He nodded in her direction.  "Yes, I think.  The one that looks like she's trying to avoid the group?"

He looked to see Janeway smiling.  "Yes, that would be her.  That's Ensign Tal Celes."

He looked at her, looked back, and nodded.  "Why are you pointing her out to me?"

"Because…"  Janeway visibly hesitated, unsure about what she was about to say.  "Two years ago, I seemed to…discover that I had assigned her to Voyager, and that she had never been on an away mission."

Janeway shook her head at the memory.  "She seemed convinced that she would have been reassigned, probably not even to another starship…because she lacked the basic ability to understand algorithms, which we know as simple data."

Chris nodded his head, wondering when this would get around to why she was pointed out…

"As I told her," Janeway continued, looking into Chris's face, "There's more to serving aboard a starship than just doing scientific scans.  Much more…but she's pretty much all but convinced herself to give up Starship service all together."

Chris thought he was finally starting to see the picture…was Janeway going to ask him to help her convince her to stay aboard Voyager?

"Now as you know, because of the technology Voyager brought home…she won't be going any where any time soon," Janeway added.  "So…I was wondering if you could help her get assigned to your next post?"

Chris stared at the Bajoran…the request not quite registering.  When it finally did, he looked Janeway square in the eye.

"But I thought you said she didn't want another starship post?"

Janeway smiled and shrugged innocently.  "Once I tell her that her next post might be with your crew, and she finds out a little about your crew…and once I just plain talk to her…she might consider otherwise."

Chris thought further about the request…then looked at Janeway curiously.  "I still don't see why you want me to bring her into my crew."

"Because Voyager won't be going anywhere any time soon," Janeway restated, as if that were answer enough.  When she saw that Chris didn't understand, she finally decided to elaborate.  "The other two that went with us, who also had never been on an away mission, seem to have adjusted well to the 'family' of Voyager…"  Janeway looked to the Bajoran, her eyes taking on a distant look…  "But Tal…hasn't.  She wanted to, very much…but for some reason, she didn't."

She then looked back to Chris.  "You, on the other hand, made over eight hundred Hintaru and Britar feel like a part of your family in a year and a half, as well as a few other people you picked up along the way.  Those Bajorans you brought back from the Kalium galaxy…they consider you the head of a family that brought them home.  Lall thinks the world of you because you helped her and her species, as well as everyone in that prison.  Every person that has ever come aboard your ship…has felt like they were a part of a family, even if they were only aboard for a few short days."

"And you're saying Tal doesn't have this?" Chris asked, wondering how that was possible.

"In seven years, she considers some of the Voyager crew her friends, but only some…"  Janeway shook her head and looked down.  "None of us her family…she feels…daunted, frightened, even, of our ability to understand algorithms without having to think about it."

She shook her head and looked back at him.  "I've helped her a lot, and she's come along tremendously…but even if she never really learns how to easily read data…she shouldn't be cheated by fear."

Chris took his turn staring at the floor for a moment, considering everything Janeway had just said.  She believed that he and his crew could do something Janeway and her crew had failed to do…  The only officer Chris had ever taken personal interest in was Vendar, and she had turned out to be one of his most valuable officers.  Vendar, however…was highly intelligent when it came to complex formulas and algorithms.

That doesn't make Tal any less of a person…you know that.

He looked up to Janeway and nodded his head.  "All right…I'll try my best."  He shrugged, taking a glance at the Bajoran.  "They're not even letting me contact my new CO yet, nor are they telling me my next post.  They say that both will be surprises."

Janeway smiled at his first response, clasping a hand on his shoulder.  "Thank you…Chris."

He smiled back and nodded.  When he looked at Tal again…she seemed to have given up on the Bajorans and began to walk around, looking very depressed.  His heart went out to her just by seeing her lonely looking face…

Then, to Chris's surprise, Vendar came up along side of her and struck up a conversation with her.  He smiled, the process beginning without any one else knowing it…

Maybe Captain Janeway's right…maybe we can help this woman…

"Runabout Typhon Six, you are clear to enter Open Sector air space," a 'traffic' controller stated to the pilot over the comm system.  Why didn't they let James pilot the craft in?

"I copy, control," the Andorian pilot responded, her antenna moving around to examine multiple parts of the console.

"Have a safe flight in, and welcome to Danzia!"

Chris smiled and leaned over the pilot, being careful not to hit her antenna.  "Thank you," he responded lightly.

When he leaned back, he started to take the view in.  They were finally entering the lower atmosphere, the low gravity of the planet making the flight smooth and easy, even if the inertial dampers had been off line.  The huge impact crater was clearly visible…

"I don't believe it," Kalia said slowly, taking in the view.  She had come to the Danzia fleet yards to undergo immediate testing of certain systems she had already helped improve…and she wanted to put off saying good bye till the last minute.

Danzia was a fairly new shipyard, constructed on the moon of Greater Danube in the Jave system.  The gravity was so light that even the largest starship could launch from the surface…  In fact, the first starship the facility built was an Excalibur class starship…which was over a kilometer long, much larger than even the Dragon class!

Now, the flat area of the impact crater was filled with starships under construction.  Chris easily identified six classes of starships being constructed.  Akira, Sovereign, Streamrunner, Intrepid, Excalibur, and Magellan…

There were probably even more classes out there, but none of them had their frames fully constructed, making it all but impossible to identify.  I didn't know all construction took place in the crater…didn't some of it take place elsewhere?

He shrugged the question off and decided to enjoy the view.

The pilot took the Runabout in low, seeming to barely missing the edge of the impact crater.  After that, she slowed it down considerably…and that’s when speculation began.

"I'll bet it's an Excalibur class starship," Lieutenant James Trikal speculated, seeming eager to pilot such a large starship for some odd reason…  "After all, we did have amazing success with a large starship."

"No, we'll probably get a prototype because of our experience with new ships," Tom suggested.  "The only one I know of is the Eastway."

Frowning, Kara said, "I heard of that ship…but isn't it being built and launched from Utopia?"

"I'm not sure," Chris added himself.  "But I think we won't be getting that either.  I heard some other captain got her…"

"Maybe they've built a second Prometheus class starship here," James said, obviously dreaming…

"You're all wrong," the pilot stated, swinging the runabout around…to face something Chris had not expected.

Everyone froze as they stared over each other's shoulders at the sight.  The ship, nestled between two Sovereign class starships…had a very familiar element to it…

It wasn't the class of ship, either, that surprised Chris…it was Intrepid class.  It was…the name…

"NCC…two-seven-seven-four-nine…B," Chris read off slowly, the numbers all too familiar to him…numbers he had heard and seen for several years now.  "USS…Dragon…"

"We're home…"

Beautiful, graceful lines and shapes…with a name…fit for a king, an emperor.

But more than that…it was more than they had hoped…  A proven class of starship…with a proven name…

"That…that's our ship," James said slowly…  "That's…"

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