With a gasp of air, the hybrid Vulcan and Talaxian scanned the room. "Where... where am I?"
"Mr. Tuvix," Keten grinned and stepped forward with a welcoming handshake, "You may not recognize my appearance, but it's me. Harry Kim. It's good to see you."
"Harry?..." Tuvix looked at him, questioning his new, purple and pinkish appearance. "Is that really you?" Tuvix studied his old friend's familiar yet unfamiliar face. "You sure sound like Harry. Talk, walk, and hold yourself like Harry... but... what happened to you?"
Keten smiled and chuckled. "It's a long story, old friend, which I will gladly share with you when you've settled down."
Medical Officer T stepped forward and began scanning Tuvix's vitals, but the sight of a Borg aboard a Starfleet vessel made Tuvix cower back and yelp in fear.
"It's alright, Tuvix!" Keten spoke up and reassured him. "This is our Chief Medical Officer, Thegris, or he goes by T." Keten patted his friend reassuringly on the back.
"Harry..." Tuvix looked at him in dismay and confusion. "Where am I?" His face was wrought with dread and fear as he looked around the unfamiliar transporter room.
Captain approached with a welcoming smile and open hand. "Mr. Tuvix, I'm Captain Anzyl Praxas," he said, extending his hand. "And welcome aboard the USS Nexus."
Tuvix nodded slightly and shook the Captain's hand. "Thank you, Captain," he kept looking around the room and the unfamiliar crew. "But I was just aboard Voyager, and now... I'm here." He stared right at Keten. "And you were... very different looking, Mr. Kim."
Keten nodded and with open hands motioned to the door. "How about we head to the ship's mess hall and have a talk? A... bit has happened since..."
Tuvix stared off into the distance. "Since I pleaded for my life to Janeway?" he spoke like he had just seen a ghost, as he and Keten walked slowly out of the transporter room.
Captain Praxas tapped his combadge. "Captain to Counselor Diela, you may want to join Keten and our new visitor in the Melting Pot. You may have a new patient before you know it."
"Understood, Captain. On my way," the woman's soft voice replied over his comms.
Then Tey'un muttered to himself out loud, "Hey, great job, Tey'un. Totally brought back someone who was declared deceased 40 years ago, but no biggie."
Neil and Nolan overheard him, both smirking. Nolan walked over and shook his hand. "Well done, young sir. You did indeed accomplish something grand today. It will for sure go down in the history books!"
Then Tey'un sulked, "Great... I'm gonna be in a book... again..."
—
In the Melting Pot, at a table in the corner of the large venue, Keten, the Captain, and Counselor Diela sat around, listening intently to Tuvix's very understandable woes.
With a deep sigh of despair, Tuvix spoke. "One of my last memories was being tackled by security," he was almost on the verge of tears, "and pleading for my life to Captain Janeway... and then... she murdered me!" He slammed the table, then sank his face into his hands. "And now you're telling me that was almost 40 years ago!"
Just as Tey'un walked by with a tray of food, he casually and nonchalantly blurted out, "She didn't murder you. You're here alive, aren't you?"
Anzyl sat up and barked, "Not helping, Tey'un!"
Tuvix replied steadily, "No, Captain. He is correct. My Talaxian emotions say I should be hurt, bitter, and angry... but my Vulcan logic dictates that the young engineer is correct. I am indeed..." He looked at his hand and around the large Melting Pot, "alive."
Diela smiled softly. "So no hard feelings against Janeway or the crew of the Voyager? Or this crew for that matter?"
Tuvix looked at the Captain, Counselor, and his friend Keten. "Again, my Talaxian emotions say yes, but my Vulcan logic says no." Then, sitting back and looking at the grand hall of the Melting Pot, the dozens of hanging and softly waving banners, each with a different faction's emblem, showed the vast diversity that made up the crew of the Nexus.
"What will you do now?" Keten asked, handing his friend a cup of Vulcan tea.
"I don't really know, Harry..." Tuvix kept his eyes roving about the smorgasbord of banners on display. "I am 40 years out of place. 40 years behind in history. 40 years behind Starfleet regulations and protocol. Too old to join Starfleet Academy, too young to give up now." His face grew a smile. "Just how many races are represented aboard this vessel, Captain?"
Anzyl smiled softly. "Last I counted was 265. With new ones coming aboard and disembarking at almost every station we port at."
Tuvix smiled softly, holding his cup of tea. "I suppose you don't have room for a Galleykeep that's half Vulcan, seven-sixteenths Talaxian, and one-sixteenth Mylean, huh?"
Keten perked up at the word "Galleykeep." "Oh, Tuvix, I miss your cooking!" He then turned to the Captain. "And we don't actually have a station's Galleykeep aboard!"
"Oh, this ship doesn't need a Galleykeep!" Tuvix looked around the state-of-the-art mess hall. "But do you happen to also have a Morale Officer?" Tuvix smiled earnestly.
Anzyl laughed loudly. "We have no need of a Morale Officer, Mr. Tuvix. We are not stranded thousands of light-years from home." But then, looking over at the counters and a large area typically used for storage, he added, "But a Galleykeep, we do not have. That, indeed, we do not."
Keten spoke up, confused. "Do we really need a Galleykeep, sir? The Nexus has the most state-of-the-art replicators in the fleet."
Anzyl held up his pastry on his plate. "You are talking to the captain, who is also a master-class patisserie, and one of the few people aboard who fully understands the welcoming power of a home-cooked meal." He smiled and turned to Tuvix. "If you think you're up for the challenge of coming up with home-cooked meals for a crew of 5,000, then the job is all yours."
Tuvix stood up straight and saluted the Captain. "Then Galleykeep Tuvix, reporting for duty. Sir!"
Anzyl laughed and laughed. "Welcome aboard, Mr. Tuvix." He stood up and shook his hand, then tapped his combadge. "Captain to Eroga, we have a new crew member to add to the ship's roster and process. See to it that Mr. Tuvix here has everything he could ever dream of."
Eroga replied, confused. "Um, yes, sir. Absolutely. Just have Mr. Tuvix report to my office whenever he is ready."
Then Tuvix gave the biggest half-Talaxian, half-Vulcan smile he possibly could and vigorously shook the captain's hand, ever grateful for the second chance at life.
A new life aboard the USS Nexus.