With the snap of his fingers Q caught up to Junior and, although the omnipotent being often wore a jovial smile, at the moment he was radiant with joy. "Come on my boy let go of that beauty, because it's time to get to work!"
Junior groaned and pulled his latest conquest a little closer. "Not now dad; Legratzia and I were about to start round 23."
The fluorescent blue woman giggled wearily, and ran a delicate finger across Junior's cheek. Her skin had a natural shimmer to it, but that was highlighted by glistening sweat and other fluids. Her people were highly voracious, but she knew that coupling with this being would make her the envy of the region.
"Yes I'd been keeping track," Q commented dryly, while leaning against the wall. He began examining his fingernails as he continued, "At any rate the Continuum has given us an assignment, and you know how they feel about delays."
"Fine," Junior sighed with aggravation, before turning to his companion. "Listen it's been real, and maybe I'll see you again sometime." The woman's purring moan was almost enough to make him defy his father, but with a snap of the fingers both Q were back in the Continuum. "Alright, what's the plan?"
In their natural state Q embodied all that was, and all that ever would be. Even as separate entities Q and his son were as one being, and so Junior knew his father's feelings before he expressed them. "My boy without a doubt I am the proudest father in all the Continuum!"
"Well yeah, you're the ONLY father in the Continuum."
"Son the time has come for Humanity to take the next step toward achieving Qness, and the Continuum has asked that YOU show them the way!" Q could tell that his offspring was stunned beyond words, and so he continued. "Once Humanity take the next step in their evolution I will no longer have to accompany you at all times."
"But they said you had eternal guardianship of me?" Junior stammered in shock.
In all possible dimensions Q glowed even more brightly. "Eternal guardianship of Q the boy, but after this mission you will be considered a man! Oh, and to think I have already taught you enough so that you would be ready for this transition. I knew you were the first child born to the Q since the dawn of the new age, but now you are the first to grow up!"
"Dad stop it!" Junior was disturbed by his father's outburst of happy tears, and tried to pull away as the Q hugged him closer. "Look I'm honoured that the Continuum is ready to give me this responsibility, but you don't have to act like such a baby. I'll always make you proud dad, and you're gonna be with me on this last mission right?"
Q regained his composure before speaking, "Yes I will, but you must remember that this is YOUR mission and not mine. I can only help guide you, but the choices that govern this critical time must be made by you and by those who begin the ascension."
"Right, I'm in charge and it's all up to me," he tried to sound more confident than he felt. "Okay, no problem. So I guess the first thing I need to do is um... uh..."
Q leaned in close and whispered, "Choose your Humans."
*#*#*
"I am unaccustomed to the humidity present in this region," Seven of Nine complained. Chakotay was a few feet ahead of her with a machete in one hand, and he used it to expertly clear a path through the foliage. "I do not see why we must travel on foot to meet these people."
"The Rubber-tree people live in isolation, and have rejected technology. I made this trip with my father many years ago, and I disliked the journey almost as much as you do." He turned to face her with a loving smile. "Besides, who else can tell them about the Sky Spirits? I'll bet they're already planning their next voyage to visit my ancestral cousins, and so they should be told to prepare for their arrival."
"Their Sky Spirits are nothing more than aliens, who at the very least will take a century to reach Earth. Still, I look forward to learning about your heritage Chakotay." Seven was still getting used to expressing her mood visibly, but she knew that a gentle smile was all it took for him to understand her.
His dark eyes grew soft as they gazed at her, and he reached for her with his free hand. Giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze he held her close for a moment. "I know they'll love you as much as I do."
They locked eyes for several moments, and she was so lost in his features that at first Seven didn't notice anything wrong. After a while she realized that Chakotay hadn't moved, indeed he wasn't even breathing, and her body grew tense. "Who else is here? Identify yourself!"
"If I thought he was going to take your clothes off I would have waited a bit longer."
Stepping away from her lover Seven turned sharply, and spotted the young Q. He was sitting on a rock just behind her, with one leg curled to his chest and an arrogant smile plastered on his face. "Why are you here? Put me back in time this instant, and go play games with someone else."
"Oh this isn't a game Seven," he insisted as he stood up, though he kept his hands where she could see them. "I'm here on behalf of the Continuum. I would have gone to see Icheb first, but my dad insisted it had to be a Human, so who better than the embodiment of Human perfection?"
"You still haven't explained why you are here," she pointed out blandly.
"Because it's Humanity's birthday, and we've come bearing gifts." Q popped up behind Seven, and was pleased when she didn't flinch in surprise. "Your species is so varied and utterly unique, but frankly unless you accept our help you will be doomed to a linear existence until the end of your primitive society."
"Are you saying that the Q wish to offer Humanity abilities not unlike your own?" she pressed, turning her head to peer at the older Q over her shoulder. He grinned as he walked around her, and Seven weighed the possibilities. "The link between time and gravity is well established, and so the ability to defy one would make the other inconsequential."
Q smiled at his son. "I think she was a good first choice son, though your insights could never surprise me."
Junior smiled even wider, and folded his arms confidently. "So what do you say Seven? Will you help us bring Humanity out of the dark ages?"
She raised a scathing brow, "Do you honestly think a former Borg is the ideal candidate for advancing the Human condition?"
"Let's just call you first of many," Junior quipped. "Though you might find yourself having to learn a few things from some of our other candidates in this class."
The brow remained raised, but her expression shifted ever so slightly. "I am intrigued. Very-well I shall comply.
*#*#*
"Slow your breathing Deanna, and the pain will pass," Beverly Crusher soothed. A cool cloth was in her hand, and she used it to wipe beads of sweat from the labouring woman's brow.
"Will, I want Will here," she moaned softly.
"My assistant is resetting the bones in his hand as we speak," Doctor Crusher reminded her, though she tried her best to keep the humour out of her tone. How many years had it been since she herself had laid down to child-bed? "Once this contraction is over I'll go check on him, and see if he's brave enough to come back in here."
Deanna groaned and closed her eyes, while tears streamed down the side of her face. No wonder they called it labour! Suddenly she felt his presence drawing near, and she could hear the nurse arguing with him before they arrived. "Captain I need to run one more scan on the nerves!"
"You can scan it if and when she breaks my other hand, because I refuse to miss another minute of this!" Moments later he was at her side, and though his fingers still ached he used them to brush a damp strand of hair away from her face. "Imzadi"
The sweetness of that word brought a sigh from her lips, and the contraction fell away. Opening her eyes she looked up at her husband with a smile. "How's your hand?"
"I've got no right to complain about it, at least not today. How are you?"
She opened her mouth to respond, but a shift in the room caused her sudden alarm. "Something's wrong: we have uninvited guests."
"Oh come now, you didn't think I'd miss the most important moment in my old friend's life did you?" Q appeared just behind Captain Riker, and looked down at Deanna from over his shoulder. "From one father to the next, congratulations!"
"Q!" He spun around quickly to confront the entity, but instead found only Seven of Nine. "What the?..."
"I am sure your confusion is no less than mine Captain," she commented blandly. "I am Seven of Nine, formerly under the service of Admiral Janeway aboard the USS Voyager."
He smiled at her politely, "I've read your file. Q what is this all about, and can't you see I don't have the time for your games?"
"Oh it's not a game, and believe me Q's not the one you should be talking to about this." Junior appeared at Deanna's other side, before looking down at her swollen belly curiously. "You still keep infants inside your stomachs? If I had been born like that I wouldn't be omnipotent, that's for sure!"
Q reappeared on Riker's other side, and he hugged the man's shoulders jovially. "I believe this is the first time you've met Junior. They do grow up so quickly, though you'll learn all about that soon enough I'm sure."
"If you think you can barge in here without my permission you've got another thing coming." Beverly rounded on Junior, stepping between him and Deanna. "I don't care if you are a Q, nobody disturbs my patients or their families!"
"You know I'm so glad you brought up the subject of family, because we've got a surprise for you Beverly." With the snap of his fingers two more beings appeared: one was tall with pale skin, and the other looked similar to Dr. Crusher."
"Wesley," she whispered.
"Hi mom." A shy smile lit his features, but he held out his arms in welcome. Beverly embraced her full grown son, and was so stricken by his sudden appearance that it moved her to tears. "Hey it's okay; I've come by to help."
"What do you mean Wes?" Will asked as he gripped Deanna's hand. Was there something wrong the the baby?
The Stranger bowed politely toward the assembly, "I have been instructing young Crusher on the dynamics of time and gravity for a while, and I must say he is quite the enlightened protege. Though it saddens me to part ways at this point he is sufficiently educated to help guide Humanity though this period of transition. I trust you shall be learning a good deal from him Captain Riker."
"Whoever thought the pupil would be teaching the master?" Q mocked. "Besides, he'll make a fantastic friend for my boy."
"What, become friends with a Homo-sapien? No way dad, Itchy's the only mortal friend I need!" Junior exclaimed.
Seven raised an amused brow, "Itchy?"
"But you both make such a striking pair." With the snap of his fingers both Junior and Wes were standing side by side, and their outfits had changed. Now they resembled a pair of late 20th century adolescent men, though Junior wore a shirt with an arrow pointing at Wes with words above: I'm with stupid. Wes' shirt was of similar fashion with an arrow pointing at the younger Q, except his simply stated 'what he said.'
Junior gave his father a sharp look, as the older Q snickered. "It's not funny dad."
"Sure it is: I'm laughing aren't I?"
"Well nobody else is," Wes pointed out. Blinking both eyes he took a step forward, and by the time his foot was planted on the ground his outfit was back to normal. "At least I know there's a few things I can teach the Q."
"You know, you need to work on that tone of self-righteous arrogance," Junior snarled as he pointed at Wes.
"Speak for yourself."
"So what do you say Riker? We could let the boys and Borg run around the fringes of time unsupervised, or you can come along to make sure they don't hurt themselves." Q smirked at Will.
"Are you saying you won't be there to watch out for them?"
"Well obviously I will be present, but this isn't about me at all: it's about Humanity, and Junior's place at their side." Q's tone oozed superiority as usual, but Riker had dealt with him often enough to tell that he was being sincere. "Besides, you showed a great deal of promise when I did give you unlimited power. You wisely rejected power that was beyond your ability to handle, but now you are given the chance to claim something more suitable to your present state."
"I can't leave my wife now, not like this," he exclaimed.
"Shh don't worry," Q assured him gently. "Once this is over you will return to the exact moment you left from, and if you succeed you will have the power to hold your son for the first time as often as you desire."
Placing a hand on Deanna's cheek he gazed at her imploringly. She was beginning to have another contraction, but her strained smile was genuine in its support. "Go, for Beverly's sake. Watch out for Wesley."
"I love you." Kissing her sweetly he treasured the moment before they would part. For her he would only be gone for less than a second, but who knew the next time he would get to touch her like this?
Beverly was holding Wes at arm's length as she sized him up. "You be safe out there, alright? And after this is all over you'd better come back for a visit more often."
"Don't worry Beverly; I'll make sure he does." A familiar voice chimed in from behind them, and everyone turned to look in surprise.
"You!" Riker exclaimed.
"You who?" Seven asked.
"You Q," Q said while rolling his eyes.
"Amanda!" Doctor Crusher gasped with a mix of surprise and pleasure. "You're another one who needs to visit more often."
"It's hard to keep track of time when you're outside of it, right Wesley?" Amanda Rogers stated gently. "The Continuum feels that I would benefit from joining this venture, and I'm happy to do so if it means spending time with old friends." Noticing Captain Riker's glance she shook her head. "Don't worry sir, I learned my lesson the last time we met."
"I'm glad to hear it," he stated blandly. "Alright Q you can count me in, if only because you'll need someone rational to keep you in line, and God help us your son as well."
"I'm so glad you think so," Q pointed at Riker emphatically. "As a matter of fact I was thinking we could use a real leader of men to hold this ragtag bunch of misfits together."
"If you think I'm..."
"Oh goodness no, not you!" Q interrupted with a laugh, and Junior chortled along in amusement. "Soon-to-be daddy already has enough on his plate, and I've always liked seeing you in the shadow of a real leader. The man I'm thinking of is already leagues beyond the lot of you, and so I'm sure he'll be able to lead this group to success. Not Picard, he's too stubborn for this sort of venture. As for Janeway... well I KNOW she's not a man."
"Do you really have to talk about aunt Kathy like that?" Junior groaned.
"Who do you believe would be sufficient for this role?" Seven asked pointedly.
"What we need most is an emissary."
*#*#*
"Benjamin," Sarah's soft voice was always filled with warmth and love, but now it contained a trace of anticipation. "Visitors have arrived, and we have need of the Emissary."
"Alright I'll greet them." The pulsing light which enveloped he and his fellows showed him the way to these newcomers, and Captain Sisko was only slightly surprised to recognize one of them. "Q!"
They stood in the centre of a boxing ring, and Q was shocked to find himself wearing a set of heavy gloves and silk shorts. "Oh no."
"Oh yes, the tables have turned Q!" Benjamin laughed before throwing a handful of jabs at the omnipotent being. "What's the matter, don't have the fighting spirit? We exist here now, and it was all your idea!"
Q took the blows as though he hadn't felt them, when in reality they stung more than he had anticipated; Sisko really HAD learned a thing or two!
"Dad what's going on, why are you letting him hit you?" Junior asked with concern.
Benjamin raised his brow as he peered into the crowd, noticing for the first time what sort of company Q had brought along. "Dad? You have a son?"
"I think it would be prudent for us to just talk," Q stammered. "We also exist in Quark's don't we? Let's just have ourselves a drink at a nice quiet table."
"Alright." Ben smirked feeling that he had won some sort of victory, and their existence shifted to the familiar setting of Quark's bar. Unlike the station this version of Quarks was quiet, and so waving a hand toward one of the larger tables Captain Sisko smiled at the group. "Have a seat; the drinks are on me."
"I only require water at this time," Seven stated while pulling out the nearest chair, and sitting down with purpose.
As everyone took their seats Benjamin remained on his feet with his mouth open, and a finger pointed at Seven. "A Human who was liberated from the Borg?" At her nod he began pointing at everyone else in turn. "A Star Fleet Captain, a young Human who has already stepped beyond the boundaries of time, and two young Q. Is she your daughter, or..."
"No, my parents were Q but they were executed for abandoning the Continuum," Amanda explained.
"Wait a minute, I thought I was the only Q born since the dawn of the new age?" Junior exclaimed.
"The only one born IN the Continuum," Q clarified. "She was born on Earth, which means you are technically still the first child born into our realm."
Junior leaned back in his chair, and put an arm around Amanda. "So I guess we're the only two Q who can understand each other, right?"
"I understand more than you do little boy." With a snap of her fingers Junior's chair vanished, and he found himself sitting on the floor.
"Phew that girl's got spunk. Alright Q, now tell me why you've brought your friends to the temple of the prophets, as it's been called."
"We've come to ask for your help," Q said seriously. "It's time Humanity evolved a little, so with your insights and Q guidance I believe Humans are now ready to consciously step outside of time! Imagine travelling to worlds without the use of star ships, or taking as long as you want to cook a meal without keeping your guests waiting, and how about baseball without gravity?"
Benjamin threw back his head with a laugh, "Baseball without gravity? Did you think you could tempt me with such selfish ideas? Why should I believe you are doing this to help Humanity?"
"Captain this is my mission, not my father's," Junior piped up, though he hadn't bothered to draw up another chair for himself. "Look warp drive is damaging subspace, your scientists have already proven that. There's the quantum mechanics department at Star Fleet, and temporal prime directives which frankly don't make any sense for a race of explorers."
"I'm more inclined to believe your explanation over Q's, but that doesn't mean I'm fully convinced. What about the rest of you? I assume you've had more dealings with these beings than I have." Sisko sat at the table and listened to detailed accounts from Riker, Wes and Seven, though by the end of their accounts he appeared to have more questions than answers. "What exactly is it you expect of me?"
Q leaned across the table to peer at him. "Be the Emissary while simultaneously being a Captain. Help guide these young minds toward the same enlightenment you now possess, the type all ascended beings embrace. Help the race of your father to evolve."
He waved a hand around the table, "This isn't a race, it's a couple of kids and an officer."
"I assure you that by the time this venture is over you will encounter more minds in need of enlightenment, but for now this is your starting point." Q rarely experienced doubt, but this man was close to his own level of omnipotence, and so he could not predict his actions. "From one father to another, will you help us?"