"What about Jean Luc." He suggested as he spun around in the chair at her desk.
"Q, I am not naming our daughter Jean Luc."
"Why not? It's a good strong name. I like it, besides then she would be named after her Godfather."
Kathy sat up from her position on the sofa and shot him that look she did when she didn't approve of something. "And you are going to tell Captain Picard he's a Godfather in 70 years when he has already passed away?"
Q tapped his finger on the PADD. "No, I'll write him a letter. He'll be thrilled. So Jean Luc it is." Q nodded his head and got out of the chair walking over to where she was seated. Crouching down beside her he put on his best baby voice as he rubbed her belly. "Isn't that right little Jean." Over the past few months Kathryn was finally starting to show now. Not enough to make her change up her starfleet uniform but enough that it was no longer a question if there was a little Q growing in there.
"No." She gave him that look again. "I have Claire, Joan, and Willow."
"Claire reminds me of a pastry, Joan, lets not plan for our child to be burned at the stake is all I am saying. Willow? The tree?" If he couldn't have his name then she wasn't going to use any of those silly names for his little angel.
Kathy let out a sign, she was getting frustrated now. "We have been at this for months and we still don't have a name. We can't keep calling her Q or Janeway. She is going to need a name."
"How about Quincy, after Quinn. It's thanks to him our little miracle exists." He fell back into his baby voice.
"I'm not naming our daughter Quincy either."
"Captain, we are picking up an electrical phenomenon off the port bow." Chakotay's voice rang over the intercom in her ready room.
"It seems we will have to keep looking for names later. I'll be on the bridge, you should get back to sickbay."
Q stood up and helped her to her feet. He wasn't just going to leave her hanging, poor little Kathy already complained of back pains and dizziness. "Are you expecting someone casualties?"
"No, I just want everyone at their station should the worst happen." She nodded knowing very well if there was a hint of danger he wouldn't leave her side. He wouldn't be much use to them outside of sickbay unless he intended to take scans and readings from the phenomenon.
"Alright, be careful Kathy." He hugged her tight getting a bad feeling about this. As if deep down inside whatever small fragment of his lost Q abilities were screaming into the back of his mind to have them turn this ship around, to run. Maybe this was what they called human worry or a gut instinct. He couldn't tell Kathryn about it, she would play it off as him begin paranoid or over protective which he might very well be. After all if something was wrong certainly little Q would come barking and she was no where to be found. Kathryn walked back onto the bridge as Q heading for the turbo lift to get to medical. "Don't blow the ship up while I'm gone." He joked to the bridge crew before vanishing out the door, they still didn't like him but at least they were giving him more of a chance now. Some were even civil with him.
With all the command of a queen she stood up on the bridge and gave her orders. "Mr. Paris, chart a course towards the electrical phenomenon. I want to get a closer look."
"Aye aye captain." His typical suave cocky tone dripped from every word. "We should be in visual range within a few minutes."
"Good, bring it up on screen." She ordered watching as an image of space showed up before them. In the distance they could see a blue glow that pulsed like a heartbeat. The closer they got the more detail they could make out from it, the energy swirling in a circular rotation moving clockwise. At it's core a brighter white light flickering in an out. Certainly it was a beautiful sight, something none of them had seen before. The closer the ship got the brighter it flashed, almost reacting to them as if it was aware, alive.
"We are almost within scanning range."
"Thank you Mr. Paris." Kathryn stepped down to move closer to the con, her body being frozen almost solid when she felt every muscle in her body tense up at once but not enough to cause her pain. Only enough to hold her in place, to keep her from getting closer to Paris.
"No, turn the ship around." The small girl in the red uniform showed up behind her, she moved frantically towards her mother, eyes fixed on the image up on the screen. "Turn Voyager around NOW." She screamed nearly grabbing for Toms shoulder.
"What's wrong?" Kathryn asked, her voice quiet. She has seen fear on little Q's face before but this wasn't just fear, this was utter terror.
The little girl backed away from the con station, her eyes growing wide as she watched the energy mass change rotations, reacting to her own energy output. The rotation spun faster, the light beaming brighter while she slowly backed up towards where Chakotay was standing. The whispering ringing in her ears though no one else could hear it. Slowly that bright brilliant and beautiful blue light turned black, the energy emitting a low hum as it spun. "It's too late mommy, he knows I'm here." With a loud piercing shriek from the energy source it sent off a wave of black light that easily engulfed Voyager in seconds. The systems were going offline, the ship shaking against the shock wave as bolts of pure blue energy ripped through the bridge and blew out the controls on the tactical and con stations. Janeway fell over catching herself on the ground as little Q let out a scream. A bolt of energy striking the captain through the shoulder and causing her to cry out in pain. Almost instantly the blood started running from the wound, the skin and fabric around it burnt. More bolts sputtered and bounced off the walls striking other members of the bridge crew. At this rate the wave was going to shake the ship apart.
"Captain the shields are gone." Tovock warned.
"I lost controls to the aft thrusters." Paris chimed in.
They had no defense, no way to run, and no way to stand their ground. Without those shields this ship would opened up like a tin can by those shock waves. "Captain the warp core is offline." Paris spoke up as another wave hit the ship making it shake again, more beams of light ripping through the hull and causing breaches throughout the ship.
"Hull breaches on decks eleven and five." Tuvock announced.
"Reroute energy to the shields." Kathryn gasped holding a hand over the hole that had been burned through her shoulder.
"NO." The little voice was more commanding than anyone thought possible. A sense of determination fixed on little Q's face as she stood her ground, her eyes fixed on the screen. Though the image faded in and out she kept her eyes locked on the rotating electrical storm, her jaw set tight. "Put everything towards the thrusters, get us out of here. I'll take care of the shields."
"And how do you intend to do that?" Kathy asked looking at her. She didn't know why but she couldn't trust little Q. That look on her face, it wasn't like her daughter. It was too serious, too knowing for someone who still didn't grasp the concept of passing time.
"I have more power than you can comprehend. I intend to tap into my unused potential. I can creates more energy than your own primitive warp core, I can easily shield the ship with that energy outburst." The girl walked forward placing her hands down on the floor of the ship. "You just focus on running before he rips this thing apart." As she closed her eyes the ship felt like it was vibrating, the walls looking somehow brighter as the shimmer ran along the sides of Voyager and breached the outside. Within seconds the entire ship looked like a gem sparkling in the sunlight, fractals of light spinning off it's metal surface and whipping out at the empty black energy field. With another electrical burst sent out this time Voyager remained stationary. The energy wave being pushed around the ship and sent crashing at it's end forcing the ship closer to the energy mass. "Do it now or I'll die." Little Q yelled looking like she was losing her luster. She couldn't hold a shield up over the whole ship for long.
"Reroute all energy to the thrusters. If we have to limp out of here we will." Paris got to work fast now that they had a window of opportunity.
"If she can hold that shield up for one more burst I can use the shock wave behind us to help push us along with these thrusters."
"Can you do that?" Kathryn turned to look at the little girl, she was clearly exhausted but not giving up yet.
"Just do it." Kathryn nodded at Tom as he got ready. The next energy wave like before passed around the ship, rippling over the hull and being forced back by little Q's shield. When it hit the back of Voyager and pushed her forward Paris fired up the thrusters and used the shock wave to ride pas the energy phenomenon. Despite the young Q's shield Voyager shook violently, a few more bolts of energy ripping through the hull where the shield had weakened.
"Almost through." Paris let them know. Another second and one of those bolts made contact with young Q lighting her up like a lightning storm. Blue bolts shifting over her body. She held true to keeping the shield up but showed Superior strain now. "We had it out of range of the electrical anomaly." Paris finally yelled out feeling the ship smooth out. No sooner had he said those words little Q collapsed to the ground, the blue energy still running over her projected body.
"Get these people to sickbay." Kathryn stood back up still holding her shoulder. A few of the crew on the bridge were in worse shape than she was. They needed immediate medical attention.
"I would advise you to accompany them Captain." Tovock added looking at the blood running between her fingers.
"I think for the first time in a while I agree with that Tuvock." Her eyes shifted back over to where little Q had been and still remained. If she was injured then why wasn't her concentration severed? Shouldn't her projected self have vanished by now? Pressing on her com badge she tried contacting Q, a sound of urgency in her voice. "Q, report to the bridge, it's Jean Luc, somethings wrong with her." As much as she didn't want to use that name it seemed like the only one to describe which Janeway was in trouble.
