Always Tomorrow: First Encounters
By Erin Alpert

Yes, I know the weird star person is named Erin, but it's part of a long
running game... I guess this is an alternate universe, because Kim and Kes
have a daughter..

Running quickly through the woods, she heard the people calling her name,
but she couldn't stop.. she had to run, just run, run...

"Tom, how do we keep getting stuck on these boring away missions?"  B'Elanna
Torres looked thoughtfully up at her companion, Tom Paris.
"I don't know..." he was about to say more, but a rustle in the woods jerked
his attention away. "What was that?"
"I don't know," Torres took out her tricorder and began scanning the area.
A young girl burst out from the forest, and got caught in B'Elanna's tight
grip.
The girl  flinched, and made attempted efforts to cover her head.
From what the Starfleet officers could tell, she was around 10, 11, 12,
maybe 13.  She had the oddest colored hair, it was a darkened shade
of brown when the sun wasn't sparkling off of it, but when that happened,
it appeared almost more blond. The girl's hair was pulled up into a half
pony-tail.... it didn't look like it could be in a full one.. it hung a little
above where her chin was.
"Please, don't let them catch me," she pleaded, her voice trembling with
fear.
"What did you do?" B'Elanna asked, trying to get the kid to lift her head up
a little.
"I.. I. hurry! They're coming," and sure enough, there came a group of
people.
"Away team to Voyager, three to beam up," Paris barked.
"Three?" the confused transporter operator asked.
"Yes, three, and get the doctor, maybe Kes and Keela too," Paris commanded,
as he, the girl, and B'Elanna were whisked up into a state of nothingness.

When they were back, standing the transporter room, the Doc was too.
 Tricorder in hand, he moved up to the child, and tried to coax her to lift
her head, before he made her. She refused, and when the doctor finally
pulled her chin so she was looking into his brown, holographic eyes, what
the rest of the room saw, shocked them...

Splashed across her childlike face, were the hints of ridges... Klingon
ridges.  But she wasn't fully Klingon, or even half Klingon.. maybe a
quarter... but who knew.
The girl looked around, and her gaze settled on Torres. Blinking, she asked,
"Mom?"
Looking first to her left, where Tom was standing, then to her right, as if
trying to find someone else, Torres said, "No,  I don't have a daughter."
The doors whooshed open, and Kes rushed in, followed by her daughter, Keela.
The other girl, not Keela, ignored the new people walking in, and said,
"You... are my mom," she felt around the front of her shirt, until finding
where a small piece of jewelry was hidden: a locket. "See, that's you."
Torres gasped, looking at the woman in the picture, it was her, "Who's your
father?"
"I... I don't know."
Keela, who had about the equivalent to the other girls age, but her
half-Ocampan physiology made her actually younger, looked cautiously into
the new kid's pale blue eyes.
"Hello, my name is Keela Kim, I want to you tell me what happened, who you
are.. you can tell me everything.  I'll be your friend..."
The girl looked at Keela, and gave her a funny expression, "I'm not three
years old, you don't have to talk to me that way."
Keela smiled, "Good.  Would you still like to talk for a while?"
The child thought for a while, "Yes, I'd like that a lot."
"Not so fast you too, I need to run some tests on her," the doctor
announced.
"Well, run 'um fast, I want to get out of here," the new girl complained.
The Doc took his tricorder, and ran some basic analysis tests, then
dismissed the girls.

Keela led the girl to her and her family's quarters. There was some loud
music playing.
"What is that?!?!" the child shrieked.
"That's my dad."
"He sure sounds weird."
"No.. he's playing the Clarinet."
"Ohhhhhhhh..."

Once inside, Keela went to see her father for a minute.
"Dad, could you leave us alone for a while?"
"Sure, new friend, Keela?"  Harry Kim asked her, Harry Kim, her father.
"You could say that."

In Keela Kim's room, the two girls plopped onto the bed, and Keela got some
food.
"Hungry?"
"Sure," and she got tossed a candy bar like food.
"So, what's your name?"
"Erin."
"Erin.. what? Last name, middle name.. whatever."
"Erin R'Syia..."
"That's a pretty name."
"Thanks.. I guess."
Erin looked for a long time at Keela, trying to memorize her appearance.
Dark hair, oriental skin color, deep, rich, brown eyes.

In sickbay, the doctor was analyzing his scans, and found some disturbing
news.
"What is it Doc?" Torres asked.
"And why did you call me here too?" Paris added.
"Well, Lieutenant Torres, this child is definitely yours."
"Oh god," B'Elanna moaned, and Paris put his arm around her, to comfort her.
"And Lieutenant Paris, this child is definitely yours too..."

To
Be
Continued
:+)

And hopefully... it won't be as long as TPOL!!

Copyright 1997, Erin Alpert, Part 1. Eraalpert@aol.com
Via-dudes own Tommy, Lanna, Kim, Kes, Doc, etc.... I own Erin R'Syia (weird
name, huh?) And Natalie owns Keela....