Previously
on Star Trek: Dauntless:
The
cosmic mischief-maker Q returns
to the Dauntless, where he tries to
force the ship’s Chief of Security, Lt Commander K’danz
to apologize for some past perceived slight.
When she refuses and demands he leave, he takes the rejection personally
and tortures K’danz until she challenges the
omnipotent being to a game of Phaser-Tag, winner to
get their demand.
Despite
Fleet Captain Koester’s objections, and with him acting as an impartial
referee, the pair take over a holodeck
and begin their challenge.
And now, the conclusion...
Lt
Commander K’danz stood firmly at the control panel,
which directed the members of her team.
In the distance, K’danz observed a
shuttlecraft approaching.
“That’s
odd.” K’danz
stated to herself. “I would think that Q would be more sly
than that.”
K’danz watched two teams members exit the
shuttlecraft. They appeared to be of the
Zalkonian race, humanoid with very distinct facial
features. K’danz
then issued a command to her team members waiting quietly in the brush to fire phasers at the two newcomers. Within seconds, both Zalkonians
fell unconscious.
Despite
the victory, K’danz felt as if it was an empty
one. Q
was making this way too easy. A silkily
annoying voice filled the air around her.
“Pleased
at how easily you are winning my dear?” Q asked
K’danz continued to watch her control panel, not wanting to
be distracted by Q’s nonsense. Another shuttle was approaching the game
area, however K’danz noticed that the shuttle was not
preparing to land. Instead, the shuttle
took an evasive position, bearing down on the coordinates which K’danz’s team had been positioned. Before K’danz had a chance warn her team members, a bright red beam came
blazing down from the shuttlecraft.
Three of K’danz’s team members had been taken
out.
K’danz smacked the control panel. “This is ridiculous! I should have seen that one coming for a
mile.”
Another
fire warning was alarming on K’danz’s control
panel. K’danz
looked up in time to see that the shuttle was taking another aim, however this
time it wasn’t on a team member. K’danz jumped from the control panel as a red beam struck
the entire board. The board went up in
an impressive fireball, sending pieces of the panel everywhere. K’danz crawled to a
near by rocky area that provided some shelter from the shuttle’s assault.
“Well,
so much for fair,” stated K’danz as she watched the
scorched panel pieces rain down around her.
Space, the Final Frontier…
These are the voyages of the
starship Dauntless!
Its ongoing mission;
To seek, to
chart, to explore…
Slipping the surly bonds of Earth,
Going where none have been before!
Star
Trek: Dauntless
“Q Story - Part 2” By Carrie Lynn Jacobs
Fleet
“Commodore,
message from Admiral Arrh, by way of the USS Nautilus,” stated Lt Commander
Phillip Winters. “Shall I patch it
through to your ready room?”
“Please
do, Commander,” confirmed Koester as he hurried to his ready room. “Just what I need now,” he thought to himself
as he sat down in his chair and entered the security code. The distinguished round face of Admiral Arrh appeared on Koester’s desktop view screen.
“Pete,
you’re looking a bit haggard. Don’t tell
me Starfleet is going to have to promote you again?” The Admiral’s eyes
twinkled as he leaned back in his chair to await Koester’s reply.
Koester
sighed to himself. If only Admiral Arrh knew. “War
never looks good on anybody, sir.”
The
Admiral’s playful smile disappeared and was replaced by a serious look. As the Tellerite
Admiral took a deep breath.
“Pete,
the Dominion forces are gaining a foot hold.
The Cardassians have captured Pellios Minor.”
Koester
closed his eyes, remembering the words of another Captain, and close friend…we’re losing the peace. Koester then brought his focus back to
the Admiral.
“Does
Starfleet expect to send a fleet from Deep
Space Nine to drive them back?”
The
Admiral’s expression became grave. “Starfleet
doesn’t want to risk a counterattack at this time. The sector is now swarming with Jem’Hadar attack ships.”
Koester’s
gaze remained on the Admiral. “I
understand that the large Dominion shipyard at Torros
Three has been destroyed. That should
slow them down a little.”
“Unfortunately,
it is going to take more than that. I
need the Dauntless to remain on
stand-by in the event that the Dominion attempts to push further into
Federation territory. I will be in touch.
Keep yourself safe, Fleet Captain.”
The image of Admiral Arrh faded from the view
screen.
* * *
Commander
K’danz fired several shots at the shuttlecraft with
her handheld phaser.
The tactically placed shots were not having any effect.
“Figures! Leave it up
to Q to give himself
an advantage.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Is that the sound of a poor loser?” came Q’s response.
K’danz could feel her cheeks warm with anger. “Q!
If you do not restore my control panel, I will…”
“You’ll
do what?” came the thundering
interruption. K’danz
sunk lower into her shelter, knowing full well that it is impossible to hide
from a creature with limitless powers.
But then, she wasn’t even thinking clearly. No one in his or her right mind threatens an omnipotent being.
“Really,
this is becoming quite dull. Let’s spice
it up a little.”
Before
K’danz had a chance to respond to Q’s comment, a bright light transported K’danz to a shuttlecraft.
K’danz looked around and was suddenly caught
off guard by the view outside the shuttle.
It was the Dauntless. K’danz was unsure
if she was still in the holodeck or actually outside
the starship. She quickly sat in the
pilot’s seat and opened a hailing frequency.
“
“Tarsus
IV, this is Dauntless,” replied
Lt Commander Winters. “Commander, you
never received a clearance to launch.
What is your current position?”
“Commander,
I assure you I did not arrive here of my own free will. Request permission to land.”
Upon
hearing the exchange over communications, Koester ran out of his ready room,
his expression filled with anger.
“Transporter Room.
Lock on to the Tarsus IV and
beam it directly to the shuttle bay,” Koester ordered as he started toward the turbolift doors.
“Commodore,
transporter controls not responding,” reported Transporter Chief Daniels
hurried reply. “Manual controls are not
functioning either.”
Koester
turned, facing the view screen, which held the image of the Type-8 shuttlecraft
Tarsus IV.
“Commodore, receiving a priority message from Starfleet Command. It’s Admiral Arrh
again,” reported Winters as he turned toward Koester,
awaiting his reply.
“Send
it to my ready room, Commander.” Koester
then walked with a quick pace through the doors. However, as the doors parted, he noticed a
very inebriated Ensign Wallace sitting in his chair with a half naked female Andorian on his lap.
“Ensign! What is the
meaning of this?” asked Koester agast, wondering to himself how Wallace and his…friend had gotten into the ready
room.
The
Andorian giggled and slipped off the Ensign’s lap as
the man attempted to snap to attention.
The maneuver failed and he fell flat on his face. Wallace then scurried up and attempted to
walk out of the ready room, apologizing as he went.
“Forgive
me, Captain Commodore, sir, but I thought that the entire snip…I mean…ship was
allowed a little R & R. At least,
that is what Admiral Cue, pew…stated.”
“Ensign,
I want you to report to Sickbay immediately.
After that, you are confined to quarters until further notice. Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal, sir.”
Wallace then turned and attempted to head for the doors, however was
clearly unable to move another step. The
Scottish Ensign quickly passed out
Koester
hurried over to his desk and turned on his communications screen. A very annoyed Admiral Arrh
filled the screen.
“Your
response took longer than I had anticipated.
I hope I am not interrupting anything.”
A
brief image of his hands around the Q
entity’s neck appeared in Koester’s mind before he responded to the
Admiral. “We are keeping busy sir.”
“Fleet
Captain, I need the Dauntless to head
toward Starbase 359 right away. Details will be established once you have
arrived.”
“Sir,
I have a small dilemma on my hands at this time. It appears the omnipotent being known as Q has somewhat... uh... commondeered the Dauntless
for his…amusement.”
The
Admiral’s face turned into a hardened scowl.
“Fleet
Captain Koester, we are at war with the Dominion. A war that is not in our
favor at this moment. Whatever it
takes, resolve your situation and get to Starbase 359. If you are not there
by 1300 tomorrow, I’ll send the
“The
Dauntless will be there sir.”
The
connection was severed. Koester then
turned his attention to Wallace, who was snoring quietly on the floor. The Andorian was
nowhere to be found.
“Koester to Sickbay. I need two medics to report to my ready
room.”
Moments
later, the medics arrived, followed closely by Dr. Q, who gave Koester an ‘I
told you so’ expression. But before
she could speak, Commander Kane walked into the ready room as well, looking at
the still form of Wallace with a puzzled expression on his face.
“What
can I do for you, Exec?” asked Koester as Q
and the medics loaded Wallace onto an antigrav gurney
and pushed him out of the room.
“Sir,
we have been getting reports from all over the ship in regards to crew members
leaving their posts to… uh... party.”
“This
has to be one of Q’s little games.” At Kane’s puzzled expression, Koester
clarified, “The entity Q, not our
Chief Medical Officer. And this game is
going to end immediately. We have been
instructed to proceed to Starbase 359 to be briefed on the next strike
against the Dominion. What is the status
of the Tarsus IV?”
“We
have not been able to establish communication with Commander K’danz,
however Lt Johnson has been working on a way to restore control to the
transporter.”
Koester
nodded his approval, walking toward the doors with Kane following closely
behind.
* * *
K’danz sat at the helm of the Tarsus IV, attempting to re-establish communication with the Dauntless, when suddenly there was a
flash of light.
“You
have lost my dear. Save what human
dignity you have left and surrender.”
K’danz spun around in her chair to face her annoying
adversary, who leveled a large phaser rifle toward
her chest.
“Q, once again you have proven that you
cannot follow the rules. Thus, our
little agreement is null and void. Return
me to the Dauntless.”
Q shook his head at K’danz.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. I have hardly
broken any rules. I find it unusual for
you to be such a poor loser. I would
have thought better of you?”
“Q, by leaving the game area and
transporting me out, you broke the rules.”
However, K’danz’s words appeared to have
fallen on deaf ears. Q started to pick lint off his immitation Admiral’s uniform and nonchalantly flick them
aside.
“Q! You are not listening to me!” stated K’danz, her voice raised in frustration.
The
entity looked over at K’danz, his glare
challenging. Another
flash.
K’danz was now sitting in the captain’s ready room, across
then desk from a very irritated Commanding Officer. Q
was sitting on the couch in a Hawaiian shirt, sipping a drink from a coconut
glass decked out with an umbrella.
“Q!
What is the meaning of this?” came Koester’s
angry sigh.
Q stood up and removed his sunglasses.
“Really,
mon Capitan, you shouldn’t stress yourself out so
much.”
Koester
walked out from behind his desk and approached the reclining superbeing.
“Q, for the last six hours, you have had
my crew in disarray trying to rescue K’danz when we’re
supposed to be on our way to Starbase 359! I’ve had it!
I want you to restore everything to normal!”
Q rolled his eyes
“Really,
you humans are getting quite boring. Get
off my ship Q. Go play with the Romulans
Q.
Restore everything to normal Q. I’m getting quite tired of it all.” Q
then walked over to where K’danz was seated, and
folded his arms in front of him.
“Do
not blame me, mon Capitan. I was only playing the game to K’danz’s standards.”
K’danz was no longer able to remain silent. The Commander jumped to her feet.
“Commodore,
I assure you that is not the case. Q has clearly broken the rules of the
game, thus I have won.”
Q huffed. “Oh, really? I took the definition of what is fair from
your own puny human brain. As long as no
one was hurt, it was acceptable.”
K’danz’s face began to redden.
“Q, you cheated. Plain and simple. Besides, you did not successfully capture me.”
“My
dear, of course I did. I kept you in a
shuttle craft for over six hours.”
“You
were not supposed to leave the holodeck, yet you
did. You cheated!” stated K’danz as she stomped around the ready room.
“Correct
me if I am wrong, but so did you,” Q
pointed out.
“What?!?”
“You
left the holodeck as well. Before I did, in fact.”
K’danz was about to burst.
“Q! You transported me out of the holodeck. I had no
choice!”
Koester
held up his hands. “Uh... Excuse me…”
Q and K’danz
ignored the Commodore.
“And
how am I going to prevent you from transporting me from one place to another
when you insist on bending the rules?” K’danz
continued.
“I
said, excuse me,” interrupted Koester, still ignored.
“Hmmmm, I see your point.
Oh well, too bad. You lose,” said
Q.
K’danz reached for a pillow from the couch and launched it
across the room at Q, half startling
the omnipotent being. He disappeared in
a flash moments before the pillow hit the couch where he had been lounging,
reappearing standing next to K’danz.
“How rude!”
“You
cheated!”
“Excuse me!” bellowed Koester.
Both
combatants shut up and looked at the Commodore, who stood and adjusted his
uniform.
“Despite
the fact that I strongly disagreed with this little…game, I seem to recall that
I was the one who was appointed as referee.”
“Really,
Pete, you do not need to be so judgmental.
Your services are not necessary.”
“But,
I won!” blurted K’danz.
“Oh
stop your babbling,” snarled Q.
“Stop
acting like children! Both
of you! It is my decision who
will be declared the winner of this game.”
“Me,
of course,” stated Q.
Commodore
Koester shook his head. “No.”
K’danz practically jumped for joy.
“Cheaters
never win, Q.”
“Not you either, Commander.”
Q and K’danz
both looked at Koester with a confused look.
“It
is my decision that both of you are losers. Now Q... Get off my ship!!”
Q looked at K’danz
and then back at Koester.
“Really,
mon Capitan, you sure know how to ruin everyone’s
fun.”
“Q,” Koester snarled menacingly.
“Yes,
I know. It is time for me to leave. For now…” Q
then gave a wink to K’danz before disappearing in a
flash of light. The Commodore then
turned to address K’danz.
“Commander,
I understand that it is difficult to deal with a being such as Q,” he said, then mumbled just under his
breath to himself, “Believe me, I understand.”
He then took a step closer to his Security Chief and added, “However, it
is time that I put my foot down. I am
suspending you from duty and confining you to quarters for the next 72
hours. If your record remains clean for
6 months, I will delete the suspension from your record. Do I make myself clear?”
K’danz shook her head, followed by a shaky, “Yes, sir.”
“Very well. Dismissed.”
* * *
Three
Days Later...
K’danz walked over to an overstuffed chair and sat down
with a mug of hot chocolate with mini marshmellons,
reviewing the latest news on the war front.
A chime sounded at the door.
“Come.”
The
door opened to reveal Commodore Koester.
“Good evening,” he said. “I hope
I am not interrupting.”
K’danz jumped to her feet.
“Not at all, sir. Dar just left for his engineering watch a few
minutes ago. Please come in. Can I get you something to drink?”
“No,
I’m fine.”
K’danz then gestured for the Commodore to sit down.
“Commander,
I do not mean to pry into your personal life, but I am concerned about what
this little game that you and Q participated
in is really about. You and I have been
friends as well as shipmates for years.
I’m concerned about you.”
K’danz smiled. “He
wanted me to go back with him. Another addition to his …collection.”
The
Commodore raised his eyebrow at K’danz, but it became
apparent she would not explain any further.
Yet.
“Commodore,”
K’danz said, expertly changing the subject. “I believe my confinement ended a half hour
ago. Would you be up for a game of three
dimensional chess?”
The
Commodore got up from his seat. “After
all that has happened, I’m surprised you’re in the mood for a game. But I hope you are in a mood to lose. I’m a pretty good chess player.”
K’danz laughed, catching up to the Commodore as he strolled
out the door.
The
End
Return to 2375.
Return to Stories Archive.