Spirit Walk_ Old Wounds (Book 1) - Christie Golden [25]
“No, of course not,” agreed Kol. “If only the Federation had been more isolationist. Certainly there are enough challenges among its member planets that it didn’t need to go to war and create more.”
“And that,” said Alamys, “is the position of nearly all the planets who are considering withdrawal.”
Kol nodded and sighed. “Continue your conversations with these people, Alamys, and keep me apprised,” she said. “I will take your observations with me to the conference.”
And, she thought sadly, be the bearer of bad news to Admiral Janeway in person.
Chapter
7
ENSIGN DAVID CHITTENDEN SETTLED down in Voyager’s mess hall with his lunch. Everyone’s assignment was new, of course, as this was the ship’s first mission since its return to the Alpha Quadrant. But this was Chittenden’s first assignment on a starship, and he was more than a bit nervous.
He took a bite of his ham sandwich and chewed thoughtfully, his blue eyes darting around to see who else was present. He decided to play a game with himself, to see if he could tell who was one of the original Voyagers and who, like him, was an Alpha Quadrant veteran.
Some of them he knew by sight—Lieutenant Harry Kim, and of course Lieutenant Vorik, who was his superior officer. Their connection with the ship was well-known. But that cute young woman over there, with the short red hair and the freckles on her nose—she had to be AQV, right out of the Academy. She was too young to have served for seven years. And the fellow over there, tall and rangy, about his own age—he kept glancing around as if he didn’t feel comfortable here.
“This seat taken?” came a pleasant female voice.
Chittenden was so startled he spilled his coffee. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you. Please, sit down,” he said. Blushing, he leaped up to wipe a puddle of coffee off the seat he had just indicated.
“Thanks.” The young woman smiled at him as she sat down. When he’d finished cleaning up the spill, she stuck out her hand.
“I’m Lyssa Campbell,” she said.
He shook the proffered hand, recognizing the name as that of the ship’s ops officer.
“David Chittenden,” he said, a little in awe.
“Oh, you’re the whiz kid everyone’s talking about,” she said in a pleased tone of voice, lifting a slice of pizza to her lips.
David felt himself blushing. “Whiz kid?” He sat up a little straighter.
Campbell nodded, chewing on her pizza. She wiped her mouth with her napkin.
“Oh, you bet,” she said. “Vorik’s mentioned your name to me at least twice. And believe me, from him, that’s a real compliment. Welcome aboard Voyager.”
“Thanks,” he murmured, returning his attention to his sandwich. A long pause ensued. Chittenden tried desperately to think of a topic of conversation.
“Um…how does it feel to be back?”
“On Voyager?” She considered it. “Good, I think. But a little strange. Seven years is a long time to be with the same crew.” She gave him a slow smile. “It’s nice to have some new blood.”
He was definitely blushing now. “I suppose it would be,” he said, rather inanely, he thought. Searching for something to say, he added, “Voyager’s a real Starfleet ship now.”
The attractive smile faded and the blue eyes were suddenly chilly. David realized he had inserted his foot in his mouth somehow.
“We were a Starfleet ship every minute that we were in the Delta Quadrant,” she said, her voice still pleasant but with a hint of warning in it.
Oh, God, Chittenden thought desperately. Let me say the right thing.
“Of course you were,” he said quickly. “What I meant was, now those who were in the Delta Quadrant can be on the team again.”
Her expression grew even colder. David winced inwardly. Sports metaphors. Bad idea, Dave. Bad idea.
“We got lost in the Delta Quadrant because Captain Janeway was completing a mission on the orders of Starfleet Command,” Campbell said. There was no mistaking her ire now. “Because we were on that mission, we got kidnapped by the Caretaker. Or haven’t you read up on your history?”
“Um,” said Chittenden.
“We were snatched