Chapter 38

"Doulos," the voice beckoned. "Come here."

Doulos rose from his throne obediently and walked to the fountain protruding from the wall. He stared into the dark pool, which grew still as he gazed into it.

A cloaked figure appeared inside the pool, and walked toward him slowly as if it were a dream. "Doulos," said the figure. "Are you not my most loyal servant?"

"Yes, master," said Doulos, mesmerized by the appearance and voice of the Other.

"Then you must focus always on my wants and desires, Doulos…not your own."

Doulos bowed his head, but said nothing.

"You feel shame. So you acknowledge you have placed your needs above mine. That is not an act befitting the leader of my army, Doulos."

"I am sorry, master. I will obey."

"Do not forget, Doulos, if I want to destroy Beverly Crusher I can do so with no effort."

Doulos' eyes narrowed as he stared into the pool.

"You do not appreciate my words, Doulos…."

"I love her, master."

"I see…as long as she has a purpose, then I will allow her to live. But clinging to this woman will make you weak, Doulos. Picard was weak, and chose to defy me. And look what happened to him."

Doulos clenched his giant fist. "I destroyed him."

"No, Doulos…he lives."

Doulos gripped the sides of the fountain. "What?"

"He lives, and at this moment he is with Beverly Crusher. How does that make you feel?"

Doulos gripped the rim of the fountain so tightly that it cracked under his grip. He closed his eyes. "I will kill him. And this time I will not fail."

"Good, Doulos. I believe you. Now you must listen to me carefully."

"Yes, master."

"I have discovered the source of the energy field that holds you at bay. It is the work of my creator. At every turn she seeks to prevent me from claiming what is mine: dominion over this universe."

"You have a creator?" Doulos was in awe.

"Yes. All beings must originate from something. And sometimes we must destroy that which created us, Doulos, so that we can be free. Do you understand?"

Doulos nodded.

"We will travel to the end of the universe, Doulos. And there you and the others on this ship must be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. Do you understand?"

Doulos knelt down and bowed his head. "Yes, I understand."

"The Enterprise appears to be preparing to break orbit, Chancellor," announced Security Chief Targ.

Chancellor K'mpec had just entered the security command center of the capital city on Qo'nos. Having finished the second of several dinners he had planned for that evening, he had taken a tour through the city streets on his personal hover pad, before deciding to take another look at the latest curiosity; a Federation starship that had turned to stone.

"Break orbit? Look at it Targ, how is that possible?"

Targ looked at the view screen. In fact he had been looking at the same image for a few days now. The once sleek grey starship was now encased in some sort of black shell. The nacelles and drive section of the ship were nowhere to be seen, and whatever was left-if anything- was inside of the glossy black stone-like shell.

"I do not know, Chancellor. The shell is impenetrable to our sensors and it appears to be mineraloid in its consistency."

"You mean to say it is a rock," said K'mpec.

"Yes sir."

"Then how do you know it is planning to leave orbit?"

"Look sir!"

Sure enough, a bluish white light suddenly discharged from underneath the black disc and it lifted vertically, hovering in one place.

K'mpec did not attempt hide his increasing surprise at this new turn of events. "Distance from Qo'nos?"

"Sixty thousand kellicams...three hundred twenty thousand kellicams...it is moving away very quickly, sir!" Targ exclaimed.

"Targ?"

"Yes, Chancellor?"

"Have you notified Starfleet authorities of...this?"

"Yes, Chancellor K'mpec. An admiral I contacted claimed she would send a rescue vessel within 16 Federation hours, sir."

"Well then..." said K'mpec still watching the view screen. "It appears that they will be too late."

When Beverly awoke Jean Luc's head was on her shoulder and his breathing was shallow. She could not help but feel that there was someone in the room with them. Had Orla returned? If so, what did she want with them? She felt suddenly protective of him and wrapped her arm tightly around him.

"Oh, how sweet. I would say get a room, but it appears you have already found one..."

There was a flash and someone or rather something now sat on the foot of the bed. "Oh your instincts are admirable, Doctor," he said. "But they are ill-placed. Of all the superior beings you have encountered recently, I am the only one you have reason to trust."

"Q!" Beverly struggled to sit up, but Jean-Luc was heavy, and she settled for holding onto him more tightly.

"Again, your efforts are wasted on protecting him from me. And from what I can tell, you may have more to worry about than he does."

"What do you mean?" Beverly demanded.

Q waved off her question. "Wake him up."

She glared at Q, but shook Picard gently. "Jean Luc...Jean-Luc, wake up..."

Q rolled his eyes and walked around the edge of the bed. "Honestly, why do I even allow you the illusion of thinking you are doing things on your own terms. Too slow!" he declared snapping his fingers.

"Ah!" Picard cried out and sat up in bed rather abruptly. Beverly grabbed him by the shoulders to steady him. He winced and grabbed his side and then his eyes adjusted and fixed on Q. "Q!"

"Is there really any other letter of your alphabet that matters, Picard?" Q said casually, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Q…what the hell are you doing here?" Picard asked, sitting forward groggily.

"I might ask you the same thing, Picard. Really, taking a nap with your Chief Medical Officer? Is that even permitted in your beloved manual of Starfleet regulations?"

"Oh, shut up Q," Picard and Crusher said together.

Q's eyes glinted in the dim light as he stared at them. "Enough chit chat. I won't shut up. Not until you have both heard what I have to say. Actually Crusher, feel free to leave if you like…nap time is over for now."

Beverly clenched her jaw and folded her arms over her chest defensively. "There is no possible way I am going to leave him alone with you," she snapped.

Q shrugged and stretched out on the bed, resting on an elbow. "Suit yourself," he said. He fixed his gaze on Picard. "Jean-Luc Picard, I wish I had met you sooner…because if I had I would have warned you never to consort with El-Aurians."

"Guinan? Why?" Picard demanded.

"Because many years ago, she was given a choice—to hand the pieces of the Other over to me, and instead she chose to bring them to Orla. Now, the consequences of her poor decision making are coming to fruition."

Beverly glanced at Jean-Luc and grabbed his hand. Picard stared at Q. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that this ship, or what's left of it—"

Picard sat up straighter. "What's left of it—what are you talking about? What have you done to my ship, Q?" His voice suddenly sounded stronger, as though confronting Q was just what he needed to gain a little more strength.

"Oh, your beloved ship," Q said mockingly. He nodded to Beverly. "You know you'll never be able to compete…" he said in a low voice as if confiding in her. She glared back at him silently. He smiled and turned his attention back to Picard. "Picard, I haven't done anything to your ship. And if you hadn't been in here dying, and otherwise wasting time, you would know that."

"He hasn't been dying," snapped Beverly. Her expression softened a bit when she looked at Jean-Luc, and she rubbed her hand on his back supportively. He smiled faintly, but didn't look at her.

"Indeed…." Q looked from one to the other, and seemed about to say something, but reconsidered after a moment. "Let's get down to it, Picard. This ship is being taken to the far edges of what you call your 'universe'. You are powerless to prevent it from happening, because as I mentioned, your friend Guinan has already set these proverbial wheels in motion."

"So if we are powerless to prevent it, then why are you even telling us, Q?" Picard demanded.

"Because once you have reached the destination, you must act accordingly to prevent the inevitable, Picard."

"And if I don't act…accordingly?" And how was he to know how to act? Of course he wasn't about to ask Q such a question, because he knew he wouldn't be provided with an answer; just more condescension.

"Then you can kiss the universe as you know it—including me, goodbye."

"I have no intention of allowing that to happen, Q," Picard declared, tossing the covers aside and getting up out of bed.

Q smiled and then looked on with convincing concern. "Does that mean I won't get my kiss, Picard?"

"Are you prepared to face the consequences of your decision, El-Aurian?"

Guinan looked up from behind the bar as Q's light floated above her. Even in his pure and beautiful form he was obnoxious. "What are you talking about Q? Oh wait…let me guess…" she said mildly.

"You should have given the pieces to me all those years ago," he said, still floating.

"But I didn't," she said. "I brought them to Orla, as I was told to do by my grandmother."

"And so Orla still has them in her possession."

"Of course," said Guinan. "As if you didn't know."

"So then where do you think the Other is going next?"

"Orla is here, I have seen her. The Other doesn't have to go anywhere to find her if he wants to."

"But those manifestations of Orla that have appeared on this ship are not really her, Guinan. And she is somewhere to be found. And with her are the pieces of the Other. So tell me now, are you prepared to face the consequences of your decision?"

The calm expression on Guinan's face faltered only slightly. "Yes," she said firmly. "And he won't defeat Orla," she said with a confidence she didn't really feel.

"I suppose we will see, when you get there," said Q. "Or to put it another way, if he does defeat Orla, then none of us will be seeing anything quite the same way again."