"We are following their warp trail as we speak." Paris commented at Q as he stood over his shoulder looking like he was about to choke someone.
"Well follow faster. The sooner we get Janeway back the sooner I'll leave you alone."
"We all want her back as much as you do, just, stop looking over my shoulder while I try to work." Paris growled back.
"Fine." He raised his brow and walked over to the captains chair glancing down at the empty seat with a pinning look on his face. It just wasn't the same without her, if those Vidiian bastards harmed one hair on her head he was going to make them suffer, with or without his powers.
Janeway hadn't expected to reappear on the other side of the door, her stomach still feeling like a flock of birds were trapped in a windstorm. Turning back to glance at the door she felt a little ill prepared for her escape now. "Janeway if that was you who got us out of there you could have at least waited for mommy to grab a gun off one of the guards." Stealth was going to have to do until she could acquire one, though she could only hope it wouldn't come to that. While she walked away from the lab trying to keep hidden the small form of the girl showed up again, her hand over her chest while she stood beside the captain.
"Mother, why did they hurt me? I didn't do anything bad did I?" Her voice was quiet, shaking, she sounded like she was still in pain. She held her hand tight over her left breast, her hand shaking every time she took a breath.
"You did nothing wrong, sometimes people do bad things without a reason." Though Janeway knew there had been a reason for harming her daughter. It seemed they were after her for whatever reason, likely because from the sound of it the unborn child had a resistance to the phage. At least they thought so. "Are you hurt?" She reached out grabbing the young girls hand and pulling it away from her shoulder. There was blood covering her hand. Gasping Janeway wondered if seeing her bleeding here meant her real body was so badly injured as well. "Janeway, you're bleeding."
She pulled her hand back and covered the wound again, her body starting to shake as she drew in short breaths. "I'm trying to fix it but I'm so tired. I can't..." The girl paused for a moment almost falling back into the wall. "I have to go, I can't help you anymore mother. I'm too weak, I need to rest." A flash of light made the girl vanish once more. She had to contact Voyager soon or it could mean death for her daughter. Picking up her pace she ducked back into the shadows keeping out of sight as a small group of Vidiian's walked by. Without knowing the layout of the ship it was hard to find another station to send out a message from. Having her plucky and powerful little omnipotent daughter would have been helpful in navigating. Right now she was wandering around in the dark unarmed and Janeway didn't like being unprepared.
Heading down another corridor Janeway leaned against the wall feeling like her insides were tightening up or being tugged on. The pain was mild and numbing, not quite like the cramps she had experienced from the baby trying to use her powers before. "Hold on Janeway, as soon as we get back on Voyager I will make sure we get right to sickbay and get you a clean bill of health." She hoped the baby could hear her now and just give her a small break while she hunted for a way off the ship. "I know you are hurt but if you calm down and don't cripple me I'll get us out of here, after that I promise I'll take a few days off from the bridge." Q was complaining she needed rest for the both of them. That her constantly being on the go was going to hurt the baby as well. If the kid could stop losing control of herself and they made it off the ship she would be happy to take it easy until the moment she was in labor. She would run relaxing programs on the holodeck, get eight hours of sleep, give up coffee, hell even give some of her responsibilities to Chakotay.
Turning another corner Kathryn ran into the Vidiian who had taken her off the ship, the man leading the attack on her and her crew. Before he had a chance to react she used her elbow to strike him hard in the ribs making him bend over in pain. With his guard down she kneed him hard in the face and slipped his weapon from his belt holding it against his throat. "You, you are the one who attacked me on my ship. If you want to survive you are going to take me to one of your shuttles."
He choked trying to pull air back into his lungs while Janeway pressed the phaser harder against his throat. "I can't do that, we need your child's DNA. It could save my people."
"And you can't have my child." Janeway growled.
He took in another breath trying clear his throat out so he could speak again. "You would condemn a species over one being?"
"For my own child, yes."
"Then you know how I feel, please, listen to me. I know how you feel and I truly do feel sorry for you. My daughter, Kalesa was just diagnosed with phage three months ago. She's only seven years old. Do you think she deserves to live this life, a life like this? Look at me, I'm a monster, but I can save her still. I can save her from becoming this if you just let me explain."
Her grip on the phaser tightened when he spoke of his daughter but she couldn't just let him take her own daughter to save his. Still Janeway softened the tone of her voice. "I am sorry about your daughter, no parent should have to go through what you are going through, but I still can't let you take my daughter." Janeway felt her grip on the phaser slip a little as another cramp tightened up her stomach muscles and caused her to double over a little. Her arm tucked under her rib cage as she groaned.
"You are hurt, you need medical assistance, I don't want to see you or your child hurt. Please let me help you." He crept a little closer to her threatening to grab her. She didn't believe him, after he had taken her from her ship, had his men attack Q, she couldn't trust him. Tightening her grip on the weapon she aimed it back at him, her eyes showing the same anger they had when he had taken her from Voyager. "I understand that you are angry with me but if it was you I know you would do the same. I can tell from how you protect your child you would do the same to save her."
"That is where you are wrong." Janeway huffed grabbing her side again. "I wouldn't take your daughter from you just so I could save my own." This time a sharper pain ran through her cutting right up into her back and up her spine. It was enough to make Janeway nearly drop her weapon and fall to the ground. Arms wrapped around herself despite the pain she had to fight through it, she had to get up and keep going, she had to get out of here and get herself to safety, back to Voyager so the doctor could look her over. Instead she laid on the ground writhing in pain and trying to will herself up. An arm wrapped around her lifting her off the ground and pulling her back up to her feet. Again Janeway tried to struggle out of his grip and move away on her own but the ship around her was starting to blur, a loud cry escaping her lips. One moment she was in pain and then the next moment she was unconscious again.
"We are getting readings on three Vidiian ships on the long range sensors." Kim called over to Chakotay. "The warp trail from the ship that took the captain is right there with them. We found her."
"Mr. Paris bring us in slow, we don't want to alert them until we are close enough to transport the captain out of there. As soon as we get her back to voyager take us into warp away from here are we understood?" He paused looking to Tuvok, "Prepare an away team in the event we can't beam the captain out we will be sending a group in to get her."
Q walked up to Chakotay more than ready to go down there and snuff out every insignificant little Vidiian life he came across. "Send me with the team, don't think I am just going to stand by when Kathy needs me most." Chakotay was hesitant to let Q go but even as a human he bet he couldn't keep the egotistical ass from sneaking past him.
"Alright, go with Tuvok to gather the team. Once we get into range we will try to get the captain. If that doesn't work then it looks like you will be going down to bring her back to us."
Janeway woke up blinking her eyes slowly at first before realizing she was still on the Vidiian ship. Sitting up fast it surprised her she hadn't been restrained. The bed beneath her was softer than the one from the lab, looking around the room it appeared to be a sickbay rather than a laboratory but still very much Vidiian. Sickbay or lab it didn't comfort her to wake up not knowing what had happened. "It's alright captain Janeway, lay back and rest a while, there had been extensive damage you suffered. Most likely occurred when those idiots tried to remove the fetus. You likely would have lost it if not take care of in time, your body had already started showing signs of aborting it but within the hour you should have a full recovery." Moving a hand over her abdomen she gasped afraid he might have taken her child now. "Don't worry, it's still there if that is what you are wondering. It received a small injury just bellow the collar bone that I have corrected. Without our advanced medical technology she might have been born with a deformity because of their carelessness. She may very well have never gained control of that arm. Because of our technology you know she would have the safest life one could ask for. She would never fear what most children fear, pain, illness, her life would be carefree. She would be loved, protected, be raised as a hero, a messiah."
It was ironic wasn't it, it seemed since the moment this child came into being she was forced into the position of messiah for more than just the Q. "But she wouldn't have me anymore or her father. She isn't a normal baby, she knows who I am, she would remember me, miss me, wonder why I gave her up. Even if it was for a good cause I couldn't live with that. Even if she was just a normal human child I couldn't live with that. Would you give your own daughter up to save another? Could you?"
He signed, "I was afraid you would say that." Lowering his head he paused a moment. "Which was why I took the liberty of collecting a small blood sample along with stem cells. I can't guarantee I could ever make a cure to combat the phage virus. Not enough for the whole population but I will do what I can with it. Even if all I can do is save just my daughter then that will have been worth more than everything else I have." Janeway was puzzled, he wasn't going to just let her go now was he? Something didn't seem right.
"That's it? Why the change of heart?"
"Believe me, I had thought about taking the child. I speak the truth when I say she would have the best care all of her life. She would never want for anything but one. Your daughter has a funny way of appearing when she isn't really here. She told me if donating her blood could save someone then she would be happy to do so, but she would never be happy away from you. She insisted if I took her from you that I would have more than an angry mother on my hands. I couldn't look her in the face and tell her what I told you. How we would look after her, how she would have everything. I knew it would be a lie. If she thinks as highly as you as she says she does then she would be right, she wouldn't be happy without you. With the phage virus being so risky to our population as it is we couldn't keep you by her side either." Walking closer to Janeway he let out a sign. "So I made a choice, I can't take a child from her parents."
A sly little smile crossed her face as she thought about young Janeway. "She wasn't going to let you take her was she."
"No, after I fixed her shoulder she made a near immediate recovery and made all my instruments malfunction until I fixed you as well. If I so much get a scanner close to you know it will overload."
There was a sense of pride knowing her daughter was just as difficult as she was to push around. "Are you going to take me to a shuttle now so I can leave?"
"Commander, a small shuttle has just left one of the Vidiian ships, it's hailing us sir. I think it's captain Janeway." Kim turned to face the commander.
"Bring her up Kim."
Q had run off to sickbay the second he heard Janeway was back on the ship. Running into the sickbay door he felt a sting of pain on his nose hopping he hadn't broken it again. His excitement had literally blinded him but only for a moment as eh opened the door and stepped inside. Janeway and Kes were laughing about something, acting as though nothing had happened. Yet seeing her smile assured him everything would be alright now. Turning to Q Kes offered up a warm smile. "You'll be happy to know both Janeway and the baby are in perfect health."
He relaxed his shoulders a little and moved up tot eh side of the bed where she was sitting. Throwing his arms around her he kissed her on the lips making Janeway flinch a little. Though she hesitated to kiss him back she figured just this once wouldn't hurt him. Once he parted his lips from hers he rested his head against her shoulder, almost crying now. "I am so happy you are alright."
"Me too, however if you think you are getting off the hook for your behavior Q you are mistaken. You put Voyager and myself at risk."
"You don't need to punish me Kathy, I think I have been punished enough. I'm...mortal." He glanced away wondering if she was even going to want him on the ship now. While he had his powers he was the only one capable of controlling juniors powers. Without them now he was useless.
"Mortal? How?"
He glanced over towards Kes feeling a little bashful to discuss it right now with her. "It's an interesting story really. Maybe best if I tell you when we are alone. Right now I just want to take this moment to be thankful for your safety." He paused hugging her tight again. "I love you Kathy."
