Chapter XXII
His gaze remained fixed even as the Voyager and all of its crew disappeared into nothingness and as the wave hit his own ship he could only hope for one possibility.
The surge of energy surrounded his body and he thought he heard a soft gurgling roar as he felt pulled from the universe like a fish out of water. "That's strike two, Jean-Luc; one more and you're out," a voice said angrily as he turned about and gazed at his savior's face. "For the first time since these events have started, I can't believe I'm happy to see you," Picard remarked. The Captain turned and saw Data was here as well and could only assume that his crew was also safe.
"Captain, am I correct in assuming that Q has saved us from the destruction of the universe?" the android asked. "But what just happened was impossible. That second shockwave which overlapped the first shouldn't have been there," Picard commented. "Indeed, but it was," Q said and then a smile creased the super-being's lips as he asked, "Now, who would do a thing like that?" "Clearly, there must be some element which we are not acquainted with," Data stated and then concluded, "Considering Ensign Daniels' actions, I can only assume that he was aware of what would happen. Such an ability would only be possible if they knew we were dealing directly with some sort of force."
"I suppose that I wanted you to figure it out for yourselves," Q admitted and then added, "That and these little talks we have can be so taxing."
"So then, there is more to this than I thought," Picard said, frustrated that Q had failed to tell them this earlier. "I tried to explain it to you before… and the being you're dealing with is unlike anything that you've encountered before. It feeds off of time itself," his host replied and for a moment, Picard thought he heard a hint of fear in Q's voice. But if that was the case, Q didn't show it; instead he chuckled softly and stated, "Now comes the fun part. Do you enjoy a good yarn?"
"I doubt that we have a choice," the Captain replied. "Quite right, let's not forget what's riding on this entire thing," Q commented and then with a snap of his fingers they were in the midst of a blue nebula that was disappearing and reappearing around them.
"Fascinating," Data commented and the Captain wondered how the android was processing this phenomenon. "You know the birth of the universe doesn't have all of the pizzazz I thought it would… after you've seen it one or two trillion times, it gets a little old," Q said idly. "Am I to presume then that this is before our universe existed?" Picard asked.
"This is before any of the realities you are familiar with came into existence, my dear Jean-Luc. This is the brink of existence itself, a place where even the Q have never gone very often," the super-being remarked and then pointed towards a soft light in the distance and said, "Oh look, there's a discontinuity… let's see how it's progressing."
Somehow, Picard felt his body being propelled forward and soon the small light filled his entire view and he saw that it was filled with galaxies and constellations spanning as far as the eye could see.
"Impressive, Q; but what does this have to do with anything?" the Captain asked.
"Absolutely nothing, actually… the Q have witnessed this event so often that we sometimes lose count. So one day, the Continuum became bored and decided to determine what lay behind the veil," Q explained and Picard wondered if the entity was speaking literally or in terms they could understand.
He didn't have much time to think about it however as he watched the newborn universe around him begin to fade away and be consumed by a strange emptiness and he himself suddenly felt quite cold.
"What is happening?" Data asked. "We found something that we knew nothing of, although the Q know everything… we soon learned that this being came into existence along with time itself and was different. For the first time since the dawn of reality, we felt afraid," Q commented and then added, "After all, if the Continuum knew all that was and would be and yet could not understand such a mysterious entity, other universes might begin to crumble just over such a possibility."
"What is it?" Picard asked.
"In your language, the name we gave it was #. Sorry if I can't give you a better translation, my dear Jean-Luc… I never did particularly like the way that you humans conversed," Q remarked and then explained, "# existed and yet was not restrained by any of the laws of physics. It had no beginning, nor could we discover its end and yet neither had it ever been… much like the Continuum itself."
"A being that existed within itself… that's truly outstanding," Picard admitted.
"Indeed, we were also intrigued… and yet also confused. Since time and space had no meaning for it, we knew that such things were unimportant to #," Q paused and then pointed to where the universe had just been and explained, "You see, Captain… what it is capable of. Consuming both time and space, it exists only to dispose of reality altogether."
"Which is why it brought us to Cardassia Prime in another universe; it was setting up an eternal temporal anomaly that it could feed off of," Picard discerned. "Yet not just any disturbance, but the first and last and only one there ever has been," Q paused and a smile creased his face before asking, "Have you guessed what I am talking about?"
"If I am following your tale correctly, the Continuum found # to be present before all universes existed and despite its appetite, ever afterward," Data commented. "You always were the bright one in the bunch," Q said.
"Perhaps this is another example of something coming about as a result of events which had not yet occurred. Were the Q responsible for this paradox?" he asked.
"No, Jean-Luc… you are," Q commented and then snapped his fingers and brought them back to the Enterprise.
"Once again, you just don't see how time works. You humans have constantly assumed that it is like a river, always flowing. But that is not the case," Q remarked and then gestured to a mysteriously empty cluster in the blackness of space before explaining, "# exists in a realm where time has no meaning, just like the Bajoran Prophets and ourselves. One event to it is like an eternity. It happened, it's occurring and it's not even started yet. This incident I have spoken to you of, whenever it came into our reality; is taking place right now. It always has been and will be. Because the one thing that is immune to # is what we have used to confine it."
"I'm afraid that you've lost me," the Captain admitted.
"I believe he is referring to alternate realities, sir. If this being exists in the way he described, there would always be another dimension that had not been affected by it," Data commented.
"Exactly," Q stated. "Then we are now about to witness how that came to be?" Picard asked. "It has always been in existence, Jean-Luc. But in this iteration, you are the one who is amidst these alternate universes and will use it to create itself," Q explained. "How can we accomplish such a thing?" Picard wondered.
"I can't give you the answer to that," his old enemy admitted and then added, "However it will be interesting to see how things play out, this time."
"You're not leaving us here in this desolate universe are you?" Picard asked. "Of course not, you'll be safe and sound onboard a version of your precious vessel that has somehow miraculously survived oblivion… and this time, I feel certain that you will be able to accomplish what must have already happened," Q commented and then in a flash he was gone.
Picard glanced around and saw that the second wave had just passed the Enterprise. Turning to Will, he said, "Contact Captain Janeway and find out if she needs any assistance."
"Captain, they are hailing us," Data said. "Onscreen," Picard directed, then when she appeared he asked, "Is everyone all right over there?" he asked. "We appear to okay, surprisingly…" Janeway responded.
"What just happened?" Will asked in confusion. "I wish that I could explain it to you now, Number One… but I'm afraid there is too much at stake," Picard said and then added, "Captain Janeway, what were you doing just a minute ago?"
She replied, "We had modified our shields to withstand the effects of the wave which just passed over us. But our work wasn't complete when the second one appeared."
Just then, Picard saw several of the Dominion vessels disintegrate and shook his head in disbelief. This being Q has allowed us to encounter is far too dangerous for us to allow it to escape, he thought.
"Will, see if you can open a channel to Gul Dukat," the Captain ordered. "Nothing, sir," his first officer said in confusion. "The temporal surges are growing stronger, sir," Data reported. "
What're we supposed to do, then?" he asked angrily. "Captain, we have been attempting to create an Omega molecule as part of our effort to stabilize the situation. Perhaps if you could find a way to distract #, we could finish that work," another voice that he didn't recognize said. Picard frowned and replied, "Very well… but how can we accomplish that?" He felt a hand touch his shoulder and turned to see three figures standing behind him. "Perhaps I can be of assistance," the young Cardassian woman explained and then added, "My name is Tora Ziyal and I believe that you're acquainted with my father."
"How did you get here?" Will asked in surprise. "I transported them aboard," Ambassador Lincoln explained. "I believe that I may know how to help with your dilemma," Ziyal went on.
"I think we're open to any ideas on the matter," he heard Beverly say. "If I understanding the explanation correctly, this creature feeds off of temporal anomalies; so if we were to produce a massive one… it might not focus on what Voyager is up to," Ziyal explained. "The Orb we saw might be able to accomplish something like that," he heard Worf say. "You mean this?" another voice said, this one all too familiar as the third figure stepped forward and Gul Dukat smiled at him wickedly. "Captain… I believe it's about time for us to become better acquainted with one another," the Cardassian decided, fingering the object in his hands.