Maquis Act 36
Scene 1
Q was in trouble He had been keeping an eye on Kathryn Janeway and Chuckles' crew. They found a new vessel and resolved the problem on the Bruin planet with the help of the Ancient female.
It was unusual for Q to take an interest in anyone else but himself for longer than a few weeks. The Others didn't understand why he was so interested in humanity. By their standards, the species was primitive and child-like.
The High council were debating whether to extinguish Kathryn Janeway. Q was present with another Q as his advocate, to argue against the proposal.
"Don't let them do all the talking Q. You must present your case without theatrics and be as truthful as you can!"
"I know - you don't have to repeat yourself, Q."
Q closed his eyes so he could picture Kathy in his mind. He couldn't allow the others to execute his future wife. He felt a little responsible for her situation. He couldn't admit that it was all his fault.
The Council Members were still arguing about the rules for their debate. Q was starting to sweat. He knew that the judgement would not be favourable for him. Q had a habit of treading on the toes of the other Q.
Scene 2
Kathryn finished her shift and went straight to her quarters for a well-earned soak in the bath. She appreciated not having to share her quarters any longer. As Captain, she accustomed to sleeping alone. As soon she closed the door, she stripped off her clothes.
"Well, I must admit I wasn't expecting such a delightful view, my dear."
Kathryn wrapped a large bath towel around her - she was furious.
"What do you think you're doing? Get out!"
"You shouldn't shout at the courageous entity who is going to save your life?" asked Q.
"Save me from what?"
Q explained, "The Others have decided that you need to die. I must continue with my work as a guardian of the Universe." He couldn't understand why Kathy was being difficult."
Kathryn swore, "Brilliant, I promise to never see you again. They have nothing to worry about."
"If it was only that simple, they know that I won't leave you alone," moaned Q.
"How dare you put me in danger because you can't control your emotions."
"You can't stay here Kathy. The weapons on this ship are not powerful enough to defend you from the Q."
"Convince them that you have no interest in me. You are bored with my insignificant existence."
"I am Q! They know everything about me. We can see each others' thoughts. It is impossible to lie in the Continuum."
"If I have to leave the ship then I have to inform Chakotay."
"Why? He's not important. He won't even know that you've gone."
"If you want me to come with you, explain everything to Chakotay."
Scene 3
Chakotay was in the middle of reading a list of repairs when he heard the buzzer.
"Come in!"
He smiled when he saw Kathryn but it disappeared when he noticed Q behind her.
"You bring nothing but trouble to my ship and crew. What do you want?"
Q explained why Kathryn's life was in danger. "I have to hide her in the Continuum until I have placated the High Council. You can't fight my people, they are too powerful."
Unfortunately, Chakotay couldn't think of an alternative plan. "Why should I trust you to look after her?"
"I give you my word. In the Continuum, that actually means something," swore Q.
Chakotay was serious, "If anything happens to her, I will find you and end your existence."
"I should be wary of making threats like that to a Q. Don't forget I could end your life with a snap of my fingers."
Chakotay glared at Q like he'd just scraped him off the bottom of his shoe.
"You don't scare me. Wait outside while I speak to Kathryn in private."
"You don't have to go with him. We could look for a place to hide you," declared Chakotay.
"He's right Chakotay, I don't want to put the crew in danger."
"As soon as you are safe, make him return you to the ship. I think he has an ulterior motive."
Kathryn reassured Chakotay, "Don't worry, I can handle him."
"He may look human but he is a dangerous entity. Be careful Kathryn."
He walked around the desk and hugged her. They parted when they heard Q cough sarcastically.
"Are you a 'hands on' Captain with all your crew?"
"Only the ones I care about!"
Q snapped his fingers and they disappeared.
Scene 4
When Kathryn opened her eyes, she was standing outside a log cabin and it was snowing heavily.
"This looks exactly like my Grandparents' cabin in the mountains."
"I used your memories to create this scape," boasted Q, "I hope the details are correct?"
Kathryn opened the door and gasped, "Even the furniture and colour scheme are identical. It's a pity that you can't give me some time with my Grandparents - I miss them."
Q smiled, "I can't reverse death - there are limits to even my powers."
"Which bedroom would you like?" asked Kathryn.
"I don't mind sharing," suggested Q.
"In your dreams, lover boy!"
Kathryn carried her bag through to her old room. Q started to stamp his feet and blow into his hands.
Kathryn felt cold as well, "If you fetch some logs then I can build a fire."
"It would take me two seconds if I could use my powers," moaned Q.
Kathryn advised him, "If you do, then all this will all have been for nothing."
"Perhaps it will be fun to manage without my powers." Although Q didn't sound convinced.
He went outside to fetch the logs. When he returned Kathryn was blowing on the kindling. It didn't take her long to build a roaring fire.
"Did you think about food or do we have to forage in the woods?" asked Kathryn.
Q took it as a slur on his intellect, "When I take human form, I have to eat so I stocked the pantry. I wasn't sure what food to include so I made an educated guess."
"I hope you can cook because I can't. My Grandmother tried to teach me but gave up because I had zero aptitudes."
"As a girl, you should have focused on learning feminine skills. Commanding a Starship is a man's job," declared a judgemental Q.
"Your views are mediaeval. In the Federation males and females are equal."
They went to the larder to see if there was something easy to cook in stony silence.
"I think we should heat up the soup and use the crackers to dip into it."
"Fine, I will look for a device to heat food in the kitchen."
"I think you need a stove," stated Kathryn.
Q found the stove while Kathryn located a saucepan. Working together, they managed to produce a passable meal. Q had even provided a decent bottle of red wine. After they finished eating Kathryn made a pot of coffee and they relaxed in front of the fire.
"Why have the Q made their move to kill me now?"
"They predicted that I would lose interest in you. My affairs don't usually last that long," admitted Q.
"Why haven't you switched your attentions to another lucky lady? I haven't given you any encouragement."
"You said no!"
"If I had agreed to spend the night with you then all this fuss could have been avoided," asked a stunned Kathryn.
"Exactly, sleep with me tonight and I will take you back to your ship in the morning."
Kathryn started to laugh. Q thought it was the sexiest sound he had ever heard.
"In your dreams, Omnipotent one! I'll give you points for effort," stated Kathryn firmly.
"You can't blame an entity for trying."
Q went blank for a few minutes, "We are about to welcome our first visitors and I'm not feeling sociable."
He opened the back door, then snapped his fingers and conjured up two arctic fleece jackets. They rushed down the path towards the bottom slope of the mountain. Q kept looking back to see if they were being followed. Kathryn was scared. She knew that the Q didn't have a conscience and did not value the lives of lower species. They would extinguish her life without a second thought. She kept close to Q because he was the only obstacle between her and the entities who wanted to kill her. Q knew exactly where he was going. He pushed some undergrowth aside to reveal the entrance to a cave.
"This is an ideal place to hide from the others. Even the Q have trouble manipulating rock. That is why we imprison our disturbed Q inside meteors."
Q turned around and sealed the entrance. Kathryn aimed her phaser at a rock until it started to glow.
"Now what are we going to do?" asked Kathryn.
"The Continuum is infinite. There are plenty of places to hide," explained Q.
"Have you thought about how you are going to get us out of this mess?"
"I have an IQ of 2005, I am formulating a plan as we speak."
Kathryn didn't feel reassured, "How did they find us?"
"Obviously I need to take you further inside the Continuum. You are an educated woman with a basic knowledge of science. I need you to forget everything you have learned and accept what you can see in front of you."
"You have a nerve! You recklessly endanger my life then you insult my education. I have advanced qualifications in Physics and Chemistry."
Q snapped his fingers and everything that Kathryn knew about the Universe altered.
Scene 5
When Kathryn opened her eyes it was dark all around her. It felt like she was suspended in mid-air. She tried to look at her arms and legs but they weren't there or she was paralysed.
"Q, What have you done to me?" whispered Kathryn.
"I have separated your consciousness from your body. You are now pure thought," replied Q.
Kathryn was terrified,"Am I dead?"
Q seemed to be communicating telepathically with her. "No, your body is still alive, it just doesn't have a pilot."
"Do we have to stay here until the Q have lost interest in me?" Kathryn didn't want to admit how frightened she was.
"They cannot sense my presence here. It will give me a little time to choose our next sanctuary."
"Can I move around here?"
"If we were in your dimension you would only have to fix the image in your head of where you want to go. The other humans would see a bright ball of light. When we are in the Continuum this is the form we use - our true selves!"
"Why can't I move in this dimension?"
"Movement is not necessary here. You live in your own consciousness."
"Close your eyes and think of one of your favourite memories and try to picture the scene exactly. Now open your eyes."
Kathryn opened her eyes to find herself back in her Grandparents' cabin. Her Grandfather and Grandmother were there with a younger version of herself. It was the year that she had spent her winter holiday with them because her parents were off world. They couldn't see her as she walked around the cabin. Q appeared beside her intrigued by her reaction to the memory.
"Why are you sad, I thought this was a happy memory for you."
"It is a good memory but I miss them." admitted Kathryn.
"I will never understand humans as you are contrary creatures. We have to go because you cannot leave your human body for too long before your brain starts to die."
"Thank you for telling me that unimportant information now Q!"
Scene
Chakotay couldn't sleep. He shouldn't have allowed Q to protect Kathryn. He wondered if Q had her trapped in the Continuum. He only had his word that her life was in danger. He knew that Q couldn't be trusted. Every Starfleet Cadet read the reports about Q's antics on the Enterprise.
"I agree with you, he is a liar and a cheat but he told the truth about his paramour. The Others were going to execute his human female pet."
Chakotay dived out of bed to sound a red alert.
"If I wanted to kill you or damage your vessel then I would have done it already."
"What are you? How did you get on board my ship?
"The answer to the first question is I am Q. I will show you how I boarded your primitive vessel."
The female Q waved her hand and disappeared. Then a few minutes later she reappeared in the same spot.
"Satisfied!" demanded the female Q.
"What do you want?
"I want to help you save your crewmember." stated Miss Q, expecting praise.
"Why do you care? I thought she was your rival," asked Chakotay.
"Of course I don't care about her but I will this lowly female to steal my Q."
"Kathryn has made it clear that she has no interest in your mate."
Miss Q stopped talking for a moment, "Now I understand his infatuation. She is the only female in the Universe who has refused his advances. Isn't that delicious - he has fallen in love with the only female who doesn't want him!"
"I don't find it amusing because he has put Kathryn's life in danger. Could you explain to the High Council that Kathryn Janeway has no interest in Q." Chakotay felt sick at the thought of Q and Kathryn as a couple.
Miss Q threw some clothes at him, "Get dressed handsome. Let's see if we can resolve this issue to both of our satisfactions."
When Chakotay stood up, Lady Q took her time checking him out. "I can see why Q is so interested in your species. Would you like to mate with me before we go?"
Chakotay had a coughing fit, "That is a flattering offer but I have to focus on returning Kathryn to the ship."
"Your loss!" We have to hurry because the others have found Kathryn and Q. As usual Q has made a mess of everything. He took Miss Janeway into the real Continuum. They won't allow your mate to leave the Continuum alive!
Will Q seduce Kathryn?
Will Chakotay have a quick fling with Miss Q?
Will the Others execute Kathryn?
Find out very soon!