Fic Reviews

What’s it about: Sister focuses on Janeway and Chakotay’s experiences immediately following Endgame, as seen largely through the perspective of their loving and meddling siblings who provide insight as well as comic relief. It follows Janeway and Chakotay as they deal with re-adjusting to life off the ship, tackle an exhaustive Starfleet inquiry into the captain, and of course, find their way back to each other.

How well does the content match the tags and description: The tags suit this very well. The first genre tag “Romantic Dramedy” fits to a T. And the summary is a great tease that hooks us from the start.

Characterization: The lens of this fic is an interesting one, as we are frequently observers of Janeway, Chakotay, and the JC relationship through the perspective of their sisters, Sekaya and Phoebe, whom we have little reference point for from canon. The author strikes a balance here, giving Sekaya and Phoebe enough dialogue and interaction separate from their siblings to give us a good grasp of who these two supporting characters are, allowing us to enjoy more fully their observations and their matchmaker scheme for their siblings.

The focus on JC’s interactions with their siblings (who knew them well seven years ago but don’t know exactly what they’ve been through since) serves the purpose of revealing how the characters have changed during the journey home while allowing the reader, through Phoebe and Sekaya, to discover why. The handling of Chakotay in particular is to be applauded for how the author has added depth and motivation that did not exist in the Endgame version of the character. If we could have anything more, it would to have the author dig even deeper into the PTSD and depression than what is stated in the story, although that would probably change the tone of the fic very much, and we enjoy it perfectly fine for the more light-hearted take that it is.

Plot: Where this fic really shines is by turning the matchmaker plot on its head. In the story, Sekaya and Phoebe are so stuck on their scheme to get their siblings together, that they overlook the real pain and trauma both individuals have gone through, which has prevented them from coming together on their own. We love this fic for how it lets JC be messy - arguing, hurt, awkward around each other and showing how this has become a product of their circumstances. We also love that rather than be rewarded for their meddling, Phoebe and Sekaya wind up making things worse and needing to make up for their blunder.

This all happens in the context of the return home - and a Starfleet willing to use any means at its disposal to get a reluctant crew to drum up publicity by sharing their experiences with the press - up to and including conducting an exhaustive investigation into Janeway's decision making, dangling the promise of a speedy review for the cost of sharing details about the journey home with the eager and curious public. We’d have loved more elaboration on the crew’s initial reluctance to talk about Voyager, but are also perfectly willing to suspend our disbelief for the sake of enjoying this plotline. It is a plot that perfectly suits the comedic and angsty qualities of the fic - allowing us to enjoy being baffled and bemused by the out-of-touch Starfleet while still feeling the angsty emotional stakes for the characters.

Overall: this was a wonderful Endgame Fix-it to read and you should all go check it out.