K'shatrisu, ha'kel t'du wilat?

Prologue

"How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life."

-James Kirk, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek.

My ancestors were some of the first colonists to settle on Mars, so perhaps it should not have been such a surprise to my parents that all four of their beloved children looked to the stars. While my oldest brother did not join Star Fleet, the rest of us did, though all of us did leave the Sol system behind. Most on this ship look to Earth as their home, but for me it is Mars. From space it looks so much different than the Earth. A small rusty planet, unlike the Earth, which appears like a bright blue gem in space. Even though I joined Star Fleet to learn about other cultures and to explore space, I do miss my home planet sometimes, especially the last three years. I know I will probably never see my home planet again, but many on this ship are determined to see the Earth again. They dream of a blue planet, yet I see a red planet in my dreams. I am bitter perhaps, but I do not think I will live to see it again, so my dreams and memories will have to do instead.

I was fresh out of the academy when I was first assigned to this ship, nervous and excited about my first assignment. There were a few others officers fresh out of the academy as well, so I was not the only one to be wet behind the ears. These last three years have been trying, and full of adventure and hardship. A few crewmembers have been lost and when we first started this voyage, I had been full with such hope and passion. The chances here to study the cultures and peoples of the Delta Quadrant, while amazing and fascinating, cannot make up for the simple fact that we are thousands of light-years away from home. I used to trust our captain explicitly, yet this newest development….with the Borg…what in the hell is she thinking?

The crew is scared of the Borg naturally, as am I, but I do not know if most of them hate them as I do. My second oldest brother, Jason, served in the archaeological research division on the USS Saratoga, was killed by them. Hatred was almost unknown to me beforehand, dislike definitely, but never such a sweet and terrifying hatred that is always there. Hidden, minute at times, but it is always there teasing me in the back of my mind. My brother was murdered the same year I entered the academy, and now with my captain's foolish and stupid alliance with the Borg….

They will betray us. They are evil.

I do not think we will survive this time. Our luck is running out….

A/N: I have never written a fanfic for Star Trek before, so forgive me if I make any mistakes. This is a Vorik/OC pairing, since there are not enough stories out there for him! Thanks to Sensara for inspiring me try writing a Star Trek fanfic with her own awesome stories, and for being my beta.

The title is in Vulcan, meaning "Foreigner, where is your home?" I am changing cannon here and there, but will generally follow the show. The situation with B'Elanna and Vorik never happened and his pon farr will happen later in Season 4. This story is starting right after the temporary alliance with the Borg and with Seven-of-Nine having just come on board. There will be mentions of previous events from the show for we are jumping into the story three years into Voyager's journey. Chapters will be much longer then this prologue. Please review and thanks for reading!