He steered the Delta Flyer around the nebula, the colours swirling
from gentle purples and blues to vibrant reds and oranges. When the more
powerful colours showed, bolts of energy flashed within the cloud, and he
watched with interest, and a childlike curiousity.
"I thought you would have seen enough nebulas for one week," a voice from behind him said, and there was a slight hint of. well, it sounded like mocking.
He turned his head to face her, and he smiled a charming smile in her direction, one that she didn't return. She looked aggravated, tired, and irritable, and with her in particular, it was a time to be wary.
Checking that the course was laid in securely, he stood from his piloting seat, and moved over to her station, and began to massage her shoulders gently and rhythmically.
"Don't tell me you don't find this beautiful. I thought you'd wanted to get off of Voyager for weeks," he said to her, his voice soothing and sympathetic, and just a little pleading.
She looked up into his blue eyes, filled with innocence and love, and she couldn't help but smile.
"Tom." she began, and her voice failed her, as she started to enjoy her massage, slouching into the chair as he continued.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" he asked, leaning down to whisper in her ear.
She laughed quietly, closing her eyes. "Well, if it wasn't for the work we need to do, I would very much be enjoying myself."
Lieutenant Thomas Paris allowed himself a lopsided grin, and kissed his wife on the top of her head, running a hand gently over her stomach, where their unborn child was maturing nicely.
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres on the other hand, simply smiled, and returned to her work.
Tom moved back over to his seat, sighing a happy, content sigh, and ran another diagnostic on their course.
They should arrive at the rendezvous coordinates within thirty minutes, and so far, the journey had been smooth and uneventful. The couple had taken numerous scans in this area, and had landed on a nearby moon to collect samples of what they had suspected to be dilithium.
Well, the Captain would be pleased. it most certainly had been dilithium, raw, and ripe for the picking.
At least it should tide us over for a couple of months, he thought to himself, running a scan of the nearby area for any alien ships or other nebulas.
"Tom?" B'Elanna's voice sounded from her station, and he looked to her, and then back to his console, noticing what had her so concerned.
"I see them," he told her, trying to keep his voice calm and collected, "I'll try and evade them."
From behind him, B'Elanna gave a silent nod.
He knew she trusted in his piloting skills, almost as much as he hoped they would hold out.
This ship was fast, and like nothing he had ever seen before.
But he knew one thing.
If they tried to hurt his wife and baby. he would kill them.
* * *
Captain Kathryn Janeway slouched ever so discreetly into her command chair, next to that of her first officer's, and sighed a happy sigh, closing her green eyes for a moment of peace and quiet before she opened them once again to her duties.
"Captain, we are approaching the rendezvous coordinates," Lieutenant Commander Tuvok reported, his voice a steady and calm flow of typical Vulcan approach.
She nodded, and waited for further comment.
Tuvok was not the one to give that further comment, instead, one Ensign Harry Kim was, as he said, "Captain, I see no sign of the Delta Flyer."
That made her sit up straight, immediately alert and concerned for the two Lieutenants who were inside of that shuttle, and somewhere out there, and not where they should be, which was straight ahead.
"Scan the area, see if you can pick up a homing beacon," she ordered, and Kim complied, turning his head downwards, to his work, fingers flying over the panels swiftly, carrying out her command.
After a few moments, Tuvok announced, "I have located the Delta Flyer's signal, it is weak, and it appears they have company, Captain. They are approximately fifty thousand kilometres from our position."
"Set a course," she told the helmsman, standing from her chair, "full impulse."
"Aye, Captain," the officer acknowledged, and set the ship moving, towards their shuttle.
As she sat back down, she looked across to her first officer, Chakotay, his dark features set, the only emotion playing in his brown eyes was concern.
She hoped Tom and B'Elanna could handle themselves until they arrived.
* * *
The Delta Flyer rocked violently with the latest impact, and Tom gripped his station tightly, determined not to be thrown from where he sat. He cast a momentary glance back at his wife, glad to see that she was managing herself well, that good old Klingon spirit tiding her over for the time being.
Tom Paris manoeuvred the sleek and streamline Delta Flyer as best as he could to evade the vessel attacking them, who, so far, had avoided any contact.
Tom had tried three times to speak with them, and had just managed to keep B'Elanna from insulting them directly. They had remained completely silent. except for the projectiles they continued to fire on them.
Another force rocked the shuttle, and Tom cringed as he heard something in his vessel creak and groan.
"B'Elanna, give me some good news," he said loudly over the din, as he fired phasers back at the aggressors.
"I can't do that, I'm afraid," she told him, her voice displaying all of her irritation towards their latest dilemma.
He cursed lightly under his breath, and waited for her to clarify the problem.
"Warp engines are offline, and shields are down to thirty-five percent. Also, the comm system has been damaged."
"Dammit," he grumbled, and barely managed to keep his seat as yet another force slammed the Delta Flyer violently to one side.
A panel to the rear of the Delta Flyer blew out, and a light flashed from beneath, showing the circuit had blown, rendering it useless.
"C'mon, Voyager, where are you when we need you?"
* * *
B'Elanna gritted her teeth against the next jarring impact, and saw Tom as he struggled to evade the attacks, to no avail. These aggressors were persistent, and B'Elanna realised they had done something to provoke them. probably stolen something that belonged to them. such as raw dilithium.
But they had not called to ask for them to return it, so maybe these people were just violent.
"Tom, get us out of here!" she shouted, as another panel blew out, to her right, across the way.
"I'm trying," she heard him say.
She knew he was trying, but at the moment, his efforts weren't getting them anywhere, apart from closer and closer to oblivion.
Tom worked desperately at the helm, and B'Elanna could clearly see he was getting frustrated.
In a sudden burst from the helm, a bright light making B'Elanna close her eyes, the Delta Flyer ceased in its movement. When the light had died down, as smoke seeped through the helm console, B'Elanna could see Tom lying on the floor, unconscious, and bleeding.
She moved from her station, grabbing a torch as she moved, attaching it to her wrist. She knelt next to Tom, and felt for his pulse. She located a weak rhythm, and located the nearest med kit, which was beneath the helm console itself.
"Hang in there, Tom," she mumbled, filling a hypospray with something that she knew would help him. she couldn't recall its name, but she knew it would help. Her limited medical training told her that much at least.
She felt the familiar tug on the shuttle as a tractor beam locked onto them, and she looked out of the main viewer, seeing a green glow from the technology as they neared the ship above.
"Dammit," she grumbled, and looked around herself for something useful, something that could prove to be a weapon if they were boarded.
She would be ready for them.
* * *
"Lock on phasers and target their tractor emitter," Janeway said as she stood from her command chair, Chakotay remaining seated.
Out of the main viewer, the crew could clearly see an alien ship of unrecognisable origin, a powerful tractor beam tugging at a rather damaged Delta Flyer. All of the power from within the unique shuttle seemed to be inactive, and that fact made Janeway worry.
She looked back at Tuvok momentarily, saying, "Fire."
Tuvok unleashed phaser fire that slammed straight into the alien ship, at the point of the tractor beam's source. The beam failed, and the Delta Flyer was loose, but instead of flying free, it simply floated helplessly before them, in between the two larger vessels.
The alien ship soon proceeded to fire a single shot at Voyager, and then retreat into a warpstream.
"Transport the Delta Flyer into the shuttle bay, and send the Doctor there immediately, Tuvok, Chakotay, you're with me," Janeway said, her voice commanding. She began exiting the bridge, stopping only to say, "Ensign Kim, you have the bridge."
* * *
B'Elanna felt herself and everything around her rematerialize, and after a quick peek out of the window, she sighed a sigh of relief.
They were back on Voyager. Their crew had come to their rescue.
Tom lay before her, an injury on his head bleeding, and a few burns marring his hands and neck.
She touched his arm gently, frowning, just as the rear door to the Delta Flyer was forced open. With the power off, they wouldn't open automatically as usual; they had to be opened manually, which sometimes took a lot of strength.
Unless, of course, you had a Vulcan and a former member of the Borg Collective.
She shone her torch against the familiar faces of Tuvok, and Seven of Nine. They moved towards them, parting to let Captain Janeway and the Emergency Medical Hologram pass through. The Doctor moved directly over to B'Elanna and Tom, without hesitation, whipping out his medical tricorder, running a scan on the unconscious helmsman.
B'Elanna moved aside, and over to Janeway, who asked, "What happened?"
"We were attacked. We didn't do a thing to provoke them; they just appeared. and fired on us. We couldn't make a dent in them," B'Elanna reported. "I think they may have made a claim on the dilithium we found, Captain."
"Dilithium?" The Captain looked slightly pleased that something positive had come out of this situation. "Well, that will have to wait for briefing. At the moment, we need to get Mr. Paris to sickbay."
* * *
With a groan, Tom opened his eyes to the dim lights of what he knew to be sickbay. He'd recognise that ceiling anywhere. He'd stared up at it from this exact place enough times.
He looked around him, and was welcomed by the smiling face of B'Elanna Torres, who was tenderly holding his hand.
"Hi," she said to him, even as he rubbed his eyes, they were starting to ache already.
"Hi," he greeted her in return, his voice a little hoarse. He smiled up at her, and asked, "What happened?"
She sighed, and told him, "The helm blew, and you were knocked out. Voyager came to the rescue as they were pulling us in with a tractor beam. We obviously held some interest to them."
"Or they wanted their dilithium back," Tom teased, and it earned him a light tap on the shoulder.
He saw the Doctor emerge from his office, and beam at him. "Ah, Mr. Paris, nice to see you awake again. How are you feeling?"
"I can sum it up in a sentence," Tom offered, and continued by adding, "did you get the licence number of the truck that hit me?"
The Doctor looked over at B'Elanna, who summed that sentence up with one word; "Cartoons."
With a smile, the Doctor nodded.
* * *
Captain Kathryn Janeway sat in her ready room, looking over B'Elanna's report with interest, and a little concern. The ship that had attacked the Flyer was powerful, and no doubt, it had a few friends.
The thing that concerned her most was that the ship would probably report this indecency to its companions, and an attack on Voyager seemed imminent.
Kathryn sighed, and sat back gently in her comfortable chair. It had been a long day, and two of her officer's lives had been put on the line. all for a simple supply of dilithium.
Was it really worth risking her crew's lives over?
If we don't have the dilithium, then we don't have any power, she reminded herself, and with another swift sigh, sat back up in her chair.
Suddenly, the ship rocked violently, and a vase on her desk fell onto its side. Luckily, the glass did not break, but the small amount of water that was contained within spilled onto the surface of her desk.
She ignored it, rushing out onto the bridge without being summoned. When her ship was in trouble, she didn't need to be called.
"What's going on?" she asked of anyone who was listening, and cared to fill her in.
Tuvok was the one to reply, "We are being attacked by three alien vessels. Their energy signatures match that of the one which assaulted the Delta Flyer."
Damn, she thought simply, and took her seat next to Chakotay, who was looking down at the console between their chairs.
Tom Paris was at the helm, having been returned to his full health. For that, Janeway was glad. He was working quickly, fingers flying over the controls, executing evasive manoeuvres.
Harry Kim was working on sensors and communications. It looked as though he was frustrated, which was understandable, especially if the attackers weren't talking.
Janeway left them to their work, and called up to Tuvok, "Target their weapons and fire."
Tuvok moved to comply, but before he could, a jolt knocked the ship.
"Weapons are offline, and shields are down to twenty percent."
She held her breath whilst she tried desperately to think of something, but whilst she stared out of the main viewer at two of the three ships flying before them, there was a pair of white flashes. and the ships were gone. The one at aft was gone as well. no trace, nowhere to be seen.
"Do I always have to get you out of trouble?" came a mischievous voice from behind Janeway, and she stood and whirled.
Sitting on the rail behind her and Chakotay's chairs was Q. looking just as youthful as the last time he had visited Voyager. His black hair was a tousled curled mop on his head, sitting styled over his brow, hovering away from his forehead, above inquisitive, cheeky brown eyes. He was grinning that same grin as when he had pulled such stunts as bringing the Borg to their ship, and turning the warp core into a disco lava lamp.
"Q," she said simply, even as there was a flash, and then another. He was behind her again, standing on the floor about two metres from the helm. "What are you doing here?"
Janeway's eyes travelled casually around for the boy's father, and her ears were alert for his voice. but there was nothing, not a flash, not a clicking of the fingers. nothing. The boy's father was nowhere to be seen.
This came as a surprise to her, considering what Q had told her the last time he had been around, with his son. The Continuum had ordered him to remain with his prankster son for eternity. wherever he went, Q was to accompany him.
So where was he?
"I thought I'd just pop by and see how you were doing, but, it seems you've gotten yourselves in a mess. Maybe I can lend a hand?" Q offered, strolling casually around the bridge, and as he did so, Janeway noticed the reappearance of four golden pips on his Starfleet uniform collar.
She discreetly rolled her eyes, and replied, "It seems as though you already have. If I may ask, where is your father?"
Q shrugged wildly, his arms flailing to each side for a moment before he said in a fed up voice, "I haven't seen him for months. precisely two days in your timeline."
Janeway's delicate feminine brow furrowed for a moment, and she said, "I thought he was supposed to stay with you wherever you went."
Q pointed for a moment, that grin returning to his handsome young features, and he told her, "You have a point. But, you know what? The Continuum realised how much of a good boy I was being, and they waved that silly, pointless rule. My father can go wherever he likes, so long as I don't mess with space matter and time so much that the universe tears apart." There was a little cheeky laugh that accompanied his comment, and Janeway couldn't help but smile herself.
Q clicked his fingers, and before she knew what was going on, she was sitting back in her ready room, and the boy was opposite her, his boots up on her desk. where her flower was back upright in its beautiful vase, and there wasn't a drop of water to be seen on her desk.
She waved her hand in the general direction of his boots, and he soon removed them from the desktop, crossing one leg over the other knee, foot bouncing up and down, typical restless behaviour for a member of the omnipotent Q.
"So, Aunt Kathy, how have you been holding up since I've been gone? Have I missed anything exciting?" he asked, and he leaned forward onto her desk, his arms crossed loosely on its surface. His eyes were staring right at her, and he looked desperate for an exciting story.
She would have to disappoint him though. "I'm afraid you haven't, Q. How about you? How have you been?"
There was that loose shrug again. Janeway smiled.
"Not too bad. I've visited all sorts of systems, even Earth a couple of times," Q told her.
Janeway's heart skipped a beat, and she felt that familiar flutter at the mention of her home planet. She so wished to see it with her own eyes again.
"You wouldn't believe how many new recruits they have at Starfleet Academy," Q laughed, and stood, walking over to a fruit bowl, and popping a small red cherry into his mouth.
Janeway laughed. "More and more youths becoming interested in space travel."
"Of course, they're all talking about you and your adventures, Aunt Kathy. You're a hero to them," the young boy said. Well, she called him young, he looked about eighteen in person, when in their time, he was merely four years old.
"I am?"
He nodded, and there was a look of earnest on the youthful face, as he placed another cherry into his mouth.
That thought made her happy. To think that people back home were being inspired by her and her crew's journey. It made her wish she could see their faces.
In a flash, she was standing on Earth. or something that looked to be Earth anyway. Q was by her side, but he was also sat on a wall across the way, watching youngsters as they passed, whether they be human, Vulcan, Bajoran or Klingon.
"Don't get your hopes up, Aunt Kathy, I can't bring you home, this is only what I saw when I was here a few months back. Look at all these people. They're all learning about you and your adventures."
Q smiled at her.
"Oh, Q, it's wonderful. I can't wait to be back again, to see all of these people and tell them face to face what we've accomplished."
She felt a gentle hand on her back, and she sighed. "You will. don't worry."
And once again, they were back in her ready room.
She sank into the comfort of her chair, and watched Q as he paced the room. Clearly, the boy was a whole new person. He had changed his ways. There was still that youthful aura of mischief about him, but he had managed to avoid erasing Neelix's mouth so far.
"Oh, and another thing," Q said, turning to her, arms crossed, "I saw my mother."
"You did?" Janeway sat forward in her seat, leaning on her desk for support.
"Yeah. we didn't do much. We visited Thralias Prime, but we realised that we'd never really got along. We don't have that much in common. We agreed to see more of each other, now that she's admitted to being my mother again." Q sighed.
Janeway tilted her head to one side ever so slightly as she said, "I'm sure you'll get reacquainted."
Q nodded. "So, is there anything fun for us to do? No offence, but I'm bored."
Janeway laughed, and smiled at Q, who smiled back.
The boy had to have an agenda of some kind, some reason to be here, on her ship. There had been a reason last time, but the boy hadn't hinted at one whilst being aboard yet. What did he want? Not that she didn't like having him around now that he was an upstanding member of the cosmos.
Perhaps he was just here to see her, like he had said. But he had to have an agenda. didn't he? All Q did when they came here, or went anywhere.
But Q wasn't giving her any clues.
She might as well just ask, she realised. "Did you have a reason to be here?"
She asked it light-heartedly, so as not to hurt the boy's feelings.
He sighed, hesitating. "I'm not sure. I just sat there, thinking. And then suddenly, you came into my head, and I realised I hadn't seen you in ages. and here I am." He held his arms to his sides, as if showing he had nothing to hide.
Janeway knew there was something he wasn't telling her, but considering she didn't have infinite control over space matter and time, she realised she would just have to wait and see what the boy had up his sleeves.
* * *
Q enjoyed being here. there was, occasionally, a lot to see. But at the moment, as he said the first time he was here, there were just bipeds pushing buttons, replacing relays, and running diagnostics.
He rolled his eyes, and hopped off the engineering console, strolling casually as ever over to one B'Elanna Torres.
She looked none too pleased to see him, and he heard her sigh and saw her avert her gaze.
"What's wrong, B'Elanna, you wondering where I'm hiding my party guests?" he teased, leaning gently against a pillar.
She walked away, and with a furrowed brow, he followed, at a distance. He may be immortal, but he knew not to take chances with fiery- tempered Klingons.
"You don't like me?"
"Not particularly, Q, the last time you were here you nearly breached my warp core."
He widened his eyes slightly, and laughed. "Your warp core. So, you've claimed it as your own. And I thought the baby inside of you was your fist born."
She whirled to face him, and he jumped back a few paces.
"For your information, my husband had a near-death experience, and I'm not in the mood for your jokes. If you're hear for a serious visit, feel free to stick around, but if you're looking to make trouble, go see someone else."
Q shrugged, and clicked his thumb and middle finger together, finding himself in the cargo bay. He saw the Borg regeneration conduits, all of them empty. He exhaled loudly, and clicked himself to another location.
This time, he found himself randomly placed in a room. someone's quarters by the looks of it. It was generously decorated with photographs and pictures, paintings and other such personal belongings.
Lying on the floor was a coloured disk. He bent down and picked it up.
He heard a small gasp, and turning his eyes in that direction, spotting a young girl, roughly eight years old, with long light chestnut hair, and ridges of some kind down her forehead and nose.
She had young green eyes, and a curious look on her sweet face. He remained crouched, to look more accommodating to the young child.
"Hello," she said in a charming delicate voice.
He smiled at her, and replied similarly, "Hi."
"I'm Naomi Wildman. who are you?" she asked, moving a step closer, obviously not finding him that intimidating anymore.
He fondled the green disk in his hand, and answered, "I'm Q."
"I've heard about you. but I thought you were older. And had less hair."
Q decided he liked this girl. "That's my father. I'm Q, his son."
"You have the same name as your father? What's your mother's name?"
Q hesitated, and glanced at the ground with a grin, realising that questions were going to follow this reply, "Her name is Q."
Naomi furrowed her brow, and cocked her head. "You all have the same name? Why?"
"I don't know. That's just the way it works where I come from."
"The Q Continuum, right? My mom told me about that place, but I don't know where it is," Naomi told Q, and he smiled in a friendly manner, standing to his full height, towering over the girl, but not so much to make her step back.
"It's. well, I guess you could say it's all around," Q told her, and perched himself on a nearby chair, still holding the green object in his hand, studying it carefully.
"What does it look like?" was her next inquiry.
This girl certainly was inquisitive, if nothing else. She moved over to seat herself beside him.
"Well, it can look however I want it to look," he informed her, and he frowned at the piece in his hand, showing it to Naomi. "What is this?"
"It's a piece from my Kadiskot board. I've been looking for it, and my mom hates it when I make a mess. Neelix would be disappointed if I lost one of the pieces."
Naomi accepted the Kadiskot piece from Q, and smiled gratefully. "Did you want to play?"
He shook his head. "I don't know how to play, and anyway, I prefer a much more exhilarating game. Something with a few explosions."
Naomi laughed. "You'd like Lieutenant Paris' holodeck programme, 'The Adventures of Captain Proton'. it has laser guns and villains and everything."
Q laughed. Then he suddenly said, "Hey, you wanna see something cool?"
She thought for a moment, and then replied, "Okay."
With a quick snap of his fingers, Q made an impressive array of globes appear hovering in the air, each one orbiting a large golden orb, which flared every now and then.
There were nine planets in the small system, some having their own moons, a couple with more than a few. One had large rings surrounding it, and running through the system was an asteroid belt. The third planet from the orb was beautifully colourful, a delightful pallet of green, white and blue.
Naomi slid off the chair, and looked up in awe at the display.
"You know what that is?" Q asked her, pointing.
"Yeah, it's Earth, and the other planets in its system. I can name them all."
Q leaned in and whispered in her ear, "I've been to all of them."
Naomi looked back at him and giggled.
With a grin, Q made the display disappear.
"I wish I was a Q," Naomi said quietly, looking him in the eye.
He shook his head. "No, trust me, there's nothing wrong with you the way you are. You're probably having more fun in your life than I am in mine."
Naomi smiled, and suddenly said, "Uh-oh, I'm supposed to be in my anatomy lesson with the Doctor. He's gonna be mad at me."
Q patted her on the arm gently, and raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry about a thing."
He clicked his fingers, and just like that, the two of them were standing in sickbay.
"Oh!" he heard the hologram exclaim, and there was crash of objects.
Q rolled his eyes, and with a wave of his hand, and a small flash, the objects were back on their clean tray, and not a thing was broken.
The Doctor stared at them wild-eyed, and noticed Naomi's smile.
"Well, it's nice to see you too, Doc'," Q greeted him when there was nothing said, and he pushed Naomi slightly to urge her to go forward, into her anatomy lesson. which, to Q, sounded dull and pointless.
In the blink of an eye, Q was gone.
* * *
Icheb was just finishing up replacing a faulty relay, when he heard something that made him start violently.
"Itchy!"
Icheb whirled, and to his shock and wonder, there was Q standing behind him, that same mischievous grin on his face.
He didn't quite know how to react. considering Q had risked their lives the last time he had been aboard. It had all turned out to be a test, but it had still happened.
"Q. what are you doing here?"
Q's shoulder's slumped, and with a furrowed brow, he asked, "Why does everybody keep asking me that? No one just seems happy to see me."
"I'm sorry," Icheb apologised, and set down the replacement relay he was working on, turning his full attention on the omnipotent child. "I am just surprised to see you again."
"You didn't think I'd disappear forever did you, Itchy?" Q slapped him playfully on the arm, and laughed, looking at what Icheb had been doing prior to the interruption.
He raised an eyebrow. "Well, there's a shocker." He laughed again.
Icheb tilted his head to the left, and glanced back at what he was doing, and then smiled.
Q sighed with a smile, and leaned, arms crossed over his chest, back against the wall. "So." the smile faded, "how have you been anyway?"
Icheb recognised the vague hint of concern in Q's tone, and for that, he was grateful. Even if it was only faint, he appreciated it. "I am well. How are you? Is your father here?"
"That's great. I'm good. and no, my father isn't here, thank god."
Icheb narrowed his eyes in confusion, but let the comment slide for the time being. "I was led to believe he was to remain-"
Q scoffed. "Ah, they took that back. I can go where I want without him, as long as I don't destroy the universe, or start wars, or shift continents." He gave a nervous laugh.
Icheb nodded. There was something about Q's demeanour that led Icheb to believe Q was holding something back, but he wasn't one to pry. if Q wanted to share anything private, then that was his decision.
After a few moments of awkward silence, Q blurted, "How are the flying lessons coming along?"
"Good. Lieutenant Paris says I'm making good progress," Icheb replied.
Q smiled. "No more ion imbalances?"
Icheb laughed a quiet laugh, and shook his head. "No."
Q laughed, and sighed. "Well, I'd better be going. I have more chaos to wreak through these decks." Again, he slapped Icheb on the arm, lighter this time, with a grin. "See ya later, Itchy."
In a flash, Q was gone, leaving Icheb standing alone in the gentle hum and dim light to replace the faulty relay.
* * *
Q sat, chewing the end of his thumb nervously, knees drawn up close to his chest, looking down at the end of the Jeffries tube. Thankfully, there was no one else around to see him like this.
But he couldn't hide forever. He knew he would be found. discovered.
He was scared. a Q was scared, and worst of all, of his own kind.
Most of all, his father.
"What am I going to do?" he mumbled quietly, running both hands through his black hair, letting it fall in locks around his forehead. He frowned a considerable amount, and sighed loudly.
Q knew he couldn't hide from the Captain forever, he couldn't keep information like this from Aunt Kathy. she was smart, 'she had gumption' as he had once so colourfully put it. She would find out. Either that, or someone would pop up and tell her all about it.
What was he going to do?
He was in trouble.
* * *
Captain Janeway was enjoying a quiet read in her quarters, some gentle classical music playing softly throughout the room, her loose warm clothes much more comfortable than her regulation Starfleet uniform.
She wondered where Q had gone all of a sudden. She hadn't seen him for a while now. at least two hours. He had popped up whilst she was enjoying a bit of dinner and some coffee with Neelix and Chakotay, and the boy had had quite a conversation with the Talaxian, shocking Kathryn quite a bit.
But something hadn't seemed right with Q. he had seemed nervous. Why would an omnipotent being like Q be nervous? Least of all on Voyager. He had nothing to worry about, he hadn't caused any trouble. Not that she knew of.
She hadn't heard anything either, not a thing to make her think that her 'godson' was up to no good anyway.
So far, Icheb and Naomi had informed her of their similar encounters with the youth, and they had both enjoyed the experience. Q had been friendly, accommodating, and to Icheb, apologetic and concerned.
It was great that he was making such stellar progress. no pun intended. But there was something she just couldn't put her finger on.
What was it?
"Right, where is he?" stormed a voice from the rear of her quarters, close to her replicator.
She made a startled noise, and leapt from her chair, dropping her book in the progress. That wasn't important now.
"Q!" she exclaimed, seeing the boy's father standing, looking rather enraged, at the back of the room, arms crossed tightly over his chest, an obvious amount of tension filling his limbs.
He had lines creasing his forehead, and his beady eyes were wide in anger, and his lips were drawn tight.
"Where is he?" Q asked again, and then added hurriedly, "Hello, Kathryn."
She shook her head vigorously for a moment, and then said loudly, "Where's who? What do you want?"
"Q, where is he? He's gone too far this time. he's in real trouble."
Kathryn closed her eyes for a moment, and then asked patiently, "Why is he in trouble?" Then she added, "He's been nothing but courteous ever since he got here. The boy hasn't done a thing wrong."
Q laughed heartily, and then fell silent, rather ominously. He walked over to her, eyes narrowed now. "That brat has got you eating out of the palm of his hand, Kathy. He's manipulative, and conniving, evil and malicious, and you know it."
"Now just hang on for one moment here," she said, holding up a hand to silence the rambling parent. "What exactly has he done? He hasn't shown any signs of mischief or trouble since he set foot on my bridge. He even saved us from some attacking aliens without having to be provoked."
Q sighed rather impatiently, and told her, "You're so naïve, Kathy. You couldn't see his intentions if they came up and bit you in the-"
"Q! Be quiet, or start making sense, it's your choice!"
Q seemed to calm himself enough to take a few deep breaths, before he replied; "Q has eradicated an entire belligerent species within the matter of ten minutes. They're all dead, all one hundred million inhabitants of Hykarias Prime."
Kathryn fell silent, words failing her. They had passed by Hykarias Prime only four days ago, and all of them had been healthy, and happy. There was no disease, no war, no famine, and no trouble at all. They had entered into trade with them, and managed to gather a generous supply of foodstuffs and other supplies. They had supplied the Hykarians with medicines, materials for buildings, and plans for replicators. They had been a lovely race. and now they were all dead?
"How?" was all she managed to mutter, the shock taking its toll as she was forced to rest on the arm of a nearby armchair.
Q cocked his head as he recalled. "Well, he simply destroyed their atmosphere in the blink of an eye, and then caused the continents to break apart. He also killed all of their plant life and livestock." He clicked his fingers, and a representation of the planet in question appeared. Everything was fine, green and lush, clouds brushing over the continents, filled with life.
And then suddenly, the clouds turned into thick black smoggy patches in the sky, and storms formed. Even as she watched, their atmosphere started to diminish, and great cracks formed in the landmasses, and they finally tore apart.
Mournful browns and blacks absorbed the greens. It appeared as though the ground had been scorched. The waters turned grey and filthy, contaminated.
An area of land enlarged so that she could get a clearer view of what was going on, and as she watched, animals simply dropped to the ground, their eyes rolling up into their skulls.
Soon, the people started to suffocate, and they fell to their knees, clutching their throats desperately, fighting for air. She saw at least five families die within a matter of minutes.
"And here's the best part," grumbled Q sarcastically, as the planet enlarged again to show a global scale.
Light started to shine through from the planet's core, and soon, it shone brighter, wider beams of it gleaming through the crust, until finally, it broke apart, shards of planet shooting out in all directions.
With a click of his fingers, the representation disappeared, leaving Kathryn to wonder what could have driven the younger Q to such horrible actions. How could he have done something so disgusting?
It wasn't true, was it? It couldn't be. This wasn't the behaviour of the boy she had socialised with today. it was impossible.
"I know what you're thinking, Kathy," Q stated, placing a hand on her shoulder, "you're thinking 'this isn't real, he couldn't have done this'. But he could, Kathy. I know it was him."
"How do you know?" she asked suddenly, desperate to fight for the boy's innocence. "Do you have any proof? It could have been a biological weapon from a neighbouring planet." She felt her eyes brim with tears. She swallowed them back.
Q shook his head. "Nothing man-made could have done this, and you know that. you're just denying it to yourself. You shouldn't push the truth into the back of your mind. You know he's perfectly capable."
"But you saw yourself how much he'd matured." Kathryn may have been in denial, but this just didn't fit. none of it did.
And then she remembered how nervous Q had been in the mess hall.
"That obviously was a ruse," Q concluded, "there was a witness."
Kathryn looked up into Q's dark eyes, her brow furrowed. "Who?"
"Another Q. He watched my son do the whole thing. And apparently he laughed!"
"What are you going to do?"
Q sighed, and he genuinely looked sorrowful. "He has been sentenced to death."
"I thought you would have seen enough nebulas for one week," a voice from behind him said, and there was a slight hint of. well, it sounded like mocking.
He turned his head to face her, and he smiled a charming smile in her direction, one that she didn't return. She looked aggravated, tired, and irritable, and with her in particular, it was a time to be wary.
Checking that the course was laid in securely, he stood from his piloting seat, and moved over to her station, and began to massage her shoulders gently and rhythmically.
"Don't tell me you don't find this beautiful. I thought you'd wanted to get off of Voyager for weeks," he said to her, his voice soothing and sympathetic, and just a little pleading.
She looked up into his blue eyes, filled with innocence and love, and she couldn't help but smile.
"Tom." she began, and her voice failed her, as she started to enjoy her massage, slouching into the chair as he continued.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" he asked, leaning down to whisper in her ear.
She laughed quietly, closing her eyes. "Well, if it wasn't for the work we need to do, I would very much be enjoying myself."
Lieutenant Thomas Paris allowed himself a lopsided grin, and kissed his wife on the top of her head, running a hand gently over her stomach, where their unborn child was maturing nicely.
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres on the other hand, simply smiled, and returned to her work.
Tom moved back over to his seat, sighing a happy, content sigh, and ran another diagnostic on their course.
They should arrive at the rendezvous coordinates within thirty minutes, and so far, the journey had been smooth and uneventful. The couple had taken numerous scans in this area, and had landed on a nearby moon to collect samples of what they had suspected to be dilithium.
Well, the Captain would be pleased. it most certainly had been dilithium, raw, and ripe for the picking.
At least it should tide us over for a couple of months, he thought to himself, running a scan of the nearby area for any alien ships or other nebulas.
"Tom?" B'Elanna's voice sounded from her station, and he looked to her, and then back to his console, noticing what had her so concerned.
"I see them," he told her, trying to keep his voice calm and collected, "I'll try and evade them."
From behind him, B'Elanna gave a silent nod.
He knew she trusted in his piloting skills, almost as much as he hoped they would hold out.
This ship was fast, and like nothing he had ever seen before.
But he knew one thing.
If they tried to hurt his wife and baby. he would kill them.
* * *
Captain Kathryn Janeway slouched ever so discreetly into her command chair, next to that of her first officer's, and sighed a happy sigh, closing her green eyes for a moment of peace and quiet before she opened them once again to her duties.
"Captain, we are approaching the rendezvous coordinates," Lieutenant Commander Tuvok reported, his voice a steady and calm flow of typical Vulcan approach.
She nodded, and waited for further comment.
Tuvok was not the one to give that further comment, instead, one Ensign Harry Kim was, as he said, "Captain, I see no sign of the Delta Flyer."
That made her sit up straight, immediately alert and concerned for the two Lieutenants who were inside of that shuttle, and somewhere out there, and not where they should be, which was straight ahead.
"Scan the area, see if you can pick up a homing beacon," she ordered, and Kim complied, turning his head downwards, to his work, fingers flying over the panels swiftly, carrying out her command.
After a few moments, Tuvok announced, "I have located the Delta Flyer's signal, it is weak, and it appears they have company, Captain. They are approximately fifty thousand kilometres from our position."
"Set a course," she told the helmsman, standing from her chair, "full impulse."
"Aye, Captain," the officer acknowledged, and set the ship moving, towards their shuttle.
As she sat back down, she looked across to her first officer, Chakotay, his dark features set, the only emotion playing in his brown eyes was concern.
She hoped Tom and B'Elanna could handle themselves until they arrived.
* * *
The Delta Flyer rocked violently with the latest impact, and Tom gripped his station tightly, determined not to be thrown from where he sat. He cast a momentary glance back at his wife, glad to see that she was managing herself well, that good old Klingon spirit tiding her over for the time being.
Tom Paris manoeuvred the sleek and streamline Delta Flyer as best as he could to evade the vessel attacking them, who, so far, had avoided any contact.
Tom had tried three times to speak with them, and had just managed to keep B'Elanna from insulting them directly. They had remained completely silent. except for the projectiles they continued to fire on them.
Another force rocked the shuttle, and Tom cringed as he heard something in his vessel creak and groan.
"B'Elanna, give me some good news," he said loudly over the din, as he fired phasers back at the aggressors.
"I can't do that, I'm afraid," she told him, her voice displaying all of her irritation towards their latest dilemma.
He cursed lightly under his breath, and waited for her to clarify the problem.
"Warp engines are offline, and shields are down to thirty-five percent. Also, the comm system has been damaged."
"Dammit," he grumbled, and barely managed to keep his seat as yet another force slammed the Delta Flyer violently to one side.
A panel to the rear of the Delta Flyer blew out, and a light flashed from beneath, showing the circuit had blown, rendering it useless.
"C'mon, Voyager, where are you when we need you?"
* * *
B'Elanna gritted her teeth against the next jarring impact, and saw Tom as he struggled to evade the attacks, to no avail. These aggressors were persistent, and B'Elanna realised they had done something to provoke them. probably stolen something that belonged to them. such as raw dilithium.
But they had not called to ask for them to return it, so maybe these people were just violent.
"Tom, get us out of here!" she shouted, as another panel blew out, to her right, across the way.
"I'm trying," she heard him say.
She knew he was trying, but at the moment, his efforts weren't getting them anywhere, apart from closer and closer to oblivion.
Tom worked desperately at the helm, and B'Elanna could clearly see he was getting frustrated.
In a sudden burst from the helm, a bright light making B'Elanna close her eyes, the Delta Flyer ceased in its movement. When the light had died down, as smoke seeped through the helm console, B'Elanna could see Tom lying on the floor, unconscious, and bleeding.
She moved from her station, grabbing a torch as she moved, attaching it to her wrist. She knelt next to Tom, and felt for his pulse. She located a weak rhythm, and located the nearest med kit, which was beneath the helm console itself.
"Hang in there, Tom," she mumbled, filling a hypospray with something that she knew would help him. she couldn't recall its name, but she knew it would help. Her limited medical training told her that much at least.
She felt the familiar tug on the shuttle as a tractor beam locked onto them, and she looked out of the main viewer, seeing a green glow from the technology as they neared the ship above.
"Dammit," she grumbled, and looked around herself for something useful, something that could prove to be a weapon if they were boarded.
She would be ready for them.
* * *
"Lock on phasers and target their tractor emitter," Janeway said as she stood from her command chair, Chakotay remaining seated.
Out of the main viewer, the crew could clearly see an alien ship of unrecognisable origin, a powerful tractor beam tugging at a rather damaged Delta Flyer. All of the power from within the unique shuttle seemed to be inactive, and that fact made Janeway worry.
She looked back at Tuvok momentarily, saying, "Fire."
Tuvok unleashed phaser fire that slammed straight into the alien ship, at the point of the tractor beam's source. The beam failed, and the Delta Flyer was loose, but instead of flying free, it simply floated helplessly before them, in between the two larger vessels.
The alien ship soon proceeded to fire a single shot at Voyager, and then retreat into a warpstream.
"Transport the Delta Flyer into the shuttle bay, and send the Doctor there immediately, Tuvok, Chakotay, you're with me," Janeway said, her voice commanding. She began exiting the bridge, stopping only to say, "Ensign Kim, you have the bridge."
* * *
B'Elanna felt herself and everything around her rematerialize, and after a quick peek out of the window, she sighed a sigh of relief.
They were back on Voyager. Their crew had come to their rescue.
Tom lay before her, an injury on his head bleeding, and a few burns marring his hands and neck.
She touched his arm gently, frowning, just as the rear door to the Delta Flyer was forced open. With the power off, they wouldn't open automatically as usual; they had to be opened manually, which sometimes took a lot of strength.
Unless, of course, you had a Vulcan and a former member of the Borg Collective.
She shone her torch against the familiar faces of Tuvok, and Seven of Nine. They moved towards them, parting to let Captain Janeway and the Emergency Medical Hologram pass through. The Doctor moved directly over to B'Elanna and Tom, without hesitation, whipping out his medical tricorder, running a scan on the unconscious helmsman.
B'Elanna moved aside, and over to Janeway, who asked, "What happened?"
"We were attacked. We didn't do a thing to provoke them; they just appeared. and fired on us. We couldn't make a dent in them," B'Elanna reported. "I think they may have made a claim on the dilithium we found, Captain."
"Dilithium?" The Captain looked slightly pleased that something positive had come out of this situation. "Well, that will have to wait for briefing. At the moment, we need to get Mr. Paris to sickbay."
* * *
With a groan, Tom opened his eyes to the dim lights of what he knew to be sickbay. He'd recognise that ceiling anywhere. He'd stared up at it from this exact place enough times.
He looked around him, and was welcomed by the smiling face of B'Elanna Torres, who was tenderly holding his hand.
"Hi," she said to him, even as he rubbed his eyes, they were starting to ache already.
"Hi," he greeted her in return, his voice a little hoarse. He smiled up at her, and asked, "What happened?"
She sighed, and told him, "The helm blew, and you were knocked out. Voyager came to the rescue as they were pulling us in with a tractor beam. We obviously held some interest to them."
"Or they wanted their dilithium back," Tom teased, and it earned him a light tap on the shoulder.
He saw the Doctor emerge from his office, and beam at him. "Ah, Mr. Paris, nice to see you awake again. How are you feeling?"
"I can sum it up in a sentence," Tom offered, and continued by adding, "did you get the licence number of the truck that hit me?"
The Doctor looked over at B'Elanna, who summed that sentence up with one word; "Cartoons."
With a smile, the Doctor nodded.
* * *
Captain Kathryn Janeway sat in her ready room, looking over B'Elanna's report with interest, and a little concern. The ship that had attacked the Flyer was powerful, and no doubt, it had a few friends.
The thing that concerned her most was that the ship would probably report this indecency to its companions, and an attack on Voyager seemed imminent.
Kathryn sighed, and sat back gently in her comfortable chair. It had been a long day, and two of her officer's lives had been put on the line. all for a simple supply of dilithium.
Was it really worth risking her crew's lives over?
If we don't have the dilithium, then we don't have any power, she reminded herself, and with another swift sigh, sat back up in her chair.
Suddenly, the ship rocked violently, and a vase on her desk fell onto its side. Luckily, the glass did not break, but the small amount of water that was contained within spilled onto the surface of her desk.
She ignored it, rushing out onto the bridge without being summoned. When her ship was in trouble, she didn't need to be called.
"What's going on?" she asked of anyone who was listening, and cared to fill her in.
Tuvok was the one to reply, "We are being attacked by three alien vessels. Their energy signatures match that of the one which assaulted the Delta Flyer."
Damn, she thought simply, and took her seat next to Chakotay, who was looking down at the console between their chairs.
Tom Paris was at the helm, having been returned to his full health. For that, Janeway was glad. He was working quickly, fingers flying over the controls, executing evasive manoeuvres.
Harry Kim was working on sensors and communications. It looked as though he was frustrated, which was understandable, especially if the attackers weren't talking.
Janeway left them to their work, and called up to Tuvok, "Target their weapons and fire."
Tuvok moved to comply, but before he could, a jolt knocked the ship.
"Weapons are offline, and shields are down to twenty percent."
She held her breath whilst she tried desperately to think of something, but whilst she stared out of the main viewer at two of the three ships flying before them, there was a pair of white flashes. and the ships were gone. The one at aft was gone as well. no trace, nowhere to be seen.
"Do I always have to get you out of trouble?" came a mischievous voice from behind Janeway, and she stood and whirled.
Sitting on the rail behind her and Chakotay's chairs was Q. looking just as youthful as the last time he had visited Voyager. His black hair was a tousled curled mop on his head, sitting styled over his brow, hovering away from his forehead, above inquisitive, cheeky brown eyes. He was grinning that same grin as when he had pulled such stunts as bringing the Borg to their ship, and turning the warp core into a disco lava lamp.
"Q," she said simply, even as there was a flash, and then another. He was behind her again, standing on the floor about two metres from the helm. "What are you doing here?"
Janeway's eyes travelled casually around for the boy's father, and her ears were alert for his voice. but there was nothing, not a flash, not a clicking of the fingers. nothing. The boy's father was nowhere to be seen.
This came as a surprise to her, considering what Q had told her the last time he had been around, with his son. The Continuum had ordered him to remain with his prankster son for eternity. wherever he went, Q was to accompany him.
So where was he?
"I thought I'd just pop by and see how you were doing, but, it seems you've gotten yourselves in a mess. Maybe I can lend a hand?" Q offered, strolling casually around the bridge, and as he did so, Janeway noticed the reappearance of four golden pips on his Starfleet uniform collar.
She discreetly rolled her eyes, and replied, "It seems as though you already have. If I may ask, where is your father?"
Q shrugged wildly, his arms flailing to each side for a moment before he said in a fed up voice, "I haven't seen him for months. precisely two days in your timeline."
Janeway's delicate feminine brow furrowed for a moment, and she said, "I thought he was supposed to stay with you wherever you went."
Q pointed for a moment, that grin returning to his handsome young features, and he told her, "You have a point. But, you know what? The Continuum realised how much of a good boy I was being, and they waved that silly, pointless rule. My father can go wherever he likes, so long as I don't mess with space matter and time so much that the universe tears apart." There was a little cheeky laugh that accompanied his comment, and Janeway couldn't help but smile herself.
Q clicked his fingers, and before she knew what was going on, she was sitting back in her ready room, and the boy was opposite her, his boots up on her desk. where her flower was back upright in its beautiful vase, and there wasn't a drop of water to be seen on her desk.
She waved her hand in the general direction of his boots, and he soon removed them from the desktop, crossing one leg over the other knee, foot bouncing up and down, typical restless behaviour for a member of the omnipotent Q.
"So, Aunt Kathy, how have you been holding up since I've been gone? Have I missed anything exciting?" he asked, and he leaned forward onto her desk, his arms crossed loosely on its surface. His eyes were staring right at her, and he looked desperate for an exciting story.
She would have to disappoint him though. "I'm afraid you haven't, Q. How about you? How have you been?"
There was that loose shrug again. Janeway smiled.
"Not too bad. I've visited all sorts of systems, even Earth a couple of times," Q told her.
Janeway's heart skipped a beat, and she felt that familiar flutter at the mention of her home planet. She so wished to see it with her own eyes again.
"You wouldn't believe how many new recruits they have at Starfleet Academy," Q laughed, and stood, walking over to a fruit bowl, and popping a small red cherry into his mouth.
Janeway laughed. "More and more youths becoming interested in space travel."
"Of course, they're all talking about you and your adventures, Aunt Kathy. You're a hero to them," the young boy said. Well, she called him young, he looked about eighteen in person, when in their time, he was merely four years old.
"I am?"
He nodded, and there was a look of earnest on the youthful face, as he placed another cherry into his mouth.
That thought made her happy. To think that people back home were being inspired by her and her crew's journey. It made her wish she could see their faces.
In a flash, she was standing on Earth. or something that looked to be Earth anyway. Q was by her side, but he was also sat on a wall across the way, watching youngsters as they passed, whether they be human, Vulcan, Bajoran or Klingon.
"Don't get your hopes up, Aunt Kathy, I can't bring you home, this is only what I saw when I was here a few months back. Look at all these people. They're all learning about you and your adventures."
Q smiled at her.
"Oh, Q, it's wonderful. I can't wait to be back again, to see all of these people and tell them face to face what we've accomplished."
She felt a gentle hand on her back, and she sighed. "You will. don't worry."
And once again, they were back in her ready room.
She sank into the comfort of her chair, and watched Q as he paced the room. Clearly, the boy was a whole new person. He had changed his ways. There was still that youthful aura of mischief about him, but he had managed to avoid erasing Neelix's mouth so far.
"Oh, and another thing," Q said, turning to her, arms crossed, "I saw my mother."
"You did?" Janeway sat forward in her seat, leaning on her desk for support.
"Yeah. we didn't do much. We visited Thralias Prime, but we realised that we'd never really got along. We don't have that much in common. We agreed to see more of each other, now that she's admitted to being my mother again." Q sighed.
Janeway tilted her head to one side ever so slightly as she said, "I'm sure you'll get reacquainted."
Q nodded. "So, is there anything fun for us to do? No offence, but I'm bored."
Janeway laughed, and smiled at Q, who smiled back.
The boy had to have an agenda of some kind, some reason to be here, on her ship. There had been a reason last time, but the boy hadn't hinted at one whilst being aboard yet. What did he want? Not that she didn't like having him around now that he was an upstanding member of the cosmos.
Perhaps he was just here to see her, like he had said. But he had to have an agenda. didn't he? All Q did when they came here, or went anywhere.
But Q wasn't giving her any clues.
She might as well just ask, she realised. "Did you have a reason to be here?"
She asked it light-heartedly, so as not to hurt the boy's feelings.
He sighed, hesitating. "I'm not sure. I just sat there, thinking. And then suddenly, you came into my head, and I realised I hadn't seen you in ages. and here I am." He held his arms to his sides, as if showing he had nothing to hide.
Janeway knew there was something he wasn't telling her, but considering she didn't have infinite control over space matter and time, she realised she would just have to wait and see what the boy had up his sleeves.
* * *
Q enjoyed being here. there was, occasionally, a lot to see. But at the moment, as he said the first time he was here, there were just bipeds pushing buttons, replacing relays, and running diagnostics.
He rolled his eyes, and hopped off the engineering console, strolling casually as ever over to one B'Elanna Torres.
She looked none too pleased to see him, and he heard her sigh and saw her avert her gaze.
"What's wrong, B'Elanna, you wondering where I'm hiding my party guests?" he teased, leaning gently against a pillar.
She walked away, and with a furrowed brow, he followed, at a distance. He may be immortal, but he knew not to take chances with fiery- tempered Klingons.
"You don't like me?"
"Not particularly, Q, the last time you were here you nearly breached my warp core."
He widened his eyes slightly, and laughed. "Your warp core. So, you've claimed it as your own. And I thought the baby inside of you was your fist born."
She whirled to face him, and he jumped back a few paces.
"For your information, my husband had a near-death experience, and I'm not in the mood for your jokes. If you're hear for a serious visit, feel free to stick around, but if you're looking to make trouble, go see someone else."
Q shrugged, and clicked his thumb and middle finger together, finding himself in the cargo bay. He saw the Borg regeneration conduits, all of them empty. He exhaled loudly, and clicked himself to another location.
This time, he found himself randomly placed in a room. someone's quarters by the looks of it. It was generously decorated with photographs and pictures, paintings and other such personal belongings.
Lying on the floor was a coloured disk. He bent down and picked it up.
He heard a small gasp, and turning his eyes in that direction, spotting a young girl, roughly eight years old, with long light chestnut hair, and ridges of some kind down her forehead and nose.
She had young green eyes, and a curious look on her sweet face. He remained crouched, to look more accommodating to the young child.
"Hello," she said in a charming delicate voice.
He smiled at her, and replied similarly, "Hi."
"I'm Naomi Wildman. who are you?" she asked, moving a step closer, obviously not finding him that intimidating anymore.
He fondled the green disk in his hand, and answered, "I'm Q."
"I've heard about you. but I thought you were older. And had less hair."
Q decided he liked this girl. "That's my father. I'm Q, his son."
"You have the same name as your father? What's your mother's name?"
Q hesitated, and glanced at the ground with a grin, realising that questions were going to follow this reply, "Her name is Q."
Naomi furrowed her brow, and cocked her head. "You all have the same name? Why?"
"I don't know. That's just the way it works where I come from."
"The Q Continuum, right? My mom told me about that place, but I don't know where it is," Naomi told Q, and he smiled in a friendly manner, standing to his full height, towering over the girl, but not so much to make her step back.
"It's. well, I guess you could say it's all around," Q told her, and perched himself on a nearby chair, still holding the green object in his hand, studying it carefully.
"What does it look like?" was her next inquiry.
This girl certainly was inquisitive, if nothing else. She moved over to seat herself beside him.
"Well, it can look however I want it to look," he informed her, and he frowned at the piece in his hand, showing it to Naomi. "What is this?"
"It's a piece from my Kadiskot board. I've been looking for it, and my mom hates it when I make a mess. Neelix would be disappointed if I lost one of the pieces."
Naomi accepted the Kadiskot piece from Q, and smiled gratefully. "Did you want to play?"
He shook his head. "I don't know how to play, and anyway, I prefer a much more exhilarating game. Something with a few explosions."
Naomi laughed. "You'd like Lieutenant Paris' holodeck programme, 'The Adventures of Captain Proton'. it has laser guns and villains and everything."
Q laughed. Then he suddenly said, "Hey, you wanna see something cool?"
She thought for a moment, and then replied, "Okay."
With a quick snap of his fingers, Q made an impressive array of globes appear hovering in the air, each one orbiting a large golden orb, which flared every now and then.
There were nine planets in the small system, some having their own moons, a couple with more than a few. One had large rings surrounding it, and running through the system was an asteroid belt. The third planet from the orb was beautifully colourful, a delightful pallet of green, white and blue.
Naomi slid off the chair, and looked up in awe at the display.
"You know what that is?" Q asked her, pointing.
"Yeah, it's Earth, and the other planets in its system. I can name them all."
Q leaned in and whispered in her ear, "I've been to all of them."
Naomi looked back at him and giggled.
With a grin, Q made the display disappear.
"I wish I was a Q," Naomi said quietly, looking him in the eye.
He shook his head. "No, trust me, there's nothing wrong with you the way you are. You're probably having more fun in your life than I am in mine."
Naomi smiled, and suddenly said, "Uh-oh, I'm supposed to be in my anatomy lesson with the Doctor. He's gonna be mad at me."
Q patted her on the arm gently, and raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry about a thing."
He clicked his fingers, and just like that, the two of them were standing in sickbay.
"Oh!" he heard the hologram exclaim, and there was crash of objects.
Q rolled his eyes, and with a wave of his hand, and a small flash, the objects were back on their clean tray, and not a thing was broken.
The Doctor stared at them wild-eyed, and noticed Naomi's smile.
"Well, it's nice to see you too, Doc'," Q greeted him when there was nothing said, and he pushed Naomi slightly to urge her to go forward, into her anatomy lesson. which, to Q, sounded dull and pointless.
In the blink of an eye, Q was gone.
* * *
Icheb was just finishing up replacing a faulty relay, when he heard something that made him start violently.
"Itchy!"
Icheb whirled, and to his shock and wonder, there was Q standing behind him, that same mischievous grin on his face.
He didn't quite know how to react. considering Q had risked their lives the last time he had been aboard. It had all turned out to be a test, but it had still happened.
"Q. what are you doing here?"
Q's shoulder's slumped, and with a furrowed brow, he asked, "Why does everybody keep asking me that? No one just seems happy to see me."
"I'm sorry," Icheb apologised, and set down the replacement relay he was working on, turning his full attention on the omnipotent child. "I am just surprised to see you again."
"You didn't think I'd disappear forever did you, Itchy?" Q slapped him playfully on the arm, and laughed, looking at what Icheb had been doing prior to the interruption.
He raised an eyebrow. "Well, there's a shocker." He laughed again.
Icheb tilted his head to the left, and glanced back at what he was doing, and then smiled.
Q sighed with a smile, and leaned, arms crossed over his chest, back against the wall. "So." the smile faded, "how have you been anyway?"
Icheb recognised the vague hint of concern in Q's tone, and for that, he was grateful. Even if it was only faint, he appreciated it. "I am well. How are you? Is your father here?"
"That's great. I'm good. and no, my father isn't here, thank god."
Icheb narrowed his eyes in confusion, but let the comment slide for the time being. "I was led to believe he was to remain-"
Q scoffed. "Ah, they took that back. I can go where I want without him, as long as I don't destroy the universe, or start wars, or shift continents." He gave a nervous laugh.
Icheb nodded. There was something about Q's demeanour that led Icheb to believe Q was holding something back, but he wasn't one to pry. if Q wanted to share anything private, then that was his decision.
After a few moments of awkward silence, Q blurted, "How are the flying lessons coming along?"
"Good. Lieutenant Paris says I'm making good progress," Icheb replied.
Q smiled. "No more ion imbalances?"
Icheb laughed a quiet laugh, and shook his head. "No."
Q laughed, and sighed. "Well, I'd better be going. I have more chaos to wreak through these decks." Again, he slapped Icheb on the arm, lighter this time, with a grin. "See ya later, Itchy."
In a flash, Q was gone, leaving Icheb standing alone in the gentle hum and dim light to replace the faulty relay.
* * *
Q sat, chewing the end of his thumb nervously, knees drawn up close to his chest, looking down at the end of the Jeffries tube. Thankfully, there was no one else around to see him like this.
But he couldn't hide forever. He knew he would be found. discovered.
He was scared. a Q was scared, and worst of all, of his own kind.
Most of all, his father.
"What am I going to do?" he mumbled quietly, running both hands through his black hair, letting it fall in locks around his forehead. He frowned a considerable amount, and sighed loudly.
Q knew he couldn't hide from the Captain forever, he couldn't keep information like this from Aunt Kathy. she was smart, 'she had gumption' as he had once so colourfully put it. She would find out. Either that, or someone would pop up and tell her all about it.
What was he going to do?
He was in trouble.
* * *
Captain Janeway was enjoying a quiet read in her quarters, some gentle classical music playing softly throughout the room, her loose warm clothes much more comfortable than her regulation Starfleet uniform.
She wondered where Q had gone all of a sudden. She hadn't seen him for a while now. at least two hours. He had popped up whilst she was enjoying a bit of dinner and some coffee with Neelix and Chakotay, and the boy had had quite a conversation with the Talaxian, shocking Kathryn quite a bit.
But something hadn't seemed right with Q. he had seemed nervous. Why would an omnipotent being like Q be nervous? Least of all on Voyager. He had nothing to worry about, he hadn't caused any trouble. Not that she knew of.
She hadn't heard anything either, not a thing to make her think that her 'godson' was up to no good anyway.
So far, Icheb and Naomi had informed her of their similar encounters with the youth, and they had both enjoyed the experience. Q had been friendly, accommodating, and to Icheb, apologetic and concerned.
It was great that he was making such stellar progress. no pun intended. But there was something she just couldn't put her finger on.
What was it?
"Right, where is he?" stormed a voice from the rear of her quarters, close to her replicator.
She made a startled noise, and leapt from her chair, dropping her book in the progress. That wasn't important now.
"Q!" she exclaimed, seeing the boy's father standing, looking rather enraged, at the back of the room, arms crossed tightly over his chest, an obvious amount of tension filling his limbs.
He had lines creasing his forehead, and his beady eyes were wide in anger, and his lips were drawn tight.
"Where is he?" Q asked again, and then added hurriedly, "Hello, Kathryn."
She shook her head vigorously for a moment, and then said loudly, "Where's who? What do you want?"
"Q, where is he? He's gone too far this time. he's in real trouble."
Kathryn closed her eyes for a moment, and then asked patiently, "Why is he in trouble?" Then she added, "He's been nothing but courteous ever since he got here. The boy hasn't done a thing wrong."
Q laughed heartily, and then fell silent, rather ominously. He walked over to her, eyes narrowed now. "That brat has got you eating out of the palm of his hand, Kathy. He's manipulative, and conniving, evil and malicious, and you know it."
"Now just hang on for one moment here," she said, holding up a hand to silence the rambling parent. "What exactly has he done? He hasn't shown any signs of mischief or trouble since he set foot on my bridge. He even saved us from some attacking aliens without having to be provoked."
Q sighed rather impatiently, and told her, "You're so naïve, Kathy. You couldn't see his intentions if they came up and bit you in the-"
"Q! Be quiet, or start making sense, it's your choice!"
Q seemed to calm himself enough to take a few deep breaths, before he replied; "Q has eradicated an entire belligerent species within the matter of ten minutes. They're all dead, all one hundred million inhabitants of Hykarias Prime."
Kathryn fell silent, words failing her. They had passed by Hykarias Prime only four days ago, and all of them had been healthy, and happy. There was no disease, no war, no famine, and no trouble at all. They had entered into trade with them, and managed to gather a generous supply of foodstuffs and other supplies. They had supplied the Hykarians with medicines, materials for buildings, and plans for replicators. They had been a lovely race. and now they were all dead?
"How?" was all she managed to mutter, the shock taking its toll as she was forced to rest on the arm of a nearby armchair.
Q cocked his head as he recalled. "Well, he simply destroyed their atmosphere in the blink of an eye, and then caused the continents to break apart. He also killed all of their plant life and livestock." He clicked his fingers, and a representation of the planet in question appeared. Everything was fine, green and lush, clouds brushing over the continents, filled with life.
And then suddenly, the clouds turned into thick black smoggy patches in the sky, and storms formed. Even as she watched, their atmosphere started to diminish, and great cracks formed in the landmasses, and they finally tore apart.
Mournful browns and blacks absorbed the greens. It appeared as though the ground had been scorched. The waters turned grey and filthy, contaminated.
An area of land enlarged so that she could get a clearer view of what was going on, and as she watched, animals simply dropped to the ground, their eyes rolling up into their skulls.
Soon, the people started to suffocate, and they fell to their knees, clutching their throats desperately, fighting for air. She saw at least five families die within a matter of minutes.
"And here's the best part," grumbled Q sarcastically, as the planet enlarged again to show a global scale.
Light started to shine through from the planet's core, and soon, it shone brighter, wider beams of it gleaming through the crust, until finally, it broke apart, shards of planet shooting out in all directions.
With a click of his fingers, the representation disappeared, leaving Kathryn to wonder what could have driven the younger Q to such horrible actions. How could he have done something so disgusting?
It wasn't true, was it? It couldn't be. This wasn't the behaviour of the boy she had socialised with today. it was impossible.
"I know what you're thinking, Kathy," Q stated, placing a hand on her shoulder, "you're thinking 'this isn't real, he couldn't have done this'. But he could, Kathy. I know it was him."
"How do you know?" she asked suddenly, desperate to fight for the boy's innocence. "Do you have any proof? It could have been a biological weapon from a neighbouring planet." She felt her eyes brim with tears. She swallowed them back.
Q shook his head. "Nothing man-made could have done this, and you know that. you're just denying it to yourself. You shouldn't push the truth into the back of your mind. You know he's perfectly capable."
"But you saw yourself how much he'd matured." Kathryn may have been in denial, but this just didn't fit. none of it did.
And then she remembered how nervous Q had been in the mess hall.
"That obviously was a ruse," Q concluded, "there was a witness."
Kathryn looked up into Q's dark eyes, her brow furrowed. "Who?"
"Another Q. He watched my son do the whole thing. And apparently he laughed!"
"What are you going to do?"
Q sighed, and he genuinely looked sorrowful. "He has been sentenced to death."