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I think you'll live. [ still unafraid, kathryn reaches out to touch his muzzle, petting him as if he's transformed himself into a domesticated terran canine and not a vulcan wildcat. ]

The labs will likely have something you can use.

[ The fur is triple layered, but softer than it looks, interlocking as it does to resist the bitter ravages of Vulcan's sandstorms. Q indulges her, tilting his head into the curious touch. She isn't just proving her fearlessness; he can tell. ]

We can get their faster if you'll allow me to carry you. [ The same offer wouldn't stand for anyone else. ]

Edited 2013-12-28 02:04 (UTC)

[ she steps back, raising a curious eyebrow at his suggestion. they both known that she would be more content to walk and would stubbornly do so if this matter regarded her and her alone. but it doesn't, and while the captain refuses to make any sacrifices or exceptions for herself, she will for other people. so, for the sake of kirk and his crew, she relents to the offer, gesturing for him to couch or something, because she's not subjecting herself to mccoy after falling off a sehlat of all things. ]

Alright, fine. Let's get this over with.

[ That would definitely be a funny story to tell q when he got back... "Now let me tell you about the time that Aunty Kathy fell off a sehlat, and the sehlat was me."

He doesn't usually obey orders but perhaps this doesn't count, seeing as it was his suggestion in the first place. He lowers himself down to the ground, tilting his body slightly toward her, because despite lying down, the sehlat is still about the height of a small pony. ]

Grip the fur higher up, between the ears. These things can move surprisingly fast, you'll want to hold on tight.

[ that would raise the question as to what she was doing on a q-shaped sehlat in the first place, and she loathed to imagine what he might imply. but she does as instructed, once she gets herself onto his back, holding on to fistfuls of hair like she would a horse's mane. she feels like she's sitting astride one of them, having grown up around horses in indiana. all that's missing is the saddle. ]

Drop me and you won't get a chance to call in this favor.

[ He could have made a saddle but that would ruin the fun. Besides, he knows that she knows what she's doing, and he eases back to his feet, flexing the creature's great muscles before picking up into a trot, retaining the three beat lurching gait until he was sure Janeway had gained both confidence and balance.

Under the wide stride of the sehlat, the distance between the fountain and the laboratory all but disappears. It's brisk, refreshing, exhilarating, but Janeway's buzz of urgency and concern adds a different note to the experience. It's palpable just how important it is to find Spock, and for once it's a feeling, not a deduction. ]

[ the urgency isn't entirely her own. she's acting in kirk's best interest at the moment, though her gut tells her that they'll find nothing. no evidence of the vulcan having fallen victim to a curse or being otherwise detained. he was probably sent home, through no effort of their own, but the city's own will. frustrating, but a relief — at least, from her perspective. she sees someone leaving the city as a blessing, something not to be dwelt on. had one of her officers departed, she would be happy for them. but it wouldn't be the first time a group of voyager's crew had found themselves trapped only for one of them to get out without the others. it was a scenario she and her own had been through, one kirk and his young, experienced group of officers had not.

and while she felt he was already a good captain, there was still much he had to learn. q was right when he said the starfleet of kirk's timeline would be unrecognizable to her. after all, who in their right mind would give someone fresh out of the academy a captaincy, let alone a ship? it wasn't an insult to kirk's intelligence or capabilities, but not even data had been allowed to skip rungs on the ladder or had responsibility he hadn't earned handed to him. he had to move up the ranks, just like she had, just like the kirk in her timeline had. (even if kirk had saved the galaxy from a menacing force, that wasn't grounds for a special promotion. if it were, wesley crusher would've had his own ship long before kathryn was given voyager.)

she was waiting for that inexperience to catch up with him, waiting for the moment when it was something she would have to address. thus far, she's left it untouched, because it hasn't been an issue. frankly, she's impressed with the fact that it's been six months and she hasn't had to take issue with that fact, but she fears what she suspects is spock's abrupt departure may force her to. ]

Edited 2013-12-28 05:32 (UTC)

[ Oh, he's with her about all that, and more besides. If Spock is really gone, then this will be a test of the dynamics they've come into here. But Q, having not witnessed these disappearances before, is not wholly discounting the possibility of Spock...what was that human phrase? Lying in a ditch somewhere. They'd find him if he was here.

Which started with the lab...which was, now they'd reached it, a unqiue challenge. Surmounting the sehlat's natural instinct to remain on level ground, he made a single bounding (if careful) leap up to the top of the steps. His claws snatch at the concrete, finding enough purchase to stop, though there's an element of vertigo even to that small height. Stupid creatures.

He leans down again, crouching so that Janeway can dismount. ]

I'll just wait down there, if it's all very well with you.

[ perhaps it makes her more optimistic to favor a common disappearance back into the proper frame of reality for someone vs assuming they're lying in a ditch somewhere. she'd search thoroughly for any of them, but there comes a point when reality must be accepted. she'd give kirk a few days — far more than she'd give one of her own, but amendments must be made in these unique circumstances — before confronting him. she didn't particularly want to, not as his superior officer, but what she wanted hardly ever mattered. it was what needed to be done, and swallowing personal sentiments to give way to rank and regulation was just another day for her.

she slides off the sehlat with enough grace to avoid twisting an ankle in her boots, disappearing into the depths of the labs. only when she has some of the items spock's handled in hand does she emerge. she holds them out for him to smell. ]

Will this do, or do you need me to find something else? [ anything more would likely involve making use of that hole in the wall between spock and kirk's apartments, and she would like to avoid that. ]

Edited 2013-12-28 21:07 (UTC)

[ What she wanted hardly ever mattered. Kathryn, for heaven's sake. You and Chakotay are more like each other than you care to admit. He jumps back down to the bottom of the steps and sits, making himself slightly more comfortable there. He flicks his tail and patiently watches the people walking past until Janeway returns.

He arches forward, taking a good sniff of the things she'd brought out. There. Good. ]

It's good enough. I can find him now, if he's here. [ He stands back up, shaking off the snow the light covering of snow that had fallen while she'd been inside, and turning the sehlat's strong sense of smell toward its quarry. ] Shall we walk this bit? [ i.e. talk about these things. ]

As long as I don't have to ride you. [ which sounded a lot better in her head than it did when the words finally left her mouth.

but true to her word, she falls in step beside q's massive sehlat form, walking as if she were taking a stroll down the street with a person and not a vulcanized beast. ]

[ The carefully avoided sequence of words... Yep, even worse said out loud. But since Q doesn't have eyebrows (and he's trying to not make it any more awkward than it already is), he avoids making comment, or even looking at her, suddenly seeming much more interested in the scent of the pavement.

He moves to another question outright, refocuses the discussion. ]

Do you think this will break him?

Do you honestly think I'm going to discuss this with you?

[ whether she will or won't is up for debate, given her usual counsel is otherwise unavailable at the moment. ]

We never played our game. This is a variation on it, but the game none the less.

[ In other words: she's already agreed to it. Or at least that's the option that he's offering her. An excuse to speak frankly, if she desires to, without having to admit that it's counsel at all. Look how subtle he is!

Or maybe he'll just frighten her away from serious topics by being himself; it was always difficult to tell which. ]

[ she directs her eyes to the sky, wondering just when it was she found herself at a point in life where talking to q of all people was somehow easier than starting a conversation with her first officer. she knows the answers of course, was there when the problem was created, albeit not in her right mind, but it's a situation that cannot and will not be overanalyzed. it was a curse, end of story. and she's already addressed that situation — with q.

oh, what the hell? what's discussing this with him, too? because when there's no talking to chakotay, there's talking to tuvok, but when there's no tuvok... she cannot burden harry or b'elanna with these concerns, and kirk's crew shows an obvious bias. except for perhaps mccoy who is somehow able to see reason through madness when the rest of them cannot. ]

Alright. [ a heavy sigh, a grim nod. ] I do. At least, I suspect that it may.

[ He's working on Chakotay, but that's another story.

But he's very happy to be a sounding board for her, in the meantime or otherwise. It's a suitable position for a Q, he thinks, serves a kind of purpose, and in the absence of his usual power to subdue the chaos of the universe, subduing a little emotional chaos is a nice feeling of control in its present absence. ]

This Kirk grew up without a father. His independence may yet surprise you. [ It's more of a prompt than standing up for Kirk. He wants to hear what she thinks. In Q's view of it, an ability to act independently in Kirk's case most likely meant recklessness. ]

Independent, but inexperienced.

[ it's the first time she's given voice to those thoughts. she hasn't thought much about how the unusual circumstances of kirk's captaincy since she first learned of them, as kirk's proven to her time and time again that he's capable. and she admires that capability — but she knows that can only get a person so far, captain or not. kathryn's resourceful as all hell, but she has a background in science and years aboard various starships under various captains while she worked her way up the ranks to the position she holds now. ]

I was an early, ambitious graduate. I worked hard at what I did — yet at his age, I was still only a Lieutenant. It'd be another year before I got my next pip, and even I was considered somewhat young when I finally reached the big chair. [ but her background in science and experience in working up the command track made her the perfect fit. ~~not will riker~~ ] I honestly don't know what Starfleet was thinking when they rewarded his acts of valor with a starship.

Edited 2013-12-30 04:14 (UTC)

[ He ought to feel sorry for Kirk, but somehow...nope. It's not his fault that he isn't his original, exceptional self; Q knows how he feels. But he's still Kirk, and he's still - as he'd told Chakotay - like twelve. Captains need that experience, they need to trudge through the inhumanity of being a freshly minted ensign, lieutenant, commander, because without that how could they understand the perspective of the little people under their command?

~~She is so Will Riker, though. At least nobody mentioned Wesley. Oops.~~

He paused to sniff the ground again, still looking for a trace; he'd established a subtle search pattern, though it would still mean covering a lot of ground. Now, the question of Kirk. ]

Luck. Starfleet isn't blind to his flaws, but he's been lucky. Oh, Kirk was always the officer who risked constant dismissal for one reason or another, but he was always lucky, no matter the universe. [ His eyes flit toward Janeway briefly. ] When Kahn was freed, he targeted the heart of Starfleet command, its Captains and Admirals. Counting that and the desolation of the fleet several years previously--well, I did say that you wouldn't recognise it.

You just missed him — Khan. [ honestly, kirk is very lucky kathryn decided to trust him enough to let him handle that matter in his own way while standing vigil on the sidelines, flying under the radar as an unknown as starfleet entity. she'd hidden her rank and pips for months while the augment was still in the city, harry kim stumbling awkwardly over her first name, unaccustomed to addressing her as anything other than captain. oh, she'd been tempted to take care of this in her own, usual way, but she hadn't. wanted to, but also using placing some trust in the other captain as a way to cement the partnership of two captains working in tandem.

part of her wishes she'd been able to deliver a severe wake up call to the man before his departure, as while she was wary of him, she was not afraid. khan was history to her, and she'd far, far worse things than a mad, kirk-obsessed augmented human. ] Good riddance to that problem.

You know, Jim offered to take me — us — with him, should a way be found back to his timeline, but not mine. The idea's starting to sound even less appealing than it did when it was offered.

[ because no matter how brilliant a tactician she was, how good she was at commanding a starship in the heat of battle, a militarized starfleet who operated on the basis of necessity and luck was not one someone like her could be a part of. it was bad enough carol marcus, one of the great scientific minds that kathryn grew up idolizing for her accomplishments, was a weapons expert. or so kirk tells her. ]

[ He'll come back to Khan, but for now keeps walking, keeps watching Kathryn and listening to what she has to say (and some of what she isn't). When she gets to the end, though, he stops, just to stare at her for a moment. A shake of his head, and he moves forward again, head down once more. ]

That has to be the worst idea I've ever heard.

[ The universe would tear her apart. Emotionally, perhaps even physically. It was a tumultuous place with the Federation in turmoil, its future uncertain, and Starfleet on wobbly legs. All easy enough to deal with, unless you knew what the 23rd century was supposed to be like, unless you knew who it was missing, and what it would never become. And when war came... It would be devastating, and if she tried to change it, it would never be fast enough, never stop resisting her efforts. Without Vulcan's peaceful influence, humanity might even turn back to its old ways, and Kathryn wouldn't fit in a reality like that. They would turn against her and her idealistic 24th century Starfleet worldview.

And then, well, the Borg would kill every last one of them. ]

I mean it. You're better off being stuck here, possessed plantlife and all.

Edited 2013-12-30 20:07 (UTC)

[ she laughs, because really, it is the worst idea ever. kirk had been sincere in the offer, but kathryn hadn't taken him seriously. for her, home was home, and it was all or nothing. she'd much rather stay and keep fighting the good fight here in the city for a chance to see home proper again versus being utterly miserable in a time period not as it should be, a mere glimmer of what it ought to. the loss of vulcan would hurt too much, as would the loss of the federation as she knows it. and oh, she'd try — she'd bicker and throw her weight around as much as possible in attempt to get things to change, but the principals she holds in such high regards would clash with those they do not. it'd be the mild annoyance she finds when faced with those differences in kirk and co. ten fold. it would destroy her, because she'd die trying to inflict change.

dear god, that federation was never going to survive the borg. ]

Stuck here until I find my way back. [ when and not if. her confidence in her ability to make that happen knows no bounds. she'd sooner die than give up hope on that. ] You know, I'd do the same for him under certain circumstances, but I'd likely end up throwing the lot of them into the brig.

[ shakes her head. it's a harsh reality, but she's not one to shy away from that. even as her subconscious mind entertains a series of what ifs and indulges in the ability to flirt openly with kirk without the threat of the balance of power being corrupted, they're two different breeds of starship captain in spite of their similarities. from two versions of starfleet that would have a hard time recognizing one another. ]

[ He would laugh with her but he's still just a little bit horrified, and he gives a little hmph, blowing dust off the ground in front of him. Okay...that was sort of funny. She was right, too. Well, maybe not about all of them. Some of them would have followed their orders, and then there would have been a takeover attempt... He shakes his head. ]

Oh, the insubordination. You'd rather have a ship full of me. [ At least a ship full of Qs would get her home. But that wasn't the point. He narrows his eyes at her briefly. ] Did he tell you how he ended up in the Captain's seat, the first time? What he did to his esteemed colleague and commanding officer?

[ It wasn't really his story to tell, but since when had that stopped him? ]

Instilling Starfleet ideals into the Maquis would be an easier task by comparison. [ for at least those ideals were the norm of the federation and not that of a federation these officers could barely comprehend. she knew that although he respected her upholding of them, that kirk didn't agree with any of the stricter directives, particularly the temporal prime directive. she'd seen him voice it often enough on channels that weren't secured away from her, but has thus far respected his distaste for it.

a clash is coming, she can feel it. there are times when a captain just knows that something is about to go wrong, that the peaceful waters are going to start churning whether she likes it or not. with spock's disappearance, she senses that may be sooner rather than later. ]

Is this you offering to share his secrets with me like you threatened to share mine with him? [ she steps directly in the sehlat's path. he could squash her, easily, but kathryn's either too confident in her own ability to detour people from doing so or has grown to trust q enough to know that he wouldn't. either way, arms crossed over her chest, she's now staring the beast down as if he'd taken the form of an aldebaran mud leech instead of a vulcan sehlat. ]

[ Oh Kathy, you aren't going to get away with that. Q stops midstep rather than walk into her, sizes her up, then deliberately licks her in the face with his enormous, rough sehlat tongue.

And then sits, putting a good meter between them in the process, looking delightfully smug for an enormous sabre-toothed bear cat. ]

There's a number of differences between the two scenarios; first, do you really think that I'd have told him anything useful or truthful? Have you forgotten who I am? Secondly, and far more importantly--you're his superior. [ Just superior, he doesn't even bother with the word 'officer'. ] I can't tell you anything you couldn't demand to hear for yourself.

[ —gross. gross gross gross ohgod she needs a shower now. she looks utterly mortified for someone who doesn't bat an eyelash at being coated in grease and various other lubricants used throughout the ship when she's crawling through the bowels of it or assessing damaged areas, hands held up as if she doesn't even want to touch the contaminated parts of herself, kathryn finally settles on pulling off her scarf and using it to wipe his slobber off, depositing it in the nearest trash bin when she does. ]

Do that again and you won't have a tongue.

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