Three-year-old
Naomi Wildman was very upset.
Seven of Nine had promised to play
Kotis Kot tonight, but she said she "was unable to
attend tonight because
of important matters concerning
Engineering". Naomi asked Neelix if he could play
but he said he was "attending
an important meeting with some government
officials so that we would be able to pass through this
region of
space". When Naomi asked her mother, she
said she was "busy working on a damaged coolant
vent". She was
tempted to ask Captain Janeway, but she already
knew the answer. Everyone was busy! No one had any time
to
play with a little girl. Naomi was pouting on her
couch. She was bored. Her homework was finished and she
didn't
want to finish the holodeck adventure with
Flotter without her mother. She was tired of playing
with her toys and
playing anything *by herself* She decided to go
for a walk. If she walked through every single corridor
on the ship,
she probably could kill off enough time before
dinner.
She slid off the couch and left. She
really wished someone would get married and had a baby.
Naomi wasn't
sure how that worked, but her mom said that most
people who had a baby were married. Her mom and dad were
married, so it made sense. If there was a baby on
the ship, she could take care of it. When it grew up,
she could
play with it and go to school with it. There were
a few couples on the ship, like Tom and B'Elanna, but
she didn't
think they were going to have a baby any time
soon. B'Elanna was too busy to have a baby. After a half
an hour
of walking, Naomi was starving, so she went to
the mess hall to get a snack. The mess hall wasn't too
crowded,
but she noticed Tom and B'Elanna sitting at one
of the tables by the window. Naomi grabbed a piece of
fruit from
the bowl and went to sit down. She rested her
head on one of her hand and stared out the window while
she ate.
It wasn't until someone touched her shoulder did
she remember where she was.
"Naomi?" Tom asked. Naomi
came back to reality.
"Yeah?" Naomi asked.
"You okay?" he inquired.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just
bored," she replied. "Everyone's working. I
have no one to play with."
"Oh, sorry, that's too
bad," Tom commented. "Well, I have to
go." Tom left Naomi alone.
"I hate being little,"
Naomi said, her chin quivering slightly. "I wish I
had a friend."
The voice of the little half-Ktarian girl
rang through Q's head. He felt sorry for her, in his own
Q-ish way. Q was
more sensitive, now that he had his son. Q, being
omnipotent and all-knowing, decided that this would be
the
perfect opportunity to work on his mortal
mind-bending tricks. Besides, he hadn't seen Kathy in
awhile and he
missed her. Now all Q had to do was figure out
how to pull off his masterful trick of the year! Q had a
new
apprentice named Quentin who had expressed an
interest in learning more about mortals. Q thought this
would
be an excellent opportunity. If he could create a
friend out of Quentin...it would have to be someone the
adults
could find out about otherwise it wouldn't
work...something like an invisible...no, an imaginary
friend...Quentin
could study Naomi and life aboard Voyager...Naomi
would be happy, Quentin would learn, and Q could visit
Kathy at the end...perfect.
It was afternoon the next day. Naomi had
just finished her weekly History lesson with Lt. Tuvok.
Before that,
she had Biology with the Doctor and between
classes a short break to visit Flotter. Now, she was
going to the
mess hall for lunch before going back to her room
to finish her homework. After that, Seven of Nine and
Naomi
were going to meet with the Captain to talk about
Naomi being Bridge Assistant and how she has progressed
with her studies. Her mom promised her that she
would meet Naomi and Neelix for dinner, followed by some
time in the Holodeck before bed. Naomi knew she
would be exhausted by the night. As Naomi walked along
the
empty corridor, she tried to remember the facts
she learned in history.
"2030 Zefram Cochrane Born, 2061
Zefram Cochran achieves Warp 1," Naomi recalled.
"Very good, Naomi," a voice
said.
Naomi stopped. "Hello?" she
asked.
Nothing. The corridor was empty.
She continued. "2117 Zefram Cochrane
disappears, 2161 United Federation of Planets
founded."
"2160 is the correct
answer," the voice corrected.
Naomi stopped again and looked around.
Still no one.
"No, it was 2161," Naomi
replied, feeling quite silly she was talking to air.
"2160 is the end of the Earth and
Romulan war. That's when the Neutral
Zone was formed. The next year, Earth, Teller, Andor,
Centaurus VII
found the United Federation of
Planets. The Articles of the Federation are signed on
Babel."
"Are you sure?" the voice
asked.
"Positive," Naomi replied.
"I have a very good memory. That's what Lt. Tuvok
said."
"You're very smart. You're right
it was 2161," the voice replied.
"Who are you? Why can't I see
you?" Naomi asked, very frustrated.
She put her hands on her hips, waiting for
an answer.
"Close your eyes."
Naomi did not feel very safe about this.
She was tempted to just continue walking, ignoring the
voice. But she
complied.
"Open your eyes."
Naomi complied again. When she opened, a
man was standing in front of her. He was tall, but not
too tall.
Reddish hair, and blue eyes.
"Hello," he said. Naomi
looked at him suspiciously.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"I've never seen you before."
"Quentin. I'm not from around
here, I'm visiting," he answered calmly.
"Why are you here?" she
asked, suspiciously. "You aren't an evil alien here
to murder the crew...are you?".
Quentin chuckled.
"No, Naomi, I'm not,"
Quentin replied.
Naomi eyed the man.
"How do you know my name?"
she continued. "Since I've never met you before,
you shouldn't know that."
Quentin started walking down the corridor,
motioning that Naomi should come with him. Checking to
make sure
no one was around, she followed.
"To answer your question, Ms.
Wildman, I know everything you know," Quentin
answered.
He smiled down at the girl, who produced a
confused expression. She gazed up at him, her mind
racing for
answers.
"Omnipotent?" she inquired.
"But I'm not omnipotent and you said you know
everything I know. Besides, the
only omnipotent beings are the Q's.
And Q's are bad. You aren't a Q...are you?"
She stopped short, refusing to go farther.
Quentin laughed. He remembered what Q had
said.
"No, of course not," he
lied.
He couldn't possibly tell her. If she found
out who knows what could happen. Captain Janeway might
find out
and their entire prank would be ruined. And
Quentin wouldn't have learned a thing about mortal
children.
"Then what are you?" she
asked smugly, trying to make him confess.
Unfortunately, Quentin had a fool-proof, or
at least a child-proof, plan.
"I'm your imaginary
friend," he simply answered.
Naomi raised her eyes in disbelief.
"I don't remember imagining
you," Naomi quickly responded. "How is that
possible?"
Quentin stalled.
"Uh, well, um, you see, it's
like this, um, you see, well, it's very
complicated," Quentin hastily said. "It, it's
far
beyond your comprehension how
these things work. But try not to worry too much about
it."
Naomi didn't believe him.
"I don't believe you," she
replied. "I'm telling Commander Tuvok." She
started off.
"No!" he cried a little too
loud. "I mean, um, we could have fun. I can do
anything. I'm from your imagination,
remember, and imaginations can do
whatever they like."
The idea did sound appealing. It intrigued
Naomi.
Without giving another thought, she
replied, "Anything?"
He smiled. He got her.
"Yes, of course, would I ever
lie to you?"
"Well, I don't remember my
imagination ever lying to me. I don't think it's
possible."
Naomi searched her mind. She grinned at
last.
"Let's go to my room and we can
play. Imaginary friends do play, right?"
She hadn't had too much experience with
imaginary friends. But Quentin's approving smile and
outstretched
hand was enough of an answer. Naomi and Quentin
entered her quarters. It was empty. Ensign Samantha
Wildman, Naomi's mother, was on a duty shift
until dinner. She showed Quentin her room, toy box, and
computer
(which was programmed at the lowest security
clearance level). On the opposite wall from Naomi's door
was the
door to her mothers room. In the middle, close to
the door, was the table. The couch and chairs were next
to it
and computer screen on the wall in front was
programmed to show Naomi old Earth programs called
videos. Tom
had suggested them to keep Naomi occupied.
"What do you want to do
first?" Naomi asked.
Quentin sifted through the names of games
Naomi liked in his mind. Which one was her favorite? Q
had told him.
He should remember. Ah, yes, Kotis Kot.
"How about Kotis Kot?" he
suggested. "I know how much you love it. I am, of
course, from your mind."
"Sure," she replied.
"You know how to play?"
She set the game out on the table where she
and Seven usually played.
"Of course," Quentin
replied. "I know how to play everything you know
how to play."
He tried to sound as convincing as
possible. He was a bit concerned that she would discover
he was Q. He tried
to play it....what was the term? Oh yes. He tried
to play it cool. Naomi and Quenting played for several
hours,
they laughed and talked about alien species and
space battles. He was much more fun that stuffy Seven.
She
was having so much fun she forgot about meeting
Neelix for lunch in the mess hall and about meeting
Seven for
the meeting with Captain Janeway. It was nearing
five o'clock. Neelix was concerned about Naomi and
contacted
Seven of Nine.
"Neelix to Seven of Nine,"
he requested as he tapped his silver commbadge.
"Seven of Nine," Seven
responded.
"Seven, have you seen
Naomi?" he asked, rather worried. "She was
supposed to be here for lunch. Now, this
isn't the first time she's missed it,
but she usually comes and tells me afterwards why she
missed lunch. But
she hasn't come at all today."
There was a pause.
"No, I do not know where she
is," Seven of Nine replied brusquely. "She was
to meet Captain Janeway and
myself in the Captain's Ready Room
over an hour ago and has yet to come. I am on my way to
her quarters."
Neelix relaxed, slightly, but was concerned
why she had not gone to the Ready Room. Naomi usually
looked
forward with great anticipation to meetings
with Captain Janeway, and it was shocking to hear that
she had not.
"Oh good, I'm glad you're
going," Neelix said. "Let me know when you
talk to her what happened, okay? I'd
really appreciate it."
"Of course, Seven of Nine
out." The comm link ended.
Seven of Nine approached the door to the
quarters and rang the chime. Naomi jumped in surprise.
Oh no! I forgot
about the meeting! she thought.
"You may enter," she
answered politely, fearing it was Captain Janeway
herself. "Don't say anything, Quentin".
The doors swooshed open and Seven of Nine
enter. Naomi relaxed in her composure.
"Oh, Seven, it's only you."
"Naomi Wildman, you have failed
to reconvene at the designated coordinates at the
specified time, are you ill?"
Seven asked in her Borg-ish manner.
Reconvene? Designated coordinates?
"Are you asking why I didn't
come?" Naomi asked, quite confused.
"Yes."
"Oh, well, you see..."
What was she going to say? That she was
playing with her imaginary friend? No, that would be
silly.
"I got...distracted."
"Distracted?"
"Yeah, I decided to play a
little Kotis Kot after finishing my homework, and I lost
track of the time," Naomi lied.
She hadn't even started her homework.
"I'm sorry. Please don't be
mad."
"I am not mad, I am
disappointed," Seven clarifed, using a term Captain
Janeway used quite often with her.
"I requested that you meet us at
the appropriate time and place and you have failed. If
this had been an
emergency and you had
gotten...distracted, it might have proved fatal for the
ship or crew."
Seven was very good with guilt trips. She
had learned a lot from her mentor. Naomi felt horrible
and Quentin
was whistling show tunes. Now how he knew show
tunes was beyond Naomi's comprehension. It didn't help.
Finally irritated enough, Naomi blurted,
"Quentin, please be quiet."
The room appeared empty, other than Naomi
and Seven of Nine.
"Who are you speaking to, Naomi
Wildman?" Seven asked.
"Who are you speaking to, Naomi
Wildman?" Quentin mocked.
Naomi laughed.
"Me? I, um," she didn't
know where to begin. "My imaginary friend."
Naomi glanced over to where Quentin was
sitting, yet Seven could not see anyone.
"Yeah, that's right. My
imaginary friend."
"Your imaginary friend?"
"Yeah, his name is
Quentin," she said. "We've been playing Kotis
Kot."
Seven of Nine raised her eyebrows.
"You have been playing Kotis Kot
with your...imaginary friend?"
"Yup, that's right." Naomi
gave Seven her best smile.
Seven of Nine turned to leave.
"You aren't going to tell Mom or
Neelix or the Captain, are you? Please don't. I won't do
it again."
Naomi gave her a sad, puppy dog look.
"Please."
"All right, I won't," Seven
promised. "I will see you later." Seven left
without another word.
"Whew!" Naomi said once she
left. "I'm glad that's over."
"Yeah," Quentin agreed.
"Well, you know it is dinner time. Would you like
to go eat now?"
Naomi nodded her head.
"Yeah, I'm famished," she
replied. "I haven't eaten since breakfast!"
Dinner went with out much hassle. Seven of
Nine had kept her promise and had not told Neelix or Sam
about
Naomi's new imaginary friend. Although she was
concern, she decided it would be best to wait. Naomi
requested
that Quentin wait in her quarters during dinner,
so she could have some alone time with Neelix and her
mother
since she hadn't seem them since breakfast.
"Seven tells me you missed your
appointment with the Captain," Sam said. "Care
to tell me why?"
Naomi took a quick sip of her drink before
answering.
"I was just playing a game of
Kotis Kot and I sort of forgot I had the
appointment," she answered.
It wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't the
whole truth. Naomi felt terrible, but Quentin had
advised her not to tell her
mom. He said her mom might make Quentin leave and
Naomi didn't want him to go. They had fun together and
she really wanted a friend. It was like a dream
come true to have Quentin around.
Meanwhile, Quentin went back to the Q
Continuum to have a little discussion with Q.
"You are doing an excellent job,
my boy, excellent!" Q exclaimed. "We've got
her right where we want her."
Quentin, having some sense, disagreed.
"I don't like lying to her," he replied.
"She has to lie because of me."
"Oh, hush. Minor detail, minor
detail."
The next morning, Naomi hurried to the
Captain's Ready Room, to make up for the meeting she
missed
yesterday. She was in such a hurry and determined
not to be late, that she actually arrived fifteen
minutes before
she was supposed to. She beat Seven there!
Unfortunately, Quentin insisted on coming along.
"You have to promise not to say
anything," Naomi had insisted. "Don't knock
anything over and don't say
anything."
"They can't hear me," he
replied.
As the doors of the turbolift opened, she
whispered with her forefinger to her lips. "Shh!"
Chakotay, Harry, and Tuvok stared at her.
She smiled weakly. As soon as Captain Janeway was ready,
and
Seven of Nine, they started their meeting.
"I see your studies are
progressing nicely, Naomi," Janeway began.
"And you are doing an excellent job as
Captain's Assistant."
"Thank you, ma'am," Naomi
replied. Quentin hovered over her.
"Naomi Wildman has expressed an
interest recently to participate in activities regarding
engineering and the
astrometrics lab," Seven of Nine
continued. "While I believe this education will be
beneficial to her, as she has
a desire to become captain in the
future, I strongly suggest...caution."
"I can see why," Janeway
replied, agreeing with Seven. "Naomi, sweetheart, I
appreciate you wanting to
become captain and to learn as much
as you can, but you are only three years old. I think it
might be best if
you just watched for now. You'll be
grown up before you know it. Enjoy being a kid."
Naomi looked solemn.
"I'm sorry, but I think that's
the best thing for you, and for the ship."
"You don't think I can do
it?" she asked, her eyes filling with tears.
She wiped her eyes, wanting to look
professional.
"I can do it. I can. I'll prove
it. Just give me a chance. Please."
Quentin crossed his arms and glared at
Janeway, although she couldn't see him. Naomi peered at
him from the
corner of her eyes.
"How can she do this to my
little Naomi?" he asked. "Come on, Naomi,
hurry up. We don't need her. We have
fun together, don't we?"
Naomi wanted to tell him to be quiet, but
she knew she couldn't speak yet.
"Naomi, I wish I could, I really
do," Janeway replied. "But, you are a bit too
young. I didn't even start working on
some of the problems you've been
asking to help with until I was at least ten or
twelve."
She knew she could do it. She was a
ten-year-old trapped in a three-year-old's body.
Suddenly, Naomi got very
angry. She didn't want to be a stupid Captain's
Assistant. Quentin was right. She had more fun with him
than she
had with Seven of Nine in a lifetime.
"Fine, I don't need to help out.
In fact, I don't need to be Captain's Assistant!"
Naomi stood up, almost knocking the chair
down.
"Naomi..." Janeway began,
but Naomi was already walking out the door.
Quentin turned to follow, but as he was
walking up the steps, Janeway brushed past him and
Quentin (although
Janeway couldn't feel anything or notice
anything) had to hurry to get out of her away and
tripped on his own feet.
To Naomi, Quentin made a loud thump and he cried,
"Ow!"
Naomi stopped and turned around and without
thinking, responded with, "Quentin! Are you
alright?"
The entire bridge crew stopped and stared
at her. "Uh oh."
"Quentin?" Janeway asked.
"Who's Quentin?"
Naomi shrugged.
"He's no one," she replied
quickly and turn to leave and bumped right into awaiting
Tuvok, who was blocking
her path to the turbolift.
"No one, Miss Wildman?" he
asked suspiciously, or as suspicious as a Vulcan could
get. "I believe you and
your 'Quentin' have some explaining
to do."
Janeway looked down at Naomi.
"I concur, and your mother as
well," she added. Naomi's face fell.
It didn't take long for Naomi to explain
the whole story. Or, as much as she knew about it. She
told Captain
Janeway, Tuvok, Seven of Nine, Neelix and her
mother what Quentin had said, what they had done
together, and
what Quentin wanted Naomi to do. Quentin was
present in the room the entire time, but didn't make any
comments.
"He never was mean to me,
Captain," Naomi said. "He was very nice and
friendly. We had fun together."
The group looked concern. Whoever this
"Quentin" was, he had practically brainwashed
the poor girl and made
her believe whatever it was he was telling her.
"Naomi, is Quentin in this room
right now?" Janeway asked. Naomi nodded.
"Can he hear me?"
She nodded again.
"Do you think you'd be able to
relay messages between him and me?"
She nodded once more.
"Good."
Quentin was not pleased, and neither was Q.
But Q knew it wasn't yet time to reveal his plan. He was
having
way too much fun.
"Quentin," Janeway began.
"We know from what Naomi has told us that you are
not an imaginary friend. You
are something else. What do you want
with her?"
Naomi gazed up at invisible Quentin,
listening to his answer. Then she turned back to the
captain.
"He says that he's here on a
mission and that he wouldn't hurt me or any of the
crew," Naomi answered. "He
also says that.....oh, he says that
Neelix makes the best meatloaf in the galaxy and he
likes Seven of
Nine's....Quentin! Sorry,
Captain."
Janeway tried to hide her laugh, as did
Samantha and Neelix. Tuvok and Seven of Nine waited.
Naomi blushed.
"Quentin, is it possible for you
to show yourself?" Janeway asked.
"Um, he says that he can but
that he's not supposed to," Naomi answered.
She paused. "He says that his superior
told him not to."
Janeway nodded her head. Naomi shifted in
her seat, not liking to be interrogated or having
Quentin being
interrogated. Suddenly, a bright light flashed
and a tall gentleman with a cocky grin appeared in the
middle of
the ready room wearing red Starfleet uniform.
Naomi mouth was agape and her eyes wide.
"Who are you?" she asked.
The man smiled and bowed.
"I, my dear, am Q," he
replied. "The one and only"
Janeway crossed her arms and glared at him.
"What are you doing here? You
aren't wanted," Janeway replied, her voice with a
touch of anger.
"Well, I've found I'm not wanted
in many places so sometimes I just have to...appear, you
see," Q replied.
"Actually, in a moment I will be
wanted and I decided just to drop by early. Quentin, you
can show yourself
now."
Another bright flashed next to Naomi, and
Quentin, wearing a matching Starfleet uniform appeared.
Quentin
stomped down the steps and stopped next to Q.
"You don't need to be here. I
can take care of it myself," he said. "This is
my problem, not yours."
Q smiled and nodded.
"You still are my apprentice,
you know," Q said. "You don't have the wisdom
of my 20 millennia's. Yes, you will
need me. Captain, may I call you
Kathy? Kathy, this here, is my friend Quentin, he's a Q
just like me, although
he needs to work on his manners a
bit. Didn't anyone ever tell you to respect your elders?
Anyway, he wanted
to learn about mortal children, I
thought of little Naomi...Hi Naomi, how big you're
getting...and I wanted to see
my dear Kathy, and well, poof. I made
Quentin into an imaginary friend. Well, more like
a...like an imaginary Q."
"And then what?" Janeway
asked, the sarcasm rising in her voice.
"And then you discovered our
little secret and here I am," Q finished.
"Just like I said." Naomi
was completely confused.
"So, you guys are Q's? The
people who can do anything they want to do?" Naomi
asked.
They nodded.
"And Q wanted Quentin to become
my imaginary friend because Q wanted to see the captain
and Quentin
wanted to learn about mortals?"
They nodded again.
"So you guys decided to pick
me?"
They nodded once again. Naomi sat silent
for a moment, gathering everything in. Quentin wasn't
who he said he
was. He was a Q. He was only pretending to be her
friend. Q had told Quentin to use Naomi has a guide to a
child's mind. Naomi was very upset. Not only was
she lied to, humiliated, and scolded at, she was also
being
used.
"So, now what?" Naomi
asked.
"I'm so glad you asked,
Naomi," Q replied. "Nothing. Quentin and I go
home and you'll never see us...for a
while."
The Q's smiled and snapped their fingers.
They were gone.
A few days later, Naomi was sitting in the
mess hall eating lunch and writing on a PADD. She was
sitting alone,
again, for all the usual reasons. But she was
happy. She had learned a valuable lesson from meeting
Quentin.
First of all, don't lie. It will only get you in
trouble. Second of all, friends can come in all shapes
and sizes. Plus,
she didn't always need other people to keep
entertained. Over the course of the few days since
Quentin and Q
had left, Chakotay had showed Naomi something he
sometimes did to pass the time. Write stories. Naomi had
already finished one about Flotter and Treevus
and she was writing a new one.
"Hey, Naomi," Tom said as
he picked up his plate of soft, orange mush. "What
are you up to?"
"I'm writing," Naomi
replied.
"Cool," Tom said. "Can
I read it?"
Naomi nodded and handed the PADD over to
him. At the top of the PADD was the title that read,
"Imaginary Friend".
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