Script Segments 4-15-97 Star Trek Voyager Episode: Coda Adaptation by Patti Keiper Written by Jeri Taylor Chapter Ten ************************************************************* They had all come, gathered in the bridge officer's lounge. The walls were ringed with colors of blue, yellow and red uniforms. Janeway had come, too, finding herself unable to stay away. B'Elanna Torres stood in the middle of the room, giving a eulogy, "...When I came to this ship,.. I resented the fact that Captain Janeway was responsible for our being stranded here in the Delta Quadrant........I didn't think that she had made the right decision," she paused, brushing hair away from her eyes, "And I certainly didn't eant to serve under her command. In the beginning,...I fought her.." her face twisted in guilt, "...even when she made me Chief Engineer..I-..Ididn't trust her reasons, I ...kept looking for a hidden agenda. I actually believed that she'd set me up to fail...." B'Elanna studied the floor and crossed her arms, "Well,I couldn't have been more wrong....She saw.. She saw something in me that I didn't see...She saw a worthwhile person where I saw a lost and hostile misfit....And because ..she had faith in me,...I began to have faith in myself... And when she died,... the first thing I thought of was that... I couldn't do this without her...that I needed her...too badly with her strength...and her compassion.. .But then I realized that the gift she gave me......" The admission brought tears that B'Elanna swept away, "And gave a lot of us here...was the knowledge that we are better and stronger than we think.... I wish I had said these things to her...I wish I had taken the time..." Stricken, B'Elanna surrendered the floor. The pain was very real, Janeway thought, for her to be dead and not suppose to be able to feel anything. Maybe it was remembered empathy. But she didn't believe so. Kathryn was still too close to life... Her engineer's face said it all for her. The captain wanted to hold her and let B'Elanna know that she had been heard. But she already knew the futility of trying that. There was a murmur in the room that made her look up. Chakotay had taken a place in front of her, "Would anyone else like to say something?" Harry Kim broke the silence, "I would, sir." Chakotay nodded, giving him room. Harry didn't quite know where to place his hands. He decided to leave them at his side, "I know that Captain Janeway wouldn't want us to sit around here moping.." he encouraged, "She'd want us to be cheering each other up, remembering the good times...like on the away mission where we found those bushes of overripe fruit.." Everyone in the room easily recalled that day. "I must've have eaten half a kilo..My hands and mouth were all purple.....And the captain....." He smiled as he remembered, "The captain came and sat down next to me and...and her mouth was all stained, too......." Suddenly, Kathryn found everything unbearable. Tears streamed down her face. That day had been the day she decided that she'd really live for her crew. That very moment with Harry had been when she made him a part of her...over memories of her fiance, Mark, or her father. Harry was still too young to be away from everything he knew.... It was then Kathryn had vowed that she would become his family until she brought him back home to them.... Harry's smile was warm as he recollected his memory, "She put her arm around my shoulder....and she said.." Harry's expression became one of profound sadness. "...and she said,..Ensign, these are the times we have to remember...I-It ..It ...I'm sorry.." Harry lost his ability to speak in his grief. Tom Paris came to his side and led him into the emnity of the group. Janeway barely saw Chakotay fill their gap, "I know this hasn't been easy. But I think we'll all be better for it.." Her first officer stood at attention, "We will honor the captain one last time..." He faced the star filled windows and waited for everyone to do the same. Then he tapped his combadge, "Release the pod." A bosun's whistle sang a out a salute as the torpedo bearing Captain Janeway's body was sent into space. Chakotay had something more to say, "Ensign Kim was right when he said the captain wouldn't want us to be sad. Neelix has prepared some food...and it would be nice if we could all get together and share the good times we had with Captain Janeway." He held out a hand toward the banquet table and everyone was dismissed. Kathryn Janeway watched the place where the pod had disappeared into the distance until her eyes started stinging. She felt an arm placed around her, "It's over, Kathryn. There's nothing left for you here. Come with me...." her father offered. Kathryn let herself be led and murmured weakly, "What do I have to do to leave here?" Her father was curt, "Just decide. The only thing that keeps you, is your refusal to leave.." Kathryn turned to him, "You may be right in everything you've said to me. But I'm not ready to accept it. I'm not ready to go.." She glanced back toward everyone at the tables. "My poor little bird.." he said to her, "You always made it hard for yourself. If there was a rocky path and a smooth one you chose the rocky one every time.." Kathryn whirled. Her father was a bitter source for that ridicule. But he was right as always. She softened, and sought to explain her point of view, "If I stay, perhaps it will be easier for them. Maybe I could be comforting somehow.." "You're saying all the things I told myself when I refused to leave you.. I was hoping you wouldn't have to go through that." He took her hands into his own, "It's a horrible existence, Kathryn. As time wears on, you begin to see how...potent.. how destructive loneliness is. You'll see all the people you love going on with their lives,.. doing all the things you used to share with them but you won't be a part of it any more. You'll be forever shut out of their existence. It becomes agonizing. I don't...want that to happen to you.." Kathryn bit her lip, "Maybe that's what it'll take for me to make the decision. I just know that now, I'm not ready." Her father held his hands wide, "What can I do to convince you?" Kathryn was impatient, "Nothing. ...I can't...I won't abandon them.. We're too much a part of each other, can't you see that?" She moved among her friends, watching their faces, ..Harry's, ..Chakotay's,...and Tuvok's.. with a growing sense of loss, "They've been through so much together. I have to know what's going to happen to them.. To see Kes continue to grow and learn..to know if Tom and B'Elanna will ever stop sparring with each other and develop a real friendship." He grew firm in his facts, "You can only be an observer in their lives. Never a participant." She felt a spark of anger, "I don't care. I'd rather be here in spirit than not at all. A captain doesn't abandon ship!" Her father grew equally stubborn, "Every hour you stay here makes it that much more difficult to leave!" Kathryn looked at him closely. His voice had become sharper, "Why are you pushing me? I've made up my mind,.. I'm staying here!!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------- She was on the planet. Lightning was her guide to the sky. Janeway heard voices above her and felt a terrible wind against her skin. There was trouble here and the voices' tones reflected it.. She opened her eyes for a second and saw three faces ringed above hers. It was the doctor. And he was talking about her she was sure of it, "The cortical stimulator is working. I'm getting a weak pulse." Chakotay sounded exhausted, "She's coming back!" Green and red lights blinked near her chest. It was a bioprobe, "I'll use cordrazine along with the stimulator..." the doctor shouted over the gale. Kathryn felt a hypospray press against her neck.