TITLE: A Can To Remember
AUTHOR: Matteabrit, May 2002
SUMMARY: A young boy has a gift for a Starfleet Academy graduate
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: Not mine… Merde!
The ceremonies were over and now Kathryn stood with the other former cadets, waiting for their parents to meet them. She did not know who any of the others were, though she felt she might have recognised one or two of them from classes they may have shared. But she felt totally alone in the crowd.
A small figure came bustling up to the group. It was that of a small boy, no more than twelve years of age and his face lit up with a huge smile when he saw Kathryn standing there. His blond hair hung slightly over one of his eyes, and he pushed it back nervously with one hand as he approached her. The other hand stayed behind his back.
“Miss Katie?” he asked with some slight hesitation.
She looked down at him. “Tommy,” she smiled, resisting the urge to hug him. He’d protested vehemently the last time she’d seen him; said he was too old to be hugged by her. “How are you?” She looked around. “Is your father around?”
“He’s talking to people,” the boy shrugged. “I wanted to come see you.”
“Oh?”
“I wanted to say congratulations on graduating.”
“Well, thank you, Tommy.” She would have begun looking for either his father or her parents but she sensed there was more to come.
“Miss Katie?”
“Yes, Tommy.”
“Dad says you’re the cream of the crop. What does that mean?”
Kathryn blushed. “Well, I guess he was trying to say that he considers us good in what we do. Why?”
“And you’re from Indiana, right? And they grow corn there?”
She wondered where the young man was going with his questioning. “Well, yes, Tommy, I am. And there are a lot of cornfields by my house. Maybe one day you can come visit them.”
His face lit up. “That would be cool.” His expression changed again and he became more sombre. “Anyway, I wanted to give you a cool graduation present and since Dad said that you were the cream and because you come from Indiana I replicated this for you.”
Finally his other hand came out from behind his back and Kathryn was able to see the old fashioned metal tin labelled “Cream of Sweetcorn Condensed Soup.” She threw back her head and laughed, and her nearest fellow graduate, a dark-haired young man with a serious expression, jumped in surprise. “Oh Tommy, it's perfect. Thank you so much.” She took the can from him and held it in both her hands. “I’ll keep it forever. Everywhere I go it will go too.”
His eyes widened. “I thought you’d eat it.”
Kathryn panicked. Had she said the wrong thing? “Do want me to?”
“No,” he smiled. “I like that you’re gonna keep it.” He looked around as they heard his name being called across the room. “That’s my dad,” he muttered, a frown creasing his face.
“Thomas Eugene Paris, there you are,” Admiral Paris scolded as he placed a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Your mother was wondering where you were. She’s talking to Mrs. Torres.” He leaned down and smiled conspiratorially. “Go rescue her.”
Kathryn laughed as Tommy ran off. “I don’t recall anyone by the name of Torres in the class, Admiral,” she told him.
“John Torres was taking some additional classes at the Academy in a specialist area,” Admiral Paris replied. “Mrs Torres is a Klingon.” He shuddered. “I believe they have a daughter around Tommy’s age.” He looked down at his former student. “You okay, Katie?”
She smiled. “I’m fine, thank you.”
“Your parents around?”
“My sister got sick so mother left with her. I’m just waiting for my father. He got called away for something.”
The Admiral shook his head. “There’s always something these days,” he sighed. His commbadge beeped as if to prove his point. He hastily made his apologies and moved away.
“Cream of the crop, huh?” The dark-haired graduate had come to stand by her side and she found that he wasn’t so serious after all, that there was a gleam in his eye that could easily be misconstrued.
“I guess.” She smiled. “You heard my conversation then.”
“Sorry,” he said but she could tell he wasn’t. The sparkle in his eyes gave him away. “Nice gift. Though I prefer mushroom.”
“I meant what I said. I’m not going to eat it. Wherever I go, the can will go too. Tell me, Ensign,” she said, noting the one pip on his collar. “Did you get a gift as fine as this?”
He shook his head and grinned. “I have to confess that I didn’t. But then I don’t know people in high places. So Miss Katie,” he continued, calling her by the young man’s name for her. “What was your speciality?”
“Sciences. Yours?”
“Tactical.”
“Your family here to see you?”
Again he shook his head. “Sore point with them me being here. It's not exactly sticking to the traditional ways of my people, you know.” She nodded, even though she didn’t know. It was a mystery how anyone could disapprove of Starfleet.
“Kathryn.” She heard her father’s voice and turned to find him approaching her.
“I guess I better get going. That’s my father.”
“He’s finished whatever called him away then.”
“It looks like it. Nice to meet you, Ensign. Maybe I’ll see you again?”
“Or maybe not.” He winked at her. “Take care of that soup, Ensign!”
Voyager was in the Delta Quadrant for the long haul. No doubt about it. Her actions of the day had ensured that they were going to have a long journey in front of them. Kathryn bit her lip as she crossed her ready room to the low shelf by the viewport. Picking up the battered metal can and cradling it gently in her hands she marvelled again at how it had survived the throw into the Delta Quadrant. Tommy, she thought before correcting herself. No, he was Tom now, a grown man with his own troubles. John Torres’ daughter was here as well; she’d have to decide what to do about them both now.
The door to her ready room chimed and she turned to face the new arrival. After her call of “come” the door slid open to reveal the Maquis commander, Chakotay. He still looked a little worse for wear after the battle with the Kazon sect and his jaw was set in a fashion that could only be described as stubbornness.
“Commander,” she greeted him as she stepped down to the lower level of the room and gestured for him to take a seat. “We have some issues to discuss.” She noticed that he hadn’t moved and instead was staring at her. “Commander?”
He blinked. “I’m sorry, Captain. You’re right. We do need to discuss some things.” He continued to stare at her. “Forgive me for what might sound like a very stupid question, Captain. But is that a can of cream of sweetcorn soup?”
Kathryn had forgotten the can in her hands. Now she looked down at it again before her head shot back up to look at her erstwhile enemy. “Tactical?” she gasped.
“Sciences?” he muttered. Now he did move to sit in the chair she’d offered him but it was more out of shock than anything else. “I don’t believe it. I mean, oh god, that Paris. How did I never make the connection between the kid with the can and him?” He brushed a hand over his face and looked at the woman who now sat the other side of the desk. “Good to see you took good care of that soup,” he grinned, trying desperately to recover.
Kathryn placed the can down in the centre of the desk. “We come from two different viewpoints, Commander,” she told him. “But we need to work together to get all our people home again. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
“Commander Chakotay, I would like to offer you the position of my first officer. I warn you, it’s not an easy job and I can be a difficult woman, but I think it might just work. What do you say?”
“I’d say it doesn’t look I have much of a choice,” he replied but his words were said light-heartedly. “You need the Maquis crew to run this ship the way it’s supposed to be run, which I’m presuming will be the Starfleet way. And you need someone to make sure that crew does what it needs to do to ensure our survival out here? Right?”
She half-smiled and she looked a little embarrassed. “Right,” she admitted.
“Then I accept,” Chakotay told her. He looked down at the can and back up at his new captain’s face. “And here’s my suggestion. My guess is that you and I are going to have differing viewpoints. As you said, we have different backgrounds. But we do have common ground.” He reached out and tapped the can firmly. “If we can remember a little boy’s face when his Miss Katie accepted his gift then we should be able to find our way back.”
She nodded and groaned. “That little boy,” she repeated. “What am I going to do about him?”
“He’s a decent pilot,” Chakotay admitted. “Put him at conn. Don’t you worry about what the maquis might think. I’ll look out for him.”
Kathryn was doubtful. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. He saved my life, therefore his life is mine and vice versa.” Chakotay stood up and headed towards the side door of the room. “Call him in. I’m going to my new quarters to freshen up. I don’t think a first officer should look this bad. Do you?”
He was gone before she could even say, “Dismissed.” Taking a deep breath and forcing herself not to get angered at his apparent lack of respect, she stood up. Picking up the can she looked it over once more before returning it to its rightful place. Tapping her commbadge she called, “Janeway to Paris.”
His voice crackled back. “Yes, Captain?”
“Please report to my ready room immediately.”
FINIS