Quasar
P. Rhapsody O'Brien
She heard it before she felt it. The hum of the warp core rose in pitch, and then quieted a split second later. The ship shuddered beneath her, and she snapped her head up from the PADD she had been reviewing. "Tom, report," she ordered.
Tom's fingers worked the console. "I'm not sure, Captain. The helm is sluggish and we're losing speed."
Captain Kathryn Janeway tapped her finger on the arm of her command chair. "Full stop. Harry, let's see what's out there. On screen." The viewscreen flickered repeatedly, emitted a bright flash of light, and then went dark. Coming to life once again, the image was too distorted to recognize. "Clean it up, Mister Kim."
"There's some kind of interference, Captain."
"Tuvok?"
"Sensors indicate the presence of a quasar, yet the type of radiation being emitted is unknown."
Janeway lifted her eyebrows. "Keep working to clean up the image, Harry." She hadn't seen a quasar since her first posting on the El-Batani. "Janeway to Engineering."
"B'Elanna here, Captain."
"What's happening with my ship?"
"The warp core just got overloaded. I've never seen anything like it. I'm running a full diagnostic."
"Keep me informed. Janeway out."
She pushed to her feet. "Until we find out what happened, we'll stay at station keeping."
A chorus of "Yes, Captain," followed her to the auxiliary science station. She punched in several algorithms to clean up the sensor interference, all to no avail. She turned to Tuvok. "It's almost like the sensors have hit a wall of granite. They simply can't penetrate whatever it is that's out there."
Tuvok raised his eyebrow, a gesture she was more than familiar with. "I concur."
The turbolift doors swished open and Janeway turned, fully expecting to see B'Elanna. Her eyes felt like they might pop out of their sockets and her jaw dropped when Seven strode out of the turbolift and to her station.
Janeway used every bit of her diplomatic training to keep her eyes focused on the blonde hair falling across Seven's shoulders, rather than where she was aching to look. She tore her eyes away and glanced at her crew, noting they had all averted their eyes, and then went to Seven, taking her gently by the elbow. "Seven,"she whispered, "my ready room. Now."
Seven cocked an eyebrow, yet complied with the order.
The doors swished shut and Janeway went immediately to the replicator. "Robe, blue." She gathered up the garment, and then held it out to the former Borg. Seven took the offered garment, looking unsure as to what to do with it.
"Seven, you can't just parade onto the bridge in your birthday suit." Janeway dropped her head and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Captain?"
She knew that tone very well. Seven had no idea what she was talking about. "You aren't wearing any clothing. Put the robe on." She turned to look out of the viewport. What she saw amazed her. Quasars, by their very nature, were spectacular but this…was something else. The gasses in the accretion disk shimmered and glowed, weaving through and around themselves as they orbited the black hole. Two jets of light pierced the darkness, shooting out in opposite directions farther than her eyes could follow.
From behind her, a warm hand gently traced a path up her arm, coming to rest on her shoulder. She placed her hand over Seven's, never taking her eyes from the viewport. Seven's other hand snaked around Kathryn's abdomen and pulled her close.
"There is nothing in this universe as beautiful as you, Captain."
Kathryn pulled in a shuddering breath, turned, and then wrapped her arms around Seven. Rising up on her tip-toes, she placed a gentle kiss on full lips, and then buried her head in Seven's shoulder. "I've been wanting to do that ever since our first Velocity match," she whispered, half hoping Seven wouldn't hear her.
Seven pulled her closer. "I love you, Captain. I require you to choose me as your mate."
Kathryn Janeway jerked awake. Alone in her bed, she turned and looked out of her viewport. Stars streaked by. She knew from experience they were traveling at warp six.
She pulled in a shuddering breath, and then wrapped her arms around herself. "I choose you, Seven," she whispered.
~finis