Chapter 11: Black Hole Blockage

The Captain gulped as her eyes looked over the humanoid figure. With barely recognisable features and a six-foot-tall body which was gradually starting to emit a silver glow, the Captain was aware of one thing, he was deadly serious.

She watched as the alien scowled harshly at Q before raising his hand. That alone made her eyes widen.

"No!" Q cried, the only thing the Captain heard before he fled the room.

"Fool!" the alien exclaimed.

As quick as he had appeared, the alien transformed into a slightly dimmer ball of swirling gasses which quickly headed towards and through the closed door, in pursuit of the less than valiant no-longer-omnipotent being.

Despite the situation, the Captain had no doubt in her mind that what she had just witnessed was real. It was certain no dream no matter how much she wished.

"Intruder Alert!"

Her declaration set off the red alert klaxons on-board at the same moment she dropped the duvet and swiftly headed over to her dresser. She was in need of her uniform so she could head to the Bridge.

It was barely a minute later when she found herself in the turbolift. She could dress damned quickly when needed. It was then that she received a hail from an Ensign.

"Security to Captain. We've just found Q on Deck 3. He appears to be injured."

The Captain rolled her eyes automatically. "Have him transported to Sickbay."

She reached the Bridge moments later, finding herself almost colliding with the Commander as she went to step out. He'd been just about to head down to come and find her.

"Captain, what's going on?"

Without thinking, she pulled him inside the turbolift and began explaining. The best thing to do was to head to Sickbay and assess the situation from there.

The Captain and Commander arrived to see the Doctor scanning the unconscious being. He didn't look overly concerned. Seeing that, the Captain's attention turned and focused on the worrying Ensign sat by her daughter's bedside in the Surgical Bay. Naomi's condition thankfully had been slowed by the Doctor's induced coma; however, she was still deteriorating. She was still sporting a dangerously high fever and patches of dead skin were beginning to appear on her frail skin.

The Captain shuddered, something Commander Chakotay noticed immediately.

"Hey." he whispered soothingly, pulling her slightly into his chest.

She sighed almost silently, ordering herself not to let her emotions get the best of her. She couldn't allow herself to cry, not until they were alone.

"I need to go." she admitted quietly to the Commander, something he easily understood.

The Command Team left and the Doctor took no time to help Q, mostly since he had no notable injuries. He was just unconscious. Upon realising that, he returned to Naomi and scanned her once again.

The Doctor sighed when he saw exactly what he expected to see: no change. It was then he looked at the little girl's mother. Her skin was noticeably white, emphasising the red puffiness around her eyes. He couldn't even begin to imagine how she must have felt.

"Ensign." he whispered, placing his hand on her shoulder, "Please, go and get some rest."

He paused, knowing she'd never agree to it. No parent would.

"At the very least, get a meal from the replicator in my office."

Samantha somehow managed to look away from her daughter and around at him. She just couldn't. She couldn't leave her baby girl, not for a second.

The Doctor sighed. "I'll get something for you something." he decided it best to do it himself.

The poor woman probably hadn't even heard what he'd said.

=/\=

The Captain hadn't managed to prevent her tears when she returned to her quarters. She'd been feeling low all day and seeing Naomi had just pushed her to the limit. The poor little girl was dying and nothing could be done to help her.

With the Commander back on the Bridge, something he had strongly objected to, the Captain had headed to bed. After wrestling with the duvet which had been curled up on the floor, she lay on top of the covers. She knew she wouldn't be getting any sleep. Her mind was haunted by the images of the two patients in Sickbay, Naomi and the man who'd somehow taken advantage of her. She still shuddered at the fact that she didn't know how.

"Captain Janeway?"

Startled, the Captain darted up to see the Perpetuani alien standing at the bottom of her bed. She sighed before positioning herself so she was sat up. The light emitted from him wasn't as bright as it had been when she'd seen him earlier; he didn't look as angry either. Despite the fact that he was out to destroy the man currently out cold in Sickbay, she didn't feel threatened, not at all. Still, she couldn't let herself feel too comfortable. She didn't even know who he was.

"Who are you?"

He stood, stationary, and attempted to smile softly. However, he couldn't since his skin didn't stretch far enough to allow him to do so. Still, she appreciated the gesture.

"I am…" he paused, "Fred."

The Captain felt her mouth fight her amusement. "Fred?"

"No." he flashed her his version of a smile after his confession, "My real name is too complex for your brain to comprehend."

The Captain nodded slowly. "Okay." she understood, "What do you want from me?"

There was obviously a reason he had come to her.

"Information." he replied, "Firstly, what is… Q doing on your ship?"

The Captain sighed. "I honestly don't know."

"Is he your… friend?" Fred questioned.

"No." the Captain answered. It was honestly the easiest question to answer.

The alien nodded slowly, his face heavy. The Captain sighed. For some reason, she had a feeling that Fred's problem with Q was deeper than it appeared. Just what had he done?

Silence fell over the pair for a few moments

"What did he do to you?" the Captain finally asked.

He slowly shook his head, the dim light of his body fading into complete darkness. It took the Captain a few moments before her eyes fully adjusted and she was able to see the alien in the dimness of her bedroom.

"I don't know where to begin."

"From the start." she prompted.

Fred nodded once again, slowly turning to partly face in her direction.

"Black Hole Blockage."

The Captain's eyes widened. "I beg your pardon?"

Fred sighed. "Q, he… He destroyed my home world in a game – Black Hole Blockade."

The Captain remained silent. It was scary that she wasn't really surprised.

"He positioned a number of black holes around our solar system and watched to see which planets fell into which black hole."

The alien shifted uncomfortably on the spot.

"On our Armageddon, he taunted with my people." he paused, "He changed their molecular structures so they'd feel while inside the black holes. 9.7 billion people were lost."

The Captain couldn't believe her ears. She knew Q could be bad, but never as far as what the alien was suggesting. In fact, she couldn't quite believe it. Q could be a pain in her behind but he wasn't a monster, was he?

"They're all still conscious inside those holes." Fred continued, turning and meeting her eye, "Can you imagine what that's like? They can feel the entire universe decompose around them. No escape. He's denied them the right to die. It's wrong!"

The Captain felt her heart grow heavy. Is that what Q was when he wasn't around Starfleet – a terrorist? A murderer? Surely not…

She could see the pain on the alien's face; she shared it. If even any of it were true, her heart went out to them. Every living creature deserved the chance to rest in peace. Death should have been final.

"I'm sorry, Captain."

She lifted her head when Fred spoke again.

"I shouldn't have attacked your ship. I was after Q, not you."

The Captain nodded slowly, silently grateful of his apology.

"How many of you survived?" she asked quietly.

"6."

Her jaw genuinely fell open in horror. She honestly felt sick. Only six.

Fred spoke again. "I will not rest until I have removed him from the universe."

The Captain sighed, aware of the alien's building anger. "His death won't bring you peace."

"It's not peace, its justice!"

For the first time, the Captain felt uncomfortable in his presence. He seemed dangerously angry.

"A death for a death won't bring any comfort. His death won't bring them back."

The alien began to glow again, the light outlining his growing anger.

"He will pay for what he's done."

The Captain nodded. "Yes, he will." she promised, "But killing him allows him to take the easy way out. He can't make up for his actions if he'd dead."

Fred sighed abruptly. "Then what do you suggest?"

The Captain was walking in dangerous territory. Honestly, she had no idea but no matter how much she hated Q, no matter how much she didn't want him in her life, she wasn't going to let him be killed.

"Let me confine him in our brig." she suggested, "Allow me to talk to him; convince him to free your people."

"And how will you do that?" Fred's tone was harsh.

The Captain sighed. "We have a… unique understanding."

Fred was sceptical. "You'd do that for someone who almost destroyed your ship?"

"To save nine billion lives?" she questioned, "I'd make it my life's work if I had to."

The intensity of the light from Fred's body returned to full power, the sudden change making the Captain flinch.

"You have a month." he told her, "If you do not succeed, I'll destroy this ship."

Immediately, she felt her brow drop. "Wait a minute!" she cried, "Why destroy my ship?"

"If Q is here and you fail, I will destroy this vessel to make sure he goes with it!" he barked.

Suddenly, she felt threatened beyond belief. The change in his behaviour was ridiculous.

"I mean it, Captain!"

It took less than a moment for Fred to disappear, leaving the Captain feeling very sick to her stomach. It had been a threat she was sure was no simple bluff.

Somehow managing to pull herself together, she leant over to reach her combadge from her bedside unit. A month – only one damned month. It was going to be interesting.

She tapped the badge. "Janeway to Chakotay."

"Yes, Captain?"

Nodding slightly to herself, she couldn't imagine just how big the smile on the Commander's face was about to get.

"Throw Q in the brig."

She honestly believed that she could almost hear his smile as it formed.

"With pleasure, Captain."