Q, the fresh-faced boy of the Continuum, watched the scene below him play out like a insipid holonovel.

"Oh, for the Universe's sake! This is ridiculous, Junior. Just do it!" the elder Q complained silently to his son.

Below the, blond ex-Borg, Seven of Nine, looked resolutely into the dark-haired Commander's eyes. Audibly inhaling to steel her nerves, she leaned in and pressed her lips to the hologram's.

The light kiss was detached and uncomfortable at first, but in an instant, Chakotay's lips felt softer, his mouth smaller, his scent fresher. Everything felt more familiar and Seven relaxed into the kiss. 

Pressing her body against the hologram's, Seven prepared herself for the unnerving pressure of thick lines and even planes, only what greeted her was an onslaught of soft mounds and feminine curves. She drew away, startled and found herself looking into gray-blue eyes of her captain.

Taken by the passionate gaze of her commanding officer, Seven whispered questioningly, "Captain?" 

Janeway's only reaction was to step closer, drawing Seven once again into her warm embrace. 

"Seven," the captain murmured, her breath caressing the younger woman's lips before initiating an intoxicating kiss.

Still wide-eyed from the shock, Seven settled herself into the moment. Forgetting that what she was experiencing simply couldn't be real, she allowed herself to be consumed by the radiations of pleasure bolting down her spine. 

She clasped the petite captain in her arms, letting her hands wander to the the small of Janeway's back. Stroking the narrow lines and slender sinew caused exquisite, rolling waves of heat to move through her abdomen.

The Q appeared in the holodeck, intending to disrupt the passionate display. The taller Q cleared his throat. "Uhm, uhm, excuse me! I must have caught a little Ankarian flu," Q interrupted with a smirk.

"Q, what are you doing here?" Janeway snarled at the living manifestation of the thorn in her side.

In response, Q snapped his fingers and the counterfeit captain disappeared. "Even as a hologram, our dear Captain can whip herself into a frenzy over little, ole me," the older Q smirked.

Seven stared dejectedly at the spot Janeway's hologram had disappeared from. She didn't know if her sense of loss was greater because of the disappearance or because the object of her desire was only a hollow imitation.

"Alas, she was just a hologram!" the taller Q commented with a dramatic flourish of his hands.

Seven tapped her commbadge without acknowledging the Q's presence. 

"Intruder alert."

No response forthcoming, Seven tapped her commbadge again. 

"Seven of Nine to Commander Tuvok."

Once again there was only silence. Sighing resignedly, Seven turned and looked into the bland faces of the Q.

"You are responsible for the replacement of the hologram of Commander Chakotay with the hologram of Captain Janeway," Seven accused the younger Q. "Why?"

The curly-headed boy glanced at the ground and then back up at the tall Borg.

"Simple. Aunt Kathy helped me and I want to help her by--"

Seven interrupted, "By playing infantile tricks on her crew?"

"Now, now . . . Q is only trying to help or haven't you noticed that you haven't fallen prey to another emotion-induced coma?" the elder Q questioned.

Seven considered Q's statement. "You modified my cortical node?"

"No, Silly, that would be unnecessary work and Q do not do unnecessary work or any work. Q Junior, here, simply put you in contact with your feminine side," Q said with a snide grin.

Seven stared unbelieving at the incorrigible Q.

"Don't you see, Seven?" the younger Q elaborated, casting an indignant look at his father. "You're cortical node only malfunctions when you do something against your nature."

"My nature?" Seven repeated slowly, trying to swallow the idea of having a nature.

The older Q responded testily, "Yes, my dear, your nature. Chuckles just ain't your type--or anyone else's for that matter."

Seven considered this information. It was true, her Borg-enhanced systems were performing at peak efficiency despite the enjoyably strenuous experiments. Could it be possible?

"Well, sonny, our good work here is done. It's all up to this dour drone now. I'm proud of you, my boy, you are well on your way to becoming as irrepressible as your dear ole dad."

Q turned to Seven and with a dramatic flourish of his hands, said "Ta-ta!" And then they were gone.  

*******

"Seven! What an unexpected pleasure. What brings you by Sick Bay?" the Emergency Medical Hologram asked, happiness pressing his thin lips into a wide smile. "Nothing is wrong I hope."

"No, Doctor, I am feeling remarkably well. However, I have a dilemma I would like to consult you about."

"A problem? Is your shoulder troubling you again?" the EMH babble happily while leading Seven to a biobed and passing a medical scanner over her. "Or is it your--"

"Doctor, my shoulder is fine. I am not suffering any physical ailment. What I require is a discussion," the young woman interrupted.

The doctor smiled warmly, his pleasure made apparent at being consulted by his favorite patient. "All right, Seven, please go on."

Seven pressed on, "I have resumed my experiments in the holodeck and--"

"You have decided to take my advice and go ahead with the medical procedures to correct your cortical node. This is wonderful news, Seven! Although I don't have to remind you that conducting your, err . . . experiments at this point is detrimental to your health." the hologram stammered.

"I have not decided to undergo the recommended procedures. . . . I would like your medical opinion regarding a situation I encountered recently in the holodeck. That is all, Doctor," Seven continued, trying to keep the frustration from seeping into her words.

The EMH was crestfallen. More than anything he wanted his friend to experience life fully. "But, Seven, as your doctor and your friend, I believe it is critical that--"

"Doctor, please pay attention to the matter at hand," Seven said, her annoyance growing. She softened her voice and her stance when she saw the hologram flinch. "I need your advice."

"Yes, of course, you are right. Please continue."

"I was interacting with a hologram and experienced what would be termed as intense emotions; however, as you can see, I did not suffer any harmful effects. Can you explain this?"

The doctor looked up, his thumb resting under his chin and his index finger laid across his lips in complete contemplation of what Seven might have experienced in the holodeck. "Are you sure what your experienced was intense enough to cause the collapse of your cortical functions?"

"Yes. The interaction was pleasant but physically and mentally taxing," Seven confirmed, trying to keep her voice even and the tell-tale blush from spreading.

"Pleasant? Seven experienced pleasant with Commander Chakotay's hologram?" the doctor thought jealously.

"Well, Commander Chakotay's hologram must be getting quite a work-out," the doctor said under his breath.

"Commander Chakotay's hologram was not present," Seven commented.

"He wasn't there? You said you were interacting with a hologram. . . ."

Seven tried to redirect the trend the questioning was taking. "That is correct. Who the hologram was is irrelevant to our conversation."

"Seven, I am simply perplexed. I thought you were interested in Commander Chakotay. That, that he has many admirable qualities," the EMH observed.

"The Commander is admirable, but I am not interested in him. He was available and his behavior is easily understood," Seven reasoned.

The doctor gazed off, his program running through a list of compatible members of the opposite sex. One by one, he checked them off, still trying to figure out who was at the heart of the big mystery. 

"Doctor, please concentrate. Is it possible that my cortical node malfunctioned when I was . . . fighting with the Commander's hologram because it was against my nature to interact in that way with the Commander?" Seven asked, hopeful.

"Well . . . it seems unlikely, Seven, but I suppose it is possible. You mean that it's who you are interacting with as much as how? Hmm . . . yes, I could see how interacting with certain individuals in ways that would be, as you said, against your nature could cause undo stress on your cortical node."

A small, private smile curled at the edges of the ex-Borg's lips. That was all she needed to hear. Pushing off of the biobed, she crossed the Medical Bay to the pneumatic doors. 

The doctor called after her, "Seven, no more experiments in the holodeck until we have a chance to test your theory. . . ."

"Yes, Doctor, no holograms," Seven repeated evenly before hurrying out of the Medical Bay.

*******

Seven settled into her alcove with a new found hope; hope that the future would bring more than loneliness and isolation. Seven sighed, content to wait a little longer for what she desired. Truthfully, she longed for a little disorder--the chaos of feeling profound and potent emotions.

She had spent much of the evening trying to guarantee that chaos would come. Hunting the ship's computer for data regarding human romantic rituals and relationships, she uncovered very little new information from the first time she had attempted this search. Her original pursuit of a mate was a short-lived prospect; one at which she admittedly failed miserably.

But now the situation was quite different. She was dedicated to her new potential mate--this individual being her choice and not some computer-generated selection. 

This dedication was why she had once again scoured Voyager's database. Not that she had forgotten any information from the first time, but double-checking provided a guarantee that she wouldn't miss any relevant data. She would not fail again. . . .

Seven closed her eyes and the regeneration unit sent her into REM sleep immediately. And almost as soon it had begun, it ended. Seven stumbled from the dais of the alcove.

"Regeneration cycle incomplete," chirped the computer.

Seven turned around and stared at the alcove as though it had pushed her. Her breath still came in short gasps and she could still feel the hot blush that fell across her cheeks.

"A nightmare," she muttered to herself. But then fragments of her dreams floated across her consciousness. . . . Sweet breath caressing . . . soft fingertips stroking . . . silky thighs brushing . . . chaos. 

End of Part I