Prologue
Thoughts = ‘I’m thinking in Italic.’
Normal Text = Normal Text
Speaking = “I’m talking in Quotation Marks.”
Sound Effects = BOOM!
“Engage!”
Suddenly, there was a bright flash of white light and the crew of the La Sirena found themselves in what looked like a Victorian style sitting room.
“What the hell?” Seven said.
“I’m with ya there, honey.” Raffi replied.
“Perhaps I can clear things up.” Came a voice from the previously empty armchair. They all turned and looked to see none other than Q, although he appeared younger than Picard remembered him.
“Q? What the hell do you want?” Seven growled angrily. The others looked at her somewhat startled. The only other time they had seen her this angry was when they were dealing with Bjayzl.
“The same thing you wanted 14 years ago.” The young Q answered with sadness. Seven glared at him.
“Someone mind explaining who this guy is?” Soji asked. “I mean, I’ve heard about the Qs but he doesn’t look like the Q in the holophotos.”
Seven turned to Soji. “This is Q jr. He was born during Voyager’s time in the Delta Quadrant which is a bit of a long story. He was my son’s best friend but didn’t do anything to save him. You never did answer me all those years ago. Why? Why didn’t you save him?!” The last part aimed at Q as Seven fought back the pain and rage at the loss of her son. Just then Seven felt a hand on her arm. She looked and saw Raffi looking at her reassuringly as if to say ‘I got you.’ Seven took a deep breath and pushed away the memories and urge to drown them.
“I couldn’t save him then because I would have changed the timeline so much that the Romulians would have won instead of you. However, I have finally found a way to save him and change things for the better.” Q answered her. They looked at him in confusion.
“Why would it take you so long to find a way to save Icheb?” Raffi asked for Seven who was still trying to calm herself.
“And what do you mean “change things for the better?" Agnes added.
“It took me these past 14 years to not only find a way to save him without the Romulians winning but also to comb through the timeline for events that could be changed to give you the ‘home field advantage’ as it were.” Q explained. He then looked at Seven sadly. “You know, I wouldn’t just let things be. That I wouldn’t just accept his death without a fight. I didn’t years before and I won’t now.”
Seven paused and remembered the moment he was talking about. It was so long ago when it happened that she had surprisingly almost forgotten it. He was right. He hadn’t accepted it then without a fight and he definitely wouldn’t have 14 years later. She turned to him and said, “How do you plan on saving him and changing things to our advantage?”
Q smiled widely. “Oh, I won’t be changing things. You will. I am going to send you all back in time to change certain events which will save not just Icheb’s life but other lives as well.”
“What other lives?” Rios asked, somewhat hopeful. Maybe they could save Jana, Beautiful Flower, Dahj, and his old captain. He looked over at Agnes, who still had a hard time with what happened to Bruce Maddox. Maybe they could save him too.
“If we play things right, we can save a lot of lives. To name a few: Robert and René Picard, the Maquis, Icheb, the xBs, various crew members of Voyager, and Thad Troi-Riker.” Looking at Seven and Picard. “Dahj Asha and Hugh as well.” He said to Soji.
“What about Jana and Beautiful Flower? What about Captain Vandermeer?” Rios inquired. “What about Bruce Maddox?” That caught Agnes by surprise.
Q thought for a moment. “It could be possible but…”
“But we would have no way of knowing for sure until closer to the times in question because of temporal ripples.” Seven finished having figured out one of the problems they would have. “You intend on sending us back years before the ban.”
“You will all be going back to different points in the timeline but before we get into the details of that there is something you two need to know,” He said, the last part directed towards Seven and Picard. “You will want to sit down first.”
They all sat down. Picard and Elnor in the other armchairs, Raffi and Seven on a love-seat, and Rios and Agnes on the couch with Soji. There was a bright flash and snacks as well as drinks appeared on the coffee table in the center. Just as Seven and Picard went to pick up their respective drinks of Irish Breakfast Tea and Earl Grey, Q stopped them. “Trust me you will want to wait until after my news.”
“I get the feeling that this is not going to be pleasant.” Picard commented. Seven just raised her eyebrow though she shared that same feeling. Q nodded with a serious expression. “Unfortunately, your feeling is correct though you might find the end result a good thing.”
“Well, you might as well start.” Seven said with a note of dread. She felt Raffi linked their fingers and gave her a thankful smile.
“This has to mostly do with you, Seven, and the secret the Hansens and the Queen hid from you. You see the Hansens were not your parents.” Q told her.
“What?” Seven was shocked or maybe not. “If they’re not my parents then…..” She froze having connected one of the many dots. She looked at Q. “How?”
“How what? Seven?” Raffi asked, worried because of her reaction. “What does JL have to do with the Hansens?”
“It would be better explained if I tell the story first.” Q answered. Seven nodded for him to continue.
“In 2350, the Hansens, who even then were intent on studying the Borg, discovered a temporal anomaly which took them forward in time to 2379. Naturally, they immediately researched information regarding the Borg and, while they weren’t able to access much, they found information that held the names of two people who were major combatants of the Borg.”
“Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Captain Kathryn Janeway.” Seven spoke quietly. They all went really quiet as they started to make the connections. Picard froze at the implications.
“You’re not seriously suggesting what I think you are, are you?” Agnes said with disbelief.
“I’m not suggesting. I’m telling you. Now, let me finish.” Q replied trying to get through the story as quickly as possible for Seven’s sake. They went quiet again.
“The Hansens, of course, were displeased at how little they found on the Borg themselves but had an idea. They would return to their own time and head into Borg territory to study them personally. However, they knew the risk if they were caught by the Borg and came up with a contingency plan. They would try to negotiate with the leader, their freedom in return for a child of their enemy. Of course, it couldn’t be the child of only one of their enemies nor could it be a male. After all from what little they found, they learned that the leader of the Borg was always female. So they would use the daughter of both but the question was how. They eventually came up with the answer. They used sample extractors to get the DNA while using a mix of cosmetic and very minor surgical reconstruction to hide their identities. Once they had the samples, they used a heavily modified medical chamber and some genetic engineering to create and birth the child.”
“Me.” Seven finished. “I am the daughter of Kathryn Janeway and Jean-Luc Picard and the Queen knew. She kept it hidden most likely to use it as blackmail against any of us later.”
Everyone was in shock, especially Picard. He had a child, a daughter, that he never knew about. After Robert and René’s deaths, he thought he was all that was left of his family. ‘But I’m not and, if what Q is saying holds true, Robert and Rene will live as well.’
While the others' responses ranged from “Holy Shit” (Agnes) to “Madre mía” (Rios) and various expressions of shock (Elnor and Soji), Raffi immediately looked between Seven and Picard and said. “Well, you both have blue eyes and a flare for danger.”
She gave them both a reassuring smile while tightening her fingers around Seven’s own. They both gave her grateful smiles in return before Seven commented wryly. “You never saw my….mother while Voyager was still trapped in the Delta Quadrant. God, yet another thing I have no idea how I’m going to explain.”
“What do you mean?” Asked Picard.
“She means what happened to the other children rescued by Voyager.” Q answered. “How Aunt Kathy’s decisions in regards to them and her own misguided refusal to listen to Seven played a part in it.”
“The other children? I remember a brief mention in the reports that there were other children but that was all,” Picard stated. Q looked at Seven with an inquiring look to which she nodded in response.
“There were a total of five children rescued from a Borg Cube. An Infant, twin Wysanti boys, a Norcadian girl, and Icheb who was Brunali. The twins, Azan and Rebi, along with Mezoti, the young Norcadian, joined the Wysanti people.” Q informed them. Everyone began to feel a sense of dread. Raffi and Picard looked at Seven hoping the feeling was wrong only to see the tears silently falling down her pained face.
“But that’s a good thing, right?” Agnes asked in vain hope. Q shook his head solemnly.
“The Wysanti neglected to mention that they were in the midst of civil war. They were hoping to use the twins and Mezoti as weapons against the opposing side. They refused and were shot down as they attempted to leave on an escape pod.”
“What about the baby?” asked Soji.
It was Seven who spoke up this time, her tears having stopped for now. “The baby was a sort of clone of me. Her DNA structure was not stable and by the time we found out it was too late to save her.” Picard’s head whipped in her direction at nearly whiplash speed.
“Was it an inactive temporal RNA aging program?” Seven, realising he was referring to the problem of his own clone, she shook her head. Nobody needed to ask for an explanation as there were very few who hadn’t heard of the topic. Even Elnor and Soji, though Elnor didn’t fully understand it.
“No, thinking back on it now, the method they used was a similar method to what the Hansens used for me but without a second DNA strand to stabilise her DNA structure.”
The others were silent for a moment then Raffi spoke with a plan forming in her mind. “If you had had a second sample, you could have saved her?” Seven looked at Raffi a bit confused but nodded. Raffi turned to Q. “You said we would be going back. I take it you have a plan, one that includes saving the kids.” Q grinned.
“As a matter of fact, I do and it does.”
“Alright, so talk. What’s the plan?” Raffi said.
Q grinned slightly having figured out what Raffi had in mind to save the baby. “The plan, as I mentioned earlier, is to send you all back in time at different points.”
“Why different points?” Soji asked. It was Seven who answered her.
“For two reasons. 1. To be able to best make the changes needed with as few Temporal Ripples as possible. 2. Due to how far back some of the events are, you and Elnor would not exist and I would still be a drone.” Everyone nodded in response as it made sense. Though there was still one thing they didn’t understand.
“What are Temporal Ripples? You both have mentioned them. Are they just the Butterfly Effect?” spoke Agnes.
“Yes and No,” replied Seven. “Temporal Ripples are like the Butterfly Effect but they don’t just affect the future. Much like ripples in a lake or pond, Temporal Ripples spread out in a circle and they affect the past and the future. Although the effect on the past is barely noticeable. Our minds being sent back alone will cause a few ripples.”
“Correct,” Q said. “Picard will be the first to ‘awaken’ as he will be sent back to 2370 just after he was tested by the Q continuum. The only noticeable change to the past caused by it is Natasha Yar’s death on Vagra II doesn’t happen. She is instead just injured. What effects that will have on the future thereafter cannot yet be determined.” Picard felt a wave of relief at that and began to consider events around that point in time. He wasn’t the only one though.
“By going back that far he’ll not only be able to save...our family… but others who were lost a few years after that.” Seven spoke, still coming to terms with her new found truth. The others looked at her with curiosity.
“Like who?” asked Elnor.
“The Maquis killed in the massacre by the Dominion/Cardassian Alliance. I already know of one highly possible Ripple Effect that will have as well.” Seven replied. She looked at Q for confirmation and hope.
“What is it?” Agnes inquired. It was Q who answered her.
“By saving as many Maquis lost in the massacre as possible it will not only stop Lt. B’Elanna Torres from becoming reckless with her life nearly bordering on suicidal but could have the potential of giving you more allies against the Romulians.”
At the mention of Voyager’s Former Chief of Engineering, Raffi looked at Seven having recalled a very recent conversation in regards to her and Seven’s admission of feelings of deep love and regrets. Seven having noticed Raffi’s questioning gaze nodded her head in reply. ‘Maybe there’s a way to fix things between them as well.’ Raffi thought. She had heard plenty of stories about the hybrid and she couldn’t deny that she felt drawn to her like she is to Seven.
“Okay, so how do we save them?” Rios asked. Seven answered him having been considering it since she thought of it.
“Well, we know when and where the massacre is supposed to happen so provided it’s not affected by the ripples,” She paused her to look at Q for confirmation or denial. He shook his head confirming it had, thankfully, remained unaffected.
“Using that information, arrangements can quietly be made to evacuate the Maquis and to increase the chances for success anonymous messages can be sent to them warning of the attack.” Seven continued. “All we need is who to have help the evacs and where to evac them to.”
They all thought about it. The plan was rather sound and had a high chance of working once they have those last two issues covered. Raffi then suddenly thought of a solution to one of them.
“Why not evac them to Vasquez Rock? The area I lived in was mostly uninhabited except for wildlife and the occasional hikers before I moved there.” Raffi suggested.
“That could work. That area is hidden enough and has plenty of places for hideout.” Picard agreed, remembering the layout of the land from when he went to recruit Raffi. “I may have an idea or two on the evacuation help. Even though the situation was cleared up things were still rather tense.” Seven quickly caught on to what he was thinking.
“Of course! The Klingon Empire!” She exclaimed. Everyone else, minus Q, looked a bit puzzled.
“You mind filling us in here? What about the Klingon Empire?” asked Soji.
“Sometime before the massacre, there was almost a full blown war between the Federation and the Empire because of a Changeling posing as General Martok. The Changeling convinced them that the Founders had infiltrated the Cardassian Union and to invade. It caused a large disagreement, to put it mildly, between the Federation and Empire. The Empire to end the alliance between them and annex the Archanis sector. When the truth about the “General” came out, there was a truce about things never fully recovered and the Empire never renewed the alliance. The Empire has a strong hatred for the Dominion and the Cardassians and would offer asylum to any Bajorian and Maquis. Quietly reaching out to them to help evacuate the Maquis wouldn’t be difficult.” Seven explained.
“So we have a plan?” Elnor inquired. Seven and Picard both had big grins as Picard replied to him. “We have a plan.”
Everyone smiled then. Raffi turned back to Q. “Alright, I’m guessing Seven is supposed to be the next one to wake up?”
“Yes, she will awaken just after she is severed from the Collective. I assume you have something in mind?” Q said.
“Yes, actually. Although, either you or JL will probably have to work on the sly to make it work. I want to be on Voyager and awoken before Seven.” Raffi responded. Everyone was a bit surprised by that, though Seven had her suspicions. Q motioned for her to continue.
“If I’m on Voyager, I can help Seven with the changes she’ll make and can help her readjust. Not only that but JL has someone he knows and trusts looking out for her.”
“And?” Q urged her knowing there was another reason.
“We can use my DNA to stabilise the baby and Seven will have back-up when Janeway tries to return the kids to their former people. I know she was just trying to help but she really didn’t think it through.” Raffi finished. Seven was very surprised.
“You would do that? For me? For my children?” Seven asked her in a quiet voice. Everyone was silent. It was obvious that there was something more to this than they knew. Picard looked at her worried as he had heard a bit about her trouble on Voyager. ‘I’ve never heard her speak in such a tone. Were things truly so bad to have affected her like this?’
“Of course, I would. I know how much it hurts you. Not only that but, while you never outright said anything, I know how much your social struggles on Voyager affected you.” Raffi said, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.
“What about Gabe? If you’re on Voyager, he won’t exist.” Seven spoke worriedly not wanting Raffi to lose her son so completely.
“Actually, I may have a solution to that but it is not without Ripples. Sadly, there are too many possibilities for me to truly be able to determine what will happen.” Q answered. “Raffi and her husband both would be on Voyager which means Gabe would still exist. He would even be born at the same time.”
“Anything we would need to worry about?” Rios asked.
“It’s too hard to tell right now to give a guess. Although, in order to make sure things play out as close to the way we need them as possible, Raffi won’t awaken until just before Seven.” Q stated grimly.
“Well, no use worrying too much about it until Seven and I wake up. That’s if you have no objections?” Raffi said, directing the last part to Seven.
“None.” Seven replied with a soft smile. Everyone else smiles as well and Picard mouthed ‘Thank you’ when Raffi glanced in his direction.
“Okay, so we know when they will wake up. What’s the plan after that and what about the rest of us?” asked Rios. Everyone turned to Q at this.
“Well, for obvious reasons, I won’t be able to tell you what events can be changed and what Ripples they will have until shortly before they’ll happen. There will also be events that cannot be interfered with no matter how much you want to.” Q said to Seven and Raffi. They all nodded reluctantly having already figured that to be the case. “As for the rest of you, you will still be waking up at different times though they won’t be until after the ban. Captain Rios will wake up on the USS ibn Majid a week before the encounter with Beautiful Flower and Jana. This will allow time to figure out how to save them and Captain Vandermeer safely. Dr. Jurati will awaken two months after the ban which should minimize the Ripple effects. Ms. Asha will awaken two weeks before Dahj is killed. Elnor will awaken just before Picard recruits him. These times are the best times for you two to wake up.” Q explained. Everyone nodded in understanding. Seven then thought of something.
“What about Cap-..my mother? She’ll want to know how we know so much and how Raffi and I know each other. Plus, I won’t keep the truth about...about me from her. She deserves to know.” She inquired.
“You tell her the truth and inform her that there will be some events you can’t interfere with or tell her about. I know Aunt Kathy won’t like it but she knows the danger Temporal Ripples have the potential to be. She shouldn’t put up much of a fight. As for your parentage, I would never ask nor force you to keep it from her.” Q replied. Seven let out a sigh of relief at that which caused Q to chuckle a bit. “Don’t worry. I won’t leave you to face Aunt Kathy’s wrath like that.”
“No but you would leave me in the dust if it involved a prank.” Seven quibbed.
“Yup! Every being for themselves.” Q responded with a big grin. Everyone laughed at the two of them happy to see Seven relaxing a bit.
“So, when do we leave?” Elnor asked.
“Now.” Q said and they all vanished in a flash.