DISCLAIMER: The characters belong to Paramount. A The story belongs to Helena (with regards to William Shakespeare).
A Midsummer Night's Trek Episode
By Helena
Captain Janeway leaned back in her ready-room chair and considered the PADD on her lap. She looked up at a patient Chakotay, who stood with his hands behind his back, clearly suppressing a smile. Janeway's eyes returned to the PADD.
"A ship theatrical production?" she rolled the words around in her mouth.
"Well, Neelix has been trying to drum up a few volunteers, and it seems a number of crew members are interested." Chakotay rocked back onto his heels, awaiting a response.
Janeway set down the PADD and casually gestured at the air, "If it doesn't interfere with anyone's duty shifts, then by all means Mr. Neelix may have his show."
"There's one other thing, actually." Chakotay interjected, "Neelix was looking for a director, and I thought you might give him a hand."
"Me?" Janeway paused, flattered, yet leery. She had of course played in one or two Academy productions, but... "No, Commander. I'm sorry, the offer is tempting, but..." suddenly light came to her eyes, "Commander, why not you?"
"Captain, I..." "Come now, Chakotay, I hear you were quite the dramatic. Take a shot at it."
"Well, captain, if you insist." He blushed, obviously pleased at this turn of events, "I'll go right ahead and tell Neelix, then."
Janeway stood and smiled, noting the bounce in his step as he left the ready room. She sighed and slowly turned back toward her desk. Suddenly there was a brilliant white flash before her, and she froze with alarm.
"Kathryn, Kathryn, Kathryn." drooled an all too familiar voice.
"Q" she growled. He lay on her desk, with his head propped up with one arm. Kathryn Janeway could stand her ground against Kazon, Borg and a host of horrifying, fearsome beings, but nothing unnerved her more than the creature now stretched out on her desk.
"Why greet me with such disdain?" he sat up, dangling his legs over the desk. Janeway looked at him, glared at him. He was dressed again in a Starfleet uniform, making an unforgivable mockery of everything she stood for. Oh but that was always his game: Make a mockery of captain and crew, play with planets and starships as if in a game of cosmic pinball.
"I'm only here to say a pleasant hello." he leaned forward and hopped off the desk. She stood absolutely still and sullen as he circled her. "Kathryn, come now, not a pleasant word for an old friend?"
"There is nothing friendly about our relationship." she spat.
"Our relationship! Ah, yes, I was coming to that." This was the part she hated. This was the part when she discovered what that omnipotent devil was up to this time. "Kathryn, I'm a family man now, and as much as it pains you, we simply can't be as intimate as we once were. However, the Q Continuum is running quite nicely thanks to your timely help, and we wish to return the favor."
"I don't need any favors from you." She was straining to keep from decking him, not that it would have done her any good.
He moved close enough to whisper in her ear, "Oh yes you do. Think, Kathryn, think what the powers of a Q could do for you." he moved to her other ear, "I could make that dashing Michael Sullivan real, I could demolish whatever measly enemy lies in your path, I could even send you home." His voice had become very soft and seductive, and his breath was sickly sweet on her ear. For a moment, she almost believed... She quickly snapped back into reality.
"Q, I'm tired of your games, I'm tired of your deceptions. And I have no time for your puckish attitude!" she roared.
Q merely shook his head. He tapped his finger to his lips in thought, dangerous thought, Janeway guessed. "I offer you a gift, and you refuse. I offer my humble services, and you still treat me with discourtesy. Puckish, am I? Well, we shall see." He lowered his eyes with a foreboding stare, hopped back onto the table, snapped his fingers, and disappeared.
"Janeway to Tuvok."
"Yes, captain?"
"I've just had an encounter with Q, I'm afraid it didn't go very well. I want you to be on the look out for anything out of the ordinary."
"Understood."
* * * * * * * * *
Neelix was stacking dishes, and quietly humming to himself when Chakotay bounced into the mess hall.
"Good news, Neelix!" he grinned, "The captain approves. We can begin rehearsal whenever you like." He leaned over the counter and gave Neelix another winning smile.
Neelix clapped his hands together with glee, oblivious to the tray he had dropped on his foot. Then his chin began to quiver slightly with worry, "But who will direct?"
"I will!" boasted Chakotay, opening his arms wide, "Now, what play did you have in mind?"
Neelix ducked under the counter, searching for something among his many cooking utensils. "Well, it's an adaptation of an old Talaxian fable, Arlex and the...that's funny..."
"What is?"
Neelix popped up from behind the counter, "A moment ago, I had the PADD right here, but now there are these...books." He placed them on the table, they were yellowed, dog-eared copies of something called Pyramus & Thisbe.
Before either could fathom the cause of this mystery, two ensigns shouted from a corner of the mess hall. The table they shared had sprouted leaves and was growing from the floor. On the other side of the room, two crewmen had sprouted iridescent wings and were slowly rising off of the floor. All present in the mess hall stood in horror as vines, trees and flowers sprung from every corner of the room, and as innocent bystanders were suddenly transformed into fairy-like creatures. Chakotay did the only thing he knew to do: "Chakotay to bridge..." But the comm system was down.
* * * * * * * * *
Tom and Seven were busily calculating the ship's new trajectory in astrometrics, unaware of the turmoil in the mess hall, and seemingly unaware of each other's presence. Tom's "inefficiency," and Seven's constant disapproval had caused both to remain silent since 1500 hours. The Doctor entered uneventfully, he, too was oblivious to the current situation. What no soul on the ship knew was that Q had his mischievous eye on astrometrics at that very moment, observing the interactions of those drab forms as they went about their work.
"Here are the reports you asked for, Seven." the Doctor gestured with the PADD, and Seven took it without even lifting her eyes to meet the Doctor's. "Tom, I hope B'Elanna is feeling better after that ankle injury. Tell her I want to see her and run some final scans to see that she hasn't put any additional stress on it."
"Will do, Doc." Tom didn't look up either, he seemed to be engrossed in his console. The Doctor, feeling quite useless by this time, shrugged and left the room.
Tom momentarily stopped his work to look at Seven. She continued to input data on nebulae, planetoids, and pulsars as if the Doctor had never entered the room. But in that moment when he gave her the PADD...hadn't he seen her blush?
"Why don't you ever say anything to him?"
Seven turned toward him quizzically. "Specify. The Doctor's actions did not require a response. I do, however, engage the Doctor in conversation when appropriate."
Tom eased toward her, abandoning his work momentarily. Was he going to pass up a chance to see a crewmate try to deny their affections for another? Of course not! "You obviously have a crush on him."
"You are referring to romantic attraction? A topic irrelevant to our work. We would increase efficiency by refraining from extraneous discussion." She gave him one sharp look, and returned to her work.
"Whoa, Seven, getting a little defensive there?" Tom smirked. This was priceless.
"What feelings I have for the Doctor are not your concern."
"But don't you wish..."
"Wish fulfillment is irrelevant. Since the time that you and Lieutenant Torres became intimate, you have been projecting your own emotions onto others, insisting that crew members be partnered, as you yourselves are."
"Just some harmless matchmaking, Seven, it's not assimilation."
She stepped toward him. "A form of assimilation, yes. You wish others to think as you do. I find this "matchmaking" highly distasteful."
"Hey, you know Doc only has eyes for you." Tom coaxed, attempting to steer the conversation away from himself and B'Elanna.
"He has been making advances toward Lieutenant Torres."
Tom laughed, actually pondered the possibility for a moment, dismissed it, and laughed again. "He's worried about her ankle!"
Seven looked at him coolly for a moment, and turned away. All Tom could do was drop his hands at his sides, and sigh at the notion that he and B'Elanna were the only truly happy and fulfilled people on the whole ship.
* * * * * * * * *
Q appeared with a flash in a vacant corridor. He dramatically swooned and spoke, to no one but himself, "Oh fair maiden, you pine away after he who pays you no heed." A smile crept across his lips, "Well, what are the powers of a Q for but to bring wonder and mirth to poor pitiful humanoids?" He chuckled at his own private little joke, and quickly disappeared.
He reappeared at the foot of Naomi Wildman's bed. The little girl awoke, and gasped upon seeing a strange man in her quarters. She punched the comm badge lying next to her bed. "Crewman Wildman to bridge, intruder alert, intruder alert! Crewman Wildman to bridge!"
"Naomi, now..." Q attempted reason, but when the little girl did not cease her squealing, he snapped his fingers and Naomi sat upright in bed, unable to move a muscle, her mouth still open in a half-scream.
"There, that's much better. Now Naomi, we're going to play a little game. I want you to put a few drops of juice from this flower on a certain person's eyes." He held out his hand and a little purple flower appeared in it. "Of course, this game won't be any fun if you have a guilty conscience about it, so I'm giving you the privilege of not remembering a thing about anyone or anything on this ship, only what I tell you. Do you understand?" Naomi still sat frozen until Q waved his index finger up and down, which she followed with her head in a comatose nod. "Good. Oh, and one more thing." He waved two fingers in the air, and Naomi came back to life. He placed the little flower in her hand, and she studied it for a moment. She then giggled into her hand, waved two fingers, and disappeared.
* * * * * * * * *
Janeway stormed onto the bridge. "Comm systems are down?" she snapped as she stalked to her chair.
"Yes, as are internal sensors." Tuvok added.
Janeway crossed her legs and grumbled, "What is he up to?"
"Wouldn't you love to know?" The man at the helm turned in his chair, not the helmsman, of course, but Q.
Janeway rose, seething with anger. "Get off of my ship." she growled.
"Kathryn," he simpered, "you have so little entertainment in your life, don't you want to see how this all works out?"
"I want you off of my ship." she repeated, articulating each word with dead accuracy.
"You know you're beautiful when you're angry." Q paused to watch Janeway's face turn from red to near purple, "But you know..." He snapped his fingers, and Janeway's uniform was transformed into a sparkling blue gown, trimmed in gold, and her sharply cut hair changed into soft curls around her face. "You look ravishing in that, my queen." Before she could speak, he stood and kissed her hand. Then he promptly vanished.
* * * * * * * * *
Chakotay surveyed the now quiet mess hall. The gray carpet was now a grassy field. Tables and chairs had become shrubs and trees. In fact, there was nothing left of the room's former appearance, every inch of the mess hall was covered in green leaves or fushia flower petals. Officers sat under trees, too shocked and frightened to speak. The chaos caused by the transformation had exhausted everyone. Chakotay visited the clusters of crewmen, giving them words of comfort. He especially tried to calm those who had just discovered wings protruding from their shoulders. He was also in search of the door, if it was still there under all the overgrowth. With all this weighing on his mind, Chakotay had no time to consider the cause of the transformation, or if it had affected any other part of the ship. He could only hope that the Captain had learned of their predicament and was trying to help. Lost in thought and worry, Chakotay rounded a tree and tripped over what appeared to be a small furry animal curled up into a ball.
"Mr. Neelix?" He crouched down and shook the chef's shoulders.
Neelix looked up at Chakotay with terror in his eyes. "What's happening to me?"
Chakotay looked more closely at the frightened Talaxian, and saw two long brown ears flanking his usual mohawk. Taken aback by the discovery, Chakotay chose not to answer Neelix, and patted his shoulder instead. "We'll get you to sickbay. We're trying to find a way out of here."
At that moment, an ensign called the commander to the other side of the forest/room. "Commander, you should see this." She pulled away a knot of vines to reveal a familiar gray panel. Another ensign pried this off and revealed the dim electric glow of a jeffries tube.
Chakotay addressed the room, "Pearson, Rosano, you're with me. We're going to try to reach the bridge. The rest of you, stay where you are and try to contact the rest of the ship." Chakotay crawled into the tube, and two young ensigns followed. Once they were all inside, the panel was mysteriously re-covered by vines. Though the crew scurried to remove them, the jeffries tube entrance had seemingly disappeared.
* * * * * * * * *
Just as Tom was formulating another strategy to set up Doc and Seven, the Doctor himself rushed into astrometrics.
"Tom, Seven! The comm system is down, my holomatrix is destabilizing, and Lieutenant Torres is nowhere to be found!" He had a look of horror on his face such as Tom had never seen.
"Calm down, Doc." He punched a few keys on the console, to no avail.
Seven had noticed the Doctor's image sputtering, and quickly began tinkering with his mobile emitter. "If only B'Elanna were here, she'd know what to do." he moaned. Seven gave Tom a disgusted look as if to say, "I told you so" and returned to the emitter.
Without warning, a green gas began wafting through the ventilation ducts.
"What is that!?" Tom croaked, as he choked on the sickening air. Seven, too had been overcome by a coughing fit, and she fell to the floor.
Within the thick smog, the Doctor's image fizzled, and stabilized. He smiled, "Well that's one thing fixed." But when he noticed the green gas filling the room, his expression darkened, and even more so when he began to choke on its stench. "This isn't possible," he coughed, "I'm a hologram!"
* * * * * * * * *
Captain Janeway, still dressed in the pale blue twinkling gown, and still grinding her teeth in anger, stood with hands on hips in the middle of her bridge. This was more difficult than usual due to the size of her puffed sleeves and length of her gold-trimmed train. But none of the officers dared laugh. "Alright. I've had enough of these games. Ensign Kim, I want you to tell me what was last picked up by the internal sensors."
Harry fiddled with the console a moment, and then looked up, barely managing to keep a straight face, "An energy surge in the mess hall, Captain, a few minutes ago."
"Kim, you're with me. Tuvok, you have the bridge. We're going to get to the bottom of this." She quickly exited the bridge, aware that her purpose in this mission was somewhat influenced by her desire to escape the humiliation of being seen in this horrid costume. Harry followed his captain dutifully, but holding back a snicker.
* * * * * * * * *
The green gas had cleared from astrometrics, but Seven, the Doctor and Tom lay unconscious on the floor. There was a flash above them, and Naomi Wildman appeared, still clutching the purple flower. She recalled Q's instructions: "Squeeze the juice of the flower onto the eyes of the pale balding man, the very bland one, and be sure that the next thing he sees will be the...well...the very attractive female."
Naomi surveyed the three bodies at her feet. Well, that of course was the female Q mentioned, but what about the male? There appeared to be two human, balding, blandly colored males in front of her. Unable to choose between them, she simply sprinkled the juice on the eyes of both, and vanished.
Seven of Nine slowly began to regain consciousness. She scrambled to her feet and pulled out a tricorder, which wasn't functioning at all. Seven was becoming increasingly frustrated with all the malfunctions when Tom awoke. She helped him to his feet and returned to her usual upright pose. "Assist me." she demanded.
Tom looked up at her in a kind of defenseless awe that made Seven quite uncomfortable. "Of course," he whimpered, "I'll do anything for you, Seven. Recheck the sensor logs, catalog planetoids, clean your sonic shower...I am your slave, Seven."
Seven took in a deep breath, "I do not find this sarcasm amusing, Mr. Paris."
Tom took her hand and gazed at her with a loving, yet somehow vacant stare. "Don't you know I love you, Seven."
She pulled her hand away and looked at him in total shock. "Mr. Paris, I fail to see the humor in this display. This is a serious situation. We must contact Captain Janeway."
Her voice had risen in volume, and the Doctor awoke to its sound. "Is that you my love? My fairest?" he crooned. He got to his feet and knelt again at seeing Seven. "Oh, Seven! Angelic, brilliant, divine Seven! I humbly confess my undying love for you, oh, goddess!"
Seven was now looking from Tom to the Doctor in disbelief. "Lieutenant Paris! Doctor! I demand that you call of this rouse!"
Before she could speak another word, B'Elanna entered astrometrics and ran straight to Tom. "Oh, Tom, I was so worried!" She embraced him, "Internal sensors were down, but I heard there was a leak in astrometrics and..."
Tom shoved her away forcefully, "Get off of me!" She fell to the ground, and he spit "petaQ!" under his breath.
B'Elanna struggled to her feet. "What did you just call me?" she demanded.
"Lieutenant Torres, tell the Doctor and Mr. Paris to cease this derision immediately." Seven snapped, stepping between Tom and B'Elanna, and away from the Doctor, who was still trying to grovel at her feet.
"I don't know what you're talking about." B'Elanna seethed.
"You have used your influence over both Mr. Paris and the Doctor to convince them to join together and mock me." Seven's voice rose and nearly cracked.
"You're sick, Seven. I have nothing to do with this. You should be the one explaining what you did to Tom! Did you stick a few nanoprobes in him? Were you just that jealous? Were you too much of a coward to get a man by yourself?"
"Jealousy is irrelevant. And Borg do not posses cowardice." Seven didn't move as B'Elanna turned red and gulped huge breaths of air. She cooly added, "I find it is weak trait quite common among humanoid races."
"So help me I'll..." B'Elanna's rage boiled over and she lunged at Seven, only to be tackled by the Doctor and Tom.
"I doubt she has the height or muscular capacity to inflict serious injury." Seven spat.
B'Elanna was now pulling to her feet again, with Tom and the Doctor restraining her on each side. "So, that's what this is? Just because you walk around in bodysuits and stilettos doesn't make you goddess of the Delta Quadrant." Seven's gaze grew sharper, but B'Elanna continued, "So, I'm small? How small am I, Seven? I'm not so small that I can't tear out your eyes!" She screamed in total Klingon rage, but was unable to break free from the two men holding her down.
Seven's eyes now showed some fear at the fiery Klingon before her. "You're e quick reflexes may be advantageous in a fight, but my tall stature allows an efficient retreat!" And with that, she sprinted out the door, pursued by Tom and the Doctor.
B'Elanna slumped to the floor in the middle of astrometrics. She looked at the deserted room, mumbling, "I don't know what to say..."
* * * * * * * * *
Harry and the captain had reached the door to the mess hall, Harry punched a few buttons to open the door, which budged only slightly. "We have to open it manually." Both struggled to pry open the door, and, that accomplished, they stared in awe and in horror at the sight just beyond its threshold. They pushed aside vines and leaves and found themselves in the middle of the mess hall/enchanted forest. They heard a sound behind them, and turned, only to see their only means of exit vanish under newly sprouted vines.
A few crewmembers had noticed the arrival of their captain, and scurried over to her, expecting some sort of guidance. Mr. Neelix was alerted to their presence only when Captain Janeway began to speak. "Now everyone, please calm down. There is nothing to worry about as long as everyone follows orders."
"Captain, Captain!" Neelix puffed, running into the middle of the group clustered around Captain Janeway, "Some of the crew needs medical attention, including myself."
Janeway looked Neelix over, and gasped at the gigantic brown ears. Then, from out of nowhere, Q popped up from behind him, shaking his head and grinning his most mischievous grin. Before Janeway could say or do anything, he snapped his fingers, paused, then waved them and disappeared.
Janeway felt dizzy for a moment, and her vision blurred. When she awoke, she saw those worried eyes, that trembling chin, those huge brown ears, and instantly fell in love.
Mr. Neelix helped his captain to her feet, asking, "Are you alright?"
"Yes, Mr. Neelix, I'm fine. But how are you?" she replied, gazing at him in a way which made Neelix quite uncomfortable. "Come, sit down over here. We don't talk enough, Neelix. I don't feel like I know you as well as I'd like to." She spread her gown around her and sat down under one of the trees.
"Captain, shouldn't we be trying to find a way out of here?" Neelix was now quite frightened of the captain's new tone of voice toward him and desperately tried to free himself from her grasp on his arm.
"Sit down, Mr. Neelix, that's an order!" she growled. So he sat. Janeway once again returned to her oddly relaxed tone, "Ensign Kim, would you get Mr. Neelix some coffee, with perhaps, some leola root stirred in?"
"Captain?" Harry questioned, but it took only one threatening glare to get him on his feet and searching for Neelix's cooking supplies.
Captain Janeway began stroking Neelix's ears. "Now, relax, and tell me all about your favorite recipes." she purred.
Neelix tried to ward off her advances, but when he tried to speak, all that came out was "Hee-Haw!"
"Oh yes, that's fascinating, Neelix." Janeway was now trying to coax the terrified chef to put his head on her lap.
Harry was about to report that all of Neelix's kitchen had vanished and there was no leola root in sight, but he saw her concentration was elsewhere. So he simply shut his eyes tightly and walked away, hoping he really hadn't seen what he thought he saw.
* * * * * * * * *
Seven ran all the way to sickbay, where she tripped and fell flat on her face on the floor. A few moments later, Tom and the Doctor burst in, immediately rushing to her aid. Tom lifted her onto a bed and the Doctor hurried around scanning her with tricorders, insisting on a full examination as Tom tried in vain to do the same. Seven protested severely, but could not seem to escape the two hormone driven men.
In all this confusion, no one noticed Q and his young protegee, Naomi, appear behind the Doctor's desk. Q did not look at all pleased. "I give you one minuscule task, and you manage to ruin it entirely!" Naomi looked up at him, about to protest, but he cut her off. "No! Back to bed!" With a wave of his fingers, Naomi Wildman was once again sound asleep in her quarters, squeezing her Flotter doll and dreaming of someday becoming ship's counselor and making sure Neelix was never sad again.
Back in sickbay, Q pondered the situation, and concluded, "Well, if you want something done, you have to do it yourself." He snapped his fingers and Seven and the Doctor lay fast asleep on adjacent medical beds. Another snap and Tom and B'Elanna were lying on beds across the room. Satisfied with this conclusion, Q nodded at the sleeping couples. He paced the room chuckling at each of the sleeping forms. He stopped at Seven, whispering softly in her ear, "Lord, what fools these mortals be." He looked up, grinned, and waved himself out of the room.
* * * * * * * * *
Q reappeared behind a tree in the mess hall. Janeway and Neelix were engrossed in each other, and the rest of the crew was completely grossed out by the scene, so no one noticed his entrance.
Neelix's head (ears and all) now rested on Janeway's puffed skirt. Captain Janeway had evidently found some grapes, and was now dropping them one at a time into Neelix's mouth. "Now, sing to me." she crooned. Neelix, his mouth full of grapes, could do nothing but give out a muffled "Heehaw!" to which Janeway responded with tremendous praise.
Harry sat in a corner feeling sorry for himself, and for the silly pink wings now attached to his uniform.
Q's expression changed from glee to mild amusement to disgust. "This...this is just revolting!" He looked on with further horror as Janeway whispered something in Neelix's long ear and giggled. "Kathryn, reduced to this. Well, enough of this humiliation...for now." He finished in that foreboding tone that suggested he never would have enough of the Federation and their captains. But at present, he had seen quite enough of the giddy couple stretched out on the grassy floor of the mess hall. With a few snaps of his fingers, all the crew, across the ship, was fast asleep. Another snap and the foliage of the mess hall began to shrink, and then disappear to reveal the familiar gray furnishings of Neelix's kitchen and the crew's tables. Another snap and Janeway was back at her post - asleep, but back in uniform. One final snap, and everyone slowly began to wake up.
* * * * * * * *
Tom, B'Elanna, Seven and the Doctor all awoke at once, each couple safely out of sight of the other. Tom looked at B'Elanna with a very confused expression. "I know I've done something terrible, I just don't remember what it is."
"Tom, let it go." B'Elanna replied, in an uncharacteristically sympathetic tone.
And so they did. Upon realizing that they were both off duty for the next two hours, they hopped in the nearest turbo lift and recited "Deck Nine" in unison.
Seven and the Doctor sat facing each other. The Doctor had been waiting for a moment like this for months. A moment when he could say the one thing that had plagued his psyche for so long. And looking into her eyes right then, he knew that that moment had come.
"There's a new vocal duet I discovered on the database. If you're interested, I thought we could practice this evening when you're off duty."
He decided that there'd be other moments.
"Of course." Seven took a deep breath and began to exit sickbay.
"And perhaps afterward..." he began to call, but faltered.
"Yes?" she stopped.
"Perhaps...dinner?" he smiled, and slightly blushed.
"1900 hours." She added, "Don't be late." As the doors to sickbay closed behind her, Seven could not suppress the emotion that was now contorting her face into an even bigger grin than the Doctor's.
On the other side of the wall, Doc leaned back in his chair, kicked his feet up on the desk, and hummed something to himself.
* * * * * * * *
Chakotay burst onto the bridge, followed by two ensigns. Janeway put her hand to her forehead and groaned in pain. Chakotay rushed to her aid.
"Chakotay?" she whispered, only just now waking, along with the rest of the bridge. "What happened?"
He knelt at her side. "I...I don't really remember." He seemed surprised at himself, "Pearson, Rosano and I woke up in a jeffries tube. We got out at deck two and came right to the bridge."
"The bridge?" Now Janeway had finally opened her eyes, and she breathed a sigh of relief. "I had the strangest dream, Chakotay." she said, still whispering, "I dreamt that I was in love with Mr. Neelix."
Chakotay smiled mischievously, "Dreams often tell us things about ourselves that even we didn't know."
Janeway gave him a hard look, then shook her head and smiled. "Mr. Tuvok, status."
"All systems are functioning within normal parameters."
Janeway frowned at this. Certainly her strange dream and Chakotay's unusual entrance weren't coincidences? But suddenly there was a flash of light, and she had her answer.
Q stood on the bridge, hands on hips, clad in green tights, green leaves, and pointed green shoes. He seemed completely unembarrassed by his attire, and surveyed the crew with a gleeful smirk. He began to speak:
"If we shadows have offended,
Think but this and all is mended -
That you have but slumb'red here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend.
If you pardon, we will mend.
And, as I am honest Puck,
If we have unlearned luck
Now to scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call.
So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin will restore amends."
And with a wave of his fingers, he disappeared.
* * * * * * * * *
Captain Janeway merely stated in her captain's log that their encounter with Q had seemed to be more for his own amusement than to hinder their progress, as neither the ship nor the crew had been harmed in any way. However, in her personal log, Kathryn did recount her unusual dream, and that her chief medical officer had been late to duty shifts recently, and her chief consultant on all things efficient had been seen rushing into the ready room, late for a briefing, her hair and makeup looking quite rushed as well.
Neelix's play began auditions shortly after the Q incident. Neelix had changed his mind about the Talaxian folk tale, and chose instead an old Earth tragedy, Pyramus & Thisbe. He said it came to him in a dream.
*END*
E-Mail Helena at midsummerhelena@yahoo.com or e-mail me at LLROK@aol.com