Hey everyone! little warning with this chapter, it's a fight scene so it's a little intense. Blood and phasers so if you want to skip, please do.
also...you guys ... I got to meet KATE MULGREW this week! She was so amazing in person and I love her and I cried haha. She has the same chaotic good energy as Carrie Fisher and I'm here for it haha.
On the other side of the barrier was a village, or at least what was once a village.
The landscape wasn't barren after all, the thick jungle remained on the borders of the town. There were unpaved roads that were worn with use. There were storefronts with signs advertising their wares. And there were little cottage houses, clustered together on the horizon. Everything was well maintained and quite lovely, or it would be lovely if it weren't all on fire.
"Q! We have to stop the fire, if it spreads to the trees and grass they're homes will be doomed!"
Q gave her hand a squeeze and she looked up into his face, he nodded and pointed with his free hand towards the horizon. A flash and the flames were gone.
Smoke continued to billow from the charred remains, luckily the structures weren't damaged. With any luck they could rebuild the village, restore it to its former beauty.
But that would have to wait. As the smoke cleared Kathryn noticed a figure a hundred meters in front of them. The ash and dust in the air wafted around them, bringing them into sight and then vanishing once more.
She was tall, easily 200cm. Her skin was caramel and glistened with sweat from the heat rising from the burnt buildings around her. Her face was tight and all angles were sharp. Her head was shaved. She wore a metal breastplate and a skirt that allowed for completely free movement.
Kathryn felt as though she were witnessing a living breathing relic, a real Amazon. Everything about her screamed strength and power from her glower to her tightened muscles. She was beautiful and deadly. She was Lady Q.
"We don't have to do this." Q spoke at a normal volume, for anyone else it would have been impossible to hear him considering the distance, Lady Q smirked in response.
"We can put this town back, return the crew members from Voyager, and everyone could go home."
Kathryn saw the flash of light before she noticed the Amazonian spear. She tackled Q to the ground as the weapon raced through the space where his head had just been.
Kathryn jerked up to face her attacker, always keep an eye on the enemy, never get distracted in a fight for your life.
She was much closer now. 10 yards maybe. Her smile was distorted, a little larger than a normal human could create. The spear unearthed itself from the ground behind them and returned to her hand.
"No, darling, unfortunately we can't go home." Her voice was so sweet it dripped with sarcasm.
"My home has been infested and I plan on drowning the rats who plague us." The spear pointed at Kathryn now.
Janeway's hand rested on Q's form from pushing him to the ground but his solid frame disappeared suddenly and her hands flailed until they found the earth.
She kept her eyes fastened to the threat above her and saw Q appear behind Lady Q. His hand grabbed onto hers clutching the spear.
A crunching sound alerted her to the sound of his breaking her wrist, still she held onto the spear.
"Darling, this reminds me of our honeymoon." Lady Q purred before she slammed the spear into Q's face.
Janeway gasped and launched herself up to her feet, grabbing the phaser at her hip.
Q stumbled back but grabbed the spear and ripped it from his skull. Lady Q was armless and Kathryn wanted her to stay that way.
"Look how pathetic she is, trying to save you Q. She should know her place."
A hand appeared at her throat, lifting her up off the ground. Kathryn inadvertently choked and forced what little air she had to rush out of her lungs. Her windpipe protested against the pressure.
Kathryn forced her panic down and blinked a few times against the strain building in her eyes. Her hands had reached for Lady Q's to try and stop her but luckily she hadn't dropped the phaser.
She pushed down on the trigger with her forefinger. A dark haze was filling the corners of her eyes. A familiar trill sounded in her ears and the pressure released.
Kathryn fell to her knees and gulped at the air. Her raw throat protested but her lungs rejoiced. As her vision cleared she was thankful that her hand still held on to the phaser.
She lifted her head from her prostate position and saw Q standing in front of her. Lady Q was a meter away, staring at the red liquid on her hand.
Lady Q seemed shocked by the hole in her left shoulder. Kathryn felt like swearing, just a few centimeters off and she could've ended this fight.
"It's a strange sensation, isn't it? Pain." Q voiced, breaking the silence.
Both women turned their gazes to him.
"It isn't pleasant. But you feel it, don't you?"
He crept closer to lady Q and Kathryn wondered if she should stand. Q waved at her with his hand behind his back. She understood, she would stay very still.
Lady Q's eyes were on Q but had an unfocused shine to them. She pinched her fingers together, feeling the sticky, hot liquid that her body was producing.
"When was the last time you've felt something, Q?" He asked his ex wife.
Altogether her eyes refocused and her fingers balled into a tight fist. Her lips curled to show her clenching teeth and a gutteral sound resonated from her gut.
"I am above pain." She bit out.
Lady Q straightened out and stood tall once again. Her arm was still bleeding as she vanished and rematerialized Infront of Kathryn.
She reached out but Kathryn was prepared this time. She jumped out of the way, the tips of lady Q's fingers almost brushing her cheek.
She raised the phaser again but Lady Q was gone. The phaser was pointed right at her Q instead. The adrenaline was rushing in her ears and Kathryn couldn't lower the phaser.
'not him. Lower your arm. Not him. Lower. Your. Arm!' She chanted in her own mind but her arm remained where it was, pointing directly at Q's chest.
"Shoot, Kathryn '' Kathryn's eyes widened at this voice. It whispered in her ear, low and sultry. The baritone was one she knew, a voice she trusted.
They stepped around to be in her line of vision and her breath caught. Chakotay.
He gave a firm nod, as if to cut through any doubt. His eyes were glistening, it could be the smoke still floating around from the smoldering buildings.
"This could all end, we could go back to Voyager, back to the alpha quadrant, you just have to shoot. Kill Q, end all the suffering he has caused."
Her brain felt like time was slowing, her heart was beating faster than warp speed. She blinked against the sweat falling down her face. Her hand twitched but she was still trying to comprehend what was before her.
"Kathryn." Q's voice rang through the fog building around her. She let her eyes dart between him and Chakotay. Q had his hands raised in a show of innocence.
"I'm right here, you aren't alone. Look at me, I'm right here." His voice in her head again. Chakotay seemed to twitch. Kathryn watched from her peripheral vision as he hesitated before trying to gain her attention once more,
"Kathryn, look at me! Q has deceived us from the moment we met him. He's the reason we're being held as hostages on this planet. Kill him. Take us home. You promised to take us home!"
Her mind cleared and she could see through the lies, Kathryn lifted her trigger finger in a dramatic way and brought it down hard toward the phaser. Q and Chakotay both watched intently, a smile growing on Chakotay's face.
She swung her arm around the moment her finger made contact with the phaser and as the mechanism sounded, the blast was directed at Chakotay.
His smile dropped instantly and a snarl took over his handsome features. He flashed away from the weapons fire but it was too late, it struck right below his ribs.
Kathryn staggered and Q was there to offer his hand. She grabbed it with thanks and righted herself.
A scream tore through the air and the pair watched in shock as Lady Q held herself together. One arm useless, the other putting pressure on the side of her stomach. She tried to stagger forward but tripped on the earth below.
"You are weak. You are small. You are inferior. You are human" each sentence left Lady Q's mouth like a slur.
She continues forward, leaving a trail of blood and hatred in her wake.
Q stood and made his way towards his fellow Q, laying so low before him. She had been a rock for the continuum, she was a leader among their people. Yet now, she was a demented offender of the laws of the universe.
He wondered if he should put an end to her now. Kathryn had used a Q weapon but that wouldn't stop her for long. The continuum would punish him, that was for certain. But Junior and Kathryn would no longer have to live in fear. Would it be wrong to kill one in order to save his family?
Kathryn flew past him as his brain still tried to decide which steps to take. She knelt down next to his ex wife and reached for the wound at her side.
Lady Q swiped at her with a hand transfigured with razor sharp claws. Kathryn leaned away but the claws made contact with her arm. She was bleeding from her shoulder yet Kathryn continued to try and see the wound at the crazed woman before her.
"Q, will you restrain her so I can get a better look at the wound? I need to see how serious it is so we can inform the Doctor."
Q stood in shocked silence. Inform the Doctor? She was intending to send this beast to a hospital? To receive care?
"She doesn't deserve our help." The words were out of his mouth before he could process them.
Kathryn threw him a glare, but he stood his ground. It might have been harsh, but he was true. Lady Q was a monster.
"I don't care what you think she deserves. She needs help. Now."
Lady Q watched with predatory eyes, enjoying the bickering between the couple before her.
"She won't die from this, we aren't so lucky. What we should do is force her to tell us the location of your crew."
Kathryn tried to hold down the hand with claws but Lady Q continued to thrash against her.
"We don't torture individuals." Kathryn grit the words through her teeth as she continued to fight the injured omniscient before her.
"Why?" This question was poised by the squirming lady Q. Her glare trained on Kathryn.
"Because she is strong."
Kathryn and both Q's looked up to see a small figure against the tree line.
"She is small. She is emotional."
Lady Q made a strangled noise, almost a gurgle of pain and she lowered her gaze.
"She is wrong. She is superior. She is human."
Junior walked forward with tears trailing down his face. Watching as his mother laid face down in the dirt, bleeding and in pain. Kathryn on top of her, trying to stop the pain.
