Captain Kathyrn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager sat at
the head of the table and looked around at her senior officers as she
prepared to start the morning briefing. With a note of concern she
mentally noted that the Chief Conn Officer, Lieutenant Thomas "Tom"
Paris was missing. Her other senior officers, plus Neelix, were
already present. Her First Officer, Commander Chakotay, was on her
right while her Chief Security Officer, Lieutenant Tuvok, was on her
left. Next to Tuvok sat Ensign Harry Kim, Chief Operations Officer.
Next to Chakotay sat Lieutenant B'Ellana Torres, Chief Engineer.
Neelix, their Delta Quandent guide, cook, and self-appointed
moral-officer, sat next to Ensign Kim.
	Chakotay asked the question on everyone's mind, "Where's Paris?"
	Neelix took in a deep breath to say something but before he
could, the Lieutenant in question walked hurrily into the briefing
room and sat down next to Lieutenant Torres.
	Smiling Paris said to Captain Janeway, "Sorry I'm late..."
	Seeing that Janeway wasn't going to say anything, Chakotay
demanded, "Where have you been? You're ten minutes late!"
	"Holodeck Three," came the reply.
	"And what where you doing on the Holodeck, Lieutenant?"
	"Attending a contest..."
	"What contest?!?"
	"To see who's the best pilot on Voyager," Paris answered with a
smile.
	"Oh," Chakotay replied. Thinking he knew the answer but asking
anyway, Thinking he knew the answer but asking anyway, Thinking he
knew the answer but asking anyway, Thinking he knew the answer but
asking anyway, Thinking he knew the answer but asking anyway,
Thinking he knew the answer but asking anyway, Thinking he knew the
answer but asking anyway, Thinking he knew the answer but asking
anyway, "and who is the best pilot?"
	Janeway and Torres were puzzled. It wasn't like Paris to brag and
yet, they knew that he was the best pilot Voyager had. It was one of
the reasons Janeway got him out of the New Zealand prison to help her
deal with the Maqui in the Badlands, that area of unstable space that
the Maqui had taken to hide in.
	Paris's piloting skills were known throughout the ship, the
others couldn't think of anyone who could outfly him. Yet, there was a
sprinkle of humor in Paris's eyes as if he knew what Chakotay thought
he knew the answer to his question and was trying to set he up for
something. With a laugh, Paris answered, "Why, Chakotay, I thought
*everyone* knew..."
	Paris paused for dramatical effect and looked directly,
challenging at the Chakotay as he said, "that the best pilot onboard
Voyager is... Quicksilver."
	The look of surprise on Chatokay's face was worth whatever
punishment the Captain and he decided on for him being late. After
looking like a fish for a few moments, Chakotay regain his composure
and said, "Quicksilver? I didn't know he could fly..."
	"There's alot we don't know about Quicksilver," Janeway remarked.
	"Then how did he get onboard," Chakotay asked immedaiately. In
Marqui, you had to know everyone a person was capable of because your
life and your fellow Maquis's life depended upon knowing what you were
and were not capable of.
	"He got onboard," Janeway answered, "because Admiral Dorris suggested
him as a temporary Science Officer since he was familiar with unstable
space like the Badlands."
	"And he agreed?" Paris asked shocked. What he knew of Quicksilver
was that he didn't like to be tied down to a starship... Quicksilver
did as he pleased. Even the Admirality, his father, Admiral Paris
included, didn't tell Quicksilver what to do.
	Remembering the conversation that she had with Quicksilver to get
him onboard, Janeway replied, "Yes, he did... on the condition that he
won't be apart of the senior staff."
	"That sounds more like the Quicksilver I know," Paris laughed.
	Intergued, Lieutenant Torres asked, "How did he beat you?"
	"By doing the Cepheus Run at Warp speed," Paris answered with a
touch of awe in his voice.
	"The Cepheus Run! At Warp speed," Chakotay exclaimed.
"Impossible."
	"I beg to differ, Commander," Tuvok stated. "It is a fact of
record that there are three pilots who have successfully navigated the
Cepheus Run at Warp speed, one of whom is Quicksilver."
	"That's why you bet on him," Paris exclaimed.
	At seeing Janeway's arched eyebrow at him, Tuvok stated, "It was
the logical thing..."
	Confused Neelix asked, "The Cepheus Run? What's that?"
	Lieutenant Paris answered, "It's a relatively clear strip of
space through the Cepheus star system, which is a star system that
never formed planets because of two cosmic strings within the system.
the system is a part of the Wasp Combat Simulation."
	Seeing that Neelix did not understand the last part, Ensign Kim
added, "The Wasp Combat Simulation is a Starfleet Academy test for
piloting. A 'Wasp' is a single-person combat craft, about the size of
a shuttlecraft, that has two phaser banks, a mini-photon torpedo
laucher, and warp drive."
	"Most of the cadets try to go through the run... and even at
impulse, the Run is dangerous..." Lieutenant Paris said. "Most crash
into debris only two hundred meters in."
	"And how did you do, Lieutenant?" Chakotay asked in spite of
himself.
	"I only got a two-third of the way through," he replied. "Going
at half impulse on my first attempt. After that, I simply warped
around the system and waiting for the other cadets to be resetted on
the over side of the Run. That's how Quicksilver beat me. He got to
the other end before me by warping through the Run while I warped
around. Boy, did he surprise me."
	"If we are through," Janeway asked everyone. "Let's start the
morning briefing."

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