Q starts to gain a better understanding of his powers while Janeway learns about the concerns of the admiralty regarding her crew.
CW: Some bullying (but justice is served)
Necessary Risk
Q startled awake, chest heaving and skin slick with sweat. He shook out his limbs, focused on his fingers as the world came back into focus.
"So…" Q took in a gulp of air and ran his hand through his hair, "That was dreaming." His throat bobbed as he stumbled out of his bed with legs feeling vaguely like some gelatinous ooze.
Jelly.
Icheb said that was called jelly.
It had been his fifth attempt to illicit dreaming while he slept and the first time he was successful. Well, second, but the first time had ended with him waking up on the ceiling so that wasn't exactly a success.
"You're up early?" Janeway paused in the living room when he exited his room. There was a coffee cup halfway to her lips. Her forehead creased, "Are you alright?"
"What do dreams mean?" Q asked her instead, brow furrowed as he walked further into the room.
Janeway blew out a breath, head tilting to the side as she sat down on her couch, "Well, that depends." Whatever pad she'd been looking at was set on the coffee table, "Why do you ask?"
Q fidgeted at the side of the couch as Janeway sipped her coffee. With a sigh, he plopped onto the cushion beside her, "I've been trying to dream." Her brows arched up. "I think I managed it, but now I don't know what they mean. Are they suppose to be so… bright?"
With a chuckle, Janeway nodded, "They can be very bright. It depends on the dream really." She turned on the couch, draping her arm over the back to lean against, "We construct our own dreams so they're usually a reflection of something we want or something we're dealing with." Her lip quirked up, "Or something we're not."
"So…" Q's face puckered up like a lemon, "Dreams are how you process emotions?" Janeway nodded, smiling to herself as Q's nose wrinkled. "Sounds horrible."
"How did you manage to dream if you haven't before?" Janeway leaned forward, eyes narrowing and brows rising, "I thought you couldn't control your powers."
The fidgeting returned and Q avoided eye contact. Janeway waited. Q crumbled fairly quick, "Icheb figured if I wanted something and focused on it, that might trigger my powers and make it happen." His hands gestured wildly, "And dreaming has always sounded kind of cool! So I've been trying all week."
"Finally succeeded then?" Janeway drew back. Q blushed crimson, hand reaching for the back of his neck as he nodded. She clasped his shoulder, "That's good."
Q scoffed, "If you say so."
"Dreaming is something new, and it took you a few days," Janeway smiled, she tapped his chin up, "You're starting to learn control. That's good."
"Well, yeah…" Q huffed, crossed his arms, "But it's not like I'm just manipulating space or time it matter. That was easy!" Janeway chuckled, hand pressed to her face. He pouted, "Now it's like everything is shifting around me so I have to predict what's it's going to do!"
The sudden doubling over of his godmother in laughter was not the response Q expected or was hoping for.
"What's so funny?" Q whined.
Janeway straightened and took a breath, "Sounds like you have to consider the consequences of your actions… even those you don't make consciously." She smirked when his mouth dropped open. "Foreign territory for your average Q hmm?"
"Getting the Klingons to join the Federation might be easier," Q said, falling sideways on the couch and curling up in the cushions as Janeway stood up.
She leaned down, palm on his cheek, "It's a good thing you're not an average Q then." With a smile, she ruffled his hair.
Q shuffled himself about, blushing again and avoiding eye contact. Janeway grabbed a blanket from the recently stocked linen closet.
"Sweet dreams," Janeway whispered and reached for her padd, "I'll see you later. She dimmed the lights on her way out, shaking her head as Q fell asleep before she even left the apartment. "Guess dreaming isn't so bad…"
-.-.-
Janeway entered Starfleet HQ with a padd firmly in front of her face. It tended to save time on her way up to her office. Debriefs were done, finally, but as she was now the defacto expert on the Delta Quadrant, she'd been tasked with heading up the new efforts of the Pathfinder Project until Voyager finished her retrofit.
"Things change, but not that much," Janeway sighed as she took seat at her desk. There was talk of making her a rear admiral - and honor for sure - but she'd have to give up her command.
"Captain?" The voice of Admiral Paris wafted through her doorway and Janeway hopped to attention. He waved her off, "I saw you'd submitted a formal request to have Seven of Nine admitted into Starfleet with the rank of Lieutenant."
"I did," Janeway arched a brow as she took her seat again, "She wasn't the only member of my crew I recommended keep their field commission..."
Paris ducked his head at her narrowed eyes, "...she is the only member who spent a large portion of her life as part of the collective."
"Against her will," Janeway amended for him. She leaned forward on her desk as Paris teetered by her door, obviously uncomfortable. "Something the matter Admiral?"
"There is concern, among the admirals, that not every member of the crew who was necessary for Voyager to come through the Delta Quadrant-"
"-is still necessary in the Alpha Quadrant?"
With a nod, Paris sighed, "I'm sorry, captain, I know what your crew mean to you."
"Yes," Janeway leaned back, hand moving to her cheek, "So am I. Starfleet will be poorer for their absences."
"Those of the Maquis that have requested to remain with Starfleet have been approved. They'll be on probation for their next duty station, but..." Admiral Paris gestured out, "...it's better than nothing."
Janeway chortled, "Given we weren't positive they'd be pardoned... it's significantly better than expected." Her eyes flickered to Paris then, eyebrows arched, "What about Icheb?"
"Well..." Paris shifted his feet, "He's also a former borg-"
"Never a full drone, and never part of the collective." Janeway raised her chin, "And he's nearly completed what amounts to his second year at the Academy."
"Third, actually," Paris smiled, shaking his head, "With his field work in the Delta Quadrant and his test scores, "He's equivalent of a 3rd year student. Minus the required courses."
"Yes, he's taking those now," Janeway templed her hands beneath her chin, leaning forward again, "A 3rd year amongst 1st year cadets. Not an easy transition for him." Her eyes narrowed, "Is it a waste of his time?"
The admiral's mouth pressed into a firm line, "I don't know."
"I do," Janeway stood, hands on her hips, "I don't care what I have to do or what admiral I have to go through, that boy is staying in Starfleet."
Paris smiled, shaking his head, "I don't suppose this would be a good time to discuss the Q situation then?"
"What about him?" Janeway rolled her eyes, "Q's been behaving exemplary, especially for a Q." She gestured towards her computer, "I even got a communique from Picard asking me how I did it."
"Not giving up any secrets?" Paris folded his hands together.
Janeway resisted the urge to roll her eyes again, "He's a child. He learned. You read my report."
"Which highlighted the impact of friendship on the young Q as I recall," Admiral Paris gave her a pointed look. "A very specific friendship."
She chuckled, hand moving to her face again, "I'm sure the admiralty would prefer to have a Q on their side, if the continuum ever decides to meddle again."
"One could argue it's a... necessary risk."
-.-.-
Icheb arrived at his engineering class to find Q in the seat beside his.
"Why is this my only class you regularly come to?" Icheb asked as he set his bag down and took his seat.
Q merely grinned and looked back at the filmplast in his hand. A video restarted at the flick of his thumb. Icheb recognize Q's father, but not the man punching him in the face.
"If you're ever around DS9, I'm sure Commander Kira would take you on a tour of the holodeck where it happened," Chief O'Brien chuckled as he approached the two. He held out a hand and Q reluctantly returned the video.
"I am surprised you haven't gone to see the incident yourself," Icheb tilted his head to look at Q. O'Brien gestured towards him, nodding along.
"I wish," Q huffed, bottom lip sticking out, "Once a Q has visited a specific time and space, another one can't go there. It messes with the fabric of the universe." Q did a crude demonstration of scissors cutting through the air, "I'd create a different timeline and getting back would be a total headache."
O'Brien snorted, lips pursing, "Given the circumstances of your father visiting DS9, I wouldn't have thought that was a priority for Q."
Narrowing his eyes, Q looked shrewdly at O'Brien, "Why was my father there?"
"Oh look!" O'Brien spread his arms out towards the filling lecture hall, "Time to start class."
Q leaned towards Icheb, "Can we stay after for me to interrogate the chief?"
"If... necessary," Icheb fidgeted in his seat, eyes flicking from his padd of notes to the class around them. Q glanced about, eyes narrowing.
They did stay late, to the point that O'Brien had to shoo them out before his next class and Q still didn't get the story.
"Sworn to secrecy, boys, sorry!" O'Brien called after them, laughing jovially.
"He is not sorry," Q grumbled as they left the engineering building. Icheb nodded, quiet as his eyes moved from left to right in a thorough sweep or the area. Q tilted his head, "What's up?" He glanced behind him at the security officers, one of whom was yawning, "Pretty positive there's no threats around here."
Icheb frowned, "That's not always been my experience after this class." Q furrowed his brow, mouth falling open as he started to speak.
On queue, a water balloon sailed through the air and nailed Icheb in the face. The jeering laugh of "Heads up Borg Boy!" was definitely not meant as a warning.
Q flinched as the water sprayed around them, the street lights flickered around them and a sudden yelp drew the attention of the security officers to some nearby trees.
"What was that?" Q leaned forward to inspect Icheb's face as the other teen wiped the water and bits of synthetic fiber from his face.
"My classmates are not fond of me," Icheb admitted with a sour face. His eyes narrowed, "From my research I've gathered that this sort of treatment is typical of outsiders."
"And here I thought humans were beyond-" Q gestured at Icheb's face, "Should we do something about it?"
Icheb shook his head, "Avoiding them has proved effective and from my research 'tattling' only proves to further ostracize a person."
"Sounds dumb, but okay," Q shrugged and turned his head to look at the security officer returning to them.
"We have a bit of an issue."
They followed the lieutenant to a tree, where a young man in a cadet uniform was tightly grasping a branch, his feet floating above him.
"It appears he's caught in a gravitational anomaly," Icheb raised a single brow. The second lieutenant was securing the cadet to the tree with some magnetic cuffs.
"Yes, that was our conclusion as well," the lieutenant looked pointedly at Q.
Tilting his head, Q shrugged, "It wasn't on purpose. He startled me." He grinned as crossed his arms, "Given he attacked Icheb I'm not feeling too bad about it though."
"I'm sorry!" The cadet shrieked.
Q hummed, "Apologies don't count if you're under duress."
"Q..." Icheb warned.
"Wha-at?" Q whined, head falling back. Icheb raised a hand to the tree and narrowed his eyes. Q crossed his arms and huffed, "Fine."
It took considerable focus, and fast reflexes on the part of the security officers, but the cadet eventually returned to the ground. He was shaking, and very pale.
"Now you can apologize," Q nodded, chin raised expectantly as he looked down at the cadet. Icheb blinked at him, but the cadet managed to stutter out something that vaguely sounded like words.
"We should return to your quarters," Icheb looked at Q instead of responding, "I am certain the captain will be notified and wish to speak with you."
The security officers exchanged a look as Icheb grabbed Q by the wrist to lead him away. Q followed, already chattering on about self-defense and reflexes.
"Should we-" One of the lieutenants started.
"Above our pay grade." The other said and they quickly fell into step a few paces behind Q and Icheb.
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