Chapter 10
Tom suddenly felt as if he were claustrophobic. He couldn't breathe and the room seemed
to closing in on him. Then, it turned into a bitter rage, boiling inside of him. He looked
around the room. Q seemed to be laughing at him. He turned to Vicki Ann. She was
laughing too. Suddenly, beside her was Will and Deanna. They laughed at Tom because he
had nothing. Will had everything and Tom had nothing. He looked at Vicki Ann and thought
to himself, I'll just have to take something of his.
The alternate Q was standing outside of the room now, watching. His alternate sat in a
chair near him, looking sick. "What's the matter, Q? I thought you liked games?"
Q looked at his alternate with a look of horror. A blood- curdling scream came from the
other room. Q stood up, ready to run into the room, but was pushed down by his
alternate.
"Sit down, Q. You're not going to go running to her rescue. I won't let you. You are going
to sit here and listen."
And Q did just that. He sat there, cringing the entire time as he listened to his friend's
screams.
Vicki Ann sat in the corner, her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms across her
knees. She had a dazed look in her eyes and her face was wet with tears. Her hair, which
had been pulled up into a ponytail, was now half hanging in her face. She had a deep cut
on her right cheek. Her pajama top was torn off one shoulder and she had a large bruise
on that shoulder.
Tom lay in the opposite corner, unconscious from the emotional assault by the alternate
Q.
Q entered and so did his alternate. The alternate Q shoved Q into the room and shut the
door. Q ran over to Vicki Ann. "Vicki Ann! Are you all right?"
She continued to stare.
"Can you hear me?"
She didn't answer.
Q thought for a moment. He snapped his fingers and a med kit appeared. "Well, I can
transport in, but not out." He snapped his fingers and Beverly Crusher appeared.
"What the-?" She saw Q. "Take me back to the Enterprise."
Q shrugged. "Sorry, I can't do that."
"Why did you bring me here?" she asked.
Q sighed. "Because there is someone here who needs your help." He pointed to Vicki Ann.
Beverly gasped. "What happened?"
Q shook his head. "I'm not sure."
Beverly scanned her. "By the looks of her injuries, it looks like she's been raped."
Q gasped.
"What have you done, Q?"
"I didn't do anything." He pointed to Tom. "It was him. My alternate made him do it. I was
in the other room and all I could hear was her screaming."
Beverly fixed the cut on Vicki Ann's forehead and the bruise on her shoulder. "That's all I
can do for now. We'll have to wait until we get back to the Enterprise. If we ever get
back. Can you really not get us back?"
Q shook his head. "I can bring things in, but not out. Wait." Q closed his eyes and tried to
contact the Q, but was unsuccessful. "Sorry. Thank goodness I told someone where I
was."
"Who exactly?"
"My brother. He should be realizing that I'm gone any time now."
"But what good will that do?"
"He might be able to figure out a way to get us out of here."
"I severely hope so, because Vicki Ann needs a psychologist, preferably Deanna, and she
needs her as soon as possible."
"Sickbay to bridge."
Picard glanced at Riker and then tapped his comm badge. "Yes?"
"Dr. Crusher and a med kit have just vanished, sir."
"By a transporter beam?"
"No, more like when Q appears and disappears."
Picard sighed. "What does he want with her?" he muttered. "Thank you for alerting us."
"You're welcome, captain. Sickbay out."
Deanna, who was sitting in her usual seat, suddenly gasped.
Picard and Riker immediately turned to her. "What's wrong?" the captain asked.
"Vicki Ann. Something is seriously wrong with her."
Picard tapped his comm badge. "Picard to Dr. Troi."
No answer.
He tried again. Still no answer. "Computer, locate Dr. Troi."
"Dr. Troi is not aboard the Enterprise."
"When did she leave?"
"200 hours."
"We're going to have to figure out a way for the computer to alert us when someone
leaves unexpectedly," Picard said to Riker.
"What does Q want with Dr. Crusher and Vicki Ann?" Riker asked.
"Vicki Ann is hurt. So I would assume that Q sent for Dr. Crusher to help her." Deanna
suggested.
"Hurt in what way?" Riker asked worriedly.
"Severe emotional trauma. She has withdrawn inward to protect herself. We have to get
her back, captain, or we may never see our Vicki Ann again."
"But we have to find her first."
"I can help you with that."
Picard looked up to see who had spoken and saw a blonde hair man in a Starfleet uniform.
Q's brother. "Q2, does your brother have something to do with this?
"In a manner of speaking, yes. My brother's alternate had kidnaped both him and Vicki Ann
to punish them for defeating him. He had already begun to torture Vicki Ann and that is
why she has withdrawn. That is why my brother called for Dr. Crusher," Q2 replied.
"What happened?" Riker asked.
Q2 cringed. "Apparently, the alternate Q was unable to get Vicki Ann himself, so he
enlisted the help of your duplicate, Riker, knowing that the computer would sense him as
you. After Q arrived to try to rescue Vicki Ann, the alternate Q somehow emotionally
attacked your duplicate and amplified his feelings of anger and hatred of you. He then
forced Tom to direct his feelings toward Vicki Ann. This was to be a test of how much he
could take. I regret to say that as a result of the emotional assault, your duplicate
sexually assaulted Vicki Ann."
Riker felt nauseous. He put his head in his hands. "Can you get her out?"
"Yes, but we need to find a way to destroy the alternate Q's access to this universe," Q2
replied.
"Could you destroy it if you enlisted the help of the entire Continuum?"
"Possibly. But we would need the Enterprise to go along to seal the fissure. The Q would
be too exhausted from defeating the alternate Q to close it."
"Captain, we may be able to seal it much the way we did when you shifted through time,"
Data said.
Picard nodded. "Yes, by creating a static warp shell."
Q2 nodded. "Let's go." He snapped his fingers and the Enterprise zipped forward at about
a million times warp point nine.
When the Enterprise arrived at the fissure, Lt. Stirland who was at security said to Picard,
"Captain, there is a ship bearing 330 mark 15."
"Q's ship from the alternate universe," Q2 replied. He turned to Picard. "I'm going to
contact the Q. I will alert you when the alternate Q has been sent back and you can seal
the fissure."
Picard nodded.
Q2 closed his eyes. He began to glow with the brilliance of a million suns and the bridge
crew had to cover their eyes.
Suddenly, the bridge shook violently as if there was an earthquake. Picard ordered
everyone to hold on, although it was doubtful that he was heard over the roar of the
fissure. The bridge crew stared in awe, playing to their deity that they would survive.
Now! Picard heard in his head.
Data took the ship in and initiated the static warp shell. The bridge shook even more
violently and a few officers were thrown from their stations. There was a brilliant and
blinding flash and all went white.
When the bridge crew regained consciousness, Picard immediately turned to Q2, who sat
down in Riker's seat after he had been thrown from his seat.
"Congratulations, captain. You did it. Your CMO and pilot are now in sickbay," Q2 told
Picard. He smiled. "Maybe Q was right about you after all." He bowed to Picard. "I bid you
and your crew farewell and I hope we never have to face this threat again."
Picard nodded. "I agree. Thank you."
Q2 saluted Picard and vanished.
Vicki Ann was now in sickbay and Tom was in the brig. Riker, half on order from Picard and
half out of worry for Vicki Ann, went to sickbay. He entered sickbay and he saw her, lying
motionless on a biobed. Beverly was tending to her injuries and collecting evidence in case
of prosecution. Beverly had just turned around to get something when Vicki Ann awoke
screaming. Riker's heart ached when he saw the look of terror in her eyes. This strong
woman who had stood up to her abusive ex-fianc‚, defeated Quinn and gave Q a run for
his money looked like a small, lost child. Riker watched as Beverly comforted her. Vicki Ann
noticed him and she slowly brought her eyes to meet his. He expected her to be afraid of
him, but her eyes called for his help. He walked over to her and sat down beside her.
"What can I do for you, Will?" Beverly asked him.
"The captain wants you to check me out. I was thrown from my station while we were
trying to close the fissure," Riker replied.
Beverly nodded. "Come over here and we'll get started," she said, motioning to a biobed
beside her.
Riker glanced at Beverly, and then a Vicki Ann and then back to Beverly.
Beverly took the hint and said, "Okay, we can do it right here."
Vicki Ann linked her arm through Riker's and laid her head on his shoulder.
Riker slowly got up from the chair he was sitting in and very carefully slipped his hand out
from under Vicki Ann's. He held his breath, hoping she wouldn't wake up. She didn't. Riker,
his legs stiff from sitting by Vicki Ann's biobed, decided to walked around sickbay. When he
reached a wall, he stopped and leaned against it. Rubbing his temples, he heaved a heavy
sigh.
Beverly walked up to him. She frowned when he looked up at her. His eyes were bloodshot
and he had dark circles under his eyes. He was obviously depriving himself of sleep for
Vicki Ann's sake. Not to mention the emotional toll of the situation. Riker hated to see
anyone in pain, but that concern was amplified a million times when it was someone close
to him. And Vicki Ann was doubly close to him, not only was she a friend, but also because
she was also the sister of his most likely future wife. Beverly put her hand on Riker's
shoulder and smiled a him. "I think you need some sleep, Commander."
Riker smiled slightly. "Thanks for the advice, doctor, but I can't. Not while she needs me."
"But, Will, she's sleeping."
"Exactly. That's when she needs me the most."
"Why is that?"
"Because that's we he came for her. While she was sleeping and couldn't be careful."
Beverly sighed. "How long are you planning to be her bodyguard?"
"Until Tom is in prison."
"So you aren't going to sleep until we reach Starbase and they take him into custody."
"Exactly."
"Good luck. I'll bet you don't last a week."
"Is that supposed to be a joke?"
"No, it's medical fact." Beverly thought for a moment. "How about this? You can sleep in
the biobed next to her and if she needs you, you'll be right there."
Riker considered the suggestion. "Okay. Promise me you'll wake me up if she has a
nightmare or calls for me or anything like that."
Beverly nodded. "I promise."
"Thanks." Riker sighed again and then asked Beverly, "Do you think he'll be found guilty?"
"Well, the only witness is a known trickster, the accused is the genetic duplicate of the
victim's former lover. That makes a pretty tough case. Hopefully, they can get a
confession out of him."
Riker nodded. "Hopefully." He shook his head. "It's hard to believe that a year and a half
ago, I was hoping that Tom and I could get along. Now, I'd like to kill him. Slowly."
Beverly nodded.
"Do you know how hard it is knowing that it was me in some sense that did this to her?"
"Will, Tom is not you. You two are completely different people now."
"I know, but it makes me wonder if I could do the same thing if pushed too far."
"You could never do that."
"Are you sure about that? What about if I lost Deanna and my job and my identity? Can
any of us really be sure what we'd do if we lost everything?"
Tom suddenly felt as if he were claustrophobic. He couldn't breathe and the room seemed
to closing in on him. Then, it turned into a bitter rage, boiling inside of him. He looked
around the room. Q seemed to be laughing at him. He turned to Vicki Ann. She was
laughing too. Suddenly, beside her was Will and Deanna. They laughed at Tom because he
had nothing. Will had everything and Tom had nothing. He looked at Vicki Ann and thought
to himself, I'll just have to take something of his.
The alternate Q was standing outside of the room now, watching. His alternate sat in a
chair near him, looking sick. "What's the matter, Q? I thought you liked games?"
Q looked at his alternate with a look of horror. A blood- curdling scream came from the
other room. Q stood up, ready to run into the room, but was pushed down by his
alternate.
"Sit down, Q. You're not going to go running to her rescue. I won't let you. You are going
to sit here and listen."
And Q did just that. He sat there, cringing the entire time as he listened to his friend's
screams.
Vicki Ann sat in the corner, her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms across her
knees. She had a dazed look in her eyes and her face was wet with tears. Her hair, which
had been pulled up into a ponytail, was now half hanging in her face. She had a deep cut
on her right cheek. Her pajama top was torn off one shoulder and she had a large bruise
on that shoulder.
Tom lay in the opposite corner, unconscious from the emotional assault by the alternate
Q.
Q entered and so did his alternate. The alternate Q shoved Q into the room and shut the
door. Q ran over to Vicki Ann. "Vicki Ann! Are you all right?"
She continued to stare.
"Can you hear me?"
She didn't answer.
Q thought for a moment. He snapped his fingers and a med kit appeared. "Well, I can
transport in, but not out." He snapped his fingers and Beverly Crusher appeared.
"What the-?" She saw Q. "Take me back to the Enterprise."
Q shrugged. "Sorry, I can't do that."
"Why did you bring me here?" she asked.
Q sighed. "Because there is someone here who needs your help." He pointed to Vicki Ann.
Beverly gasped. "What happened?"
Q shook his head. "I'm not sure."
Beverly scanned her. "By the looks of her injuries, it looks like she's been raped."
Q gasped.
"What have you done, Q?"
"I didn't do anything." He pointed to Tom. "It was him. My alternate made him do it. I was
in the other room and all I could hear was her screaming."
Beverly fixed the cut on Vicki Ann's forehead and the bruise on her shoulder. "That's all I
can do for now. We'll have to wait until we get back to the Enterprise. If we ever get
back. Can you really not get us back?"
Q shook his head. "I can bring things in, but not out. Wait." Q closed his eyes and tried to
contact the Q, but was unsuccessful. "Sorry. Thank goodness I told someone where I
was."
"Who exactly?"
"My brother. He should be realizing that I'm gone any time now."
"But what good will that do?"
"He might be able to figure out a way to get us out of here."
"I severely hope so, because Vicki Ann needs a psychologist, preferably Deanna, and she
needs her as soon as possible."
"Sickbay to bridge."
Picard glanced at Riker and then tapped his comm badge. "Yes?"
"Dr. Crusher and a med kit have just vanished, sir."
"By a transporter beam?"
"No, more like when Q appears and disappears."
Picard sighed. "What does he want with her?" he muttered. "Thank you for alerting us."
"You're welcome, captain. Sickbay out."
Deanna, who was sitting in her usual seat, suddenly gasped.
Picard and Riker immediately turned to her. "What's wrong?" the captain asked.
"Vicki Ann. Something is seriously wrong with her."
Picard tapped his comm badge. "Picard to Dr. Troi."
No answer.
He tried again. Still no answer. "Computer, locate Dr. Troi."
"Dr. Troi is not aboard the Enterprise."
"When did she leave?"
"200 hours."
"We're going to have to figure out a way for the computer to alert us when someone
leaves unexpectedly," Picard said to Riker.
"What does Q want with Dr. Crusher and Vicki Ann?" Riker asked.
"Vicki Ann is hurt. So I would assume that Q sent for Dr. Crusher to help her." Deanna
suggested.
"Hurt in what way?" Riker asked worriedly.
"Severe emotional trauma. She has withdrawn inward to protect herself. We have to get
her back, captain, or we may never see our Vicki Ann again."
"But we have to find her first."
"I can help you with that."
Picard looked up to see who had spoken and saw a blonde hair man in a Starfleet uniform.
Q's brother. "Q2, does your brother have something to do with this?
"In a manner of speaking, yes. My brother's alternate had kidnaped both him and Vicki Ann
to punish them for defeating him. He had already begun to torture Vicki Ann and that is
why she has withdrawn. That is why my brother called for Dr. Crusher," Q2 replied.
"What happened?" Riker asked.
Q2 cringed. "Apparently, the alternate Q was unable to get Vicki Ann himself, so he
enlisted the help of your duplicate, Riker, knowing that the computer would sense him as
you. After Q arrived to try to rescue Vicki Ann, the alternate Q somehow emotionally
attacked your duplicate and amplified his feelings of anger and hatred of you. He then
forced Tom to direct his feelings toward Vicki Ann. This was to be a test of how much he
could take. I regret to say that as a result of the emotional assault, your duplicate
sexually assaulted Vicki Ann."
Riker felt nauseous. He put his head in his hands. "Can you get her out?"
"Yes, but we need to find a way to destroy the alternate Q's access to this universe," Q2
replied.
"Could you destroy it if you enlisted the help of the entire Continuum?"
"Possibly. But we would need the Enterprise to go along to seal the fissure. The Q would
be too exhausted from defeating the alternate Q to close it."
"Captain, we may be able to seal it much the way we did when you shifted through time,"
Data said.
Picard nodded. "Yes, by creating a static warp shell."
Q2 nodded. "Let's go." He snapped his fingers and the Enterprise zipped forward at about
a million times warp point nine.
When the Enterprise arrived at the fissure, Lt. Stirland who was at security said to Picard,
"Captain, there is a ship bearing 330 mark 15."
"Q's ship from the alternate universe," Q2 replied. He turned to Picard. "I'm going to
contact the Q. I will alert you when the alternate Q has been sent back and you can seal
the fissure."
Picard nodded.
Q2 closed his eyes. He began to glow with the brilliance of a million suns and the bridge
crew had to cover their eyes.
Suddenly, the bridge shook violently as if there was an earthquake. Picard ordered
everyone to hold on, although it was doubtful that he was heard over the roar of the
fissure. The bridge crew stared in awe, playing to their deity that they would survive.
Now! Picard heard in his head.
Data took the ship in and initiated the static warp shell. The bridge shook even more
violently and a few officers were thrown from their stations. There was a brilliant and
blinding flash and all went white.
When the bridge crew regained consciousness, Picard immediately turned to Q2, who sat
down in Riker's seat after he had been thrown from his seat.
"Congratulations, captain. You did it. Your CMO and pilot are now in sickbay," Q2 told
Picard. He smiled. "Maybe Q was right about you after all." He bowed to Picard. "I bid you
and your crew farewell and I hope we never have to face this threat again."
Picard nodded. "I agree. Thank you."
Q2 saluted Picard and vanished.
Vicki Ann was now in sickbay and Tom was in the brig. Riker, half on order from Picard and
half out of worry for Vicki Ann, went to sickbay. He entered sickbay and he saw her, lying
motionless on a biobed. Beverly was tending to her injuries and collecting evidence in case
of prosecution. Beverly had just turned around to get something when Vicki Ann awoke
screaming. Riker's heart ached when he saw the look of terror in her eyes. This strong
woman who had stood up to her abusive ex-fianc‚, defeated Quinn and gave Q a run for
his money looked like a small, lost child. Riker watched as Beverly comforted her. Vicki Ann
noticed him and she slowly brought her eyes to meet his. He expected her to be afraid of
him, but her eyes called for his help. He walked over to her and sat down beside her.
"What can I do for you, Will?" Beverly asked him.
"The captain wants you to check me out. I was thrown from my station while we were
trying to close the fissure," Riker replied.
Beverly nodded. "Come over here and we'll get started," she said, motioning to a biobed
beside her.
Riker glanced at Beverly, and then a Vicki Ann and then back to Beverly.
Beverly took the hint and said, "Okay, we can do it right here."
Vicki Ann linked her arm through Riker's and laid her head on his shoulder.
Riker slowly got up from the chair he was sitting in and very carefully slipped his hand out
from under Vicki Ann's. He held his breath, hoping she wouldn't wake up. She didn't. Riker,
his legs stiff from sitting by Vicki Ann's biobed, decided to walked around sickbay. When he
reached a wall, he stopped and leaned against it. Rubbing his temples, he heaved a heavy
sigh.
Beverly walked up to him. She frowned when he looked up at her. His eyes were bloodshot
and he had dark circles under his eyes. He was obviously depriving himself of sleep for
Vicki Ann's sake. Not to mention the emotional toll of the situation. Riker hated to see
anyone in pain, but that concern was amplified a million times when it was someone close
to him. And Vicki Ann was doubly close to him, not only was she a friend, but also because
she was also the sister of his most likely future wife. Beverly put her hand on Riker's
shoulder and smiled a him. "I think you need some sleep, Commander."
Riker smiled slightly. "Thanks for the advice, doctor, but I can't. Not while she needs me."
"But, Will, she's sleeping."
"Exactly. That's when she needs me the most."
"Why is that?"
"Because that's we he came for her. While she was sleeping and couldn't be careful."
Beverly sighed. "How long are you planning to be her bodyguard?"
"Until Tom is in prison."
"So you aren't going to sleep until we reach Starbase and they take him into custody."
"Exactly."
"Good luck. I'll bet you don't last a week."
"Is that supposed to be a joke?"
"No, it's medical fact." Beverly thought for a moment. "How about this? You can sleep in
the biobed next to her and if she needs you, you'll be right there."
Riker considered the suggestion. "Okay. Promise me you'll wake me up if she has a
nightmare or calls for me or anything like that."
Beverly nodded. "I promise."
"Thanks." Riker sighed again and then asked Beverly, "Do you think he'll be found guilty?"
"Well, the only witness is a known trickster, the accused is the genetic duplicate of the
victim's former lover. That makes a pretty tough case. Hopefully, they can get a
confession out of him."
Riker nodded. "Hopefully." He shook his head. "It's hard to believe that a year and a half
ago, I was hoping that Tom and I could get along. Now, I'd like to kill him. Slowly."
Beverly nodded.
"Do you know how hard it is knowing that it was me in some sense that did this to her?"
"Will, Tom is not you. You two are completely different people now."
"I know, but it makes me wonder if I could do the same thing if pushed too far."
"You could never do that."
"Are you sure about that? What about if I lost Deanna and my job and my identity? Can
any of us really be sure what we'd do if we lost everything?"