"Can you believe the network is gone?" Kim spoke up to Tom over the noise of the mess hall. "Figures, our only link to the alpha quadrant, gone."
"Don't worry Harry, now that Starfleet knows we are out here it's only a matter of time before they establish another link with us.." Tom laughed. "Besides we still have all that data from Starfleet to go through yet."
"I hope so." Kim tried to keep posative.
Tom patted the man on the back and smiled at him trying to cheer up his old friend, "No need to worry Kim."
A familiar voice chimed in behind them then, a small voice, not quite Naomi Wildman's but another child aboard Voyager. "I don't understand why contacting this planet Earth is so important anyways." Emily spoke up holding a plate in her hands, a large chunk of red velvet cake and ice cream the only things currently present on her platter.
"And I wasn't aware that was what your parents want you to eat for lunch." Tom looked over the plate and back at her. "Using your replicator rations for junk food?"
Emily smiled back at him as the plate vanished in a flash of light. "Of course not." She replied holding her cocky little smile. "I'm just testing what Tuvok and Q have been teaching me."
"Well, it seems you have gotten a good grasp of your abilities, materializing and dematerializing things. Rather impressive." Kim added.
Emily smiled and reached down lifting the plate off the chair that had been sitting in front of her. "Not really, just moving things around, I actually used Kathryn's replicator rations to make this." Emily smiled back at Tom having learned more than just a few fancy tricks from Q. She was starting to pick up on his mischievous nature as well.
"I don't think your mother would be too happy to know you manipulated the replicator so you could have some cake and ice cream." Kim spoke up, ever the straight edge trying to keep others from wandering onto the path of dishonesty.
"I can always have Q fix it." Emily nodded her head seeming rather pleased. "Besides it's not like Captain Janeway needs her rations anymore, she has Q. He can do just about anything for her."
"Well, it's not fair to say that, he can't do anything." Tom corrected. Being closer to Q than most on the ship he was well aware Q had his limits.
"It's alright, I have Amelia, same concept applies." Amelia and Emily weren't pure Q like Q but once she had better mastery over her powers there likely wasn't anything they couldn't and wouldn't do for each other.
"Q or not, you probably shouldn't do that again." Kim added once more trying to make sure Emily got a sound sense of right and wrong.
"Yeah, and you should probably eat something better than just that." Tom added, not that it was his business what the kid ate. After all Emily was Q and the Captains problem not his.
Emily took a bite of cake and continued to look at Tom and Kim with a sort of disinterest before shrugging her shoulders. "I guess I'll ask Neelix if he can give me some vegetables then." She paused making a slightly disgusted look on her face. "Though anything Neelix give me could be just as bad for my health." She glanced down at the cake and ice cream. "If not worse."
"You know what they say, a growing girl needs her leola root stew." Mr. Paris didn't seem very convincing with that little phrase and Emily didn't seem to awe inspired to go running up to Neelix and ask for a bowl of stew. In fact it looked more like she was contemplating obesity and stunted growth more and more after he had spoken. Emily took another bite of cake and glanced back to Neelix then back to Tom and Kim.
"You know what, I think I'll just stick with this for now. I mean, I could very well live forever, I don't think diet factors into a Q's longevity." And if she was proven wrong she would take those extra years off her life with grace. Turning and leaving Emily took a few more bites of cake before leaving the mess hall and slurping up the ice cream that had melted into a soupy consistency. No one else gave her trouble as she walked along heading to Wildman's quarters and to where Amelia currently was. Neelix and Wildman seemed to be the two people left to watch Amelia the most outside of her own parents. Every now and again the Doctor watched over her but since he was busy with patients he didn't always have the time. Emily tried to stick around the Doctor and Seven the most herself only because she learned the most from them, but straying too far from Amelia felt particularly frightful to her. It was like having a constant magnetic pull towards each other, Amelia and Emily had to be together. Needless to say it was because of her need to be near Amelia that she was forced to be around Wildman and neelix more than she liked. Forced to attach herself to Q and Kathryn more than she liked. Emily shoveled a few more bites of cake into her mouth as she passed a group of ensigns.
Stopping at the trubo lift Emily turned around looking at the lights along the hall and noticing they had changed from their usual bright illuminating white to the sinister red. Flashing warnings to the crew to get to their posts, red alert was called when Voyager was in trouble. Crew members were quick to clear out from the hall, Tom and Kim had left the mess hall and ran past her into the turbo lift so they might reach the bridge and lend their hands to getting Voyager out of this situation. Whatever situation Voyager happened to be in. Seeing that Emily had no real station to occupy during a crisis she decided the best thing she could do was be with Amelia. Janeway and Q would have preferred for the both of them to be together during a crisis and Emily felt helpless without Amelia at her side. Despite being the older of the two Emily also knew herself to be the weaker of the two. Dropping the plate in her hands she ran to the nearest jefferies tube. It would be a bit of a climb down but one Emily had to be willing to take if she would reach Amelia. Pulling the hatch open on the jefferies tube Emily found herself holding her breath as if she was going underwater. She didn't like cramped spaces. Everyone was entitled to their own little simple fears, Amelia was afraid of the dark, Emily was afraid of tight spaces. Holding back her panic though she climbed through the jerfferies tube closing her eyes tight and feeling her way to the next junction where the ladder down would be. Her heard racing in her chest as she told herself she wasn't in a small space, she was in an open room.
Reaching the ladder down she opened her eyes and took hold of the first bars starting to climb down when the ship started shaking as if it was under fire. Grabbing onto the bars Emily let out a scream hanging onto the ladder for dear life. Even though the drop wasn't that far she felt like she was hanging over the side of a cliff. If only Amelia was here, she would be able to do this with her sister here. They always faced scary things in the dreams they shared but they were always with each other. Emily wasn't afraid then, she felt brave. It only gave her more reason to keep going, to reach Amelia so they could be safe, so they could be brave. Janeway would want them to face their fears and be brave. Taking in another deep breath she continued down the ladder and screamed again when the ship was struck once more. Her grip slipping off the bars and causing her to go crashing to the next level. Despite the pain in her shoulder Emily crawled along the floor so she could open the next shaft and descend a second ladder. What would Tuvok say in a situation like this? Your fear is illogical? Moving down the second ladder Emily had a better time at it even with a shoulder injury. She moved faster because she had to move faster. If she didn't reach the deck Wildman's quarters were on she would have a panic attack and likely die in here. She couldn't be remembered as the coward who died in the jefferies tube because she was too afraid to keep moving.
It felt like hours wandering partially lost and going down deck after deck before Emily pulled open the hatch to freedom. The ship had been shaking and jolting almost the whole trip down making her stomach churn. Pulling herself out of the vent Emily stepped out on shaky legs feeling like all that red velvet cake she had eaten was going to come back up. No time to get sick now, she was on the right floor, all she had to do was reach Amelia now and they would be okay. Walking down the hall Emily fought her wobbly legs and ignored the eerie feeling she got from the flashing red lights. There wasn't anyone on this deck it seemed, it made her wonder if Sam Wildman and Naomi would even be here. They had to be here though, where else would they go? Grabbing onto the wall for support Emily took in a few more deep breaths remembering what her father had told her to do when the Vidiian's where chasing them down. She hadn't been afraid then, she had maned the ship by herself and found Voyager on her own. She hadn't been afraid when her father had been injured in an attack and their shields were down. She shouldn't be afraid now.
Turning the corner Emily took a few steps back seeing figures she didn't recognize. They were not starfleet crew members but rather tall beings with dark plated armor that looked like bones. Taking a few steps back Emily gasped trying to make her feet move so she could run. Her hand leaving the side of the wall as she continued to stumble back and fall to the ground. It reminded her of a nightmare she had once or perhaps it had been Amelia's nightmare. In the end it never mattered, so long as they were in those dreams and nightmares together nothing could hurt them, but Amelia wasn't here now. One of the strange men turned to look at her, his eyes empty and dark, his skin covered in lumps like scales. "Grab her." He pointed at Emily as she clambered to get back on her feet and run. Grabbing the wall again she turned around running into another dark armored monster. His arms grabbing her and lifting her off the ground as she kicked and screamed. Emily tried to think of something she could do, how she could escape from them. "Lock her up with the other two." The rough voice continued, his eyes gazing over her. "She's too young and frail for the hunt."
"Amelia." Emily screamed hopping the baby Q would be able to help her. "Amelia please." She continued to beg and kick her legs.
"Shut it you little whelp." The 'leader' ordered.
"No." Emily growled back feeling less afraid now, her eyes focused on him as her pupils started engulfing her emerald iris. The weapon in his hand started sparking, the components inside going haywire until it overheated so badly he was forced to throw it to the ground and jump back. The Hirogen hunter looked down to his weapon glowing a fire hot red now and back to the little girl.
"Did she do this?" He smiled at her, so pretty and small but more than she appeared to be. "I have changed my mind, do not put her with the other two young. This one is prey."
"She's still young alpha." The Hirogen holding her spoke up as Emily continued to thrash in his grip, kicking and screaming.
"She may be young but she is a challenge for the hunt." He nodded to his subordinate. "Prepare this prey, I'll hunt her myself, alone."
"Amelia, Amelia help me." Emily screamed out again wanting her little sister to come show these 'lizards' what a real 'challenge' was. Still Amelia didn't come, they must have captured her as well, moved her too far away to hear Emily's cries for help. "Daddy." Emily screamed out for Q knowing if anything he would come get her. "Daddy help." The leader nodded his head, his subordinates carrying Emily away down the hall again as she continued screaming for help. "Daddy."
"Hush little one, your father can't help you now."
