Disclaimer: I know they're not mine but now that Paramount
have finished with them I'm taking them out to play. This is for
pleasure not profit but if Paramount want to buy my ideas I'm open to offers.
ROLE REVERSAL
By Kayla, July 2001
"Go on, do it! You know you want to."
"I have to admit I'm tempted but you know I promised
the continuum that I'd leave the humans alone."
"If you don't do it, I will."
"You? Aren't you supposed to make sure I stay out
of trouble? Don't you think you should lead by example?"
"I'm tired of playing by the rules, I want to have
some fun. You seem to find this species entertaining and it's such a good
idea. I can just picture their faces."
"These are my humans, find your own toys."
"I will if you promise to do it and tell me how
it goes."
"Oh, very well. But if the continuum kicks me out
for this, you're coming too!"
=^= =^= =^=
A familiar flash of light illuminated the bridge
eliciting a collective groan from the crew.
"Damn it, Q. What now?" exclaimed the captain,
leaping to his feet.
"Now, now, Jean-Luc. Is that any way to greet an
old friend?"
"A visit from you means trouble and trouble is
no friend of mine."
Q clutched his chest and sank to his knees.
"You wound me, Jean-Luc, how can you be so callous?
Here am I, come to do you a favour, to bring some excitement, some joie-de-vivre,
some purpose into your life and all you can do is insult me."
Picard sighed and returned to his seat.
"Just do what you came to do and then get the hell
off my ship."
"Don't you want to know why I'm here?"
"What I want, Q, is for you to leave."
"Your wish is my command."
Picard raised a disbelieving eyebrow.
"I'll leave Jean-Luc, but you're coming too."
Another flash of light and Q was gone, leaving
behind a stunned crew and an empty captain's chair.
=^= =^= =^=
On the other side of the galaxy the crew of the
Federation Starship Voyager was having a good day. They were travelling
through a peaceful area of the Delta Quadrant, the warp drive was operating
at peak efficiency, the lunch menu was blessedly leola root free and the
captain was taking a well earned day off.
On the bridge the members of the beta shift were
working in companionable silence. Tom Paris was plotting a course through
the current star system, Tuvok was updating the tactical database, Harry
was running a diagnostic on the communications array and Chakotay was slumped
in his seat attempting to keep his eyes from closing as he read one of
Seven's interminable astrometrics reports. The unexpected burst of light
jolted them to attention. Tuvok drew his phaser but quickly let his hand
drop to his side as he recognised the futility of his action.
"Q!" exclaimed Chakotay.
"I'm so glad you remember me, Chuckles. It's good
to see you too!"
"What do you want, Q?" Chakotay enquired, not bothering
to hide his impatience.
"Why does everyone assume I want something? I came
to bring you a gift."
Q waved his hand and deposited an irate Jean-Luc
Picard into the captain's chair. Not that he stayed there for long.
"What are you playing at Q? Where is this?" he
demanded as he sprang to his feet.
"This," said Q, waving is arm in a sweeping gesture,
"is the Starship Voyager."
Picard stared at him for a few seconds in stunned
silence.
"Are you telling me that we are in the Delta Quadrant?"
"That's right, mon capitaine, you finally get to
do some of that 'exploring strange new worlds' that you're forever harping
on about. Think of the excitement. Think of the challenge. Think of the
glory of being the captain who brought Voyager home."
Chakotay was horrified.
"We already have a captain," he stated, bluntly.
"Oh now admit it, Chuck-a-stick. She's hardly doing
a good job. She should have had you home by now, after all it's been nearly
seven years. I decided a replacement was in order."
A look of horror crossed Chakotay's face as a number
of alarming possibilities raced through his mind.
"Computer where is the captain?" he enquired.
*The captain is on the bridge.*
After a quick glance around to confirm that Janeway
was not, in fact, present Chakotay posed another question.
"Computer, who is captain of this ship?"
*The USS Voyager is under the command of Captain
Jean-Luc Picard.*
"Where is Captain Janeway?"
*Captain Janeway is not on board.*
"When did she leave?"
*That information is not available.*
Chakotay turned an angry glare on Q.
"What have you done with Kathryn?"
Picard raised an eyebrow at the use of her given
name but said nothing as he awaited Q's response.
"Why she's on her ship of course."
Picard glared at Q as a suspicion dawned.
"Let me guess, her ship is the Enterprise."
"Excellent deduction, now we know why they made
you a captain."
"This is ridiculous, bring her back!" Chakotay
could barely contain his wrath.
"Calm down, Chuckles, it's for her own good. Don't
you want her to get back to Earth? Think how happy she'll be to see that
scrawny little planet she calls home. You know that the stress has been
getting to her, this is just what the Doctor ordered," he grinned happily.
"Speaking of which..."
In the blink of an eye an old-fashioned frock coat
and top hat replaced his Starfleet uniform. A black bag appeared in his
hand and a stethoscope hung from his neck.
"Time to pay a house call."
With that he was gone, leaving a bewildered group
of officers to ponder their next move.
=^= =^= =^=
To say that Kathryn Janeway was startled would
be an understatement akin to saying that the Borg were unfriendly. This
was definitely not what she had had planned for her day. One second she
had been sprawled on the couch in her quarters with a good book, the next
she was here (wherever 'here' was) sprawled in an extremely undignified
manner in the command chair of a bridge she didn't recognise. She quickly
became aware that she was under the startled gaze of a group of officers,
some of whom were all too familiar. Dropping her book she sprang to her
feet, but before she could speak the answer to her question appeared in
front of her.
"Q!"
"Kathy, my dear. It's good to see you too!"
Janeway groaned and rubbed her temples.
"Oh dear, do you have a headache? Let the doctor
take a look."
Q lifted his stethoscope and advanced towards Janeway.
She held up a hand to stop him.
"Return me to my ship at once."
"But this is your ship, Captain."
"I don't know what game you're playing now, Q,
but this is most definitely not Voyager."
"I see your powers of observation are as acute
as ever. You're right, this isn't Voyager, this is the Enterprise and as
of about..." he reached into a pocket and pulled out a gold watch, "two
minutes ago, this is your ship."
Janeway graced him with a grade 10 death glare.
"What? You're not pleased?" Q was bewildered. "This
is a sovereign class ship, quite a promotion from that puny little Voyager."
"Just because you choose to bring me here, does
not make this my ship."
"On the contrary, Captain. My wish is Starfleet's
command."
Janeway sighed and sat back down in resignation.
"Why don't you just explain what this is all about."
"Why it's simple, I'm just doing a good turn for
my two favourite captains. You want to return to Earth, Jean-Luc wants
to seek out new civilizations. What simpler way to make you both happy
than to swap your positions?"
Janeway started to speak but Q cut her off.
"There's no need to thank me, Kathy. Just enjoy!"
With that he was gone leaving the crew of the Enterprise
and her new Captain to stare at each other and wonder what to do next.
=^= =^= =^=
On Voyager the decision had already been made.
Chakotay may not have had Picard's wealth of experience with their omnipotent
friend but he knew enough to recognize that Picard was right when he said
that there was only one thing to be done. Nothing.
"Until Q recognizes the error of his ways and decides
to swap us back it seems that Voyager has a new captain and there's nothing
we can do about it. To attempt to find a solution would be an exercise
in futility that I have no intention of engaging in. Until such time as
Q comes to his senses I suggest that we continue Voyager's journey back
to the Alpha Quadrant. Agreed?"
Picard scanned the faces of Voyager's bridge officers
as one by one they nodded their acceptance of the situation.
"Very well. Set a course for Earth. Warp five."
He took his seat in the command chair. "Engage."
Chakotay watched the stars streaking past on the
viewscreen and wondered if he was being selfish to wish that Kathryn was
back in the seat beside him. He knew how badly she wanted to get home,
maybe it was unfair to hope that Q would return her to Voyager, but it
was going to be a long journey home without her. He missed her already.
=^= =^= =^=
Despite the gravity of the situation the Enterprise's
first officer was regarding his new captain with a mischievous grin.
"So, Captain Janeway, are you going to stay or
do you plan to run out on me again?"
Kathryn couldn't help but smile as she remembered
the 'blind date' that had caused her to become so flustered that she had
left in a hurry after only a few minutes.
"Actually, Commander, the last time we met it was
you that left me."
Will looked puzzled.
"I don't remember...."
"No, you wouldn't. Q was responsible for that little
episode too and he promised me that you would have no memory of it. It
looks like there'll be plenty of time to tell you about it later but for
the moment we have more pressing matters to consider, like what to do next."
"On past experience I would suggest that there
is no action that we can take that would have any effect on our current
situation," stated Commander Data from his seat at the operations console.
"I agree, Commander, we can't change what Q has
done but nevertheless the Enterprise can't just sit here while we twiddle
our thumbs waiting for him to make his next move. I assume that the ship
has a mission so perhaps someone would fill me in on where we are and where
we're supposed to be going."
"We left Earth this morning and we're on course
for Starbase 212 where Captain Picard was due to attend a conference with
members of the Klingon government." Riker explained.
"There seems little point in continuing that journey
since Captain Picard is no longer aboard," Janeway concluded. "Commander
Data, open a channel to Starfleet, explain the situation and tell them
that the Enterprise is returning to Earth."
"Aye, Captain."
Whatever the rest of the crew might be feeling,
Data was unfazed by the Enterprise's abrupt change of command, a fact that
Janeway found comforting. At least there was one officer who was not going
to challenge her right to make the decisions. Feeling the sudden need to
escape from the scrutiny of the bridge officers she rose to her feet.
"I'll be in the ready room. Commander Riker you
have the bridge," she said as, after a moment of disorientation, she headed
for the door.
"Aye, Captain. Should we set a course for Earth?"
Janeway nodded as the ready room door opened. She
stepped inside and the door slid shut on her final order.
"Do it."
=^= =^= =^=
Kathryn stood in the middle of the ready room overcome
by the feeling that she was intruding in someone else's personal space.
She wondered if Picard was experiencing similar feelings aboard Voyager
and hoped that her crew were making him comfortable. She took a seat behind
the desk and closed her eyes letting her head fall back. She felt her stomach
clench as she thought of her crew, she missed them already, especially
Chakotay. Tears pricked at her eyelids as she wished she could turn to
him for comfort and advice at this moment.
"Damn it, Q. If you had to do this couldn't you
have switched the whole crew?" she complained to the empty room.
Giving herself a mental shake she considered her
next move. She thought about contacting her family but decided against
it, at least for now. It didn't seem right to raise their hopes of having
her home until she was sure that Q wasn't going to reappear and send her
back to Voyager. Once again she found herself thinking of her ship and
her friends. This was getting her nowhere, with a sigh she stood and moved
to the replicator. Perhaps a coffee would help.
=^= =^= =^=
Four hours later life on both ships was proceeding
as normal, or as normal as possible considering the circumstances. Crewmembers
went about their tasks and the ships followed their respective courses
for Earth. For Voyager that course had no immediate end in sight but on
the Enterprise it was a different story.
"Bridge to Janeway"
*Janeway here, report.*
"Captain we're within range of Earth, awaiting
approach clearance from traffic control."
*On my way, Janeway out*
The ready room door opened and Janeway stepped
out. She crossed to the command centre and turned to face the viewscreen.
"On screen"
She stared in silence as the familiar blue and
green globe appeared on the screen. She swallowed as she struggled to speak
around the lump that had formed in her throat. Counselor Troi sensed her
sudden burst of emotion and rose from her seat. Crossing to stand by Janeway's
side she laid a hand on her arm.
