Disclaimer: Star Trek is not mine. Q is not mine. Drat.

Chapter Two

I grinned. "You will not regret this, Picard." Inside, I breathed a sigh of relief. This was the last place the other members of the Q continuum would think of to look for me.

"I certainly hope not. Now, about your uniform . . ."

"Done, Picard." In a flash of light, I changed my clothing from that of a Starfleet Admiral to the form in which I had first appeared to the crew of the Enterprise, a seaman of Earth centuries ago. I got strange looks from all of them before I pointed out that Guinan wasn't wearing a uniform, either.

Commander Riker whispered somehting to the Captain and then turned to me with his goofy grin. Picard nodded. "Quite right, Number One. Well, Q, since you insist on following Guinan's example in this matter, you will be in her charge, follow her directions unless I say differently."

I sighed. My big mouth. Picard and Riker left, laughing, leaving the two of us alone.

I shrugged and tried to act casual. "I guess we're stuck with each other, Guinan."

"The Captain will be informed if you play any of your tricks, Q."

I sighed. She was the same as ever.

The first ting she did was put me to work serving drinks. It was easy enough. But not very interesting. And the crew seemed a little uneasy around me. To say the least.

I didn't understand it. I was the biggest help aboard this ship, and they had me in Ten-Forward serving drinks! Humans make no sense.

So I started juggling empty cups. Very, very stupid, but I was bored. I had ten or eleven going at one point. (I'd given myself a few extra arms to help out.)

Then, suddenly, Picard's voice sounded over the primitive communications device thing they have aboard their ship. "Q, report to the bridge!" He sounded a little panicy. I got rid of my extra arms and let the cups drop as I disappeared from the room. (Not a good idea, probably, considering the cups were made of glass. Oops.)

I reappeared on the bridge. Everyone was staring at the . . . viewscreen, I think is what they call it. I looked. I didn't have to. The presence of the others was enough to make me want to disappear again. The other members of the Q continuum had found me.

Before Picard cold say anything, everything disappeared in a flash of light. The ship was gone. Most of the crew was gone. Commander Riker, Troi, Dr. Pulaski, Data, Geordi, Worf, Wesley, Guinan, and I were alone on some planet. A forest.

Riker looked at me for an explanation. "This is not my doing," I assured him. I was trying hard to stay calm. I knew something was wrong.

"Take us back," Riker ordered.

Then I realized what it was. "I can't do that, Commander," I told him. "My powers . . . they're gone. For all intents and purposes, I am one of you."

Muahahahahahaha. Poor Q. Just wanted to be part of the crew, and now he's lost his powers. (sighs contentedly) Ah, such is life.

Star Freak 15 – Q's my favorite, too. Ever since . . . well, the first time I saw Encounter at Farpoint. My apologies for such a short chapter, but I had this history project that I left til the last minute . . .

Yukki Okami – Thanks for the tip about the library link. It doesn't look like the Borg are going to show up immediately, considering they are now stranded on some mystery planet without Captain Picard. That would be a pretty strange spot for the Borg to show up. :)

Alara Rogers -- Yes, he does seem to be in some pretty hot water with the rest of the Q continuum, huh? Hmmm . . . yeah, I think I'll leave the Pakleds out of this. But that could lead to some problems if Picard never makes it to his surgery . . . .