Chapter Text
One hour later
“Sweet Christmas!” Tom exclaimed as he looked around the snowy town square the away team had just been beamed down to.
“Mr. Paris,” Tuvok said warningly. “Remember, we are here to observe and analyze. Try to keep your… excitement in check.”
Tom merely grinned as he spun around in a circle, taking in all the decorated buildings that surrounded them.
Kathryn couldn’t help but smile as she also looked around in wonder.
The square seemed to be one of the centers of the town and was lined with shops. She spotted several bakeries that were completely filled with gingerbread houses and people. The majority of the shops dealt in toys however, each with their own specialty like wooden toys or building blocks, but all were very colorful.
She didn’t have time to take it all in, as her attention was quickly grabbed by the people staring at them.
They were… Elves. She couldn’t help but use the word in her mind. They were wearing the characteristic green outfits, hats and shoes with long curly tips with little bells attached to the ends. However, while some of the Elves were clearly small, others looked human sized and there were even a few that could only be described as giants.
They were staring at the visitors from space from behind the windows of the shops or little trees that lined the square.
None of them approached them.
Just when Kathryn was preparing to take the initiative herself, a small group of people marched up to the square from an alleyway.
Walking in front of the group… was Santa Claus.
“Welcome!” His voice boomed around the square, drowning out the light music that was drifting in the air. “Welcome, to the North Pole!”
Kathryn managed to tear her eyes away from the approaching figure in red, just long enough to glance at Seven.
She had walked a few steps forward so that she was standing beside Kathryn. She had a tricorder ready in her hands and Kathryn was sure that she was already scanning everything around them.
“Captain Janeway?” Santa Claus asked as he stopped a few paces in front of them and held out a tentative hand.
Kathryn told herself to get a grip and took the few remaining steps forward. She grasped his gloved hand. “Yes, thank you for… receiving us.”
“Thank you for coming!” Santa Claus boomed as he shook her hand vigorously. “Please, remind me who these lovely people are.”
Kathryn pointed at each of her crewmembers in turn. “This is Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, our Security Officer. This is Lieutenant Tom Paris, our Helmsman and field medic. And this is Seven of Nine, my Astrometrics Officer.”
Santa Claus nodded at Tuvok and Seven, his eyes lingering on the implants on her face for a moment. But then his attention was taken up by Tom who had stepped up and reached out his hand.
“It is… a pleasure to meet you, sir.” Tom said, almost breathlessly and with a big smile.
“And you Tom! And you!” Santa Claus laughed as he shook his hand with the same enthusiasm as he had Kathryn’s. “We were so excited to find your ship on our radar!”
Tuvok immediately took a step forward. “How did you find us?”
“Well, you were hard to miss.” Santa Claus smiled. “You were coming straight for us. I have to say, I was surprised to find a ship from the Alpha Quadrant all the way out here.”
Kathryn quickly exchanged a look with Tuvok before asking the next question. “You know the Alpha Quadrant?”
“I know every Quadrant,” Santa Claus said without any bluster. “My magic reaches far. But come now! Let’s get out of the cold. Please, follow me to my Workshop.”
The other members of the away team all looked at Kathryn, even Tom. She gave them a reassuring nod. “Thank you, we would love to see it.”
They followed Santa Claus and his little group of Elves through the alleyway through which they had come.
The group was composed of four… beings, beside Santa Claus.
Two of them were very small. One was running through the snow to keep up with the others, while the other small one had wings that allowed her to fly at the level of Santa’s head. Then there was one that was the same height as Tom who looked curiously at them with kind eyes. The last one was one of the giants, he was tall even though he was stooping forward a little.
He had taken up position behind them. Perhaps so as not to block their view, or perhaps to make sure that there were no stragglers.
Santa Claus turned to talk to Kathryn and noticed her looking at his people. “Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot to use my head properly. I never introduced you to my Elves!”
He gave a short booming laugh and then pointed at the Elf flying close to his head. “This is Wisk. A Fairy, obviously.”
The little Fairy waved at them as her translucent rainbow wings fluttered in the air.
“That young Pixieman right there,” Santa pointed at the small Elf running in the snow. “That’s Kilter. He doesn’t speak much.”
Kilter merely nodded without breaking his stride.
“This here is Nuter,” Santa continued while pointing at the humanoid. “She is the sweetest Ryl you will ever know.”
Nuter gave a short laugh and then shook her head, making her honey-colored hair dance down her back.
“And that!” Santa said as he turned around, pointing at the giant while continuing to walk backwards. “That is Peter, the best-tempered Knook on the whole North Pole!”
Santa laughed again as he turned around and kept walking, not waiting for them to comment on any of the introductions.
Kathryn wouldn’t have known what to say anyway. Fairies and Pixies she could sort of understand, even though they were pretty strange. But she had no idea how to wrap her head around Knooks or Ryls, whatever they were.
She noticed Seven and Tuvok sharing a meaningful look however. They did not look happy, and she wondered if these introductions had told them anything about their host that she had not yet grasped.
There was no time to ask them about it though as they rounded another corner and came face to face with Santa’s Workshop.
It looked more like a palace than anything else. It was a huge building, built out of logs, with great windows filled with stained glass in red and gold. The two huge carved doors stood open, and a warm yellow light shone down on the snow in front of the building.
A woman was walking towards them through the light. She was wearing a long red skirt and a red jacket that resembled Santa’s. Like him, she also had snowy white hair. She wore golden spectacles and had a very kind face which was, even at a distance, vaguely familiar to Kathryn.
“There you are, Nick,” the woman said with a smile as she reached the group. “I wonder what was taking you. Why didn’t you allow them to beam down right here?”
“I’m sure they didn’t mind the short walk,” Santa Claus said, waving his hand in the air. “But they could use some warm drinks right about now.”
“Of course,” the woman smiled at them and stood to the side, beckoning them towards the warm building. The light from inside illuminated her face for the first time. “Please, follow me.”
“Before I forget myself again,” Santa Claus said with a laugh. “Let me introduce you to my wife, Mrs. Claus!”
Mrs. Claus smiled at her husband and then held out her hand to Kathryn. “It is wonderful to meet you, Captain.”
Kathryn, however, stood rooted to the spot. She could only stare at Mrs. Claus.
Her face was so familiar to Kathryn that it hurt. It was a face that she had not expected to see for a very long time.
It was her mother’s face.