I Thought You Knew

Chapter 4 - Regrets, I've Had A Few

CHAPTER 4:

Regrets, I've Had A Few

Back to the present day:

Admiral Kathryn Janeway strolled into the Enterprise's conference room, greeted by cheerful and expectant faces as she did so. She was going to give her lecture about the Borg defense technology she, or rather, her future self, had developed more than a decade in the future.

She was greeted by fellow members of the admiralty, Admirals Nechayev, and Paris. Wishing her good luck, and congratulating her for her previous accomplishments in the Delta Quadrant. She listened to their kind words, but in reality, her eyes were on everyone in the room, looking for one, or two very dear faces. Annika Hansen and Captain Chakotay, and indeed, she'd found what she was looking for. A tall blonde woman in business casual attire, and a handsome, dark-haired man in a command uniform stared right back at her, their faces warm with affection.

She waited for the crowd to settle down, composed of a few fellow admirals, captains, and science officers, as well as the most outstanding of Starfleet Cadets, eagerly awaiting the start of her symposium.

But before she lectured this eager audience, she was beckoned by the couple to join her in conversation. She excused herself from the other officers, earning some whispering from the crowd, wondering what business a high-ranking, decorated officer of Starfleet had with this blonde woman and dark-haired captain.

"Kathryn."

"Captain," she replied coldly.

Chakotay was rather surprised that she used his rank instead of his real name. They were close friends. Weren't they?

"It's nice to see you, Admiral." said the blonde woman next to him. Her "official" designation? Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One.

She eyed them both with a feigned look of pleasure, hiding the contempt and disdain behind her blue-gray eyes. These two individuals had caused her so much pain, only surpassed by the deaths of her father and fiancé on the faithful day of that crash.

"Thank you for coming. I appreciate your time in talking to me now, but I really must get going. This symposium won't lecture on its own." she said hastily, as she walked away from them in the most dignified manner she could possibly do so.

Annika and Chakotay exchanged disappointed glances at each other. They'd hoped she'd forgive them, maybe show a little more warmth, after all, it had been two years since they had last seen each other. But they were wrong. Kathryn was not easy to wound, but when she was, her scars lasted a lifetime.

Kathryn Janeway marched onto the stage of the conference room. She'd prepared this talk for months. Reviewing schematics, scientific principles, and masterfully crafting and practicing her speech.

"Thank you all for coming here today," she started. "As you all know, my crew and I returned from the dangers of the Delta Quadrant two years ago, and escaped the jaws of the galaxy's biggest party poopers; the Borg."

Faint chuckles were heard from the crowd.

"It is no secret that we are only here today because of the efforts of- well, I don't want this to sound self-serving, but my future self developed this technology over a decade from our present time, and it has resulted in major breakthroughs in Borg defense technology and tactics. Automatic refractive shielding, personal cloaking devices, thanks in part to the Hansens. These are just some examples of the technology that has recently been installed throughout the fleet."

Her audience listened in about every detail, journalists took holopictures and wrote articles during the hour, only about halfway through the entire thing. In the middle of it, they would have a brief intermission for food, formalities, and conversation.