"Any day where I'm not free to work on what I want to work on and do what I want to do is miserable," Q assured him. "The only good thing about this place has been the cats. ...I like cats. Always wanted a few for the ship," he admitted.

As if on cue, one hopped up on his lap. It was a thin black cat, one that had taken to sleeping in their rooms at night. Q had taken to calling it Ashes, simply because it had some gray fur around its paws.