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Parallel Voyage 3: Quentin
by Jeffrey Harlan
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"Oww!" Harry Kim exclaimed after banging the back of his head while trying to extricate himself from under the regeneration alcove in Seven of Nine's new quarters.
"Are you damaged, Harry?" Seven asked, kneeling by him.
"No, I'll be OK," Kim said, touching the injured area lightly with his fingertips. "I'll have to remember to be more careful in the future."
"I am still uncertain as to the necessity of occupying these quarters," Seven said.
"I told you, Seven," Kim said, "if you really want to know what it's like to be human, it helps to live like one. You can't do that from a cargo bay."
"There are 197 crewmembers aboard this vessel," Seven said. "Voyager was designed to accomodate 150. Would it not have been logical for these quarters to have been occupied by someone else, while I remained in Cargo Bay 2?"
"These used to be B'Elanna's quarters," Kim said. "Now that she's moved in with Tom, it's true that they could have been used as you suggested, but the Captain agrees with me on this one."
"One could question if you had any complicity in Lieutenant Torres' change of accomodations."
"Seven," Kim said, "one thing I know is certain, is there's no way B'Elanna would move out of her quarters just so that you could have them. I had nothing to do with it."
Seven arched the eyebrow over her unenhanced eye, then returned to the task of attaching the alcove to the bulkhead next to the bed.
***************
A few days later, Naomi Wildman ran down the corridor, laughing. Quentin came charging after her. He was a normal-looking boy, with dark brown hair and crystal blue eyes.
Everyone on Voyager thought Quentin wasn't real. They kept calling him her "imaginary" friend. As far as Naomi could tell, there was nothing imaginary about him.
"Catch me if you can," Naomi taunted. In response, Quentin leapt forward, unconsciously putting all his effort into the dive.
As he tackled her, there was a tremendous surge of energy. The ship shook, the lights flickered, and the stars in the window ground to a halt.
"Uh, oh," Quentin said.
*****************
"What the hell just happened?" Janeway demanded as she strode onto the Bridge from her Ready Room.
"There was a massive energy surge," Kim said, "We still have primary power, but the warp field collapsed and the engines are offline."
Janeway turned to the Tactical station. Lieutenant-Commander Everett Dyson, one of the survivors they'd rescued from the wreckage of the USS Challenger and former shipmate of Lieutenant- Commander Tuvok, had assumed the position of Assistant
Chief of Security and was now on Bridge duty.
"Could that have been some kind of weapon?" Janeway asked.
"I'm not reading any other ships," Dyson responded, "but I wouldn't discount the possibility. I recommend we go to Yellow Alert until we know more."
"Do it," Janeway said. The alert klaxon sounded and the Bridge lighting darkened.
*********************
"What happened?" Naomi asked, looking out the window.
"Uh, I think I did that," Quentin said.
Naomi turned, confused. Before she could say anything, a young blond woman appeared next to Quentin in a flash of light.
Part Two
"Captain," Torres' voice said from the comm system, "I don't see any reason why the warp drive stopped working. By all rights, it should still be working!"
"Keep looking, B'Elanna," Janeway said, "maybe you missed something."
"Aye, Captain," Torres responded, unsuccessfully trying to hide her annoyance at the implication, and the channel went dead.
Janeway stood from her chair on the Bridge, threw her arms up and said, "Can anyone tell me what the hell happened?"
There was a flash of light and Naomi, Quentin and the blond woman appeared on the Bridge to Janeway's left.
"I think I can," the blond woman said.
Dyson had his phaser to bear and pressed a button on his control panel, alerting a security team. "Don't move," he warned.
"I don't think that'll be necessary," the woman said, and with a flick of her wrist, Dyson's phaser disappeared.
"You're a Q," Janeway observed.
"That's right," the woman answered. "I was born and raised on Earth. My parents were Q, but they were killed by the Continuum when I was young."
"Then that must make you Amanda Rogers," Janeway said. "What brings you to Voyager, and what happened to my ship?"
"Me," Quentin said sheepishly.
"And who are you?" Janeway asked.
"He's Quentin!" Naomi supplied eagerly.
A security team, led by Tuvok, stepped out of the turbolift, their phasers at the ready.
"Everything's under control," Janeway said, turning to the newcomers. Turning back to Amanda, she said, "Now, about my ship..."
There was another flash, and Q and his mate appeared on the Bridge to Janeway's right.
"Q!" Janeway exclaimed. Tuvok's team once again brought their phasers to bear.
"Now, Kathy, is this any way to treat an old friend?" Q asked, indicating the security detail.
"As for you young man," Q said to Quentin, "you've got a lot of explaining to do."
"Q," Amanda interrupted, "don't start trying to act like a concerned parent."
"What act?" Q asked with mock indignance.
"You know as well as I do that you let this child run wild across the universe. Did you know he's already caused six supernovae?"
"Ah," Q said wistfully, "following in his old man's footsteps already."
"The only one who's been keeping an eye on him is me! You threw the Continuum into an uproar, had a kid and left him
to fend for himself!"
"Let me get this straight," Janeway interrupted, "Quentin is your son?"
"My, aren't we slow today, Kathy."
"We want our son, Amanda," the female Q said.
"Take him," Amanda said. "I'm sick of playing an intergalactic babysitter."
Quentin walked over to stand with his parents, his head hanging on his shoulders.
Amanda looked at Janeway, "Now, about your warp drive, I have a solution to all your problems."
"What are you planning, Amanda?" Q asked. "Do you seriously intend to just wave your arm and take them home?"
"In fact," Amanda said, "that's exactly what I'm going to do."
"Oh, this'll be good," Q said, sitting in Janeway's chair.
Amanda waved her arm and there was a flash of light.
Within moments, Torres' voice came over the comm system, "Captain, I don't know what happened, but the warp drive is back online."
Janeway hardly noticed, her gaze fixed on the viewscreen.
"We're home," Janeway said, as she watched Earth slowly rotate onscreen, seen from their position in standard orbit.
Part Three
"O-open a channel," Janeway said.
"Channel open," Dyson acknowledged.
"Starfleet Command, this is the USS Voyager," Janeway said. "We've just entered Earth orbit. Please confirm."
"Acknowledged, Voyager," came the reply. "We have you on our screens. Welcome home."
A cheer rose on the Bridge. Janeway turned to Dyson.
"Replay that on ship's speakers."
"Aye, Captain."
Dyson pressed a few buttons, and within moments, one could almost hear the cheers coming from throughout the rest of the ship.
"Command," Janeway continued, "be advised we currently have four Q on our Bridge."
"Acknowledged, Voyager. Initiating system-wide Yellow Alert."
The screen changed to the aging face of Admiral Eugene Paris.
"Voyager," he said, "it's good to see you again. Tom," he said, upon noticing his son at the helm, "I'm glad to see you're all right."
"Never better, Dad," Paris replied.
"Admiral," Janeway said, "we're about to transmit data we've acquired from our experiences in the Delta Quadrant. Command may be very interested in it."
"Acknowledged. Proceed when ready."
*************************
After fifteen minutes, the data transfer was complete. Star charts, technological data, information on new races and civilizations and a multitude of other discoveries were transmitted into the computers at Starfleet Headquarters, to be transferred later for archival at Memory Alpha.
"Captain," Admiral Paris said, "I notice you haven't changed your uniforms to the new standard. Didn't you get our reply through the communications network you discovered?"
"It was garbled," Janeway said. "Some of the data was lost."
"I see," Admiral Paris said. "We'll transmit to you an update on the last two years, including the patterns for the new uniforms."
"Acknowledged," Janeway said. "Admiral, would you like to beam aboard? I'm sure we could arrange a small family reunion for you."
"Of course, Voyager. I'll make arrangements to beam aboard in thirty minutes." Admiral Paris closed the channel and his image disappeared from the viewscreen.
******************************
"Mom, Dad!" Kim said, the excitement of the situation audible in his voice. "It's so great to see you again! It's been so long! I was afraid I wouldn't see you again."
"Harry," Kim's father said, "ever since we got the message from Starfleet saying you were still alive, we knew we'd see you again. We just didn't think it would be so soon."
"We have someone here who'd like to see you," Kim's mother said. On that cue, Libby stepped into range of the viewer.
"Hi, Harry," Libby said. "Were you able to get the message we sent you? Starfleet said they couldn't contact the array you'd used after they'd sent the first packet, and weren't sure if you'd gotten it at all."
"Yeah, we got it," Kim said, then amended, "Well, most of it, anyway. A couple messages were lost and the packet from Starfleet Command was garbled. I got yours, though."
"Then you know," Libby began, "that I moved on."
"Yeah," Kim acknowledged. "I know."
"Harry," Libby said quickly, "we all thought you were dead! We--"
"Libby," Kim interrupted, "it's OK. I understand. It has been five years, after all." Libby's face brightened. "I've moved on, too. She should be here any second now."
As if on cue, the chime to Kim's quarters sounded. "Come in," he said. Seven stepped into the room.
"You wished to see me, Harry," Seven said.
"Yeah," Kim said. "Come here, please, so they can see you in the monitor." Seven stepped into view, and the three on the Earth side of the message blinked simultaneously. "Mom, Dad, Libby, this is Seven of Nine."
"Seven of Nine?" Libby finally managed to ask after a moment.
"Seven of Nine, tertiary adjunct to unimatrix zero-one," Seven supplied.
"That's your name?" Libby asked, stunned.
"Correct. I am Borg."
"Borg?!" all three exclaimed, shocked.
"We freed her from the Collective nearly two years ago, when we ran into Borg space," Kim supplied. "She doesn't threaten to assimilate people anymore. Much."
"I was assimilated when I was six years old," Seven said. "I have been separated from the Collective and am now entrusted with many important duties by Captain Janeway."
"We met when the captain paired us up to build the Astrometrics Lab," Kim said. "We're one of the most efficient teams on the ship."
"We," Kim's father stammered, "we're... happy for you, Harry."
Part Four
Janeway, Chakotay and Paris stood in the Transporter Room, with Torres operating the controls. The panel beeped and an indicator blinked, announcing Admiral Paris' request for beamup.
Torres activated the Transporter. A beam of energy appeared on the pad, coalescing into the form of Admiral Paris. He stepped off the pad to embrace his son.
"I've missed you, Tom. When I thought you'd died in the Badlands, I realized what I'd missed out on while you were growing up. I'm sorry."
"It's OK, Dad," Paris responded. "I'm alive, and I'm here now. That's all that really matters."
"You have no idea the stir it caused when we got your original message by sending your EMH through that alien network, Captain," Admiral Paris said. "The fact that you were not only alive, but in the Delta Quadrant was phenomenal, but the fact that you had integrated the Maquis that you were sent to capture into your crew caused more than a few ripples."
"I saw no other alternative, Admiral. We were both stuck out there and the only way we would have a chance of making it back was to cooperate towards a common goal. With their ship destroyed, it seemed only logical to incorporate them into the crew."
With a flash of light, Q appeared before them.
"Q," Janeway said, "haven't you left yet?"
"Kathy, I allowed Amanda to take you home, but I didn't say how long that homecoming would last."
There was another flash of light.
"Captain," Dyson's voice came from the comm system. "We-we're back in the Delta Quadrant. Right where we were when the warp drive failed."
*******************
Janeway, Chakotay, Torres, and the Parises stepped onto the Bridge from the turbolift. All four Qs were still aboard, and Q himself was sitting in the Captain's chair.
"Q," Janeway said, "get the hell out of my chair."
"Kathy, you wound me."
"Not yet I haven't," Janeway growled.
"I demand you return us to Earth," Admiral Paris commanded.
"You're in no position to demand anything," Q said, standing so he could tower over the smaller man.
"Q!" Amanda exclaimed. "I sent them home before. I can do it again."
With a flash of light, another Q appeared behind Amanda.
"But the Continuum wants them in the Delta Quadrant," the new Q said in her ear, making her jump. He looked at Admiral Paris. "We don't need you, though." With a snap of his fingers, the Admiral disappeared in a flash of light.
Paris leapt from his position at the helm.
"What the hell did you do with my father?" Paris shouted at the new Q.
"Oh, he's fine," the new Q said. "I just sent him back to Starfleet Command where he came from."
"Send us back," Janeway demanded.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Captain," the new Q replied. "The Continuum wants you here."
"Why?" Janeway asked.
"I'm not at liberty to say," the new Q said. "Q, you can leave now. The Continuum has a few questions they need answered."
"Great," Q muttered. He snapped his fingers and disappeared.
The female Q held Quentin near her by his shoulders. "Come on, little one," she said. "Let's go."
"Can I say goodbye to Naomi first?" he asked.
"Yes," his mother sighed.
The two disappeared, leaving the Bridge crew with Amanda and the other Q.
*************************
The female Q and Quentin appeared in the Wildman's quarters. Samantha Wildman jumped in surprise, while Naomi rushed to greet her friend.
"Quentin!" Naomi called.
"Quentin?" her mother echoed.
The female Q moved to stand beside Samantha. "It seems our children are friends," she said.
"Friends?" Wildman said in surprise. "You're Q!"
"Typical of humans," the female Q said. "I've brought my son here so that he can say goodbye to Naomi. He won't be returning to Voyager."
"I hope that goes for the rest of you, too," Wildman muttered.
"Really," the female Q said, "I have no interest in returning. Q, however..." She let the sentence trail off, as both women knew how it would end.
Quentin walked over to his mother.
"Well, I gotta go now, Naomi," he said. "Maybe I'll see you again sometime. I know this great place to play called Gothos!"
Quentin and his mother disappeared with a flash.
*******************
On the Bridge, the officers of the starship Voyager waited patiently while Amanda argued with Q to return the ship to Earth.
"Damn it, Q!" Amanda exclaimed. "These people have been cut off from everything they knew and everyone they loved for over four years! Let's take them home!"
"We can't do that," Q replied. "The Continuum made its position clear when you first raised the issue. They're to stay in the Delta Quadrant and that's final."
"OK," Amanda said, a devilish look forming on her face, "what if I were to just give them a little hand, but small enough to keep them in the Delta Quadrant. Would the Continuum still have a problem with that?"
Q looked off at nothing for a moment, then said, "You should have tried to be a lawyer instead of Starfleet. I don't know about any of this."
At that, Q vanished. Amanda turned to Janeway and said, "I'm sorry I can't get you all the way home, Captain."
"I understand," Janeway said.
Amanda waved her arm, there was a flash of light and she disappeared.
"Captain," Torres' said, shocked, from the Bridge's Engineering station, "engines are back online and at 150 percent efficiency!"
"Tom," Janeway said, turning to Paris, "take us home."
Voyager's warp nacelles moved into position and the Voyager surged ahead on a course for home.
end