and Hiro hadn’t started a mutiny, and hadn’t noticed that a funny looking little man was approaching her.
“I’m Neelix”, he said with a big smile, “and I can get you anything you like. I can offer specialities from all around the galaxy.”
“Oh, that sounds… very interesting,” Angela said, “well, why not? Thank you, Mr. Neelix.”
Not knowing what she was going to get but hoping that it would at least be eatable, she followed the little man in his pastel colored suit - as far as she could see, he was the only one who wasn’t wearing the black and red, green or yellow uniform - to a large canteen, and Neelix asked her what she wanted.
“Some fruit, perhaps? And, um, water, please?”
“Yes, Ma’am!” Neelix said, and Angela was soon comfortably seated at a table with a plate full of fruits; many of them unfamiliar but most of them delicious.
Neelix asked her about the time and place she was from, and although Angela didn’t like small talk, she did enjoy talking to that kind and somewhat eccentric - or so it seemed - alien man. Many of his questions where unanswerable; to her, they sounded like science-fiction, and it was obvious that many of her answers seemed very strange to him.
“I do come from a less advanced time”, Angela said, “but I watched TV the day the first man walked on the moon.”
Neelix looked at her.
“The first man ever to walk on the moon”, she clarified. “A very important moment in our history.”
“Ah… Yes, it must have been extraordinary. I’m sorry I wasn’t aware of it. You should talk to the captain about your history, Mrs. Petrelli, she would know what to say. What was that like, then? Do you think your friend could take me there and let me see it?”
She said maybe, and hoped that Neelix wouldn’t ask Hiro to be brought back to 1969, because if so, there would be no end to that time-travelling and she’d be stuck on a starship in the future indefinitely.
When she had eaten everything on the plate except some thick, wax-like peel, the captain’s voice informed the crew from some invisible speaker system that she, Seven of Nine, Chakotay and Mr. Hiro Nakamura were back safe and unharmed.
“Wonderful!” Neelix exclaimed and clasped his hands, “Come, Mrs. Petrelli, hurry!”
He didn’t have to repeat himself. When they came back to the bridge, Angela saw that Neelix wasn’t the only one after all who was wearing a different outfit. All of the time travellers were there, with a blonde young woman dressed in something greyish that looked like a second skin. She had some kind of silvery outgrowth on the upper side of her otherwise very beautiful face.
I guess it’s normal, Angela thought as she looked around, the world is clearly becoming a lot more diverse in the future.
The girl, who could be no other than the missing crew member with the strange name Seven of Nine, looked calm, even surprisingly so, Angela thought, when people surrounded her and asked her questions.
Angela walked up to captain Janeway and asked her what happened.
“We came in a little late”, she explained, “and Seven had already started to walk up that mountain. We were surrounded by hostile people… but with Hiro’s help, we managed to avoid the dangers. It is very fascinating, Hiro, the way you freeze time like that. Is there any way that you could share the secret of that technique?”
“No, unfortunately not. It is not a technique that can be taught to other people. It is a power that comes from within me and I use it to do good things. I don’t need any technology.”
“It is a very strange and extraordinary power”, Seven of Nine said, “and it saved my life. And I am very grateful to you.”
“As we all are”, Janeway said, “and I know that we could never repay you for this priceless gift, but just tell me; if there is anything - anything at all - that you want, that we could give to you…”
“No”, Hiro said, “nothing. I do not want any rewards. It is my mission, my duty, to help people, and I do it with joy.”
Angela smiled and nodded approvingly. He is a sweet boy, really, she thought. A little naïve, perhaps, but there is only kindness in his heart. Ishi would have been proud of her son.
“Captain!” the young man called Tom Paris said, “do you think that, um, maybe he could..?”
Janeway and Chakotay exchanged glances, and then the captain looked at both Hiro and Angela as she asked:
“In that case, maybe I could be so bold as to ask you to let us take advantage of your kindness one more time.”
“You need more help?” Hiro beamed. “No problem!”
Captain Janeway smiled and it softened her face.
“Well, this is a big favour to ask. You see, the thing is, we shouldn’t be in this part of the galaxy. To sum it up quickly, we were brought here involuntarily when we were out on a simple mission, and we are very, very far away from home. If we don’t find an easier way, it can take us many years to reach our destination. But as you can bend both time and space, maybe you can bring us home before you return to your own time?”
Before Hiro had time to answer, Angela asked:
“You mean, bring back all of this? Hiro, Voyager is a huge… ship, are you sure that you can do that?”
Hiro looked at her with a hot fire burning in his eyes; a determination that almost made him resemble Kaito, who always knew what he wanted.
“I will not know before I try!”
The air on the bridge was thick with tension. Many pairs of eyes were locked on Hiro, Angela, and the captain.
“So we are taking a risk here”, Chakotay said.
“Yes, so it seems”, said captain Janeway slowly with her sharp, yet deep voice. “The question is: Is it a risk that we are willing to take, for the chance of not having to spend a lifetime on this journey?”
Angela didn’t speak. She had expressed her hesitation - her doubt - but it wasn’t her decision to make.
No one else spoke either, and the captain took a deep breath and straightened her already straight back.
“All right”, she said, “we will do it. Hiro Nakamura, are you ready?”
Hiro nodded his head and started to focus, to collect all his strength, so that he could bring all of his surroundings with him through space.
Angela could feel how important this was to the people they had accidently met; she hoped that Hiro’s power was strong enough, and she closed her own eyes for a moment, as if to help him focus.
And what happened? When she opened her eyes, they were still onboard Voyager, and the same view was outside the huge window.
But then, upset voices began to speak loud and fast; Kathryn Janeway’s beautiful face became hard as stone, and Angela couldn’t understand one word of their science fiction gibberish, but she knew that the situation had gone bad, real bad.
She stepped closer to Hiro and grabbed his arm; the confused look on his face turned slowly to despair as he realized that he had failed.
“Hiro, where have you taken us?” she asked, but it was the captain who answered:
“The good news is that you are very close to home. The bad news, for us that is, is that Voyager is further away from home than what we have ever been before.”
“Do you mean..?” Hiro dared to ask.
“Yes. We are in your time.”
Angela looked disbelievingly at the woman and shook her head in silent resignation. Why did Hiro manage to get it right sometimes, but not every time?
He tried to offer his excuses; he was even so distracted that he started speaking Japanese before he stopped himself, looking unhappy.
“Captain”, Chakotay said, “we can’t stay in this century. It’s impossible. Imagine what would happen - we couldn’t… we would be…”
You would be aliens, Angela thought to herself, extra-terrestrials, an international sensation… And I think I know who would be the first one to come running to investigate you…
When the FBI-agents had come to see her, Angela had looked them up. She read that Fox Mulder was more than interested in things like precognitions, men with healing powers, flying men, invisible men; everything that most people didn’t know existed but that she knew all about. And now this. She knew about this; she could tell him that the things he wanted so desperately to believe in really did exist. Or at least, was going to exist in the future.
That man Chakotay was right, of course. They couldn’t stay.
But could Hiro bring them all back to where they came from, or was he going to make everything ever worse if he tried? Angela had given up all hope of getting to see her son anytime soon.
The people around her were obviously very disciplined, but it was easy to see that they were scared; if the tension in the air had been thick the first time Hiro went away with the captain and the man, it was nothing compared to this new situation.
And Angela had to admit that the situation looked very bad. Of course, she and Hiro could always get out of there with the help of his ability, but could they really leave the trusting captain and her crew hovering over a planet that wouldn’t understand them?
Hiro looked absolutely mortified.
“I am so sorry”, he said, “I am so sorry - I failed. But I will fix this the best way I can.”
Before anyone had time to react, Hiro wrinkled his face, and then - then, after only a second of dizziness, they saw him looking at them again with his eyes wide open.
“Did I fix it?” he said, “are we back now?”
“Yes”, said a man, sounding more than a little perplexed, “we are back… we are back exactly where we were a minute ago. Still as far away from home as ever…”
“Do you want me to try again?”
Captain Janeway looked as if she considered it, her eyes showed a glimpse of sadness, and then she said:
“No, I don’t think so. You better not… at least now we now where and when we are…”
“This mission was beyond me”, Hiro sighed, “I’m sorry that I let you down.”
“Hey”, said Chakotay, “it wasn’t your fault. I mean, we were not expecting to get home today anyway, and our situation is not at all worse than before you got here.”
“No”, the captain nodded with a smile, “on the contrary. Let’s not forget that we were all very sad before you came here, and then you brought Seven back to us. That is more than what we ever could have hoped for.”
Hiro smiled hesitatingly.
“Now”, Janeway said, “I wonder… I suppose the two of you want to get back to where you came from now - unless you want to take a look around?”
“Thank you, but…”, Angela said, and at the same time Hiro said:
“Yes, please!”
Hiro looked at Angela; and not that she didn’t understand his wish to stay a little longer, but she would have said no, if not the captain had invited her to stay.
“Then Mrs. Petrelli, maybe you would like to come with me and sit down in my room and relax while Neelix takes care of the young man?”
Oh, why not, Angela thought. Let Hiro have his fun; this woman is pleasant enough, and I wouldn’t mind spending a little time in her company.
She nodded, and the captain smiled.
Angela had to admit that apart from the hideous outfit, Kathryn Janeway was a very attractive woman. She liked her way of walking, her sand colored hair, and her tall, slender body that was surely very fit under that uniform.
“I have always been fascinated by history”, Janeway said, “and especially by your time. You’re from the early 21st century, aren’t you? It seems to me that that time was like a threshold… you were only one step away from so many discoveries.”
“Really?” Angela smiled. “That’s good to know.”
“Oh, I suppose it must sound strange to you when I talk like this…”
“It does. But I have to admit that I’m used to the future… although I’ve never seen this far.”
Why am I telling her this? Angela wondered, I never tell people this. Never.
“You mean that you can see the future?” The captain sounded fascinated. “I shouldn’t be surprised. I have already seen what Hiro can do. It’s amazing.”
They entered the captain’s private room and Angela was invited to sit down on the couch.
“Yes, we have special abilities… is that really so surprising in this time?”
Angela’s new friend nodded.
“The truth is that I don’t know how I would have reacted to your most unusual explanation if I hadn’t felt that it was an unsuspected gift to us. True enough; we can do a lot of things that maybe seem extraordinary to you, but that’s different…”
I dream about the future, Angela thought, I plan for the future, and right now I’m in the future… but I don’t want to think about that right now. I don’t want to think about any ‘extraordinary’ things.
The couch was soft, and the woman’s skin looked soft. The curve of her lips was tempting.
Angela liked Kathryn Janeway. And tomorrow she would leave and they would never meet again. So they had only this night to get to know each other.
And what more? What kind of woman was she really, this confident star ship captain, young - younger than Angela at least - and obviously so respected by her crew?
“Are you involved with that young woman you went back for?” Angela asked bluntly.
The captain looked startled, and raised her elegant eyebrows.
“Involved, what do you mean? Seven is a member of my crew and I am very fond of her. If you’re asking if we’re romantically involved, then of course not. First of all; it would be highly inappropriate in more ways than I care to mention… Sure, those things do happen, I suppose, where discipline is lacking, but if you ask me, that’s one of the shortest ways to mutiny.”
“Naturally”, Angela agreed. “I must have misinterpreted your concern and misjudged the way she looked at you… I’m sorry if I was out of line.”
Angela had thought that the young woman had looked at her captain with adoration but, she told herself, everyone must be wrong from time to time - even though she knew that she was rarely wrong and had been convinced that there was a special tenderness in the captain’s voice when she spoke of her loss of the young woman.
Of course, that made her even happier when the attractive woman answered her question in the negative.
“So you consider yourself to be a good judge of character, do you? I’d like to think of us all as equals, in a way, but after all, it’s only natural if young people look up to and show admiration for their leader…”
Angela nodded, “That happens all the time…”
“And besides, I’m married”. Kathryn Janeway paused. “I shouldn’t even have to mention that.”
“But”, Angela said carefully, “your husband is many, many light-years away…”
“Yes, but I’m married all the same. That’s him over there.”
She nodded toward a framed picture of a smiling man, and of herself; also smiling, with wind in her hair, and dressed in civil clothes.
“Are you married, Mrs. Petrelli? You mentioned a son.”
“Oh, call me Angela, please. Was married, and I have two grown ups sons. Their father is dead.”
“I’m very sorry to hear that, Angela…”
“Oh no, don’t be. Do you have kids?”
“No, a dog…”
“And you miss them both very much”, Angela concluded, “naturally. How fascinating… All this technological progress and search for new worlds - and yet these old-fashioned values still exist…”
“It’s not about old-fashioned values; it’s love. And as long as the humanoid races exist, there will be love.”
“Love, huh? Yes, I suppose so. And loneliness.”
“And longing…”
“And lust…”
They looked at each other in silence, and then Kathryn Janeway asked, almost in a whisper:
“Who are you, Angela Petrelli? What are you doing here?”
“I am not a riddle.” She smiled. “I’m here because young Hiro Nakamura still hasn’t learned to master his ability properly, and by this time tomorrow I’ll be far away. As if I never was here.”
“No… that’s not true.”
“What is not true?”
“How do you know if there wasn’t a reason for your being here? Hiro saved Seven, after all. And it won’t be as if you never were here, because I have already noted your presence in my log. And when you leave, I will note that to. Two travellers from another time came by…”
“And this conversation? Will it too live forever, in the captain’s log?”
“No, not as long. The log will probably outlive the captain, but this conversation will live in the captain’s heart.”
“Are they really so memorable, these words?”
“I think that every true encounter is meaningful and worth to remember. And you…”
“Yes?”
Angela’s arm rested on the back of the couch and she leaned in just a little and her hand moved a little closer to the other woman.
The blue-gray eyes surrounded by long eyelashes looked like they wanted to see right through her, Angela thought.
“I don’t know what your occupation is, what your ordinary life is like… But I have a feeling that you know what it’s like to be responsible for a lot of people; their well-being, their safety…”
“Yes”, Angela nodded, “that is true in a way.”
“It is?” Kathryn smiled a little as if she was pleased with the answer. “I knew it… Yes… Do you feel it too, that it gets lonely sometimes to always be the strong one? And yet it can’t be any other way. The decisions, not always liked, and sometimes an entire civilization is depending on your decisions - well, maybe not that, in your case…”
“Yes, that too”, Angela immediately replied, and she didn’t felt any more hesitation. She knew that she must talk to this woman, because she could talk to her, in a way that she had not been able to talk to another woman in a very, very long time.
“Meeting you”, she said and looked straight into the bright intelligent eyes, “confirms my plans. I know that I am doing the right thing. The world will go on and it will eventually become a better place - you are the proof of what I’ve worked for.”
Kathryn tilted her head - with the sand colored hair Angela would like to let loose - fascinated by Angela’s words.
“I don’t understand what you mean; do you have plans for the world? I don’t know your name from the history books… but books don’t tell the whole truth anyway, especially not about women in history. But I feel that we are the same, you and I.”
Angela nodded. She agreed; what more could she say? Separated by time, yet united in space… by accident. Or something else? Kathryn Janeway was right; their positions and responsibilities were alike. But her operations and commands were mostly carried out in secret, from the shadows. That made things more complicated. But perhaps it was better that way. She had no desire to be the commander in front of the masses. No, leave that to Nathan.
“You know, it’s strange”, Kathryn said, “When I was young, I never dreamed of this. I wanted up, out and away, that’s true, but I never thought I would end up in this position. And sometimes I think that that’s why I belong here. Power is better handled by those who do not desire it for it’s own sake.”
“Yes, I think that is true.”
“My god, I’m talking so much!” Kathryn laughed a little, “I’m sorry, I don’t know when I talked like this the last time… I could never go back in time on purpose, but what if I find a leap hole and get thrown back, and we can continue this conversation in your time?”
“You wouldn’t like my time.” Angela smiled a little to take the harshness away from the words. “Not because it is a less advanced time, technologically, but because my time is facing violent and dangerous changes; it is a dark time…”
“All times are dark, Angela, even this one. But as long as we can still see the light… there is hope.”
The woman spoke with a conviction that resembled Angela’s own, but she still wanted to object to the idea, to speak of her suppressed doubts.
“Yes, but… hope of what? Of continuation? Is that all?”
“Perhaps. And why not? Isn’t that worth fighting for? As long as there is continuation, there is hope, and love… and so life continues.”
Of course, Angela thought, life is what we all are fighting for. That is what ‘The greater good’ means - survival, and better life. But why does it so often feel like we are struggling in an uphill battle and life is filled with nothing but petty details?
“That is what we’ve always said”, she had to agree, “me and the others.”
“The other ones who share your responsibility for the world? I’m glad to know that you are not alone, Angela.”
Kathryn’s eyes were warm and tender. Angela felt as if she was being offered an amazing gift: the opportunity to tell the truth.
“But sometimes I think that I am alone.”
I know what is avoidable and what is not; I know how small the spaces are between voluntary and involuntary actions… I am the one who can see the future when I am defenceless in my sleep. What greater loneliness can there be?
Perhaps to be the captain of a space ship lost in space was equal to that? Kathryn Janeway had to bring her people back home. But what if the future she imagined when she closed her eyes was filled only with distant stars and unknown planets, and the risk of trapping herself in a self-inflicted mutiny if she was ever tempted to love a member of her crew a little too much?
Kathryn Janeway reached out her hand to Angela’s face; touched her for the first time.
“Don’t look so sad…”, she said with her deep, soft voice.
Angela closed her eyes and allowed herself to collect strength from the other woman’s warm and unhesitating palm against her cheek.
“On the other hand”, Kathryn went on, “why not. Perhaps this is our moment to be sad, and then become stronger.”
Kathryn Janeway put her arms around Angela and pulled her closer. Angela relaxed in the embrace and felt safe, warm, at peace.
“Angela, whatever it is that you have to do or make other people do, I am sure you will get through it. I’m sure of it. I can see how strong you are.”
“And you”, Angela said, “you will find your way back home. You will not fail your crew, and you will get back to your husband.”
The beautiful space ship captain was quiet for a moment.
“Yes. But after all, that will take time. Right now, he’s 70 000 light-years away.”
And Kathryn kissed Angela, and that night they were not divided.
Fandom: Heroes/Star Trek Voyager (With references to X-files)
Rating/Genre: PG/Crossover, femslash
Characters/Pairings: Angela Petrelli, Hiro Nakamura, Kathryn Janeway, Neelix, short appearances by other Voyager crew, Angela/Janeway
Summary: Angela thinks that Nathan has done something stupid, and she tries to use Hiro to go back in time and tell him not to do it. Unfortunately, the young Nakamura is not always in total control of his power, and they end up at Voyager, where Janeway seizes the opportunity to get some much needed help.
Word count: 6 276
Spoilers/warnings: None - unless you have objections to the idea that these women are not completely straight (this is one of my favourite ideas, actually…).
Notes: This was a completely spontaneous outburst and one could argue that it doesn’t make much sense, but does it always have to? The fic is related to the (Scully-centric) X-files crossover, where Mulder and Scully investigates rumours of a flying man, and Hiro innocently volunteers some information. (This interlude was not planned from the start. The promised Angela/Scully chapter - if anyone still remembers - is not yet written but will come!)
Here is part one, although this can be read as a stand-alone story! http://amles80.livejournal.com/5904.html#cutid1
Disclaimer: None of the characters belongs to me, obviously - and this fic also contains a line that is a shameless theft from a well-known novel. But all authors are borrowers, right? ;) I think it looked good there, as I find that I made loneliness a theme of the story…..
“What place is this? Hiro Nakamura, what have you done?”
Angela Petrelli had no idea where Kaito’s son had brought her, but she realized that she definitely was not at her intended destination. They were standing in a long, dark corridor. The walls were metallic, greyish, as was the carpet under their feet. The walls were undecorated; light came from square lamps close to the ceiling.
There were no sounds. No movements. She couldn’t see any doors in the corridor, and no end to it, but she saw that other corridors branched off from it.
Hiro shook his head.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Petrelli, I don’t know.”
Neither of them moved.
“It is very quiet. It looks… strange. It could be the lower floors of a cruise ship, perhaps, under the surface. Or… not. I don’t know; I don’t think I want to know.”
“It could be a space ship.” A smile lit up Hiro’s face. “It could be the future, very far away from our time. What if we are in outer space!”
“And for what reason does that theory make you smile, young man?”
Where ever they were, Angela was not amused. She deeply regretted that she asked the young Nakamura to help her. If he had been more like Kaito, he would have done it right. She had hoped that Kaito’s son might have matured a little, grown into his power… but no; here they were, on what appeared to be a space ship, and his eyes were shining as if he had been travelling through time and space for the first time ever.
“All right, Hiro, fine. This is probably a space ship; how marvellous. Now, can you take us away from here? This is not what I asked of you.”
“But Mrs. Petrelli”, he begged, “let’s just take a look, please? Please, please?”
Angela sighed.
I should have known this was a bad idea, she reproached herself. This is all Nathan’s fault, and when I get to him, I’ll tell him!
Before she had time to start arguing with the stubborn boyish time traveller, a woman entered the corridor and stopped a few steps in front of them. She didn’t seem to be surprised to see them, so Angela assumed that the place had some kind of surveillance system.
“Who are you, and what are you doing here?”
The woman’s voice was sharp and precise, and she was dressed in some kind of black and red uniform. Angela couldn’t see any sign or decoration that could indicate her occupation, function or position, but the tone of her voice made Angela think of a commanding officer.
Angela was about to answer her, but Hiro beat her to it.
“Please Captain”, he said eagerly, “we come in peace!”
Before he started to say anything stupid, Angela interrupted:
“We are just passing by. It was a mistake, and we are leaving now.”
The woman raised her elegant eyebrows.
“What do you mean? No body can ‘pass by’ and get onboard this ship by mistake! Who are you?”
Angela realized that the woman was to be taken seriously. She was beautiful, with distinct features and impeccable posture - and her eyes were uncompromising and demanded an answer.
“My name is Angela Petrelli”, she said, “and this is Hiro Nakamura. He can bend time and space, but - and I say this regretfully - he does not master this ability to perfection.”
Hiro looked sheepishly at her and began to offer his apologies, but she took no notice.
“Just a few minutes ago”, she explained, “we were in New York city. I was just going to see my son a couple of days back in the past, and somehow we’ve ended up here, without the slightest intention of doing so.”
“You are onboard the Starship Voyager”, the woman said. “My name is Kathryn Janeway, and I am the commander of this ship.”
Angela heard Hiro gasp, and she herself very much felt like fainting, but she braced herself and looked the woman straight in the eyes.
All right, she thought, a star ship? Why not - I’m not surprised that such things will exist in the future, so why be so overwhelmed. I may not be the commander of a space ship, but I do have my own realm of influence!
“Commander Janeway”, she said politely, “I apologize for this intrusion. We are going to leave immediately. Hiro, do it.”
Hiro was obedient, at least. He took a deep breath and began to wrinkle his face, when the woman says “Stop!”
That woman was obviously not used to disobedience. But neither was Angela Petrelli, and Hiro was aware of that. He looked hesitatingly from one woman to the other, undecided, but Angela realized that he had already chosen his side - otherwise, they would already be somewhere else. Hiro knew that he should listen to her because she was his father’s old friend, but his taste for adventure and his natural curiosity seemed to be taking over his better judgement.
“If you are what you say you are”, the captain said firmly, “then I would prefer it if you could stay a while. I could use a time-traveller; you will help me.”
“No”, Angela replied, “I really don’t think…”
“This is an emergency”, the woman said, “a very valuable member of my crew was left behind on a hostile planet three days ago, and I would very much like to have her back.”
“Mrs. Petrelli, this is a real emergency! We must stay and help - that is what heroes do.”
“Can’t you just go back and get her?”
“No, that’s impossible. It is too late for that. We had lost all hope, but now…”
For a brief moment, captain Janeway lifted the iron curtain of her eyes, and Angela got a glimpse of deep sorrow.
“I realize, of course, that it is not within my power to make you stay against your will. I can only ask of it as a favour. You say that you are here by accident, but who knows… whether it is by chance or fate, maybe your arrival could have a purpose?”
“Of course!” Hiro exclaimed. “That is exactly the way a hero should think.”
“Oh, really?”
The stern look on Angela’s face seemed to have no effect what so ever on the young man. She realized that he had made up his mind to stay and do whatever this woman wanted him to do, and she nodded silently, as if to imply that it was her decision whether they stayed or not.
“Thank you”, Janeway said. “Come this way, please.”
She turned around, and Angela and Hiro followed her - Angela feeling resigned, Hiro with a happy smile. He looked at her with beaming eyes.
“We are on a real star ship! In outer space! Mrs. Petrelli, can you believe it?!”
“Barely.”
“I wish Flying Man was here - your son - he would have liked this, wouldn’t he? This is flying!”
“Be quiet, Hiro Nakamura”, Angela snapped.
If it wasn’t for my flying son, she thought, I wouldn’t be here. She remembered the unexpected visit by the FBI-agents with a flood of frustration. If Nathan didn’t think of anything else, he should at least think of his fragile position as a politician. Nathan Petrelli, investigated by the FBI - outrageous! And only because he was careless enough to let himself be seen while flying - was it really her son who was behaving so carelessly? Unfortunately, it was. Of course, he was protected by his own improbability, and that obnoxious agent Mulder would have had nothing on him - what twisted turn of fate made him run into Hiro Nakamura, who apparently all too willingly started babbling about the flying man Petrelli…
Angela didn’t think that Mulder could do much damage - she had told him off well enough, and he and his female partner didn’t get any information from her. Still, it would have been better if Nathan hadn’t been flying like that… and it seemed to be an easy solution to go and see Nathan and talk to him about it - in the past.
I should have known better, she thought, look where that idea has taken me…
Captain Janeway had taken them to a very large room that she explained was the bridge. The room was full of things that looked like big computer screens filled with incomprehensible but colorful signs, letters, numbers. The room was also full of people. They were all dressed in similar outfits, only with other colors, and some of them looked like the, well, extra-terrestrials they probably were. There were no colors in the room, except for the uniforms and the screens and the buttons.
The room had huge windows, and it was the first time they saw the view since they arrived.
“Wow…” Hiro whispered, speechless for once.
And Angela had to admit that although she still was very annoyed, she had to tremble in her heart at the sight that met her gaze. It dawned upon her that they were actually on a space ship, in outer space, and she was further way from home than what her mind could fully comprehend. Yes, Angela had looked out of big windows before, surrounded by the black night full of stars, but this was so much more than that. The night was everywhere. The stars were everywhere. Wherever she turned on that ship, she wouldn’t find one window that showed her streets and cars or houses or green grass… only the vast, incomprehensible star-spangled space.
“I have to admit”, she said and cleared her throat, “that although I have seen my share of strange things and people, this is quite impressive.”
“Impressive?” Hiro found his speech again. “Mrs. Petrelli, this is awesome, huge, extraordinary…”
His voice faded away again as he was trying to take it all in, and people were looking at them.
“This is Angela Petrelli and Hiro Nakamura”, the captain explained, “they are travellers who got lost in time, almost like we did.”
As Janeway explained their presence as if they were her invited guests, a quiet murmur began to be heard among the crew, and Angela could see a glimpse of hope beaming from their eyes.
Hiro Nakamura bowed solemnly to their hopeful expectations.
Captain Janeway turned to Angela and said:
“The incident we would like to undo took place on a planet we visited five days ago, where a civil war was going on. We were trying to help the people find a solution, and we thought that everything was going in the right direction. Unfortunately, some people misinterpreted our intentions, and Seven of Nine was thrown off a cliff above a precipice so deep that there was no way we could ever retrieve her body.”
The captain’s posture was very straight and composed, and so was her voice, but Angela could hear a hint of a tremble of grief behind her controlled words.
“That is terrible”, she said. “I’m glad our arrival here can be helpful to you. When you go back, will you still try to help those people?”
Captain Janeway was quiet for a moment, then she said:
“I do not think so.” She paused. “I think… As much as I wanted to help them, I think I’ll just make sure that Seven never gets up in that mountain.”
“That is probably a wise decision. Sometimes it’s better not to interfere too much. Who knows what effect on the greater good the war will have, in the long run.”
“Yes”. Janeway looked at her and nodded her head slowly. “So, how do you do this?”
“Oh, I’m not doing anything”, Angela admitted, “Hiro is the one you need.”
“It’s very easy, I will just concentrate like this.” Hiro wrinkled his face, “but of course much more, and I will take you to the right time and place. It will only take a moment, for these people, before we are back here. They will hardly notice that we are gone.”
“On the other hand”, Angela interfered, “it could take more than a moment...”
“Yes”, Hiro had to admit, “but I will try real hard.”
“All right”, the captain said and looked a little hesitant for the first time, “we’ll trust you. Chakotay, come with me. Mr. Paris, you are in charge here.”
“Yes, Captain”, a blond young man replied, and a tall, dark-haired man with some kind of tattoos in his face immediately stepped to the captain’s side, and Hiro placed himself between them. He grabbed their arms, closed his eyes hard, and then they were gone.
I should never have let him leave, Angela thought, I should have made him take me back immediately…
Everyone around her was quiet, as if frozen, and then they began to look at each other, exchange worried gazes.
“Where are they?” Mr. Paris exploded, “he said it would only take a moment. How long is a moment supposed to be?”
“Don’t worry”, Angela said firmly, “Hiro will bring all of them back safely.”
“How can you be so sure?” The young man looked accusingly at her. “What if he doesn’t? You two shouldn’t even be here!”
“Relax, Tom”, an asian-looking young man said, “have a little faith. The lady knows what she is talking about.”
“Yes”, Angela said, “Hiro Nakamura has travelled through time and space many times before. That is his special gift. Sometimes it takes a little longer before he’s back, but he has always been able to come back to where he started.”
The conviction in her voice seemed to calm them down a little.
“After all”, someone said, “this is not the first time that Janeway and Chakotay have left the ship. We’ll just have to wait.”
“Mrs. Petrelli, maybe you would like something to eat or drink while we wait?”
Angela was thinking about how she hoped that she and Hiro hadn’t started a mutiny, and hadn’t noticed that a funny looking little man was approaching her.
“I’m Neelix”, he said with a big smile, “and I can get you anything you like. I can offer specialities from all around the galaxy.”
“Oh, that sounds… very interesting,” Angela said, “well, why not? Thank you, Mr. Neelix.”
Not knowing what she was going to get but hoping that it would at least be eatable, she followed the little man in his pastel colored suit - as far as she could see, he was the only one who wasn’t wearing the black and red, green or yellow uniform - to a large canteen, and Neelix asked her what she wanted.
“Some fruit, perhaps? And, um, water, please?”
“Yes, Ma’am!” Neelix said, and Angela was soon comfortably seated at a table with a plate full of fruits; many of them unfamiliar but most of them delicious.
Neelix asked her about the time and place she was from, and although Angela didn’t like small talk, she did enjoy talking to that kind and somewhat eccentric - or so it seemed - alien man. Many of his questions where unanswerable; to her, they sounded like science-fiction, and it was obvious that many of her answers seemed very strange to him.
“I do come from a less advanced time”, Angela said, “but I watched TV the day the first man walked on the moon.”
Neelix looked at her.
“The first man ever to walk on the moon”, she clarified. “A very important moment in our history.”
“Ah… Yes, it must have been extraordinary. I’m sorry I wasn’t aware of it. You should talk to the captain about your history, Mrs. Petrelli, she would know what to say. What was that like, then? Do you think your friend could take me there and let me see it?”
She said maybe, and hoped that Neelix wouldn’t ask Hiro to be brought back to 1969, because if so, there would be no end to that time-travelling and she’d be stuck on a starship in the future indefinitely.
When she had eaten everything on the plate except some thick, wax-like peel, the captain’s voice informed the crew from some invisible speaker system that she, Seven of Nine, Chakotay and Mr. Hiro Nakamura were back safe and unharmed.
“Wonderful!” Neelix exclaimed and clasped his hands, “Come, Mrs. Petrelli, hurry!”
He didn’t have to repeat himself. When they came back to the bridge, Angela saw that Neelix wasn’t the only one after all who was wearing a different outfit. All of the time travellers were there, with a blonde young woman dressed in something greyish that looked like a second skin. She had some kind of silvery outgrowth on the upper side of her otherwise very beautiful face.
I guess it’s normal, Angela thought as she looked around, the world is clearly becoming a lot more diverse in the future.
The girl, who could be no other than the missing crew member with the strange name Seven of Nine, looked calm, even surprisingly so, Angela thought, when people surrounded her and asked her questions.
Angela walked up to captain Janeway and asked her what happened.
“We came in a little late”, she explained, “and Seven had already started to walk up that mountain. We were surrounded by hostile people… but with Hiro’s help, we managed to avoid the dangers. It is very fascinating, Hiro, the way you freeze time like that. Is there any way that you could share the secret of that technique?”
“No, unfortunately not. It is not a technique that can be taught to other people. It is a power that comes from within me and I use it to do good things. I don’t need any technology.”
“It is a very strange and extraordinary power”, Seven of Nine said, “and it saved my life. And I am very grateful to you.”
“As we all are”, Janeway said, “and I know that we could never repay you for this priceless gift, but just tell me; if there is anything - anything at all - that you want, that we could give to you…”
“No”, Hiro said, “nothing. I do not want any rewards. It is my mission, my duty, to help people, and I do it with joy.”
Angela smiled and nodded approvingly. He is a sweet boy, really, she thought. A little naïve, perhaps, but there is only kindness in his heart. Ishi would have been proud of her son.
“Captain!” the young man called Tom Paris said, “do you think that, um, maybe he could..?”
Janeway and Chakotay exchanged glances, and then the captain looked at both Hiro and Angela as she asked:
“In that case, maybe I could be so bold as to ask you to let us take advantage of your kindness one more time.”
“You need more help?” Hiro beamed. “No problem!”
Captain Janeway smiled and it softened her face.
“Well, this is a big favour to ask. You see, the thing is, we shouldn’t be in this part of the galaxy. To sum it up quickly, we were brought here involuntarily when we were out on a simple mission, and we are very, very far away from home. If we don’t find an easier way, it can take us many years to reach our destination. But as you can bend both time and space, maybe you can bring us home before you return to your own time?”
Before Hiro had time to answer, Angela asked:
“You mean, bring back all of this? Hiro, Voyager is a huge… ship, are you sure that you can do that?”
Hiro looked at her with a hot fire burning in his eyes; a determination that almost made him resemble Kaito, who always knew what he wanted.
“I will not know before I try!”
The air on the bridge was thick with tension. Many pairs of eyes were locked on Hiro, Angela, and the captain.
“So we are taking a risk here”, Chakotay said.
“Yes, so it seems”, said captain Janeway slowly with her sharp, yet deep voice. “The question is: Is it a risk that we are willing to take, for the chance of not having to spend a lifetime on this journey?”
Angela didn’t speak. She had expressed her hesitation - her doubt - but it wasn’t her decision to make.
No one else spoke either, and the captain took a deep breath and straightened her already straight back.
“All right”, she said, “we will do it. Hiro Nakamura, are you ready?”
Hiro nodded his head and started to focus, to collect all his strength, so that he could bring all of his surroundings with him through space.
Angela could feel how important this was to the people they had accidently met; she hoped that Hiro’s power was strong enough, and she closed her own eyes for a moment, as if to help him focus.
And what happened? When she opened her eyes, they were still onboard Voyager, and the same view was outside the huge window.
But then, upset voices began to speak loud and fast; Kathryn Janeway’s beautiful face became hard as stone, and Angela couldn’t understand one word of their science fiction gibberish, but she knew that the situation had gone bad, real bad.
She stepped closer to Hiro and grabbed his arm; the confused look on his face turned slowly to despair as he realized that he had failed.
“Hiro, where have you taken us?” she asked, but it was the captain who answered:
“The good news is that you are very close to home. The bad news, for us that is, is that Voyager is further away from home than what we have ever been before.”
“Do you mean..?” Hiro dared to ask.
“Yes. We are in your time.”
Angela looked disbelievingly at the woman and shook her head in silent resignation. Why did Hiro manage to get it right sometimes, but not every time?
He tried to offer his excuses; he was even so distracted that he started speaking Japanese before he stopped himself, looking unhappy.
“Captain”, Chakotay said, “we can’t stay in this century. It’s impossible. Imagine what would happen - we couldn’t… we would be…”
You would be aliens, Angela thought to herself, extra-terrestrials, an international sensation… And I think I know who would be the first one to come running to investigate you…
When the FBI-agents had come to see her, Angela had looked them up. She read that Fox Mulder was more than interested in things like precognitions, men with healing powers, flying men, invisible men; everything that most people didn’t know existed but that she knew all about. And now this. She knew about this; she could tell him that the things he wanted so desperately to believe in really did exist. Or at least, was going to exist in the future.
That man Chakotay was right, of course. They couldn’t stay.
But could Hiro bring them all back to where they came from, or was he going to make everything ever worse if he tried? Angela had given up all hope of getting to see her son anytime soon.
The people around her were obviously very disciplined, but it was easy to see that they were scared; if the tension in the air had been thick the first time Hiro went away with the captain and the man, it was nothing compared to this new situation.
And Angela had to admit that the situation looked very bad. Of course, she and Hiro could always get out of there with the help of his ability, but could they really leave the trusting captain and her crew hovering over a planet that wouldn’t understand them?
Hiro looked absolutely mortified.
“I am so sorry”, he said, “I am so sorry - I failed. But I will fix this the best way I can.”
Before anyone had time to react, Hiro wrinkled his face, and then - then, after only a second of dizziness, they saw him looking at them again with his eyes wide open.
“Did I fix it?” he said, “are we back now?”
“Yes”, said a man, sounding more than a little perplexed, “we are back… we are back exactly where we were a minute ago. Still as far away from home as ever…”
“Do you want me to try again?”
Captain Janeway looked as if she considered it, her eyes showed a glimpse of sadness, and then she said:
“No, I don’t think so. You better not… at least now we now where and when we are…”
“This mission was beyond me”, Hiro sighed, “I’m sorry that I let you down.”
“Hey”, said Chakotay, “it wasn’t your fault. I mean, we were not expecting to get home today anyway, and our situation is not at all worse than before you got here.”
“No”, the captain nodded with a smile, “on the contrary. Let’s not forget that we were all very sad before you came here, and then you brought Seven back to us. That is more than what we ever could have hoped for.”
Hiro smiled hesitatingly.
“Now”, Janeway said, “I wonder… I suppose the two of you want to get back to where you came from now - unless you want to take a look around?”
“Thank you, but…”, Angela said, and at the same time Hiro said:
“Yes, please!”
Hiro looked at Angela; and not that she didn’t understand his wish to stay a little longer, but she would have said no, if not the captain had invited her to stay.
“Then Mrs. Petrelli, maybe you would like to come with me and sit down in my room and relax while Neelix takes care of the young man?”
Oh, why not, Angela thought. Let Hiro have his fun; this woman is pleasant enough, and I wouldn’t mind spending a little time in her company.
She nodded, and the captain smiled.
Angela had to admit that apart from the hideous outfit, Kathryn Janeway was a very attractive woman. She liked her way of walking, her sand colored hair, and her tall, slender body that was surely very fit under that uniform.
“I have always been fascinated by history”, Janeway said, “and especially by your time. You’re from the early 21st century, aren’t you? It seems to me that that time was like a threshold… you were only one step away from so many discoveries.”
“Really?” Angela smiled. “That’s good to know.”
“Oh, I suppose it must sound strange to you when I talk like this…”
“It does. But I have to admit that I’m used to the future… although I’ve never seen this far.”
Why am I telling her this? Angela wondered, I never tell people this. Never.
“You mean that you can see the future?” The captain sounded fascinated. “I shouldn’t be surprised. I have already seen what Hiro can do. It’s amazing.”
They entered the captain’s private room and Angela was invited to sit down on the couch.
“Yes, we have special abilities… is that really so surprising in this time?”
Angela’s new friend nodded.
“The truth is that I don’t know how I would have reacted to your most unusual explanation if I hadn’t felt that it was an unsuspected gift to us. True enough; we can do a lot of things that maybe seem extraordinary to you, but that’s different…”
I dream about the future, Angela thought, I plan for the future, and right now I’m in the future… but I don’t want to think about that right now. I don’t want to think about any ‘extraordinary’ things.
The couch was soft, and the woman’s skin looked soft. The curve of her lips was tempting.
Angela liked Kathryn Janeway. And tomorrow she would leave and they would never meet again. So they had only this night to get to know each other.
And what more? What kind of woman was she really, this confident star ship captain, young - younger than Angela at least - and obviously so respected by her crew?
“Are you involved with that young woman you went back for?” Angela asked bluntly.
The captain looked startled, and raised her elegant eyebrows.
“Involved, what do you mean? Seven is a member of my crew and I am very fond of her. If you’re asking if we’re romantically involved, then of course not. First of all; it would be highly inappropriate in more ways than I care to mention… Sure, those things do happen, I suppose, where discipline is lacking, but if you ask me, that’s one of the shortest ways to mutiny.”
“Naturally”, Angela agreed. “I must have misinterpreted your concern and misjudged the way she looked at you… I’m sorry if I was out of line.”
Angela had thought that the young woman had looked at her captain with adoration but, she told herself, everyone must be wrong from time to time - even though she knew that she was rarely wrong and had been convinced that there was a special tenderness in the captain’s voice when she spoke of her loss of the young woman.
Of course, that made her even happier when the attractive woman answered her question in the negative.
“So you consider yourself to be a good judge of character, do you? I’d like to think of us all as equals, in a way, but after all, it’s only natural if young people look up to and show admiration for their leader…”
Angela nodded, “That happens all the time…”
“And besides, I’m married”. Kathryn Janeway paused. “I shouldn’t even have to mention that.”
“But”, Angela said carefully, “your husband is many, many light-years away…”
“Yes, but I’m married all the same. That’s him over there.”
She nodded toward a framed picture of a smiling man, and of herself; also smiling, with wind in her hair, and dressed in civil clothes.
“Are you married, Mrs. Petrelli? You mentioned a son.”
“Oh, call me Angela, please. Was married, and I have two grown ups sons. Their father is dead.”
“I’m very sorry to hear that, Angela…”
“Oh no, don’t be. Do you have kids?”
“No, a dog…”
“And you miss them both very much”, Angela concluded, “naturally. How fascinating… All this technological progress and search for new worlds - and yet these old-fashioned values still exist…”
“It’s not about old-fashioned values; it’s love. And as long as the humanoid races exist, there will be love.”
“Love, huh? Yes, I suppose so. And loneliness.”
“And longing…”
“And lust…”
They looked at each other in silence, and then Kathryn Janeway asked, almost in a whisper:
“Who are you, Angela Petrelli? What are you doing here?”
“I am not a riddle.” She smiled. “I’m here because young Hiro Nakamura still hasn’t learned to master his ability properly, and by this time tomorrow I’ll be far away. As if I never was here.”
“No… that’s not true.”
“What is not true?”
“How do you know if there wasn’t a reason for your being here? Hiro saved Seven, after all. And it won’t be as if you never were here, because I have already noted your presence in my log. And when you leave, I will note that to. Two travellers from another time came by…”
“And this conversation? Will it too live forever, in the captain’s log?”
“No, not as long. The log will probably outlive the captain, but this conversation will live in the captain’s heart.”
“Are they really so memorable, these words?”
“I think that every true encounter is meaningful and worth to remember. And you…”
“Yes?”
Angela’s arm rested on the back of the couch and she leaned in just a little and her hand moved a little closer to the other woman.
The blue-gray eyes surrounded by long eyelashes looked like they wanted to see right through her, Angela thought.
“I don’t know what your occupation is, what your ordinary life is like… But I have a feeling that you know what it’s like to be responsible for a lot of people; their well-being, their safety…”
“Yes”, Angela nodded, “that is true in a way.”
“It is?” Kathryn smiled a little as if she was pleased with the answer. “I knew it… Yes… Do you feel it too, that it gets lonely sometimes to always be the strong one? And yet it can’t be any other way. The decisions, not always liked, and sometimes an entire civilization is depending on your decisions - well, maybe not that, in your case…”
“Yes, that too”, Angela immediately replied, and she didn’t felt any more hesitation. She knew that she must talk to this woman, because she could talk to her, in a way that she had not been able to talk to another woman in a very, very long time.
“Meeting you”, she said and looked straight into the bright intelligent eyes, “confirms my plans. I know that I am doing the right thing. The world will go on and it will eventually become a better place - you are the proof of what I’ve worked for.”
Kathryn tilted her head - with the sand colored hair Angela would like to let loose - fascinated by Angela’s words.
“I don’t understand what you mean; do you have plans for the world? I don’t know your name from the history books… but books don’t tell the whole truth anyway, especially not about women in history. But I feel that we are the same, you and I.”
Angela nodded. She agreed; what more could she say? Separated by time, yet united in space… by accident. Or something else? Kathryn Janeway was right; their positions and responsibilities were alike. But her operations and commands were mostly carried out in secret, from the shadows. That made things more complicated. But perhaps it was better that way. She had no desire to be the commander in front of the masses. No, leave that to Nathan.
“You know, it’s strange”, Kathryn said, “When I was young, I never dreamed of this. I wanted up, out and away, that’s true, but I never thought I would end up in this position. And sometimes I think that that’s why I belong here. Power is better handled by those who do not desire it for it’s own sake.”
“Yes, I think that is true.”
“My god, I’m talking so much!” Kathryn laughed a little, “I’m sorry, I don’t know when I talked like this the last time… I could never go back in time on purpose, but what if I find a leap hole and get thrown back, and we can continue this conversation in your time?”
“You wouldn’t like my time.” Angela smiled a little to take the harshness away from the words. “Not because it is a less advanced time, technologically, but because my time is facing violent and dangerous changes; it is a dark time…”
“All times are dark, Angela, even this one. But as long as we can still see the light… there is hope.”
The woman spoke with a conviction that resembled Angela’s own, but she still wanted to object to the idea, to speak of her suppressed doubts.
“Yes, but… hope of what? Of continuation? Is that all?”
“Perhaps. And why not? Isn’t that worth fighting for? As long as there is continuation, there is hope, and love… and so life continues.”
Of course, Angela thought, life is what we all are fighting for. That is what ‘The greater good’ means - survival, and better life. But why does it so often feel like we are struggling in an uphill battle and life is filled with nothing but petty details?
“That is what we’ve always said”, she had to agree, “me and the others.”
“The other ones who share your responsibility for the world? I’m glad to know that you are not alone, Angela.”
Kathryn’s eyes were warm and tender. Angela felt as if she was being offered an amazing gift: the opportunity to tell the truth.
“But sometimes I think that I am alone.”
I know what is avoidable and what is not; I know how small the spaces are between voluntary and involuntary actions… I am the one who can see the future when I am defenceless in my sleep. What greater loneliness can there be?
Perhaps to be the captain of a space ship lost in space was equal to that? Kathryn Janeway had to bring her people back home. But what if the future she imagined when she closed her eyes was filled only with distant stars and unknown planets, and the risk of trapping herself in a self-inflicted mutiny if she was ever tempted to love a member of her crew a little too much?
Kathryn Janeway reached out her hand to Angela’s face; touched her for the first time.
“Don’t look so sad…”, she said with her deep, soft voice.
Angela closed her eyes and allowed herself to collect strength from the other woman’s warm and unhesitating palm against her cheek.
“On the other hand”, Kathryn went on, “why not. Perhaps this is our moment to be sad, and then become stronger.”
Kathryn Janeway put her arms around Angela and pulled her closer. Angela relaxed in the embrace and felt safe, warm, at peace.
“Angela, whatever it is that you have to do or make other people do, I am sure you will get through it. I’m sure of it. I can see how strong you are.”
“And you”, Angela said, “you will find your way back home. You will not fail your crew, and you will get back to your husband.”
The beautiful space ship captain was quiet for a moment.
“Yes. But after all, that will take time. Right now, he’s 70 000 light-years away.”
And Kathryn kissed Angela, and that night they were not divided.