Epilogue
Personal log Stardate 55030 Things have finally settled down on board. The captain and first officer have been enjoying their time back in command since I restored them to duty, but, especially since the formal end of the inquiry. They've been more relaxed even while on duty. Janeway recently enjoyed a joint adventure on the holodeck with Chakotay and, I have a feeling that they are getting quite close on a personal level. I've 'signed off' on waiving some regulations regarding relationships between people of different ranks and informed Starfleet of that fact during the recent datastream. The Borg have also dropped off more mail for the crew and, of course, there was a ton of mail for me to take care of. One was from Captain Jean- Luc Picard himself, offering some congrats on my becoming a Q. He expressed the hope that I wouldn't let the power go to my head. Will Riker gave me some friendly advice as well. Obviously, I took the time to write back. I actually felt honored that the command staff of the Enterprise-E had written. The Q have availed themselves of my lessons and, I have been pleased with their progress and understanding. Q2 has shown a remarkable improvement, enough that his father told me that the others were not so inclined to turn the lad into a pile of gagh. I've limited my usage of the Q powers to what's absolutely necessary, much to Q's disbelief. He doesn't understand why I insist on doing things the "hard way". He also doesn't understand why my body still needs sleep, despite the fact that I shouldn't need it anymore. But, I tried to explain that due to my age and the thousands of years I've needed regular sleep, I couldn't break the habit overnight and really don't want to. I have, however, visited the actual realm of the Q for a bit, on an invite from Q1. He wanted to show me what it looked like and to introduce me to the other Q. That was a trip that I will remember, though. Not only were there "roads" leading to different places in the universe, some lead through different time periods as well. Also, this confirmed a hunch that I'd been feeling since before I got my powers: I had talked to and met several Q back in ancient Greek times. They were the Greek Gods and Goddesses! That surprised me greatly, to know this bit of information. They had used their "deaths" at the hands of a warrior woman I knew, to move on with their lives. When they revealed their old faces to me, I shook my head before grasping their outstretched hands in the old way. I was also able to see how the Q knew that the Borg Alliance with us would last far into the future. I didn't want to see more than a few seconds, though, as it was a possible future, not a certainty. Q1 offered to show me the end of my natural life, but, I refused, saying that I had already decided to keep the powers of the Q. They were coming in handy. The engines have grown used to the condensed fuel mixture and we've shaved off another few months from the trip. The crew voiced their desire to explore the quadrant as much as possible, forgoing the easy trip home. I've elected to stay on board, but, it wasn't a tough decision, though. This crew is my extended family now and, I wouldn't abandon them. I have considered a private return for a few days, to assure the actual families that their loved ones are alive and well, or, to tell some that their loved ones died in the line of duty. Actually, my new policy is to deliver the bad news in person. I will not move to prevent someone's death by using my powers, not even if it's Seven. In fact, she told me that if she's "deactivated", not to revive her at all. The only exception would be Gabrielle and Naomi, who still have a fruitful life ahead of them. Seven and I have decided that Gabrielle would benefit from her Borg implants and the Doctor concurred with that observation, so, I will upgrade her implants as she gets older, until or unless she decides that she wants them to "disappear". Gabrielle's development is, to put it lightly, accelerated above "human norms". Seven and I determined that part of this is due to Gabrielle's implants, but, also her species is also one that has a higher than human norm IQ from birth. I know that she's already into more advanced sentences and, I believe that within a few years, at most, she'll be at Naomi Wildman's stage of development, and that was quite advanced. Naomi adores Gabrielle and I think that the feeling is mutual. Fortunately, Ensign Wildman is one of my most trusted sitters and is in line for a promotion at the next cycle. However, I'm not going to recommend anyone for promotion for a while, preferring to let the normal chain-of-command handle that process. I've stepped on it enough for a while and I do not need to have the captain getting upset at constant "end runs" around the proper chain. I've detected some growing discomfort at my doing that from the captain as well as XO. Gabrielle's "attacker' was released from the brig, obviously, and, he was informed that his career advancement was no longer of relevance to him. As far as I am concerned, he's dishonorably discharged from Starfleet. He can apply for reinstatement at the end of his probation. Seven is still incensed when she thinks of the incident. I'm worried, though, she's never held a grudge against anyone, not even the captain for disconnecting her from the collective. But, with the crewman, she still hasn't forgiven him. I actually have, though. Maybe, it's Annika's mothering instincts that have kicked in and she's kicking herself for not being there to protect Gabrielle. But, she will forgive him eventually. I hate to sound like a drone, but, grudges really are irrelevant in the long run. Lt(jg) Harry Kim has certainly proven that he finally earned the rank after all this time. Chakotay is very pleased with Harry's performance, but, he's not due for a performance review for another 60 days or so. I fully expect it to be a glowing review. Seven has given him a few high marks of her own, which I take into consideration as she's, by her own nature, very critical and holds us to somewhat of a Borg standard. She's had to loosen up a little over the years, but, her comments are a highly accurate barometer of how the crew operates. Her personal reviews have driven various departments to strive for, dare I say it?? Perfection. The Collective itself seems to have stopped assimilation for now. I can "check on them" when I feel a need to. I could have done it without them knowing, but, the spirit of the alliance dictated that I at least let them know. The Queen was concerned that I would interfere with their activities and while I find their activities to be heinous, they've been told that if they even think of assimilating humanity or any Federation world, I would basically throw them into another galaxy. While the rest of the Q might be somewhat afraid of the Borg (maybe the Borg could assimilate a Q?), I am not. The Borg also relayed a message that Starfleet approved my waiving of the "No relationship outside of rank" rule, citing the need to maintain morale in an exceptional circumstance, so, I expect that something could develop between the captain and first officer. Starfleet added an amendment to my order, giving me the authority to perform marriage ceremonies when needed. Obviously, they were pulling for Janeway and Chakotay as well to get together and wanted to make sure that, if needed, they could legally be married. The Doctor has decided against trying out being human for the time being. While he loved his experience borrowing Seven's implants and body for a few days, he had little interest in giving up his massed medical knowledge. The human brain just wasn't designed to hold that much information, he explained. Also, he can act as an emergency command hologram when need be. By my calculations, we are within a month of crossing into the Beta Quadrant and Neelix has planned an all hands party for the day that we cross that border. That will be a major party, I think. I know that I'm looking forward to it. As for Seven and I...we are still together almost a month after my "promotion". She's very pleased with the arrangement and, so am I.
Stay tuned for the third installment of the Dragon Voyager Series!-- Splinter
Personal log Stardate 55030 Things have finally settled down on board. The captain and first officer have been enjoying their time back in command since I restored them to duty, but, especially since the formal end of the inquiry. They've been more relaxed even while on duty. Janeway recently enjoyed a joint adventure on the holodeck with Chakotay and, I have a feeling that they are getting quite close on a personal level. I've 'signed off' on waiving some regulations regarding relationships between people of different ranks and informed Starfleet of that fact during the recent datastream. The Borg have also dropped off more mail for the crew and, of course, there was a ton of mail for me to take care of. One was from Captain Jean- Luc Picard himself, offering some congrats on my becoming a Q. He expressed the hope that I wouldn't let the power go to my head. Will Riker gave me some friendly advice as well. Obviously, I took the time to write back. I actually felt honored that the command staff of the Enterprise-E had written. The Q have availed themselves of my lessons and, I have been pleased with their progress and understanding. Q2 has shown a remarkable improvement, enough that his father told me that the others were not so inclined to turn the lad into a pile of gagh. I've limited my usage of the Q powers to what's absolutely necessary, much to Q's disbelief. He doesn't understand why I insist on doing things the "hard way". He also doesn't understand why my body still needs sleep, despite the fact that I shouldn't need it anymore. But, I tried to explain that due to my age and the thousands of years I've needed regular sleep, I couldn't break the habit overnight and really don't want to. I have, however, visited the actual realm of the Q for a bit, on an invite from Q1. He wanted to show me what it looked like and to introduce me to the other Q. That was a trip that I will remember, though. Not only were there "roads" leading to different places in the universe, some lead through different time periods as well. Also, this confirmed a hunch that I'd been feeling since before I got my powers: I had talked to and met several Q back in ancient Greek times. They were the Greek Gods and Goddesses! That surprised me greatly, to know this bit of information. They had used their "deaths" at the hands of a warrior woman I knew, to move on with their lives. When they revealed their old faces to me, I shook my head before grasping their outstretched hands in the old way. I was also able to see how the Q knew that the Borg Alliance with us would last far into the future. I didn't want to see more than a few seconds, though, as it was a possible future, not a certainty. Q1 offered to show me the end of my natural life, but, I refused, saying that I had already decided to keep the powers of the Q. They were coming in handy. The engines have grown used to the condensed fuel mixture and we've shaved off another few months from the trip. The crew voiced their desire to explore the quadrant as much as possible, forgoing the easy trip home. I've elected to stay on board, but, it wasn't a tough decision, though. This crew is my extended family now and, I wouldn't abandon them. I have considered a private return for a few days, to assure the actual families that their loved ones are alive and well, or, to tell some that their loved ones died in the line of duty. Actually, my new policy is to deliver the bad news in person. I will not move to prevent someone's death by using my powers, not even if it's Seven. In fact, she told me that if she's "deactivated", not to revive her at all. The only exception would be Gabrielle and Naomi, who still have a fruitful life ahead of them. Seven and I have decided that Gabrielle would benefit from her Borg implants and the Doctor concurred with that observation, so, I will upgrade her implants as she gets older, until or unless she decides that she wants them to "disappear". Gabrielle's development is, to put it lightly, accelerated above "human norms". Seven and I determined that part of this is due to Gabrielle's implants, but, also her species is also one that has a higher than human norm IQ from birth. I know that she's already into more advanced sentences and, I believe that within a few years, at most, she'll be at Naomi Wildman's stage of development, and that was quite advanced. Naomi adores Gabrielle and I think that the feeling is mutual. Fortunately, Ensign Wildman is one of my most trusted sitters and is in line for a promotion at the next cycle. However, I'm not going to recommend anyone for promotion for a while, preferring to let the normal chain-of-command handle that process. I've stepped on it enough for a while and I do not need to have the captain getting upset at constant "end runs" around the proper chain. I've detected some growing discomfort at my doing that from the captain as well as XO. Gabrielle's "attacker' was released from the brig, obviously, and, he was informed that his career advancement was no longer of relevance to him. As far as I am concerned, he's dishonorably discharged from Starfleet. He can apply for reinstatement at the end of his probation. Seven is still incensed when she thinks of the incident. I'm worried, though, she's never held a grudge against anyone, not even the captain for disconnecting her from the collective. But, with the crewman, she still hasn't forgiven him. I actually have, though. Maybe, it's Annika's mothering instincts that have kicked in and she's kicking herself for not being there to protect Gabrielle. But, she will forgive him eventually. I hate to sound like a drone, but, grudges really are irrelevant in the long run. Lt(jg) Harry Kim has certainly proven that he finally earned the rank after all this time. Chakotay is very pleased with Harry's performance, but, he's not due for a performance review for another 60 days or so. I fully expect it to be a glowing review. Seven has given him a few high marks of her own, which I take into consideration as she's, by her own nature, very critical and holds us to somewhat of a Borg standard. She's had to loosen up a little over the years, but, her comments are a highly accurate barometer of how the crew operates. Her personal reviews have driven various departments to strive for, dare I say it?? Perfection. The Collective itself seems to have stopped assimilation for now. I can "check on them" when I feel a need to. I could have done it without them knowing, but, the spirit of the alliance dictated that I at least let them know. The Queen was concerned that I would interfere with their activities and while I find their activities to be heinous, they've been told that if they even think of assimilating humanity or any Federation world, I would basically throw them into another galaxy. While the rest of the Q might be somewhat afraid of the Borg (maybe the Borg could assimilate a Q?), I am not. The Borg also relayed a message that Starfleet approved my waiving of the "No relationship outside of rank" rule, citing the need to maintain morale in an exceptional circumstance, so, I expect that something could develop between the captain and first officer. Starfleet added an amendment to my order, giving me the authority to perform marriage ceremonies when needed. Obviously, they were pulling for Janeway and Chakotay as well to get together and wanted to make sure that, if needed, they could legally be married. The Doctor has decided against trying out being human for the time being. While he loved his experience borrowing Seven's implants and body for a few days, he had little interest in giving up his massed medical knowledge. The human brain just wasn't designed to hold that much information, he explained. Also, he can act as an emergency command hologram when need be. By my calculations, we are within a month of crossing into the Beta Quadrant and Neelix has planned an all hands party for the day that we cross that border. That will be a major party, I think. I know that I'm looking forward to it. As for Seven and I...we are still together almost a month after my "promotion". She's very pleased with the arrangement and, so am I.
Stay tuned for the third installment of the Dragon Voyager Series!-- Splinter