Disclaimer: Star Trek: Voyager, Q, and all things contained therein are the property of Paramount Pictures. No infringement intended. See Chapter One for details.
Epilogue
By Q
Deep in the Alpha Quadrant lies a planet called Earth. Many beings from hundreds of species tourist the little blue and green world. Some come for the wide beaches, for the purple mountains and red deserts. Others come to visit Starfleet Headquarters, home of the Kathryn Janeway Voyager Memorial.
It's a peaceful place, quite beautiful really. Why, the statue of Kathy's ship is nearly 50 feet tall. Of course, so am I when I nip at LadyQ's
cosmic punch. That stuff really packs a
wallop!
To the North of the statue is the gift gallery where you humanoids
purchase endless holoimages of the famous ship and her intrepid crew. How quaint. Though I dare say the one of Chuckles doesn't do him justice. He's far more Neanderthal than he looks.
Even farther north than that, there's a cobble stone path surrounded by
rose bushes and maple trees. If you
follow it up the hill and past the picnic area, you'll find a small cemetery
rich with lilac bushes. It's a quiet
place where friends and family go to pay homage to a famous captain and her
dedicated crew. Inside you'll find about
150 headstones bearing familiar names such as Lieutenant Joe Carey, Ensign
Lindsey Ballard, and Captain Kathryn Janeway. Interspersed throughout those are more familiar names such as Lieutenant
B'Elanna Torres, Ensign Pablo Baytart, and Commander Chakotay. There is no segregation of Starfleet and
Maquis here. Each stone bears a medal
of honor and the insignia of the United Federation of Planets. Nothing is said of who was a Maquis, and who
was Starfleet. No one speaks of
traitors or criminals of the Federation. Instead, tears are shed and prayers are uttered for the lost souls of a
crew who never stopped exploring, and never stopped trying to make the universe
a little better than it was the day before. They speak of honor and devotion, the attributes of which heroes are
made.
The graves are empty, of course. But the humans must have somewhere to
mourn. They believe that Voyager is nothing more than space dust. The bodies of the beloved crew atomized and floating in space –
their souls free to fly among the stars. Of course, we know better.
Kathy and her crew will never again return to this
world, to this life. But they're
remembered here. Why, at this very
moment a group of Federation school children sits in the planetarium looking at
images and hearing stories about the brave and beautiful Kathryn Janeway. The starship captain who never stopped
trying to get home, and the remarkable crew who would follow her anywhere. Touching, isn't it? I get all teary-eyed just thinking about it.
I stand among them, a virtual God among mortal
men, and watch them worship, watch them mourn the death of an impressive group
of humanoids. And as I watch them sob
into their flowered hankies, I realize that I alone know the truth. Only I know that the fair Captain Janeway
and her comrades are alive and well on a distant planet no so different from
this one. And I dare say, I feel
satisfied. I hear the wonderful things
these humans teach their children, things about love and loyalty, and I know
that this is as it should be. They
deserve to be remembered this way. My
darling Kathy, her beloved ape Chuckles, even that fossil Tuvok. All of them. They deserve this honor, but don't ever tell them I said so. I have a reputation to maintain after all.
Well … the cosmos awaits, so I shall say taa
taa. Thank you, Reader, narrow little
being that you are, for joining me on this jaunt through time and space. I know it must've been difficult for your
tiny cranium to keep up, and you probably need to rest. So, I'll leave you now to your VCR
programming and internet surfing.
What's that? Don't go you say? You don't think this should be the end? Oh, I see! You want to know what became of them, of Kathy and the others. Of course you do. How absolutely thoughtless of me.
Very well, never let it be said that I, the
omnipotent Q, left my fans unfulfilled. If you sit very still in your chair and quiet your itty-bitty mind,
you'll see for yourself. Concentrate. Do you see them?
A planet much like your own, green grass and blue
skies…
A small town built by a group of people you know
very well. See them? They sit quietly, contentedly, in the small
town hall. On the stage at the front of
the room, their leader, who most still call Captain, conducts yet another wedding
ceremony. Oh don't tell me you showed
up without a gift?!?! You people have
such atrocious manners.
Where is my gift, you ask? Well, they're sitting in it, of course. No, you dim-witted mortal, not the
building. I'm speaking in a much
broader sense. I'm talking about the
whole enchilada. Home. Oh, you didn't think that planet, so much
like Earth, just evolved there naturally did you?
I'm not pretentious enough to claim credit for
their flourishing society. I merely
provided the canvas. They did all the
painting. Poetic, aren't I?
Who'd have guessed that this group of star bound
voyagers (pardon the pun) could've pulled it off? Well, I did. That's
who. And here it is - their home. They named it simply Solace. And what name could be better for a place
like this.
A place where a space-bound group of people
finally felt earth beneath their feet. It's a place where kindnesses are common and hatred is all but
forgotten.
A place where a hologram and a liberated Borg
drone found happiness and fulfillment in one another. Where they discovered that one doesn't have to be human to
embrace humanity. And you don't need
riches to be wealthy.
A place where a man who once thought he'd spend
his life drifting from one tavern to another, and a woman who believed she'd
never fit in anywhere, now share their lives and their love with their two
children. Beautiful little girls who
look just like their mother, ridges and all.
A place where a wise Vulcan man sits under a tree
and plays his lute for the town's children. They listen intently as he speaks of a land called Vulcan, where people
study the Kolinahr and tame the sehlat.
A place where an Asian man picks wild flowers with
the woman he always said was the right twin. Her long dark hair streams out behind her as she chases their laughing
toddler through the tall grass. He
began this journey as a wide-eyed kid, and he completed it as a levelheaded and
compassionate man.
A place where a furry faced Talaxian man watches
his wife's belly swell as their child grows within. And the couple watch as their teen-age daughter, her light red
hair streaming down her back, leaves for a picnic date by the lake. She laughs like a schoolgirl and talks
wistfully about someday marrying him – the Borg boy who they rescued from the
collective, and from parents who used him as a weapon instead of loving him as
a son. Only he's no longer a boy. In this town, with the guidance of these
people, he has become a man.
A place where a polished starship captain and an
angry, rebellious warrior found a peace the likes of which they had only
dreamed of. Where a woman who thought
she was born for no other reason than to command among the stars, is now the
leader of a growing world, a wife, and a mother. And the man that stands at her side goes to bed each night
holding in his arms the only woman he ever truly loved with all his soul, and
the very one he thought he would never hold at all. He watches her soak in the bathtub he built, and relishes in the
way her eyes light up when she compares their son's dimples to his, knowing
that he loves her more than the waking world.
A place where a group of people from many
different races learned that you need not share a name or a bloodline to be a
family.
And most of all, a place where a starship crew
will continue to develop a society and populate their planet until the day
comes when the United Federation of Planets will approve an application for
membership from a people with human DNA and hauntingly familiar surnames. Thus enfolding the first Delta Quadrant
world into its flock of peace and harmonious co-existence, and uniting a
galaxy.
And what of their omnipotent benefactor? Well, I pop in from time to time, of
course. Usually while Kathy's in her
bath. I mean, someone has to insult
Chuckles and provoke Tuvok's ever-climbing eyebrow. But most of all, I just watch from a celestial distance, making
sure the sun continues to rise and set, and the rain continues to fall. Those best qualities of humanity I'm so fond
of referring to? They exist in
abundance on that little world. And in
a cosmic kind of way, I'm happy to have been a part of it.
There, human. I've answered your questions. Now go away and stop pestering me. You're making me blubber. Besides, I have planets to knock out of orbit and suns to implode. I just love the way they look like a shiny
cue ball right before they go critical. Say – that reminds me. I haven't
paid a visit to Jean Luc in a while.
Now turn off that computer and study an astronomy
book or something. I mean, if humans
are ever going to make it to space, it's up to you.
And remember – I'm always . . . out there.
Q