Disclaimer: Startrek: The Next Generation does not belong to me nor is there any profit being made from this story.
Summary: A man's desire to save his crew prompts a meeting of two of the best starships in the galaxy. Will Picard back away from duty to save the one he loves? Or will he sacrifice his affections for the sake of duty? TNG and Voyager crossover.
Chapter 1
"All hands, Battle stations!" Picard yelled. The Romulans were firing back at them.
'We were supposed to have a peaceful negotiation. We wanted peace, not this!' Picard thought in alarm. Soon, the ship was racked with firepower from the Romulan ships. "Captain, shields down by 30 percent," Geordi informed him, as the ship was fired upon again.
"Ready the torpedoes, Worf. Fire!" the Captain ordered. "Sir, the Romulan ships have cloaked," Worf notified the Captain, as the torpedoes smacked into their shields.
"We're losing impulse, Sir!" Geordi shouted as the crew were jerked about like puppets on a string. "Evasive maneuvers!" the Captain ordered again.
"We have lost warp impulse," Data informed him calmly. "The warp core is leaking, Sir," he continued.
"Data, hail them," Picard said to him as the firing stopped. "They are not responding, Sir," he replied. "Open a communications line on all signals," the Captain said.
"This is the U.S.S Enterprise. Call off your attack. We have no intention for hostility. I repeat; we are not hostile!" Picard called out. He looked at Data expectantly. "Still no response, Sir," Data reported.
"Can we get a warp signature from their engines?" Picard asked Geordi. "No, Sir. They are here but they are moving very erratically. I cannot pinpoint an exact location," he informed the Captain.
"They're hailing us, Sir," Data informed. "On screen," Picard said immediately.
"What is your reason for firing on us? I thought we were here on a peaceful mission," Picard asked the Romulan, keeping his anger in check. It was as if the Romulan had never heard him. "You will be destroyed if you do notsurrender your ship to the Empire!" the Romulan's voice boomed. With that, he ended the transmission and as suddenly as the firing stopped, it started again.
They heard a scream as Ensign Black was thrown off her console by an explosion. "Sir, we're being flanked from both sides," Data said, his face an emotionless mask. "Can we escape?" Picard asked Data.
"There is no logical way that we can extricate ourselves from this trap," he said, his fingers flying over buttons on the consoles. "Unless another ship assists us, there will be no way for us to…" he started again but was stopped by a blinking from outside the ship. It looked as if a man was standing on their ship, just outside their view screen. That man blinked away and was visible again, this time in the Enterprise.
"Q!" Picard growled, with the deepest loathing in his voice. "Yes yes, Picard. It's nice to see you too," Q acknowledged, his voice filled with amusement.
"I see we have a situation," Q said as he turned back to the viewscreen. Suddenly, the moment was ruined as the Romulan ships fired on them consecutively, obviously as part of an attack strategy. "We have lost shields, Captain!" Geordi cried out.
"Emergency shields are holding," Data called out. "For the moment," he added as an afterthought.
"Aren't I always here for you, when you need me the most!" Q exclaimed, his remark tinged with sarcasm. "Go away, Q! We are busy at the moment!" Picard said, obviously not interested in the game Q was playing at. "Tut.. Tut.. I was about to offer my assistance, Picard. Now, is that any way to treat your benefactor-to-be?" Q teased.
"What help?" Picard asked immediately as the ship was racked with another round of phaser beams. "Why… I could get you out of here. I just need the word," Q remarked, the glee apparent in his voice and delight playing in his eyes. "Get us out," Picard managed to croak as he was thrown off-balance. "With pleasure, my dear man!" Q exclaimed once more and snapped his fingers.
An eerie feeling passed over the Captain as the ship became deathly still. No one dared to speak and it was quite ridiculous really. Picard noticed that Q was nowhere to be seen. "Data," Picard said finally, breaking the self-imposed silence.
"Set a course for Earth. We need to inform Starfleet of the Romulans' treachery," he continued. His mind started playing the day over again. 'What went wrong with the Romulans?' he thought to himself. It was very strange.
'Why would the Romulans call for a peace meeting and then fire on us?' his inquisitive mind questioned.
"Captain," Data's voice punched through Picard's thoughts, breaking him from his reverie. "Either we have sustained more damage than we initially thought or we are nowhere near Starfleet command," he said, his eyes never leaving the screen in front of him.
"What's the problem, Data?" Riker asked this time. "Sir, it appears as if the entity called Q has brought us out of familiar territory. The stars and planets do not seem to match," Data explained.
"What does that mean?" Picard asked.
"It means, Sir, that we are no longer in the Alpha quadrant," he announced and with that the ship went still again as the crew on the bridge were shocked to silence.
"Send out emergency hails to any Starfleet ships that may be around," Picard said finally.
"I don't think that will help at all. Since we are not in the Alpha quadrant, I highly doubt that there will be any other Starfleet ships present… except us," Data explained.
"Just do it, Data," Picard said, fatigue evident in his voice. "And repair any damages that we have sustained," he added. He sat down on his chair and wondered to himself. He noticed that Riker was staring at him, as if expecting answers but he dared not look back. How could he, when he had none himself.
A/N: I'll put up the next chapter very soon, I promise. Please do review as to how you find the chapter and any changes I should make. Thanks. :)