"Did you hear about the supernova?" Raven asked as she climbed the stairs after a long shift.
It had been nearly two weeks since everything had played out with Kes, who had been visiting the ship every few days. With L'Naan also still swinging by, we had used a chunk of our mana reserves to replicate two more Mind Linkers, but with them, no one would have to sit out in the evenings. It seemed that Katye was teaching Kes different methods for protecting her mind, and I had even sat in on a lesson or two at Katye's nudging.
"Yep, Katye beat you to telling me, but thankfully, we are a few days out still," I replied.
"Do you really think that Q is going to show up?" Raven asked as she joined us at the dining table.
"The supernovae are supposed to be evidence of the Q civil war throughout the galaxy, and I've already told you his bright solution," I chuckled, passing her the bowl of stir fry.
"I almost feel bad for Janeway, but not enough to trade places with her," Katye remarked with a smirk.
"Don't go jinxing yourself," I warned.
Raven chuckled and started eating. The four of us enjoyed a quiet meal together which ended up being the last for the next few days. Raven worked several extra shifts in Engineering helping B'Elanna recalibrate the shields to be ready for the supernova while Katye also worked later than usual, working with the Doctor, Kes, and Danara on creating inoculations for the crew against the different types of radiation that they were expecting.
When the day of the supernova came, Janeway and I both took an extra-long shift. She was shoring up all of the preliminary data and checking on the final touches of the new shield modifications while I handled the normal day to day activities for the captain which was rather boring since we were not even flying. Towards the end of the day when the star was due to explode soon, Katye, Neelix, Kes, Danara, and the Doctor joined us on the Bridge to watch the event on the viewscreen.
Everyone gathered around the center of the room and watched the star explode with interest. Although it was a spectacle, I could only wonder how much power was behind it, as Janeway and a few others clapped, since I might be facing down one of those blasts by the end of this.
"Incredible," Chakotay remarked.
"Absolutely thrilling," Janeway agreed.
"All I can say is... Wow!" Neelix exclaimed. "What about you, Mister Vulcan? Isn't that just...? Wow!"
"Your inarticulate expression of awe notwithstanding, Mister Neelix, it was a fascinating spectacle," Tuvok replied dryly.
The ship shook lightly, and I could sense the wave of mana that had rocked us as a couple of consoles beeped.
"That's the edge of the shock wave," Harry informed. "The pressure's over ninety kilopascals, thirty percent more than we predicted."
"Tom, back us off at full impulse. I want to stay ahead of the brunt of that wave," Janeway ordered.
"Yes, ma'am," Tom replied.
"Congratulations, everyone. Only two other crews in the history of Starfleet have witnessed a supernova explosion," Janeway announced.
"But neither one was this close, less than ten billion kilometers! Definitely a record," Harry added excitedly.
"Who brought the champagne?" Janeway asked with a smile.
"Champagne? Captain, if I thought you wanted champagne, I..." Neelix started.
"Relax, Neelix. It's a figure of speech," Janeway replied.
"Oh? And here I made a special bottle of bubbly wine," I teased as a bottle of purple Spirit Wine appeared in my hands.
"Unfortunately, your wine is a bit too strong for anyone on duty," she chuckled.
"Thanks for inviting us to watch with you, Captain. It's really gotten me interested in learning more about stellar phenomena," Kes said.
"Just remember, Kes, anyone can stargaze on the Bridge, even a hologram with a mobile emitter, but the real action will always be in Sick Bay," the Doctor reminded.
Kes, Katye, and Danara chuckled softly and followed him to the turbo lift.
"How'd those shield modifications hold up, B'Elanna?" Janeway asked.
"Less than a seven percent power drain," she replied.
"Good job," Janeway praised as she rubbed her neck. "Chakotay, what do you say we get started on analyzing those carbon conversion readings?"
"Captain, you've been on the Bridge for fourteen straight hours, both of you, don't you think you deserve a little rest? Harry and I will get to work on the astrometric analysis, and we'll give you a full report in the morning." Chakotay countered.
"You win. I'll see you at o'seven hundred," Janeway agreed with a smirk then turned back to me. "Was that bottle really to share?"
I chuckled, "Of course, Kathryn."
"Then let's go."
I followed Janeway with a smirk. She had sampled a number of my wines over the past two years, so she recognized the bright purple coloring as her favorite which was made from Nekte berries. I figured that she would need a drink with what should be waiting for her in her quarters and, it seemed, I would be getting a front row seat.
"So, what did you think of the supernova?" Janeway asked as we slowly made our way towards her quarters.
"It was interesting to see, though I was more intrigued by the mana wave that accompanied the shockwave. Something was familiar about the energy, but I can't quite remember where I know it from," I replied.
"I guess stellar phenomena lose a bit of their wonder when one has as much power as you do," she retorted.
"Not at all, but there is a certain itch under my scales that is putting me on edge. Something annoying is coming our way," I replied.
She chuckled, "Is that like a gut instinct?"
"It's a bit more accurate," I said with a smirk as she opened the door to her quarters.
The usual couch that we would sit on had been changed to a large, king-size bed with red satin sheets and heart-shaped pillows. There were even roses and lit candles on either side of the bed, giving it the look of a cheesy honeymoon suite bed.
I could not resist messing with her some, so I remarked with mock surprise, "While my partner's and my relationship is not exclusive by any means, I had no idea that you had such feelings, Kathryn."
Janeway gave me an annoyed look, but before she could comment, another person slid into the room. It was none other than Q, in a red silk bathrobe.
"Well, I had expected you to be alone, Kathryn, but I wouldn't mind the company of another beauty. You are looking much more like your true self, Dystina," Q said.
"And you still look like the arrogant pig that we all know and despise," I retorted, crossing my arms.
Janeway smirked at my statement while Q mocked pain as he said, "You wound me, madam."
"Believe me, I'd like to do a lot worse," I said dryly.
"What are you doing here, Q?" Janeway asked.
"You asked for champagne, did you not?" he asked then snapped his fingers, causing glasses of champagne to appear in all of our hands. "To us... and your little pet."
I snorted with annoyance and teleported the cup outside of the ship.
"There is no us, Q," Janeway stated, setting down her own glass.
"The night is young, and the sheets... are satin," he replied, running a hand along the bed.
"I want you out, but first, get rid of this bed," she demanded.
"I have no intention of getting between those Starfleet issue sheets. They give me a terrible rash."
"Well, since you won't be getting in the bed, I wouldn't worry about it," Janeway retorted.
"Oh, Kathy... Don't be such a prude. Admit it," Q said, taking her by the waist and completely forgetting about me. "It has been a while."
"And it's going to be a while longer. Now, get out," she said with some sass.
"So tense. Why don't you slip into something more comfortable?" Q suggested, then used his power to exchange her uniform for a pink silk nighty.
"If you think this puerile attempt at seduction is going to work, you're even more self-deluded than I thought," Janeway replied and tried to move away from him.
He caught her by the arm and pulled her into his as he said, "Oh, I see. You think I'm interested in some tawdry one-night stand. That's because I haven't told you why I'm here yet. Out of all the females, of all the species, in all the galaxies, I have chosen you to be the mother of my child."
I could not help myself and busted out laughing. Any appearance of Q throughout the Star Trek franchise was always an interesting episode to say the least, but this one was particularly ridiculous. The whole idea that having a child would be able to save the Q Continuum was completely irresponsible and would put an incredible amount of pressure on the poor boy who would be born by the end of this mess. The only thing stupider than his plan was that he actually thought Janeway would agree.
"Oh, lord," I said, wiping a tear from my eye. "I haven't laughed like that in ages. Please, don't let me intrude."
"If you leave, you'll spend the rest of this trip in the Brig," Janeway threatened as she pushed her way out of Q's arms.
"Aye, aye, Captain," I retorted, trying to smother another chuckle.
She shot me a death glare and walked towards her bathroom while Q also gave me an annoyed look.
"Buzz kill," he accused.
"I believe that your face is responsible for that," I replied with a smirk.
"Nonsense," Q said dismissively then went back to ignoring my presence. "I know that you're probably asking yourself, 'Why would a brilliant, handsome, dashingly omnipotent being like Q want to mate with a scrawny, little bipedal specimen like me?'"
"Let me guess. No one else in the universe will have you," she retorted from the bathroom.
"Nonsense! I could have chosen a Klingon targ, a Romulan empress, a Cyrillian microbe," he refuted, following behind her.
"Really? I beat out a single-celled organism? How flattering," Janeway mocked, and again, I could not help but laugh.
Q continued to ignore me and remarked, "It's an overwhelming honor, isn't it? I can't get you out of my mind. You're confident, passionate, and beautiful."
"And totally uninterested," she retorted and slipped past him, now wearing a robe of her own.
"Kathy, you can't leave. My cosmic clock is ticking. Besides, you have no idea what you're missing. Foreplay with a Q can last for decades."
"Sorry, but I'm busy for the next sixty or seventy years," Janeway said and retreated behind me.
"Oh, I see. This is one of those silly human rituals. You're playing hard to get!" he said, still following, but stopped once I was between him and her.
"As far as you're concerned, Q, I'm impossible to get."
"Goody, a challenge! This is going to be fun," he said then snapped his fingers and disappeared, along with the bed.
Janeway let out a long sigh and sat down on the couch. "I really hope that you can explain what all of this is about."
I chuckled as I sat down on the other end of the couch and retrieved the bottle of Spirit Wine and two small cups from my storage ring. "While I can tell you why he's here," I said, pouring us both a drink, "there isn't much that I can do to stop his antics."
"I'll take whatever help I can get," she replied as she took the cup that I offered her.
"Well... he is serious about wanting to have a child with you," I said, waiting until she was taking a sip which resulted in a great spit take. I chuckled and lightly chided, "This wine wasn't exactly easy to make, Kathryn."
"You can't be serious," Janeway said, wiping her face off.
"Of course, I am. To get the bubbly effect, I had to infuse a fifth element into the wine," I replied matter-of-factly.
"Rebecca," she said with annoyance.
"Okay, okay... I'll stop messing around," I chuckled. "But unfortunately, I was telling you the truth. Q does indeed want you to have his child."
"Why?" she asked.
"For his exact reasoning, you'll have to get that from him, but from what I've gleamed from my vision, he believes that it's the only way to stop the civil war that's going on in the Continuum. You remember Quinn, right?"
"The Q who committed suicide? Yes, I do."
"His decision had a rippling effect that divided the Continuum between those that wanted to remain as they were, an unchanging group, and those who wanted independence and individuality with our recent visiting Q as that group's leader. He said that his death caused a disruption in the Continuum, but what I believe he meant was actually an imbalance. Space, Time, and Matter, these are the three concepts which is the root of Q Continuum's power, but because all of the members are connected, his death brought in the concept of Death to them. How do you balance the aspect of Death? With the aspect of Life. Many of the most powerful elements have a perfect counter to achieve balance and, without balance, destruction is all that awaits. I'm not saying that his idea is right by any means, but I do understand how he got to such a conclusion," I explained while sipping on my drink.
Janeway sighed and drank a bit of the wine properly. "Why me?" she asked after a few moments of silence.
I chuckled and refilled my cup. "Humanity is something tied to the Continuum deeper than either race knows. You have some of its best qualities, and you had already impressed him. Your fate was tied to this as soon as you ruled in favor of Quinn's asylum."
"You knew about this, didn't you?!?" Janeway accused.
"Would you have rather that Q showed up for something that I had no knowledge of? At least with this, I can tell you that Voyager should be safe enough though you will have a bit of a headache with everything. My best advice is to play dumb about what I've told you and hard to get until another Q shows up. Believe me, you'll know her when she appears," I replied with a smirk.
Janeway sighed again and finished her drink then held it out for me to refill. "I think I may take the next few days off."
"I'd be more than happy to cover for you, but don't forget that, that will give him chances to 'woo' you alone," I replied, barely able to hold in my laughter.
"Don't you breathe a word of this to anyone, even your lovers," she growled.
"Well..."
"They already know, don't they?" she said, giving me a deadpan glare.
"Perhaps," I replied with a wry smile as I rubbed the base of my horn.
She sighed and tapped her comm badge, "Janeway to Bridge."
"Chakotay here, Captain. I thought you were going to get some sleep."
"I've just had a visit from Q. He's gone now, but I want to be notified immediately if he reappears anywhere on the ship or if anything odd starts to happen."
"Acknowledged. What did he want?" Chakotay asked.
"Let's just say he had a personal request," Janeway replied.
"Captain?"
"I'm not sure what he's really up to, but I have a feeling that he'll be back. Janeway out."