QED

by ComputerSteve

The Doctor and Martha have to prevent one of the most powerful beings in the galaxy from destroying an entire race of people.

QED

by ComputerSteve

"There you are Dr. Jones," the U.N.I.T. duty officer handed her some papers. "Five days leave. Looks like you're all prepared!" He gestured towards the large pile of luggage behind her.

"Never know where I'll end up, or for how long. Could be gone for months!"

"Your leave is only for a week."

"Oh, I'll be back tomorrow."

"What?" Just as the young man spoke, there was a gentle, rhythmic roar, and a moment later, a blue, wooden police box appeared.

"Of course," he grinned. "I see!"

The door of the Tardis popped open and a sprightly looking man in a slightly wrinkled brown suit stepped out. He wore a white shirt, no tie, and tennis shoes. "Martha!" he bellowed. "Ready to go?"

"Doctor!" She leaped into his arms and hugged him tightly. "I missed you so much!"

"Well, I'm here and ready to take you on the holiday of your life!"

She stepped back, "Promise me, no Daleks, or Cybermen or people with zippers in their foreheads!"

He grinned. "Promise. Let's go!"

"Wait! My luggage!"

"Sorry, your what?"

Martha pointed towards the bags, suitcases and trunks in the corner.

"What's all that, then?" he frowned.

"Change of clothes, toiletries, my stuff..."

"Got everything you'll ever going to need in here, come on."

Martha pouted.

"Oh, alright, go on inside, I'll take care of all that."

"Thank you, Doctor!" she beamed as she bounced into the Tardis.

"Excuse me?"

"You talking to me, sir?" the duty officer looked up.

"Yes, could you see to it that all her things are stored somewhere safely until we return?"

"Uh, certainly, sir!"

"Thanks!" the Doctor smiled. A moment later the Tardis was gone.

"So, where to, then?" the time lord said as he manipulated the controls. "I kind of thought we'd stay close to home. That way we can stay out of trouble."

"Doctor!"

"I was thinking we could visit the lava lakes on Mercury, or the frozen methane waterfalls on Titan..."

"Doctor!"

"I know, I know! We could use the Tardis to surf the rings of Saturn! Now that sounds like fun!"

"Doctor!!" Martha shouted,

"What is it?" he replied calmly. "Don't fancy the rings of Saturn? I know! There's a star due to go nova near Cassiopeia! Marvelous sight! You'll love it!"

"Doctor, you left my things behind!"

"Told you, you won't need them. Much more fun to travel light. Oh!" he jumped and dashed out of the room.

Martha stood, staring as he returned with a little black box.

"This," he said anticipating her questions, "is a tri-dimensional meta photon viewer."

"A what?"

"A projector, got this at a garage sale on Talos IV, watch." He set it on the floor, aimed the lens at the wall and switched it on. The wall of the Tardis shimmered and dissolved. Suddenly they were looking into open space.

Martha gasped.

"It's ok, see?" he reached through the darkness and rapped on the wall. "It's still there. It's projecting an image of what's outside. Remarkable, isn't it?"

"Yes, yes it is. A little warning would have been nice, though..."

"So where will it be, then? I know, I know! Remember those two robot probes on Mars? We could sneak up behind one of them and--what's the matter?"

"That star--it's moving!"

"No! Not possible!"

"Look, see for yourself!"

The Doctor donned his glasses. "Well, what do you know! It is moving! Projector must malfunctioning. Wonder if there's a warrantee?"

"Doctor, it's getting bigger!"

"No, it's getting closer!"

The sphere grew in size, as it approached the Tardis. Then it ballooned out of the projection and silently floated into the room. The Doctor scrambled to switch off the projector. The wall returned as the image faded. But the sphere remained hovering silently a few feet above the floor.

"What is it?"

"I think it a gravity sphere."

"A what?"

"Gravity sphere. Like a kind of envelope; you put something in and the gravity sphere keeps it safe until it is delivered."

"You mean there's something inside?"

He shrugged, "Could be..."

He was interrupted by loud cracking sounds from the sphere as bolts of energy danced across the surface. There was a great "pop!" and the sphere was gone, its contents spilled out onto the floor.

"There was a man inside?"

"No need to be insulting," he groaned as he tried to stand.

"Let me help you," Dr. Jones went to him. "Don't try to stand up just yet."

"Why thank you!" the visitor said as he eased back onto the floor and rested his head on her shoulder.

"Martha," the Doctor said, "I wouldn't--we don't know--"

"You mean you don't remember me, time lord? I'm crushed!" he said with exaggerated disappointment.

"I remember everything." the Doctor shrugged, "or, almost everything," then his face lit up and he slapped his forehead. "Of course! How thick of me! You're Q!"

"See, now how difficult was that?" Q smiled.

"Ah, Q!" the Doctor said, "you omnipotent bastard, how are you?"

Q's smile faded, "That was a bit uncalled for, don't you think?"

"Why are your traveling around in a gravity sphere?" the time lord wondered. "Oh, I get it! They've snatched your powers again, haven't they?"

"Well, you're astute, if not tactful..."

"Wait a minute," Martha shouted, "what the bloody hell's going on here?"

"Hm--" Q grinned. "You're cute when you're angry." Martha stood and Q fell over. "Ow! Hey!"

"This coming from a being who regards humans as a step below amoebas?" the time lord grumbled.

"A step above, actually. And I only meant it in the nicest way."

"Who are you? And what kind of name is Q?" Martha asked.

"You're cavorting about with someone that calls himself the Doctor!" Q winced as he stood. "Has he told you what kind of doctor he is? You ever inquire into his name? Doctor? Doctor who?" Suddenly, Q looked up and began speaking into the air, "What? Well I'm here, aren't I? Yes, yes, of course I will..."

"Wonderful," Martha groaned. "Talking to himself! He's mental, too!"

"No," the Doctor said as Q continued to babble, "He's talking to Q."

Martha threw her hands up. "I give up! Just take me back; I'll spend my holiday with my mum."

"You don't understand. He is part of a continuum. They are separate yet one at the same time. And they have enormous power. Usually. I think they took his power away as a punishment for something."

"He's a criminal? That's even worse."

"I'm not a criminal, you silly biped," Q said. "It was just a--a practical joke that went a little too far. I think. I have difficulty remembering details with this puny human brain they gave me"

The doctor glared at him, "Playing snooker with neutron stars again?"

"Worse than that, I'm afraid." Q actually seemed genuinely repentant. "My attempt to have a little fun resulted in the destruction of an entire race of creatures. The Q stripped me of my powers, but I still have fix what I screwed up to get my powers back."

"But without your powers--ah! That is why you came to me!"

"Yes, Doctor, I am forced to grovel at your feet and ask for help."

"You haven't said the magic word," Martha stood, arms folded.

"Magic word?" Q looked confused, "uh--abracadabra?"

"She means 'please,'" the Doctor clarified.

"Oh--sorry--puleeze, Doctor?"

"Of course, we'll help."

"There goes my holiday!"

"Is that all you can think of you---you—you dear lovely creature?"

"Huh?"

"Sorry, uh, Martha, is it?" Q apologized with all the sincerity he could muster. "It's this damned body. How do you humans control all of these drives and urges? No wonder you're all so confused!"

Suddenly, Q doubled over, knees together. "Very funny," he said angrily into the air. "Quickly, Doctor, where is your—ah--"

"Oh, though there, third door on the left, Mind the steps."

Martha laughed out loud as Q hobbled out of the room.

"What's so funny?" the Doctor asked.

Martha giggled, "Q has to pee!"

QED - Part 2

"There are infinite points in time and space," the Doctor said. "You've got to help me out here!"

"What do you expect me to do?"

"Give me a date, some coordinates, something to locate this world you say you messed up!"

"Look, I'm sorry, but when you're Q, you don't use 'coordinates!' You just think it and it happens."

"Ask the other Q for help."

"Those arrogant primadonnas?"

The Tardis shuddered. "What was that?" Martha asked.

"We've changed course," the Doctor said.

"Thank you!" Q said sarcastically into the air. "It's about time you did something helpful."

Martha sighed. "You're such a brat!"

Q's expression darkened for a moment, and then he relented. "You're right dear Martha. But when you've been omnipotent all your life..."

"But the rest of the Q are omnipotent, too, right?" Martha folded her arms, "Seems to me they are trying to help, to clean up your mess."

"Got you there," the time lord grinned as he fussed over the Tardis controls. "Whoa! We've stopped. I think we're there." He threw a lever and the doors opened.

"Doctor!" Martha said, "Is it safe?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Probably not. Come on!"

They stepped out of the Tardis into darkness.

"We seem to be indoors," the doctor said. "Here, Q, take this."

"What is it?"

"A torch. You know, a flashlight."

Q turned it in his hands. "How does it work?"

Martha sighed, "Just give it to me." She took it and switched it on.

"Oh," Q shrugged. "Normally, if I needed illumination I would just say something, like 'let there be--'"

"Q!" the Doctor interrupted. "Don't!"

"Sorry!"

"That's strange," Martha said from a few feet away.

"What's that, then?"

"It looks just like a cosmetics counter, Doctor! Just like--" She used the light to inspect the counter, walls and ceiling." This is Brent Cross Mall in London! We're on Earth!"

"Earth? Q! Is this the planet you 'messed up?' What the hell did you do?"

"Don't yell at me, Doctor! Is it my fault that humans have an underdeveloped sense of humor? Besides, I just accelerated the inevitable."

"What did you do, Q?"

"All I did was--"

"Shh!" Martha whispered. "I saw something move over there!"

"We need to get these lights on. Where would the power source be?"

"How would I know?" Martha said."

"Must be a basement or something," the Doctor reasoned. "This way."

"DO NOT MOVE!" an ear-piercing voice screamed. A moment later, the room was flooded with light.

"Daleks!" Martha groaned. "Doctor, you promised!"

The two daleks kept their weapons trained on the three as they directed them down a long, dimly-it corridor. A door opened into a room filled with daleks. One stood on a pedestal at the front. Unlike the other gold and silver colored daleks, this one was all black.

"DELTA DALEK ZED REQUESTING AUDIENCE WITH SUPREME DELTA DALEK!"

"Delta dalek?" the Doctor muttered. "What's that all about?"

"REQUEST GRANTED!" the supreme dalek screamed. "WHO IS THIS?"

"I am the Doctor! And if you think for one moment that--"

"SILENCE! WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE! YOU! STEP FORWARD!"

"Me?" Q pushed his way past the time lord. "How dare you order me about!"

"Q!" the Doctor whispered," remember! No powers!"

Suddenly, the supreme dalek reacted with something resembling surprise.

"YOU! YOU ARE THE Q! SAVIOR OF THE DELTA DALEKS! THE Q HAS RETURNED! ALL HAIL THE Q!"

The Doctor and Martha glared at Q as the daleks worshipped him.

Q straightened up, "I think I like these talking salt shakers. You two could learn from them!"

"THE Q RESCUED US FROM A DYING WORLD AND GAVE US THIS NEW WORLD TO CONQUER!"

Q winced, "Oops!"

"WE BECAME A NEW RACE OF DALEKS--THE DELTA DALEKS!"

"Started your own little fraternity, did you?" Q quipped.

The Doctor gave an elbow in the side.

"Ok, ok! Tell me, oh supreme dalek, what happened to all of the humans?"

"EXTERMINATED!"

"Uh-oh," Q mumbled to himself, not daring to look at Martha or the doctor. "You have-ah--done well! My friends and I must go now to--ah--find you more worlds to conquer! Ciao!" Q turned to leave, grabbing the others by the arms.

"WAIT!" the black dalek yelled. "THE DOCTOR AND THE FEMALE HUMAN STAY!"

Q fumed, he turned to face the dalek. "What do you mean?"

"THE DOCTOR IS AN ENEMY OF THE DALEKS! HE WILL BE EXTERMINATED! ALL HUMANS MUST BE EXTERMINATED!"

"You dare challenge me?" The supreme dalek inched back as Q approached. "I, who, with a snap of my finger saved you extinction? I could snap again and send you all into oblivion! Now you will allow these two to come with me. When I am done, I'll send them back and you can exterminate to your heart's content!"

The daleks were silent.

"I don't have time for this," Q raised his hands and pressed his finger and thumb together.

"WAIT!" the supreme dalek said, "WE OBEY!"

The daleks cleared the way.

"Nicely done, Q!" the Doctor whispered.

"It was, at that," Q grinned. "You!" he turned to one of the daleks. "What was you designation again?"

"I AM DALEK ZED," it said in as subdued tone as a dalek could manage.

"Right. You were there in the beginning. Come with me."

"I OBEY!"

Q saw the look on the Doctor and Martha's faces. "There is a method to my madness."

As they walked back towards the Tardis, Q commanded, "Dalek Zed, I want to hear the story of how I saved the daleks and gave them a new home."

"WHY? YOU WERE THERE!"

Q held up his snapping hand again. "Humor me!"

"I OBEY."

Dalek Zed proceeded to recite how this small group of daleks were left abandoned when a squadron of daleks retreated after loosing a battle. Just when they had given up hope, the Q magically brought them to the number 17 spaceship, where they found humanoids that were easy to exterminate. The technology of the ship was easily deciphered and they used it to capture more ships, and the used those to exterminate the population.

"WE USED THIER REPLICATION AND CLONING TECHNOLOGY TO CREATE NEW MORE EFFICIENT DALEKS. WE BECAME THE DELTA DALEKS."

"How many daleks?" the doctor asked.

The dalek hesitated.

"Oh, answer him, you oversized shuttlecock" Q sighed.

"ONE BILLION."

"The Tardis, finally," Martha sighed.

"Alright, Dalek Zed. Off with you. Go back to your supreme dalek and tell him to do absolutely nothing until I return. Got that?"

"I OBEY."

"What stupid creatures," Q muttered as the dalek rolled away. "How did they ever manage to take this whole planet?"

"They had help, remember?" the Doctor growled. "Inside,both of you."

As soon as the Tardis door closed, the Q invisibly took control and hurdled them through time and space.

­

QED – part 3

"We're hovering in space," the Doctor said. "There's a large ship nearby, hang on." He set up the tri-dimensional meta photon viewer, and soon they were watching a wall-sized image of the space ship.

"That's the one," Q said.

The Doctor thumbed through a book. Martha was looking over his shoulder. "That's it!" she tapped the page,

"Let's see," the time lord adjusted his glasses. "'United Federation of Planets, Constellation class, 23rd century Earth.' Martha, can you make out the registration of that ship out there?"

"'NCC-1701.'"

"The U. S. S. Enterprise! You don't fool around, do you Q? Went right for the flagship. And the most celebrated crew in their history."

"Oh, if they were so hot, why couldn't they handle a few daleks?"

"It was your meddling..."

"Humans! They come out here all high and mighty--the have no idea what's out here! It's a dangerous Universe, Doctor!"

"All the more so, thanks to you!"

"Hey! Time out, guys!" Martha stepped between them. "We're supposed to be saving my home planet, remember?"

"Oh, go save it yourself--" Q spat.

"I think the continuum has other ideas," the Doctor gestured towards the image on the wall that was starting to change. A moment later, they were looking at the bridge of the Enterprise, from above. The bizarre angle made Martha a little dizzy.

The bridge was bustling with activity. Captain James Kirk was in the command chair with Mr. Spock standing next to him.

"Repairs are complete, Captain. Mr. Scott reports warp engines at maximum efficiency."

"Excellent, Mr. Spock."

"Hang on," the Doctor frowned. "That's not supposed to happen! We're not supposed to be able to hear them!"

"The Q wants to make sure we don't miss anything," Q sighed.

On the screen, they saw a sudden bright flash in the center of the room. A moment later, a man was standing there, in full Starfleet Command uniform.

"That's not you," Martha said to Q.

"No, it's worse," Q groaned.

Captain Kirk stood. "Trelane!"

"Yes, dear Captain, I'm back!"

"Do your--parents--know you are here?" Spock queried.

Trelane ignored him. "And this time I brought a friend!"

Another flash and Q stood next to him, dressed as an admiral.

"Call me Q!" he said with a slight bow.

"I beg your pardon, Q?" Mr. Spock queried.

"Did you not hear me?" Q said. "I should think that with those ears..."

Spock sighed. "I heard you perfectly. I just do not understand. Your name is Q?"

"Yes, yes," Q waved his hand dismissively. "Get used to it"

"What do you want?" Kirk demanded."

"Ah, mon capitan, we are here to help!"

"I thought we were here to have some fun!" Trelane pouted.

"Patience--" Q smiled.

"Why should we need your help?" Spock asked.

Q turned to the Vulcan. "Because you have no idea what is out there waiting for you! I am here to tell you to go back home, park your starships, crawl into your beds and pull the covers over your heads! You are not ready!"

"I think we can take care of ourselves," Kirk said.

"Where have I heard that before," Q mumbled. "I am giving you fair warning."

"Oh, this is boring!" Trelane said.

"Be patient!" Q reprimanded.

"No!" Trelane shouted as he waved his hand dramatically. "There! Now that should be interesting," he chuckled as Kirk and his crew gazed at the thing that just appeared.

In the center of the room a very confused dalek spun around, shrieking. "WHERE AM I? HOW DID I GET HERE? I DO NOT UNDERSTAND!"

"And what the hell is that?" Kirk asked, finding the creature a bit amusing.

Before anyone else could speak, the dalek screamed, "HUMANS! A SHIP FULL OF HUMANS! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"

In an instant, the dalek was firing its weapon. Ensign Chekov was hit first, his skeleton briefly visible as his body glowed just before he fell dead. Spock fired a phaser that merely left a burn mark on the dalek's armor. A moment later, the Vulcan was dead. The dalek spun and shot an energy beam at Q, Which had no effect.

"Hey!" Q said with disgust. "Enough of this!" He snapped his fingers and the dalek vanished.

"Trelane!" Kirk charged him and grabbed him by the collar. "What have you done? You killed members of my crew!"

Trelane looked scared. "I didn't mean--"

Q made a gesture and Kirk was thrown to the floor. "Mind yourself, Captain! Remember your place!" He turned to Trelane. "You have nothing to fear from these creatures--remember who you are!"

Trelane sniffled quietly and nodded.

"What will your parents say, Trelane?" Kirk said from the floor.

"They'd ground me for a millennium!" he mumbled.

"Oh, be still!" Q said impatiently.

"I want you off my ship!" Kirk demanded. "I want you off my ship now!"

Q glared at Kirk for a moment. "As you wish!" Q and Trelane vanished in a flash.

"Get Dr. McCoy up here," Kirk barked."

"Captain!" Sulu gestured towards the screen.

Q and Trelane were in space, floating in front of the ship. The crew watched as Trelane waved his arms, bringing several golden saucer ships into existence. A moment later, dozens of daleks materialized on every deck of the Enterprise.

QED - part 4

"What the hell did you do, Q?" the Doctor said with disgust.

"Me? Trelane ---"

"Trelane is a child!" The Doctor yelled. "How could you leave them like that? They didn't have a chance!"

"You heard Kirk!" Q replied. "'We can take care of ourselves...' Have you ever seen such arrogance?"

Martha slapped Q on the cheek.

"Hey" he grabbed her hand before she could strike again. "The last person to strike me is now living among the other mud toads on Deneb IV."

"You destroyed my home, you bastard!"

"Look you two," the Doctor said as he put the projector away. "We have to go back and fix this." He began flipping switches and throwing levers on the Tardis console. "I'm going to put us on the bridge of the Enterprise a few minutes before Q and Trelane show up. Then it will be up to you, Q, to talk to yourself."

Q stood defiantly, arms folded. "Not until she apologizes for hitting me."

The time lord strode over and punched him in the face.

Q staggered and rubbed his nose, "Doctor! You're setting a terrible example!"

"That's it, then," the Doctor said as he turned to the Tardis' console

QED - part 5

"Repairs are complete, Captain. Mr. Scott reports warp engines at maximum efficiency."

"Excellent, Mr. Spock. Ahead warp factor 5, Mr. Sulu."

"Aye, Sir!"

"Wait a second, Sulu," Kirk frowned. "Hear that, Mr. Spock? That sort of grinding sound?"

"Indeed, Captain! Perhaps Mr. Scott's assessment of the warp engines was premature!"

"Where is that coming from?" Kirk looked around.

"Captain!" Mr. Spock nodded towards the center of the room.

"What is that?"

The three travelers stepped out of the blue police box.

"Kirk! Spock! Everyone! How nice to see you all again!" The Doctor smiled warmly.

The humans were silent. Spock raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, wait, what year is this? Of course, I haven't been here yet. Look, I don't have time to explain about that just now. We're here to--"

The Doctor's speech was interrupted by a bright flash.

"Yes, dear Captain, I'm back!" Trelane said with a florish. "And this time I brought a fr-- Q! You were going to wait! I was supposed to go first!" Trelane stamped his foot.

"I am not who you think I am," the human Q said, just as his omnipotent self showed up.

"Mon Capitan! Wait! What are you doing here, Q? I thought we agreed that this was my look!"

"I am not Q, I am you!"

"Oh no, here we go again!" Martha groaned.

"If you're me then--"

"Yes. No powers. Under punishment again."

"Wait!" Kirk threw up his hands. "who the hell are you people and what are you doing on my ship?"

"We're here 2 minutes and already you insult us!" omnipotent Q said.

"Trelane, do your parents know you are here?" Spock queried.

Trelane ignored him. "I'm bored! Come on, let's have some fun!"

"Be still!" Q said in unison.

Trelane growled and gestured grandly.

A very perplexed dalek flashed onto the bridge. Within seconds its instinct kicked in and it was firing its weapon at anything with two legs. It killed Kirk and Spock first. Uhura managed to graze it with a phaser shot, but the dalek's aim was better. One by one it cut down the crew. It spun and took aim at the human Q. Martha jumped to push him to safety and took the full force of the blast.

The human Q was near tears when he screamed, "Will you get rid of that damned thing?"

"Oh,very well," the still omnipotent Q said, snapping his fingers.

"Dear, dear Martha! What have they done to you?" the mortal Q lifted her lifeless head.

"Aw, come on!" Trelane whined. "We were just having starting to have a good time and you sent them away! Bring back the toys!"

"Q!" the Doctor barked at them both. "Fix this!"

Trelane fumed. "I'll fix it, alright!"

An instant later, the Enterprise was crawling with daleks. Within minutes, 2/3 of the crew had been exterminated. Trelane laughed evilly.

The Doctor artfully destroyed a dalek with a phaser.

"Hey!" Trelane glared at the time lord. "I'm growing tired of your interference!"

The Doctor ducked Trelane's energy bolt and grabbed human Q by the collar. "Bring Martha!"

"But she's dead!" he sobbed.

"Bring her!" He shouted as he leaped to the safety of the Tardis.

The time ship materialized a few thousand kilometers from the Enterprise. With the aid of the projector, they watched as the Enterprise fought a losing battle with a dozen dalek saucer ships. After a short while the fighting stopped.

"That can only mean one thing. All the humans are dead," the Doctor said solemnly, "and the daleks are in control of the most powerful starship in the quadrant."

Q was on the floor, gently cradling Marta's corpse, his body shaking as he weeped.

"Snap out of it, Q!"

"Doctor!" his voice squeaked. "She's dead! I loved her, Doctor! I truly loved her!"

"If you really love her, get off your sorry ass and help me find the other you!"

"How?" he sniffled.

"Where did you go after you turned loose the daleks?"

Q shrugged. "Somewhere on the other side of the galaxy. I promised Trelane I would teach him galactic golf."

"Galactic golf?"

"Quite fun actually, you should try it," Q momentarily forgot his grief. "You conjure up these huge clubs, and use white dwarf stars as balls. I got a black hole in one!"

"Dammit. Q! Get a grip! We have to find your other self so we can fix this mess!"

"Oh, well," he said sheepishly. "I'll do my best--but I really don't know where he is--exactly--"

"What do you mean? I'm right here." the omnipotent Q appeared from nowhere.

"And where is Trelane?" the Doctor asked.

"I took that little delinquent back to his mummy. Such a brat! Last time I agree to baby-sit for relatives..."

"Q!" the human Q wailed. "You have to undo all the things I did--you did--we did!"

"Please, stop groveling. Very unbecoming. Besides, why should I do anything to help that pathetic race? They got what they deserved."

"Well," mortal Q mused, "you'll never again have a chance to torment--uh--I mean engage your dear friend Jean-Luc and company, or Janeway and friends, for that matter. You'll never meet Vash, which means you--I--we will never have a son--"

"Humph. That's on the plus side--"

"Look, Q! Fix all this or you'll end up like me! An addled brained human--crippled for life!"

"Like you?"

"I AM YOU!"

The all powerful one thought for a moment. "You do have a point." He snapped his fingers. "There. Everything is as it was. Satisfied?"

The room filled with an eerie glow as the two Q morphed and merged into one.

"Well, that was interesting!" Q blinked and flexed his arms.

"So, everything is all fixed?" the time lord asked. "What about the daleks?"

"Oh, they're in a better place," Q wiggled his fingers.

"You didn't kill them!" the Doctor said, a little surprised at his own concern.

"No, no. I would never hurt a hair on their--they don't have any hair, do they? I actually have some affection for the little cone heads. So focused and single-minded. I sent them far away. Give them a chance to develop--to evolve."

"Far away?" the Doctor asked.

"Far, far away."

"Good."

"Well, I must be going, time lord, now--"

"Wait!" the Doctor glanced towards Martha.

"Oh, her too?" Q complained. "I saved 8 billion people and you're worried about her?"

"She saved your life--or have you forgotten?"

"No, I remember--all of it--the confusion--the feelings--" he waved a hand and Martha began to stir. "She'll be up and about in a minute. So I saved 8 billion and 1," he watched Martha sit up. "My work here is done. Ta ta."

In a flash. he was gone.

"You're welcome!" the Doctor said.

"What happened?" Martha groaned. "Where's Q? What happened to the Enterprise and to the Earth?"

"All fixed. Look!"

On the wall the projector showed the U. S. S. Enterprise turning lazily in space then suddenly zipping into warp.

"Q fixed everything."

"What happened to me?" Martha stood. "I seem to remember being shot by a dalek! I should be dead!"

"You were. Q fixed that, too." the Doctor switched off the projector and picked it up from the floor.

Martha, who was her old self again smiled broadly. "He fancied me, you know."

"Who?"

"You know who! Q! I think he was kinda cute."

"Maybe when he was human." the Doctor said matter-of-factly. "He's his old omnipotent self now. To him you're about as significant as a microbe."

Martha fumed as the time lord left the room.

"Trying to make him jealous, are we?"

Martha gasped at the site of Q's disembodied head floating in the air.

"And actually I did, as you say, 'fancy' you a bit when I was human."

"And now I am like an amoeba to you!"

"No, my dear Martha!" Q said with true sincerity. "You are much more than that in my eyes, even now! You're more like a--a--pet rabbit!"

Martha scowled.

"Sorry. Best I can do. It was meant as a complement! Anyway, you helped me keep my powers, and you gave your life to save mine. So, I have a special little gift for you."

"Oh! What?"

"You'll see," Q said as his head dematerialized, a toothy smile the last thing to vanish.

Just then, the Doctor walked back into the control room.

"Doctor! You'll never guess what--"

The Tardis began to rock violently, to and fro, tossing them about until, finally, Martha was flung into the Doctor's arms.

The turbulence stopped.

The time lord had a strange expression as he gazed deep into Martha's eyes. Then he kissed her, long and hard.

Martha smiled softly as their lips parted.

"Ah, sorry!" the Doctor mumbled as he let her go and began fiddling with the Tardis console.

"Thank you, Q!" Martha whispered.

There was a gentile voice in her ear, "QED, my dear Martha, QED!"

QED - Epilogue

Billions of miles away, in a far quadrant of the galaxy, the Delta Daleks were holding court.

"DALEK ZED! COME FORWARD AND REPORT!"

"I OBEY, SUPREME DALEK!"

"WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE EXPERIMENT?"

"I SHALL DEMONSTRATE!" Dalek Zed bellowed. "BRING IN THE HUMANOID!"

Another Dalek entered the room, with a human man, bound by chains, in tow.

"HE IS FROM THE FIFTH PLANET?" The Supreme Dalek looked him over. "TYPICAL INFERIOR CREATURES. WE SHALL EXTERMINATE THEM ALL!"

"NO, SUPREME DALEK!" Zed protested.

The Supreme Dalek screamed,"WHAT DID YOU SAY? YOU DARE PROPOSE THAT WE SPARE THEM?"

"EXTERMINATION IS ILLOGICAL! OBSERVE!"

A door opened and a man in thin black metallic armor stepped in. His left arm and hand had been replaced by a dalek blaster weapon, and he had a laser emitter instead of a right eye.

"WHAT IS THIS?"

"THE LATEST IN DALEK TECHNOLOGY," Zed replied. "WE CAN ENHANCE HUMANS WITH CYBER IMPLANTS AND DALEK DNA!"

"A NEW ARMY!"

"A NEW DALEK RACE!" Zed said excitedly. "DALEKS SHALL RULE THE GALAXY!"

"You're crazy!" the human prisoner said. "You'll never get away with it!"

"YOU CANNOT STOP US!" the Supreme Dalek shrieked. "WE SHALL CAPTURE AND ASSIMILATE EVERYONE ON YOUR PLANET!"

"Then we'll fight you!" the human pulled at his chains. "We will resist you to the very last man!"

"RESISTANCE IS FUTILE! THE DALEKS WILL RULE THE GALAXY! WE WILL ASSIMILATE! ASSIMILATE! ASSIMILATE!"

The End