Another Favor
Star Trek: The Next Generation, all characters and ideas there associated are the sole ownership of someone that's not me.
All original ideas and characters contained in the following story are the sole property of J.L. Scott.
This story takes place somewhere between the fifth and sixth seasons.
"Q!"
Fire erupted in the consoles behind, flinging sparks and bits of melting plastic across the Bridge.
"Q!" the desperate shout for help sounded again. The ship rocked, knocking people over and starting more fires.
Raylyn Picard stared out the front view screen at their attackers. The Borg cube had sustained heavy damage in its war with the Dominion, but it was still more than a match for the Enterprise. Raylyn sucked a breath in and took a chance to glance around the Bridge.
The last volley had sent Ensign Harper careening away from the helm controls. Data was only now crawling back to Opps. Will still lay on the floor where he'd fallen ten minutes ago. Enterprise was falling down around her ears. She needed help.
"Q, please!" she shouted into the air again. With a brilliant light, the being appeared on her Bridge.
"You called?" he bowed his head in mock reverance.
"Help us!" Raylyn pleaded. Q took his time observing the Bridge conditions before looking at the Borg cube, poised to strike the final blow.
"My dear Raylyn" Q finally replied, "How many times have I told you that I simply cannot interfere with the natural order of things?" Raylyn took a step closer to him and pushed her finger into his chest.
"Natural order of things?" she repeated in a deadly tone, "If you hadn't introduced us to the Borg, they probably wouldn't have taken any notice of us for years!" Q frowned but didn't respond.
"Q, if you do not help us right now, you better believe that after I'm dead I will haunt you until time ends. And that'll just be the beginning of your torture"
"Well, when you put it that way" Q made a swatting gesture with his hand and Raylyn watched as the Borg cube went flying away at nearly warp 10. Before Raylyn could bother to thank her rescuer, the turbolift doors opened and a medical team, supplemented by Wesley Crusher, frothed out.
"Wes, we need you at Helm" Raylyn said, directing her younger brother to the empty station. For the moment she couldn't care less that he was no longer in Starfleet, she needed the best and he was it.
"Mom?" the Commander redirected her attention to Beverly, who was kneeling next to Will.
"He'll be fine" the Doctor replied.
"Well if he's in no mortal danger, perhaps you should direct your attention to Raylyn" Q suggested. Beverly immediately stood and started scanning her daughter.
"I'm fine" Raylyn denied.
"I doubt it" Q muttered.
"You have two broken ribs and one of them is very close to puncturing your lung" Beverly reported as she finished her scan, "Q, I need to get her to Sickbay without moving her" Q snapped his fingers and Raylyn found herself lying on a medbed while the Doctor worked.
"Geordi!" she called into the air, "What've we got?"
"Raylyn!" Beverly scolded.
"I'm not going to just lie here and waste my time" Raylyn replied, "Geordi?"
"It's a mess down here, Commander" Geordi replied, shouting over the sounds of warning claxons and more exploding consoles, "The coolant injectors are leaking, the hyperdrive system is fried, even the dilithium is scrap!" Raylyn felt her heart sink a little.
"How long for repairs?" she asked.
"Without a service station? At least a couple weeks" Geordi replied, "I could sure use Data down here"
"All right. Start doing what you can" Raylyn ordered.
"Aye, sir" Sickbay doors swished open and Will, escorted by two nurses, staggered in.
"How is she?" he asked.
"I'm fine" Raylyn answered, "How're you?"
"I'm fine" he answered.
"You have a concussion, Will" Wyatt corrected, coming in behind his friend, "You're not fine. Lie down" Will tried to argue but did as he was told.
"Deanna!" Raylyn called verbally.
/Yes?/ her cousin replied.
/I need you on the Bridge/ Raylyn said /Oh, and tell Data to get down to Engineering/ Deanna acknowledged and broke off.
"Well, it seems my work here is done" Q, who had been standing around uselessly, the whole time, said and raised his hand as if to snap his fingers.
"Don't you dare go anywhere" Raylyn snapped savagely, "You got us into this mess, and now you're going to get out"
The Command crew sat around the conference table, with one notable exception. Captain Jean-Luc Picard had been killed in the first battle with the Borg, 6 months ago. He had sacrificed himself to save Enterprise. Will Riker had taken command of Enterprise.
"The ship sustained heavy damage" Data was reporting, "The hull was breached in several sections and many of our main systems are down"
"We sustained heavy casualties as well" Beverly added.
"50 were killed," Wyatt told them, "And nearly another 200 were seriously injured"
"At the moment most of the crew are still running on crisis mode" Deanna said, "But as soon as the urgency had faded, I expect there will be a general emotional melt down"
"We've had to deal with those before" Will said, "Geordi, what's the status on the engines?"
"Wesley and I have come up with some new designs that should allow us to get hyperdrive back online sooner than I thought" Geordi replied.
"I estimate we should have hyperdirve back in 8 days, Captain" Data added.
"Till then we're flying on minimal impulse" Wesley reported.
"We won't make it through another attack" Raylyn realized aloud.
"That's where you come in" Riker said. Everyone turned to give Q, seated at the foot of the table, expectant looks.
"How so?" the arrogant nearly all powerful being asked.
"You're here to help aren't you?" Will demanded.
"Against my will" Q replied, giving Raylyn a scathing look. No one knew how Raylyn got Q to do what she asked (or more often told) but he usually did, with copious amounts of complaints and snide comments.
"So help!" Riker said.
"And just what would you like me to do, Captain?" Q inquired. He emphasized the title. (Q had wanted Raylyn to succeed her father)
His question had brought a reigning silence. Nobody, not even Raylyn, had thought about what they wanted him to do. Now that they were, they realized he could do anything. He could blink and make the Borg just not exist anymore.
"Well, what is it that we need?" Deanna voiced.
"We need something to fight the Borg with" Geordi replied.
"You would ask me to do what you yourselves wouldn't" Q scoffed, "Violate your own Prime Directive?"
"No" Raylyn answered, "I don't think weapons are the solution here"
"What do you mean?" her husband asked.
"A gun is only as good as the man who holds it" Raylyn answered cryptically.
"Are you suggesting that Q somehow enhance us, Commander?" Data asked.
"No, Data. What we need is a strategy. What we need is information. A different view point, fresh minds"
"Ah, now that I think I can help with!" Q exclaimed, a twinkle in his eye that usually meant trouble for someone.
"Q, what are you doing?" Raylyn asked, sounding much as if she were the mother of a Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn.
"Back in a flash" was all Q said and disappeared in a blaze of light.
Star Trek: The Next Generation, all characters and ideas there associated are the sole ownership of someone that's not me.
All original ideas and characters contained in the following story are the sole property of J.L. Scott.
This story takes place somewhere between the fifth and sixth seasons.
"Q!"
Fire erupted in the consoles behind, flinging sparks and bits of melting plastic across the Bridge.
"Q!" the desperate shout for help sounded again. The ship rocked, knocking people over and starting more fires.
Raylyn Picard stared out the front view screen at their attackers. The Borg cube had sustained heavy damage in its war with the Dominion, but it was still more than a match for the Enterprise. Raylyn sucked a breath in and took a chance to glance around the Bridge.
The last volley had sent Ensign Harper careening away from the helm controls. Data was only now crawling back to Opps. Will still lay on the floor where he'd fallen ten minutes ago. Enterprise was falling down around her ears. She needed help.
"Q, please!" she shouted into the air again. With a brilliant light, the being appeared on her Bridge.
"You called?" he bowed his head in mock reverance.
"Help us!" Raylyn pleaded. Q took his time observing the Bridge conditions before looking at the Borg cube, poised to strike the final blow.
"My dear Raylyn" Q finally replied, "How many times have I told you that I simply cannot interfere with the natural order of things?" Raylyn took a step closer to him and pushed her finger into his chest.
"Natural order of things?" she repeated in a deadly tone, "If you hadn't introduced us to the Borg, they probably wouldn't have taken any notice of us for years!" Q frowned but didn't respond.
"Q, if you do not help us right now, you better believe that after I'm dead I will haunt you until time ends. And that'll just be the beginning of your torture"
"Well, when you put it that way" Q made a swatting gesture with his hand and Raylyn watched as the Borg cube went flying away at nearly warp 10. Before Raylyn could bother to thank her rescuer, the turbolift doors opened and a medical team, supplemented by Wesley Crusher, frothed out.
"Wes, we need you at Helm" Raylyn said, directing her younger brother to the empty station. For the moment she couldn't care less that he was no longer in Starfleet, she needed the best and he was it.
"Mom?" the Commander redirected her attention to Beverly, who was kneeling next to Will.
"He'll be fine" the Doctor replied.
"Well if he's in no mortal danger, perhaps you should direct your attention to Raylyn" Q suggested. Beverly immediately stood and started scanning her daughter.
"I'm fine" Raylyn denied.
"I doubt it" Q muttered.
"You have two broken ribs and one of them is very close to puncturing your lung" Beverly reported as she finished her scan, "Q, I need to get her to Sickbay without moving her" Q snapped his fingers and Raylyn found herself lying on a medbed while the Doctor worked.
"Geordi!" she called into the air, "What've we got?"
"Raylyn!" Beverly scolded.
"I'm not going to just lie here and waste my time" Raylyn replied, "Geordi?"
"It's a mess down here, Commander" Geordi replied, shouting over the sounds of warning claxons and more exploding consoles, "The coolant injectors are leaking, the hyperdrive system is fried, even the dilithium is scrap!" Raylyn felt her heart sink a little.
"How long for repairs?" she asked.
"Without a service station? At least a couple weeks" Geordi replied, "I could sure use Data down here"
"All right. Start doing what you can" Raylyn ordered.
"Aye, sir" Sickbay doors swished open and Will, escorted by two nurses, staggered in.
"How is she?" he asked.
"I'm fine" Raylyn answered, "How're you?"
"I'm fine" he answered.
"You have a concussion, Will" Wyatt corrected, coming in behind his friend, "You're not fine. Lie down" Will tried to argue but did as he was told.
"Deanna!" Raylyn called verbally.
/Yes?/ her cousin replied.
/I need you on the Bridge/ Raylyn said /Oh, and tell Data to get down to Engineering/ Deanna acknowledged and broke off.
"Well, it seems my work here is done" Q, who had been standing around uselessly, the whole time, said and raised his hand as if to snap his fingers.
"Don't you dare go anywhere" Raylyn snapped savagely, "You got us into this mess, and now you're going to get out"
The Command crew sat around the conference table, with one notable exception. Captain Jean-Luc Picard had been killed in the first battle with the Borg, 6 months ago. He had sacrificed himself to save Enterprise. Will Riker had taken command of Enterprise.
"The ship sustained heavy damage" Data was reporting, "The hull was breached in several sections and many of our main systems are down"
"We sustained heavy casualties as well" Beverly added.
"50 were killed," Wyatt told them, "And nearly another 200 were seriously injured"
"At the moment most of the crew are still running on crisis mode" Deanna said, "But as soon as the urgency had faded, I expect there will be a general emotional melt down"
"We've had to deal with those before" Will said, "Geordi, what's the status on the engines?"
"Wesley and I have come up with some new designs that should allow us to get hyperdrive back online sooner than I thought" Geordi replied.
"I estimate we should have hyperdirve back in 8 days, Captain" Data added.
"Till then we're flying on minimal impulse" Wesley reported.
"We won't make it through another attack" Raylyn realized aloud.
"That's where you come in" Riker said. Everyone turned to give Q, seated at the foot of the table, expectant looks.
"How so?" the arrogant nearly all powerful being asked.
"You're here to help aren't you?" Will demanded.
"Against my will" Q replied, giving Raylyn a scathing look. No one knew how Raylyn got Q to do what she asked (or more often told) but he usually did, with copious amounts of complaints and snide comments.
"So help!" Riker said.
"And just what would you like me to do, Captain?" Q inquired. He emphasized the title. (Q had wanted Raylyn to succeed her father)
His question had brought a reigning silence. Nobody, not even Raylyn, had thought about what they wanted him to do. Now that they were, they realized he could do anything. He could blink and make the Borg just not exist anymore.
"Well, what is it that we need?" Deanna voiced.
"We need something to fight the Borg with" Geordi replied.
"You would ask me to do what you yourselves wouldn't" Q scoffed, "Violate your own Prime Directive?"
"No" Raylyn answered, "I don't think weapons are the solution here"
"What do you mean?" her husband asked.
"A gun is only as good as the man who holds it" Raylyn answered cryptically.
"Are you suggesting that Q somehow enhance us, Commander?" Data asked.
"No, Data. What we need is a strategy. What we need is information. A different view point, fresh minds"
"Ah, now that I think I can help with!" Q exclaimed, a twinkle in his eye that usually meant trouble for someone.
"Q, what are you doing?" Raylyn asked, sounding much as if she were the mother of a Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn.
"Back in a flash" was all Q said and disappeared in a blaze of light.