Chapter Seven - "Sacrifice"
After all that had happened; Captain Janeway thought the elusive, nearly omnipotent Q was incapable of surprising her. She was mistaken. As the ship shook and bucked beneath her, Janeway stood staring at the main viewer. Her mind quickly grasped the possibilities of what Q's presence might mean. "Q. How are you involved in this?"
The normally quick-witted entity seemed to be visibly exerting himself against the cosmic forces he now deflected. His response was tinged with a hint of fatigue. "Kathryn, I am involved in exactly the way it appears. I am saving you and your crew from annihilation. There are weighty matters being called to resolution all around you. It is only the limitation of your human brain that shields you from the otherwise obvious truth." Q feigned a sigh. "I see I am going to be forced to reveal even the most crystalline details to you, for the veil of ignorance to be lifted from your."
Janeway cut him off in mid sentence. "Q! Just tell us who this 'Universe' person is and why he wants to destroy us."
Q looked as if his feelings were hurt and looked away for a moment. "Oh, very well. The entity that is now furiously engaged in attempting to scatter your atoms across the cosmos was one of your own. His current nature confounds even the Continuum, but we are aware that he was once a worker bee very much like you. Your kind would know him as William Decker, one time captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise. I suspect his natural state was altered by some careless act perpetrated by your legendary Captain Kirk."
Janeway turned and looked to her crew for clarity.
Tuvok reported the facts as he read them from his console. "Captain Decker over saw the initial refit of the original Enterprise and was subsequently replaced by then Admiral Kirk on the mission to intercept the V'ger entity. He and a female lieutenant were listed as missing at the mission's conclusion. No organized search for those officers was ever conducted."
Harry hurriedly interjected. "Excuse me Captain, this isn't just a shockwave. The energy being directed toward us is endless as far as our sensors show. We appear to be completely surrounded by it. Q seems to be the only thing keeping us alive and even he is gradually losing ground against it."
Janeway spun around to the viewer. "Is that true? Are we running out of time?"
Q grunted slightly before answering. "I'm afraid Mr. Kim is correct. I am not equal to the task of protecting you indefinitely. The Continuum is not powerful enough to counter this force." Q paused a moment and bowed his head. If he were human, Janeway would have thought he were praying for strength. Then he resumed. "I find it interesting how unlimited power granted to humans seems to have a most deleterious effect on this our precious universe. This Decker was fused with a fellow crewmate and V'ger to form a cosmically powerful entity imbued with the distasteful human traits of Greed, Hatred, Lust and worst of all madness. His plan to eliminate Captain Kirk from the past is intolerable to the Q. The present timeline must be preserved at all costs which includes sacrificing me. I always knew involvement with humans would be my downfall. In any case I am compelled to act for the greater good. You must all be restored and I must remain."
Captain Janeway turned and scanned the faces around the bridge. Her heart and mind were torn between opposing needs but her conscience won out. "Q, I cannot allow you to sacrifice yourself for us. You must let us go."
Q's head bowed again. "Nonsense." He raised his head to show Janeway his eyes. "You haven't seen the last of me Katie." Q slumped as he snapped his fingers.
Captain Kirk sat in his command chair. Spock and Dr. McCoy stood upon the steps behind him discussing the culture of Beta Antares IV. An odd feeling of detachment crept around the edges of the Captain's awareness. He rubbed his face, straightened his tunic and ordered an increase in speed to warp three. He was suddenly anxious to reach the next destination and get back to business. As he went over his orders from Star Fleet Command, a name danced around his thoughts he couldn't identify. Janeway.
The maelstrom suddenly disappeared leaving an almost deafening silence in its wake. Everyone aboard Voyager exhaled a collective sigh of relief.
"I don't believe it!"
Tom Paris' attention was fixed on the readouts of his console. Captain Janeway stood in the center of Voyager's bridge with Commander Tuvok and First Officer Chakotay at her side. Tears welled up in her eyes when she realized the viewer clearly showed that her long lost ship was in orbit around Planet Earth.
"He sent us home. That annoying, wonderful Q gave us back our lives."
End
After all that had happened; Captain Janeway thought the elusive, nearly omnipotent Q was incapable of surprising her. She was mistaken. As the ship shook and bucked beneath her, Janeway stood staring at the main viewer. Her mind quickly grasped the possibilities of what Q's presence might mean. "Q. How are you involved in this?"
The normally quick-witted entity seemed to be visibly exerting himself against the cosmic forces he now deflected. His response was tinged with a hint of fatigue. "Kathryn, I am involved in exactly the way it appears. I am saving you and your crew from annihilation. There are weighty matters being called to resolution all around you. It is only the limitation of your human brain that shields you from the otherwise obvious truth." Q feigned a sigh. "I see I am going to be forced to reveal even the most crystalline details to you, for the veil of ignorance to be lifted from your."
Janeway cut him off in mid sentence. "Q! Just tell us who this 'Universe' person is and why he wants to destroy us."
Q looked as if his feelings were hurt and looked away for a moment. "Oh, very well. The entity that is now furiously engaged in attempting to scatter your atoms across the cosmos was one of your own. His current nature confounds even the Continuum, but we are aware that he was once a worker bee very much like you. Your kind would know him as William Decker, one time captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise. I suspect his natural state was altered by some careless act perpetrated by your legendary Captain Kirk."
Janeway turned and looked to her crew for clarity.
Tuvok reported the facts as he read them from his console. "Captain Decker over saw the initial refit of the original Enterprise and was subsequently replaced by then Admiral Kirk on the mission to intercept the V'ger entity. He and a female lieutenant were listed as missing at the mission's conclusion. No organized search for those officers was ever conducted."
Harry hurriedly interjected. "Excuse me Captain, this isn't just a shockwave. The energy being directed toward us is endless as far as our sensors show. We appear to be completely surrounded by it. Q seems to be the only thing keeping us alive and even he is gradually losing ground against it."
Janeway spun around to the viewer. "Is that true? Are we running out of time?"
Q grunted slightly before answering. "I'm afraid Mr. Kim is correct. I am not equal to the task of protecting you indefinitely. The Continuum is not powerful enough to counter this force." Q paused a moment and bowed his head. If he were human, Janeway would have thought he were praying for strength. Then he resumed. "I find it interesting how unlimited power granted to humans seems to have a most deleterious effect on this our precious universe. This Decker was fused with a fellow crewmate and V'ger to form a cosmically powerful entity imbued with the distasteful human traits of Greed, Hatred, Lust and worst of all madness. His plan to eliminate Captain Kirk from the past is intolerable to the Q. The present timeline must be preserved at all costs which includes sacrificing me. I always knew involvement with humans would be my downfall. In any case I am compelled to act for the greater good. You must all be restored and I must remain."
Captain Janeway turned and scanned the faces around the bridge. Her heart and mind were torn between opposing needs but her conscience won out. "Q, I cannot allow you to sacrifice yourself for us. You must let us go."
Q's head bowed again. "Nonsense." He raised his head to show Janeway his eyes. "You haven't seen the last of me Katie." Q slumped as he snapped his fingers.
Captain Kirk sat in his command chair. Spock and Dr. McCoy stood upon the steps behind him discussing the culture of Beta Antares IV. An odd feeling of detachment crept around the edges of the Captain's awareness. He rubbed his face, straightened his tunic and ordered an increase in speed to warp three. He was suddenly anxious to reach the next destination and get back to business. As he went over his orders from Star Fleet Command, a name danced around his thoughts he couldn't identify. Janeway.
The maelstrom suddenly disappeared leaving an almost deafening silence in its wake. Everyone aboard Voyager exhaled a collective sigh of relief.
"I don't believe it!"
Tom Paris' attention was fixed on the readouts of his console. Captain Janeway stood in the center of Voyager's bridge with Commander Tuvok and First Officer Chakotay at her side. Tears welled up in her eyes when she realized the viewer clearly showed that her long lost ship was in orbit around Planet Earth.
"He sent us home. That annoying, wonderful Q gave us back our lives."
End