STAR TREK/THE REIGN: HIVE MIND
Fan fiction Crossover by Lance Berry
CHAPTER 7: THE AVENGERS MEET THE JLA
--which died down almost as immediately as it flared, Picard found himself in the conference room aboard his ship, the Enterprise. He was relieved to finally be back aboard his own vessel, but then quickly realized he wasn't alone. Standing on one side of the conference room table was his command staff: Riker, Worf, Troi, Beverly Crusher, Geordi and Data. Standing on the other side, near the windows, was the Horizon's senior staff: Mara Christenson, Tholin, Jamie Hughes, Ben Williams…and the man whom Picard now knew only through the word of the Horizon's first officer, Captain Travis Rand.
Before either captain could say anything, Picard noticed that Riker was patting himself down with some care. "Are you alright, Number One?"
Riker looked at Picard and nodded slowly. "Yes, sir. Five minutes ago though, I was sitting in the transport with Borg implants across half my body. It was more than a bit unnerving. They were in the process of shutting down though…thanks to Captain Rand." He said this last with a grateful nod to the black male standing across the table from them. Rand had also been giving himself a once-over; he was back in uniform, and as far as he can tell, fully intact. The lacerations across his body, inflicted by the Borg Queen's extensive probing, were gone.
Picard began making his way around the table, hand outstretched toward Rand. "Captain, I believe—" he was interrupted by the sound of the ODN activating. "Ensign Crusher to Captain Picard!"
"Yes Ensign, what is it?"
"Sir, I'm back at navigation aboard the bridge. So far, everything seems to be back to normal, and crew personnel and their families are being accounted for. We're receiving a message from Starfleet Command though, sir. They're inquiring as to our status, and want to know the intent of the ship holding position beside us, sir…they're asking about the Horizon."
Picard glanced out the window. Earth was visible just outside the far left window. To the right, the forward bow and part of the Horizon's registry could be seen. Picard glanced at Rand and his crew, then said, "Inform Starfleet that we are still checking the Enterprise's status. Let them know the ship beside us…is a friend. Picard out."
As the ODN shut off, Picard extended his hand to Rand once more, and the other captain accepted it. "As I was about to say, Captain Rand…I believe our universe owes you a great debt."
"I appreciate it, Picard," Rand said earnestly. "We had a chance to look over the service histories of you and your crew as well though. I absolutely trust that our universe was in good hands while we were gone." The black man smiled, the first time he could remember smiling in some time.
"We did our best," Picard replied lightly. "And now that we're all back to normal, so to speak, we should figure out a way to get you and your crew home."
"I have a few ideas on that—" Jamie and Geordi both spoke up simultaneously, and several officers on both sides laughed at the jinx. They were interrupted by a bright flash of light at the head of the conference table as Q appeared, now wearing a Starfleet captain's uniform, seated in the lead chair with his feet propped up on the table.
"Oh, this is no fun!" The other-dimensional being said dejectedly. "I wanted to see both crews slug it out for dominance, an ultimate test of courage and will, winner gets both universes! Instead, I come in and find you about to hold hands and start singing 'Kumbaya'. What's next—are you all going to head down to the holodeck to roast marshmallows around a campfire?"
Before anyone could say anything, there was a double flash of light. Q disappeared from the chair and reappeared beside Worf, casually leaning on the Klingon's shoulder and pointing to Tholin across the table. "You know Microbrain," he whispered conspiratorially, "Calvorians just think they're so much fiercer than any other species. You might want to knock him down a peg."
Worf was about to utter something entirely unpleasant to Q, but another double flash took him away from the Klingon and brought him to Tholin's side, where he placed a hand on the Calvorian's shoulder as he pointed to Worf. "You know, Klingons always brag about having you know, bigger…" he made a grasping gesture just below the waistline, "…you know..than any other warrior. I think you should show him who's boss."
Another double flash and he was now in between Picard and Rand. "Q, enough of this! What was the point of this entire sick game of yours?" the Enterprise's captain demanded.
"Au contraire, mon capitaine," Q said, wagging a finger at him. "No sick game-player, I." He clapped a friendly hand upon the shoulders of both leaders and addressed both crews. "I was sitting around the Continuum, bored as all get-out one day, when I abruptly realized that I've seen everything there is to see in this universe. I mean, really—once you've driven around IOK-1, it's just old hat. You're going on autopilot by that point." Q turned to Rand, and a big Cheshire Cat grin spread across his face. "Then, I struck upon the idea of playing with different micro-pulsation frequencies, until I found your completely fascinating universe, Captain Rand. So I decided to do a little switcheroo between your two crews, and find out who really has what it takes to save a galaxy in its most dire need." He said this last with over-emphasized dramatic inflection, as ominous organ music played briefly over his words, coming from nowhere at all.
Q removed his hand from Picard's shoulder and placed it flatly upon Rand's chest. "Oh, the wars, the conflicts, the loves won and lost across the ages!" Q glanced back at Picard. "You know, your history paints that Kirk fellow as quite the lothario, but I have to say, he's got nothing on this guy," he said as he patted Rand on the back and turned to face him once more. "Shame about your friend Danielle, but c'est la vie, eh?"
The punch came so fast, that only Data could accurately see it coming from inception to completion, and even then the android had to replay it in his positronic net to be certain he had calculated its speed accurately. All looked on in flat-out astonishment as Rand stood in place, his body shifted only slightly in position, his right fist clenched solidly, while Q hit the floor with a resounding –thud!- Picard had barely stepped out of the way in time to avoid hitting the floor with Q as the imperious being fell backward, and now the Enterprise captain stepped forward to prevent Rand from doing anything even more rash. "Captain, don't—"
Picard had placed both his hands against the younger man's arms in an attempt to keep him away from Q, and it was only with the greatest restraint that Rand didn't turn his fury upon the Enterprise's captain. Instead, he looked over Picard's shoulder and pointed an angry finger at Q as he shouted, "You don't ever get to say her name! Omnipotent or not, you don't have a clue as to what drives humans, and you had no right—NO RIGHT!—to do anything you've done!"
Q didn't so much stand up as he simply levitated to an upright position. He reflexively touched his hand to his lip, although there was no reason; he had no blood flowing through his body—in fact, the body he had constructed was simply a shell for the benefit of the lowly life-forms whose presence he was slumming in, so that their minds wouldn't collapse in on themselves like badly constructed card houses, were they to set sight upon his true magnificence. But this Rand--! Q's fascination had ended immediately with the human's audacity, and his face darkened as he glared at the brash captain.
"You…dare…to strike me?!" Q spat at him, and raised his hand, prepared to send Rand tumbling to a pit of sulfur and fire far worse than any hell he could ever imagine…
"Q, wait—" Picard said, and threw a hand up in vain protection. The room darkened and all glanced around—including Q. There was a sound like nails being dragged across a chalkboard, yet magnified nearly a thousand times. All the beings in the room—even Data—had to cover their ears. A yell pierced through the keening wail, and through squinting eyes, Picard turned and saw it was Q! Q, who was breaking inch by inch from head to toe like cracking glass—and within the fissures, stars and entire galaxies could be seen. All at once, Q flew apart like a window smashed with a hammer…yet the pieces evaporated into nothing almost immediately. The screeching noise stopped all at once, and the conference room lights came back up to normal.
Slowly, tentatively, the senior staffs of both the Enterprise and Horizon uncapped their ears. They looked around in puzzlement, but it was Riker who spoke up first:
"What the hell just happened?"
