The authors wish to point out that they own none of the franchises used in this story. They are simply fans.

Chapter 5

The cube drifted through delta quadrant space. The area was the place of origin for the Borg, and the Empress had begun her experiments on a world not far from the Jord system.

The first of these had been an attempt to merge the biological with the mechanical and electrical. Her stated reason had been to work towards perfection. Her actual reason for creating the Borg, however, was somewhat different than stated. The Empress wanted to ascend, and she believed that the merging of biological and artificial would help her achieve that goal.

The first of her experiments had been on someone who had been a friend. It had been a decision that both of them had made. Her friend's family had all but disappeared. The husband had been killed in an accident. The only son, in a war. Her brother-in-law's family was still alive, but she felt that he had been responsible for her child dying, therefore, she wanted nothing to do with them. She had once been ascended, but had given that up to help the Empress. They both wanted nothing more than to destroy Jean Luc Picard and to take down what he represented.

The Empress knew what Picard represented - she knew it well. She had succeeded in her goal many years ago, and had ascended, but she wanted more. She wanted to have the power that Picard and his fellow Q had.

The alpha quadrant...

Guinan stopped at the door to Picard and Beverley's quarters. They weren't often on Enterprise anymore, so she didn't see them as often as she would like. Of course, this particular meeting was not one she was looking forward to either.

She reached up to press the call button beside the door, and strangely, found herself in Samantha O'Neill's quarters on Avalon. She whirled and confronted her daughter.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Samantha?"

"Stopping you," the younger woman said, matter-of-factly.

"Why? I'm not allowed to see my parents?"

"Of course you are, but what you're about to do leads to your being fobbed!"

"So what?" Guinan asked defensively. "I'm gonna get fobbed. It's not like it's the first time."

"I don't want you to be fobbed!" Sam almost shouted.

Guinan took a deep breath and calmed down. Even though she was much older than Sam, her powers weren't as strong. Her mind, while ordered, was not nearly as finely tuned as her daughter's. Sam could, if she wished, hold her here, and there was nothing Guinan could do about it. "Sam," she said when she was calmer, "this is the way it is. I told you I didn't remember being Janet Fraiser. That's because I haven't been yet, and since Janet was fobbed when you met her, that means I have at least one more time being fobbed." She paused a moment and then said, "I don't want to be fobbed again, Sam, but there's nothing either of us can do about it. I'm going to make these decisions."

"I just don't want to lose you," Samantha told her mother through tears. "You're so sweet... funny... wise. I don't want you to leave."

Guinan walked over to her daughter and put her arms around her. "I don't want to leave either, Honey, but if I don't, all of the friendship you had with Janet won't happen." She smiled a bit and backed up. "Besides, I've taken a look at Doctor 'Oldspice' as your brother calls him. He's kinda cute."

Sam sniffled, put a brave smile on her face and nodded, then she laughed a bit. "Yeah, he is. And Janet, has a great relationship with him."

"I won't have any relationship with him at all if you don't let me go," Guinan said, raising her hands palm up, in a 'there you have it' gesture.

Sam didn't say anything, but nodded, then waved her hand.

Guinan found herself at the door to the Picards cabin again, her hand poised to ring the bell.

She pressed the button and heard Picard announce, "Come."

The door slid aside.

She walked into the cabin, and saw Picard and Beverly sitting beside each other on the sofa.

"Guinan!" Picard said in surprise as he stood to welcome her.

The bartender sat down, and Picard followed suit. "To what do we owe the pleasure?" he asked her. Something was clearly wrong. He saw that Guinan was sitting forward in her chair, tense. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"What do you know of your daughter?" she asked.

"She used to be a Borg," Picard began, but Guinan waved him off.

"I don't mean Annika, Admiral."

Beverly answered. "Janus has mentioned her, but we don't know much about her yet, beyond her name. Meribor."

"Named after a daughter from a life lived on a planet long dead," Guinan commented.

The doctor's eyes widened in surprise. "How do you know that?"

"You'd be surprised what I know."

Understanding was beginning to dawn on Picard. "You're Q aren't you."

"Among other things," Guinan answered.

"What other things?" Picard asked her.

There was a sharp intake of breath from Beverly. "You're her!"

Picard looked startled at his wife, then back to Guinan as he realized the truth of Beverly's statement. "I suppose," he said slowly, "that my being angry because in all the time I've known you, you never once mentioned being my daughter, would be absurd."

"Well, you never asked," Guinan responded, smiling.

"No, I suppose I didn't," he smiled back. "However, I do not believe that you came here right now to tell us that you are our daughter."

"Not that we don't appreciate knowing," Beverly interjected.

Guinan shook her head and answered, "No, that's not the reason I came here today."

"What is?" Picard asked.

"I would like to go to the delta quadrant," she replied.

"You hardly need my approval for that," the admiral told her.

"And I'd like to take Annika with me."

Picard and Beverly both looked shocked at that. "Well," he said, "for that you certainly would need my approval. Might I ask why you wish to take her there?"

"The Borg," Guinan said simply.

"Guinan," Picard admonished, "I am not convinced that you should be dealing with Borg yourself, given your… extreme dislike for them. Why then, should I let you take... your sister into a situation where she's likely to come up against them?"

"It's not just the Borg," Guinan explained. "It's also the cylons. Annika might have a unique impression of them that could help the colonials."

"If anyone takes Annika to the delta quadrant," Beverly said, "It will be Jean Luc - your father - and me."

"That's understandable," Guinan responded, "but you have no problems with me going myself?" she asked her father.

"As I said before, Guinan, you hardly need my approval for that." He eyed her speculatively for a moment. "However, I get the feeling that there is more to this request than you're saying at present."

"I know that this is the end of Guinan," she said.

"What do you mean?" Beverly asked her.

"I don't quite understand it right now, but I know that my next… shall we say, incarnation, will be as Janet Fraiser." She paused as she thought of a delicate way of putting it. "When my time as Guinan comes to an end, I will be fobbed. I know that. I also know that it won't be for even an entire lifetime. I can deal with that. You will be the ones who need to fob me."

"Fob you? Why?" Beverly asked.

"I don't know, Mother," Guinan said. "May I call you Mother and Father?" she asked them.

"Well, it will take getting used to, but certainly," Beverly answered.

Their daughter nodded, then explained. "When the time comes, I want you to know that I understand the discipline, and why it is necessary. I've been fobbed before, and became Debra Carter."

"I get the feeling," Picard said, "that for you to be fobbed again, your reasoning will be something I will have trouble arguing with."

"That may be," she agreed, "but that won't make my actions any more illegal." She eyed him speculatively for a moment. "Do you remember an action you took in the prime universe? When Worf's brother asked for his people to be brought aboard the Enterprise in order to be transported to another world?"

"Yes," he answered. "I remember."

"How did you feel about making the decision to let those people die?"

"Horrible," he answered. "In many ways, I would have preferred being free to make the decision Nikolai made."

"But you were in a position where legally, you couldn't make it."

"Correct," Picard said, nodding.

"Father," Guinan said, "I have no idea what I will do to warrant fobbing, but if I feel my actions are justified, then there is a good chance that you will too, but are restrained by your own laws."

"You know," Picard remembered, "when Chakotay told me about his vessel, and the name Valjean, I thanked him for not placing me in the position of being Javert to his Jean Valjean. I am beginning to feel that perhaps I am being placed in that position by you."

"Javert enforced the laws, even when they were beyond reason," Guinan said shaking her head. "You don't do that. There is a reason why the Prime Directive is in place."

"There are also reasons why we don't steal loaves of bread," he said with a raised eyebrow.

"True," his daughter replied, "but if someone is starving, we make allowances."

"So if you act because someone is 'starving' in the delta quadrant, how am I not placed into the role of Javert by fobbing you?"

"I suspect that it will not be so cut and dry, Father. I think it will be much more along the line of what Nikolai did."

"Under the circumstances," Beverly commented, "I think it would be best that you definitely do not take Annika with you to the delta quadrant."

"I can respect that," Guinan said, standing. "I guess I'll be on my way then."

"So soon?" her mother asked. "I mean, we just found out that you're our daughter, and you're leaving. The next time we see you, we'll probably be fobbing you."

"Janet is still here," Guinan told her. "We'll have plenty of time to get to know each other." She raised her hand to flash herself away, but paused. "Before I go, I just want to tell you that I love both of you." With that, she waved her hand and there was a flash of light.

But Guinan was still there.

"What's wrong?" Picard asked.

"Nothing," she answered. "Actually, I've already been to the delta quadrant, been fobbed, become Janet… I remembered how much you wanted me to stay and talk, Mother. It's been several years for me, but when my younger self flashed away, I flashed in, in her place. We can visit more now."

"Can you tell us what you will do to be fobbed?" Beverly asked.

"That's one thing you're going to have to find out in the course of time."

"Understandable," Picard said, then waved to the chair the younger Guinan had just vacated. "Please sit."

She did, and they talked for several hours.

The delta quadrant…

Guinan appeared on Prometheus. She immediately checked in with Janeway and explained who she was. She did not bother to explain her relationship with the Picards, but did explain that she was Q.

"How do I know that you are who you say you are?" Janeway asked.

In response, another, more well known Q flashed into being. "I'll vouch for her, Kathy," Janus said.

"I know you're supposedly reformed, Janus, but you're still as much an ass as you've always been," Guinan told him, sweetly.

"You just don't like my sense of humor," Janus said, preparing to continue with their sibling rivalry.

"That's fine," Janeway said quickly. "It's obvious that you know each other. We don't need a 'battle of the Q' on board."

"No," Guinan agreed. She turned to her brother. "Thank you for vouching for me, Janus," she said, then raised her voice, "Now GO AWAY."

He laughed, then flashed out of the room, his laughter echoing on for a few seconds.

Janeway shook her head, and asked, "Now, what can I do for you, Guinan?"

"I'm here to help."

"Obviously, a Q helping could end every bit of conflict in the delta quadrant, but I know you're not going to do that, so what specifically are you offering?"

On board Galactica…

Bill Adama was conducting an inspection of the flight deck with Galactica's CAG, Lee. Early in their flight from the cylons, an accident killed thirteen of their pilots, and Lee Adama had taken to perusing the flight deck every day. Initially, Galen Tyrol, the chief in charge of the deck, had taken the young captain aside. Incensed, he had told him that the flight deck was his domain, and if he wasn't trusted to be in charge, the CAG could respectfully find a replacement.

Lee was surprised at Tyrol's reaction, but he assured the chief that it was nothing to do with trusting him to do his job. Rather, it was his own reaction to the death of thirteen men and women under his command. Tyrol had asked Lee, in that case, to please take his ruminations elsewhere because he was making the flight crew nervous.

To his credit, the CAG did try, but somehow, he always ended up perusing the flight deck. Tyrol was frustrated at first, but eventually, he turned the time to his advantage. It was never known what time Lee would put in an appearance… just that he would. Therefore, it became an informal daily inspection and Tyrol took pride in the fact that they were always ready.

When Lee was injured in a particularly rough emergency landing, his father made the walk through the deck for him, and continued to accompany even when Lee was on his feet again.

This day was no different than any other; Tyrol's crew had been up to their usual standards. As they left the flight deck, Adama said to his son, "I'm gonna have to give him another medal."

"What else is there to give him?" Lee asked. "He's already turned down a promotion just so he can continue taking care of the deck."

"We're gonna have to make a new one," his father said, smiling. The daily walks had served another purpose as well. Early in their flight from the cylons, Lee had been estranged from him. They had gotten closer soon after the holocaust, but the walks had given them time to talk as father and son again.

As they left the flight deck, they encountered Rodney and Jennifer McKay being escorted by Colonel Tigh.

"Commander; Captain," Tigh said when he spotted the Adamas.

"Colonel," they both responded, not quite in unison.

"Dr. McKay wanted to talk to you, Sir," Tigh explained.

"Which Dr. McKay?" Bill asked.

"That would be me," Rodney said as he held up his hand. At the same time, his wife pointed at him.

"Ah. What can I do for you, Rodney?" Adama asked, smiling congenially.

"I understand our ambassadors have offered our sensor technology in exchange for your jump drive."

"Yes," Adama acknowledged. "What about it?" He saw no harm in confirming this.

"Are you going to agree?"

Adama shook his head. "I'm really not at liberty to tell you that, Rodney."

McKay recoiled a bit at that. "Of course you're not." He paused as he thought for a moment. "Commander, I'd like to show you something."

"What's that?"

"Do you realize what you've been offered, Sir?"

Adama considered. "I believe so."

Rodney, however, was shaking his head. "With all due respect, Commander, I doubt it."

"Why's that?"

"I used to be chief engineer aboard the city ship, Atlantis, Sir." He saw the Colonials start with surprise at this, but no one offered any explanation, so he continued. "With the sensors in that city, we were able to detect every enemy vessel throughout an entire galaxy."

"Every enemy in an entire galaxy?" Tigh said skeptically.

"In real time," Rodney concluded.

"You're serious?" Lee asked the Iconian.

"We took that technology and incorporated it into all of our vessels. It's standard now on every Federation ship."

"Then we could conceivably…." Lee began.

"You could know the location of every cylon vessel, down to their fighters, within this galaxy," Rodney finished the sentence, confidently.

Later, in the mess hall...

"Commander Adama," Janeway called as she entered the room. Beside her was a dark skinned woman, and Laura Adama. "I'd like to introduce you to someone," the Federation woman continued. "This is Guinan. She's just arrived from the alpha quadrant."

"Commander," Guinan said, holding out her hand.

"Guinan," Adama said taking her hand and kissing it. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise," Guinan said flashing a winning smile at Adama. "I'd like to offer my services."

Adama looked at her, in a dark purple robe with attached hood that formed a wide brimmed hat, and was skeptical. "What services do you offer?"

"I help keep the moral up," she explained. "I ran a lounge on the largest carrier in the Federation fleet. I am an El-Aurian - we are, or rather were, a race of listeners. I also have an understanding of where your people are at. I have lost my entire race as well." She deliberately left out the fact that she was Q. It was simply unnecessary at the moment.

"How long ago did you lose your race?" Adama asked.

"Around a hundred years ago," she answered.

"I see. Well, we have a club on Galactica," he said, "but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have another one."

"Good. I think you'll like mine better," she assured him.

"What makes yours so special?" Adama inquired.

"Guinan has… special talents," Janeway told him.

Adama thought for a moment, then turned to Tigh. "The storage bay just aft of mess?"

"I think that would work. I can show you, Ma'am," Tigh said, indicating the way.

"Thank you, Commander," Janeway said as Tigh and Guinan walked away.

"If she works out, we'll move her to a larger area," Adama said.

"Just how big is the area she's going to have now?" she asked.

"It's around four by ten meters," he replied.

"So it will hold around thirty people?"

"Something like that."

Deck twelve...

Tigh conducted Guinan to a small corridor just behind the main galley. They entered a small storage room, and Guinan looked around her. The ceiling was probably thirty feet high, and there were a few pallets on the floor against one wall. They were stacked high with crates.

"I'll get a crew in here to get this stuff moved out of your way, and to bring in some tables and chairs," Tigh told her. "This room was used for excess galley equipment, as you can see by the crates."

Guinan read the stenciling on several of the crates. They were obviously military, but they were marked with different labels. One appeared to be filled with forks, another contained six heating units. Another had knives, while still another apparently was all the pots and pans one would need to outfit a well stocked kitchen.

"If these crates can be rearranged a bit, we can build a nice bar with them," she told Tigh. She turned to face him and, with a big smile on her face, said, "This will do nicely."

Tigh looked dubious, but he walked to a panel beside the door and called for a work detail. He stood to one side while, following Guinan's directions, they turned the storage room into a suitable bar area.

Bill and Laura Adama entered the room as Guinan was arranging some bottles of ambrosia on a shelf that had been hung behind the bar. She turned around with a wide grin on her face and welcomed them.

The Adamas returned her smile and Laura asked, "What are you going to call it?"

"Well," Guinan said thoughtfully, "since my place on Enterprise was on deck ten and in the most forward part of the hull, it was called 'Ten Forward.'"

"'Twelve Aft' just doesn't have the proper ring to it," Bill said with a chuckle.

"No," Guinan said, "I thought I'd just call it Guinan's for now. We'll come up with something better later."

Saul showed them what had been done to make Guinan's, and once they had Adama's approval, Guinan opened for business. It wasn't long before people started to trickle in. Her stock was limited, but she promised people that she had a shipment on the way from the alpha quadrant.

The promise of new and exotic drinks from hundreds of different worlds, plus Guinan's magnetic personality made her lounge the most popular on the ship in a very short time.

Within a month, Guinan's had moved to a much more prominent location, with nearly five times the floor space.

Soon after the bar was moved, Kara entered with a group of people she had goaded into playing a friendly game of pyramid. "Hi Guinan," she said cheerfully to the proprietor. "You don't happen to have a back room where we can play a card game, do you?"

Guinan smiled at the younger woman. "Hello, Kara. I don't have a back room, but I've got a table over there," she said pointing. "I've reserved it for just such an occasion."

Kara grimaced as she looked across the room. "Oh," she said. "We were kinda hoping for some privacy for the game."

Guinan genuinely liked Kara, but realized that the young woman could sometimes use a bit of a hand keeping herself on the straight and narrow. Her expression never changed as she said, "I understand, but this bar is a public place, and we keep everything on the level and out in the open, so to speak."

Kara eyed Guinan for a moment, wondering what the barkeep meant by that comment. She wasn't sure if she was being accused of cheating or not. Looking at the older woman's beaming face, she decided not, and said, "That table will work fine." She sauntered over, swung a leg over a chair and sat. She started shuffling cards, and the others hurried to join her.

Guinan watched as Kara began dealing cards to the others, shook her head, and turned back to the bar. As she did, she saw a young man with dark hair and glasses watching her curiously. He was seated at a table on the other side of the room from the card game, and he wore a puzzled expression. Quickly, it disappeared as she turned towards him.

A little while later, in Adama's quarters…

"So, Saul, what do you think of our new barkeep?" Galactica's commander asked his friend.

"Well, she mixes some of the best drinks I've ever had," Tigh said, collapsing onto the couch.

"I've noticed. What do you think of her as a person?"

Tigh considered for a few moments. "She's smart. Too smart, in my opinion, but we could sure use her counselling ability." He snorted into his drink. "Maybe she can straighten out Kara."

"Or you," Bill said, making his first officer laugh slightly.

"Maybe," Tigh agreed. "Kara is down there right now, setting up several people to lose money in pyramid."

Adama nodded. He'd seen his daughter-in-law take every last cent from people who fancied themselves excellent gamblers.