Prologue - Somewhere In Space
"My dear, would you care to read aloud to me?"
Vash looked up warily. She had gotten to know Q fairly well as they travelled together, and she recognized that oh-so-innocent tone of his. Besides, whenever he disappeared without explanation and then simply reappeared, also without explanation, she knew he was up to something. "Why?" she asked, a half-smile of anticipation hovering about her lips in spite of her intentions otherwise. Life with Q was never boring, she could certainly say that much.
He sat down on the floor by her feet, the innocent expression replaced by one of wounded dignity. "My dear Vash, why take such a tone with me?" Q pressed a dramatic hand against his heart--if he even had such an organ, a matter of much speculation among the beings who had dealt with him in the past. Especially the crew of a certain Galaxy-class starship. "I'm hurt that you feel the need to ask me that. I merely thought I might make another attempt at understanding humans better by delving into your philosophy. And you know how I love to hear the dulcet tones of your velvet voice..."
Vash's wry smile deepened as she shook her head. Once Q's speech became that flowery, it was impossible to get him to answer anything he didn't want to answer. It would be far easier to play along with him; eventually, he'd get to the point. "What do you want me to read?" she asked resignedly. "Plato? Aristotle? T'kuhl?"
Q shuddered distastefully and leaned back against the leather sofa he'd created at her request, along with the roaring fire and bearskin rug they were presently seated in front of. The entire "room" was merely floating, with neither walls nor ceiling, in the middle of space, but Vash had gotten used to Q's sense of showmanship and barely even noticed their surroundings anymore.
The master of showmanship raised a negligent hand. "Nothing so dull as that," he protested. Vash gave him her full attention, alerted by his tone. He was definitely up to something. "I have something a little more...current in mind." A book instantly appeared between his fingers, leather-bound, with no title apparent on the cover. Only three small initials embossed in gold leaf on the lower right-hand corner: JLP. Vash's eyes narrowed suspiciously as Q added: "Something a little more pertinent to the here and now," with a sly grin that belied his air of innocence.
"Is that what I think it is?" Vash reached for the volume, only to have Q pull his hand away teasingly.
"I find it absolutely fascinating that you humans feel such a compulsion to record your thoughts, your innermost feelings, and to keep those records where just anyone can find them," her companion said musingly, turning the book over in his hands as if to examine it more closely.
"And exactly where was this that 'just anyone' could find it?" Vash shot back, drawn into the game as she knew she would be. Q knew darn well that she could never resist a challenge. And Jean-Luc Picard had definitely been a challenge. She was dying to know what Q was doing with the captain's private journal.
"What, this?" Q looked at the book in feigned surprise. "I had a...small errand to perform on the Enterprise1, and when I finished, I went to say good-bye to my dear friend." A pause. "Unfortunately, he wasn't available at that time, and of course I needed to return to you, but I did happen to spot this handsome volume lying around his quarters before I left."
"Just lying around his quarters," Vash repeated drily. She stared at him, eyebrow raised. Waiting.
Q coughed delicately behind one hand. Caught, that sound said. But if he was caught, it was only because he wanted to be. More showmanship. "Well, it was locked in a drawer, granted, but it may as well have been lying about in the open to someone of my modest abilities. I just knew Picard would want me to read it," Q added virtuously. "After all, he's the one who's always giving me those boring, sanctimonious lectures about how little I know of human nature." He tossed the book lightly from hand to hand. "A subject Picard fancies himself the expert on."
Vash snatched the book out of Q's hands, ignoring his words as she looked the volume over critically. "Old fashioned, but then, Jean-Luc's just the type to prefer something like this to a computer record," she murmured, tracing the letters with one finger. She looked up at Q. "You want me to read this to you? You haven't read it already?"
She showed no signs of reluctance at the idea of reading Picard's private thoughts; indeed, she seemed eager to do so, Q noted gleefully. Vash was rarely predictable, but when she was, it was generally to his advantage. He shook his head in response to her question as he moved up to sit on the sofa. "I thought this was a special moment we should share together." With those words, Q swung his feet up and maneuvered his head onto her lap. He closed his eyes. "Would you mind?"
Vash shook her head once again before settling herself more comfortably on the sofa and opening the book at random. "Where should I begin?"
"Try the last few entries," Q murmured, his eyes still closed. "I think you'll find them extremely interesting."
Vash frowned down at his peaceful face, then shrugged and turned to the pages he'd indicated. She didn't really expect him to tell the truth all the time, not even to her. She began reading.
Author's Note: This story takes place between ST:TNG episode "True Q" and ST:DS9 episode "Q-Less", and was written and published in 1995 in Involution 8 (Orion Press). Let me know what you think! Oh yeah, I guess it could be considered an A/U story. And I don't own Star Trek or any of the characters herein. (Except the snakes. They'll show up later.)
