Leaving the Road Behind

Leaving the Road Behind

"Captains log, Stardate 55210

It's been a very long road, for me and all of my crew. I wish for this to be the last entry in my log before the court martial strips me of my ranks..."

"While sitting in the courtroom, listening to my charges, the admiral asked me 'Do you regret what you have done?'. Do I regret it? Do I regret spending seven years of my life trying to bring these people home? Like hell I do. What I regret, what I truly regret, is ever being unsure of myself. I know now that everything, every single order I gave, was for the better of my crew; it was for them, and I truly believed it was right. Starfleet has barely glanced at what I- what we have gone through.

I will, however, take the consequences of my actions. My apparent breaking (although I would prefer modifying; we were seventy-thousand lightyears from home) of the prime directive on more occasion than one, however true it may be, will not be treated lightly. I will not take it lightly either, for my actions assisted in the safe return of my people to their homes. In the words of a very wise man "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one."
I will accept my responsibility and take the fall for the rules I have broken, I only wish for my crew to return to their lives here, or wherever they came from, in happiness, knowing that I cared for them.

On a personal note, I wish to tell my first officer how much I cared for him, how much I respected his decisions. I also wish to mention that wherever I end up I will miss my home, the comfort of my ready room, the warmth of the freshly replicated coffee..."

Janeway paused her recording for a moment, and longingly gazed out the window into the sky, where the faint outline of Voyager continued its orbit, preparing for landing in some remote, studying and research station.

"Voyager- Voyager was my home...
Computer, end recording."

The door chimes and opens without the captains consent, and two men walk in, securely placing Janeway in wrist and ankle cuffs. As she is lead out, she looks once more towards Voyager. A half smile graces her tired face, and the guards look at each other in confusion...

"Kim... Energize"

The guards stand shocked as Janeway vanished from a transport, they call for security, but it is much too late.
Janeway finds herself on the bridge, surrounded by those who love her.

"Mr. Paris, get us the hell away from here, StarFleet will be on to us soon, let's
move!"

She took her place in her comfortable chair as Voyager vacated the star system, plotting a course to a very distant system, just inside the delta quadrant...
Janeway looked around, reassured of her actions by the faces all around her.
She smiled...

"It's good to be home!"

~END~