Jealous Q Act 26

Scene 1

Q was indignant, "Did my mother give you something that she shouldn't have done?"

"I didn't want Q powers but she insisted," explained the Captain.

"Well tell her you don't want them. she can remove them with a click of her fingers," advised Q.

"There is a tiny problem with that. She said she would take them back if I didn't use them."

"That's brilliant, where is she? I need to talk to her."

Q stormed off in search of his mother.

Scene 2

Chakotay stood in front of the Captain with his arms folded, looking stern.

"Why didn't you tell me or one of the senior officers?"

"I didn't have time Chakotay, everything moved so fast. I didn't think I would keep them as I never intended to use them."

"Are you going to click your fingers and take us home?"

"They gave me limited powers. I can't do anything that big."

"Don't you realise that they are trying to make you one of them?"

"Of course I do. Do you think that I want to join the Continuum?"

Chakotay was glad to hear the real Kathryn Janeway, "The Borg Queen will not give up trying to kill you. Perhaps these powers could convince her to leave you alone."

"I don't think she will ever leave us alone. We have beaten her too many times."

Chakotay grinned, "You could make her disappear?"

The Captain laughed out loud, "I missed you!"

Scene 3

Q found his mother playing with the twins.

"Can I have a word with you Mother dearest - alone."

The Twins heard that their father wanted them to leave. They decided to go to engineering to have some fun playing with Lieutenant Torres.

Don't bother Lieutenant Torres! She moaned at me for at least an hour last time," shouted Q.

The Twins giggled and disappeared.

"Why did you give Kathy, Q powers? You are well aware that the others won't approve."

"Your children are Q. We made her a target for all our enemies. I like her Q and I am grateful that she is the mother of my grandchildren. I wanted her to have the power to protect herself and the Twins."

Q was suspicious, his mother wasn't the warm and fuzzy type. He would have to keep an eye on her as she was up to mischief. Kathy was in a meeting with her senior officers so he decided to track down Junior. He was staying in the Continuum to warn Q if the Borg reappeared.

Scene 4

Captain Janeway looked at the officers sitting around the table. She needed to reassure them that she still intended to honor her promise to get them home. As always she chose to be direct - it saved time.

"Madam Q gave me limited Q powers before we left for Earth. Unfortunately, I used them to escape from the Borg - now I'm stuck with them.

"How limited are your powers?" asked B'Elanna,

"I can't click my fingers and take us home if that's what you're asking."

"Are you going to live in the Continuum with Q when we defeat the Borg?"

"No, she gave me the power because of the Q's presence on board. Madam Q realised that they made us a target for their enemies."

The Captain tried to judge whether they accepted her explanation. She didn't want to create a division between her and the crew.

The red alert sounded. Everyone left the room and walked to the bridge to man their battle stations. In emergencies, their training took over.

"Report!" ordered the Captain.

"We picked up an Hirogen vessel on our long range scanners." replied Chakotay.

The Captain hoped that they weren't hunting in packs. "Have we detected any other vessels?"

"Not yet but we'll keep on scanning."

Scene 5

The Hirogen had acquired temporary new friends. A week earlier, the Alpha had received a message from the Queen Borg. She wanted to parlez!

The Alpha didn't usually speak to females but he decided to speak to the Borg entity. There was an uneasy truce between the Hirogen and the Borg. The Queen wasn't interested in the hunt so they were not worthy of assimilation. The Hirogen treated their prey with respect and killed them cleanly. If they considered their prey was worthy, they studied them to improve the hunt.

The Queen invited them to her cube but the Hirogen preferred to stay with their ship - it was safer.

"Your warriors have encountered the Q and the crew of the USS Voyager before.

"Yes, we executed the hunters who brought shame on our race. Their young have powers that we have never seen before. They are so powerful that we would be honoured to hunt them again.

"We will help you to abduct the female human. You can study her and kill her when you have found everything you need for your hunt," offered the Queen.

"Why should we help you? As a puny female, she will not provide any rare relics."

"Have you forgotten that her mate is a Q and her young defeated two of your hunters? Don't you want revenge? I thought your species were proud, noble warriors."

The Hirogens were still shamefaced that two tiny prey had humiliated them.

If he could snatch the female from her mate and study her before the hunt, it would restore their honour.

"I agree but you must honour your agreement to let us hunt the female and her crew afterward."

The Queen nodded her agreement. She didn't respect these aggressive species but they were useful, up to a point.

The Hirogen didn't respect the Borg. Their hunts ended with a clean kill. To torture their prey was dishonourable. The Borg's prey suffered a living death to provide the Queen with soulless minions.

Scene 6

The Hirogen vessel was on screen. They had come to a stop but made no attempt to contact Voyager.

"What do you think they want?" asked the Captain.

"They want to kill us. The Hirogen believe that we are their prey today."

"So you don't think they want an invitation to dinner?" asked the Captain grinning.

"Only if we are the first course," replied Chakotay.

"I'm going to my Ready room. Let me know as soon as there are any developments."

As soon as Captain Janeway sat down, Q appeared and made himself comfortable.

"I have work to do and there is a situation developing outside. What do you want, Q?" asked the Captain.

"Ah yes, the Hirogen. They are a nasty ancient race. Running around the Universe disemboweling creatures."

"Have you dealt with them before?" inquired Captain Janeway.

"Like the Borg, we try not to provoke them," answered Q.

"I'm confused, I thought they were here because of a quarrel with the Continuum.

"They are an isolated, nomadic species. I have never heard of them working with other species," mused Q.

Kathryn went through to the Bridge as soon as she heard the red alert, "Report!"

"A Borg cube appeared out of nowhere," responded Tuvok.

"On screen!" ordered the Captain.

A soon as the Cube appeared it started to attack Voyager. The Captain sat in her chair and waited for Chakotay.

"Evasive maneuvers, Janeway alpha one."

Tom Paris showed why he was the best pilot on Voyager.

"Why isn't the Hirogen vessel active, Tuvok?"

"I'm not sure Captain. Are they waiting for someone?"

Tuvok turned around when there was no reply. The Captain had vanished!

"All hands, the Captain has disappeared. Search the whole ship and report back to me."

The Hirogen ship and Borg cube disappeared.

Chakotay and Q ran onto the Bridge, "What happened?"

"The Captain disappeared at the start of the Borg's attack," answered Tuvok.

Q was furious, "I will kill the Queen bitch. If she harms Kathy, I will exterminate the whole race.

If you are going to rescue her, I am coming with you," declared Chakotay.

Scene 7

Kathryn opened her eyes because of the excruciating pain in both shoulders. She tried to lower them until she realised they were secured above her head. She looked around for clues to identify who had abducted her.

It was dark and cold. There were nets hanging from the ceiling and the walls but she couldn't make out what was in them. When she saw indistinct shapes pinned to the wall, the Captain realised It was an Hirogen trophy room!

A door opened to admit a seven foot Hirogen.

"I am Captain Janeway of the Starship Voyager. Why have you abducted me from my ship?"

The Hirogen marched across the room and hit her across the face with the back of his hand.

"You are prey. You do not make demands!"

The blow was so hard that it made the Captain's ears ring. She felt something running down the side of her mouth but couldn't wipe her face. The Hirogen started to lay out some tools on a table.

"I am a female. I'm not worthy prey for a great hunter like yourself. I am too small and puny. You would be ashamed to display my trophies."

That statement made the Hirogen take notice of her, "You have knowledge of our species?"

Captain Janeway didn't want to remind him of the Twin. Especially the punishment meted out to their last captors.

"I've learned about your species from the planets we've visited," commented the Captain.

He used a device to scan her internal organs. "You are correct, your organs are standard for humanoid species. Yet I have my orders."

He chose a small vicious-looking blade and made shallow cuts down both of her arms. She didn't cry out or flinch. The blood started to trickle. Her torturer wiped the blade and put it back on the table.

"I will return soon to assess your condition. Don't shout because you will be wasting energy that you will need."

Captain Janeway was finding it hard to stay focused. It had to be a combination of a lack of food and water, pain and blood loss. Then she lost consciousness.

Scene 8

Chakotay and Q were in the Ready room making plans to rescue the Captain.

"Can't you click your fingers and bring her back?" asked Chakotay sarcastically.

"If we weren't exiled from the Continuum then I would have done that already." claimed an angry Q.

Chakotay was trying to stay calm for her sake, "We have to work out who took her?"

Q started to think out loud. "I don't think the Queen bitch would have taken Kathy herself. She isn't that stupid."

"So it must have been the Hirogen but why?" asked Chakotay.

"I don't know. I will talk to my mother and ask her for help. That should give her plenty of opportunities to gloat."

"I don't care if you have to spend the rest of your existence crawling on your knees. Our lives were interesting before but you have taken us to a whole new level of danger and chaos."

"You stole one of her drones! How did you think she was going to react to that?" argued Q.

"She left Seven to die and didn't attempt to recover her," replied Chakotay.

Scene 9

Captain Janeway came around because it was so cold. She started to shiver violently. They must have cut her down while she was unconscious as she was lying on the hard, cold floor. She started to drift away but made a desperate attempt to stay awake. She had to start moving soon or hypothermia would kill her.

When she managed to sit up, she tried to move her arms but only one moved. The Captain knew it was dislocated but couldn't risk putting it back. She couldn't afford to lose consciousness again. She tucked her arm inside her jacket and zipped it up to make a sling. Then, using her good arm, she stood up and started to pace across the area.

She heard the door open so she backed up against the wall. The Beta walked up to her and gave her a thorough examination. He used his tricorder device to assess her general physical health.

He tutted, "This is not how we treat our prey, Torture is not honourable. You are worthy prey - any other female would be dead now."

He turned his back to the camera and gave her a small package.

"Try to keep moving. I can't let you go now but I will ensure you have a quick death if you stay."

The Captain started to cry. After all the punishment she had endured, that one act of kindness broke her. She ate all the food as quickly as possible so they couldn't take it away from her.

Scene 10

Madam Q was furious and worried that the Borg and Hirogen had conspired to abduct Kathryn Janeway. They were the only species that the Q were reluctant to engage.

"Why weren't you guarding her Q?"

"She is the Captain of a Starship mother. She wouldn't appreciate me following her around."

She turned to Chakotay, "What were you doing while your Captain was taken from under your nose. Isn't it your duty to protect her?"

"We had no idea that the Hirogen and Borg were working together!"

"We have to contact the Borg Queen and find out what she wants for Kathryn's safe return?"

Q jumped up anxious to get away from his mother, "I'll find Seven of Nine and see if she had any ideas."

Madam Q turned to Chakotay, "Now, Commander let's put our cards on the table. We cannot risk a physical confrontation with the Borg and the Hirogen. If we were still in the Continuum there wouldn't be a problem. Out of our home, we are vulnerable now. If our human form dies then we don't have anywhere to regenerate."

"Remember, she allowed you to stay on Voyager knowing that it would place everyone in danger."

"You don't need to remind me how much the Q owe Captain Janeway.

"What about the Twins?"

We haven't told them that their mother is missing yet because they are also vulnerable. We couldn't stop them going after her even if we wanted to - they are too powerful together."

"They roam around the ship, how are you going to stop them from overhearing a member of the crew talking about it."

"I wiped the memories of every crewmember on the Bridge. They think that Kathryn has been confined to her quarters with a contagious virus."

"Do you know which one of them abducted her?"

"I think the Borg Q arranged the abduction with the Hirogen Alpha. The Hirogen do not kidnap their prey. They worship the hunt and show their respect by killing their prey with honour."

"You sound like you respect them?"

"They are violent and aggressive yet they live by a moral code. They are a simple uncomplicated race."

We will try to locate the Hirogen vessel then try to negotiate with them . If they join up with other hunters, she is dead.

Scene 11

The Captain started to take off pieces of her uniform as the temperature rose. She licked her cracked lips which were bleeding. Captain Janeway walked around the space trying to find a cooler place to sit. She was starving and dehydrated. Yet her biggest problem was an infection in one of the cuts on her arm. It hurt more than her shoulder dislocation.

The Beta opened the door and slipped through it. He was carrying the instruments used to torture her.

"I am ashamed by our treatment of you. I have found you some scraps to eat. If you scream then the Alpha will think that I am completing my orders and he won't disturb us."

She took the food and ate it with care so she didn't make herself sick. There was a small bottle which she uncapped and sniffed.

"Don't worry, it's only water."

He waited until she had finished eating and drinking.

I am supposed to continue with your torture, please scream."

The Captain screamed. "I didn't make that much noise when your Alpha cut my arms and dislocated them."

"We haven't got much time before the Borg Queen returns. Why does she want to hurt you?"

The Captain smiled, "I think it's a personality clash. She is still trying to find hers."

"You are an unusual female. I would be honoured to hunt you in the future."

"Do you know what she wants from me?"

"She said something about testing your resilience."

They both looked startled when the door crashed open. The Beta stood in front of her to protect her.

The Alpha was furious, "Why are you talking to the female prey? Have you lost your mind?"

This is shameful! We are hunters, not criminals. That thing does not honour the rules of the hunt. She is an abomination.

"I am studying our prey. Her young shamed two experienced hunters. The Borg female also wants to study her. So far there is nothing unusual. She doesn't have any powers or special abilities."

The Alpha turned towards his second in command and vaporized him.

"Why did you do that?"

"He was weak. We never sympathise with our prey. You must have seduced him with your feminine wiles."

Kathryn looked up at him in surprise.

"Nobody would be attracted to me in this condition." She said cradling her arm.

The Alpha hit her so hard that he knocked her unconscious. He didn't want to appear weak in front of the Borg female.

Scene 12

Chakotay was sitting in the Captain's chair brooding. Madam Q had promised to use all the powers they could access to find Kathryn. He didn't trust them to do anything for Kathryn unless it benefited their cause. He was in complete agreement with Q, they needed to find Kathryn soon. Q was with the others trying to speed thing up.

Chakotay was startled when the Twins appeared in front of him and they were angry.

"Grandmother tried to hide Mama's kidnapping from us. She thinks that the Borg Q and the Hirogen will hurt us," said Qat.

"We know where they are holding her. We want you to pick some of the crew to rescue her. We know that she is hurt and close to death." Quinn said with tears running down his face.

Chakotay had never seen Quinn cry, "Can you send us there?"

"We can move four people over that distance."

"Ayala, Tuvok, and Seven, you are with me."

They stood in a group before the Twins, "We will bring her back with us. Your mother is strong. I have seen her survive when all the odds are against her." stated Tuvok logically.

The Twins joined hands and clicked their fingers. Q ran onto to the Bridge just as they disappeared.

He noticed the Twins, "What have you done?"

Scene 13

The Borg Queen was examining the Captain's condition as she lay unconscious on the floor.

She turned to the Alpha, "You have done well, especially beating her until she is close to death. What are your findings for this study?"

"As you surmised. She is a strong female considering how small and puny she is. She managed to seduce my Beta into helping her to escape."

Chakotay, Tuvok, Seven and Ayala appeared in the room out of the blue.

When Chakotay saw Kathryn lying on the floor battered and bruised he saw red and clenched his fists.

"Why have you treated her like that. You are little better than animals."

Tuvok laid his hand on Chakotay's shoulder, "I understand your anger Sir but it is not in the Captain's best interests to provoke her captors."

The Borg Queen examined Chakotay's reaction. He was in love with his Captain. Captain Janeway was fond of this male. He would make an excellent instrument for emotional blackmail.

Chakotay dropped to the floor beside his Captain and cradled her in his arms. He knew that his heart would break if anything else happened to her.

"Let her go - take me in her place."

The Borg Queen knew that Captain Janeway would rather die than allow Chakotay to take her place.

"Agreed!"