The Cloud: Part One.

AN: While I was writing this, I had to ask myself: When did they get dilithium?! The next episode (This one) kinda just never explain how long it has been since the other incident. I really want to know now!

Chapter 14: The Cloud: Part One.

(Three days later)

Captain Kathryn Janeway's POV

-----

I glanced up at the chromo-meter on my padd. 0556. The alarm was about to go off anyway.

"Computer, shut off wake up alarm and reset to 24 hours."

There was a few beeps in response as it carried out my order. I gratefully sat down on my sofa and brushed my hair as I looked down at complaints that Chakotay brought in last night, just before his shift ended. I put my brush down and picked up the padd. I relaxed against the sofa as I began to read it. Chakotay already reviewed it, based on his notes at the end. Like any other usual complaint. I quietly sipped my coffee as I couldn't help but chuckle as I went through the complaint list. Chakotay certainly picked a good thread for me to read.

---REPORT---

From: Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres.

To: Commander Chakotay.

Time: 0907

File: COMPLAINT: HOVERING.

Usually, I would not report something like this, but Lieutenant Filters in being an annoying immature brat and hovering again. Like I reported last week. I request you move her to a different part of the ship for my sanity and everyone in engineering.

N: Please ask the Captain why she shoved a 14-year-old untrained idiot into my engineering department and let her be a Lieutenant. Not to mention the fact she is second in command of security. DON'T mention me. Just ask. It can't be that hard old man.

---

From: Lieutenant Bini FIlters.

To: Commander Chakotay.

Time: 1003

FIle: COMPLAINT: THREATENED.

Now, as Tuvok has probably informed you, I suck at reports. So don't expect my complaint to be any better here. So, B'Elanna, the ever scary half klingon over here. Threatened me. I am young, new to life. I don't deserve to be threatened. IF she writes a complaint about me, ignore it! She is crazy!

I request the EMH (Emergency Medical Hologram.) to fix her. To do...what he does. You know...Medicine.

---

From: Lieutenant Bini Filters.

To: Commander Chakotay.

TIme: 1143

File: COMPLAINT: THREATENED 0.2.

I feel like I am being ignored here. Maybe I didn't make myself clear. B'Elanna threatened to RIP MY ORGANS OUT.

Please send her for a mental evaluation as soon as possible.

(Notes- Move Lieutenant Filters out of engineering. If not possible. Keep her there. B'Elanna needs to learn to control her temper. -Chakotay.)

---REPORT---

I set the padd aside and thought about B'Elanna's point. She was right. It was a mistake to make Bini, second in command of security. What was I thinking? I suppose the stress of the situation hit me a bit hard. Tuvok did mention she was good at security...

I looked over to the door of my children's bedroom. Just beyond it, they were peacefully sleeping. I sighed and fiddled with my hair as I looked at the chromo-meter again. 0605. I stood up and pulled my night robe closer to my body as a chill ran up my spine as I got up and started to pace back and forth. Mollie shifted in her doggie bed and lifted her head slightly to narrow her eyes at me in irritation.

"Computer: Personal log, Stardate 48546.2. Our journey home is several weeks old now, and I have begun to notice in my crew and myself, a subtle change as the reality of our situation settles in. Most people have already begun to settle in. But, of course, tensions are still high. The Ex-Maquis have yet to fully integrate into the crew yet. I, of course, didn't expect it to be an easy change.

I am worried about my children. Sarah as expressed home-sickness as Micheal has become increasing more silent. When he does talk, it is mostly around Bini. I think he too misses home. Sometimes I wish that I never brought them out here. That I listened to my mother and let them stay in Indiana before I left for HQ that day. But, I think if I did that, they would have a hard time growing up without both of us around. They already lost one parent. I don't want them to lose the other.

Commander Chakotay mentioned to me the other day the crew was starting to seem like a family to him and many others. I wish I could include myself in that "family" they described. We are more than a crew and I must find a way to be more than a captain to these people, but it's not clear to me exactly how to begin. At the Academy, we are taught that a captain is expected to maintain a certain distance. Until now, I've always been comfortable with that distance. But of course, doubt has been settling in the past few days. Maybe this is just the way it works. Maybe the distance is necessary. Maybe more than ever now, they need me to be larger than life. Maybe this is just the way it works. Maybe the distance is necessary. Maybe more than ever now, they need me to be larger than life. I only wish I felt larger than life...Computer. Delete the last sentence."

It beeped in response.

"Computer, end personal log."

Suddenly, the door to my children's room hissed open. Sarah rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she looked up at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Mommy? Why are you talking to yourself so loud?" She muttered and let out a big yawn. I gave her a small smile and gestured her to come towards me. She obeyed and hopped onto the sofa, then hugged me tightly.

"Sorry, Little bird. I didn't mean to wake you." I replied as I ran my hand through her red curly locks. She snuggled closer as her grip tightened.

"It is alright, Mommy. Do you have to go on duty today?" She whimpered.

"Yes, I do."

"But, but I don't want you to go!"

"I am sorry, Sarah. You still have Micheal-"

"Micheal is mean. He won't even talk to me. When he does, he just snaps at me."

"Micheal is going through a tough time, Sarah."

"He shouldn't be mean to me about it!" She snapped back, I felt wet tears slide from Sarah and onto my nightgown.

"How about this...we take a walk this morning. Just you and me? Micheal will probably be asleep for another hour, knowing him." I replied.

She looked up with me with a big grin and nodded.

"Yes!"

"Good, now quietly get dressed, alright?"

She nodded again and quietly ran off to their bedroom. Mollie stirred again at the sudden excitement but eventually decided it wasn't worth her time and went back to sleep.

---Ten minutes later---

Sarah and I headed towards the corridor, towards engineering. I straightened my uniform as Sarah pulled on her ponytail to tighten it and happily skipped the corridor, just a few cms away from me. We were in comfortable silence as she hummed. Crew members passed by and did the usual "Good morning, Captain." and respectful nod as they hurried along their way.

Sarah stopped and watched them walk around the bend then she skipped back towards me.

"Why don't they call you by your first name?" She asked with the tilt of her head.

"That wouldn't be appropriate," I replied.

"Why not?" She asked.

"I am the Captain."

"Oh. But your name is pretty."

"Sorry, it's law."

"It's a stupid law." She muttered. I rolled my eyes as we walked into engineering. The night shift was logging off consoles and leaving for their quarters as some of the early starters for the day shift started replacing them. B'Elanna was yelling at ensign Vorik as she shoved a padd into his hand and barked more orders around at the second level of engineering. She sucked in a deep breathe and leaned against the upper railing. Then she noticed us.

Her eyes almost popped out of her skull as she went straight to attention and ran to the nearest lift to get down to our level.

"Captain, I didn't realize there was an inspection scheduled!" She panicked and practically jumped from the lift. Then tried to act as if nothing happened.

"Not an inspection, Lieutenant. A stroll." I replied. She relaxed a little but was still tense. Sarah giggled a little at her. B'Elanna glared at her.

"We should have the warp drive up and running by oh nine hundred hours. Recalibrating the reactant injectors is the only thing we have left to do." B'Elanna reported.

"Carry on," I said and moved past her to look over-engineering. Sarah followed closely behind.

-----

Lieutenant Bini FIlters POV

I gagged at the purple foodstuff in front of me and pushed it away, then took a swing of my Hot Chocolate and relaxed against my backrest. The foul aftertaste of the meal over-powered the hot chocolate. Tom and Harry had similar expressions of disgust as Harry put a hand to his mouth and looked away as Tom closed his eyes and kept eating it.

"How can you even stomach that?" Harry demanded as Tom shoved another bite and painfully gulped.

"Practice." He mumbled.

"Practice? What practice?" I demanded.

"Practice." He snapped again. Not willing to offer any more info on the matter.

Harry and I shrugged in defeat and quietly sipped our beverages as Tom fiddled with his food.

"When do you think he might kill us?" I asked. Tom and Harry snapped their heads up and looked at me with a confused glance.

"P-Pardon?" Harry stammered out.

"What I mean is, when will Neelix end up making a meal and finally killing us?" I asked.

"Are you feeling alright?" Tom asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What? Fine. Just fine. Why?"

"Maybe you didn't hear yourself- You said-"

Harry suddenly slammed his hand on the table and frantically pointed towards one of the doors to the messhall. A door that the Janeway family had just walked through. Tom swore under his breathe and straightened his posture.

"Shoot." I muttered. I will admit, there have been high tensions around the ship. I have been forced to limit my contact with certain...um...people to make sure I don't get beat up. The Maquis are getting restless. I think that was proven by Seska and her two damn bodyguards. They will pounce at any moment based on who we are with. Tom and I know this first hand. We figured it out three days ago and don't dare report it based on trying to stay alive. Luckily, no one really cares about Harry, so we are cool with him.

Unfortunately, the Captain's kids are on the NO list. I have to stay away or else, goodbye.

They approached our table. We all seized up. Tom gave me a worried glance. The Captain smiled towards us as Micheal just kept his eyes on the ground and Sarah was holding her nose in disgust as the smell of Neelix's latest creation hit her.

"So, has Neelix concocted anything interesting this morning?" The Captain chirped at us.

"There's an ancient Chinese curse, Captain. May you live in interesting times. Mealtime is always interesting now that Neelix is in the kitchen." Harry replied with a nervous chuckle in the end.

"We shouldn't judge him too harshly. He is helping us conserve replicator energy." She insisted. Tom attempted to act normal as a message appeared on my padd, on the table. I slowly picked it up and looked over to the padd Tom was holding, hidden under the table.

I picked it up and opened the chatroom Tom just started.

---CHATROOM---

Flyboy: Seska is looking at us with that damn crusty glare again.

BF: What?

Flyboy: Look to your right. In the corner.

---Chatroom---

I looked to my right. Seska sat at a table in the back with those two Maquis bodyguards. Glaring at us with her usual venom and doing a cutting throat motion. I gulped in air and settled back into my seat. Wanting to do anything to just melt away or go invisible.

Tom attempted to use his usual joking manner to crack the strange tensions that went across the table.

"And I'm sure the gastrointestinal problems will go away as soon as our systems get used to his, er, gourmet touch." He said. Janeway chuckled and nodded.

"Well, I'll see you at duty call." She said and walked towards the kitchen, followed by Mollie.

Sarah and Micheal stayed of course. Micheal finally looked up, he didn't look too good. Kinda pale. Well, paler than usual.

"Want to eat breakfeast with us, Bini?" He asked in a weak voice.

"Sorry, Micheal. Not today." I replied. His face saddened but quickly he hid it and nodded.

"Alright, bye." He mumbled and followed his mother. Sarah hesitated, she looked at me. Confused. But then decided to follow Micheal. She scampered off. Tom and I let out a breathe we didn't know we were holding.

"We should've asked them to join us." Harry pointed out as he started to poke his fork into the food.

"Ensigns don't invite captains or her family for that matter, to sit down." Tom insisted as he finished up the last of his food and gagged.

"Or Lieutenants for that matter." I added.

"Why not?" Harry demanded.

"Because they just don't. Protocol and such. You went to the Academy. You should know this." I replied in annoyance.

"There is no protocol saying that we can't! Well, what's wrong with showing a little courtesy?" Harry insisted.

"Captains don't want courtesy, they want respect. That's why they don't get chummy with the lower ranks!" Tom exclaimed.

"Well, who else is she supposed to get chummy with out here? There aren't many other captains and admirals for her to talk to." Harry fought back. Tom looked towards me for help.

"If she wants to sit with us, she'll ask us to join her. That's the way it's done." I snapped. Harry rolled his eyes and settled back.

"You guys are operating on an old rule book." Harry muttered.

"Better us than you."

-----

Sarah's POV

Bini and Tom are acting weird. Bini hasn't hanged out with us in three days! Micheal is sad all the time and Mommy isn't around anymore. She is always too busy. I don't understand why this is happening. Did I do something wrong? I held Mollie by her collar tightly as we reached Neelix's counter. Mommy grabbed a cup and Mug and attempted to fill it. It was empty. She leaned over the counter.

"Neelix?" She called out.

No response...

She moved away and went into the kitchen to look for some more coffee. We followed her, looking at the boiling pots and weird green stuff.

Suddenly, Neelix appeared. He wiped his hands on the apron.

"Captain! May I say, you look beautiful this morning. Is that a new colour lipstick?" He asked. Mommy was just trying to get coffee.

"No. No, it's the same colour I always wear." She replied. Neelix shrugged and started to mix one of the pots.

"Well, perhaps it's just the way the glow of the food heater lamps hit you but you look wonderful. Not to suggest you don't always look wonderful." He insisted as Mommy pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Neelix. Do we have any coffee left?" She asked.

"No, but we have something even better." He happily replied and hurried to the backroom.

"I don't want something better. I want coffee!" She demanded. Neelix didn't seem to hear her as he fiddled around.

"It's made from a proteinaceous seed I discovered on an expedition." Neelix explained as he came back out with a cup and a pitcher. Mommy rolled her eyes and glared at him.

"Never mind. I'll use one of my replicator rations for coffee." She muttered and headed out of the kitchen. Neelix rushed forward and blocked her way.

"That would not be appropriate, Captain."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You need to set an example for the crew."

"Well, thank you for reminding me." She replied sarcastically and weaved past him again.

"You're welcome. After all, if you want the crew to begin to accept natural food alternatives instead of further depleting our energy reserves, you need to encourage them by your own choices, don't you?" He added. Mommy stopped in her tracks and slowly turned to face Neelix. She was scowling at him. Mollie whined beside me.

"Fine. Give me your even better than coffee substitute." She snapped. He grinned and let her take the cup from him.

"And how about some Takar loggerhead eggs with that this morning for the little ones and yourself?" He asked. Micheal and I cringed at the thought of having to eat his...mess. Mommy raised up her hand to silence him.

"Just...Coffee."

"It's a tiny bit richer blend than you're used to, but you'll learn to love it." He insisted and poured a black, thick liquid into her cup. We all gasped and Micheal and I gagged as Mommy's jaw dropped. Neelix didn't seem to notice as he filled the cup and placed the pitcher down on the table.

"Ew!" Micheal called out. I nodded in agreement as Mommy narrowed her eyes at us. Great. We were in trouble.

Neelix looked offended.

"Micheal, that wasn't very nice. Apologize to Neelix."

"Sorry." He mumbled and looked down at the floor again. Mommy swirled the cup and looked down at the...coffee. She gulped and nervously looked at Neelix.

"Go on, Captain."

Suddenly, her combadge chirped. Mommy slammed her hand on it.

"Bridge to Janeway."

"Janeway here. On my way." She barked and closed the channel then handed to coffee to Neelix. "Sorry, Neelix. Maybe tomorrow."

Then she ran out. Leaving us alone. Again.

-----

Lieutenant Bini Filters POV

I checked the time on my chronometer. It was 0700. I was about to be late. I quickly excused myself and ran out of the messhall, hopefully the Captain will notice that I am not late. Tom and Harry must be called me a phyico at this point and only then will they realise they too are going to be late. Haha!

Commander Chakotay's POV

The Captain rushed onto the bridge. She looked a little relieved as she crossed the bridge and sat in her chair beside me. I must say she didn't need to come up here but I am happy she is here none the less. She gave me her usual bright smile that made my heart flutter a little. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Bini, Tom, and Harry rush onto the bridge.

"Yes, Commander?" She said.

"There was no need for you to come to the bridge, Captain." I insisted. She shook her head in disagreement and looked back at the viewscreen.

"I assure you, there was." She replied with a small smirk as she shifted position to relax a little.

"I just wanted to alert you to a nebula we've picked up on long-range sensors." I explained. She nodded and turned her head slightly over to Bini, at the security station. Tuvok had the day off.

"Put it on screen. Magnify." She ordered.

"There are unusually high levels of omicron particles within this nebula, Captain." Bini said as she logged onto the security consoles behind her and looked at the scans. The Captain got up and turned to Bini as she finally settled herself into the station.

"Are you thinking we could collect these omicron particles to provide an additional antimatter reserve, Lieutenant?" The Captain said hopefully. Bini looked at her confused.

"Um...Yes?" She replied nervously. A beeping noise sounded on her console. She looked down, then glared at Harry from Ops. Harry chuckled as he kept his eyes down. Bini rolled her eyes and continued on with her work.

"Exploring this nebula should raise some spirits around here, don't you think, Commander?" She beamed as she sat back down beside me.

"No way to go but up." I reassured her. She bit her lower lip, then leaned towards me.

"You're closer to the crew than I am. How bad is it?" She asked. I shrugged and leaned towards her also so that we couldn't be heard.

"There's a nuanka, a period of mourning, that everyone's going through. It's a natural reaction." I explained. She sighed.

"I'm worried about them. I wish we had a counsellor on board, but the nature of our mission didn't require one." She said.

"We talk to animals. It's a Native American tradition." I suggested. She raised her eyebrow.

"Animals?"

"Our own counsellors. We're taught that an animal guide accompanies us through life. Basically, it's what Carl Jung thought he invented when he came up with his active imagination technique in 1932, but we've been doing pretty much the same thing for centuries." I explained.

"Is there a different animal guide for everyone?" She asked.

"Actually, yes."

"Let me guess. Yours is a bear."

"Why do you say that?" I asked with a chuckle. She shrugged.

"You just seem like the bear type."

"Thank you. The bear is a very powerful animal. It has great pokattah. But he's not my animal guide. The creature that guides us doesn't define who we are. It merely chooses to be with us." I explained.

"Okay. If not a bear, then what?"

"I can't tell you that. It would offend my animal guide if I spoke its name."

"But he guides you well?"

"Actually, it's a female. But yes, she usually guides me very well."

"Can one just choose their own animal guide?" She asked.

"It's not quite that simple," I replied.

"Captain. We're approaching the perimeter of the nebula." Tom called out from his station. Her attention shifted to the viewscreen. I felt a little annoyance at the fact that Tom had dragged her attention away from me. Childish I know.

"Slow to one-third impulse." she ordered.

" If you're interested, I'll be glad to teach you how to contact your animal guide." I suggested in a last-ditch effort to reframe the conversation. She leaned towards me with a bright smirk.

"You've got a date!" She exclaimed with excitement a bit too loud which caused a series of reactions from around the bridge.

Bini gagged on her Hot Chocolate she had brought in. Something I should have noticed before. She attempted to choke as her eyes grew wide. Harry desperately looked around for an explanation, Tom started to chuckle and snicker at the front as the rest of the bridge crew also looked around for explanations, just as Harry was but a little less dramatic.

"Analysis, Mister Kim." The Captain barked. Attempting to bring the matter back to hand despite the fact that Tom was giggling and Bini was sucking in deep breathes and cursing under her breathe.

"S-Seven AU's in diameter. Sensors are picking up inte-intermittent gamma and thermal emissions. Nothing our shields can't handle." Harry stammered out.

"Mister Paris, any problems for navigation?" The Captain asked. Tom managed to pull it together.

" I'm showing mostly hydrogen, helium and hydroxyl radicals. Some local dust nodules. I don't see them giving us any trouble." Tom assured her.

"Lieutenant Filters, can you find us a rich deposit of omicron particles in there?"

"A significant concentration appears to exist approximately sixty-four million kilometres inside the perimeter." Bini reported with confused glances. She clearly did not completely understand what she was actually reporting on. She was really just reading off her console.

"Set coordinates." The Captain ordered.

"Aye, Captain." Bini chirped.

"Engines at one quarter impulse. Engage." She ordered.

We all watched as the ship entered into the pick, purple and other beautiful colours of the nebula.

" I've never seen anything like it." Harry said astonished. We all looked towards him as I noticed Bini roll her eyes.

"Don't make comments like that on the bridge Harry. It makes junior officers nervous. We don't want you to fail at your job because you are too nervous." Bini snapped at Harry with a ting of amusement.

It took Harry a moment to catch up to what Bini was actually saying.

"Hey! Wait a minute. I am not a junior officer!" Harry demanded at Bini.

"Oh really? Last I checked, you were an ensign. Junior officer confirmed." She smirked.

"Not confirmed! Wrong!" He insisted.

"So...you are saying...You are not an ensign?"

"Wh-Wait-No. No!" Harry stammered out. Bini took a sip of her Hot Chocolate with a cocky smile. She thinks she has won.

"Density has increased to forty-two percent." Tom reported.

"Cause?" The Captain demanded as she stood from her chair and walked over to the front railing.

"Not sure. We seem to be drawing some interstellar dust toward us." Tom replied. The Captain tapped her combadge.

"Bridge to Engineering, could the magnetic field from our impulse engines be attracting this dust?" She asked on the channel.

"It's a good possibility, Captain. I'm showing the dust with a return force ratio of four to one. Recommend we shut down impulse and go to thrusters." B'Elanna said over the channel.

"Acknowledged. Bridge out." She swiftly closed the channel. She inhaled a deep breathe filled with thoughts and ideas running through her scientific mind as she pinched the bridge of her nose and finally just watched the viewscreen as she made her decision.

"Engage thrusters ahead, slow " She ordered.

"Density still increasing. Up by seventy percent now." Tom Paris reported.

"Lieutenant Filters?" The Captain looked towards Bini for a report.

"The resistance level is no danger to the hull right now, Captain." She assured her.

"How far to your omicron particle deposits?"

"Twelve thousand four hundred kilometres." Bini replied.

"Maintain course and-"

Suddenly, the ship jolted. Everyone stumbled a little in surprise as we all attempt to compose ourselves.

"Report!" Janeway barked as everyone stumbled back to work.

"We're at a dead stop now." Paris reported as his fingers danced across the consoles for answers.

"Engineering to Bridge. Shutting down thrusters." B'Elanna opened a channel to Janeway's combadge.

"We seem to have encountered an energy barrier." Bini said in surprise.

"Is it natural or artificial?" The Captain asked.

"We're not reading any directed energy source down here, Captain. My guess is it's a natural phenomenon." B'Elanna reported.

"How far are we from the particles, Lieutenant?" The Captain asked Bini.

"Just over seven thousand kilometres." Bini replied.

"It's conceivable this energy barrier is related to those particles. Mister Kim, if you can get a transporter beam through the barrier?"

"Can't do it, Captain. The thoron emissions of the barrier would interfere with the transporter signal." Harry said.

"Miss Torres, do we have enough power to take the ship through the barrier?" The Captain asked over the channel.

"The barrier appears to be only fifty metres deep. A four-second burst at maximum thrusters ought to do it."

"All right. Maximum shields. Engage in full thrusters for four seconds and then drop to one quarter." Janeway ordered.

"Acknowledged. Engaging thrusters." Tom reported. The ship began to shake as it pushed through the "barrier" on screen. Suddenly, we shot through it. The area changed to blackness with strange white things shooting up and around the ship and area.

"What do you make of it, Lieutenant Filters?" The Captain asked. Bini shrugged.

"I can't give you observation at the time, Captain. Sorry." She said.

"In other words, you've never seen anything like it. Oh, I promise not to tell the junior officers." Harry chuckled in victory at Bini. Bini's face clenched up as she smiled sweetly at Harry.

"Harry. Another word out of you, I will make sure you will never be able to hear anything, ever again!"

Harry's face fell as I narrowed my eyes in disappointment at Bini.

"Lieutenant..." I warned. Bini mumbled something under her breathe as she clenched her body up and drained the last of her cup.

"Captain, the breach we just make when we penetrated the field? It just closed behind us." Tom reported as he watched his sensors.

-----

Kes's POV

I couldn't help but roll my eyes as Neelix paced the area near the Messhall windows. I occasionally looked up at the window at the strange inside of a Nebula.

"Kes! Now, look what she's gotten us into!" Neelix exclaimed as he pointed towards the windows.

"Do all nebulas look like that?" I asked. Since I have lived on a planet for most of my life, I have never really been inside a nebula.

" I wouldn't know. I'm smart enough to go around nebulas when I encounter them." Neelix insisted, Clearly enraged.

"These people are natural-born explorers, Neelix." I insisted. I heard the soft hiss of the messhall doors opening. Young Micheal Janeway, Sarah Janeway and Mollie. I was about to tell Neelix but he was already too enraged to listen as he started to pace again.

"These people are natural-born idiots if you ask me. They don't appreciate what they have here. This ship is the match of any vessel within a hundred light-years, and what do they do with it? Well, let's see if we can't find some space anomaly today that might rip it apart!" Neelix ranted.

"I don't think the Captain is an idiot. She cares a great deal about her crew." I insisted. I attempted to soften the blow that the kids had stumbled apon. I thought that would be smarter than-

" You don't care a great deal about your crew and introduce them to the spectre of death at every opportunity. And I speak as a member of that crew now. I'm not sure I would've wanted you to come along had I known that this is what-"

Sarah and Micheal gasped in horror as Mollie growled at us.

"Mommy is not an idiot." Micheal snapped at him. Sarah's eyes welled up. Neelix eyes widened as I lowered my eyes to the floor in embarrassment. I should have warned him sooner.

"I am sorry, Micheal-"

"No! Mommy is not an idiot! Don't you dare call her that!" Micheal demanded as his anger grew.

"Micheal, Sarah-" I stepped forward to calm them but Sarah had bursted into tears and kept muttering something about her Mother under her breathe as Micheal let go of Mollie's leash. Mollie went over to Sarah and sat down next to her cry shuttering form and whined in an attempt to calm her with her presence.

Micheal's face also started to tear up.

"Don't ever say that about Mommy again!" Micheal said with hostility. He then spun around and stormed out, Sarah had run after him with Mollie.

I looked over to Neelix, his anger from before had vanished and was replaced by guilt. I placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I know you are angry about the recent action that this crew have taken but...We should give them a chance." I said. Neelix nodded.

"I should probably go apologize to them now." He mumbled and moved to leave the messhall. I quickly grabbed his arm and shook my head in disagreement.

"No. Not yet. They are little kids put in an unusual situation. It is getting to the. Give them a chance to calm down. Alright? Just a few hours." I insisted. He nodded with a small smile.

"Alright, sweety."

"Besides. I agree with Micheal and Sarah. If I were Captain, I'd open every crack in the universe and peek inside, just like Captain Janeway does." I chirped.

---End Of Chapter 14. The Cloud Part Two.---